I've received 4 GlossyBox boxes now, and I've decided to cancel my subscription. All of the boxes were pretty average, and the last one was just plain poor. But let me back up my decision with some statistics:
These are the affiliate brands promised on the GlossyBox website, which I've received products from over the course of 4 months:
Auscreen ; Avene ; Bobbi Brown ; Carmex ; Clinique ; Dr. Hauschka ; Estee Lauder ; Jane Iredale ; John Frieda ; KMS California ; Nivea ; Nougat London ; Polished London ; Proactiv (2) ; Sally Hansen ; Sheer Cover (2) ; Star & Rose ; Tigi
These are the brands that I never received products from:
Absolutely Gorgeous ; Adorn ; Australis ; Babor ; Beyond ; Bio-Oil ; Biotherm ; Blush Amour ; The Body Shop ; Bourjois ; Calvin Klein Fragrance ; De-Coy ; Dencorub ; E.L.F. ; Essie ; Face of Australia ; Garnier ; Gorgeous ; Jurlique ; Klorane ; Kosmea ; Olive by Langlois ; Laviol Organic ; Lethal Lips ; Lily Loves Pearl ; Marc Jacobs Fragrances ; Mirenesse ; Nude by Nature ; Silk Oil of Morocco ; Palmer's ; Playboy Fragrances ; Shiseido ; Shu Uemura ; Spongeables ; Tabu ; Thin Lizzy ; Voules-Vous ; Wine Wipes ; Yves Saint Laurent
Of course, over 4 months I would have received 20 items, and with the number of brands listed on the website, I was only ever going to receive a selection. Perhaps some statistics will help clarify things:
| Standard of Product | ||
|---|---|---|
| Luxury | 1 | 5% |
| Top Shelf | 4 | 20% |
| Middle Shelf | 8 | 40% |
| Bottom Shelf | 5 | 25% |
| Bargain Bin | 2 | 10% |
Please bear in mind that everyone's opinion is different! My evaluation of a valuable product/brand name might be different from others. In case anyone's interested, the luxury product was the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronised Recovery Complex. Though the fact that I only received it because I'm 'old' mitigates the excitement factor a bit. (Subscribers over 28 years received this product, those under recieved a blue eyeliner.)
This second table is based on the out-of-10 rating I gave to each box. Here is how it works:
* a product scored a 2 if I was very excited by it; and/or it was something I needed and will definitely use ; and/or it's a type of product I love (e.g. eyeshadow) and also a brand I had been wanting to try.
* a product scored a 1 if it was a product I hadn't really needed but will use ; and/or it was a brand I had been wanting to try but a product in that brand I wasn't particularly interested in (but will still probably use)
* a product scored 0 if it was a disappointing cheap-o brand ; and/or a product I definitely won't use.
Now, I didn't record the actual scores for each product at the time, so I'm sort of re-creating the score, but here we go:
| Wanted Factor | ||
|---|---|---|
| Scored High (2) | 4 | 20% |
| Scored Medium (1) | 8 | 40% |
| Scored Low (0) | 8 | 40% |
I used the above factors to give my box a rating out of 10. If I was particularly pleased with the box overall, I added 1, if there was anything that made me particularly disappointed overall, I subtracted 1. Here are the box ratings for the last 4 months, and the average rating overall (links to the individual reviews are in the table):
| Overall Box Rating | |
|---|---|
| December 2011 | 5/10 |
| January 2012 | 7/10 |
| February 2012 | 6/10 |
| March 2012 | 2/10 |
| Average Rating: | 5/10 |
5 out of 10 is not enough to keep my patronage, sorry. I could have been vindictive and taken off a few points for adding the exposed-as-a-sham Power Balance Bracelet, but I'm very sure I would have cancelled anyway, even if it weren't for that.
So bye bye GlossyBox! Now I'll just have to decide if I'll subscribe to the fourth beauty box company in Australia, Bella Box. It's only fair, no?
