Shopping | ES Best Home | Beauty | Makeup
Best beauty subscription boxes in 2024 to boost your monthly makeup game
The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
The doorbell rings. It’s the postman. What could it be?
Your heart rate rises, and your dopamine levels are through the roof. It’s not the usual avalanche of bills; it’s something bigger, more exciting. Your hopes turn out to be correct. It’s the most anticipated drop of the month.
Subscription commerce is an ever-popular industry. According to Whistl, the subscription market grew from a valuation of £332m in 2020 to £395m in 2021 – an 18.9 per cent year-on-year increase. It predicts it will be worth £1.8b by 2025.
From a steady supply of premium toilet paper to receiving regular drops of washing pods, the sheer convenience of recurring goods delivered to your door has spurred on a service with endless potential. But it’s not just the bare necessities to order on repeat. There is so much joy to be had from receiving packages of a more indulgent nature.
Beauty subscription services have been around for over a decade. They saw a surge in interest during lockdown when we were confined inside, but their appeal has not wavered. In fact, Gitnux reports that “33 per cent of Gen Z participants believe beauty and grooming subscription boxes are a necessity in their lives”.
You can pay monthly, yearly or quarterly in some cases for a mystery box of lifestyle goodies that offer a mood boost every time the post arrives. These bumper packs contain everything from razor heads to retinol.
There are thousands upon thousands of new beauty brands launching every year and it can be hard to keep up. These curated edits offer the chance to discover the latest and lesser-known labels, so you can spend less time wandering up and down the aisles, and more time pampering yourself.
Best of all, the contents, which range from sample to full-sized versions, are bundled together for much less than you would pay for them individually in the shops. This means if you are trying to spend less on beauty, but still want to keep up to date on the hottest releases, it's time to sign up.
Shop the best beauty subscriptions below
LOOKFANTASTIC The Box
The LOOKFANTASTIC Beauty Box is one of the best-known subscription services. The retailer, which is a destination for brands at every price point, curates an edit each month of its bestsellers and hot new drops. Choose between a one-, three-, six-month or yearly plan and wait for a monthly bumper beauty package, tailored for the time of year. Expect to find six goodies inside across the spectrum of skin, body, hair and makeup, all worth far more than the outlay.
There are also brand-themed collections from the likes of Drunk Elephant and ESPA and designated fragrance drops. On top of your regular delivery, subscribers have early access to these limited-edition gift sets and discounts, which will come in handy around Easter and Christmas.
Liberty The Beauty Drop
Liberty’s beauty subscription launched in 2022 and takes a different approach to your regular doorstep delight.
It costs £25 per month but the luxury department store adds £20 back into your account in the form of credit that you can spend both in-store or on its digital shop. Think of it as a beauty savings account that rewards you with products instead of an interest rate.
Your pot doesn’t need to be spent within that 30-day window, either. Save it up and splash out on a beauty hero that you’ve had your eye on or fashion, homeware or jewellery gems.
As part of the membership, you get four Discovery Boxes worth over £300 and exclusive access to offers, events and rewards including loyalty points as you spend. When you subscribe to the Beauty Drop, you’ll also have first access to the annual Liberty advent calendar with £10 off.
Birchbox
Birchbox is one of the bellwethers of the beauty subscription service trend and comes as a monthly, three-month or 12-month membership. In each delivery, you will get four to six products in trial, deluxe or full sizes delivered for free to your door. You can customise its contents to finally sample the brand that you have your eye on and tailor it to suit your skin and hair type or personal preferences.
GLOSSYBOX Beauty Box Subscription
Glossybox’s instantly recognisable deliveries are housed in pastel pink boxes. The retailer already has over a million subscribers who no doubt wait in anticipation each month for the arrival of its five-strong content. The delivery contains at least £50 worth of goodies determined by themes or seasonally.
Glossybox spotlights lesser-known labels as well as well-established brands like Rituals, Medik8 and Innersense. While receiving the box each month, subscribers will have early access to limited-edition boxes and a reduction in the price of the annual advent calendar. You can sign up for a one-, three-, six- or 12-month subscription.
Skin + Me
Perhaps the best-known label in the world of personalised skincare is Skin+Me a monthly subscription service that details the products that you need based on an online consultation.
Begin by detailing your skin goals - tackling fine lines and wrinkles, treating conditions like rosacea, having a clear complexion or improving skin texture? After entering basic information like your sex and age, you detail the area of your face that’s a priority, your skin type and tone before diving deeper into the likes of hyperpigmentation, ageing, menopause, sensitivities, allergies, medical conditions and lifestyle. There are a lot of questions but that shows you the process is personalised.
A full routine follows including the label’s Purify + Prep cleanser, the Soothe + Smooth Moisturiser (it comes in light and rich and offers intense hydration) and a Daily Doser. The latter comes alongside a breakdown of the active ingredients that explain what they do, decoding the buzzwords and ensuring just the right volume is used.
FFS
The name is not what you think. While it may immediately conjure expletives we wouldn’t dream of publishing in the Standard, it stands for Friction Free Shaving - which gives you some indication of what this subscription service provides. Each month, you can have razor-related essentials delivered to your door.
Begin with the hair removal instrument that comes in an array of premium constructions and finishes with SmoothGlide blades and a vitamin E strip for nourishing your skin throughout the de-fuzzing process. Opt for the tool of your choice, followed by the cream, scrub or balm and then the regularity of your future deliveries (monthly or every two months) of blades and the lotion top-ups. You can also add other items like wax strips and deodorant, which much like the rest of the offering are all high-quality, luxe and eco-friendly.
Shaving made easy.
Cohorted
With an offering that includes Nars, Laura Mercier, Elemis, Huda Beauty and more, Cohorted prides itself on its premium selection of brands in its monthly drops. You may even find hyped-about heroes like Byredo’s Bal D’Afrique or Prada’s sleek lippie. The contents are all cruelty-free and vegan. The packaging is also entirely sustainable and ethically sourced.