How to get premium travel-size samples (without spending premium prices).
Thanks for all of your sweet comments on my giveaway post! I’m making a list of topics to write about based on all of your responses. If you don’t see a post about what you asked for soon, remind me! I want to get to each request but sometimes things get lost in the shuffle around here. 😉
Since I seem to be on a beauty roll, I thought I would share this tip with you. Do you already know about Birchbox? I’ve written about them before, but it was a few months ago, so if you are a new reader, you might have missed it.
Birchbox is a handpicked mix of luxe beauty samples and other goodies. It’s a subscription box, so you get one in the mail each month. The key here is that the samples are varied, high-quality, and very packable. Over the past few months, I’ve amassed a good-sized stash of samples that I can dip into whenever I need to pack for a short trip. My product packing experience has gone from stressful and annoying, to exciting (I get to try new products!) and easy (takes one minute). I no longer have to rely on whatever a hotel chooses to provide; instead I indulge in top-quality products and they all fit in my carryon. I’ve also found some new favorites by sampling!
Of course this post would not be complete without a couple of tips about how to get more Birchbox for less money. The cost is already fairly reasonable: $10/month. But you know we can do better than that.
Tip #1: If you spend five minutes each month to give feedback on the products in your Birchbox, you earn points which you can redeem for full-size products. You can earn 50-70 points a month, which translates into $5-$7. So essentially the cost of the box is only $3-$5/month. (To leave a review, just click on “Box,” then click on the product(s) in your box that you’d like to review.)
Tip #2: Do not order any full-size products until they have a sale! My most recent score was two bottles of DDF Brightening Cleanser for a total of $13.
Here is how I did it:
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I know that quite a few of my regular readers are already pretty big fans of Birchbox. How about you? I’d also love to hear your tips for getting great travel-sized goodies, so please share in the comments if you’ve got any!
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(Note that I do get a referral credit if you use some of the links above. As always, I really appreciate and thank you for your support!)
I am a Birchbox fan (thanks to Pixie’s previous post on the topic). I bit the bullet and signed up for a year since it wasn’t that much $$. My first few boxes were ok, but the last few months seem to have gotten better. Initially I was getting smaller size samples that I could get at Dept stores, but lately I have been getting really nice size samples, and in some cases almost full size such as with the mascara & liquid eye liner.
I love the review credits which essentially make it half the cost – though I have yet to spend my points (saving up!)
I love that since my boxes are always late, since I live on an island middle of nowhere, that I can go to Birchbox.com, go to review my products, and see a preview (spoiler) of what I’m getting!
I also love that they customize the contents based on my preferences, so we don’t all get the same thing.
Rebecca – Glad you are enjoying!
I have been eying this for months and finally bit the bullet thanks to your post! I love that you can earn points for reviewing! Thanksss 🙂
Angelina – Yes, getting the points for reviewing is what really makes this deal worth it.