Birchbox vs. GlossyBox: February Edition

Hi lovelies!  Sorry this month's Birchbox vs. GlossyBox is late, but my February GlossyBox came in last week, literally!  So without further ado, here's Birchbox vs. GlossyBox: February Edition  {More after the jump}

For anyone unfamiliar with Birchbox, you pay only $10 a month (includes shipping) for 4-5 hand-picked, beauty and lifestyle samples.  Most brands are higher end and it's an opportunity to really try products that you can't afford to take the chance and buy and not like.  I've come across so many can't live without products after being introduced to them through Birchbox, and I'm a lifetime subscriber :)

So the theme for Birchbox this month was Red Carpet Ready: an assortment of products worthy of the red carpet.  I'm not sure about the twistband headband, I've stated before my aversion to this product because fold-over elastic is super inexpensive, and that's all these are, trimmed and knotted.

I was super excited to get this beautiful emerald-hued polish from Color Club, as well as my favorite Ghirardelli caramel chocolate.

The Dr. Lipp balm is originally a product formulated to use for, um, nursing moms.  But regardless, it makes for the best lip balm ever!  (I cannot type that word without giggling uncontrollably!)  The SKIN&Co Roma shower gel is so decadent and indulgent, and the smell is absolutely heavenly and I'm in absolute love with it.

And here's February's GlossyBox!  GlossyBox costs $21 a month (including shipping) and gets you 5 luxury travel sized beauty products.  In my experience though, there's always at least 1 full-sized product, and the value of the products far exceeds the cost of the box.  It's theme was International Style; inspired by fashion weeks around the world, the box is a complete bevy of beauty products to get you through a fashionable day.  PS ~ I posted my unboxing on Vine, check it out!

I'm not a huge lip gloss wearer, not as much as I used to be, at least.  But I did like the shine and sparkle this LiSi gloss gave; however, it was a bit on the sticky side.

The nail wraps are kind of cool in that it's a foil finish, but the black lines of the Union Jack design just look awkward, like an afterthought.  If I do use these, I'll color them in first with different colored polishes to glam them up a bit!

I do love facial masks, anything to assist me in removing the impurities in my pores.  This one sounds amazing and is kind of cool in that it's two pieces: the top and bottom of your face.  Call me weird, but knowing that it contains snail slime (even if it's only 5%) creeps me out and I don't know if I could put it on my face for the 20-40 minutes it says to.

I'm in LOVE with the beautiful scent of this White Tea Bvlgari soap.  It smells so good and is so pretty, it's one of those that you just want to leave in its packaging on display in your bathroom, you know?  This was definitely my favorite part of the box.

I've never used a loose shimmer powder, so I'm excited to try this one from Da Vinci.  I do like the pink color to the highlighter, as that's what works best for my skin tone.

To do something a little new, I'd first like to show the actual value of each box before I give you my verdict.  Being a data analyst, and being a Libra, I'm one of those people that can never have too much contributing information in making a decision :)

Birchbox ~ Cost: $10
Color Club Nail Polish ~ $4
Dr. Lipp Balm ~ $2.90
Skin&Co Body Gel ~ $2.80
Twistband Headband ~ $3.33
Ghirardelli Chocolate ~ $0.50
======================
Total Value $13.53*

GlossyBox ~ Cost $21
Bvlgari Soap ~ $9.96
Da Vinci Shimmer Powder ~ $15 (Full Sized)
LiSi Lip Gloss ~ $7 (Full Sized)
Missha Mask ~ $6 (Full Sized)
Nail Rock Nail Wrap ~ $8 (Full Sized)
================================
Total Value $45.96*

*All prices were calculated by creating a ratio of the cost of the full size to it's size and then applying that to the sample size to arrive at a price.  For example, if something costs $10 for 1 ounce, and a 1/2 ounce sample is received, I'm valuing it at $5.  Make sense?


THE VERDICT
With Birchbox's value coming in over its cost, the samples were small and it really wasn't a large value : cost percentage, coming in at 135%  (35% more value than what I paid)

GlossyBox came in at over double its cost in its value, a 218% improvement. (118% more value than what I paid).  And the products were nearly all full sized.  But in all honesty, I'll most likely only really be using the Da Vinci powder and the Bvlgari soap (although I won't actually use it lol).

THE WINNER
...is Birchbox!  I feel that all the products will be (and already have been!) used and enjoyed.  Although I'm not a fan of twistbands as I stated; I'm not going out and buying them but I will use them when I get them!  I loved every single product this month and can't wait to see what March brings!  Hopefully GlossyBox will make up for February's miss in March.

So that's my take on the two boxes this month and how they stacked up.  As soon as March's boxes come in, I'll get my head-to-head up :)  Do you agree with my decision?  Which box do you think was best this month?

xx
Lia