Beauty Box 5 - Free Box

A few weeks ago, one of my friends posted that you could get a free box for signing up with the beauty subscription service Beauty Box 5. I figured what did I have to loose, plus if I liked it, it's only $12 a month. While it didn't look to typically contain higher end products (like Glossy Box), it still looked interesting enough.

My box arrived over the weekend, and honestly, I will not be subscribing. For free, it was fun and there are a few items that I will use. However, if I had paid the regular price ($2 more than Birchbox or Ipsy, if you get those), I would be really disappointed.

The first thing is three packets of Just Being Sexy! body bronzer. You'd think as someone who shouldn't be out in the sun body bronzer would leave me thrilled, but I tried one of these once (I got it in a swap) and it was much darker than I'd like and pretty orange on my fair skin. I received 3 packets, that are each 8 ml. The estimated value is $6.63 so half the value of the box.

Next up is a travel size Aveeno Positively Nourishing Calming Body Wash. It has a nice lavender scent, and I will likely put it with my travel stuff. I've used Aveeno body wash in the past, and they've never irritated my skin or left it too dry. This travel size has an estimated value of $0.87

The other item that I am sure I will use is some travel face wipes from La Fresh. The travel pack has 8 wipes ($2.49). I haven't tried anything from La Fresh, but have seen their products in a few different subscription boxes as well as have friends who use them. If I'm feeling achy or am in the hospital, I like having similar wipes to freshen up. When I was in college, I used baby wipes to help take off my makeup and didn't think that there was a big difference between baby wipes and face wipes, but now that I've given some a try, I definitely see a difference. If you're looking to just freshen up (really nice on a hot day if you're sweaty!), baby wipes do the job and are cheaper but face wipes are great at taking off makeup without irritating or drying out my skin.

There is also a face mask from Montagne Jeunesse, and they sent me the Glacial Cooling Facial Mask. This isn't a packet that contains a face mask, but rather a sheet face mask. If you haven't seen one, I will take a picture next time I have one on. It's basically a sheet with spots for your eyes and mouth - you take it out of the packet and the best thing to do is recline or lay back, and relax, while you wait for it to work its magic. The last time I had one on, my dogs would sit near me. This one is mud infused. I've seen masks from this company (they have a huge variety) at my local drug store for $1, although Beauty Box 5 says the value of this is $2.49.

The last thing is a sampler eye palette from BH Cosmetics. They gave me 3 small shadows from the California Collection (the full size palette has 16 shadows and 4 face powder, and runs $18.95). I haven't used anything from BH Cosmetics, so this may be fun to play with. I like that you could easily use the three shades together, or mix them with what you already have. I estimate the value a little under $3

Adding it up, if you go by my price on the face mask, the value is around $13.99 (I think Beauty Box 5 would put it closer to $15.48), which is more than what I would have paid. However, I feel like even the worst Birch Box I've received was a better deal. I like my little surprises and pampering things, but this just missed the mark for me. However, I've seen a few other people's April and May boxes and preferred them, so it's all about what you like.