Beauty boxes have been a big thing for quite a while now with their appeal of getting a new selection of products to try every month. When I first started switching to natural products last year, I wanted an easy way to discover more natural brands – that’s when I came across LoveLula beauty boxes (then called Amarya). Unlike some of the other well known beauty boxes like Glossybox and Birchbox, they stood out to me as they specifically specialise in natural beauty products.
A few months later I discovered another natural beauty box company, SoukSouk, which had some great reviews from other green beauty bloggers. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to subscribe to SoukSouk’s Little Green Beauty Box too, so I could compare the two and choose which one I preferred. So after 3 months of receiving both beauty boxes, the point of this post is give you a comparison and my opinions of each, which will hopefully help you out if you’re looking for a natural beauty box! Bear with me, this may be a lengthy one!
LoveLula’s beauty box costs £12.50 (including P&P) and is dispatched within the first week of every month. Each box usually contains around 4 or 5 sample/travel sized products, sometimes more, occasionally with a full sized product included. The products featured are mostly from well known and established brands. Over the 10 months I received this box, there’s been several I’ve been really happy with, but I’m only going to focus on the last 3 boxes for the purpose of this comparison!
I was thrilled with December’s box (here), but January’s (here) and February’s (here) not so much to be honest. The thing is, the most recent boxes have contained some really great products that a lot of people would be really pleased with, but personally they just weren’t my cup of tea for the most part. I still think LoveLula’s beauty box is a fantastic option for anyone wanting to try out more natural products, especially from some of the bigger brands, but I did cancel my subscription last month in favour of SoukSouk’s beauty box instead.
In terms of value for money (including P&P), 3 months of LoveLula boxes cost £37.50 and the product value over the last 3 months has been about £83.00, so you’re getting more than double what you pay for (averaging at £27.00 value per box). Each LoveLula box also comes with a 20% discount code to use on the brands included in that month’s box, which is a great added bonus and perfect to use if you discover a product you love! LoveLula have also started shipping their beauty boxes internationally recently too, for an additional £5.00 shipping cost.
SoukSouk’s Little Green Beauty Box costs a couple of pounds more at £14.95 (including P&P). It arrives halfway through the month and contains 5 products (occasionally with a bonus product) and SoukSouk’s Little Green Magazine. I really like the addition of the magazine and always enjoy reading through it each month! I’ve loved all 3 boxes I’ve received so far! (See December’s here, January’s here, February’s here).
SoukSouk just seem to be getting everything right and selecting products each month that I actually want to try. The brands they include are often smaller brands which I think is great, but they do also feature some bigger brands too, like Living Nature in last month’s box. SoukSouk’s beauty box is another great choice and I’ve been finding myself recommending it a lot recently, especially to anyone looking to find some great smaller brands to try.
3 months of SoukSouk boxes (including P&P) will cost you £44.85. Over the past 3 months the product value has been about £72.00, averaging at £24.00 value per box which is pretty decent value for money. Unlike LoveLula, these boxes don’t come with any discount codes for future purchases and they’re only available in the UK and Ireland.
(UPDATE: I’ve since cancelled my subscription as I accumulated too many samples and noticed a couple of the products in more recent boxes have contained some of the ingredients on my avoid list – just something to be aware of if you have a more strict ingredients policy with the products you use!)
If you’re just starting out with natural products, subscribing to either one of these beauty boxes would be a great starting point as they’re a really great way to discover new products. I think if I was just starting out now, personally I would probably pick LoveLula again for the wider selection of well known brands to start off with!
I think if you’re trying to decide between the two, it comes down to product selection and value for money. LoveLula have an extensive product range and several years of experience in the natural beauty industry, whereas SoukSouk have an ability to scout out some fantastic lesser-known brands and have the addition of their Little Green Magazine. LoveLula seem to be better value for money overall (over my little 3 month example period anyway!), particularly with the 20% off discount code each month. As with any subscription service, what you receive each month can be hit or miss, but ultimately the decision is based on personal preference and I think both are great beauty boxes in their own right with their individual merits!
Have you subscribed to either of these boxes before? If not, which would you choose?