Uh Oh Glossybox...Hello Boudoir Prive!

I first heard about Glossybox from a You Tuber I watch regularly. I immediately had a look on their website and was so excited about the company! After months of seeing videos by US gurus about their Birchboxes, I was pleased to hear that us beauty addicts in the UK were going to have the opportunity to subscribe to a similar service. I went to their Facebook page and decided to keep an eye on it for more information. Around a week before the first box was due to come out, I went to subscribe only to be told I wouldn't be able to receive the first box. I was a little miffed but I knew it was my own fault for not signing up sooner. I decided to wait and see what the first box was like before signing up for June's.

The May box arrived and You Tube was alight with glowing reviews from established gurus; I think we were all impressed! Immediately I went back to the Glossybox website only to find that once again, I was too late for the next box. In hindsight, I'm pretty pleased I didn't waste my money! I did mention that I was concerned about whether or not the subsequent boxes would be on par with the first and expected that they wouldn't be as good but did not anticipate the uproar which was the result of the June box!

I've since decided that I will never be subscribing to Glossybox and here's why:

1) Quality/Choice of Products: 
Okay, so no one should have expected that there'd be a full size NARS product in every box and it should have been expected that lesser known brands would most likely make up the bulk of what was in the box. That is the point of the service after all, to provide deluxe samples of products you might not ordinarily purchase. Whilst I think some of the items included in the boxes were pretty decent items (the OPI mini, Margaret Dabbs items etc.) but the inclusion of the very much non-luxury Batiste mini and the EGF serum sample 'worth £30' which can you can just sign up on their site to receive would have bugged me.

2) Postage Charges:
Unfortunately for Glossybox, at the same time as some customers were feeling less than impressed with what was in their June box, the company announce that there will be a £2.95 postage and packing charge from September onwards. Now, Glossybox tried to pass this off by saying the £10 a month subscription price was an 'introductory offer' for the first four months. I don't think anyone expected this at all and I had never seen anything on their website or Facebook page which would indicate a price increase. I'm not sure what their reasoning is behind increasing the price of the boxes but I think if they can't keep their customers happy once the price increases, they'll lose even more customers. I suppose we can't really complain as customers can cancel their subscription at any time and they have plenty of time to do so before September. All the same, it all feels a little bit sneaky and it only served to fuel the disgruntlement many customers were already feeling in light of the contents of their June box.

3) Glossybox's Response to Criticism:
I found their response to complaints and criticism incredibly childish and I don't think it did them any favours. They claimed that they removed comments which were 'abusive to staff' and 'blocked one person'. Now I know for a fact that they blocked more than one person! They also removed almost every comment which was negative. I don't understand why they couldn't calmly address the issues. Their abrupt response has only made angry customers even more angry. This is the thing which has really put me off this company.

Anyway! Enough of the negativity! Very soon after this whole hullabaloo occurred, I read about another beauty subscription service which aims to send out its first box this month. They're called Boudior Prive and again, they're a similar company to Birchbox in the US. They have a Facebook page and their own website here. I'm excited about trying this company and will keep you all updated on how it goes!

Do you have any opinions of the whole Glossybox issue and will you be signing up for Boudior Prive?

Stace xx