Not Just Another Subscription Box
FabFitFun [referral link] is EVERYWHERE these days. I see people posting about it on Instagram, my Facebook feed has ads for it, and the company sponsors a couple podcasts I listen to. I’ve heard some people say it’s their favorite subscription box they’ve tried. When a fellow beauty community member said she could send a friend a free starter box, I took her up on the kind offer so I could check the service out for myself (thank you, B!)!
What’s This FabFitFun Thing, Anyway?
First, let me explain what FabFitFun [referral link] is. Yes, it’s another subscription box. I know…there’s a subscription service for every god damn thing these days. Beauty, style, meal kits, razors, vitamins, tampons…the list goes on and on. FabFitFun, on the other hand, is a little different from some of the other boxes out there: it’s a lifestyle subscription box. So that means one box may contain beauty, fitness, fashion, home, and wellness products. The boxes are sent seasonally and contain about eight products, with the option to add more at an extra cost. And the BEST part is that the boxes contain full sized products! No samples to be found here.
Each seasonal box costs $49.99 including shipping (YAY!). They also offer a pre-paid full year’s subscription for $179.99, which knocks the price of each box down to $44.99. There’s a lot more information on how the subscription works on FabFitFun’s Membership FAQ page. Seasonal and annual subscriptions allow for box upgrades and customization, but I haven’t delved into all of those details just yet.
SPOILER ALERT: I subscribed to the seasonal box after receiving my starter box. Check out my FabFitFun seasonal box reviews here.
What’s The Deal With The Starter Box?
A FabFitFun starter box allows you to sample the service before committing to a full subscription. The starter box is technically free—all you pay is $5 for shipping. My starter box shipped within about a week.
Already intrigued? You can sign up to receive your own starter box by clicking my referral link (disclosure: I’ll receive a $15 credit to FabFitFun if you sign up via my link). If you want to skip the starter box and sign up for the whole enchilada, using my link will give you $10 off your first seasonal box!
So, What’s In The Box?
My FabFitFun Starter Box contained four items:
- Summer & Rose Crossbody Bag ($62 value)
- Marrakesh Argan and Hemp Oil Therapy ($22.99 value)
- Doucce Luscious Lip Stain in “Dark Lust” ($28 value)
- Ahava Mineral Hand Cream ($33 value)
The total value comes to $145.99…and I paid $5. FIVE. DOLLARS.
The Starter Products: A Mini Review
I have heard of Ahava (say that three times fast) but I don’t believe I’ve tried any of their products. This cream comes in a “special size limited edition” tube containing 5.1 oz of product, which is quite generous and will last me a long time. The cream is made with nutrient-rich dead sea water and I actually really like the scent. It smells a bit like plumeria to me, which is one of my favorite floral scents. The cream is vegan and paraben-free…and the best part is that it doesn’t irritate my very sensitive hands! Win!
The Marrakesh brand is totally new to me. I’m no fan of hair oils so this is the product I was least excited about. The consistency of this hair styling elixir isn’t like a straight up oil, though—I’d call it more of an oil-gel. Even so, I was worried that it would be too heavy for my extremely fine hair. I only applied a tiny bit to my hair and was surprised to find that it didn’t weigh my strands down. The fragrance is fairly strong and reminds me of all the incense I used to burn in college (I hung out with a lot of fake hippies, what can you do). Because of that nostalgia factor, the fragrance doesn’t bother me…but if you abhor incense you may not like the scent. I probably won’t use this often but I don’t hate it.
The Doucce brand is also new to me. When I pulled this lip stain and gloss duo out of the box my first thought was that the color was too dark for my taste:
Take a peek at the wands:
The stain is a pretty standard matte liquid lip, and it’s nice that it comes with a gloss should you decide you want to mix it up. Below you can see a swatch of both lip products on my arm.
The lip stain swatch bled a bit, as you can see.
Though I wasn’t psyched about the lip color, I tried it on so I could post pics here:
The color is definitely SUPER 90s, which is cool, but it’s not a shade I see myself wearing much—certainly not in the summer. I wasn’t wearing any other makeup in the above photos; the lip color would absolutely look better as part of a complete face. I think I prefer the matte over the glossy version, but I can use the gloss on its own or over another lip product. As far as matte liquid lips go, I did find this one to be pretty comfortable.
Last but not least is my favorite product from the box: the Summer & Rose purse! I totally would not have given this bag a second glance in a store, but I think it’s really cute. I’ve already used it once and will get plenty of mileage out of it this summer. It’s a really great date night bag! I do wish it had at least one pocket inside, but otherwise it’s fantastic.
Here’s how it looks with a sundress:
FFF Starter Box FTW
Overall I think the FabFitFun Starter Box is 110% worth the $5 it costs to have it shipped. The box’s value is literally almost 30 times the shipping cost! Even though I’m not head over heels for all four items, I like two of them (the bag and hand cream) enough to make trying the box out totally worth it.
An important note: once you order a starter box, FabFitFun [referral link] will automatically convert your membership to a seasonal subscription unless you cancel within 21 days. Your credit card WILL be charged the full price of a seasonal subscription if you don’t cancel by the deadline, so if you order a starter box, make sure to put a reminder on your calendar in case you don’t want start the full subscription.
And you know what? After seeing tons of posts about the amazing products in FabFitFun’s summer box, I decided to order one. It’s my birthday month so I’m treating myself, dammit! There’s one product in the box that looks like it will be worth it even if I hate everything else…which, from what I’ve seen, won’t be the case. I don’t think the box will ship until the end of June, but once I receive it you can expect a full rundown here! 🙂
Are you a FabFitFun subscriber? If so, what’s your favorite product you’ve ever gotten in one of the boxes?
Post updated December 15, 2019
