Ordering subscription boxes in Canada

[PinkEvergreen]

Hello Canadians! 🇨🇦 I’m cross-posting this from Haul Stars to see if I can get a response 😊

I’m interested in getting a makeup/skincare subscription box but I’m in Canada, which always seems to make things more “interesting” due to shipping issues 😬

For example, I think BoxyCharm looks amazing. However, I think Canada Customs will charge duties on it because it ships from the US. Once the exchange rate is added to the duties, I think it may turn into a pretty pricey subscription box. 

My questions are directed to Canadians who have experience with subscription boxes:

1) Which makeup/skincare subscriptions are you or have you been subscribed to? Please include which country they ship from 😊

2) Which ones do you like or dislike?

3) Which ones have had duties added to them once they arrived in Canada? Approximately how much?

4) Were there any problems (shipping or otherwise) with any of them? 

Thanks for your help!! 🇨🇦

[LisaDfromTO]

I’m extremely late to reply but Boxycharm was the best! No duties, no tax. Ipsy bought them out but you can still subscribe through them. Ipsy doesn’t charge tax and I’ve never had to pay duties. But the exchange rate is brutal at times. Shipping is inexpensive and just $5 for the sales but they’ve added a handling fee of $1.99 for everyone. 

Fab Fit Fun charges tax. No duties but shipping is $8 US for sales and boxes. Add ons get sent free with your box. They’ve become much more beauty heavy over the years and you get to choose your items. 

[LoriAnn52]

I do boxycharm when the box appeals to me. haven't been charged any duty yet! it does equal out to be about $34 though. I've been doing Ipsy on and off for probably 4/5 years and I have a love hate relationship with it. after shipping/exchange rate it's about $20/month and I think it's worth that price. sometimes I'm just disappointed in the products they put in my box. I've been doing topbox for about 3 years and it's alright. it's $12.80 and ships from Canada. some months the products are great and other months they're disappointing.

[LoriAnn52]

I meant to mention on Ipsy that I've never been hit with duties or taxes either.

[bakeamuffin]

@PinkEvergreen great questions!! I’m following along because I would also really enjoy a sub box 📦😄

[AliH80]

I was getting Topbox for just over a year before I canceled. When deciding on a subscription, I was just looking for something small and inexpensive, I didn’t want to receive too many products that I wouldn’t use. It was a toss up between Topbox and Ipsy, but I liked that Topbox 1. wasn’t just makeup and had skincare and hair products, and 2. it’s Canadian, it cost me around $13.50 a month with free shipping and no extra hidden costs with exchange rates. I did end up canceling though because I was getting a lot of nail polishes, I work in a kitchen so can’t wear them on a regular basis, my collection of dry shampoo samples was getting pretty big, and I don’t particularly like liquid lipstick and I feel I was getting quite a few of them and they were basically all the same colour.

[Fallingsnow]

It has been about a year since I was subscribed to any subscription service so my answers may also be out of date.

I was a subscriber to Boxycharm from day 1 when they started shipping to Canada. I maintained it for about 1.5+ years. It was about $34ish CAD each month. I never had any issues with it nor did I have to pay any duties or taxes. I loved it and would still be subscribed except that I am trying to be more mindful with my money. At the end of the day I ended up only using about 20% of what I received and would pass the rest on to friends and family. I then switched to Ipsy and I think that was $20 CAD a month? I only kept it for 8 months or less and I also never had to pay duties or taxes. No issues either. Boxycharm is the best value between those two in my opinion.

A word of caution though is that your monthly bill will change each month due to the currency conversion at the time, however it is a very minor change (+/- $1). Also, I do know that Boxycharm has a statement on their website saying that they are not responsible for duties and taxes should you get hit with them. I imagine Ipsy has a similar warning on their website too.

[PinkEvergreen]

@Fallingsnow Oh wow, really?? I’m really surprised at the price (give or take exchange, of course) and that no duties were applied. Generally the rules are that we need to pay duties on anything above C$20, which I definitely did on my first (and only) Kylie order. 

Thanks so so much for sharing! Much appreciated 🙏💕

[lachaton]

Hope this is helpful, @PinkEvergreen! Let us know what you end up deciding. 

Most of my subscription box experiences are likely out of date by now (couple years old). 

A few blogs you might find helpful:

• My Subscription Addiction (one of the most thorough blogs for subscription boxes, it  some Canadian info as well)
• A Year of Boxes
• CdnBoxAddict
• Girl Meets Box

Top Box is one of the older, more established subscription boxes in Canada for beauty products. They often have boxes that you can purchase on a one time basis, usually with free shipping. Based in Canada. 

From what I have seen, the monthly boxes usually have a couple brands I’ve heard of (low to mid range) and a couple with which I am unfamiliar. 

There’s Julep, which has a decent rewards program but they are in USD and now have a shipping cost to Canada. They do have a fair amount of makeup and skincare now rather than just nail polish, but it’s all Julep branded. I wasn’t ever hit with duties, but I never felt the cost was really worth it and I haven’t liked their makeup or skincare. 

My main issue with subscriotion boxes is that I usually feel like I’m getting products I’m not interested in or leftover products. The one that I have been really pleased with is the monthly box from The Detox Market (Canada). Appears to be the same as the US box but they ship within Canada. It’s an established store, so I’m not worried about it suddenly going out of business or disappearing (the way some subscription companies have in the past). They feature one brand from their store per month, and the value has always been higher than the cost. I did a more thorough review in the Subscription Cemtral thread, I’ll try to find it for you! 

Let me know if you have any more specific questions. 

[PinkEvergreen]

@lachaton Thank you for all this great information! I wasn’t aware of CdnBoxAddict so I’ll definitely have a look at their blog and ask questions in the comments. 

I’m really leaning toward BoxyCharm but I want to watch the box contents for a few months before I decide 😊

Thanks again!! 🙏❤️

[lachaton]

@PinkEvergreen Here’s the post I mentioned! 

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Haul-Stars/Subscription-Central-Spoilers-Unboxings-and-More/m-p/399...