6 mystery beauty boxes that could save you over £300 on makeup and skincare

Jul 14, 2023

From Beauty Bay and Glossybox to Rodial and PrettyLittleThing - these surprise boxes offer a beauty lottery that could see you save some serious cash on high-end products

The latest phenomenon sweeping the beauty world at the moment is the elusive mystery box - a trend that sees brands bundle up a surprise haul of products, and sell them for way below their usual retail price. From viral unboxings to rave reviews, these coveted secret hauls have swept social media and shoppers alike, so we’ve been on the hunt for the best.

Beauty boxes, mystery or not, offer makeup and skincare enthusiasts the opportunity to discover new brands and try fresh products at a fraction of the cost, and with the current cost of living crisis, they’ve never been more popular, allowing customers to top up their stash without breaking the bank. But the difference with these surprises is that the contents are something of a beauty lottery - and that’s all part of the fun.

We’ve dug out some of the best mystery beauty boxes available right now, some of which feature a mix of brands, like Beauty Bay, and Glossybox, while others are single-brand boxes from the likes of Rodial and Give Me Cosmetics. To buy all of the boxes, it would cost around £130, with the cheapest being £10 - but there are potential savings of up to £320, with one saving shoppers £93 alone on the contents.

Here are the six top mystery boxes that will save you a fortune on your beauty buys:

Beauty Bay launch a quarterly mystery box that often sells out pretty quickly, and just in time for autumn, their Mystery Must-Haves Box has hit the digital shelves. Valued at a staggering £100, the limited edition Mystery Must-Haves Box is priced at just £35, getting shoppers around £65 worth of free makeup, skincare, hair care products.

Handpicked by the Beauty Bay team, this treasure trove of treats promises 11 must-have items that every beauty obsessive will swoon over. While the actual products are a surprise, the retailer has revealed that the haul will contain three makeup palettes, including one that boasts 42 shades, describing the box as their ‘best one yet’ as it saves shoppers 68 per cent on the RRP.

Previous mystery boxes from Beauty Bay like in the video above have seen brands such as Anastasia Beverly Hills, The Ordinary, Jeffree Star Cosmetics, and Jouer featured, ensuring a mix of well-loved brands and up and coming independents that Beauty Bay have a knack for spotting early. Each box contains the same 11 items, so shoppers need only buy one to save doubling up on the cruelty free and vegan friendly contents. So far, it’s received more than 400 five star reviews from shoppers who say it’s ‘amazing value for money’.

One wrote: “I LOVED this box. The products are amazing and such good quality. The cost of this was too good to ignore and it was well worth it.” While a second added: “This was amazing value for money and the contents were good ones. I had a large palette, 2 small palettes, some eyeliners, lipsticks, skincare, tools. Will definitely get this again as it's genuinely one of the best mystery boxes I've had.”

Though as with all mystery purchases, they are something of a lottery, so may not be for everyone, with one commenting: “The products are okay I guess been chosen at random some of the eyeshadows I haven’t used as it’s not my taste.”

Buy the Beauty Bay mystery box here.

Beauty subscription service Glossybox has launched a selection of mystery boxes packed to the rafters with makeup, skincare, hair and body buys - and they cost less than their monthly subscription. The cheapest Glossybox subscription comes in at £11.50 for a 12 month contract, while those who don’t want to be tied in for a year can pay £13.50 a month on a rolling basis.

Most of the mystery boxes on the Glossybox website are priced at £10 and we decided to order one for ourselves to see what’s inside - don’t worry, I won’t ruin the surprise here, but if you would like to take a peek at the contents, you can find our review here.

The value of the contents of the box was a whopping £63.79, saving of £53.79 , with some highly popular brands featured like PIXI and Clinique.

They’re received a raft of compliments from shoppers, with one commenting: “A fantastic box full of loads of goodies! Will definitely buy another. No samples, all full-sized products. I received lots of makeup goodies and stuff for hair and shower too. A great little box and I'm very happy with it!”

But it’s probably only worth ordering one, as some people have experienced duplicates, commenting: “Ordered the 5 different variations of mystery boxes and 4 of them were October ones. Thought they would all be different.”

Buy a Glossybox mystery box here.

Premium skincare brand Rodial , loved by the likes of JLo, Kim Kardashian and Molly Mae Hague, have launched a £29 mystery box that contains £122 worth of products. For fans of celeb-approved skincare, it offers a whopping saving of over 80 per cent on the RRP.

The box is said to contain six Rodial fan favourites, five of which will remain under wraps until it arrives with you. However, the brand has revealed that the box will contain a Retinol Drops Deluxe, worth £27 alone.

The remaining five products will be a total surprise , and looking at the line up of Rodial’s best-selling products, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed with any of them - though if you did happen to not like a product or two, Christmas is only around the corner and you’re certain to know someone who will.

Rodial has launched mystery boxes in the past and they’ve often been a hit with customers. For their last sell-out secret box, one wrote: “I was so excited to order this and even more delighted to receive it. It's only been a week so I'm still waiting for results from the arm gel, but it's lovely to apply and does make you think about focusing on your arms more. The other products were all new to me so I am enjoying getting to know more Rodial products. Many thanks for putting this together, can't wait for the next.”

Another agreed that the ‘arm sculpt is really good’ but said their products didn’t add up to £100. Since we don’t know what was in their box, we couldn’t tot it up, but others said theirs ‘didn’t disappoint’, adding: “I love a mystery box I will use everything and such good value.”

Buy the Rodial mystery box here.

Price: £15

Value: £40

Saving: £25

PrettyLittleThing has their own beauty subscription box service where shoppers can pay £15 a month to get a delivery of makeup and lifestyle products delivered to their door. It launched last August and has been a hit with shoppers ever since.

While you can find out the contents of each monthly box, the fashion retailer also has a mystery box - also £15 - where the contents remain closely guarded.

Worth over £40, the PLT box saves shoppers around £25, and is said to contain a mixture of makeup and skincare essentials, to keep your morning-to-night routine covered

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PrettyLittleThing added: “Do you love the thrill of a surprise? All we can say is that you won't be disappointed with the products in our mystery beauty box selection. Whether you're wanting to surprise yourself or give your best friend a well deserved pick up, it's the perfect gift.”

Some of the previously featured brands in the box have been TikTok-approved Colour Wow, as well as This Works, Eyeko and Illamasqua - so there’s some seriously impressive names from the beauty world that could potentially be included. But since it’s a secret, the only way to find out is to order one.

Buy the PrettyLittleThing mystery box here.

Price: £25

Value: £70

Saving: £45

Secret Sales is an online version of an outlet village where you can snap up outfits from popular brands like River Island, Topshop, ASOS and Miss Selfridge for as little as a tenner. It sells surplus, end-of-line and outlet stock from well-known brands at a reduced price, often as much as 75% off.

But it’s not just fashion they’re flogging - the retailer also stocks a range of mystery beauty boxes for as little as £25. This particular box is said to be worth £70, and includes a mix of beauty products from different brands across makeup, skin care, sun care, nail products, hair care and fragrance.

All boxes will contain an Iconic London brush, which is usually £33, while there’s also the potential for the box to star brands such as Bare Minerals, Burberry, Covergirl, Doll Beauty, Inglot, MAC, Elemis, Nails Inc, OPI, Ted Baker, Wella and much more.

If more than one box is purchased in the same order the products will be different within each box - the only real caveat is that some items do not come in their official retail packaging however, all brushes are sent in plastic pouches to maintain hygiene standards.

Buy the Secret Sales mystery box here.

Price: £15

Value: £54

Saving: £39

Celeb-loved hair care brand Give Me Cosmetics has been used previously by the likes of Michelle Keegan and Rita Ora, who both enjoyed using the brand’s popular hair mask. Now, the retailer has launched a £15 Mega Mystery Bundle, that makes for a fun and exciting way to treat yourself or someone special to a surprise selection of products.

Worth £54, the haul contains seven super-secret full-sized beauty products, each specially selected to indulge in some much-needed self-care and beauty treatments without the high price tag.

There isn’t a single negative review of the box, with just one four-star rating preventing it from having a perfect score. One said: “I love every single Give Me product I have ever used & the £15 Mega Mystery Bundle is excellent value for money. It's ideal if you have never tried Give Me products before & it's an absolute bargain for any loyal customers.” While the four-star rater didn’t elaborate on why they deducted a star, simply commenting: “It was a nice surprise for Birthday present.”

One thing that may put some shoppers off though is that Give Me Cosmetics have added a note to the box, as one of the products is past its expiration date. They said: “Please note, this product (Pink & Yellow Gel Eye Patches) has passed its expiration date. However, the products can still be used. You can use unopened expired beauty products long after reaching their expiration date as long as they are stored properly and appear to be in ideal condition. The expiration dates on the packaging are mere "guidance" in line with EU regulations.”

Buy the £15 Give Me Cosmetics mystery box here.