THERE’S NO END of ways to get your beauty fix these days – but Beauty Pie, a makeup subscription service that’s been called the ‘Netflix of beauty’, is something completely different.
If you’re broke with expensive taste (as so many of us are) it should tick all of your boxes.
So what’s the deal?
Beauty Pie is a UK-based subscription service, but it’s nothing like those beauty boxes that have gotten so popular over the past few years.
It sells unbranded skincare and makeup at “straight off the production line prices” – for a monthly fee, members can access cruelty-free, top-quality formulas for as little as £2.25.
The cost of every item is broken down for you, so you can see exactly what you’re paying for:
Non-members can still buy the products, but they’ll be paying full whack.
How can it be so cheap?
Well, it’s down to a lack of mark-up. The existence of dupes seems to prove that a lot of expensive products can be easily replicated at drugstore prices, and we’re paying mostly for packaging and a brand name.
Beauty Pie owner Marcia Kilgore (who is also the woman behind Soap & Glory) explained to Pop Sugar:
Most brands do not have their own factories, but rather source their products from outside factories. For example, Tesco sources from the same makeup factory as Charlotte Tilbury.
The brand also cuts costs by doing away with fancy packaging, which Kilgore says often costs more than the actual product inside.
Is the stuff any good?
By most accounts, yes! Trusted beauty guru Sali Hughes was pleasantly surprised by the service according to her column in The Guardian, and rates the lipsticks, Liquid Luminizer, and Superbrow Precision Pencil (a dead ringer for Anastasia’s Brow Wiz).
Popular YouTuber Fleur DeForce is a big fan of the Great Skin Foundation and Superglazey Lip Glosses – so much so that she says she’d buy them at regular price.
How much does it cost to sign up?
It’s £10 a month to try it out for a minimum of three months, and you have to pay for delivery. It’s important to note that each member has a ‘shopping allowance’ of £100 each month, which is dictated by the regular prices.
To give an example, if you buy two foundations and two lipsticks totalling £100 at regular price – but £13.98 for you – you’ve hit your limit for the month.
If you don’t use up all your allowance in one month, the remainder rolls on to the next.
Beauty Pie is certainly interesting, but will it change the way we shop for beauty products for good? We’ll have to wait and see.
