Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATE November, 2019: I think it's time to put my money into a different subscription. Each month, there are fewer and fewer full and "deluxe sample" size products. Those that are full size aren't worth much money. There's no point of me putting my money into so many samples. OVERVIEW: I just received my first Cocotique box. I was a little nervous, as I'm new to subscription boxes, but I'm actually quite satisfied with the products. Most of them are full-size, and others are large enough to get quite a few uses out of. The month's box (the actual cardboard box the products are in) is absolutely beautiful! Included is a card with extensive information about all of the products, including prices and where to find them should you decide to purchase them. I absolutely love that they included this because I can easily find the products if I want to order them, and I can see the value of the products versus the cost of the box ($25/month). PRODUCTS: With that being said, the value of the products in the box is well worth the cost of the subscription (in this box, at least). The price of the products come up to about double the cost of the box (approximately $47). So, I'm happy with the value. You get more than 2 or 3 items, and they're pretty large. CUSTOMER SERVICE CONTACT: One item (eyeshadow) was broken (still sealed). I emailed them on a Saturday and they responded within 2 or 3 hours to apologize and let me know that a replacement was on the way. I greatly appreciate the quick and polite customer service. SHIPPING: Shipping was EXTRA fast, but...things are not safely secured in the box. I'm not sure if this is how the eyeshadow box was broken or not, but the products definitely need to be better secured. The products are packaged with pretty crinkled paper, but not enough to hold the products in place. Some products are heavier than others, which may cause some issues in some boxes. This is reason for the 4-star review. All of the products were strewn throughout the box in an unorganized way. Unfortunately, mail carriers don't (and sometimes can't) always take the time to ensure that things aren't thrown around during shipping, so more secure packaging may make things a little better. BILLING: I have to be honest and say that the way they do their billing is a bit...odd to me. They bill on your anniversary date, even if the box isn't due to be shipped for weeks. I signed up in early to mid-March, and I just received my first box, the April box. This, of course, depends when you sign up, but when you initially sign up determines if you receive your first box for the CURRENT month or the month after. I was just now charged for next month's box, even though I just received this month's (April) box today. Again, I'm fairly new to subscription boxes and the other ones that I'm subscribed to charge on your anniversary and send your box when you're charged. YES, this is stated in multiple places on Cocotique's website and other places, so I was aware of it, but again, it's just a bit odd to me because it seems like you're waiting for a very long time for something you've paid for. But, that's the way they work and I'll more than happily deal with it to see what they have in store. BOTTOM LINE: I will be continuing my subscription. I'm fairly new to the makeup world, so being able to try a wide variety of products (again, these products are large, so you can do a lot more than "try" them) without having to buy all of them one-by-one comes in handy. It saves both money and time. I've definitely told my friends about this subscription box, and I'm excited to see what will be in future boxes. I think I'll be ordering some of the past boxes, also. As time goes by and I receive more boxes, I'll update my review.