FabFitFun REVIEW: is it worth the money?

I promised myself I’d never write a FabFitFun review post and be a “FabFitFun girl” but here we are. I don’t want to be ashamed of the things I love, and I love FabFitFun. And I want to tell you if it’s worth the money!

I’ve been subscribing to the box for a year, and I’ve loved every single one I’ve gotten. However, I’m definitely paying a premium for my FabFitFun addiction. 

FabFitFun puts a big dent in my budget every year, but it’s actually cut down on my spending elsewhere!

What is FabFitFun?

FabFitFun is a quarterly subscription box that delivers over $200 worth of beauty, wellness, and home decor products. Every 3 months, you’ll receive a seasonal box containing a mix of make-up, jewelry, clothing, fitness products, and household items.

Before I became a FabFitFun member, I thought it was just make-up and beauty products, but it’s so much more. I’ve gotten everything from water bottles and jewelry to decorative bowls and measuring cups in my FabFitFun box.

It’s still disproportionately beauty-focused, but at least every seasonal box contains a household item or two!

Is FabFitFun worth the money?

Whether or not FabFitFun is worth it depends on your personal beauty spending budget. And if you don’t mind spending on surprises! But I know the only thing you really want in this FabFitFun review is the costs, so here we go.

If you want a peek inside the latest box, check out our FabFitFun Winter 2020 Box Value Breakdown!

FabFitFun costs $200+ per year

FabFitFun costs $50 USD per quarter, or $200 USD per year. If you live in the USA, shipping is included. If you live internationally, you’ll pay an extra $10 USD in shipping & handling to get your box each quarter, for a total of $40 USD per year.

A US FabFitFun subscriber pays $200 per year, and a Canadian or international subscriber will pay $240 USD.

While a couple of hundred dollars does look like a big bill, if you think of it monthly it’s not that expensive. $240 USD per year only works out to $20 per month. That doesn’t seem too expensive for what you get!

You can get a $10 credit when you sign up for FabFitFun here.

You can save on your FabFitFun box by subscribing annually as a Select Member. This costs only $180 USD per year, but the international shipping costs still stay the same.

Is FabFitFun Canada worth it?

I don’t live in the USA, which means I’m paying both international shipping and pricey currency conversion costs to subscribe to FabFitFun. It’s still worth it to me!

If you’re Canadian, expect to pay $50 USD + $10 USD in shipping for your box each quarter. This will work out to approximately $75 CAD or $300 CAD per year.

Yes, the box is still worth $300 CAD per year! But only if you use the items in the box.

If you’re an international subscriber, I recommend signing up for the FabFitFun Select Membership so you can customize your box’s contents. If you’re paying premium currency exchange rates and international shipping, make it count by ensuring you get exactly what you want.

To no one’s surprise at all, I charge my FabFitFun membership to my KOHO card so I can earn 2% cash-back on everything I buy.

FabFitFun Select Membership

FabFitFun offers a higher-tier membership that goes beyond the basic box subscription. You pay $180 USD annually (a savings of $20 USD per year), and you get some additional perks.

FabFitFun Select Members get to customize the contents of their FabFitFun box, get early access to add-ons and sales, and their boxes are typically shipped first so they receive them sooner.

To be brutally honest in this FabFitFun review, I don’t think FabFitFun is worth it unless you’re a Select Member.

Getting a box of surprises each quarter might be great for more adventurous spirits. However, I personally want control over what I receive.

Sometimes there are 3 or 4 different customization choices of a single item, and not being able to pick the one I want would drive me crazy.

Do you really get full-size products in the box or is it samples?

You truly get full-size products in your FabFitFun box. I have never once received a mini or sample size product. Everything has been as if I picked it up at a store.

I was completely hooked on FabFitFun in my very first box when I received a full-size of my absolute favorite lipstick in my favorite shade: Bite Beauty in Meringue. This lipstick costs me $30 each! Getting one with all the other things in my $50 FabFitFun box already made the membership worth it for me.

FabFitFun Add-ons

In addition to the contents in your FabFitFun box, you can pay for additional items to be shipped out with it.

The FabFitFun Add-Ons are discounted beauty and wellness products that have appeared in past boxes. Or they are being exclusively offered to FabFitFun members by a brand. Expect anywhere from 10% to 60% off the retail price for these items!

A few weeks before your seasonal FabFitFun box is scheduled to ship, Add-Ons will open. You’ll be able to shop for items to add to your box. Some Add-Ons are SUPER popular and sell out so fast.

I’m now in the habit of marking when Add-Ons and Customization open in my calendar so I’m one of the first people on.

It seemed silly at first, but there are few things I love more than curling up with a coffee and browsing Add-Ons to customize my box while tweeting with other FabFitFun subscribers about all our picks.

My FabFitFun reviews of my favorite items so far

Now that I’ve had the box for a year, I’ve gotten a TONS of awesome items in it. Here’s a list of the ones that really stand out and I’ve used almost daily since receiving!

• West Elm tie-dye bowls (these are my favorite item ever; I get so many compliments on them in my home!)
• Quay Australia sunglasses
• Giadzy copper-plated measuring spoons
• Mark & Graham Colorblock throw
• Bearpaw headband & gloves
• Manna Kadar Champagne Charcoal Scrub 
• Sutra professional mini travel blow dryer
• OUAI leave-in conditioner (I am completely hooked on this stuff now)
• Generation Clay Ultra Violet Brightening Purple Clay Mask
• Coola organic SPF 30 make-up setting spray (saves me every time I forget to put sunscreen on UNDER my makeup!!)

… and things I didn’t like

I have had a few misses in my FabFitFun boxes as well. I thought the Odeme What A Pair Set of 2 Silicone Wine Glasses felt and looked cheap. One of the necklaces I purchased as an add-on broke.

I gave away the Deux Lux Demi Canvas Beige/Black Backpack because I didn’t like it. Also, I’ll admit I now own an obscene amount of anti-wrinkle night creams. Like, more than any one person needs.

Getting some things you’re not crazy about is part of the risk of FabFitFun. But it’s not a good feeling: it sucks to pay for something you don’t want or use. However, the other items in the box usually more than make up for it!

Another random thing I don’t like: because FabFitFun has over 1 million members now, you’ll see lots of girls with the same items as you. I often purposely don’t choose items like handbags or clothing, because everyone has them. Seriously.

Once you become a FabFitFun subscriber, you’ll notice everyone everywhere has plenty of the exact same items as you. This is obviously a non-issue for beauty products, but when it comes to fashion I want to be unique!

The FabFitFun community

In addition to the physical product of the box itself, FabFitFun has a robust and lively online community.

From articles on beauty and wellness (usually tied to the products in the box) to FabFitFun TV, you get much more out of your FabFitFun membership than what is delivered to your door.

There’s also an online FabFitFun community forum. I peek in it every so often, because people always post their product reviews. I like to creep on what others got in their boxes out of pure curiosity.

However, it seems a ridiculous number of posts are a bunch of people threatening to “cancel their FabFitFun membership” bc they are soooo *~*disappointed with this box*~*!! I roll my eyes every time.

Can FabFitFun save you money?

Much like opting into the luxury of a meal delivery service to cut my grocery bill, I found FabFitFun has actually been good for my budget. Because of my FabFitFun subscription, I spend less at Sephora. So much less I lost my VIB Rouge membership!

Calculating the value of FabFitFun for yourself is not as simple as doing the math on the contents within the box to see if they’re really worth over $200 (they always are). FabFitFun is only worth it if you would have purchased the same products or their equivalents yourself.

At the end of the day, subscribing to FabFitFun is fundamentally getting a random assortment of high-end beauty and household products that you don’t “need” but might possibly want. You either like this, or you don’t!

You have to be the kind of person that enjoys trying new make-up and frequently buy things on a whim for FabFitFun to save you money. If you’re super frugal and say no to scented candles in the checkout line at department stores, then FabFitFun is definitely not worth the price tag.

I’m not going to lie to you in this FabFitFun review, I know it’s an expensive subscription.

… but you can still overspend

That said, it’s pretty easy to get carried away and spend even more money than the cost of your FabFitFun box.

When I couldn’t decide between customizations, I’ve paid extra to receive all the items. Likewise, the hype of Add-Ons opening and the rush to grab things before they sell out has led me to add way more to my box than I really needed.

My FabFitFun membership easily costs me $500 per year, because I add so much more to the box.

Final thoughts

I hope it’s clear from this FabFitFun review that whether or not it’s worth it is up to you! Only you know your spending habits and can determine if a quarterly subscription of beauty and household items is worth $200+ per year.

For me, FabFitFun is 100% worth it! But if I was ever looking to slash expenses, it’d be one of the first things to go.