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If #treatyoself is the new mantra of a generation, it's not hard to see how and why Birchbox, the New York-based beauty subscription service, has become a mega-success in its four short years of operation.

For those who aren't familiar with the company (and many Canadians aren't, as it's only now being launched in this country), subscribers receive a monthly beauty box in the mail, packaged as prettily as an Instagram snap and filled with five samples (including, sometimes, full-size versions) of luxe beauty and lifestyle products that have been chosen specifically for them. Each month's boxful, while targeted to consumers male and female, is nonetheless a surprise. The monthly cost is akin to that of a takeaway lunch.

Since launching Birchbox in 2010, cofounders Katia Beauchamp and Hayley Barna, who met at Harvard Business School and bonded over – what else? – curating their makeup stashes, have managed to amass over 800,000 active subscribers and employ more than 200 staffers in the U.S. alone. They have also expanded to Europe, where their boxes are delivered to women (and men) across France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Now, the two have set their sights north of the border, which they regard as a natural next market. "Geographically, it makes a lot of sense, but we also really like the fundamentals of the market in Canada: the growing beauty market but also the shift [to] spending online," says Barna. The scope of Canada's consumer landscape, as well as stricter Canadian restrictions on packaging and other cosmetic ingredients, are a few of the challenges they have had to face while considering the move in the past, much to the disappointment of eager Canadian fans who have been pestering them to offer the service here, they say.

According to the global market-research firm Mintel, the popularity of services such as Birchbox (others include Beautyfix and Test Tube in the U.S., Topbox in Canada and JolieBox in Britain, not to mention other membership services supplying monthly samples of everything from beer and spirits to meat) is likely linked to statistics showing consumer desire to try new things while also being able to purchase them in an easy-to-access location. "We know consumers seek sampling and convenience in the beauty category, which is likely driving interest in subscription services," say Mintel's Shannon Romanoswki and Ali Lipson, beauty and personal care analyst and manager of retail/apparel and technology/ automotive respectively. According to their stats, 40 per cent of female shoppers buy beauty products to try something new, while 37 per cent of beauty shoppers would prefer more convenient locations to purchase products close to home.

Niche products and newly launched brands are just a couple of the Birchbox trademarks that Canadian subscribers can expect when the first boxes, costing $14 a month, hit mailboxes in November. Around 500 of the brand's 6,500 products will debut on the Canadian site to start, with many more promised down the line. Subscribers can look forward to such notyet– available-in-Canada picks as Cynthia Rowley Beauty, Harvey Prince fragrance and Beauty Protector hair-care products.

Post-trial, the consumer will be encouraged (via the website's point-based reward system) to fill out reviews, which the brand uses to gauge a product's strengths and weaknesses, from scent and texture to performance. Since setting up shop, Birchbox has partnered with numerous beauty start-ups, helping them to perfect their product ranges and expand their reach through sampling and its intensely followed social-media networks. From the subscribers' point of view, the ability to peruse thousands of detailed reviews by like-minded users is of particular value, especially those in remote locations without ready access to beauty counters.

Birchbox's highly engaged followers are in fact what inspired the brand to launch its first bricks-and-mortar store in New York's Soho neighbourhood this summer. There, customers can peruse the store's changing selection of over 2,000 products, including many of the website's top-sellers, to "build your own Birchbox" (BYOB). Fans can also pop in for hair, makeup or nail appointments with one of the shop associates or take an in-store class on how to pull off one of the season's key trends, such as this fall's full brows.

"The store was never planned, but it fits perfectly into our omni-channel strategy," says Beauchamp, referring to the brand's aim for a presence on all access fronts, including at your door, on the Web and in your favourite shopping neighbourhood. "We've always believed in the power of the physical world merging with the digital world."

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