What is Influenster & What is a VoxBox?
Influenster is a platform where people share honest reviews on different products. It is also a community where members ask and answer product questions, post photos, and share articles about new products.
A Voxbox is a free box that is filled with products and sent to Influenster members for their review. Products are often from beauty brands such as L’Oréal, Dermalogica, BECCA Cosmetics, and more! Members share their feedback on products and share their experience with their followers on social media. You can think of a Voxbox like you would a subscription box service, such as Birchbox, with the exception that Voxboxes are free, and limited to members that Influenster chooses. Influenster also hosts #contests sometimes when it comes to these Voxboxes. While VoxBoxes are limited, there are certain ways to boost chances of receiving one.
What I do to Receive VoxBoxes
The steps that I have taken to receive VoxBoxes are:
- I have completely filled out my Influenster profile
- I have connected all my social accounts to Influenster
- I respond to all pre-surveys that Influenster sends as quickly as possible
- I share the products I have received on Instagram
- I answer Influenster’s final survey
My #1 tip to receive a VoxBox is to connect all social media accounts and respond to the pre-surveys as soon as you get them in your inbox. The higher your social impact score, the higher the chance is that you’ll receive a VoxBox. There are many other things you can do to increase your social impact score, but so far I’ve only connected my social media accounts and shared my feedback on products through my social channels. Do not feel discouraged if you don’t have a large social media following because you can always do tasks like inviting friends or earning badges. I myself don’t have a large impact score but I have received three VoxBoxes in a span of a few months.
My Favorites
Below I have listed some of my favorite products that I received for free from my Influenster Voxboxes.
- Ouidad Shampoo & Conditioner– This is my #1 shampoo and conditioner combo. I would actually say that these two combined are my favorite products I’ve ever used. This completely changed my hair. This product makes my hair soft, it has an amazing scent, and it feels luxurious overall.
- BrowFood Aqua Brow Powder+ Pencil Duo– This is one of my favorite brow products. Brow Food works extremely well for achieving both a natural or dramatic brow look. Unfortunately, this product was not my correct shade, but my mother swears by it.
- Marc Jacobs Le Marc Liquid Lip Crayon– This#LeMarc Liquid Lip Crayon by Marc Beauty is super pigmented and creamy. With minimal food or drink, the lipstick will last you perfectly for a few hours. I am a big fan of the formula, but I am personally not fond of the metallic finish.
- Aquis Lisse Luxe Hair Turban– I love the Aquis turban! I’ve had many of these turbans before, but this one is my favorite. It fits my head perfectly, and holds my long hair without fail. However, at one third of the price, the Turbie Twist does the trick just fine!
Is Influenster Worth it?
If answering whether or not I recommend Influenster, I would say yes! Influenster is a great way for anyone, not just bloggers, to try new products and share their thoughts with friends or readers. With the occasional exception, I do not personally support unpaid partnerships with companies. Influenster is one of these exceptions. I think Influenster is worth it for multiple reasons:
- They have created a community where people with all different levels of following can come together and share their opinions on products
- Influenster does not require you, key word require, to make certain type of posts. If you want to make an Instagram story on the products, then you can. If you want to write a blog post then you can. If you don’t want to do either of those, but you prefer to post on your Facebook, then you can. Influenster gives you the freedom to share your products in a multitude of ways, and when you are not being paid to produce content, this is exactly the type of freedom you want and deserve.
- Lastly, let’s be real, trying out a bunch of different products is fun, cool, and can help you produce great content.
If you have any questions, leave it in the comments section below. If you want to sign up, you can use my link here!
*Affiliate links may be used.
Thanks for sharing, I was unclear what Voxbox was, i will be looking it up later on today!
Author
Hey Sarai! Sorry for the confusion. You can think of a Voxbox like you would a subscription box service, such as Birchbox, with the exception that Voxboxes are free, and limited to members that Influenster chooses.
Totally going to check this out! Thanks for all the tips 🙂
This sounds really cool, I hadn’t heard of it before but will definitely check it out. I really like that you can choose which platform you’d like to share. It makes more sense to me because some things are more naturally shared on one platform versus another, and that way influencers don’t feel forced or come off that way when posting. Thanks for sharing!
I love getting free products from Influenster. I mostly get high end stuff which is amazing.
How does it work? I saw review on Sephora a lot of people received Jlo’s full bottle of glow from Influenster that’s why they left the review
Influenster was one of my favorite platforms when I first started out blogging because it’s totally free and a great way to generate new content for your site! xo, Brittany | http://www.theblistblog.com
I love Influenster. Most of my boxes are a hit and those that I’m not feeling, my friends love the products or a donate them to a local shelter.
Do you have to include the estimated costs of the free products on your income taxes? I read that when you receive free products and have to do a review of some sort in return the IRS considers it “Barter and Exchange” and has to be included in taxes (you are paid by product not cash). Have you had to do that?i I just wanted to make sure before I let my daughter sign up on Influenster. Do you have to give birth date or social security numbers when signing up?
I’m just a cautious mom and don’t want any unexpected hiccups down the road.
Author
Hey Debbie! My accountant usually handles my taxes so I am not sure about that. I do however know that when signing up, you don’t give your social security number (that would make me uncomfortable!) but I believe they do ask for a birth date. I think the birth date has to do more with making sure you fit the target market for the product, but that is just my suspicion. I would definitely suggest emailing their team for more info!
I just signed up today, and I posted a review and can’t log back in. I contacted Influenster and I’m waiting to hear from them. However, thanks for the info. I didn’t even know what voxbox was until I read this article. So, when I’m able to get back into my account, I’ll find out how to get it.
Author
Happy I could help. Hope you get back in soon! 🙂
Hi Daisi,
Thanks for your review. I joined Influenster about a week ago and it has been a fun experience so far. I just got an email from them yesterday to say that I am on the short list for a Voxbox. I answered all of the questions and replied asap. I am a member of many other survey sites and this one just seemed like it would be a blast so I joined. I hope to get a Voxbox some day but if not – it was fun trying.
Thanks again and Happy New Year!
Hi – thanks for this review on Influenster! I recently signed up and am trying to create my profile, complete surveys, etc. I “THINK” I have my first VoxBox on the way, but not entirely sure lol.
QQ regarding the Instagram posts – I opted in to a few VoxBox’s that require a post on Instagram. Can I post (and make the appropriate tags) in a story? Or does it have to be a legit post? Thanks!
Influenster keeps pushing many surveys on you but at the end you may not get selected for their free perks program. They just found out a very sneaky way of collecting data from consumers.
Thanks for the great review! I just created an Influenster account. Would love to follow – what’s your handle?
The problem now with this site us unless you are pretty and I your 20s, you will not get high end makeup. It’s been a growing trend. I’m 44 and have done all of the things required asap. Spent hours a day on there reviewing my own purchases and past purchases, and so far I got 1 box to tome my hair, a tiny sample of a skin serum, and pop rocks that my autistic son will not eat, and I couldn’t opt out of it. Its got millions of people on it now so it’s next to impossible to get the product type you are talking about, unless you are young and pretty. I’ve seen it, I’ve researched it. And its just facts. That’s all. It’s very hard work. Dont get me wrong . I appreciate free samples. But I had to work really hard to get the few I got.
I joined probably back in 2016 and have participated in the surveys pretty consistently over the years. I have gotten some fantastic products but it’s so inconsistent. Now they are pushing the Cash-back campaigns. I have had trouble with these. There are glitches and I’m not sure I’ll be refunded for the last one I participated in. The concept of Influenster is great and there are definitely opportunities to get some cool products but it’s not likely or consistent.
Author
Hi Shanee, I’m sorry to hear about your experience! This post is from a few years back, so I’m sure things may be different now. I. hope you receive a better box soon, I’m rooting for you!