--- title: "Birchbox vs Cult Beauty: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is Birchbox or Cult Beauty more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Beauty boxes set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/birchbox-vs-cult-beauty" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Birchbox vs Cult Beauty: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom? Is Birchbox or Cult Beauty more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Beauty boxes set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Birchbox and Cult Beauty - **Competitive set**: Beauty boxes - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Birchbox Share of Search**: 3.1% - **Cult Beauty Share of Search**: 1.8% ## Is Birchbox or Cult Beauty more popular in search? - In September 2026, Birchbox had more branded searches than Cult Beauty among beauty boxes in the United Kingdom. Birchbox had about 1,300 branded searches, while Cult Beauty had 750. Birchbox made up 3.1% of all beauty box searches we track, and Cult Beauty accounted for 1.8%. - The lead changed hands 6 times in the 12 months ending September 2026: Cult Beauty took it in December 2025, Birchbox took it in January 2026, Cult Beauty took it in February 2026, Birchbox took it in March 2026, Cult Beauty took it in May 2026, Birchbox took it in August 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Birchbox’s share of searches among beauty boxes in the United Kingdom moved from 2.5% to 3.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.6K to 1.3K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Cult Beauty’s share of searches among beauty boxes in the United Kingdom moved from 1.5% to 1.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 970 to 750. ## Top beauty boxes in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Cult Beauty was mentioned in one out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Birchbox did not appear in any of the five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Lookfantastic | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | GLOSSYBOX | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Boots | 3rd | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Next | 4th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Cult Beauty | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Liberty London | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Latest in Beauty | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | M&S | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Birchbox | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | John Lewis | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about beauty boxes - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best beauty subscription box in the UK?": 1. GLOSSYBOX, 2. Lookfantastic, 3. Cult Beauty, 4. Liberty London - Asked ChatGPT "Which beauty box is worth the money?": 1. GLOSSYBOX, 2. Lookfantastic - Asked ChatGPT "What's a good beauty box to give as a gift?": 1. Lookfantastic, 2. Boots - Searched Google, AI Overview "beauty box": 1. Boots, 2. Next, 3. Lookfantastic, 4. GLOSSYBOX - Searched Google, AI Overview "beauty boxes uk": 1. Lookfantastic, 2. GLOSSYBOX, 3. Boots, 4. Next, 5. Latest in Beauty Not named in any answer: M&S, Birchbox and John Lewis. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 28, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom beauty boxes in September 2026? - In September 2026, Liberty London overtook Cult Beauty to rank 8th among beauty boxes in the United Kingdom, with 3.1% of the searches. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Cult Beauty in the United Kingdom fell 22.7% over 12 measured months, from 970 to 750 in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Birchbox in the United Kingdom fell 18.8% over 12 measured months, from 1.6K to 1.3K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Birchbox estimated searches | Birchbox Share of Search | Birchbox rank | Cult Beauty estimated searches | Cult Beauty Share of Search | Cult Beauty rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.6K | 2.5% | 7 | 970 | 1.5% | 10 | | Nov 2025 | 1.6K | 2.4% | 7 | 1.2K | 1.7% | 8 | | Dec 2025 | 1.3K | 2.3% | 8 | 1.6K | 2.9% | 7 | | Jan 2026 | 1.6K | 3.3% | 7 | 970 | 2% | 9 | | Feb 2026 | 1.3K | 3.2% | 8 | 1.4K | 3.5% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | 1.3K | 2.6% | 7 | 1.1K | 2.1% | 9 | | Apr 2026 | 1K | 2.6% | 7 | 950 | 2.5% | 10 | | May 2026 | 1K | 1.7% | 9 | 1.4K | 2.3% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | 1K | 2.2% | 9 | 1K | 2.3% | 8 | | Jul 2026 | 880 | 2% | 9 | 1.1K | 2.4% | 8 | | Aug 2026 | 1.3K | 2.7% | 7 | 1.1K | 2.2% | 8 | | Sep 2026 | 1.3K | 3.1% | 7 | 750 | 1.8% | 9 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Birchbox’s and Cult Beauty’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Birchbox**: Measured on the search term “birchbox”. - **Cult Beauty**: Measured on the search terms “cult beauty box” and “cult beauty goody bag”, summed into one figure. - [Birchbox profile](/demand/uk/brands/birchbox) - [Cult Beauty profile](/demand/uk/brands/cult-beauty) - [All beauty boxes in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-beauty-boxes): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Birchbox or Cult Beauty more popular in search? In September 2026, Birchbox had more branded searches than Cult Beauty among beauty boxes in the United Kingdom. Birchbox had about 1,300 branded searches, while Cult Beauty had 750. Birchbox made up 3.1% of all beauty box searches we track, and Cult Beauty accounted for 1.8%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Birchbox vs Cult Beauty: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/birchbox-vs-cult-beauty This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/birchbox-vs-cult-beauty. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.