What if everyone had a friend who was a beauty editor—someone to sort through the gazillion products and tell you not just what’s best, but what's best for you and how to use it?

That was the inspiration for Birchbox.com, a company that sends four to five deluxe, curated samples to members, who pay $10 per month and can, of course, buy full-size version of any products they like. Subscriptions and product sales will earn the company over $7 million in revenue this year. read more