Lone Star Shopper: Allure Sample Society Beauty Box Review, September 2014 + $5 Discount Code!

Can you imagine the flood of cosmetics that must cross the average beauty editor's desk each month? That's got to rank right up there in the list of world's greatest jobs! We can't all be beauty editors but we can benefit from their access to the latest products through the Sample Society subscription box, which is curated by the editors of Allure magazine.

Sample Society's monthly box contains five deluxe sized beauty samples with occasional full sizes. The box generally has a great mix of skin, hair, makeup and fragrance products plus a mini magazine that contains extensive information and how-to tips about each product. Every box also contains a $10 gift card that can be redeemed for any purchase of $50 or more at BeautyBar.com. (My September box didn't actually include this card but I found that the code was available under the "My Account" tab on BeautyBar's site.)
Allure's Sample Society box costs $15 + tax each month. You can cancel at any time. The $10 gift code expires 30 days after your box is shipped each month. (Unfortunately, that means the gift codes are not cumulative.)
Sample Society recently re-vamped their entire service and one of the benefits is their sleek new packaging...a glossy red box. As any beauty addict knows, packaging does count!

Inside the September box are four luxury samples and one full size product, whose inclusion you might have guessed if you read my last review.

As always, there is a little magazine put together by Allure's beauty team that pictures and tells all about each product. This is quite helpful, particularly with products you may not have tried before.

The holy grail in this box is the full size (.5 oz.) Restorsea Revitalizing Eye Cream, which retails for a whopping $85. The chance to try an expensive product that otherwise would have languished on the department store shelf due to its high price....Ladies, this is why we subscribe to monthly beauty boxes! The fact that it's an eye cream makes this even better. Not only does this product pay for the box; it probably pays for the next four as well. O.K., I'll stop gushing but as you can probably tell, I am thrilled to get this item....thank you Allure!

Now that I've calmed down, Restorsea is a deeply moisturizing, anti-aging eye cream that is safe for sensitive skin and eyes and for contact lens wearers. It reduces fine lines and crow's feet and disguises crepiness. It is a very lightweight odorless white cream that spreads and absorbs beautifully. Although the container is quite small, very little product is needed for each application so I expect this to last a long time.

The Restorsea is a VERY hard act to follow but the next item is a 1.35 fl. oz. sample of Re-Texturizing Protein Cream by Alterna Caviar Repairx. This is a leave-in conditioner (another favorite product of mine) specifically formulated for dry, puffy and/or damaged hair. This moisturizes and smooths hair cuticles and I think will be particularly effective with thick, coarse hair. It has a light citrus scent and there's enough here for probably seven or eight applications, depending on how much is used at a time. Full size retail $35.

As I've said before, I don't really care much for fragrance samples. They are too easy to get for free in stores and I tend to reach for my full size perfume bottles when I want to use scent. But, the beneficial glow of my Restorsea high shall benefit my review of this product! The first word that popped into my head when I spritzed a tiny amount of Givenchy's Dahlia Divin Eau de Parfum on my wrist was "expensive". This has notes of jasmine, patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver and Mirabelle plum. I would describe it as a complicated medium-strength and very elegant scent. Full size retail $65 and up.

I am completely unfamiliar with self tanning towelettes so will have to reserve judgment until I have a chance to try these Tarte Brazilliance tanning wipes. They are said to deliver a natural-looking bronze in a matter of hours without the smell. Of course, smell is an issue with a product that is applied right under the nose so the lack of scent is supposed to be a big benefit of this product. We'll see. At $9 retail for a box of three of these, they better work!

The final product in September's box is a deluxe sample (.17 oz.) of Lorac's Porefection Mattifying Face Primer. I'm a little skeptical about face primers in general. Unless you are serious about makeup, I'm guessing face primers are a step that many women skip. The premise is that a primer should hold face makeup in place, particularly in stressful environmental conditions like heat and humidity. This is a clear gel that contains salicylic acid (always a good thing) and antioxidant vitamins. I'd say there is enough product here for several applications. Full size retail $32.

Well, it should be obvious that the Restorsea Eye Cream is the HUGE winner in this box. I hope that Allure will continue to provide full size high end products with such broad appeal in the Sample Society boxes. In general, I have been quite impressed with their re-engineered boxes and can't wait to see what comes next!

If you would like to try Sample Society, use code 5FORYOU to get $5.00 off your first box. Also, you can use my refer-a-friend code CBLA1620 to get 20% off your first order on any of the extensive Beauty Bar family of brands, which can be seen in tabs across the top when you go to their site. (Since you already get a $10 discount code with each Sample Society box, this code will not work on BeautyBar.com.)

Don't forget to subscribe to this blog to get the latest subscription box reviews and discount codes!

Thanks for reading,

Cheryl

use code: CBLA1620

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