Allure Sample Society Beauty Box Review, November 2014 + $5 Discount Code!

Allure Sample Society's brilliant red box is designed to get your attention and it does a very good job of that. Unfortunately, the box is the best part of November's shipment. I'd say this month's assortment of five sample size items is lackluster at best.  But it would be disingenuous to review only the best boxes, so here goes.

Sample Society does deserve credit for one of the best beauty box information cards; it's actually a mini magazine published by the editors of Allure magazine.  It gives big color photos of each item, tell what it is and what it does, provides an ingredient list, then adds "why we like it" comments plus the full sized retail price.

The first item is a one ounce sample of Bergamot Body Wash by Malin + Goetz. Without beauty sub boxes, I would never have heard of this brand but as it is, I've received a lot of M+G samples over the past year.  This lathers well and has a nice citrusy orange scent but there is so little here that it won't last for more than three or four uses. At a retail price of $18 for 8 oz. or $32 for 16 oz., this is a product I wouldn't purchase in the full size.

I'm guessing that a lot of beauty box subscribers don't consider fragrance samples to be a valuable inclusion since they are so easily available for free elsewhere.  This little sample vial is "Reveal" by Calvin Klein. After reading the description, I didn't think I'd like this because it has some musky, woodsy masculine components. Somehow, they feminized it by adding a bit of a powdery top note (not too dissimilar from baby powder) that makes it o.k.  I do like the tiny spritz top on this sample!

The name of this next one is a bit intimidating...Alterna's Caviar Anti-Aging Omega+ Nourishing Oil.  The description says that it "moisturizes, softens and strengthens dry, overprocessed or otherwise wrecked hair".  There is very little here--only .2 oz.--but since it's an oil and I have short hair, a little should go a long way.

There is a half size sample of Lorac's Cobra Mascara...as always, in black, black, black! (I know why they do that but it would be nice to get another color in a mascara sample for a change.) This is a curling, lengthening and volumizing mascara that contains keratin and Vitamin E, so it's good for conditioning lashes.  The brush actually has the shape of a cobra's head...diamond shaped and slightly curved!  This is quite a wet mascara and a bit tricky to work with but it does result in long, glossy-looking lashes.

The last sample is an oil-free mineral-based BB cream from MD Solar Sciences.  The one I received is in the Light/Medium shade but there is so little here (.17 oz.) that I don't expect it to last long.  I do like that it contains SPF 50 since I don't leave the house without sunscreen on my face. This has a light matte finish and is full of antioxidants.  At $39 for the full size, again it's more than I would pay.

Maybe Sample Society is just having an off month; I certainly hope so.  It could be that beauty sample options become more limited near the end of the year...whatever, there is a distinct "blah" feel to this box. The only semi winner for me is the Lorac mascara and even that is less than exciting because it's yet another black mascara. Let's hope that next month's box will bring a more inspired group of products with some that we haven't seen before.  

The Sample Society box is $15 a month. This includes a $10 gift code that can be used with a $50 purchase on BeautyBar. Lately, my boxes have not included a card with the code, but it is available under your account name on their site.

To be fair, Sample Society has sent some GREAT items in the past few months' boxes. (The full size Restorsea Eye Cream in September's box comes immediately to mind.)  If you'd like to try them out, use code 5FORYOU to get $5.00 off your first box. Also, you can use my referral 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.)    

Thanks for reading,

Cheryl

use code: CBLA1620

Excludes existing customers of BeautyBar.com, AfterSchool.com, Wag.com or other Quidsi sites. Restrictions apply.