Monday, January 12, 2015

Beauty Box Five January 2015 Review + FREE Box Code!

The least expensive beauty subscription box that I know about is Beauty Box Five. On a monthly basis, there are cheaper boxes but if you sign up for a year, BB5 is only $8.25 per month.  (I'm not counting the Target and Walmart boxes since those are basically just negotiated ad placements.)  Beauty Box Five sends five hand-picked items each month that come from the wide range of cosmetic, hair and skincare brands shown on their site. Products from those brands are also available individually through their on-line store.  Their brands are mostly drug store quality with a few niche, eco-conscious, vegan and higher end names mixed in.

The cost to subscribe on a monthly basis is $12, $30 if you pre-pay for a quarter and $99 for a year. Sign up by the 21st to get the current month's box. Sign up after the 21st and you'll get the next month's box. There is no additional cost for shipping and you can cancel at any time.

Unlike some of the more expensive beauty boxes, BB5's packaging is basic. Each month, you get a small branded green box with five items packed snugly in crinkle shreds.




January's box contained a good mix--a nail product, a body product, a hair product and two cosmetics.  This time, there are four luxury sample sizes and one full size product.



In keeping with the simple presentation, there is an information card with small photos, brief descriptions and retail prices on one side.




The first item is an eyeshadow sample palette from Coastal Scents.  This photo really does not do justice to these colors; they are MUCH bolder and richer than they look here.  On the top row from left to right, the shades are called Mimosa and Deep Cantaloupe.  The second row left to right contains Bright Tangerine and Volcanic Blast.  These are absolutely gorgeous highly pigmented shades but I can't imagine wearing any of them on the eyes, except as tiny accents.  I'm going to try using the bottom two for cheek color, possibly with a bit of the Deep Cantaloupe mixed in.




Next is a travel size (1.7 oz.) sample of Garnier Fructis' Daily Care Fortifying Shampoo for Normal hair.  I'm always glad to get hair products but I really wish they'd included the matching conditioner with this.



The one full size product in this month's box is a package of nail polish strips from Sally Hansen. These are the peel and stick kind that require no drying time and last up to ten days.  There are 16 strips, a cuticle stick, mini file and buffer in this package. (I've never used these before so don't know what I'm talking about, but shouldn't there be 20 strips in a box?) The design I received is called "Misbehaved" and it looks like tiny black fishnet on a glittery gold background.  These are pretty but too over the top for me.




There is a mascara sample from Ultraflesh, a brand I've never encountered before. This one is called "The Gold Standard" and is in the shade Blackout.  The card says this is an "amped up mascara" that produces dramatic, thicker lashes.




The final product is a sample of Nutri Serums Vitamin E Body Wash from Softsoap. This is cool to look at because the transparent clear liquid contains tiny suspended "pearls" that do not move when you shake the bottle. (It doesn't have the orangey tint that my camera added in the photo.)  This is a richly moisturizing soap with a fresh scent.  It contains Vitamin E for hydration and Omegas 3 and 6 to help skin retain moisture.




I just realized that the TSA would approve of everything in this box!  So I may set aside the soap and the shampoo for travel purposes.  I'm intrigued enough with the Coastal Scents palette to try to find some way (aside from eyeshadow) to use those beautiful colors and any sample size mascara gets used around here. The nail strips will probably be gifted or traded. This is not BB5's best box ever but the items are all useful and nothing will go to waste.


If you're interested in trying Beauty Box Five, use code FREEBOXME or FREEBOX1 to get a free box along with the first box in your order.  I believe these codes will work for any length subscription.

Thank you for reading,


Cheryl


Disclosure:  Views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly my own.  Product discussed in this post was purchased with my own money. Post does not contain referral or affiliate links.

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