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Allure Sample Society
Cost: $15/month
Ships To: Continental US.
Coupon Code: N/A

My October 2014 Sample Society arrived yesterday. It seems like the boxes are coming in at a steady stream this month instead of all at once like usual.

If you aren’t familiar with them, Sample Society is the brainchild of the editors of Allure Magazine. Each month they select a curated mix of five deluxe skin, hair, makeup and fragrance samples and deliver them to your door. Your subscription also includes a coupon for $10 off $50 a BeautyBar purchase each month and an Allure penned “mini-magazine” which gives you the details on all the samples.

Sample Society ships via UPS and generally takes two days to arrive to me.  They are one of the few (maybe the only) box to ship via UPS and I love it.

Sample Society‘s boxes (the actual box itself) are probably my second favorite boxes.  They also make great boxes to make your own boxes for friends or use as gift boxes during the holidays.

I had checked the spoilers for this so I knew what to expect.  Well I thought I knew what to expect anyway. 😉

The October 2014 Allure Sample Society Box included the following items:

~Estee Lauder Enlighten Dark Spot Correcting Night Serum ($14.47): Ahh, where to begin.  Sample Society revealed that this item would be in this month’s box in one of their early spoilers.  However, they announced that it would be a full-sized 30mL sample with a retail value of $62.  A week or so later, they announced that it would be”slightly less” than that.  Turns out it is a 7mL sample which is a TON less.  Needless to say there were a lot of unhappy people on their Facebook wall because some people subscribed based on the spoiler they released.  As for me, I am still excited to try it and would have gotten the box either way, so I am less disappointed (but also less excited about this box).  However, if I signed up for this box just for the serum, I doubt I would be too happy.

~Bond No. 9 (High Line) ($6.80): This scent is amazing!  Seriously incredible. If a bottle didn’t cost $200, I might consider buying one ;).  The information card kind of makes it seem like we are getting all three scents (High Line, Chelsea Flowers and Chinatown), but it appears we are getting just one of the three.

~L’Oreal Paris Advanced Haircare Total Repair 5 Restoring Shampoo ($0.97) and Conditioner ($0.97): Am I excited by this?  No.  Would I have ended up buying it eventually on my own anyway?  Yes, I probably would have!  I typically use drugstore shampoo and conditioner and love to try out new stuff when I see it.  But still, it doesn’t really add a crazy value to the box.

~Emi Jay Hair Ties ($6.60): Again, not a super exciting or “wow” item, but I love hair ties and use them every single day.

~Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara (Black) ($16.80): Fabulous!  It lengthens nicely and is super easy to apply.  Also, it’s from a brand you rarely receive in subscription boxes.  I don’t know if I have ever gotten it in a box actually? I would love to see Bobbi Brown more often!

All totaled I came up with a value of $46.61 for the October 2014 Sample Society box.  The box is $15/month, so even though the serum wasn’t full sized, it was still a great value.  However, I wasn’t wowed by it.  I’m sure it’s because I thought the serum was going to be full sized and the value would be crazy amazing instead of just great.

Did you get Sample Society this month?  What’d you think and which variations did you receive?  If you are interested in signing up or just want to learn more, click here!