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Allure Sample Society
Cost: $15/month
Ships To: Continental US.
Coupon Code: “5FORYOU” to save $5 off your first box.
Sample Society, which arrived here this afternoon, 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 always takes just a few days to arrive. It arrives in a box that is slightly bigger than a Birchbox. I should save all the boxes I receive for a month and take some comparison pictures!
The first look wasn’t overly impressive. Lots of great brands, but the samples seemed small.
The April 2015 Sample Society included the following products to test out that are currently loved by Allure’s Beauty Editor:
~Benefit Cosmetics the POREfessional ($4.13): I love this product. It goes on smoothly and really works to hide pores. You can wear it over or under makeup too so if you decide you need a little extra coverage after foundation or BB cream this will do it.
~Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil VOC ($0.78): I am so bummed that this sample size isn’t larger! I tested this oil immediately and it made my hair much shinier and silkier. It smells amazing as well. The information booklet describes it as a mixture of gardenia and coconut. I am going to have to grab the full-size of this. It’s just that good.
~Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Fragrance ($1.79): This is described as an “airy floral fragrance” and has notes of blackberry, grapefruit, pear, jasmine, lychee. blue wisteria, white woods, musk and coconut water. I think it was just a little too floral for me. I thought it lightened up during the dry-down, but still not enough for me to love it.
~Mt. Sapola Lavender-Chamomile Lotion ($1.96): I liked the actual lotion itself, but wow, the scent is STRONG. The information card says the scent is “no joke” and I agree. I can maybe handle this as a hand lotion, but as an all over body lotion? No way.
~Illume Tonka Noir Tin ($3.15): Tonka Noir is a “warm, sensual floral”. It’s a gorgeous scent and smells very rich and maybe even a little sexy.
~Jane Iredale Rio Just Kissed Lip Plumper ($5):I am not a big fan of lipstick in general, so this is just kind of there for me. I’ll give it to my SIL (who loves lipstick) and to use and enjoy.
All totaled I came up with an (estimated) value of $16.81 for the April 2015 Sample Society. Sure it’s more than the $15/month cost of the box, but it’s much less than the “normal” value this box products. Had a few of these samples been a little larger (my picks would have been a larger candle, more hair oil and a larger size of the POREfessional) I would be much happier with this box. This month’s box reminded me of a Birchbox, except it was $5 more and we don’t get any points for reviewing the products.
Did you get Sample Society this month? What’d you think of the box? If you are interested in signing up or just want to learn more, click here and use the coupon code “5FORYOU” to save $5 off your first box!
The samples were very tiny. This is about the time i cancel my sub only to find out the next box has a high value and full sized items :/ on the bright side that bumble and bumble hair oil was by far the most amaxing oil i ever tried and i went on Sephora and ordered a full size. Amazing
I immediately canceled after receiving this box. The samples were all microscopic and there are just too many better boxes for the same price.
I was super disappointed this month. I love the porefessional but that is the same size I received in Birchbox months ago. I thought the hair oil was going to be a deluxe size! When I first opened the box, I thought it was perfume. I’m never a fan of receiving perfume samples like the Marc Jacobs one here. The body lotion was so strong that I could smell it before I even opened the box. Last month was great so I hope this is just a one off month for SS but if it remains like this, I’m dropping this one. I’d rather put that $15 towards a better box.
I held off ordering the box even though I liked the spoilers. This is one sad box. It had the potential to be great. I can’t get over how small the sample sizes are in relation to the box.
I was really excited for this box until i saw the size of the oil sample. I think if it would have been a deluxe size I would have been very happy with the box. I can let the perfume slide because it seemed like an extra since there were 6 items, but the size of the oil bummed me out! I have long, thick hair so I will only get one, maybe two uses.
So disappointed in this box. I went ahead and cancelled. They advertise 5 deluxe size samples and did not deliver. I would rather get a extra Birchbox for $10.
I’m really disappointed in this month’s Sample Society box. The samples are tiny and some are so highly scented that they are offensive. There is nothing in this box that I would buy except for the Bumble and Bumble hair oil. You get better samples free from Nordstrom when you order makeup. I loved everything in the March box so I can’t be totally disappointed in the program. Come on Allure! You can do better than what you put in this April box!
This was my first sample society and looks like the last! I got it with the $5 off promo and still feel cheated. Have yet to try anything. Maybe I’ll give it one more month but really disappointed now
Count me among the disappointed. The hair oil sample was so tiny that it will barely make one use for my thick hair. And the lip plumper was So small! Plus I have only found one perfume that doesn’t give me migraines, Demeter’s Pure Soap, so I won’t even be trying the scant sample. I know that’s a personal preference, but still I was disappointed. Definitely not what I was expecting for my second month with them.