Allure Sample Society December 2014 Review

purchased affiliate linksAs you might have noticed, I skipped a few months by pausing my subscription. Truth is, the spoilers just didn’t wow me, and that $15 could be better spent on something I knew I would love. Since I didn’t spend that much money on Memeboxes [my newest obsession] in November, I decided to give Sample Society another shot and subscribed just in time to receive their December box, and I’m so glad I did. Take a look at these amazing samples Allure curators chose for us this month.

HOW IT WORKS
For $15/month Sample Society will send its members 5 deluxe-sized samples from beauty brands like stila, Murad, Sisley, Alterna, Butter London, and Too Faced, and a $10 off $50 monthly discount code to BeautyBar.com. As a bonus all new members receive a complimentary one-year subscription to Allure magazine (a $12.00 value). There is no official word about that anywhere, but the magazine just randomly shows up in your mailbox one day. Click here to join Sample Society. You can also buy some of the past boxes here.

Burberry Fresh Glow Luminous Fluid Base – Yes, you read that right, we actually got Burberry makeup, how fancy is that? It’s described as a luminous base for foundation, sort of like a marriage between a primer and a highlighter, that’s designed to give your complexion that glow from within look. It comes in two shades – Nude Radiance for fair and medium skin tones and Golden Radiance for deep skin tones, and as far as I know, everyone received the former. So what does it look like, you might be wondering? Well, it feels cool on the skin, and looks a little shimmery, but not like disco ball shimmer. These have to be the finest shimmers I’ve seen in a highlighter, and they don’t look juvenile at all. I really like this thing, and might even pick up the full size because the price point isn’t as scary as I thought it would be, considering it’s Burberry and everything.

Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Hand Therapy – I heard a lot of good things about C&E hand creams and how they are comparable to my favorites from L’Occitane , but never had a chance to try one before. It’s the perfect size for my purse, and I know I’ll use it up for sure, since I go through hand creams like they’re going out of style. So far I tried Hand Therapy once, and it does indeed feel nice and hydrating. The fragrance reminds me of just about any ocean-scented candle out there, definitely fake but not unpleasant.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Gel – Advanced Night repair line received a lot of praise in the beauty world, and I even tried their serum a few times, but not the eye cream. The sample itself is cute as a button, I just love that tiny little jar. I tried it nice, but it felt a bit too rich for my oily lids, so I think I’ll pass it on to my mom who loves EL products.

Butter London LIPPY Tinted Balm Mush – As much as I love lipsticks and lip glosses, I’m a tinted lip balm kind of girl. Sample Society sent these in several colors and I got what appears to be the least desirable one, at least judging from other people’s reactions to it. I don’t know, I actually think it’s quite pretty. It’s what I’d call a solid Fall/Winter coral, because it’s kind of muted down and doesn’t stand out too much, while still providing a soft hint of color. Makeup Files has a beautiful swatch of it here.

RGB Cosmetics Nail Lacquer Oxblood – Our final December sample is a nice jelly nail polish in classic Fall/Winter black cherry color. I’ve accumulated a solid stash of similar shades, so maybe I’ll do a comparison post soon-ish. RGB formulas can be a hit and a miss, and this one is leaning towards miss. It looks opaque in the bottle, but it’s actually quite sheer, even for a jelly, and a bit too thin. I do like the color though, so I’ll use it anyway.

THE VERDICT
December Sample Society box was rock solid, and the curators did a very good job selecting products for different parts of the body so it doesn’t feel skincare-heavy or makeup-heavy. For now I decided to stay on board for January in hopes for another fantastic round of samples.

Product	Retail value
Burberry Fresh Glow Luminous Fluid Base	$8.16
Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Hand Therapy	$8.00
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Gel	$19.72
Butter London LIPPY Tinted Balm	$20.00
RGB Cosmetics Nail Lacquer	$18.00
Box Retail Value	$73.88

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