Today I wanted to share my slightly belated review of July Sample Society box. I could have posted it much sooner, but I figured there’s no rush since I won’t be reviewing another one for a while. I decided to temporarily [or permanently, we’ll see] cancel my membership, but not because I didn’t like the products or the service. I just wanted to clarify that so you guys don’t get the wrong idea, because Allure team does a wonderful job curating these! I am just feeling overwhelmed with products lately, and it seems unwise to keep spending my money for more stuff, especially skin care, that we see quite often in these boxes. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the contents!
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. Click here to join Sample Society. You can also buy some of the past boxes here.
In case you forgot, July was the first month after Sample Society transferred shipping and handling of the boxes from BeautyBar to Allure, and now we have a different landing page. Canceling your subscription is now slightly more of a hassle, because you have to email or call Customer Service instead of simply pushing a button in your dashboard. I really hope Allure adds that option in the future, because it took almost two weeks for my request to go through, which is longer than I am comfortable with.
Just like last month, our July box contained six products instead of the usual five. The first product in the box I tried was Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Inivible Oil Heat/UV Protective Primer. What a long name! In a nutshell, this is a pre-style product that is designed to protect your strands from heat and UV rays. If like me you have fine hair, use this baby sparingly – it’s highly concentrated! I found that I needed 4-5 spritzes for the entire length of my hair to get the perfect amount of gloss without weighing it down.
I adore this brand, so when I saw Supergoop Defense Refresh Setting Mist Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF50 in the box, I was absolutely thrilled to give it a shot! Unfortunately, something in the formula makes my face sting like crazy [it straight up hurts and turns red, and not the “little tingle” kind of sensation] after the application – it’s definitely not the “fresh” feeling I was hoping for. I tried almost all Supergoop products released to date, and this is the first one that my skin hated [I can’t bring myself to say that *I* hated it, because I still want to love it – brand loyalty is a weird thing]. So yeah, kind of a bummer, and I totally envy those of you who could make this work. I think my skin is just too sensitive to rosemary oil, because this wouldn’t be the first time it reacted this way to that ingredient, but I was still hoping that Supergoop somehow magically made it different. Oh well, you win some you lose some.
Next up we have Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum Synchronized Complex II, a new anti-aging serum formulated specifically for the eye area. Eye creams are usually richer and more potent than facial moisturizers, because the skin in that area is very thin and needs extra TLC. I once tried using an eye cream all-over my face, and my pores got plugged like it’s nobody’s business, so don’t do that 🙂 Anyhow, this serum is supposed to be used overnight to address pretty much all of the skin’s concerns – dryness, puffiness, dark circles, wrinkles, fine lines, uneven skin tone, yadda yadda… It felt comfortable and balmy on the lids, but I don’t think it’s a game changer for me personally. It’s highly unlikely that I will purchase the full size, but I’ll finish the sample for sure.
Allure sent us not one, but two Estee Lauder products! Sumptuous Infinite Daring Length + Volume Mascara has an elongated plastic wand with bristles that really brush the lashes, preventing clumps and making them look like perfect falsies. It’s a great mascara, you guys! I seriously liked it from the first use, and it didn’t smudge or melt, and I wore it in a very humid environment, plus I have oily eyelids. That’s a winner right there, and I definitely recommend trying it out if you are looking for a higher end mascara!
Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray is kind of a necessity for me when it’s hot outside, because even though my hair is not normally oily, my scalp tends to sweat a lot. I usually go for Klorane dry shampoos, because they’re nice and not too expensive, but it’s great to try a high end one. It’s certainly a fancy product, and it feels expensive, but not sure I can justify paying the price premium for a spray that I will use up in 1-2 weeks. It’s pretty nice though! I didn’t notice any white cast, and it even gave my hair some texture and volume at the roots.
Finally, I received a little hair accessory called Invisibobble. What a cute idea! It’s a swirly-spiraly hair tie, shaped sort of like an old school phone cord [yes kids, phones used to have cords back when granny Anastasia was young lol]. The design makes it invisible in your hair, while eliminating the snags and the ridges, but I was worried that it won’t hold my fine hair as well as a standard hair tie. It was definitely not enough, so I needed two loops, and it was still a little loose. I think this is a great accessory for people with normal or thick hair, but unfortunately it didn’t do much for my fine locks. Love the design though!
THE VERDICT: This box was well-rounded, and contained some exciting samples, but it was definitely hair-centered, since we got a dry shampoo, a pre-styling product, and a hair tie. I think I was most excited to discover the mascara, because it’s hard for me to find the ones I love, since they’re not easy to sample at stores [you can’t exactly use those gross testers on your lashes]. I’m sad that Supergoop spray didn’t work for my skin, because I adore the brand, and Invisibobble is a great concept, but my hair is just too fine for it to look nice, unless I loop it a bunch of times. Do I regret canceling my subscription? Not at all, because I am seriously overwhelmed with stuff, and this was a good final box.
Have you tried any of these products before? Do you like getting lifestyle accessories in your beauty boxes? Let me know in the comments below!
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Inivible Oil Heat/UV Protective Primer | $4.50 |
| Supergoop Defense Refresh Setting Mist Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF50 | $6.00 |
| Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum Synchronized Complex II | $18.20 |
| Estee Lauder Sumptuous Infinite Daring Length + Volume Mascara | $13.00 |
| Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray | $11.00 |
| Invisibobble | $8.00 |
| Box Retail Value | $60.70 |
Disclosure: This post features products purchased by Glamorable and may contain affiliate or referral links. For more details about my product review policy, copyright, and information about affiliate links, please refer to Disclosures & Content Use page.
