June is the last month our Sample Society boxes are handled by the Beauty Bar team, starting July the program will be handled exclusively by Allure. They will have a brand new sign up page and as far as I know, the price will stay the same. This month the theme is “A Day at the Beach”, and Allure beauty director Patricia Tortolani selected six summer-perfect beauty essentials that she thought we would enjoy.
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. Click here to join Sample Society. You can also buy some of the past boxes here.
CoTZ Face Sunscreen SPF40 – What kind of beach-themed box it would be without a sunscreen sample? I’ve seen this one in many different subscription boxes before, and that always made me feel like it’s being shoved in my face too much. The product is actually not bad at all – it has a comfortable lightweight formula with a slight tint to it. I normally prefer untinted sunscreens, so I probably wouldn’t purchase it, but it was nice to try.
Lauren B. Beauty Nail Couture in Polo Lounge Punch – I really like the fonts used in the bottle design, this whole shabby chic theme is very popular right now. The color looks like a pretty darkened fuchsia – a perfect hue for a summer pedi! I already have several similar polishes in my stash, but it’s different enough so I’m keeping it for myself.
eSalon Perfect Ending Leave In Conditioner – I heard about eSalon and their unique service, that offers anyone to play colorist. I think there was even a Klout perk for it a couple years back, if I’m not mistaken? This leave-in conditioner is designed to help tame frizz and flyaways, and also to make overprocessed and rough hair appear smoother and softer. It’s a pretty standard silicone treatment, but it works well, just like the rest of them, and doesn’t weigh down my fine hair if used in moderation.
St. Tropez Self Tan Express – I heard many amazing things about this self-tanner, and I believe it even earned several beauty awards. I embrace my fair complexion and don’t use self-tanners, so I will be passing on this generously sized sample on to someone else. I am partial to good bronzers though, come on, Allure, send us some in the next box! 😉
e.l.f. Studio Small Stipple Brush – Considering their low price, elf brushes make great starter tools, and a stippling brush is definitely not something everyone has in their stash. These are best used for giving your foundations and cream blushes a seamless airbrushed coverage. I don’t use mine often, but I like having it in my kit just in case.
Completely Bare Wax Strips – The size of these strips is pretty good for taking care of peach fuzz on your face, neck, or chest, but I personally prefer to use depilatory creams instead, after I got a terrible post-wax breakout on my cheeks and jawline.
THE VERDICT: I’m a bit conflicted about this box; there are some nice products inside, but I might be a little sampled out right now, because nothing seemed very exciting for some reason. It was nice to add another stippling brush to my collection, but I could have done without the rest just fine.
… and a little bit about the upcoming changes. As far as we know, the price is going to stay the same – $15/month, and the box will receive its own landing page on allure.com. It’s currently unknown if the appearance of the box itself will change as well, but from what we know about shipping, Allure’s always been very diligent about sending those quarterly bundles in a timely manner, so I have high hopes that it’s an indicator to expect good things. Also, I know many of you used that $10 off Beauty Bar coupon code every month, and that’s going away as well. Whether these changes are good or bad, only time will tell. Existing customers don’t have to do anything, their info will be automatically transferred to the new system. I decided to stick around for July and see how things are with the new management!
Have you tried any of these products before? Do you own a stippling brush, and if you do, what brand is it? Let me know in the comments below!
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| CoTZ Face Sunscreen SPF40 | $2.39 |
| Lauren B. Beauty Nail Couture in Polo Lounge Punch | $18.00 |
| eSalon Perfect Ending Leave In Conditioner | $3.00 |
| St. Tropez Self Tan Express | $11.11 |
| e.l.f. Studio Small Stipple Brush | $3.00 |
| Completely Bare Wax Strips | $1.00 |
| Box Retail Value | $38.50 |
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I love the Cotz sunscreen
I think I’d like it more if the tint better matched my skin – this one is too dark and too orange. I liked the texture though 🙂
They have one for lighter skin, which I bought and it’s nice. I had the one for darker skin and gave it to a friend.
I’ll need to find a sample of the lighter shade! The texture feels the same as my favorite primer, and it would be nice to have a sunscreen like that.
Oh – I have been hearing great things about Cotz Sunscreen… I love my small stippling brush from ELF 🙂 This looks like a pretty good box.
I heard good things too, but this one was a bit too dark for my complexion. The texture reminded me of my current fave primer from dr. brandt – pores no more, it has the same feel to it.
I have a set of the ELF stippling brushes, and they are good. I rarely stipple, though, as it just seems to take too much time. I do like these for applying cream blush, as they seem to get less product on them and are easier to clean. The nail polish is pretty, but other than that, I would have been a bit meh about this box, too. Enough with the sunscreen samples….
I used to stipple a lot in the past, but these days I just slap on some BB or CC cream either with my hands, or with a beautyblender. I think I’ll stay on board for July and unless they absolutely wow me, which I find unlikely, I’ll probably unsubscribe and switch my attention to another sub I’ve been eyeing.
I’m surprised to see that ELF stippling brush in this box. It’s a good product, but you usually just don’t see drugstore products in the Sample Society boxes. I’m curious to see what boxes will be like in the future now that they’re not partnering with Beauty Bar!
Me, too, to be honest. Not that there’s anything wrong with ELF, and the brush is probably nice, but I received products from Sisley and Diptyque and Burberry in this sub before, so it just doesn’t really match their scale.
It looks like a decent box, but nothing I would be too excited over either
Yep, I think this was a decent “final” box from BeautyBar, and maybe things will change for the better now that Allure is fully in charge.
I love the polish and brush! I’d check this box out for sure!
The polish is fun! I’m wearing it on my nails today 🙂
I have this elf brush and like to use it to apply my Rimmel matte powder so it doesn’t go on too thick. I also like to use it for a loose blush I have for the same reason. 🙂
That’s a fabulous idea! I have a Rimmel foundation that is crazy thick, so I used to apply it with a wet beautyblender to sheer it out, but I’ll try doing it with this brush next time 🙂