May Allure Sample Society came with some news, which might be exciting for some and not so much for others. For the first time ever, Sample Society decided to temporarily stop accepting new members, with nowhere to sign up for the wait list and no official ETA. Those of us who are currently subscribed will still keep getting our boxes every month as usual, but everyone else will have to wait for a notice on when and if they will make this program available for new members. By the way, the theme this month is “New & Improved”, and our sample sociboxes came with six instead of five usual samples. Each product inside is either a brand new release or a cult favorite that we might not have tried before.
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.
John Frieda Luxurious Volume 7 Day Volume In-Shower Treatment – Could this name be any longer, seriously? Jokes aside, this is a product I’ve never tried before – it’s wash-off treatment that you apply after shampoo and conditioner, that helps the volume stay for days. I don’t know how this thing works but holy smokes, it does! I’ve only used it once, but it makes my hair look like I just got a blow dry, hours after I styled it. I think I’ll repurchase it when I run out.
Julep Lip Gloss in Graceful – Graceful is a universally flattering sheer pink lip gloss shade. It looks nice as a lipstick topper, and adds a little color to the lips when worn alone. I liked that it doesn’t seem to accentuate the lip lines, and also has a non-sticky consistency that doesn’t drag or bleed out. It smells like vanilla frosting, too! I actually like it a lot, and would definitely recommend it to other lip gloss lovers.
Versace Eros Pour Femme – We rarely get actual mini-bottles of perfumes in subscription boxes, so this one was much appreciated. On another note, I would much rather get a small vial, because I always feel like it’s a waste if I don’t like the scent, which is what happened here. While Eros is not totally generic and boring, it’s still too… I don’t know… Too “magazine-insert” ish, if that makes any sense? I will have to pass it on to someone else.
Avene Eau Thermale Spring Water – A cult classic in Europe, thermal spring water sprays can be found in every girl’s purse. I’ve only tried four so far, but this one and Evian are my favorites, because they are very gentle and feel super refreshing. Something in Vichy makes my skin sting, and La Roche-Posay doesn’t do anything for me at all.
Laneige Water Sleeping Pack – I’ve been talking about Korean beauty products for years, and looks like they are finally making their way to the shelves of mass-market stores, like this Laneige sleeping mask, that you can get at Target. It’s formulated to help retain moisture in the skin overnight, and also makes the rest of your nighttime treatments more effective. I can’t say I’ve found a sleeping pack that I am absolutely head over heels in love with yet, but this one was nice. I’ll use up the sample, but probably won’t repurchase.
Alterna Caviar Repair Multi-Vitamin Heat Protection Spray – If I got a penny for every heat protection product sample I received over the past few years, I’d probably have enough money to buy lunch. Seriously, I get a lot of these, but most of them weigh down my fine hair like it’s nobody’s business. However, Alterna products always seem to work wonders for me, but I prefer their bamboo line instead. This protectant spray is okay, but if you have fine hair like me, it’s easy to overuse.
THE VERDICT: Overall, this was a pretty good box, with a few samples that were winners, a couple “okay” products, and only one real dud – the fragrance, which by the way is just a subjective opinion. I’m more curious about the whole waitlist thing, like, what’s going to happen to the program? Is it because they have more subscribers than they can get high quality samples, so they want to limit the number of people? While I don’t have any definite answers for you, this is a very intriguing development, and I’ll let you know if I find out any more deets.
Have you tried any of these products before? What do you think about this whole wait list thing? Share in the comments below!
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| John Frieda Luxurious Volume 7 Day Volume In-Shower Treatment | $2.49 |
| Julep Lip Gloss in Graceful | $8.00 |
| Versace Eros Pour Femme | $9.20 |
| Avene Eau Thermale Spring Water | $6.00 |
| Laneige Water Sleeping Pack | $5.75 |
| Alterna Caviar Repair Multi-Vitamin Heat Protection Spray | $6.00 |
| Box Retail Value | $37.44 |
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.
