My Sample Society boxes are rarely exciting, but I always find one or two products that I fall in love with, even if the samples themselves are small and unappealing at first. The same thing happened this time: when I first opened my March box I felt disappointed, because everything seemed so sparse and uninspiring. Read on to find out which product I decided to purchase in full size.
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 Borghese and a $15 off $50 monthly discount code. As a bonus all new members receive a complimentary one-year subscription to Allure magazine (a $12.00 value).
Click here to join Sample Society.
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| Sample Society March 2014 – Box C |
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| Alterna Caviar CC Cream 0.85 fl. oz. |
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| Jane Tran Hair Accessory Assortment |
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| Oscar Blandi Pronto Texture & Volume Spray 1 oz. |
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| MD SolarSciences SPF 30 Mineral Tinted Creme 0.08 oz. |
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| Tocca Beauty Margaux Eau de Parfum 0.05 fl. oz. |
Alterna Caviar CC Cream – A CC cream for hair? Now that’s something new! Alterna is a big name in the world of luxury hair care, and is often featured in beauty magazines. CC in this case stands for “complete correction”, which is what this leave-in treatment promises to do. Did it deliver? Oh yes it did, and then some! It makes my hair look healthy and shiny, and smell like sweet lemons. You only need a small dollop to get the full range of benefits, so this sample will actually last me a long time. It doesn’t seem to tame frizz very well, but it protects my hair from UV rays, and makes it very soft and manageable.
Jane Tran Hair Pin Duo – I couldn’t find this exact duo in Jane Tran website, but their accessories have always been sturdy, high quality, and kept my hair in place well. I lose my hair pins all the time, so this duo is a welcome addition to my stash.
Oscar Blandi Pronto Texture & Volume Spray – A lot of people love Oscar Blandi products, but my hair didn’t care for this particular hair spray, but it really can’t take any texturizing treatments because it starts looking like hay. I’m sure it will be easy to find a good home for it.
MD SolarSciences SPF 30 Mineral Tinted Creme – I was just reading a blog post about this tinted moisturizer the other day, and the blogger says it’s one of her favorite products. I was looking forward to trying it because I’m a huge fan of anything with SPF in it. Right out of the tube I thought that it would be too dark on me, but once it’s blended out it really didn’t show that much of a tint, so the color difference wasn’t noticeable at all. It made my skin look velvety smooth and matte, which is just what I need. I don’t recommend this product for people with dry or sensitive skin, people looking for more coverage, and anyone whose skin reacts poorly to physical sunscreens.
Tocca Beauty Margaux Eau de Parfum – I like most Tocca fragrances, but not this one. I wouldn’t say it’s unpleasant, but it’s just “not me” if you know what I mean. The fragrance is best described as musky and woodsy, with hints of vanilla, gardenia and blood orange. The description sounded promising, but something about the blend just felt very heavy and headache-inducing. I’m sure there are people who would love this perfume, but it just wasn’t a good fit for me.
THE VERDICT
So what is this mysterious product that I told you I’m probably going to buy? Well, this month I’m seriously considering purchasing more of that Alterna CC Cream, because it worked really well to make my hair smooth and to weightlessly moisturize those split ends. Tocca and Oscar Blandi samples didn’t work out for me, but it was nice to try something new anyway.
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| Alterna Caviar CC Cream | $8.50 |
| Jane Tran Hair Accessory Assortment | $3.66 |
| Oscar Blandi Pronto Texture & Volume Spray | $6.00 |
| MD SolarSciences SPF 30 Mineral Tinted Creme | $1.91 |
| Tocca Beauty Margaux Eau de Parfum | $2.00 |
| Box Retail Value | $21.07 |
Do you know if they still offer the complimentary one-year subscription to Allure magazine? I can’t find mention of it on their website.
Hi Tab! They used to do it back when I signed up for this program, I didn’t know if they changed the rules since then. You can email [email protected] and get an official answer from CS, they’re really nice to deal with and answer emails very quickly.
This looks like a great box. I may have to try it out!
It’s a good subscription choice for anyone looking to try more skin care from better known brands, unlike Ipsy which is curated mostly for makeup lovers.
I like several of the products you got… especially Tocca!
Good to know you like that Tocca fragrance! It wasn’t my favorite, but fragrances are so individual, you’ll never know what you’re going to like until you smell it on yourself 🙂
Nice box, I like these ones because they seem worth it every time
Glad that you like this subscription, Miranda. It’s a really good one for skincare maniacs 🙂
Everything looks so good ! I wish I could subs to one, but I’m to the roof with products right now
I understand all too well, Betzy, at this point I’m mainly subbing for the purpose of reviewing it for my readers, but it’s still fun to try new products, even if I don’t end up using them up 🙂
It annoys me when products for one part of the body start using buzz words for products for another part of the body. I got a sample of a hair product from Nuance that was “anti-aging” and I thought it was a face serum. NOPE! It’s a hair serum. (It didn’t make my hair look younger, btw! lol) So, I probably wouldn’t try that hair “CC” cream on principle alone. 😉 grumble!
I see what you mean, I agree it’s quite confusing, like CC cream for the hair or BB cream for the body etc 🙂 Some companies would do anything for that extra buzz.
Everythin looks great. I would have loved to try MD SolarSciences SPF 30 Mineral Tinted Creme.
Are you a sunscreen junkie too? I seriously cant imagine my life without it!
MDSolarSciences is my go-to sunscreen. It also doubles as a primer for me. I have Jane Tran hair clip but a different design.
I think your blog is where I first heard of it! Glad I had the opportunity to try a sample 🙂
I want everything in that box!
Glad that you liked the contents 🙂
That CC cream for hair does sound interesting!
So far it worked really well, hopefully you get a chance to sample it and try for yourself.
This box is so awesome!
Glad you like it!
This is a great shipment! I don’t subscribe but totally would if it were one of those $10 a month subs!
I can kinda-sorta see why they won’t lower the price down to $10, because they normally include higher end and luxe brands, but if they did, I’m sure they’d get a lot more subscribers.
The hair cc cream sounds intriguing.
It’s quite nice, indeed 🙂
Really nice box with goodies. I have not tried this subscription yet – but I’m gonna check it out
If you are into skincare and haircare then it’s definitely a great one to check out, but be aware that they don’t send much makeup usually.
Looks like a great box!
Glad you like it, Noelle!
I enjoyed reading your review – and I’m glad you found one product you really liked!
Thank you 🙂
Those hair clips are super cute!
They sure are, aren’t they? :))
Now I really want to sub to this (but I’m kind of full on sub boxes). I had a sample of the Alterna CC stuff a while ago from Sephora and love it! I only need a teeny dab and my hair is softer and shinier. My hair is rather fine and love that it didn’t weigh it down.
I agree with you Holly, that CC cream is wonderful! I also have fine long hair, and most products weigh it down, but not this one 🙂