Based on the number of pageviews generated by my last Sample Society box review, I decided to re-subscribe to this box, since you guys are clearly interested in this one. After seeing the spoilers, I thought January would be as good of a month as any to join. In case you don’t know, the spoilers featured stila Color Balm lipstick mini and full-sized Butter London nail treatments – cuticle oil and nail strengthener.
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.
Butter London Handbag Holiday Cuticle Oil – This was the star of the box for me! Usually my cuticle oils smell like sweet almond, lemon oil, or plain nothing, so that’s kind of what I was expecting. I was surprised to find out that it actually smells like pineapples and coconuts! My wand was slightly slanted, which is not intended, but it’s not a big deal. I placed this bottle on my nightstand so I won’t forget to moisturize my cuticles before going to bed.
StriVectin Present Perfect Antioxidant Defense Lotion – I don’t recall seeing this StriVectin product before, is it new? Either way, I thought it’s a good one to try, because it targets the first signs of aging, which is exactly what I need right now. I’m not sure if the size of this sample will be enough for me to evaluate its effectiveness, but at least I will know how my skin will react to it.
Nicole Richie Eau de Parfum – When it comes to celebrity fragrances, I try not to associate the scent with the person’s name stamped on it, and in this case, I found the blend too heavy for my liking. With prominent notes of patchouli, sandalwood and amber, this perfume is better suited for people who like rich, sensual fragrances.
philosophy hope in a jar – If you read my December empties post, you’ll notice that I threw away that very same sample. This product just does not work for me, and I can’t stand the scent. It’s supposed to smell like lavender, but to me it smells like dirty socks; and last time I tried it my face broke out in hives. I know many ladies that swear by this moisturizer, but I guess hope in a jar and I are just not meant to be.
jane iredale Forever Pink Just Kissed Lip & Cheek Stain – So far this is my third time receiving this sample, so I already had a chance to try it, and at first I thought I liked it, but now I think it doesn’t look all that good with my complexion after all. I will probably give it to my sister to try, maybe she will like it more than I did.
THE VERDICT
Even though the January box had more misses than hits for me personally, I still got my money’s worth – Butter London cuticle oil pretty much paid for the box. The good thing about Sample Society is that even though there are several box variations the samples are mostly the same, so there’s not a whole lot of “box envy” going on among the subscribers. Despite being dissatisfied this month, I’m looking forward to February in hopes of getting better products 🙂
Are you a Sample Society subscriber? What do you think of this month’s box?
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| Butter London Handbag Holiday Cuticle Oil | $19.00 |
| StriVectin Present Perfect Antioxidant Defense Lotion | $8.67 |
| Nicole Richie Eau de Parfum | $1.61 |
| philosophy hope in a jar | $7.80 |
| jane iredale Forever Pink Just Kissed Lip & Cheek Stain | $6.25 |
| Box Retail Value | $43.33 |
I need to try that cuticle oil, I love the idea of smelling like pineapple and coconut! Also, I love Jane Iredale, but it sucks that you have gotten the same sample three times. Did you get it from the same subscription service three times? That would really stink!
Yes, this is the second time I’m getting that sample from Sample Society (third time, if we count the total number of times I got it across my subscriptions). I guess once you unsubscribe, and then resubscribe, they will consider you a new subscriber, so you might receive duplicates.
Cuticle oil is always a must! Can never have enough of it. I have it all over my house 🙂
That’s a good thing to have all over the house! In my case it’s soap and scented candles… Mmm… need more candles @_@
I love that cuticle oil! This looks like a great box
Can’t wait to start using this oil, I’m curious to see how well it improves the condition of my cuticles.
Looks like a great box, but it would be disappointing to keep receiving samples you already got
It sure was, thank goodness for the cuticle oil, or I would have asked for my money back.
I’m surprised that a box that includes high end brands is such an affordable price!
This box is curated by Allure magazine and BeautyBar.com, so I would expect no less! 🙂
I used to be a big fan of Philosophy skincare. When I stopped using it, my skin actually got BETTER. Imagine that!
Haha, who would have thought! I do like some philosophy products, mostly their fragrances and bath products, but their skincare really doesn’t work all that well for me.
Interesting sample box.
Personally I find Sample Society fairly bland compared to some other monthly boxes, but at least they feature nice brands, and the CS is great.
Looks like a good mix! I definitely need to try that cuticle oil!
I will be using it from now on, very curious to see if it will actually improve the condition of my cuticles 🙂
I like the brands associated w/ this particular box. I’m not a fan of celebrity perfumes but I’m intrigued w/ Nicole Richie
I’m not a fan of celebrity perfumes either, they all seem too generic. There are some of them that I like, but for the most part they all smell almost the same to me. This one by Nicole is one of the more complicated celebrity fragrances, but I’m just not a fan of those particular notes.
This is a GREAT box!!
That cuticle oil really redeemed it for me 🙂
This looks like a wonderful box!
I’d say this one was one of my personal least favorite Sample Society boxes, mainly because I didn’t care about the majority of these samples. However, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as I’m sure there are lots of ladies who loved everything 🙂
That cuticle oil looks amazing. I love butter LONDON. Hope in a jar was my go to moisturizer in college. That was the beginning of my beauty addiction. I didn’t even know about reviews back then, although I think a couple times I looked up makeup on the internet and stumbled upon Temptalia and MBB. I wonder if HOAJ would break me out now, my skin has changed a lot since then!
Good point Justina, I think my skin used to be a lot less sensitive several years ago, and now it gets cranky about everything under the moon.
Thanks for your review on these.
You’re welcome, I’m glad you found it useful 🙂
I’ve been dying to try out the Butter London Cuticle Oil!
Me too, I look forward to using it 🙂
$19 for cuticle oil? yikes. I’d be glad to get it in a sub box, though! I’d love to try it. At least that saved the box for you! 🙂
Yeah, definitely saved it for me. Oh the woes of sample boxes, you never know what you’re gonna get! 🙂
I stuck through this subscription box for almost a year but I got so irritated with it after a while I finally cancelled! That oil is a winner though!
You’re better than me, I bailed after several months, and now I’m getting all these repeat samples again 🙂
I think it’s strange that they keep sending the same Jane Iredale. That makes no sense. Subscribers want something new each time.
It’s partially my own fault for unsubscribing. Every time a person re-subscribes, it’s like they’re starting a brand new subscription, so they may receive the same samples again.
That looks like a good box overall! I love anything butter london!
Me too, I really like their polishes, but I was excited to try the cuticle oil.
Ooh. I actually totally love this one.
Haha, nice! And this is one of the worse boxes they sent 🙂 I look forward to reviewing several more months of Sample Society boxes.
This is my third month and I haven’t been overly wow-ed with anything just yet! I’ve gotten a Jane Iredale sample every month (lip balm, eyelash primer, this one) which is fine since I like JI, but come on…..
I’ll give it February because I feel like it has a chance to be a GREAT box! Then after that, I’ll cancel if not impressed.
Good point Catherine. They really lured me in with those BL nail treatments, so I would have been happy no matter what else was in the boxes. But I agree with you, I hope January features better products, and maybe no JI 🙂