*New Subscription* From The Lab Unboxing and Review: June 2013

Hi lovelies! What you’re looking at is essentially the first real review about this subscription that you will find online. What makes it even better is that it comes from an actual paying customer aka I didn’t get this bag gratis. Read on to find out more!

I’m usually not the type to give my money to a brand new company, but I just had a good feeling about this one. I researched From The Lab a little bit to make sure they are a legitimate business, and discovered that it does in fact have some serious financial backing [one of the founders is an award-winning TV producer]. So, one by one I lifted the mental warnings in my head and decided to give it a shot. I hope I wasn’t wrong to trust them, because I love the idea of trying out new and unique formulas. June was their inaugural box, and the main focus was on primers.

About From The Lab:
From The Lab is a new subscription service that offers its members a sneak peek into the future of the beauty industry by sending up to three full-sized “revolutionary” products every month, straight from the world’s top beauty laboratories. Right now they offer an introductory Charter Membership special for $19.95/month + $5.95 S&H (reg. $29.95). All of the products sent out are paraben-free.
Click here to subscribe.

My box came very fast – only two days after I received the shipment email. The packaging, as you can see, is pretty unique: it doesn’t have your typical tissue paper and shredded cardboard for cushioning, and the products were securely set in place to prevent leaking, spilling, and rolling all over the box.

This month’s box contained two products labeled Face Primer #327 and Eyelift Primer #328, and you could find more information such as ingredients, what makes them special, and recommendations for use in your member dashboard. For those of you wondering about their cancellation process, you can also do it in your dashboard, which is nice for anyone that hates having to call companies to cancel.

Face Primer #327

“With Face Primer No. 327, your skin appears visibly smoother and more naturally luminous. The innovative formula reflects light for an even, natural, high definition finish that doesn’t feel heavy or clog pores. And its weightless, gel-cream texture keeps your skin feeling soft and silky all day. Face Primer No. 327 is presented in an airtight pump to preserve the integrity and efficacy of the actives.”

The face primer was the first product I tried in my box, it came packaged in an air-tight glass pump bottle, which is refreshing because just the other day I was criticizing a moisturizer for not being in one. It has a lightweight runny texture and a pleasantly fresh grassy fragrance. According to the dashboard, this primer provides anti-aging, pore-minimizing and color correcting-properties. The anti-aging part seems to be working wonderfully, because my skin felt instantly smoother and more moist. The color-correcting part is very mild and barely noticeable – it made my face a teeny bit whiter and eliminated some of the redness on my cheeks. The claim to shrink the pores also seems to be true, they definitely looked somewhat smaller. After comparing the ingredient list, it turned out to be almost identical to Sonia Kashuk Perfecting Brightening Primer which retails for $14.99 exclusively at Target. Now, I’m not saying that SK and Primer #327 are the same product, but at least you can check it out for yourself if you’re interested to try out the formula. By the way, after I posted this discovery on MUT, I was contacted by the CEO of From The Lab, and he seemed very apologetic that their primer is so similar to a drugstore product and even tried to hire me. So, at least one thing is clear: they don’t want drugstore formulas, and this was definitely a mistake. However, many of us here don’t have a problem with drugstore products as long as they are of good quality, so I was totally cool with that.
Update: I have confirmed with the CEO of From The Lab that Face Primer #327 is not identical to Sonia Kashuk because they use a different polymer (which is not reflected in the ingredient list).
Overall: 4.5/5
Purchase: Yes

Eyelift Primer #328

“The sheer beige color provides a neutralizing base for eye shadow with transfer-resistant properties to keep your makeup in place. Eyelift Primer No. 328 imparts a luminous finish enriched with lifting properties. With use, you will see smoother, firmer skin and a lifted eye.”

This eye shadow primer comes in a nice tube with a velvety wand applicator, and kind of looks like a liquid eye shadow. The formula includes coffee extract which provides anti-oxidant properties, increases the skin’s natural defenses and depuffs the upper lid area [that last part wasn’t mentioned on the site, but it’s common sense anyway]. The unique ingredient in this primer is the para cress flower extract, which provides several anti-ageing benefits – it stimulates collagen production, makes the eye area smoother, and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This primer promises to keep the makeup intact for 12 hours, well, I didn’t quite let it sit there for that long, but it withstood at least 6 hours [three of them were spent at the beach] without melting or flaking off. I should also add that my eye shadows didn’t crease at all. So this is definitely a high quality product, and, of course, I found a “dupe” from Rouge Bunny Rouge for those of you who might want to try out the formula – it’s their Long-lasting Cream Eye Shadow in Brocade Skipper. Again, I’m not saying these two are the same products, but the ingredient list is pretty much identical. The shade can be described as an opaque champagne shimmer, and because of the shimmer I would only recommend using it on your upper lids.
Overall: 4.5/5
Purchase: Yes

The verdict: Overall, I was quite pleased with my first month, and both of these primers became nice additions to my ever-growing beauty cabinet. I liked both of the formulas and can’t wait to find out what’s in store for July. We got a little spoiler for the next month: two products, skincare from Switzerland.

What do you think about this new subscription?

Disclosure: I bought this.