See, Shop, Love!: March Sample Society By Beauty Bar Box

Sunday, March 11, 2012

March Sample Society By Beauty Bar Box

On a whim, I subscribed to Sample Society, a monthly sample service run by Beauty Bar and Allure magazine. I found out about it through Bailey of Making Up The Midwest (check out her blog--she has great beauty swatches and more!). I decided to join during the pre-launch period because for $15, I got a box and a year's subscription to Allure. My first (and last) box arrived a few days ago.

I liked the way the box was designed on the outside. The black and gold looks somewhat classy. I cancelled my subscription after this box, not because it was a terrible box, but when I signed up I only intended on purchasing one box. I'm interested in trying as many subscription boxes as I can, but the only ones I'm sticking with for now are Eco-Emi and Conscious Box. That is, unless one comes along that completely blows me away -- unfortunately for Sample Society, they were not that service.

This was basically a Birchbox to me, but $5 more expensive. The other main reason why I keep cancelling these beauty boxes is because they're all the same -- they send way too many skin care items as opposed to cosmetics. Here is what was included in the inaugural Sample Society box:

Fekkai Advanced Glossing Cream
Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant
Skyn Iceland Icelandic Eye Relief Pen
Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Peel Mask
Oscar de la Renta Esprit d'Oscar Mini-Rollerball

Am I impressed by any of these items? No. The Fekkai Glossing Cream is probably my favorite of the bunch because it's the only one I'll actually use. For $15, I wouldn't say this was worth it for me. The brands are definitely good and the size of the samples are pretty big (bigger than Birchbox, and the Skyn Iceland pen is full-sized), but these just don't interest me. Another perk of the membership is that with each box you get a $15 off code, but you have to spend at least $50 and one of the items from your box has to be included in the order. It's useless for me this month, but if you'd like to give it a try the code is BBSOCIETYMAR. Not sure if it will work for you or not, but it's worth a shot! Just remember to add one of the items listed above to your order.

Bottom Line: I wouldn't recommend this service, but that is based off of only one box. I guess it's kind of cool that I'm getting a subscription to Allure as well, even after cancelling. I liked the size of the samples, but not the selection of the actual items themselves. I would recommend just getting Birchbox for only $10 as opposed to Sample Society's $15. Also, due to high demand subscriptions aren't currently open, but you can join the wait list and be alerted when they're available again.