Sample Society: May 2012

I've been on the waitlist of Sample Society since they opened. I randomly decided to try and sign up in April and somehow I was able to! So if you are on the waitlist, don't wait anymore! You can sign up!

Don't know what Sample Society is?
Sample Society is a monthly subscription service that delivers a box of premium beauty samples to your doorstep. Each month you will receive 5 samples each month. The samples are backed by Allure and their team of beauty experts. The samples may range from make-up, skincare, body, hair, and fragrances. Plus, with your subscription you will receive a free year subscription to Allure! And each box will have a mini advice guide that relates to your products. Currently all boxes are the same, but they expect to have variations in the future. Sample Society costs $15 a month, and your box will always be valued way above!
Click here to join Sample Society.

May 2012
This was my first month of Sample Society! I had wanted to sign up, but the $15 price tag left me unsure. And by the time I decided why the hell not, subscriptions closed. I originally had opted-out of the Allure magazine subscription since I already have Allure for a year from DermStore, but they said that opting in would extend my current Allure subscription another year. Their customer service was amazing and fast! Plus, shipping was unbelievable. My box shipped out May 3rd and I received it the next day!

 Information Cards:

Products:
StriVectin: StriVectin-SD Concentrate
Full Size: 5 oz ($135.00)
Size Received: 0.75 oz ($20.25)
I've already tried this exact sample in my February Beauty Army kit. I learned then that this product was meant to rebuild skin layers of cancer patients. But instead they realized that it worked wonders on stretch marks and wrinkles. I've also heard that this works well on acne scars. My skin has been unbearable the past few months and Im thinking Ill try this out on my acne scars. Since this is a 3 week sample for face, I'm pretty sure that this will last me 5-6 weeks for just spotting marks.

Bond No. 9: Bleecker Street Parfum

Full Size: 0.057 oz ($175.00)

Size Received: 1.7 oz ($5.87)

Bond No. 9 is a New York perfumery that has a goal of marking every New York City neighborhood with a scent. They don't just have one for the 5 boroughs, no no they currently have over 50 different men's and women's and unisex fragrances. Some examples are Madison Square Park, Brooklyn, Central Park, and Bleecker Street the scent I received. I loved how the sample was wrapped like a bon bon, a really cute touch. I've never heard of the Bleecker Street neighborhood having not spent much time in NY, but is apparently in Greenwich Village and famous for nightclubs and Alicia Keys lives there. The fragrance is described as "art, fashion, seduction, and dessert in liquid form. A warm sensual aprodisiac that glides from day into evening." It has notes of violet leaf, cassis, jasmine, cinnamon, and oakmoss. I have to say this one was not for me. It was way too heavy on the woody/leaves and I could barely sense the jasmine. I would be opening to trying different fragrances from their collection, maybe I'm more of a Bryant Park or Madison Square Park.

Colorscience Pro: Loose Mineral Travel Puff in Illuminating Pearl

Full Size: 0.035 oz ($10.00)

Size Received: Full-size! 0.035 oz ($10.00)

When I saw this month's advice booklet prior to the release of the box I got so excited that they were going to feature mineral makeup. I was not too excited when I read the ingredients and realized that this puff has pearl powder which is ground up fish scales. Yuck. Even if I wasn't vegan I do not want to put fish on my face. The idea of a travel puff is a great idea, mineral powder gets everywhere, but even before I ever used this one I can see powder in the plastic pouch. I'd still be worried that this would get all over my purse. 

stila: forever your curl mascara
Full Size: 0.24 oz ($22.00)
Size Received: 0.12 oz ($11.00)
Am I the only one that is not impressed by stila products? Every single stila product I have tried I haven't been over the moon about. This mascara didn't look like it would beat out my favorite mascara (blinc) so I decided to not even try it out. It is a polymer formula that has some kind of curling memory ingredient. Huh? I think they mean that it keeps your curl all day long. The reviews online do not look stellar and people who tried the sample said they ended up with raccoon eyes even before the end of a normal day. I tried looking up the mascara on the stila website, but I couldnt find it. I wonder if they are planning on getting rid of this product completely...

Alterna: UV+ Fade-Proof Fluide

Full Size: 2.5 oz ($24.00)

Size Received: 0.25 oz ($2.40)

I love that they featured a brand that free of all the nasty chemicals and uses organic, natural ingredients. But I do not color my hair. What this fluide is meant to do is to lock in color and shield hair with a UVA/UVB barrier. Although Im always interested in sun protection, my hair is not something Im interested in protecting, since um its not really necessary... I'd rather a scalp protector. Because my hair is so thin to begin with, the number of hair products that it can handle is few. I'll be giving this to a friend.

Total value of my May 2012 Sample Society box:$49.52
So disappointed in my first month of Sample Society. The past month of crappy beauty boxes have made me realize that I need to step back from them. I cancelled Sample Society while I attempted to finish this post. It took me two weeks after I got the box to finish the post when normally I finish beauty box posts in a few hours... It shows that it doesn't matter what the value is, as long as I actually like the products. 

What do you think of my May Sample Society box? Do you think I should have given them a second chance? Let me know in the comments below!

Beauty Army: February 2012

The second month for the new beauty subscription service Beauty Army. I got notified on Feb 1st that I was able to make my next sample selection, exactly one month from the date I signed up. I rushed and looked at what was chosen for me. At first I was a little disappointed, there were so many skin products and a few repeat brands from the month before. I remembered that I could retake the quiz to get a different selection. I ended up taking it a good number of times until I was happier with my selection. I hope in the future months there will be more varied product types and companies. (hint, hint!) Plus, I saw other kits from later in january that had many of the 'new' products that I picked for february. So I guess I feel like I got leftovers instead of new and exciting things.

Don't know what Beauty Army is? Beauty Army is a once a month beauty subscription service that delivers a GORGEOUS kit of premium beauty samples to your door. So how is it different from any of the other services out there? Well you get to CHOOSE your samples. Each month based on your preferences (long, thoughtful style quiz that can be changed at any time) you will receive 9 products to choose from. From those you get to pick 6. The products this month ranged from beauty, skincare, hair, body, and more. Some of the products you can choose from are full-size items. Beauty Army costs $12 a month, and your kit will always be valued way above!
Click here to join Beauty Army.

February 2012
Last month I had commented that many of my products were unwrapped and rolling around the box when I got it. Well, this mont they were all neatly and tightly package, so it looks like they do listen! I was also concerned about the boxes, but they are such good quality and so easy to flip open that I've already repurposed both of mine. Yes, even the one I just got. One holds my favorite nail polishes and the new box will be for my growing eyeshadow collection. 

Information Card:

Products:
LIFTLAB: Lift & Firm Eye Cream
This intensive eye cream is designed to specifically target crow's feet, wrinkles, dark circles, puffiness, and sagginess of the delicate skin around your eyes. With active ingredients proven to fight aging, this serum will protect and drastically improve skin.

Full Size: .50 oz ($95)

Size Received: 0.17 oz ($32.30)

A teensy bit of this product leaked out of the packaging. The container is oily and left a stain on my white paper when I was taking it's photo. But it was so neatly wrapped that it didn't get on anything else in the box. I'm familiar with the LIFTLAB brand, I received a sample from a Bircbox months ago. It was a wrinkle serum, but I'm not sure if it worked or not. I have so few wrinkles since Im so young. The only wrinkles I have are scowl wrinkles from concentrating. And it didn't really work on those. But what I do have is dark circles like nobody's business. I cannot wait to try this product! The LIFTLAB website says to apply morning and at night after moisturizing by gently patting the product. We shall see. I've been using this pretty regularly for the past few weeks and not sure if I like this. The sample is very generous, but the formula does not absorb on my skin. Just sits there and then balls up when I touch my skin. It does cool my skin down, but Im not sure if I see any improvement on my dark circles or wrinkles. Ill keep using it though and hope that it just takes awhile to see results.

myface cosmetics: Blingtone Eyeshadow in purple haze
Create a wicked wash of colour and dramatic, wet-looking shine. Blingtone eyeshadows glide on smoothly and wont drop or flake.

Full Size: 0.09 oz ($20.00)

Size Received: Full-size! 0.09 oz ($20.00)

Recognize this product? This is an exact repeat from last month, just a different color. I liked my Sp'ice'y brown eyeshadow, so I figured why not a purple. It has a lot of pink undertones that I really like. The glitter/sparkle is again out of control. With this shade, a little too much. I currently am rocking sparkles on my cardigan, jeans, camera case, keyboard, mouse pad, anything I've touched in the last hour! Im going to only ever apply this one wet with thick primer to hopes to avoid the sparkle attack. But either way the color is gorgeous and once I get it on my eyes I'll love how the sparkle lights up my eyes. I get so many compliments when I wear the brown shade.

Control Corrective: Botanical Soothing Cream
This soothing, calming, and hydrating moisturizer really does it all! With vitamin E, A, and aloe vera hard at work to control redness and SPF to protect from the sun, your skin will look redness free today and tomorrow.

Full Size: 2.5 oz ($48)

Size Received: 0.1 oz ($1.92)

Well this is a very small sample. Probably only enough for a use or two. Im actually really excited about this cream. Normally Im all oh Cetaphil moisturizing cream lovey dovey but I have a major issue with spot redness on my face that make-up never fully covers up. I blame it all on accutane, my skin never fully recovered from the intense medication. I hope that this cream does what it says and I see a miracle happen with the little bit of sample I have. If it works I'm buying the full size. Again, I'll let you all know.
eta: no luck with the two day sample I had. But even if it did I hated the smell! It smelled like candy cigarettes...

StriVectin: StriVectin-SD Concentrate
This leading wrinkle and stretch mark fighter has a new and improved formula to reduce those pesky skin imperfections while improving the look and feel of skin overall. Try it out to see clinically-proven results quickly.

Full Size: 5 oz ($135)

Size Received: 0.75 oz ($20.25)

This product was apparently discovered in skin cancer prevention research to help rebuild skin layers. It is also backed with clinical research, ooh ahh. The sample is a 3 week sample, pretty awesome. Im glad they gave you so much, because sometimes it does take a few weeks to see improvements. It says to apply twice a day, AM and PM on clean skin. I've heard some amazing things about this product. Every girl has a few stretch marks or wrinkles. I'm going to take this for a spin.
eta: I kind of think it is working making my stretch marks less noticeable. But after a few weeks they are still there, just semi-faded. I'm almost out, but I wouldn't rebuy this unless I found it massively marked down. I have seen the full-size at Marshalls and TJ Maxx for ~$40-50, but still don't think I would buy it for that price.

CellCeuticals: CellGenesis Regenerative Skin Treatment

With a new breakthrough formula, CellGenesis encourages the regeneration of new skin, encouraging a more visibly youthful and glowing complexion. This treatment reduces wrinkles, firms AND tones, showing off more radiant skin.

Full Size: 1 oz ($85)

Size Received: 0.33 oz ($28.05)

See a trend? Wrinkle and firming products were all the rage this month. At least this one also makes your skin glow. I've heard some people buzzing about this product. Apparently it was created by the doctor that fixed Bruce Jenner's hack job. Apparently they guarantee results within two weeks. Im always so skeptical of these types of products. I'll let you know what I think.

Freeman Beauty: Pssssst! Instant Dry Shampoo
The original dry shampoo to refresh and rejuvinate hair by soaking up excess oil, removing product build-up and boosting volume. Hair looks, feels and smells freshly shampooed. Cleans, deodorizes and conditions hair-without water!

Full Size: 5.3 oz ($6.99)

Size Received: 1.76 oz ($2.32)

Is it silly that this is the product I am most excited about? I love when products are cheap enough that I can afford to buy if I love it. As a graduate student, I have many late nights or days where taking a shower eats too much time. I used to use baby powder on my hair in undergraduate, but my hair was much lighter than it is now. You shake it up real good, spray at the roots and scalp (shake every so often between sprays), wait a few minutes, and brush through. I think it works really well. My hair feels lighter and softer than before and it looks brighter and lighter. Plus, I do think it volumized my roots a bit. It has a nice smell to it, a little like Baby's Soft Perfume if I remember correctly.

Total Value of my February 2012 kit:$104.84

Another insanely valued box!

What did you think of my kit? What did you choose in your own? If you dont get Beauty Army, click here to join! Let me know in the comments below!