March 2014 Sample Society

Sample Society is a beauty subscription box that includes five deluxe-sized samples from the world's best luxury brands. For $15.00 monthly, you will be able to sample these deluxe brands and you will likely find that the value of the products received is twice what you paid (or more!). You will also receive $15 to redeem on a $50 purchase when any product from this month's sampled brands is included. If you are thinking of trying out Sample Society, please use this unique code, RXCK109088, at the Beauty Bar website, which will give me referral credit. 

Alterna CC Cream, Sample Value: $8.50 [$25 for 2.5 oz, sample size: 0.85 oz]
This "Complete Correction" cream is a leave-in product, delivering 10 benefits, including shine, smoothness, and heat protection. It dispensed as a thick, white cream with a fresh, citrusy smell. So far, I've mostly just applied to clean, wet hair and let it air dry, but that hasn't seemed to do a while lot for me.  It seemed to leave a bit of a residue. It is great to have a hair product that offers so many benefits - UV protection included, which isn't something you see commonly. 













Hanskin Premium Perfect Super Magic BB Cream SPF30 PA++, $7.59 [$33.00 for 43.5 g, sample size: 10 ml]
This was fairly thick for a BB cream. I used a make-up sponge for even application layered over moisturizer and a primer and finished with a powder. Without a primer, my skin seemed to get oily fairly quickly, but that's what a primer is designed to help!  I used this with the MD Tinted Creme, and these two products really worked well together to provide for smooth application. It provided good coverage, but it does lighten your skin tone, so mixing it with a tinted cream was the perfect solution.  












Jane Iredale Tantasia Self Tanner Deluxe Sample, $? [$36.00 for 4.2 oz; sample size: ?]
This bottle along with the tinted creme were nearly empty. I ended up contacting customer service since 2 out of my 5 samples were quite sparse and Sample Society touts deluxe samples. They responded promptly and issued a credit to my account to be used for a future purchase. This self tanner smelled vaguely citrusy at first but rather unpleasant overall. Self tanners usually have a pretty distinctive smell and once it had absorbed into my skin, it mostly just smelled like that. My guess is the citrus fragrance was added to try and cover up that 'tanner' smell a bit, but I don't think the two meshed very well together.  I found that it applied rather streakily and working it in with regular body lotion helped.

Jane Tran Hair Accessory Assortment, $3.13 [$12.50 for 8 bobby pins; sample size: 2 clips]
These appeared to be patterns that I don't care for much at first, but they turned out to be cute hair accessories. I don't love the camo print, but it's neutral, so it wasn't a huge deal.

MD SolarSciences SPF 30 Mineral Tinted Creme Mini, $1.51 [$32 for 1.7 oz; sample size: 0.08 oz]
This tube was definitely greater than half-empty; I literally could not get any product out by squeezing and ended up cutting it open to sample the creme.  It provided a slight tint to my skin but very light coverage. It smoothed on so easily, and my skin felt really smooth after application. Pairing this with the Hanskin BB cream worked out perfectly since that BB cream was heavier coverage but didn't have the smoothest application.

Total Value: >$20.73
This is the lowest value box I've ever received, so that is disappointing but realistically, not every box can feature stellar products and values every single time.  
Please remember to use this unique code, RXCK109088, at the Beauty Bar website if you decide to give 'em a try. I'd say they're definitely worth checking out for a small, luxurious indulgence!