Review: Allure Beauty Box (July 2015)

Purchased by Me

I promised I'd review this after I received it, so here we go!

If you missed my original post about the new Allure Beauty Box subscription service (formerly known as Sample Society), the first box was shipped at the beginning of July, so I believe that if you sign up now, you will receive the August box (NOT the box I'm about to show you).

This subscription costs $15 per month including shipping (you'll be billed each month unless you decide to cancel, which you can do at any time). At the beginning of every month, Allure states that you will receive "five or more deluxe samples that we've curated each month — plus the Allure mini-mag with product reviews and tips to help you get the best results from your samples." For more info and to sign up, click here.

As promised when I first posted about this beauty box, I'd like to show you what I received, and share my thoughts so far about the experience. So let's get to it...

This box arrived to me packaged inside a larger, sturdy brown packing box. I'm showing you just the inner box in these photos, which is shiny red and quite sturdy as well.

When you open the lid, the first thing you see is the "Allure mini-mag" which is printed on thick, semi-glossy paper:

The intro basically tells you the "theme" for the box, and why each product was selected. I like that each box will be curated and that the items are not just random things thrown together (well, that's the feeling I get with THIS box, at least!). The July box is all about problem-solvers and how to turn "fails" into "wins." 

The rest of the mini-mag contains product info about each item in the box, why the Allure editors like that particular product, and the retail price if you were to purchase a full-size version.

Also tucked inside the mini-mag is a card containing info about an Estee Lauder gift-with-purchase deal at Bloomingdales. 

Six items

The July 2015 Allure Beauty Box contains five deluxe samples and one full-size item (more on that in a moment).

The three categories covered in this box are haircare, skincare and makeup. Let's start with haircare:

Haircare

The haircare category contains the only full-size item in this box. I'm not complaining at all about that, considering that Allure clearly stated up front that these boxes would include "five or more deluxe samples" with no mention of potential full-size items. 

Invisibobble Traceless Hair Rings 

(full-size box of three rings, which retails for $8 at Urban Outfitters)

Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Dry Shampoo

(travel-size 1.4 oz. can; full-size is 5 oz. and retails for $25 at Sephora)

Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil

(travel-size 1 oz. bottle; full-size is 3.4 oz. and retails for $39 at Sephora)

Skincare

There is one skincare item in this box.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum

(deluxe sample 0.14 oz. pump bottle; full-size is 0.5 oz. and retails for $65 at Sephora)

Makeup

There are two makeup items in this box (I classified the setting mist as "makeup" since it feels more like a makeup item than a skincare item to me).

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Infinite Daring Length & Volume Mascara in Black

(deluxe sample 0.21 oz. tube; full-size tube is 0.5 oz. and retails for $26 at Sephora)

Supergoop! Defense Refresh Setting Spray SPF 50
(deluxe sample 0.5 oz. bottle; full-size is 3.4 oz. and retails for $28 at Sephora, although Sephora also has a 1.0 oz. option for $12)

My thoughts about this box:

I have not tried any of the items in this box yet (to be clear, this review isn't for the items in the box, but rather the box itself). But I can tell you that I have been wanting to try that Supergoop! setting spray since I first heard about it a few months back. The idea of a matte finish setting spray for makeup that also contains SPF 50 is pure genius to me, since setting sprays can be applied AFTER makeup application and throughout the day without disturbing makeup. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to apply more sunscreen to my face during the day, but didn't want to mess up my makeup. If this stuff works for me, then Allure definitely delivered on the theme of this box since this will be a TRUE PROBLEM-SOLVER for me.

Another thing I'm excited about is the Estee Lauder mascara, since this is a one-step fiber mascara that I have yet to try (but have always wanted to try). I also appreciate the eye serum, since I would never purchase that on my own given the price (always fun to try luxury skincare, right?).

As for the haircare, I'm really only excited about the Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Oil, since I already wanted to try that product. The Invisibobbles are quite reminiscent of the SwirliDos that I reviewed way back in 2009, and I still have lots of those. The Oscar Blandi dry shampoo is something I picked up on clearance at Target a while back and I just don't care for the formula (there's something in it that makes my hair feel oily again very soon after application), so that was really the only letdown in this box for me personally.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the contents of this box. Obviously not all items in a curated monthly box are going to make everyone happy 100% of the time, but the fact that I received three items that I already REALLY wanted to try (I am so thrilled about that Supergoop! setting spray!) and one item I'm interested to try (the eye serum) makes up for the two items that I'm not too jazzed about.

Will I keep my subscription? For now, yes. Definitely. I'm anxious to see what's in the August box (I will do another post like this when I get it, if you'd like) and how it compares to this first box. The Invisibobbles are full-size and retail for $8, and the value of the Supergoop! setting spray sample is $6 (the 1 oz. bottle retails for $12 at Sephora and this sample bottle is 0.5 oz.). Add those two items together and you're just one dollar shy of the entire price of the box. That's a good value to me personally since this box contained three items I already really wanted to try, but I do realize that this is subjective and not everyone may be as excited as I am about the contents of the July box. But I do also appreciate that the deluxe samples in this box are generous enough to give you an idea of whether or not you might want to invest in full-size versions. No foil packets here, which I think we all can appreciate!

I hope this review gives you a better idea of what to expect if you subscribe to the new Allure Beauty Box monthly subscription service (which, again, you can do HERE).  If you'd like for me to continue reviewing the Allure Beauty Boxes each month, please comment below and let me know! If you are already a member and received your July box, how did you like it?

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.