Freebie Friday

Well I going to try a new thing Freebie Friday. So from time to time I get some freebies in the mail. This is either from company sites, Facebook or any other sites who send samples for you to try. So whenever I get a sample or samples I will let you know what I got. Keep in mind several of these promos may have already expired or the items have already been given out. I really like to try new and different things so I really like getting samples. Hence me subscribing to several beauty boxes.

So I received several items to sample they were both from Garnier. One was from Target for their Moisturizer and serum all in one. The other from Walmart's site for the Garnier BB cream. Then just today I received another Garnier BB cream sample from Garnier. So this is what I have received in samples. As I keep getting samples I do my best to post them. I want to make sure that I have enough to post.

Now I thought I would at least get the sample in a foil packet like others or in a small tube. I was very disapointed in the sample I got. This is something that could have been given out at the store. So anyway it is not enough try the product out. Just to test what color you might be.

So the same holds true for this sample. I thought at least they would have given a small tube of this since this product has to be mixed together. So when you rip the top part off there are two sides to the card and one is the serum and the other is the moisturizer. So you have to squeeze them both together to get the products out to mix and apply on the face. Well since these were free I guess what can you do? Both samples are not enough to judge whether you might like these enough to purchase.

June Beauty Bar Sample Society with Allure box 2012

This review is for another monthly box subscription Sample Society. I was going to not do anymore subscription boxes but, this one caught my eye. This particular one is from BeautyBar.com along with Allure. I was looking into this one before but, there wasn't any openings. So I joined a waiting list to be notified when subscriptions opened up again. Well they did in May for the June box. So this particular one is $15 a month. Which I will admit is pretty pricey but, the Allure name drew me in. You also get a years subscription to Allure Magazine which I love. So I will give this a go and see if I like it if so I will stay if not I will cancel. I'm trying to see which services to stick with and which to let go.

Already there are some similarities to the other boxes. Sample Society is roughly the same size and depth as Birchbox and filled with black crinkle paper & gray tissue paper. The difference is that the description card is actually a booklet with helpful hints and tips on using your products. So for the month of June there were 5 samples.

The first one was from Jane Iredale her Just Kissed lip plumper. Which I got in the color Tokyo. This is a pretty rose color. The lipstick does have a slight smell to it. I can't place it but, it smells strange to me. Almost like air freshener that you find in a retail stores bathroom. When I tried it the smell was so overwhelming and the taste as well. It has a slight minty feel to it but, not in a good way. I will not be using this at all. I have allergies to certain scents and this was one of them. What a shame because I really liked the color. Sample Value $15.62 believe it or not. This sample size is only a few Oz's less than the full-sized for $25.

Oscar De La Renta Eau de Parfum in Live in Love. So this parfum is in such a cute bottle and I liked that you can have more than 3 uses like other samples. There isn't much to say about this except that the smell was alright. Nothing spectacular or amazing. It was just there. The scent is just not for me. It is alright and so far I haven't sneezed which is good. I will give this to someone who might enjoy it more than I would. Sample Value $5.80

From Alterna is Boho Waves Texture Mist. Which will help you get the sexiest beachy waves. This contains organic bamboo and blue yucca root. This weightless mist instantly gives you natural, tousled, "just back from beach" waves. Adds texture, volume, and healthy shine to all hair types. This I will try. Who wouldn't want beach waved hair? This I was happy to get. Sample Value $4.47

Caudalie's Premier Cru Eye Cream is a very pricey eye cream a full size is $95. So this sample was extremely tiny. Even worse was that there was nothing in the tube. I was so disappointed. I'm gonna have to contact them about this. So I can't say much about it. Sample Value $6.26

Lastly is Murad Clarifying Cleanser. Which cleanses and tones. Contains 1.5% Salicylic acid acne treatment. Now, I have very oily skin with few if no breakouts ever but, this may come in handy to control my oil. So I will try this. Sample Value $7.69 and I've seen it at Ulta for $9.

So overall this box was alright everyone gets the same box. So there isn't much variety in the items included. Like the parfum was okay not my taste and the lipstick was terrible in my opinion. Plus not getting any eye cream in the sample was not good. I will give them a few more months then we will see. Overall Box Value $39.84

Beautybox Five 2012~ My First impressions

On Tuesday I was delighted when checking my mail.  I received my newest monthly box subscription. Which is based in Greenville, Texas which is nice.  This is a homegrown beauty box company that goes by Beautybox Five.  This is a monthly sample service where for $12 a month you can receive 4-5 deluxe beauty items from different companies to try at home.  This was my first box ever from them as they launched last month for the first time.  You can subscribe to them monthly, quarterly or yearly.   

This is how the box comes it is a tad smaller than a Birchbox and MyGlam Bag mailer.  It is a beautiful turquoise color with brown and white accents on the front side.  The inside is filled with a dark brown confetti like filler.  Which is nice because this protects what's inside.

In the box were 6 samples.  One was a full-sized kajal eyeliner from a company named Lavera Naturkosmetik from Europe.  They have a North American website that ships within the US & Canada.  This liner is vegan and made with organic beeswax & organic palm oil.  I got this in color No. 2 which is a dark brown.  It retails for $15 and Eva Mendes apparently loves their line.  The other two items were a Day & Night Hydrating cream from Weleda in the scent Iris.  These were deluxe samples.  Also in the box was a deluxe sample of Pur-lisse pur-delicate gentle soy milk cleanser and makeup remover.  It says its for all skin types.  The last two items were in foil packets.  From Comodynes a self-tanner natural & uniform color tanning towelette.  Which is nice but, I'm not big on tanning I love being pale year round.  Then a soy nail polish remover wipe from Priti NYC infused with organic lemongrass essential oil.

Overall I really like all the items in my box. Can't wait to try these soon.  I will have to try some of these at a later date because I have tons of other samples to try and review.  Then I can come back with an honest review on these items.  The value of the box was a good one.  Its valued at around give or take $32.70. 

March Myglam Bag 2012

Last Tuesday I received my March MyGlam bag this was my third bag since subscribing to them in December.  In January I got my first bag and it was great I loved all the products.  Then in February I got my second bag which was OK not the best but, still good.  Then came this months bag and wow what a stinker.  Literally the bag came with this weird plastic smell I could barely stand it.  The bag was not what I expected.  The only two good things in the bag that I liked were.  A full sized 3Lab Perfect Cleansing foam in a 3.4 oz which retails for $50 but, the DermStore has it 20% off which makes it $40.  The other item was from a new company Karacolor they sent a color enhancing leave-in treatment sample pack which retails for $9.99 on their site.  Overall the bag was ok and retailed for around $55 which isn't bad.

This months bag was about repairing and restoring your skin & hair just in time for spring.  The other items in the bag were a small drawstring pouch containing what was called a DermStore care package this included: Pur-lisse Pur-protect SPF 30 Essential daily moisturizer & Murad Eye lift perfector & a DermStore $25 gift card which really wasn't a gift card it was a $25 off of a purchase of $50 or more what a ripoff.   A gift card is when you can get something for the amount shown and not have to pay extra unless you want to.  I really think that they should stop calling these gift cards.  Like last months NuMe $100 gift card which what not a gift card at all.  Every item on the site was expensive and you had to spend at least $40 dollars or more plus S&H just to use the $100 and only on select items to me that is not a savings.

The next part of the bag was the Foundational Elements this included one of 3 beauty basics to lay the groundwork for a fresh complexion.  So you were to get one of the following three products that were listed on the card.  Either a 3Lab perfect cleansing foam full-sized or a Pur-lisse Pur-lip comfort daily lip nourisher full-sized or a Murad Absolute bronzing boost SPF 15 deluxe sample.  Then a Karacolor enhancing leave-in treatment in natural.  Then a Myglam exclusive classic crease brush and case.  This brush was hand selected by Michelle Phan from her recent trip to Hong Kong and is exclusive.  Well my brush was terrible it had several hairs falling out from it.  And the little pink brush holder had an awlful scent coming from it a weird plastic smell which in turn made everything else smell that way. 

I'm still somewhat happy with my bag after all this is a $10 a month service and this includes shipping.  And the company is fairly new and still has alot of kinks to work out.  This includes the problems with shipping and with some glammies not getting their bags or getting them really late.  So far (knock on wood) I haven't had any of those issues with this company.  There are many on YouTube who have had issues and have voiced them & many who have cancelled their subscriptions because of the issues with billing and shipping.  I'm gonna stay with them for a while in hopes that they get better.  As with any new company there will always be some kinks along the way.  I hope that they are working hard to help resolve all these issues soon.