January 2013 Sample Society Box

I've subscribed to most of the beauty boxes available on the market (Ipsy, Birchbox, BeautyArmy, Glossybox) but had never tried out Sample Society, which is a collaboration between BeautyBar.com and Allure magazine. After doing a bit of research (and seeing that previous Sample Society boxes have contained products from Diptyque, Kate Somerville, and ByTerry) this sample service seemed to offer a lot of high end products that I found lacking in other boxes.

But after having received my first box, I am slightly underwhelmed. The box contained six samples, all of which I would say were of a 'deluxe' size. One, the Nicole Richie perfume, didn't actually contain the sample, though. All that came was the cardboard packaging. Now, I have zero interest in trying out Nicole Richie's perfume. But, in the interest of testing out Sample Society's customer service, I quickly emailed to report my mini sample. Their response was to send me out a replacement--which is fine, but in the future, Sample Society, a little quality control goes a long way. Plus, while the customer service rep assured me that the replacement would be sent asap, I've now been notified that it won't be sent out to me for another week.

But, onto the products....here is what I received:

• Strivectin Instant Retexturizing Scrub
• Delaney Wellness Rejuvenating Eye Cream
• Lord & Berry Silk Kajal Eye Pencil in Black
• Lollia Shea Butter Handcream
• Nicole Richie Fragrance
• Pantene Expert Age-Defy Advanced Thickening Treatment

All in all, I'm not terribly excited by these products (that's the risk you face when subscribing to any of these boxes), but I can always use a spare handcream and I think I will pass on the Pantene thickening treatment to my mom. And, at the end of the day, all of this only came in at $15. So while this month's box did not provide the samples of my dreams, I think I will give it another couple of months before I decide whether or not to continue.