Allure Sample Society December 2014 Review

The December 2014 Allure Sample Society box totally makes up for last months.  This box is stellar!
Even better- there is no perfume in it! Yay! Every box since July has had a perfume, I think.  I could go back and look but I'm feeling lazy.

I've loved Sample Society for awhile and after Novembers box I was considering cancelling.  Eeek! Yes, cancelling.  I didn't, though, I figured I'd give them another chance.  I really like this box and they have the best brands.  As this box shows.

Excellent brands.  Estee Lauder, Burberry, Butter London...  It's hard to cancel a box with connections like Allure has.  Please take note of the purpley color of the RGB nail polish in this photo.  It's gorgeous but always wanted to look black in my other photos.  For $5 more than Birchbox, this is totally worth it.

The Cost: $15

What You Get: Five deluxe-size beauty samples from a curated mix of skin, hair, and makeup products, as well as fragrance. You'll also receive $10 BeautyBar.com gift card to redeem on any $50 Beauty Bar purchase every month.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye-  Eye creams always seem to last forever for me so I really like getting sample sizes of it.  One of my lovely readers commented that it goes faster if you apply it more than once per day.  I thought that was a good idea and when I'm un-makeuped, I use it more often.
This is a silicone based gel (ish) eye cream.  It goes on very smoothly and has a powder type finish. It's very gentle and moisturizes quite well.  The Allure editors say that it makes a great concealer base as well.  I really like that it doesn't feel greasy and has very little scent.  With a retail price of  $62/ounce, the 5ml tub we get is great!
Value: $10

Butter London Lippy Tinted Balm-  I got the color Mush and I adore it.  This is a medium coverage tinted lip balm.  It comes in ten shades so I think there are a lot of other options.  This goes on so smoothly and is such a pretty color!  I love it.  It's not shiny and is so moisturizing.  I want to keep applying it...
The Allure booklet that accompanies the box says that two colors, Toasted Marshmallow and Nutter, might be the key to a perfect nude lip.  Apparently one or the other worked for everyone who tried it.
Interesting... and it makes me want to get more.  The price, though...  This one item is worth more than the price of the box itself.  Maybe I should get another one!
Value: $20

RGB Nail Polish in Oxblood- I tried SO hard to get a photo where you can actually tell what color it is but no dice.  This is an unbelievably gorgeous wine color.  It purpley but kind of pinkish at the same time.  Sort of.  It takes two nice, thick coats to be perfect.  If the coats are too thin, I can see streaks.  One coat really shows the pinkishness of it but it darkens up really nicely with a second coat.
Value: $18

Burberry Beauty Fresh Glow Fluid Base in Nude Radiance- 5ml- I thought Burberry made coats but apparently they've branched out.  This is a lightweight luminizing lotion.  It's very shimmery.  Very.
I swatched it on the back of my hand and I can see all the sparkles.
The Allure booklet says they first used this as a foundation and realized that was a bad idea. Sparkles! It works best as a luminizer or maybe as a drop added to your regular foundation.  I might try the suggestion to try it on cheek and brow bones.
Value: $8

Crabtree and Evelyn Ultra Moisturizing Hand Therapy in La Source-25g- It's probably wrong of me to think that Crabtree and Evelyn is an old lady thing.  Part of it is because my grandma's name is Evelyn and so whenever I see the name I think of her.
This is a rich, powerfully scented hand cream that uses macadamia nut oil and shea butter to soften and hydrate your hands. It smells like the ocean.  I like it! I was going to put this in my MIL stocking if I got the Verbena and Lavender but I think I need to keep this one for myself.
Value: $8

VERDICT: LOVE!  This is a great box for me!  Not only is it worth over $60 but I got to try the new Butter London lip balm, found a great new color of polish and an eye cream I actually will use.  Plus a hand cream that smells reeeally good.  I'll play with the Burberry, too, but other than seeing the brand it's not super exciting.
I think the box was great, makes up for last months and I cannot wait to see what's in store for January.

You can still buy the December box! That's a one time charge!

You can sign up for Sample Society at Beautybar.com.  It's $15/month.  You can try using the code ALLURE5OFF and see if it still works to get $5 off the first box.