Beauty Box 5 - August 2014

As I mentioned in my Allure Sample Society post, I decided that instead of upgrading to a quarterly subscription of Beauty Box 5 I would try out Sample Society in August along with my BB5 and Ipsy subscriptions and then choose one of them to cancel for September.  I really enjoyed my Allure Sample Society box, so while this wasn't necessarily a bad month with Beauty Box 5 I do think I'm going to cancel my subscription for the time being.  That said, I still need to show you what was in my August box.

I only knew what the one spoiler item was in my box, and that was the full size .22 fl oz Nanacoco Lipgloss in Carmel Latte.  I've never heard of Nanacoco before and am not sure where to find these glosses in retail stores, but did see a couple of online retailers when I searched in Google, including Amazon.  The Carmel Latte shade I received is a very neutral brownish nude shade.  These glosses retail for $3.99.

The second item in my box was a Style Essentials Nail Polish from their Touch of Teal Collection.  This polish comes in a 4-pack and the only place I found it was on Beauty Box 5's website.  There is no specific color name attached to this polish, but it seems to be kind of a holographic teal glitter in a clear base.  I love getting nail polish in my subscription boxes, so my only complaint about this would be the lack of color name.  The 4 pack of polishes retail for $7.00 which makes this single polish worth $1.75.

Next up was the La Fresh Travel Lite Facial Cleansing Wipes.  I've seen these given out in other subscription boxes before but never received them myself so this is a new to me product.  The wipes contain Vitamin E, aloe, and cucumber and say they are gentle enough for all skin types.  I use wipes like this all the time when removing my makeup so I'm happy to receive more.  This travel size packet of 8 wipes retails on La Fresh's website for $2.49.

The Fourth item in my box was the Roux Anti-Aging Hair Serum Leave in Treatment in a full size 4 fl oz container.  The BB5 card lists the serum as having vitamins A & E, biotin, keratin, and UV filters.  I'm interested to try this against my It's a 10 Miracle Leave in Treatment with Keratin and see how it compares to that.  It is certainly less expensive than the It's a 10 and retails for $11.99.

Finally I received a Pur~lisse pur~protect Essential Daily Moisturizer SPF 30.  I received this exact product in my July Ipsy bag.  I've used that sample a few times and it works fine as a moisturizing sunscreen so I'm okay with getting another sample of it, just not too exciting to get a dupe which is one of the reasons I don't want to keep all 3 of my current susbcription boxes.  After trying my Ipsy sample I also can't see myself repurchasing this as the 1.7 oz full size is $55, and I didn't notice anything about it that made it worth that much money to me.  The  .5 oz sample in my box is worth $16.17.  

The overall value of this months Beauty Box 5 was $36.39.  Not a bad box at all, though I did notice as I was unboxing it that several of the products were quite dirty and dusty.  Nothing looked to be opened or used, it was just kind of gross to pull out dirty items.  As I mentioned above I have decided to cancel BB5 for now though, it just isn't in the budget right now to get 3 boxes every single month, plus that increases the chances of duplicate products.  I decided to stick with Allure Sample Society also because it's more high end products and I think I won't end up with many similarities to the products in my Ipsy bag.  I will keep an eye on other unboxings of BB5 though and may subscribe again in the future.  If you would like to subscribe to Beauty Box 5 yourself you can do so on their website, it's $12 a month for a monthly subscription, but the prices go down if you purchase a quarterly or annual subscription.  Right now if you subscribe by August 21st you can still get August's box, which is a change to their usual policy of having to be signed up by the end of the previous month.  I did unbox this on my Makeup Miscellaneous YouTube Channel.  I've also embedded the video below.

Beauty Box 5 - July 2014

My July Beauty Box 5 arrived a few days ago, but I've been procrastinating on getting this post up.  As I mentioned in my last Ipsy post, I've started a Makeup Miscellaneous You Tube Channel and I did unbox the BB5 in a video as well, which you can view here & I'll also embed the video at the end of this post.

July's box theme is Defining Moments and except for the one spoiler item that is posted on the Beauty Box 5 each month I managed to avoid other unboxings and keep the contents of the box a surprise.

The first item was the one spoiler item I knew about, which is the Revlon Bold Lacquer Mascara.  While a black mascara isn't the most exciting item to receive I was happy that it's a full size product and will definitely try it out.  This is described on the BB5 card insert as both a lengthening and volumizing mascara.  It is also supposed to lift lashes without a curler and not smudge or flake.  That's a lot of claims so I'm curious to see how it works out.  This mascara has a value of $7.99

The second product in my box was the Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in Obsidian.  I own one other Starlooks product which is a a lip liner I received in my April Ipsy Bag.  Once I opened this box I watched some other unboxings and what's funny is it looks like Beauty Box 5 sent out a lip liner as well because I didn't see one other person who got the eye liner.  I'm actually glad I got the eye liner because the lip liner looked very similar to the one I already have.  Obsidian is a soft black pencil liner, and i'm not a huge fan of these regular pencil liners because there is usually some tugging and pulling.  That said I haven't actually tried this on my eyes yet I'll give it a fair shot before making a decision.  The card says it can double as a base for your entire eye.  I definitely think that would be too dark of a base for me but if you were doing a very dark, smokey eye look it might work.  This is also a full sized item worth $12.00, which covers the whole cost of the box in itself.

Next I received a full sized Body Drench Candylicious Lip Balm in Peppermint Stick.  It is a clear lip balm, which is always handy to have around for either use on it's own or under other lip products.  It is infused with beeswax, conconut oil, and vitamin E.  I have used this a couple of times since opening it and it is definitely peppermint and even made my lips a little tingly.  This lip balm is worth $3.99.

The fourth item in my box was a packet of the Hask Argan Oil Intense Deep Conditioning Hair Treatment.  I use a deep conditioner on my hair a couple of times a week so I'm looking forward to trying it out.  While foil packets aren't my favorite packaging there is easily enough product in this packet for 2 uses and it retails for $2.49 per packet.

Finally I received a sample size of Glowing Mama Walnut Face and Body Scrub from Anna Naturals.  This is a vegan scrub that doesn't have parabens, harsh cemicals, or artificial fragrance.  It has a very smooth creamy base with exfoliating beads of crushed walnut.  I am still loving my Derma E Microdermabrasion scrub from May's Ipsy bag but will see how this scrub compares.  The full 4 oz size is $10.99 and while the container isn't marked I'm guessing this as about 1/2 oz so I'm going to estimate the value at $1.37

This box was a big improvement on last months for me so I think I"ll stick with Beauty Box 5 for a few more months and switch to a 3 month subscription to bring my cost down to $10/month.  I estimated July's Box total value at $27.84.  As I said above I unboxed this my new You Tube channel & have embedded the video below.

Beauty Box 5 - June 2014

June is my second month receiving Beauty Box 5.  I received my first month free and  I wasn't blown away by it I decided to give it a try for another month.  While it's not nearly as good of a value for the cost as my Ipsy subscription I do like how consistent they are with shipping.  When you sign up for a BB5 subscription they say you'll receive a tracking email by the 8th of the month and for both months so far that I've been a subscriber I have received my e-mail by the 8th and the box has already been several days into the shipping process.  That said, they do ship DHL to USPS so it still took until today for me to receive my box.

As I said last month Beauty Box 5 only releases one spoiler a month so the rest of the box is a surprise.  This months spoiler was a full sized Nicka K New York nail polish in either a Lavender or Ripe Apple. I got the color Ripe Apple (the strange thing is that I can't find the name of the polish anywhere on the bottle, I just know it from the spoiler), which is nice but not very summery to me so I probably won't be wearing it soon.  I did swatch it onto a nail swatch stick though and the formula seems decent, it is a pretty red creme polish with what seems to be very slight blue undertones.  Nicka K is also a formaldehyde free polish.  The value of this polish is $4.99.

The second item in my box was a 2 oz sample bottle of Vita Bath body wash in Wild Red Cherry.  Vita Bath body washes are free of propylene glycol, mineral oils, and silicone.  I've tried a little foil packet sample of their Dreamy Pink Frosting scented bodywash and liked it so I'm expecting that this will be a similar formula.  There is definitely a strong cherry scent to this bodywash and it's a great size for travel.  The value of this sample is $1.33.

Next I received a foil packet sample of Organix Coconut Water shampoo and conditioner.  Organix is sulfate free and I currently use and love their Tea Tree and Mint shampoo and conditioner, so I'm happy to try another product in their line.  However, I am pretty disappointed in the size of the sample, they're quite small foil packets like the ones that companies frequently send out for free.  I'll only get one use out of these packets which makes it difficult to tell if it's something I like enough to repurchase.  I would have preferred receiving a little one or two ounce bottle, even if it meant just getting either the shampoo or the conditioner instead of both.  The foil packet size made this extremely difficult to value so I'm going to go with $1 (the full 13 oz size bottles retail for $7.99).

 Fourth was a sample sized tube of Glam Natural mascara.  This is mascara is listed as gluten-free, paraben-free, hypoallergenic, and vegan, which is great because I love trying more natural products.  The wand looked practically empty when I pulled it out, but there was some mascara on it when I swiped it on my hand, it just seems to be a very light formula.  This might work okay for me as I have long, dark lashes on my own so for daytime I don't like heavy mascaras.  The full .25 oz size of this is $28 but there is no size listed on the sample tube.  It doesn't look to be even quite half of full to me, so I'm going to estimate 1/3 of the full size and give it a value of $9.33.

Finally in my box I received 4 foil packet samples of the Elsor Introductory Collection Calming Kit, which is a paraben free skincare line.  From the description card it looks like there was supposed to be a foil packet for each of the 4 products, Soothing Refiner & Cleanser, Replenishing Scrub, Comforting Mask, and Soothing Cream.  However, I received 2 Soothing Cream packets and no Soothing Refiner & Cleanser.  I'll try these out but again it's small foil packets that I'll only get one use out of each, so aside from the cream which I'll be able to try twice it will be hard to tell if these are actually worth a purchase.  They are also quite expensive in full size, ranging from $28 to $65.  Again foil packets are difficult to value so I'll give these a $4 estimate, $1 for each packet.  This may seem cheap but there is very little product in each packet.

Overall this wasn't a very exciting box for me, I'll try everything but the number of foil packets was disappointing because these are so similar to samples I get quite a few of for free.  I've come to a total estimated value of $20.65, which is more than the $12 I paid but several of the values were just guesses.  I'm going to give them one more month to see if the third times a charm, but unless it's a lot better than this month I'll be cancelling after that.  One nice thing this month is that they sent out little cards in the box with a new subscriber discount code to share.  If you'd like to try Beauty Box 5 just use the code FREE614 to get your first box free (it will sign you up for a monthly subscription so you'll need to remember to cancel if you don't want to continue receiving it after your free box).  This code will also work for $12 off a quarterly or annual subscription if you want to use it that way, which would bring an annual sub all the way down to $7.25/month.  If you would like to sign up I also have a referral link here, you'll still be able to enter the free box code at checkout.

Beauty Box 5 - May 2014

I'm loving my Ipsy subscription and hadn't planned on subscribing to a second beauty subscription but recently I came across a Beauty Box 5 code to get my first box free, so I figured I'd give them a try.  Beauty Box 5 is similar to Ipsy in that you get monthly beauty related samples delivered, and like their name implies it's always 5 samples.  From what I can tell it looks like sometimes you get full sized products, sometimes sample sized.  A monthly subscription is $12/month with free shipping, or you can reduce the monthly cost by subscribing quarterly for $30 ($10/month) or annually for $99 ($8.25/month).  The annual subscription actually brings it down to the least expensive beauty sub I've seen so far.

The samples come in a cute Tiffany Blue box filled with brown crinkle paper strips.  Unlike Ipsy they don't seem to release spoilers for all their products but release one for each month.  This months spoiler was an eyeliner but the rest of the items were a surprise, which is fun because I don't have the willpower to avoid looking at spoilers on my own.  The website says the box ships by the 8th, and sure enough I received my tracking number in my e-mail on 5/8 and my box arrived 5/14.  Also included is a card describing each product and the price for the full sized item

The first of my 5 items was a Cattiva Precisione eyeliner.  This was their spoiler item so I wasn't surprised by it, but I was happy to receive it in my box.  It is a fairly basic black eyeliner and did seem to glide on my hand quite smoothly.  I do like that it is retractable so I don't have to worry about sharpening it.  This is a 0.012 oz full sized liner worth $20.

Second was a sample size H2O+ Spa hand and nail cream.  I tried it out and it is a nice softening hand cream that absorbs quickly.  It doesn't have much of a scent to it which I like.  This will definitely be going in my purse.  The 6 oz full size costs $15 so this 1 oz sample is worth $3.20.

The next item was a sample size of Aveeno Daily Mousturizing lotion.  I've used Aveeno lotion before and like it, especially since I have sensitive skin, but not exactly a new or exciting sample to try.  I was also a little disappointed to receive two very similar products like this in the same box.  The full size of this is 12 oz so the 1 oz sample size has a value of about $0.71.

Fourth was a mini size sample of Harvey Prince perfume.  I'm not much of a perfume wearer but this does have a nice light scent to it so I'll probably use this small amount up but won't purchase the full size.  The card lists the notes as mandarin, grapefruit, forsythia, and plumeria.  The 1.7 oz full size of this is $55.00 but the little sample bottle doesn't have a volume listed so I don't know quite how to value this sample.  It might seem cheap, but I'm just going to go with $2, especially since you can pick up these sample sizes at perfume counters for free.

The final item item(s) included were 3 single packets of the new ban Total refresh Cooling Body Cloths.  I got a free single sample of this in the mail last week but the package was burst open so I had to throw it out.  This isn't something I would typically purchase but these will come in handy this summer after walking the dog on hot days.  A ten wipe box of these is listed at $2.97 so the three wipes together are worth $0.89.

This was an okay box, and the box value came to a total of around $28.88 (could be slightly more since I just added 2 dollars for the perfume).  Since I got this box for free that was definitely worth it but even at $12 a month it did at least exceed the cost of the box.  I wasn't blown away by this box and don't like it as much as Ipsy so far, but I've decided to go ahead and give it a try for one more month so I will review the next box when I receive it in June.  If you'd like to try Beauty Box 5 I do have a referral link you can use to do so here.  Unfortunately I can't seem to find a current code for a discount or free box, but I'll post one if I come across it in the future.