Allure Beauty Box March 2018 Subscription Box Review
Allure Beauty box sends 5-6 beauty samples for $15 plus tax a month. Shipping is free. Items are chosen by Allure editors so products can range from drugstore to high-end. There is no rewards program with this subscription and it took me months to even get my referral link. I am not even sure it works anymore, but I attached it anyway. Most items are deluxe, but there are times when 1-2 products are full-sized. It retails for $15 plus tax. Boxes usually ship in the third week of the month, and the charge for the box gets processed the day the box ships. New subscribers get charged the day they subscribe. If you are a new subscriber and there are boxes left in the month you subscribe, you will get a box from that month. When the month is sold-out, you will still be charged upon subscribing, but you will not get charged a second time when your first box ships the following month.
There is a mini magazine inside the box that goes over all the products inside. It gives detailed information about the product, the cost to purchase the full size, and where to purchase it. This is a magazine that hosts a subscription box so I get why this is in there. A brief box description from the editor is at the front, and an ad for a product not listed in the box is near the back. The main reason I stopped paying for magazine subscriptions is because ads outweigh the articles. When the ad is bigger than the “article” from the editor, this mini is like all other magazines available today. I just want stuff I can read, because I am a writer at heart.
This one has a promo code so I took a photo of that page.
The contents are loose inside the box with white crinkle cut paper. Red and white vibes give me a Christmas feeling. I like that.
Most boxes are the same, but there is a little variation when Allure does not have enough of a certain product. Allure told me they never make substitutions without notifying someone, but I know that is not true based on receiving a substitution in my January box without getting notified.
The 0.1oz La-Roche Posay Anthelios Ultra-Light SPF 60 Sunscreen is worth $1.74. My Dad had skin cancer so I always wear sunscreen when I am outside. This is one I have not tried yet.
For the first time, members were able to select a shade from four colors. The 0.16oz Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation is worth $6.81. I selected the lightest available, which was Y245. That was a shade I already knew did not work for me, and I’ve gifted this foundation in that shade before. Allure actually sent me Y225, Sand Beige. Of all the MAKE UP FOR EVER shades I’ve swatched, this is the closest to my skin tone. It was a great substitution. Once I wear this, I will edit in a picture and a review.
The 1oz Oribe Free Styler Working Hairspray is worth $4.67. I do not use hair spray often, but I’ve loved everything I’ve ever tried from Oribe. It is one of those brands I love to get samples of, but I would probably never purchase. If I really loved something, I could overlook how expensive this brand is.
The 0.04oz Eyeko Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner is worth $12.57. Thanks to extremely hooded eyes, shaky hands, and shoddy makeup skills, I am not a huge liquid eyeliner person. I love getting samples so I have something new to try. Maybe I just have not found the right product to work for all of my liquid eyeliner woes. This is a sample I’ve received before, but I had not tried. It is time to try it so I will edit in a review once I do.
The full-size 30 Simple Water Boost Micellar Eye Makeup Remover Pads retail for $5.94. This is a product I have not tried yet but am happy to receive. Whenever I remove makeup, I always use a separate product for my eyes. Ones I’ve tried for the face either burn my eyes or do not effectively remove all the makeup. Hopefully, these remove everything without burning me. I will let you know how it goes.
The 0.04oz Make Up For Ever Artist Lipstick in Rose Wood C211 is worth $7.33. This is a duplicate of a product I already own. As the original is at my ex’s house in another state and I have no clue when I will see it again, I opened this sample for the swatch. It is a beautiful rosy-nude that flatters my skin tone. I like the formula of this lipstick, but it has been a long time since I wore it. After I wear this again, I will upload a picture and a more recent review.
The 0.3oz Laneige Water Sleeping Mask is worth $3.26. This is a sample I’ve received before, but I have not tried it yet. With warmer weather coming, I would like to try a lighter weight sleeping mask. I will try this soon.
Here is a picture of the 3 color items together.
There is usually an offer for $5 off your first box and a free welcome gift. If that offer is not available, Google affiliate reviews. While I am unsure if there are any affiliates for this box, I know larger bloggers get special links and therefore may get better offers. The FAQ says the welcome gift may come separately, but mine came in my January box.
The box has a $42.32 value. This brings the average box value for the year to $83.94. That average will keep dipping (for those who stay subscribed), because the January box had an unusually high value. My personal value is also $42.32, because the items I have duplicates of are all at my ex’s house. In order for me to swatch and try them soon, I had to open the ones I received here. If I hate them, I can always gift the unused ones I have at my ex’s house. Even if I had removed the items I already owned, I am still happy to try the 3 items that are brand new to my collection. As the value of those 3 items falls below what I paid, I hope I like some of the items I already owned. It will be an added bonus to have a second product ready and waiting if I do.
I decided not to continue with this subscription anymore. It is not that I did not enjoy the boxes. When you start with a box that includes a full-size $85 serum, there is only one place to go though. The main reason for my decision is the contents of all boxes get announced in advance. If I see a box I cannot live without, I can always re-subscribe. As much as I love subscriptions, I do feel there is a point where you can have too many. This put me at seven (Allure Beauty, Birchbox, Fabletics, FabFitFun, Julep Maven, Sephora Play, Walmart Beauty). Of these seven, I have two (Fabletics and Julep Maven) that I can skip instead of canceling making them the best ones to keep. Two more are quarterly boxes so they feel like a bonus when they arrive. That left me with the three monthly boxes I cannot skip. Allure was just my least favorite of the three so it had to go.
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notcreative View All
I'm Kimberly. Shopping is always more fun when I've found the best deal available, so I am always on the hunt. My father instilled that in me, and I love that I carry a piece of him. Sometimes, my husband and sons (12 and 7) let me shop for them, too. They do not use as many beauty products as I do. We can all benefit from nice products, even though their routine ends with moisturizer. That is when I can convince my 12-year-old to apply it.
I have subbed to Allure off/on. If it were $10, I probably would be consistent about staying on. I now have Sephora, Julep (Just earned enough points for a free box!), Wal-Mart, & Boxycharm (my fave). I might try Tribe & Ricky’s Cult Crushes next. I have been enjoying your blog!
Thank you. If it was $10, I probably would have kept it. While it has a higher value on average than my $10 boxes (especially with the January box pushing up the average), I view it the same way I view those. One thing I like is it usually has at least one full-size item, unlike my other two where it never happens with Sephora and is rare with Birchbox. What looks awesome about the $11 box you mentioned is I know I would get new products. I get too many repeats in my Sephora Play Boxes. That is great when I love the items I am getting dupes of and less great when I don’t. For now, I stay subscribed, because I use the dupes of the items I am not in love with to put together gift sets for friends and family. This year, I am trying harder to get rid of dupes I will not use quickly before they sit in my stash too long.
Notcreative, I searched for Boxycharm and could not find any posts. Are you subscribed to it? What are your thoughts on it?
I’ve never been subscribed to it. I like subscription boxes, but I never want to have too many at once. Setting some of my beauty budget aside for things I know I want is important. If I drop another subscription, I would consider it. Some of its boxes look nice, but others do not impress me. They seem a little hit or miss, which is okay for a $10 box, not a $21 box.