I was very excited when the July Allure Beauty Box showed up the day before my birthday with a special treat inside! It really had nothing to do with my birthday but the timing was pretty great.
Price: $15.00/month
Box Type: Monthly beauty box featuring 6 high end beauty product samples (and sometimes full-sized products!).
Why you’ll love it: Top brands, great price, new products that you will love! A great way to sample expensive products without committing to the price tag. Each box comes with an Allure mini-magazine that showcases each product and is as quality as you’d expect from a magazine powerhouse like Allure.
How To Subscribe: Click here! (If there’s a space for it, tell them we sent you! They don’t have a referral program but they obviously should.)
As I mentioned, there was a special “thank you” gift for being a long-time subscriber – a pair of Baublebar earrings! Do they know me or what? Obvs they did not tailor this to my preferences, but they might as well have! They also included a $20 gift code to Baublebar which will totes get used – after I see what I get for my birthday, of course.
But I love these gold hoops! They are unique to my jewelry collection and are actually two pairs of earrings in one – the small hoop is actually a separate piece from the bigger hoop, so you can wear them both together, or, you can just wear the smaller hoops. Neat! I couldn’t find the exact style on the website, but I would estimate their value around $30.
And now back to the regular scheduled programming. The Allure Beauty Box comes with the special Mini-Mag where Allure editors lay out why they like the different products in the box, similar to what they do in Allure magazine.
And here’s everything we got this month!
Feel Harmony Rose Petal Facial Mask ($55): I feel like I am very spoiled with sheet masks when an actual mask just seems like too much work. However, this is a gel mask, which is different than the typical cream or charcoal mask, so it actually seems pretty refreshing for the summer. The Mini-Mag had an awesome suggestion – to put it in the fridge to make it even more cooling and refreshing! This mask smells like roses and has skin-calming ingredients like aloe and Vitamin E, in addition to vitamin C for its skin brightening properties. I will definitely find it within myself to use this “real” mask soon!
Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil ($105): So this is the big-ticket item this month, because Sunday Riley is essspensive. I’ve never tried this product but it’s been hyped up by Influencers and magazine editors for years now. Essentially, Sunday Riley found a way to put skin-clearing/anti-aging ingredient retinol into an oil so it’s not drying as it normally is. When I used this for the first time, I kind of forgot it was an oil and was sort of expecting a serum. It’s definitely an oil. The oil itself is a dark blue color but it blends right into your skin. Al though I have combo/oily skin, I do enjoy using oils at night or when I’m not wearing makeup because I love the moisture different facial oils can give me. This particular oil has a slightly herbal scent, and absorbs into the skin quickly. This sample is a decent size, so I hope I will see a difference in my skin! But I also hope I don’t because… $105.
Doucce Ultra Precision Eyeliner in Blue ($22): I have tried some shadows by this brand that I haven’t been super impressed with but otherwise, I haven’t tried anything else. I am really excited about this pencil because it’s a slightly lighter, more electric blue than the other blue eyeliner I have, so I am hoping it will really pop on the waterline.
Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Wherever Walnut ($18): I am really glad I got this more brown-y nude shade instead of the red shade that some people received, because I feel like this is a little deeper than my natural lip color, and I think this will look really pretty under sheer glosses. These Artist Color Pencils are designed to be used all over the face, even on the eyes. I think it would be cool doing a kind of editorial monochromatic look on both the eyes and lip. But I mostly see myself using this as a lip liner, and I’m excited because the formula looks really nice.
Ouai Haircare Leave-In Conditioner ($26): Ouai Haircare is sort of the “it-girl” hairline in 2018, as its creator, Jen Atkin, is well-known for working with the Kardashians, but is even more well-known for her effortless, piecy, cool-girl styles. I don’t like leave-in conditioners for every day use, as they can weigh my hair down, especially when I try to go several days between washings. However, on weekends when I don’t have anywhere to go, I’ll spray in a leave-in conditioner and let my hair air dry. This way, my hair gets a break from heat-styling and a bit of extra moisture.
Olay Regenerist Whip Face Moisturizer ($38.99): What I love about the Allure Beauty Box is that they keep the value of the box really high. They will sometimes include a drugstore product, but most of the time, like this month, it’s considered a bonus gift rather than part of the monthly box. However, in this case, the full-size of this Olay drugstore moisturizer is actually quite pricy at almost $40. I’m actually quite interested in this formula, as it’s supposed to be lightweight and a bit matte, which might be awesome for combo/oily gals like me. This is also an anti-aging formula so over time, it’s supposed to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. When you read this, I will officially be 36 years old, so I am always going to be down with anti-aging products. I’m normally not very interested in Olay products but I am glad I got a decent size of this to try out.
Derma-E Essentials Mineral Powder ($21.95): This is the only item in the July box I’m not super enthused about. At first, I thought this was a powder sunscreen, but apparently, it’s more of a setting powder that does contain a physical sunscreen. Even though it does have SPF, it shouldn’t replace your regular cream sunscreen, as you get more even coverage with a cream. In either case, I’m not really in the market for a new setting powder, as I’m super happy with my Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder ($38), and I use so little that I feel like it will take me over a year to get through even the travel-size version!
The Organic Pharmacy Antioxidant Lip Balm ($21.50): Ugh, I was so disappointed to learn that one of the first ingredients of this lip balm is castor oil, because this looks like an absolutely lovely lip balm. I happen to really love fancy lip balms like this one (if I’m feeling REALLY fancy) and this one when I’m just feeling regular fancy. So I am sad that I won’t be able to use this one, as the other ingredients look really nice: rosehip oil, jojoba, shea butter and vitamin E. Oh well, I will pass this along to my mom or a friend and I’m sure they will love it!
Final Grade: A+++
I am absolutely in love with the July Allure Beauty Box. Not only did I get a new pair of Baublebar earrings, the box itself was fantastic. I believe that I will get consistent use out of all of the products except for the setting powder. And I know whoever gets the lip balm will be quite happy, and I am jealous that I won’t be the one who gets to use it! However, I will still be able to use 6 of the 8 products which is still fantastic. I would estimate the value of this $15 box is around $141 (including the earrings) which is insane. That is definitely hitting the subscription box jackpot, for sure.
If you are interested in signing up for yourself, click here!
laurenelectro
A self-proclaimed beauty junkie/hoarder with a serious Sephora problem. This blog is a total rationalization of that problem. Everything is TOTALLY fine. Her free time is a mixed combination of making fun of reality TV with her husband, hanging out with cats and finally trying to figure out how to do her hair.