Allure Beauty Box August 2016 Subscription Box Review

Allure Beauty Box is a monthly beauty subscription service that sends deluxe sized product samples and is curated by the editors of Allure Magazine, who choose and test the products themselves. It is $15 a month and if you sign up for a year long subscription you will pay for 11 boxes and get the 12th free. The amount of items sent each month varies and you can earn a “referral bonus box” in each month that a friend subscribes using your personal link.

Each box comes with a mini magazine that gives tips on how to use the products, how much the full-sized product costs, and where to purchase.

This month’s theme was “Wake-Up Call” and these items are designed to help you look rested, even if you get by on less than 8 hours of sleep a night and a whole lotta caffeine.

I received 8 products this month: 3 for the face, 3 for the hair, and 2 makeup items. The items were shipped in a plain brown box that contained a glossy red box inside and there was tissue paper and shredded paper for packing. There was some variation among the boxes this month and the shampoo and conditioner weren’t even listed in my mini magazine.

Garnier Whole Blends Honey Treasures Repairing Shampoo and Repairing Conditioner  (47¢ each) seems like an odd choice for a luxury beauty box. These drugstore products are designed to help strengthen and heal damaged hair which tells me they are moisturizing and therefore too heavy for my fine hair so I will pass them along. Both of these items contain royal jelly, honey, and propolis extracts and have a sweet scent.

The Wet Brush Midi Brush ($11.99) can be used on wet or dry hair to quickly detangle knots. My hair is chin length and it worked really well for me!

Supergoop Defense Refresh Setting Mist SPF 50 ($6) Although I love my Supergoop! SPF CC Cream, I didn’t fall head over heels in love with this setting spray. My main concern is that as soon as I sprayed this SPF 50 product on my face it immediately went up my nose and eventually into my lungs. That can’t be healthy. It is designed to mattify makeup, minimize shine, and protect with SPF but unless you spray it on heavily the SPF protection is less than that. My Banana Boat Sunscreen Spray says do not spray directly into face, so why would Supergoop! tell us the opposite? The directions say to spray 7-10 times and I couldn’t get past 2 sprays without worrying about my poor lungs.

Freeze 24-7 Anti-Aging Eye Serum ($40.25) Glycerin and aloe vera are two of the soothing ingredients in this cream that is supposed to send those (under eye) bags packing and help reduce the appearence of fine lines, dark circles, and puffiness. Can also be used on other areas of the face as needed for firming. I didn’t see any immediate results but hopefully I will see some kind of improvement eventually.

Pur-Lisse Blue Lotus Balancing Moisturizer ($16.50) is suitable for normal, dry, or sensitive skin and helps hydrate with white tea and blue lotus extracts along with algae and glycerin. It has a light scent that fades fast and it absorbs quickly too.

Mally Mattewand Eye Brightener ($25) This is a 2-in-1 product that has a peachy colored pencil on one end and a matching shadow that is loaded into the cap of the other side so that each time you open it up it is already on the applicator. Here is a tip from the Mally website on how to use this eye opening product:

Use the pencil end of the wand to softly line the inner corner of your eye; creating a sideways “V.”

Flip the wand over and use the light-reflecting matte powder on the other end of the wand to soften that “V.” Smudge the powder lightly from the inner corner of the eye to the inner part of the bridge of the nose. You can also blend with your finger or a cotton swab to make it undetectable.

Another Tip: You can also use this on your brow bone for an instant eye lift, or on your cupid’s bow for fuller lips.

Love it!

Cargo Swimmables Eye Pencil in Pebble Beach ($12.60) I love receiving brown eyeliners in boxes and this one is waterproof and is supposed to stay on for up to 14 hours. It went on smoothly and stayed in place all day so I will happily add it to my daily makeup routine! (After all that praise, the tip promptly broke when I swatched it on my arm.)

From top: Mally Mattewand Pencil, Mally Mattewand Powder, Cargo Swimmables Eye Pencil in Pebble Beach.

My August Allure Beauty Box had a value of $113.28! My favorite item this month was the Mally Mattewand Eye Brightener, which was worth more than the cost of the box, but it looks like some subscribers may have received a different item so the box value may not be the same for everyone. Allure Beauty Box makes an indulgent yet affordable monthly treat and I liked the variety of products sent this month.

Have you tried Allure Beauty Box yet? What do you think of this month’s products?

Visit Allure Beauty Box to subscribe or find out more!