Apparently, July-2012 had the best samples since Beauty Army officially launched, so I decided to give it a try. I liked the idea of choosing my own samples, I just wish I had more deluxe sized ones to choose from.
About Beauty Army:
Beauty Army delivers makeup, skin, hair and fragrance samples to its members for $12.00/month and the value of your box will always be way above. Based on your profile you will receive a selection of 9 products to choose from. You can select up to six samples or have Beauty Army experts choose them for you. Click here to join Beauty Army.
This is what my July kit looks like on my account page:
And this is what I got in the mail. I liked the shape of the box itself, it looked like a black jewelry box with pink camo pattern inside. I’m not a huge fan of that particular pattern but strangely it seems to work pretty well.
Moving on to the individual products.
1. Besame Cosmetics Crimson Cream Rouge
This is a super concentrated lip and cheek stain with impressive staying power, a little truly goes a long way and I believe I can squeeze at least a couple months of use out of my tiny sample. This color is very bright and flattering, and I love that it’s nice and creamy unlike most stains that dry out instantly. It contains many natural ingredients too: honeysuckle flower extract, jojoba oil, soybean oil, olive oil and grape seed oil.
Full size: $22 at Besame Cosmetics
Sample received: $8.23 calculated value
2. Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment
Wow, I absolutely love this stuff! I have never heard of Macadamia brand before and now I’m seriously interested in trying more of their products. I mixed a few drops of this oil with my conditioner and the result was so good! It improved the quality of my already expensive conditioner, and I didn’t even need a blowout to get straight and silky hair. I’m seriously very impressed with this oil, and now it’s one of the products I would highly recommend to my friends and family.
Full size: $13.50 at Macadamia
Sample received: Full size!
3. Vita-K Professional Age Spots
I got this one for my mom because she would appreciate this cream more than I will. When I had to choose my samples I noticed that this one is a full-size product, so I figured I might as well get it and make her happy. The reviews on this cream are mixed, but as with all brightening treatments you need to use it for at least 2 months to notice the difference and I doubt many of those people have religiously followed the routine. That’s coming from my personal experience with brightening products, if I dadn’t snap before and after pictures I would have never known how much it brightened my skin.
Full size: $14.99 at Freeman Beauty
Sample received: Full size!
4. Delizioso Skincare Mangosteen & Acai Super Anti-Aging Facial Cream SPF 30
This cream is wonderful! It’s yet another brand I have never heard of, and based on just this one sample I believe they deserve to be more popular. The cream smells so sweet and yummy like a tasty dessert, and it left my skin glowing with youthful dewy healthy look that you see in the magazines. It seems heavy at first but it absorbed into my skin fairly quickly, AND it has SPF 30, AND it’s 100% natural! Can’t get better than this, I am totally sold.
Full size: $62 at Delizioso Skincare
Sample received: $20.66 calculated value
5. ATZEN Protective Day Cream
Well, if I had to judge it on its own, then I’d say it’s a pretty good moisturizer, but I still can’t justify the $79 price tag. And if I had to choose between this one and Delizioso moisturizer, I would definitely pick the latter. However, from the reviews I’ve read it’s supposedly safe for people with super sensitive and allergic skin which is a great thing, because it’s really hard to find a good skincare routine when you have skin problems.
Full size: $79 at Atzen
Sample received: $4.74 calculated value
6. Apothederm Stretch Mark Cream
First of all I want to note that anti-stretch mark creams don’t actually remove the stretch marks, but with regular use they can make them less noticeable. They are especially effective on discolored stretch marks (reddish-brownish types), but to see any result you will have to use them religiously twice a day for at least 1-2 months. Obviously, this sample will not be enough to evaluate the result, but it gives me a pretty good idea about the texture, smell and how the product feels on my skin. So obviously I can’t say anything about it’s effectiveness, but I did like the texture and it absorbed into my skin fairly quick. I have some small stretch marks on my chest and back from losing weight, so now I’m trying several different treatments to see which one I like best. So far StriVectin produced the most noticeable results in the least amount of time.
Full size: $89.95 at Apothederm
Sample received: $11.24 calculated value
This was my first Beauty Army box and I was pretty impressed with the product value I squeezed out of it. My favorite samples were Macadamia hair oil and Delizioso moisturizer, I usually just pick one favorite but I seriously couldn’t pick just one in this case – they’re both amazing products and both have a high chance of becoming my skincare staples. However, I cancelled my subscription for now, but not because I was dissatisfied with the products or customer service. It’s super easy to resubscribe and there is no waitlist, so if I feel that I’m missing out I can always just opt back in (I also cancelled Glossybox). The monthly beauty budget I set for myself allows only for so many subscription boxes, and I really wanted to try out Test Tube and Beauty Fix.
What did you think about the samples I chose? What did you choose? Let me know in the comments below this post.
My box value this month: $73.36!