Kelifornia79

Allure Beauty Box May 2016

Hey Beauty Fans!

Today I will be reviewing the May Allure Beauty Box.

For $15.00 per month you will receive a box containing 5 or more deluxe sized beauty products from today’s most luxurious brands.

One of my favorite things about the Allure Beauty Box is how carefully it is curated and the awesome little mini mag that is included in each box.  It gives excellent descriptions and tips for each item in the box with a descriptive and down to earth introduction to the boxes content.  I love the beauty director’s honest representation of each product.

The Box:

Allure Beauty Box May 2016

Obviously, this box is amazing and has been a pretty hot topic as well… I never look at my box spoilers aside from the occasional first spoiler, as I prefer the surprise.  I saw most of this May’s box by accident and a mere mention of a cleansing device inclusion…and then the madness that ensued.  It seems as though a lot of new subscribers flocked to Allure to subscribe when the news of The Luna Play spoiler broke.  While I do not know the logistics of it all I do know many were unhappy to find that they would not be receiving this particular May box; I assume b/c there were just not enough goods to support all of the new subscribers.  I for one, am thrilled to be a long time subscriber, because their boxes are amazing; though I too, have been disappointed by Allure’s past decisions.  For me, they righted their wrong…so we’re all good.  😉 but I totally get the disappointment when issues such as this arise and the feeling of being misinformed…or uninformed.  This being said, the boxes really are fantastic for a mere $15.00 and  I hope all of you reading got this box if you wanted it and if you are not yet a subscriber, what are you waiting for? Check it out before you miss out on another great box!! The Beauty box

The Goods:

foreo trio set

The infamous Foreo set

Foreo Luna Play

Luna Play by Foreo: $39.00

This is essentially an ‘approximately 100 time use’, disposable version of the Luna mini.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Luna; it is a facial cleanser, designed for all skin types, which provides deep yet gentle cleansing through a waterproof facial cleansing device that channels T-Sonic™ pulsations through soft silicone touch-points for a deep cleanse.  The pulsing is similar to those mini massagers you often see around the holidays in the inexpensive gifts section and all of the teeny little silicone nubs are soft yet effective, and non abrasive like a standard scrub can be.  While some people look at this device and view it as ‘wasteful’, ‘too pricey for a disposable’ etc etc… I see it as a great way to try the product prior to spending over $140.00 + for the rechargeable version as well as a great version to have if you travel, like myself, as it’s extremely small and portable and does not require any charging equipment.   I have never really gotten in to any of the cleansing devices or facial brushes, as I viewed them as possibly overkill for my sensitive skin.  I have been sticking to the Konjac sponges; but when I tried this, I loved it.  It’s like a mini facial massage and my skin feels clean and smooth after.  I think the morning and evening cleansers, also provided, worked really well with the product too, which leads me to the next 2 products.

 Foreo Day & Night Cleansing duo

Foreo Awakening radiance yogurt Day Cleanser:  Deluxe Sample size.  Full size product is $30.00

Awakening is a refreshing cleanser that begins as a creamy yogurt and transforms in to a  light foam.  The formula is designed to target the skin’s day time needs and the invigorating scent certainly wakes up your senses. It has a citrus scent due to its mandarin, bergamot, and apricot fruit extracts designed to purify and hydrate, probiotics, from the yogurt and vitamin C that nourishes and protects.  While I’ve only used each of these cleansers a few times, I really like them so far.  The unique cleansers work well with the luna play and provides a pretty enjoyable cleansing experience.  My skin feels super soft and ultra clean after using each of the cleansers yet not at all stripped or tight which happens to me with most deep cleansers, aside from heavy oil based versions that always break me out.  Though it’s not been quite enough time to know for certain if my skin loves these cleansers, it’s pretty promising so far.

Foreo Celestial Melting Gel Night Cleanser: Deluxe Sample Size.  Full size product is $36.00

You just read how I personally feel about these cleansers so I’ll give a brief description of this one, which is my favorite of the two. Celestial is a detoxifying cleanser featuring meteorite powder, moringa extract, and almond oil.  Product begins as a gel with little bead like specs in it and transforms in to a milky cleanser.  It is designed to target over night needs and provides: deep cleansing, exfoliation, and diminished effects of pollution for smooth, luminous skin.

Lauren B Beauty Nail Polish

Lauren b. Beauty Nail Polish in Santa Barbara Surf: Product is full size $18.00

I own several Lauren b. nail polishes and just recently received a gel like top coat from the brand as well; and I love them.  I love the brush, the formula and the packaging.  The shade is described on the site as a sea foam green but definitely has blue in it.  Whichever way you chose to describe this shade, I adore it and it’s the type I like to wear constantly in the summer months.  It looks great with white, gold, silver or black added as an accent nail design and is beautiful on its own as well; plus, it’s formulated with out all of the bad junk.

Lauren b beauty polish swatch

try to disregard my mangled cuticles

Cōtz flawless complexion sunscreen spf 50

Cōtz Flawless Complexion SPF 50: Deluxe sample size.  Full size product is $20.00

I have received some Cōtz sunscreen samples before which were ultra white, thick and heavy so I was surprised to find that this one was light, not so heavy or greasy and had a light tint to it.  This sunscreen also claims it will not clog pores providing blemish free sun protection; which for me means, I may actually use this one.

cotz flawless complexion swatch

arm swatch

Make Up Forever Smoky Mascara

Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara: Deluxe Sample/Travel Size $10-12.00.  Full size product is $24.00

I really like MUF but I’ve tried this mascara so many times and while I do really like the brush I do not like the formula.  I find that it is very wet, resulting in all of my lashes sticking together, it leaves them far too damp and they never seem to dry.  I like formulas that keep my lashes feeling flexible but not the types that I fear will melt on a hot day and transfer easily to anything that touches them.  With so many, many great mascaras in every price range; this version is simply not for me.

Equitance brightening and spot correcting treatment

Equitance Brightening Serum + Spot corrector: Deluxe sample size.  full size product is $125.00

This is a pricey serum with excellent reviews backing its claims of lightening both dark spots from age and hyperpigmentation as well as acne marks and scarring, plus brightening of the skin.  Because you need a good 3-4 weeks to see any real results I’m uncertain how well it will work for me; but because it does not bother my skin at all and I did see minimal results from a similar type of product I received from an allure box, I will definitely use it nightly to see if I have any positive results from the product.  I love skin care and receiving these types of products so if it does do something spectacular you can expect to find a full review on it at a later date.

Pixi by Petra Mattelustre Lipstick in rose naturelle

Pixi Mattelustre Lipstick in Rose Naturelle: product is a mini.  Full size is $12.00

This lipstick is a semi matte, full coverage lipstick in a tawny pink shade.  The shade is pretty neutral but darker than I expected.  I love the shade because it’s a major amped up darker, deeper shade of my own lips and it looks and feels excellent on.  It’s creamy and glides on easily, sticks around really well;  just an overall, great lipstick.  Pixi products have a great price point and I’ve been using a ton of their products lately.  I look forward to trying more of them and will definitely purchase this lipstick in its full size version.  The cute little box this mini came in also includes a $2.00 off coupon, which gives me further incentive to do so. 🙂

Pixi matte luster lipstick swatch

arm swatch

This was an excellent box with so many new products to try.  While it is hard for me to put a value on it due to the deluxe samples; the luna play, polish and mascara alone put it around 68.00, which is incredible even without the addition of two cleansers, sunscreen, serum and lipstick mini.  Totally thrilled with this box!

Interested?  Check it out!

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-Kelli xoxo

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  1. danniijane

    X

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  2. danniijane

    Wow what a great box. Lots of exciting things for you to try☺ ‘

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. kelifornia79

      Exactly

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. And The Color Green

    This box turned out great! I have tried that Foreo cleanser from BB but never with the massager. I don’t get allure but had hear of some disgruntled fans and now I see why!! Who doesnt want a face massager!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. kelifornia79

      Haha, right!? I know, it is an excellent box. I assume a massive amount of people tried to sign up after seeing the spoiler and a lot of them ended up on next month’s…and were not pleased with that or how it was handled. Unfortunate. I adore the box though and have subscribed for more than a year. It’s one of the best, especially at its price range.

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      1. Jenna

        It ended up being a bit more complicated than that. A lot of folks who signed up before the spoilers and even a few current subscribers who had been getting boxes since March were told that they’d be bumped to June. I personally had a bit of a runnaround. I signed up on 4/7 (before spoilers) in hopes that the April box wasn’t sold out, but I did notice on the site it said that new subs would start in May. So I figured I was out of luck on the April box. I called up CS to see if maybe hopefully there was a chance. Nope. CS confirmed I’d start in May and assured me I wouldn’t be billed again until after I’d received my first box.

        Fast forward to 4/28 and the huge uproar on My Subscription Addiction when folks who saw spoilers and signed up realized that their orders were being cancelled and that they were told they’d be getting June first. My initial reaction was same as yours. They’d signed up late and the box was sold out. But I called to be sure… Sure enough, CS said I’d be getting the June box and not the May box, as it had been oversold. At this point, I’m flabbergasted because the simplest explanation says they’d been selling something they didn’t have for over three weeks without noticing. Allure says boxes were sold first come, first serve and offers to send me a “we’re sorry” box. I’m okay with this, as I’ve got plenty of inventory in my current stash, and I’d ordered before spoilers anyway.

        Fast forward to a few days later, and folks who subbed in March are saying that they’ve also been told no on the May box. Add to that, folks who got the Allure Beauty Thrills box are being double billed due to a glitch in the system. Add to that, there are folks saying that they signed up as late as 4/28 and are getting the May box– most of whom have older accounts that were reactivated. (There are some exceptions where some were new accounts signing up as late as 4/15 and old accounts that didn’t get a box, but for the most part, if you’d had an old inactive account and reactivated as late as 4/28 after the spoilers, you got a May box while folks who signed up before the spoilers didn’t. This shot the “first come first serve” theory straight to you-know-where.) THIS on top of some very rude customer service experiences (including outright lying to some folks) on top of no official statement from Allure on what went wrong is what sparked the most outrage.

        Fast forward to yesterday and my usual visit to the /r/BeautyBoxes subreddit… Apparently, the line from CS that the May box was oversold was also a lie, and at that time they were simply filling orders placed before April 1. People who ordered in April were instead placed on a waiting list to see who got boxes, and as folks cancelled due to not getting the May box, folks who stayed subbed moved up on the waiting list. Now, I along with a lot of other people are getting tracking information and confirmations from CS that we are in fact getting a May box after all.

        It’s just been completely nuts from start to finish.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. kelifornia79

        Ahh yes. I’m not at all shocked by the mess and no, that’s not quite what I meant..I was simply saying lots of people did in fact sign up b/c of the spoiler and they didn’t get the box…I explained a bit more on my blog. I can’t remember how far back in my
        Allure reviews it is, this year though, I too, have dealt with their ‘stellar’ way of doing things. haha! It’s funny too, prior to the Allure takeover from their partnering with Beauty bar (I was a member back then and dealt with their transition) ..was the beginning of the issues. The box was still really good back then, but pretty basic in comparison. I can’t tell if it is simply that they are attempting to do more than they can handle or if they are just intentionally being kind of shady. Either way, I too feel that their way of doing things has been unethical at times and I wrote them a lengthy email letter voicing my opinions and feelings. It took some time but I finally received a response and a solution that I was happy with and following this the CS rep I dealt with happened to be a very good one, at this time. I’ve certainly no doubt that what people are claiming and dealing with are not in haste and it’s unfortunate as eventually, despite how good the box itself is, Allure will lose enough subscribers to effect them negatively. I contemplated it myself, during my fiasco but b/c it’s not a pricey box for me and I like it so much, I stuck around. Had they not responded and dealt with my issues I likely would not have felt the same and if issues keep coming up, that effect my subscription, I certainly will. But, yea, I mean; I totally get it. It’s infuriating to be treated with such little regard. I only read the ‘goings on’ on one occasion and stepped away. I had not yet heard any current subscribers state they had not or were not receiving the box at that time, but it definitely had me concerned so I was hoping I was not going to have another issue. It sounds like a total mess and they are in dire need of a company makeover, including a CS training program! I thought after their first big fiasco this year that they would work hard to fix their issues and treat their subscribers with more respect but it is certainly not looking that way. So sorry that you were a casualty of this mess yourself.

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      3. Jenna

        Oh, I was just kind of trying to give a breakdown was all. I wasn’t sure how caught up you were. And then I look back and… Wow, that was long for a comment!

        Best I can tell, it’s not something malicious on their end. It’s three things at once: 1. Inventory system technical issues. 2. Customer service training issues. 3. Lack of response from the company. Even if Allure has no idea what’s going on, a quick “we’re looking into it” goes a long way.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. kelifornia79

        Haha! I am an avid over explainer. I thought nothing of it. 🙂 Yea, I agree…and some of what I mentioned when I spoke to them. How hard would it be to simply address all subscribers with a mass email explaining & apologizing? While not technically righting the wrongs, at least it tells customers that they are owning up to it with a little: Hey, we screwed up & we are working on our issues…etc. Nobody likes to be in the dark nor should they have to be in charge of finding their own answers.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. And The Color Green

        I know the drama of the sub box world….so entertaining….!!!!

        Liked by 1 person