Beauty Box 5 Tricks Of The Trade almost made me dump them and why I reconsidered, realizing I was being a spoiled baby

 In October 2012, I came very close to cancelling my BeautyBox 5 subscription because I received this box. I'm the first to say that samplers are all about that- sampling products and finding things you just can't live without or would have never thought to try, but this one just seemed SO skeebly that I couldn't even be sure that I'd actually even gotten my $12 worth. I bet I did just barely.

When my yearly sub ran out, I should have taken advantage of the huge price break that you get for a yearly sub- only $8.25 a month. There's no way to NOT get your money's worth then! I think we've all gotten so spoiled by samplers giving us huge amounts of near free stuff that when it actually hits the financial nail pretty close we feel ripped off. If I had gotten this a few years ago, I would have been a lot happier- there are so many subscription services out there now that you really have to raise the bar to keep up. Do something unique and innovative, really follow through, really keep people's attention. 

One complaint that I've heard about BB5 is that they tend to have repeats of brands. I think that a lot of people don't realize that they are actually at the mercy of the companies providing the products. No, the sampler doesn't purchase them to then sell to us, they're given by the company to promote their product. They hope that we'll fall in love and buy more. What we're paying for is the service provided- scouting these companies out and getting these samples to us. I hear all the time "but I could get that sample at Sephora". yeah, and you'd have to buy something to get it. luckily, they seem to have really stepped up their game since this box (notice I said ALMOST cancelled- I'm still a subscriber.) 

I think what sank the presentation on this one was that 3 of the samples were flat items giving the impression of  those skeebly packette samples. In actuality, the products included in and of themselves were worthwhile items more or less, and despite the lack of flash, BB5 usually gives me a box where I can use every single item in it. 

So kvetching aside, here's what I thought of the actual products. 

Lash card 2 pack - well I'll be a monkey's uncle. They actually WORK! Isn't that what samplers are for? I would have never thought to buy these, but I'm glad I got to find out how cool they are! You place them behind your lashes while applying mascara and you magically don't get clumps, your lashes are more defined, and you don't get little eyelid dots like I tend to get. You can use them a few times before tossing them.

Furlesse elevens
Like the concept, but these are for wrinkles at the bridge of the nose between the eyes, which thankfully I don't have (yet), so these went into my mom's Christmas box.

Showstoppers ROCK! They aren't your standard double stick tape- they're made specifically for this purpose. They're very durable and don't leave an adhesive residue on your clothing. You can fix a hem, close a gap, avoid a nip slip, hide a bra strap...... Also very portable, I keep a few in my makeup bag just in case. I love these for when I realize that a button hole is loose and my shirts wants to come unbuttoned all day. I get leered at at work enough without the girls randomly whipping themselves out.... Look at all these celebs who've used Showstoppers!

City Lips lip plumper in one word? OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!

No kidding, I actually came very near to tears. I asked a friend of mine to try it to see if it was just me, and apparently it isn't. I'm guessing this based on the fact that she called me a bitch and threw a sofa cushion at me. It DID plump up my lips a ton, but no thanks. I had to wash my lips with facial cleanser and then slather moisturizer on them to make them stop burning.

Luckily, the lip balm from Goat Haus Dairy came to my rescue. This is one of the best lip balms I've EVER used. I have to say, I'm honestly stunned by how good it feels on your lips. Soft, creamy, smooth, moist, nourishing..... I could go on and on with the adjectives. Goat Haus Dairy is a family operated business in Bryan, Texas. Happy, well loved free range goats are the source for their superb products (their bath melts are also divine) And you can tell they put a lot of care into making their products. Oh! And the balm smells like vanilla sugar, too! It's pretty cool to be able to look on a company's web site and see their source in action :-)

Babybees!

Margania pure Organic Argan oil is just that. Nothing but straight, organic argan oil. No fillers, no synthetics, no silicone. If you've never used argan oil do yourself a favor and get some NOW. This extremely nourishing oil is a miracle worker for skin, hair, eczema, wrinkles, scars, acne, cuticles and on and on. In your hair it makes for intense shine as well as a wonderful scalp treatment. On your skin it delivers intense vitamin E. What I like about the Margania line is that not only is it organic and pure, but it's also wildly less expensive than many other lines. 

So see? Despite my whining, I actually liked almost all of the products, I had just fallen into the trap of ridiculous sampler expectations. Plus- as you can see by my reviews of more recent BB5's, they've really upped their game.