Allure Beauty Box Review – December 2016 + $5 Coupon
Allure Beauty Box is a monthly beauty subscription from Allure Magazine. Each month they send out a mix of deluxe and full-size samples from mostly high-end brands!
This box was sent to us early for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: Allure Beauty Box
The Cost: $15 a month
COUPON: Use this link to save $5 off your first box!
FLASH SALE: Use this link to save $5 off every box for the next 4 months!
The Products: Deluxe and full-size beauty and makeup samples.
Ships to: the US
Check out all of my Allure Beauty Box reviews and the Beauty Subscription Box Directory!
Swap for any item in this box from the Allure Beauty Box Swap page!
Each box comes with a booklet detailing the items included and why the Allure Beauty Editors selected them.
Now, onto the items!
Coastal Salt & Soul Heavenly Hand Cream – FULL SIZE! Value $10
(Good to know for swaps – has inner foil seal.)
All subscribers will receive one of the scents: Blushing Peony, Mediterranean Citrus, or Ocean Gardenia
This Ocean Gardenia scent is described as sweet and tart – and I think that’s a perfect assessment! The formula absorbs well, is super hydrating, and didn’t leave my hands feeling greasy. This cream formula is great – but if you aren’t a fan of fragranced lotions, I’d recommend skipping this one – the scent is pretty strong!
European Wax Center Oh My Brow! Highlighter – FULL SIZE! Value $19
I’ve received this highlighter crayon a few times recently thanks to subscription boxes! (Fortunately, it works well!)
On one end, you have an easy-to-blend highlighter stick, and on the other side:
A smudger!
Here it is swatched:
That’s the boldest version of this highlighter (blended out it’s difficult to detect in a swatch picture.)
TULA Advanced Neck Cream – .5 oz Value $23.50
(Good to know for swaps – has inner foil seal.)
This is a rich cream that felt indulgent and gentle on my skin. (I would recommend using this primarily as a night cream as it does take some time to absorb.)
Embroylisse Lait- Crème Concentrate – 5 ml Value $2.70
This is a lightweight facial moisturizer with almost a milky like consistency. It absorbs well, is paraben-free, and also unscented. (And apparently makeup artists love this product because you can use it to hydrate skin without interfering with makeup!)
Beauty Blender Liquid Cleanser – Sample Size
I love my Beauty Blender, so I’m always happy to get more cleanser. (I’ve tried cleaning the Beauty Blender with hand soap – it’s not the same.) If you don’t have a Beauty Blender, this works equally well on cleaning makeup brushes.
Klorane Makeup Remover – 25 ml Value $2
Subscribers will receive either this or one of 5 other items (spoiled here) as their 6th item. This makeup remover is gentle and does an excellent job of removing ALL makeup – A+!
Verdict: This box has a value of about $57.50. That’s great for a $15 beauty box. I’ll use everything in this box, and I’m really loving the neck cream, the makeup remover, and the Embroylisse Lait- Crème Concentrate! (This is a good basics box for me!)
What do you think of the December Allure Beauty Box?
This box is regularly $15 a month, but you can use this link to save $5 off your first box. (If you sign up before the end of December, your first box will be the December box.)
Written by Liz Cadman
I got the Kevin Murphy hydrate me wash and was so impressed I’ve completely switched to that shampoo line, total luxury for your hair. The moisturizer made me break out for some reason, which typically doesn’t happen. The rest of the products were just ok, but the shampoo find was worth subscribing!
I used to have this box and dumped it. I resubscribed recently because the January previews looked so great! I like more makeup in my box, the main reason I dropped this sub. It’s usually like this, with non-makeup products and even when they do give you makeup, it’s usually not a very fun product. So, while I am a little disappointed at the proportions of this box, the stuff is actually pretty nice!
The Ocean Gardenia hand cream smells like Pez. The scent is kind of strong, but the cream works well and there are worse things I could smell than Pez. The lotions are nice. I use the highlighter as an eyeshadow, like I almost always do with highlighters. Haven’t tried the hair volumizer yet – I already have thick hair but I’ll give it a shot over the weekend, in case it makes my hair too huge.
I loved this box. For someone who wears very little makeup and has spent too much time in the sun in my youth, a box filled with skin care products is crack to me. I do agree the ocean gardenia scent on the hand cream is a bit much scent wise, but I use it night and have not woken up with my head stuff so that’s a win. My sixth item was kevin murphy anti-gravity sooo nice! adds great volume to my hair as a smoother when I blow dry or curl my fine straight hair. Face stuff was brilliant…declaring undying love for the decollete cream.
I got this box. Only complaint is the hand lotion scent is overwhelming and does not dissipate with time.
I looked forward to this box, but am disappointed. The hand cream sounded so promising, but instead it smells like a cheap gift shop. I received the Ocean Gardenia and my sister received the Peony. Both smell cheap, and unfortunately the scent lingers. The brow highlighter sounded interesting, but my eyeglasses hide my brows. The brush cleaner is nice.
I got SkinCeuticals Blemish + Age Defense as my sixth item. I am happy with this box.
I got Avene body oil (50ml) instead of the Klorane or other listed “may vary” items. Body oil isn’t really my thing, but it’s a decent comparable variation. *ahem glossybox*
I clean my sponges and brushes with a mixture of Dawn dish soap and olive oil. The olive oil conditions the brush while they are being cleaned.
I just subscribed back in October so I have only received the November and December boxes so far. I am a bit disappointed to find both boxes are overwhelmingly creams/lotions and shampoo. I suppose I thought there would be more makeup involved. Not sure I will continue my subscription into January.
Wow. This box looks really good! I’m kind of regretting not buying one 😢
The best way to clean beauty blender is with bar soap! It comes super clean, super fast!
Great review, as always.
I ordered a beauty thrills from allure and my package was missing one of the items. I’ve contacted them three times now and they tell me it’s been taken care of as they would send me a replacement (With an approximate 4 week time frame), but it’s literally been like 10 plus weeks and I have gotten nothing. I have been getting nowhere with customer service. It’s not the end of the world, but I feel if I paid for something that they advertised they should deliver in some way. Has anybody else had trouble with Allure in this regards?
Yes I had the same problem several months ago. My box was missing 2 items and I reached out to customer service and they said they would ship them out and nothing. Too busy to keep following up so I gave up and still nothing.
I had a missing item once. It may have taken a couple of months to be replaced, but it did finally come. It came in a mailing envelope out of the blue.
This was the best Allure box for me in a long time. I’ve been hoarding that highlighter crayon and am thrilled to have another. It’s the only thing I use for my inner eye highlight now; it’s subtle but effective. My sixth item was the Avene body oil in an impressive size. Overall just really pleased with the items and sizes.
Hi Amy M. I have the highlighter crayon and was going to list it to swap. If you want to swap for it, please shoot me an email at Luisita64 at aol dot com.
Does anyone happen to know when the Allure Beauty Thrills box is supposed to ship? I ordered the Fall box last year, and I swear I had it by now this time last year. Thanks!
Mine came Wednesday Dec. 14. Are you talking the December Thrills box with the NARS Blush? You should have gotten an email saying it had shipped too.
You might need to call them to double check.
Thanks for your reply, but I’m referring to the Allure Beauty Thrills box that comes out 3x/year. I think you’re referring to Allure’s Best of Beauty box. I just looked at MSA’s post regarding the Beauty Thrills box (which I should have done in the first place, but didn’t think about it until now), and people who have contacted CS says they’re saying shipping has been delayed, and that Allure hopes to get it out prior to the 25th. I don’t really care when I get it, just as long as I do! I’m just glad it’s not just me, and I don’t have to deal with their CS!
Ok, someone please help? What is the brow product for? Does it go ON your brows or under them? It is also for hi-lighting other parts of the face? I feel dumb for asking, but I need some direction pretty please. 😀
Yep, it’s for highlighting under your brows. You can also use it on your cheekbones or anywhere else you want to highlight since it is so easy to blend out. Hope that helps!
Yes, it totally does! Thank you! 😀
Didn’t like the shampoo I got in this box and the last. I couldn’t get over the smell of the mask in the last box yuk. I use olive oil and dawn dish soap equal parts to clean my beauty blender. Works better. The highlight is ok But I’ve got a lot of them. I haven’t used the neck cream yet. I’ve got to use up my eye cream before I open this one. I got both boxes a week apart. I know I’ll never but that brand of masks ever. Smelled like rotten orange juice.
What funny timing to read your comment that you use Dawn dish soap to clean your brushes. As I was doing my unboxing today I was all excited that I got another Beauty Blender cleaner, since I’ve received that in the past and liked how well it cleaned my brushes, and the person who was watching me said that she only uses Dawn dish soap to clean her brushes too(!), which I would never have thought of doing, but it makes total sense. 🙂
I got my box today, and I received the Kevin Murphy shampoo instead of the Klorane eye-makeup remover. The weather is so cold where I live today that I honestly thought I received a conditioner instead of a shampoo because it was so thick, and didn’t budge when I turned the bottle upside down. Ha! I even had to consult the insert to confirm what type of hair product I received. I’ve received Kevin Murphy products in past Allure boxes, and I’m so happy to get another one again! (although, I’m not a fan of the packaging)
I’ve had some items in beauty boxes lately that had to thaw, too! 🙂 Glad to hear you got Kevin Murphy – I love all the Kevin Murphy hair products I’ve sampled!
Yes! This morning, even my house was so cold that I could barely squeeze some of my cleansing balm out from the tube it’s in! I truly thought I was about to pop to the tip of the tube (which I’ve done before with products that won the battle 🙂 ).
My variation had the Avenue body oil, I can’t wait to try it out! For once I feel like I got a variation product I am happy with 😊. The Kevin Murphy products are great, but I despise receiving shampoo OR conditioner in my subbies.
That cover model’s eyebrows — yikes! The bushy eyebrow trend has officially gone too far!
I know! They may be the worst I’ve seen. I don’t understand this trend at all. We laugh at the big hair days of the 80’s but just wait 5 years and these women will cringe!
I know right! LOL
And it was awfully ironic considering they included a product from European Wax Centers LOL.
😄
Yikes is too kind, lol This trend is horrendous!
Lol one girl’s trash is another girl’s treasure. I looove the full brows. Maybe because I have never had this naturally. Even in the 90s when pencil thin was a trend, I always filled in. My boyfriend thinks the full brows are awful, but I love them.
why are you posting the packaging boxes alongside the products? It looks like there is twice as many more items as there actually is. Very confusing and misleading.
We often try to include pictures of the packaging (especially when it is nice packaging), in case that’s useful info for anyone who is considering subscribing. I’ll keep in mind this feedback for future pictures, though. Thank you!
Don’t worry, Liz, it’ not misleading. It’s nice to see the packaging as well as the product. Thanks for the great review, as always!
I don’t think it’s misleading either. Actually it’s helpful for swaps. Thanks.
I for one, love when you include packaging pictures! Keep it up!
I think it’s great that you add the packaging. It makes the product more interesting 😊
I actually like to see the packaging so I know exactly what I am getting in my box.
I don’t subscribe to this beauty box, but you can tell which items go with which boxes. They are right next to each other with the same designs. Once you get used to this website it won’t seem misleading.☺
Agreed!
The box seemed just “ok” at first but now having it in my hands, I’m really pleased with it. I got the SkinCeuticals blemish and age defense and I’m super excited to try it! Got the hand cream scent I wanted (citrus, yay!!), just over all really happy! Thanks for the great review 🙂
I got the SkinCeuticals Blemish & Age Defense also, and it is super amazing so far. I’ve used it as a spot treatment for the past two nights and it has helped with a few lingering spots that seemed like they were taking forever to completely disappear. It didn’t leave me all dried out either like typical zit zapper,lol. I’m hoping to make it last though cause it is very expensive.