I subscribe to a few beauty boxes and whilst browsing for a new one to try came across Latest In Beauty, a company that aims to give you a choice in what products you pick. They offer 3 services the Little Beauty Box, Luxury Samples & Themed Boxes. There is also a Private Sales option that allows members to access discounts on luxury high end products. I decided to try the Little Beauty Box & the Build Your Own Box (the current themed box was sold out unfortunately). I will do a full review of all the products I received when I've had a chance to test them properly, but for now I'll give a quick review of the boxes and the Latest In Beauty experience.
After signing up to Latest In Beauty you are taken to your profile page to answer general questions about your colouring, skin & hair type. This is to select products that may be of interest to you.
Little Beauty Box
Concept
"The Little Beauty Box is what Latest in Beauty is famous for. Usually featuring standard sample sizes like sachets and small vials, the beauty box allows you to try a product once or twice to get a feel for it. Based on the information you provide when you sign up, we recommend the products that we think are right for you. You can then select the exact free beauty samples you want to try from our recommendations in three categories: Skincare, Body & Hair and Makeup & Perfume. We'll package up your three chosen samples and post them out to you in our trademark pink beauty boxes once a month".
Basically you have 3 pages of product samples ( the number of selections varies with stock levels) and you can choose one sample per page. In theory the samples are linked to your profile answers. You then text a code to the selected number and this is how you are charged for the samples & post ( £1.50 plus your standard network charge).
This is what I received:
Packaging- Simple Card Board Box
Contents
.5x 1ml sachet samples of LAVERA Liposome Intensive Night Cream
-A rich, thick and luxurious moisturiser with the refreshing scent of wild rose.
. 2x 2ml sachets Elemental Herbology Cell Food repair serum
- An anti-ageing powerhouse that gives skin radiance, protection and a rebalanced complexion
. 2 x 1ml sachets L'Occitane Immortelle Divine Cream
- Voted the best 'Anti-Ageing Miracle Cream' by The Beauty Bible, this is the ultimate anti-ageing solution.
Review
The box arrived within about 4 working days which is pretty quick. The packaging was very simple, just a plain cardboard box with no inner packaging. There was no product information or a letter about the box. As stated all the samples were sachets. Although I got the choice of 9 products and chose these 3 they were not the best suited to my skin type (the choices are supposed to be matched to the beauty profile). I will do a full review on each product in a separate post. One of my sachets was actually missing; I've contacted customer service so will follow up with how they deal with that. The box was obviously cheap, and really £1.50 probably covered the cost of the post not including the products. Would I order this again? Yes and No.... if there was a particular set of products I wanted to try I would reorder the box. This is a good way to get hold of samples... not all companies give them away so it's an easy way to get them. This is not a subscription so you can pick and choose if you want a box. Some people think because it is sachet samples it's not worth the £1.50 but as I said that's probably just about covers the postage of the package. I was a bit disappointed there was no info about the products received, not all the sachets have full details instructions so I had to go back on line to see what they were for/ how to use.
**** Follow Up****
I contacted customer services about my missing product and received a response within less than 24 hours apologising, and was promised the missing product would be sent out immediately. I received a new box a few days later not only with the missing sample but two new ones plus a discount voucher of the product to use online. I was very impressed with how quickly my problem was dealt with and that a small compensation was made for the inconvenience. Thank you latest in beauty!
Summary
Pros
.The box is non subscription so you can order or not each month
. You can pick which samples you receive
. Cheap, the cost is really just postage
. Good way to get samples of products that may not usually be available
. If you are travelling small samples like this are ideal
. Pay by text makes it convenient & no fuss
. No subscription, so choice to order or not
Cons
. You do get choices but you can only choose one option from each page
. Choices offered may not be a true match to your beauty profile
. No product information included with box
. Packaging is basic
. Samples are sachets rather than mini products
LUXURY SAMPLES "Build Your Own Box"
"If you'd rather try products for a little longer before making up your mind, our new Luxury Samples are perfect. These larger samples (similar to 'travel size' bottles or tubes, providing enough product for at least a week's usage) give you a bit more time to make up your mind about a product, but still save you having to buy a full size straight away. These luxury samples work particularly well for high-end products - is it really worth splashing out on that £100 face cream? Try it for a week or so for a fraction of the cost, and you'll soon find out!"
The "build your own box" allows to pick travel sized samples of a larger selection of products (currently a choice of 23). You can pick one of each sample product. This allows you to create your own box, picking which samples you want to try. Prices are widely ranged from £1 to over £20 per sample. Most of the samples offered are at cheaper cost of what they are worth. The final cost will obviously vary on what or how many samples you pick, plus £2.95 shipping cost.
This is what I received:
. Angela Langford Normal/ Oily Skin Duo Pack (£3.50)
-5ml x Perfect Pores Serum
-3ml x Balanced and Beautiful Facial Oil
(came in pink pouch with info pack & 15% discount for A.L products)
. Cyrine Aromatherapie Acne Prone Skin Cream (£2.50- 5ml pot)
-This specially formulated natural cream helps your skin heal and reduces
future occurrences of acne, without the drying effect of many treatments.
.L'Occitane Angelica Hydration Cream (£5- 15ml pot)
A fresh, silky and smooth day cream
.Melvita Skin Duo (£6)
-1 x 15ml Naturalift Moisturiser
- 1 x 35ml Rose Nectar Fresh Micellar Water
-Experience pure skin hydration with this floral and fresh duo
. Le Belle Natural Skincare Hero Duo ( £5)
-10ml x Anti-Ageing Daily Moisturiser
-10ml x Creamy Cleanser
Review
The box arrived very quickly within 3 days of ordering. The packaging was a plain box with only a letter to say thank you and to give a recap of what I'd ordered. This box too had no product information. The total cost of the box with packaging was £24.95 (£22 for products & £2.95 for post), which is pretty expensive (although the approx total cost of products included is £37.99... which makes a £13.99 saving). This box gives you the benefit of seeing the products available and you can order as many or few products as you wish, so it could have been cheaper. However if you compare this to Glossy Box who also offer 5 samples (some full size) at £12.50 inc post it seems very expensive in comparison. Also other beauty boxes have quite fancy packaging & an information booklet to explain the contents which this does not. Would I buy again? Although this is more money than I would generally want to spend on sample boxes (other boxes are cheaper) I would use the service again if there were particular products I was interested in. The benefit of it being non subscription is that I can opt in or out of ordering. It would properly be best to set a budget though to keep cost reasonable. The products offered seem quite high end so it is a good way to try them, the larger sizes offered in this box means you get more of an experience of what they're like (each is supposed to last 1-2 weeks). Also the sizes offered are perfect travel sizes, a lot of these companies do not have travel sizes available on their own websites so this is a plus. If your looking for an economical beauty box option this is probably not for you and I'd recommend looking into the £10 range boxes. However if your quite picky about which products you try and do not want to be held to a subscription then this box may be a better option than other boxes on the market.
Summary
Pros
. A wide choice of samples to try
. A lot of high end products on offer
. You can choose what you want & how much you want
.Perfect sizes for travel
(a lot of the companies may not have their own travel sizes available)
.Samples last 1-2 weeks allowing you to get a feel of the product
. Quick order to door service
. No subscription, so choice of purchasing or not
Cons
. Cost
- it can be expensive in comparison to same amount you'd get in another beauty box
. No frills packaging
. No information about the products included
. Samples offered are not specifically tailored to your profile so you have to choose carefully
. No surprise in what you might get
The Themed Boxes
As I mentioned earlier there were no Themed Boxes available when I joined (they are limited quantity). But this is what they offer:
"Our themed boxes make it easy for you to try a selection of recommended luxury
samples without any hassle.Throughout the year, we will put together a selection of products - these may be
seasonal picks, products designed to cater for a specific beauty issue or event,
or a branded box in conjunction with a retailer or organisation."
Here are some pics of previous themes boxes
Refresh & Recover Box (£6.95 + £2.95 P&P)
Red Carpet Collection Box (£15=£2.95 P&P)
20 years of Beauty Greats
(promo price - £5.95 + £2.5 P&P worth £55!)
Skincare Stars Box (£12 + £2.95)
This is only a few examples of what boxes have been released by Latest In Beauty, but I think they look really good. Prices vary so you can choose a box which best suits your price range. They are also non subscription so you can buy if you want to. The only downside is they are limited supply so you need to be quick if you want to get your hands on one. You can see what's in them before you purchase the same as the other two boxes. I like the fact they are themed which makes them quite a fun choice. They seem to offer really great products. I'll definitely be on the look out for the next box and will follow up with a review.
Other services Last In Beauty offer
After you try a product you can review it, Latest in Beauty will then add it to
your "personal shop" section of your profile so you can click the link and purchase a full size version any time. They also offer a "private sales" section which offers large discounts on high end products. Also Last In Beauty has a Blog which not only informs you of new beauty news as well as discount codes on a range of products
