Unboxing Loose Button/Flare Luxe Box for February 2012

I got a 6-month subscription of the Loose Button Luxe Box as my Valentine's Day gift from Mr. J this year (Yay! Isn't he the sweetest?). I've been flip flopping over these deluxe sample services as I couldn't decide which one to go with. Apparently, Mr. J was paying attention to my rambling and ended up choosing for me. As a matter of fact, this was an early present as he got it for me a few days before the 14th. That turned out to be a good thing as I was able to activate the subscription just in time to get the February box instead of waiting till March to get my first box! I'll let the photos do most of the talking (fair warning: there's a whole bunch after the jump!):

 As it came in the mail!

 Oooh, a red box! (V-day approved.)

 Loose Button + Flare Magazine = Red Luxe Box

 Outer box slides out to reveal...a Flare pamphlet.

 The paperwork that came with the box. 

I'm a little disappointed that there's not much personalization here at all; everything's generic.

For the curious: included are a survey announcement from Olay, a discount card for Dealuxe ($25 off $75), a promotional subscription offer from Flare magazine and a note from Loose Button and the Flare editor.

 Other side of the product pamphlet.

 The ONLY personalized anything in the entire package.

(Fun fact: It says "Stacey" because that's my first name. Carmela is my middle name.)

 Ta-daaah! The samples inside.

 Cargo Lash Activator: Been wanting to try Cargo so this is a yay!

 Olay Regenerist, 7mL: This is going to my mom. Or my mom in law. Nay on this one.

 Moroccanoil Treatment, 25mL: Been dying to try this for ages but keep getting put off by the price. Definite yay here!

 Dermalogica Microfoliant, 13g: I've heard good things about the brand so another yay for this one.

Three yays and a nay. Not bad, Loose Button, not bad at all!

The sample sizes I got were definitely deluxe sizes. The only product I wasn't too keen on getting was the Olay Regenerist sample. Not only is it something that I'm not looking at getting to begin with, but the brand itself isn't exactly luxurious or high end. For someone who wanted in on this deluxe sample subscription to try expensive products for a fraction of the cost before dishing out $$$, Olay just isn't a brand I'd lump in that category. To be fair, the Regenerist line *is* pretty pricey for a drugstore skincare line. But really, my beef comes with the fact that (I wonder) if I had only been able to set up my profile and account, I might not have gotten the anti-aging cream.

Redeeming a gift subscription apparently doesn't allow you to set up a password so you can access your account on the Loose Button website. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who encountered this problem so I sent out an email to address the issue. See, I was more concerned that there was no confirmation email to say that I had successfully redeemed my gift subscription. In fact, it only said that once my box was shipped out, that would be the only time I'd get a shipping confirmation email. By then, I had figured that if I was getting my first box in March, I wasn't waiting a month to confirm that the gift subscription redemption had gone through! Besides, I wanted to make sure I had a profile set up to ensure that I got the most out of the product/sample choices available for the month (in that they suit my skin issues/needs). I got a reply two days after that said the redemption did, in fact, go through but it would take up to 14 business days to update my account (as of this writing, I still can't access my account but the 14 business days aren't up yet so I'll just be patient about it). Since I was expecting to get my first box in March, it was definitely a pleasant surprise to get a shipping confirmation email last February 17th. Shipping wasn't too bad as I got my box on February 21.

Hammie says the trade off between not being able to access my account (which is definitely fixable and was promptly addressed) and getting my Luxe Box sooner than I expected is definitely worth it. The lack of personalization compared to the past boxes (the October 2011 boxes we've seen are sooo personalized with your name on most of the pamphlets!) was a tiny bit disappointing, but apart from that, he couldn't really find anything not to like in February 2012's box. Even the shipping was speedy (considering Family Day was on the 20th). As for the kinks in the system, he says that hopefully given time, everything should be ironed out as it should be. His score for this month's Luxe Box?

9 Hammie Points!

Happy Monday! We hope this starts your week off right. Have you subscribed to Loose Button? What do you think of this month's Luxe Box samples? Are you looking into getting one of these deluxe beauty sample subscriptions?