Unboxing Loose Button Luxe Box May 2012

I delayed posting about this particular box when I belatedly received an email from the company that said a bonus box for the month was coming, as well. They had already sent out the actual May box so that came earlier. The bonus box didn't come until maybe a week after I had received the other. By then, I was knee deep in the Twin Posts with Marta that I had to put it off some more. So before June ends, I thought to finally have this one written. Truthfully, I had high hopes for this box. I've been lamenting about how I've never been lucky enough to receive a full-sized nail polish bottle in any box thus far. I was hoping to end that drought with this box. Won't you come see what it had in store for me?

Now, let's see what we got for May...

Suspense killing you yet?

 The sole touch of personalization: personalized sticker.

 Hmmm...what do we have here?

 ***Apologies for the flash but this highly light reflective packaging wreaked havoc with my camera.

I'm excited to get another Orlane product. I've been enjoying the eye cream from a previous box but this tiny bit of conditioner (at 7mL) is definitely not enough to cover even half of the hair on my head! I'll probably get less than a single use from this as my hair is pretty long at a couple inches more to waist length. Tsk.

 Perfume samples? Really? Don't you get this for free at the perfume counter at your local mall? It's not even a deluxe sized sample! I have to admit, it does smell nice. A musky/woodsy/floral sort of scent that makes me think of black roses, if that makes any sense. I'd probably want to wear it during the cooler months, though. Well, at least Mr. J finally got something out of my boxes, too. ;)

 As a follow-up photo, I recently opened the packet to find that this was all the product that was inside. I haven't even used it and it's already halfway finished. Not particularly pleased about that.

 Now, we're talking. This is a full-sized product that I'm thrilled to get. You can never have enough lip glosses, right? This one's in a shade called Vermont, a peachy/brown nude with golden shimmer. I'm really interested about the packaging, too. It had this little thingamajig that you insert in a slot at the top of the brush cap that's supposed to say how "fresh" your lip gloss is. Definitely doing a review on this soon!

  

 So...getting this one made me laugh. Mostly because I snagged a tube of this during the last Shiseido Warehouse Sale that I went to. It's really good though, so I'm happy to get a travel-sized tube.

 May was Thank You, Mom month and this was included in the package. 

This just further reinforces my theory on the P&G and Loose Button partnership.

 I'll be honest. This one weirded me out. I'm not too keen on receiving underpants in the mail that some stranger chose for me based on a profile I filled out. Where's the fun in that? I suppose it would make for an interesting gift if your significant other bought you the subscription, or if you're too busy to shop for your own undies (Seriously? I worry about you.) but I doubt I'll be jumping on this particular bandwagon.

 But wait, there's more! 

We got a bonus box this month! How promising that it says "Bath and Body" on the box. *excited*

 ..but all that's in there is a razor (that I don't use) and another of those pesky Olay Regenerist samples that I've already passed on to my mom in law. *sigh*

Here's a recap photo from the main May box.

I'm feeling a lot ambivalent about this May box + bonus box. There were some decent samples in there, true, but I'm not entirely sure they outweigh the minuses. Even the bonus box wasn't much of a bonus in my mind. Because of some new changes with the subscription box policies, I've also realized that gift memberships don't really get the same perks as if you signed up for the service. I've seen other unboxing posts where a service called "First in Line" is an option given to subscribers. Using that service, you can pick a particular sample to receive in next month's box. Think of it as a sneak peek of sorts where you can ensure that at least one sample is bound to be a hit. I never had to opportunity to opt in for that service. Nor have I successfully logged into my account to update a profile till I received an email about the upcoming changes. Remember how I posted about contacting the company months earlier? Yeah, it was never resolved. Until now when I only have one box left in my gift subscription.

To be fair, I think this is another classic case where the demand far surpasses the supply. The "First in Line" option might have been a band-aid solution to reports of disgruntled subscribers not getting samples that they liked or fit their profile to a T. But it doesn't really solve much. Now, they've done a complete overhaul of the system where the subscription now echoes Topbox policies such that it's now by invitation only. This might not seem fair to those who would like to opt in on the service NOW but it would help the company control the demand while they work out their supply issues. Here's how the new system will work:

 You read that right: no more monthly boxes. They're following the seasonal trends and doing a box every three months instead, shipping out on February, May, August and November. But they did increase the sample count from 4-5 to 7-8. They've also included more interactive events with the subscribers in the form of Members-Only perks. Now that might be interesting for the early trend adopters among us.

I'm supposing their partnership with Flare from the February Luxe Box was so successful that they've partnered again to give potential customers a bonus 3-month subscription to the magazine.

If I were to break down the price tags on the new plans, you actually get a reprieve of sorts between them. Not by much, though. If you opt for the Quarterly option, you end up paying about $8.67 per month. That's not bad when you consider it originally went at $12 per month. If you go with the Semi-annual plan, you end up paying $8.33 each month. That's a savings of about $1 each quarter compared to the Quarterly plan. Annual means you shell out $8 every month which gives you a savings of $2 each quarter compared to the Quarterly option. I do have to point out as well that the price per sample also increases. $12 for 5 samples brings each sample cost to $2.40 while $26 for 8 samples brings it up to $3.25. That's a pretty significant leap, wouldn't you say so?

In the meantime, this explains why there won't be a June Luxe Box as my last box had been (happily) upgraded to the Fall 2012 Luxe Box that I'll get in August. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll luck out this time with a full-sized bottle of nail polish.

Hammie isn't sold on the May Luxe Box. He says that while the total cost of the box, including the bonus box would equal for more than the $12 paid for it, the actual samples were a bit lackluster. The only high points in this box were the Cargo Blu-ray Lipgloss, the Joico sample and the Orlane conditioner (despite the tiny size). According to him, the bonus box felt more like an afterthought that only gave P&G another venue to promote its products. Everything considered, he gives the May Luxe Box a so-so score of:

5 Hammie Points!

Happy Friday! I've got another jam-packed weekend with no respite in sight. That would normally be a good thing except I'm feeling a tad under the weather. I probably caught the same thing that had Mr. J working from home for the past couple days. Being sick isn't much fun at all, especially when you can't have any ice cream! Anyway, I hope you have an awesome weekend ahead! What do you think of the May Luxe Box? Would you score it higher than Hammie's 5 points? Will you continue subscribing (or want to subscribe) to the quarterly Luxe Box?