Do you need a Beauty Fix?

Beauty sample programs seem to be all the rage right now, but none of them have really appealed to me so far - much as I LOVE to sample, beauty products falling just behind expensive chocolates in my esteem, I'm very particular about my skin, and a random selection of products didn't seem like a great idea for me - what if I got a foaming face wash, maroon lipstick and a grainy facial scrub in my box? That wouldn't do much good for my sensitive skin and deep hatred of burgundy shades.

But then I found BeautyFix, and the fun began. Their absolutely lovely people offered me a free order to review and feature, and I've been very pleasantly surprised. They're an offshoot of Dermstore, where I get a lot of my cosmetics anyway, and offer a sampler box every three months (four times a year) for $49.99. They have a panelist of experts - makeup artists, dermatologists, beauty bloggers, etc - pick a large group of products to offer. You then fill out your particulars - skin type/hair/eyes, and you're presented with a choice of about 50 products, of which you can choose 8, plus a little bag.

About half the products are full sized, and most are good, high quality brands, and things that I'd actually want to try - because I'm cunning and a little neurotic, I filled out several of the questionnaires for all different skin types, so that I could be sure no one with medium/oily skin was getting something different that I might want. There were cleansers, treatments, serums, moisturizers, hair products, eye shadow, lip balms, etc. Overall, I had a good range of choices, and picked mostly expensive skincare, and things I'd wanted to sample anyway. Four of the items were full sized, and four were deluxe sample sized - so much larger than your average freebie. Just one of the full sized peels was worth more than the cost of the whole box.

(all shipments are subject to inspection by Tito upon arrival at The Blossom Shed.)

I think that if you love your skincare routine, and aren't into experimenting, you won't get much out of this - yes it's a great deal, but you're paying for things you don't really want/need, and you could just put the money towards your favorites - $49.99 is steep for most people to play around with products. However, if like me, you're looking to fill some gaps in your routine - I need a good eye cream, and always love new creamy cleansers, etc - it's fantastic. You also can get a $25 off coupon to Dermstore if you fill out a review on two of the products - which takes about two minutes - since I get my moisturizer from them anyway, it's very handy. I've only had the box for a day, and I already really like the moisturizer, hair serum and eye cream - I haven't even tried the others yet, but I'll try and review and feature all of the best ones in the future.

So, basically, if you have a little cash and don't quite know where you want to spend it - this is a fun way to find some new favorite products that are particularly suited to your exact needs. And there's nothing better than having a bad day and coming home to a box full of goodies on your front step. Not for me anyway, I'm very shallow and easy to please.