Kara's Way

Photo shamelessly stolen from Kara's Way

Until a month ago, I had never heard of subscription sample boxes. Have you guys?

A friend of mine from work told me about Kara's Way because she fell in love with one of the full-size products she received in her November box.  It was the DLe Light Up Lip Gloss that sold her.  I actually fell in love with it myself and bought a tube.  At almost $9.00/tube, it's more than I've ever spent for lipshit lip stuff, but I really like it.  I always have some form of lip stuff with me, so I'm trying to convince myself to give up my other stuff and use my expensive stuff, at least at work.

For $15/month you get between 5-10 samples (usually at least one full-size item) of hippie-friendly beauty products.  I own *zero* make-up. Before, when I had an event that required make-up, I'd just borrow the Ashinator's, but now that she lives on her own, her make-up lives with her.  I easily get overwhelmed when going through the make-up aisles and have no idea what I want or even how to use most of it.  Since I'm not much of a make-up wearer (I know, I know, SGG, but I'm trying), I thought that by subscribing to this service I would get to try out new stuff without being overwhelmed.

Due to our self-imposed quarantine, I didn't get to the post office to pick up my box until today and I'm super excited.

There were six items (one full-sized) in my box.

Included in my box:

• Hollybeth Organics Grits and Honey Scrub sample size ($25/2 oz) - I'm getting old and have been looking for something to use on my face.  It's so dry here and I constantly battle with my face in the winter.  I'm really excited to use this.
• Sheswai Lacquer full-size ($16/bottle) - This is definitely hippie-approved; there is no formaldehyde, toluene or dbps.  I immediately tried this (pics later) because I had read some pretty impressive reviews on it.  I will say, I am disappointed in the brush, it's not all one uniform length, so there are four or five strands that are longer than the rest and it makes it hard to use without dragging polish all over your cuticles.  I'm relatively certain that it's not the norm for them, that I just got a not-so-great brush.
• Native Touch Warrior Bear Rub sample size ($11.99/ 1.8 oz) - This is supposed to be good for dry skin, cracked heels, cuticles, etc.  I opened it and don't like the smell.  There's tea tree, lavender, and rosemary essential oils in it.  I think it's the tea tree oil that is off-putting for me.  Since I have a friend who makes fabulous balms that I *love*, I think I'll pass on this.
• Coastal Scents African Black Soap sample size ($12.95/16 oz) - This is made in Ghana and is supposed to be great for skin problems - rashes, acne, eczema, and dandruff.  I can't say as I have any of those issues, but I'll try the soap out because I really like the idea of it.
• Priti NYC Soy Nail Polish Remover Wipes sample size ($9.99/10) - Are you kidding me? Almost ten dollars for fingernail polish remover?!  Uh, no.  I'll keep poisoning my body with the buck-a-bottle crap from WalMart or King Soopers. Having said that, it worked beautifully to remove the paint from my nail that was all effed up from the dumb brush on the lacquer.
• TruJoy Sweets Organic Candy Cane bonus sample - it's listed as organic, corn-syrup free, no artificial colors or flavors, vegan and gluten free.  I'm no so sure about it.  I might not be brave enough to try vegan candy.  Oh, who am I kidding?  It's candy, I'll try it.

Like I said, I immediately tried the nail polish lacquer.  Other than the brush issue, it went on nicely and dried fairly quickly.  I only put one coat on:

You can see that I had some issues around the base of my nails because of the funky brush, but one coat covered my nails well and I don't see any need for a second coat.  I'm hard on my nails - usually I have chips within 24 hours - so we'll see how long it lasts.

Overall, I'm thrilled with Kara's Way. I signed up for a three month subscription, though you can do it month by month if you'd like.  I was so excited about the idea that I bought a two-month subscription for the Ashinator for her birthday.  Hopefully, she'll like it as much as I do.

Has anyone else used a subscription sample box?  Who have you used and what have your experiences been? I'm dying to hear, because I think I'm pretty well hooked.

Note: this was not a solicited review - I was just so excited about my box, I had to write about it.