samples

Birchbox - The Luxe Beauty Gift that Keeps on Giving

Birchbox is a service which, for the low price of $10 per month (or $110 if you'd like to give a year's subscription as a gift), provides you with brand new luxury beauty products to try right in your mailbox. It's like moonlighting as a beauty editor for a women's magazine, only you get all the perks and none of the pesky deadlines.

Basically, you know how you see all those fabulous beauty products on the shelves and wonder what using them would be like, and whether they're worth it? Stores have become so stingy with samples and rubbing a little lotion from a tester on the back of your hand doesn't really give you any indication of long-term results. Birchbox eliminates this problem by sending you samples -- big, fat samples, not the weensy ones -- of new high-end beauty products every month. You can even personalize your selection by indicating your coloring, skin type and personal style.

And, if you like something Birchbox sends you, you can go to Birchbox.com and buy the full size directly from the site. This, as well as referring friends and completing surveys about products (both totally optional), earns you reward points, 100 of which results in a $10 gift card good for anything on Birchbox.com. Brands include Naturopathica, Luxist favorite Laura Mercier, Tatcha, Kiehl's, NARS, Stila, Too Faced and more.

I wasn't sure that Birchbox was necessarily the right fit for Luxist, but then I saw the glee on my friend Beth's face when her Birchbox, made of 100 percent recycled materials, arrived. As she rifled through the sizeable samples, excited to try out the products chosen especially for her, I realized that Birchbox has all the makings of a luxury gift: high-end products, generous servings, personalization and delightful packaging. It's like getting a special present every month. Birchbox is truly the luxe beauty gift that keeps on giving.

Tags: beauty, Birchbox, gifts for mom, gifts for women, holiday gift ideas, holiday gifts, samples

Packing Is Easier with 3floz.com

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Services, Cosmetics and Fragrance, Men's Style, Luxury Shopping

With the fall and winter travel holidays right around the corner, you need 3floz.com. Launched earlier this year, this site stocks TSA-approved sizes of popular (including high-end) beauty brands. No more need to create your own minis, and if you're like me, risk spilling half the bottle as you try to transfer some of your favorite toner or lotion to a smaller bottle. The site is easy to navigate -- you can look up products by category or brand; pick up a kit; search by organics-only; and even browse for products for men and babies. Great for sampling, too, if you aren't ready to commit to a full-size product. Free shipping when you spend $100 or more.

Tags: 3 ounces, 3 oz., beauty, packing, samples, travel, TSA

Drinks by the Dram Offers Sample-Size Whiskies

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

We've seen the tiny bottles concept take off for wine sampling, now online retailer and independent bottler, Master of Malt, have launched a similar service for whisky. Drinks by the Dram offers 3cl (30ml) samples of a rapidly growing range of Scotch whisky and other spirits from across the globe. The UK company offers small bottles from distilleries including Glenfarclas, Bruichladdich, Edradour, Macallan and more as well as a selection of port and dessert wine samples. The drams are labeled with handmade paper, and each bottle individually wax dipped to seal it. A full list of samples is available at: http://www.masterofmalt.com/drinks-by-the-dram.

Tags: drugs, samples, scotch whisky, tinybottles, whisky, whisky sampling, whisky tasting