All those late-night study sessions, parties, and even plain old stress can take a toll on our skin by the middle of the semester—not just the skin beneath our eyes. Heck, my skin can definitely use a good pampering from all those sleepless nights, as well as a little something extra to spice up my skincare regimen.
A subscription box that specializes in skincare is From the Lab. All the cash going into ads for a typical beauty product can really jack up its prices, whether it’s high-end or not.
From the Lab has a deal with beauty labs to gain access to the formulas (which are held to strict European safety standards). With the formulas in their hands, From the Lab can release innovative goodies months before they hit the stores. Instead of all the cash going into advertising campaigns and fancy packaging, From the Lab stores the products in generic containers, which look sleek and simple. Essentially, we’d get getting the newest, high-quality beauty products on the market minus the advertising and packaging.
A typical From the Lab subscription box:
• $19.95/month + shipping & handling ($5.95) = $25.90/month (as of 10/4/2014)
• Comes in a pink mailing box with thick silver tissue paper
• 1 to 3 full-sized products
• A pamphlet with information about each product
• No fancy names for products; just numbers (ex. “24-Hour Face Cream No. 578”)
From the Lab sent me two boxes of their products for review. I was nervous about my sensitive skin breaking out from using some of the products (like it would dissolve into irritation spots if you looked at it the wrong way).
My Thoughts:
The box is great if you’re looking for high-quality skincare products to incorporate into your routine. I would like to see a “profile” option in the future that lets you personalize the sort of products you want or the skin type that you have (oily, combination, dry, sensitive, etc). Below are my thoughts on some of the products:
• One of the products sent to me for review was the AM/PM Cleanser No. 586. Good, I thought, I was about to run out of face soap. Then I looked the pamphlet for the AM/PM Cleanser, which said, “AM/PM Cleanser No. 586 improves on traditional micellar waters that use oil—“
Oil?! I have to put oil on my face?
“—to encapsulate and dissolve makeup, dirt, and pollution by introducing non-comedogenic oil-free cleansing molecules…”
Oh, so this product doesn’t use oil. It uses oil-free cleansing molecules instead. And it’s non-comedogenic. Phew.
I applied the cleanser to a cotton ball and swiped it across my face. It didn’t leave a residue. My face felt clean minus the irritated feeling. All this without rinsing.
Net weight: 6.7 fl. Oz.
• Face Mask No. 598. The face mask looks like a little jar of light-green pudding (I wanted to eat it), but it applies clear. My skin started to tingle a bit but there was no burning, and upon rinsing it off, there was also no redness, so it’s friendly on sensitive skin. Net weight: 0.95 oz.
• Face Primer No. 327. A bit runny for my taste. Leaves a slight sheen that evaporates quickly, leaving a smooth surface to work with. This primer comes in a pump bottle. 0.81 oz.
• Lip Color Stick No. 336. An orange-red lip crayon with a ton of product that I can twist up as I use it. I was sent Numbers 336, 337, and 335, but I’m writing about No. 336. It’s really easy to apply (but I’d still recommend some sort of lip primer) and has a bit of shimmer (heads up). I love these lip color sticks! 0.09 oz.
