Beauty retailer Beauty Bar, is collaborating with Allure magazine to introduce Sample Society—a members-only subscription service for beauty samples. Sample Society will deliver samples of hair-care, makeup, skin-care and fragrance products plus expert information from Allure editors each month. The idea appears to be similar to the Birchbox approach featured in Beauty Packaging Online in December.

“Given the thousands of beauty products that are introduced each year, sampling just makes sense,” says Linda Wells, editor in chief of Allure. “Who can really buy all those products? Who has the time to try them all? With Sample Society, the products are edited, and the sizes are ideal for multiple uses—so you can really figure out if the product is right for you. And what I also love about it is that the box feels like a present. It offers the pleasure of discovery.”

A Sample Society membership introduces consumers to the latest trends and innovations in beauty through sampling. As members, customers receive the following every month:

•Five deluxe-size samples from premium brands such as By Terry, Dermalogica, Fekkai Advanced, and Bond No. 9. Samples are deluxe-size, meaning they are intended for more than one use, allowing customers to truly experience and test products’ efficacy.

•Original content written by Allure editors with each month’s samples, giving the customer relevant expert information that can optimize her experience and ultimately help her make purchase decisions.

•A $15 gift code that can be used toward the purchase of any product from the featured brands received that month (not just the specific product sampled). Each box “pays for itself,” according to Allure.