Why You Need an Amazon Prime Sample Box Before Your Next Trip

Much like a fake designer bag, hotel toiletries may look fancy on the outside but a closer look reveals nebulous branding and cheap materials. That volumizing shampoo bearing a fake designer name, perhaps evoking a celebrity hair stylist who has a vacation home in Portofino, might as well be filled with Palmolive dish soap. And that body lotion with a vague location-less spa logo on it? It could be Elmer’s glue for all you know.

But decanting all of your favorite products into tiny travel-sized containers is also the last thing you want to do while also trying to win the game of Tetris that is organizing your carry-on. And it’s impossible for items like dry shampoo or serums that shouldn’t be exposed to air or light.

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If you’re flying without checked baggage or trying to pack light for a road trip, Amazon Prime’s Sample Boxes not only provide you a well-rounded selection of products from moisturizer to sunblock; many of them also contain products from boutique brands you would typically have to save up your Sephora points to try.

The boxes range from a $10 kit including drugstore dependables Aveeno lotion, Simple face wipes, and Carol’s Daughter shampoo to $20 sets that include French-favorites like La Roche Posay sunscreen, Vichy hyaluronic acid serum, and Bioderma makeup remover.

Whether you’re traveling or not, the boxes also offer a low-investment way to try out some our editors’ favorite products. Either way, customers also get equal credit toward buying a full-size products on Amazon.com. Yes, that means if you buy the $10 sample box including the Acure sensitive skin face wipes, you can use that $10 toward buying a full-size packet and still have almost $5 credit leftover to spend on another beauty department item.

While their might not be such a thing as a free lunch, this sounds mighty close.