Sample Bin Review - May

Hey there!

I used up some samples! You guys know I love being able to try out new things before I buy them.

I used a Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. It's a clear primer that is silicone based and glides across your face. A set back is that it balls up if you aren't careful. If you are careful, it's wonderful. No, I don't have plans to purchase it because I don't need this type of primer. My holy grail primer is the Hourglass Primer. The Hourglass primer is more of a lotion than a silicone product.

I also tried Jurlique's Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum. I made notes -- "Stinks to high heaven. Too thin and can't get past the smell". No, I can't. I don't even want to know what it's supposed to do cause it smells so badly, I don't want to try it again.

I got a sample of the Sephora Instant Moisturizer. It feels and smells really nice but the SPF stings a little bit. I know that most folks tell you to always wear SPF on your face but I have to be careful. I can use SPF on my body but not on my face. It burns and turns red and itchy. So, while I like this, I can't use it.

I don't have to even to tell you guys how much I love the L'Oreal Age Perfect Cell Renewal Golden Serum.  I found this sample in a magazine. It smells good and feels good and I have no idea what it really does but I love it! I keep purchasing the premium sample size but I think it's time to bite the bullet and pay full price for a large size.

Glowing Goddess by Jennifer Lopez smells so good! This was a sample that a lady handed to me in Kohls. I think she won. I would totally buy this perfume and if you know me, you know I don't purchase just any old perfume.

Prada Candy Floral is nice too. I got this sample in my last Sephora box. It smells nice but I need to take another whiff in the store to be sure. If it smells as good as I think it does, I might add it to my collection.

And last but not least is my Caudalie Premier Cru the Elixir sample that I requested online. It didn't smell like anything and I am pretty sure that it didn't do anything. I'd never purchase this even though I normally like Caudalie products. I don't feel that it did anything at all.

So that's the review of the samples I used this month. I made sure that I used as many samples as I could. I'll do the same for June and report back to you good people!

Samples, Samples Everywhere

Hey There!

It's been quite a while since I peeked in my sample bin. I had to look though because I ordered soooo much stuff the past 2 months, I have a ton of samples. I thought you'd lovely people might be interested in seeing what I have going on!

My least favorite sample in the world has to be the hair shampoo and conditioner samples. I mean, you can't really get a good read on if a shampoo and conditioner is any good from those small, .34 oz sample packs! So, I just use them and keep it moving. I did get a Matrix Oil Wonders in something (I think Sephora or Ulta) and I'm interested in trying that out though.

Everyone wanted me to smell good because everyone included fragrance samples. Sephora did a good job with their sample cards. I got Philosophy Amazing Grace, Chloé, Vicktor & Rolf Flower Bomb, Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream, Prada Candy Florale, Tory Burch, Dior J'Adore and Burberry My Burberry. The cards have the pricing right on them. Nice touch. I also chose an Elizabeth and James Nirvana for her, sample. I feel weird though because everyone mixes it with the white one. It smells good in the bottle. I'll let you know if I like it once I spray it.

I placed 3 separate orders with Sephora (don't you judge me!!) so I also got skin care samples. I got the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum and Sephora Instant Moisturizer. I didn't request a lot of skin care samples because I pretty much like my current routine. But, it's nice to have travel sizes and some options.

I also got some skincare with my Kiehl's order. I got the Purifying Foaming Cleanser, Ultra Facial Cleanser, Clarify-Activating Toner and 2 containers of the Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter. Those two smell delightful.

When you order makeup, you get makeup samples. Urban Decay sent me a Flushed Trio card (I'm quite excited to try that) and Sephora sent me Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer, Bobbie Brown Skin Foundation and Per-fékt matte body perfection gel in tan. I also scored a Sarah McNamara Skin Transformer packet (there are too many words on it). I don't remember which company this came from.

All of the samples are nice and fun but I have trouble using them. I am a total "out of sight, out of mind" kinda girl. If I don't see my perfumes, I don't use them. If I don't see these samples, I won't use them either. So my plan is to keep these goodies right where I can see them. And, I plan on keeping you sweet folks in the know if they are good or not!

Sample Bin Review - Sephora Samples

I frequent Sephora. You've probably gathered that. I like the fact that if you purchase something and you aren't happy with it, they will take it back. I LOVE the fact that you can pick up samples of things and try before you buy. That has helped me make some informed decisions before buying and helped me avoid some tragic mistakes. 'Cause watching YouTube and reading blogs will take half your paycheck if you aren't careful.  So, I try it before I buy it a lot. And my ladies at Sephora don't mind a bit. 

The first thing in my bag of goodies actually isn't mine. My daughter was going to prom a few weeks  ago and needed concealer. I really didn't want to purchase a full size for someone that only wears gloss so my ladies at Sephora hooked me up. They matched her and then gave a sample of NARS concealer ($24 for 0.07oz worth of product.  Let's just say I have no plans to try that for myself. It was hard instead of the creamy concealer that I like to work with. It did its job but was sooo drying. 

Mentioning concealer, I have used Bare Minerals concealer ($20 for .07 oz) since I began using concealer.  Because of that, I decided it might not be a bad idea to try some others. Lord have mercy, I tried a ton of others. One of the runners up was the Cover FX Cream Concealer ($27 for .33 oz). I really liked it. The color match was slightly off but it worked almost as well as my Bare Minerals. In the end I decided to go with Bare Minerals because it was a good match. I wouldn't mind having Cover FX as a backup though.

The next goody was a sample of Balenciaga Florabotanica parfum spray ($70 for 1oz). Can you say stinky? I thought it would be a nice, musky smelly it was just a nasty smell. Didn't like it. I would NEVER purchase it.   

Now one thing that I tried and fell in love with was my Bare Minerals Well Rested (it appears that Sephora doesn't sale the powder anymore - bummer - but QVC has it for $26 plus S&H for .03 oz). I wasn't expecting much from it because, well, it's a powder but man! I can really tell a difference when I don't use it. The Bare Escentuals website says that it's a favorite brightening base among the sleep deprived. It's supposed the diminish the morning-drowsiness look. I don't know if I'd go that far but it does brighten the area without that cakey look that I've gotten with other products. 

I always try my best to take good care of my skin. That's why when I heard about Peter Thomas Roth Camu Camu Brightening Moisturizer, I ran to Sephora to get a sample. The 1.7 oz container is $72! I definitely wanted to try before I buy on this one. But, this was a big fail for me. It smelled good, really good but it was too thick and I felt like it just stayed on top of my skin and never really soaked in. I can't stand that feeling so as nice as this smelled, it wasn't for me.

So these samples date back about 4 months.  I know that I should utilize the samples more often. I really do plan on that. That will mean more blogging for you...

...and more purchases for me.

Ahhh the price of beauty.