Thursday, March 24, 2016

Is anybody else obsessed with samples? Oh, and here's a lemmings board.


A lot of people dislike beauty samples. There's a sense that you quickly accumulate too many; they take up space that could be used for holy grail products or they spill out of your drawers and bags and make a huge mess. In many cases, a sample is too small for you to really get a feel for the product. And of course, what you get in sample form is often limited: you'll get tons and tons of packets of a few select types of skincare, maybe a dollop of foundation, but it's rare to get a deluxe mascara or a multi-use tube of eye cream.

But I've discovered that I'm weirdly obsessed with samples. Obviously, I get more in to the deluxe sizes than the little foil packets, but there's something really fun about gathering all kinds of random shit to try throughout the week. That Clinique Pep Start Eye Cream sample, for instance, will easily last me 4+ days if I budget the product appropriately. (I've gotten in to the habit of pricking sachet samples with a pin and covering the hole with tape; it really helps prevent waste.) And even though I don't travel too much, I love the idea of my skincare basics taking up as little space as possible in my luggage. That way, there's more room in my bag for me to bring back stuff I don't need.

I do think, however, that I need to start running through some of these, my obsession with patch testing be damned. I'd love to see the above tray empty by the end of the spring semester--here's hoping!

Speaking of things I don't need: here's the spring 2016 lemmings board!


1. Glossier Priming Moisturizer, $25.00 at Glossier (affiliate link) -- Despite the fact that I am still relatively sure shea butter doesn't like my face, my weird lust for this product won't fade. I blame my love for the Perfecting Skin Tint. I'm going to try the sample packets of the product I have hanging around (they toss one in to every Glossier order right now) and see how it sits on my skin; if I enjoy it and it doesn't seem to break me out, I'll probably cave and get the full tube.

2. Face Stockholm Cream Blushes, $25 at DermStore -- I was initially a little miffed by how warm my London cream blush ended up being, but you know what? These really do have a fabulous texture. It's soft, rich, and jelly-licious, and it blends beautifully on the skin. I'm particularly interested in the shades Rio (a soft purple pink) and Goteborg (a mauve).

3. CoverFX Custom Cover Drops, $44 at Sephora -- These were all the rage when they were first released, and I barely resisted purchasing a bottle for myself. Not only was I waiting for more reviews to pour in (and they did, with plenty of complaints about how messy the packaging is), but I was also expecting more shades last fall as per some industry gossip. New shades haven't dropped, however, and I remain interested in giving these guys a shot. I'll likely give this product a shot during Sephora's next VIB sale in April.

4. Tauer Phi Une Rose de Kandahar, $139.00 at Tauer Perfumes -- I thought I would get sick of my 5 mil decant of this fragrance after a year, but I haven't tired of it. It's the fragrance that made me give rose perfumes a second chance, and for that reason, it will always have a special place on my heart. Weirdly enough, I have a hard time plonking down this kind of money for a full bottle of fragrance when I'm so keen on splits and decants...but guys. This is spicy, rich, exotic rose done right!

5. Makeup Forever Ultra HD Concealer, $27 at Sephora -- Do I need another concealer? Hell no. Do I want to try another concealer? Of course! I'm told that the shade range for this product runs incredibly light and it's a really pigmented product, so I'm interested in seeing how this compares to my current favorite, the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer.

6. Milk Makeup Eye Marker, $20 at Milk Makeup -- I've been curious about this product ever since it popped up on Sephora. I'm not usually excited by eyeliner, but I ran out of my Wet n' Wild liquid liner, and I love the idea of drawing on your eyes with something that looks so much like a real life Sharpie. Just imagine trolling people with that on the subway! This is another product I'll likely pick up during the upcoming VIB sale.

7. Colourpop Brow Pencils, $5 each at Colourpop -- My overall experience with the Colourpop brand has been "meh," but I know why I'm interested in these: there's a broad shade range. Most budget brow products have 3 or 4 shades, and they're often unbearably warm, but Colourpop has released at least 8 different shades, some warm and some cool. If I eventually decide to plonk down my money on these, I'll likely get the shades Dope Taupe and Bangin' Brunette.

14 comments:

  1. I'm not a huge fan of samples, usually. I don't like experimenting with random skincare at the risk of breaking out, and the perfume samples from places like Ulta tend to be cloyingly sweet. I DO love makeup samples, but those are so rare!

    Um, do you want my Face Stockholm blush in Paris? I've used it like three times. It's similar to your London (to the point that I remember speculating that you got a mislabeled Paris), but I thought I'd ask. I just don't think the color works for me.

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    1. Send me an email about Paris and we can work something out.

      As for the samples: yeah, I'm obsessed with patch-testing, which can make things tricky. But if I gather multiple packets of one item, or it's a deluxe sample? We're usually in business.

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  2. I'm currently making it a project of working through the incredible mountain of samples I've accumulated. I am a total and complete sucker for the bags o'crappe you get from beauty events at Space NK, Barney's, Neiman Marcus, etc.; I never buy department store products without getting some kind of GWP, and those two buying habits combined my year or so of receiving two subscription boxes means I have a four-drawer rolling plastic cart stuffed with samples.

    I have discovered some really good products from trying samples. But it can be overwhelming. And woe betide the idiot who packs untried sample-sized shampoo and conditioner for a trip to Florida. Ask me how I know.

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    1. Those goody bags are my weakness, too. I always forget the dates they're sent out, though, so instead of saving up what I want to purchase until a bag is available, I just buy things when I want/need them and don't think about it. Then they announce the bag and I'm like, "Craaaap."

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  3. They didn't have any Cover FX light enough for me so I'd have to mix with white and they don't have it. The lightest warm shade would work for you mixed with F&B white but then why not just use F&B!

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    1. Yeah, I figured as much. :/ I keep hoping they'll release more shades, including a G10.

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  4. I love fragrance samples, since they usually last long enough for you to get a sense of how you feel about the fragrance. I also don't mind samples of skincare or cosmetics, though I much prefer deluxe samples to foil packets (especially for anything that has ~magical claims that require 30 days or whatever of continuous use). I recently got a foil sample of a Dior moisturizer, which was cool until I realized that it wouldn't last long enough for me to really get a feel of whether or not I would ever spend that much on a moisturizer.

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    1. It's really annoying when you get foil samples of things like foundation, open them up, and see there's just a teeny tiny dot, not even the size of a pea. Like, okay, I can see the color...but I can't actually test it out. :/

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  5. If you're interested in the CoverFX Drops, check if one of the (few) shades from the &OtherStories Liquid Foundation might be suitable.

    It's the same product. The only difference is the the &otherstories product contains Tocopherol (the last ingredient) but other than that - identical formula, identical packaging.

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    1. I'll have to check that out--thank you so much!

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  6. I will have to check out the colour pop brow pencils. It's so hard to find true ashy products, budget or pricey. I love Dipbrow so much, but I sadly don't have a colour match.

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    1. I actually finally found my shade in Dipbrow, but yesterday I made the decision to purge it. I just never reach for it over a pencil.

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  7. Phi is fab. You've found some really great perfumes.

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    1. I'm trying out the Histoires de Parfums discovery set from Sephora right now and just LOVING IT.

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