I have been trying to avoid actually purchasing full-size products after looking for some towels the other weekend.
My inlaws were coming into town, and I was cleaning our master bathroom (the inlaws take the master suite when they visit, which is another post entirely, but mostly it sucks because there is no square inch of the house that we can get away with NOT cleaning for a visit) and needing to find our guest towels (which is another post entirely as well as they don’t use them, no matter how openly I vocalize their availability and prettily I fold and present them .. they often dig through my linen closet and use beach towels and I DON’T KNOW WHY) and I looked under our sink and BLAM. ELEVENTY FRILLION FULL SIZE BOTTLES OF CRAP I DON’T USE.
So I’ve decided to not buy something until I’m really and truly in love with it. I’m living vicariously through samples, as it were. And I love it! Seriously.
All samples are either acquired through Birchbox (GO SIGN UP NOW!) or Sephora (if you’re not a VIP member, you’re doing it wrong).
I am in love with the Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser. I’m always very hesitant with exfoliants because of my incredibly temperamental and sensitive skin, but this stuff is really, really gentle. It smells amazing and actually makes my skin feel so much smoother. I use it daily in the shower (well, I have for the past week) and am debating buying the full size version. I really, really like this. It is a bit spendy, but I’ve made my miniscule sample last over a week, so I feel like the full-size would be a good investment.
I took this sample of BeFine Gentle Cleanser with me to Chattanooga some weeks back because I didn’t want to pack a big ole cleanser. And I regretted it. Sadly, this stuff was watery. Like, so watery that it got lost in the water I used to wash my face. I was all It says there’s oats in here! Oats aren’t watery! and yet it sucked. It dried my face out a lot and again, I wasn’t sure any of it actually got on my face until the dryness happened.
Oh, I so loved this perfume. And of course I would! The price is IN-SANE. Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee is spelled funny but smells so deep and complex and lovely. I used every drop of this sample and then went online to buy my own. Then said BWAHAHAHA HELL NO THAT’S A CAR PAYMENT.
My big splurge recently was the Urban Decay Naked2 palette for the eyes, but it came with a sample size of their Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss (in Naked). My obsession with lip glosses is well documented here; feel free to discuss amongst yourselves that I JUST bought Fresh Rose Sugar Lipgloss while in Chattanooga. And may have purchased not one, but TWO Revlon Lip Butters since then. BUT. Y’all. This is HOLD THE PHONE, SHUT THE FRONT DOOR quality lip gloss. It’s thick and glossy, but not goopy and sticky. It’s minty, but not meant to plump, so it’s pleasant rather than overwhelming. And it LASTS. I can put this on as I walk out the door and not have to reapply until after I’ve eaten lunch. Sadly, this shade is sold out online, so I’ll need to visit a Sephora store to purchase. WELL, TWIST MY ARM WHY DON’T YOU.
And because I mentioned it, but NOT because it was a sample -
Yes, I snagged the coveted Urban Decay Naked2 set. I say “snagged”, but it’s currently available online. But it wasn’t at the time! I have friends who pick up every single Urban Decay eye shadow set they release, but I’m not really adventurous when it comes to eye colors. So something in a neutral family that’s in high demand? IS RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. I actually have been having a lot of fun playing with the various colors, which I think wander a bit more toward the Warm family than the original Naked set, and I really appreciate colors that are shimmery without being glittery. (i.e. – one is work appropriate, the other belongs at a middle school dance or a rave.)
So from this little experiment, I’ve got three things that are now must haves: the Fresh Soy Cleanser (mentioned here), the Urban Decay Lip Junkie lipgloss, and the Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser. I firmly believe that I will use all of the full-size versions because I’m holding little funerals each time my samples have run out. And the best thing? I WILL GET MORE SAMPLES FROM SEPHORA WHEN I BUY THESE THINGS.
Oh, a monster done been created, y’all.
I think the lipgloss thing should be a contest of some sort. Like everyone take a picture of the lipglosses in their purse (I have 8. EIGHT. WHY for the love of all things holy would I EVER need EIGHT lipglosses with me at one time??? I WOULD NOT) and compare/contrast. Let’s see who has the most…
Diana wants you to read ..Superbowl Commercials
For reals – one of the #janphotoaday thingies was Contents of Your Purse and I counted the lip glosses in my bag and had TWELVE. Twelve. Plus three in my desk drawer at work. I’VE PURCHASED FIVE SINCE THEN. (But threw away three.)
My name is Sarah, and I have a problem.
I have three…no, sorry, FOUR…lip glosses on my desk at work and easily five in my bag right now. That doesn’t count the OTHER bags I sometimes use that have back-up glosses. Or my car. Or my make-up kit at home. Or random spots in my house for when I’m too lazy to go upstairs to get one out of my bathroom. Yo, it’s a problem.
I have seven lip glosses with me at work right now. Hee!
Birchbox and Sephora’s VIB program will be the death of me, while simultaneously bringing me great joy.
Urban Decay is probably my favorite makeup line overall. I can’t wait to try that lip gloss! Benefit is probably my second fave.
I just switched purses. I had 5 lipgloss/chapsticks and 3 lipsticks. And 3 mirrors. Also some old french fries in the bottom (WTH?). I also realized I only use about 10% of the cosmetics in my make up drawer. It is ridiculous.
I finally decided to sign up for Birchbox last week and they were all sold out so I had to go on a waiting list. I always wait too long. But apparently I don’t need any more lipgloss so it is okay.
Michelle Smiles wants you to read ..Computers
I love the Clarins Exfoliating Cleanser. That is one of my favorite products on the market but yes, it is spendy so I don’t currently have any (sad panda). I do find that I can make one tube last for well over a month because you don’t need to use a lot to make this work.
Julie wants you to read ..February Week 1
I am all about the samples. Did you get the FIX Malibu Immaculate Complexion Advanced Antioxidant Serum in your January Birchbox? LOVE.
Jesabes wants you to read ..New URL
My favorite Christmas gifts are the sample sets from Sephora. Last year I got the perfume one, and honestly I didn’t really need the full size bottle that it comes with since I could barely get through the samples of the fragrances I liked. This year, lip glosses, which will also be more than enough even as a trial size. So fun to try things that I would never buy – like Benetint lip tint – surprisingly good. I guess as a stay-at-home mother I don’t wear enough make up to justify full-sized products anymore!