Clearly I have had little to worry about lately as my stash of minis and testers from magazines and the like have been growing and I'm undecided what to do with them. Due to a few trips away over the past couple of months I've turned to this collection but often I don't want to take a foundation or perfume sample that I've not experienced before in case I don't like it.
The same goes for the testers of skincare etc, do I really want to head away for a weekend and use a cleanser that could break me out or have an adverse reaction? Then there's the issue of how long will that sample last, do I need to take a moisturiser packet for each day or will one cover the two nights? As you can see this is in the spirit of #firstworldproblems.
As such I've decided to combine both, if you saw my Brighton Empties I instagrammed
here I was adequately covered and took testers along with me but for other products, certainly foundation is better tested during a working day and I always prefer to wear a perfume and see how it settles on me, lasts throughout the day and the like.
For this post I'll be talking about a few products I've tried lately so think of this as a review and empties post all in one.
Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Invisible Skin Fusion Foundation link
Luckily being neither too pale nor too dark I can often get away with trying a lot of foundation samples that I come across in magazines. They also make it easier to see straight away what shade I would be whether going one up or down.
This is a long line of brands coming out with 'second skin' foundation and claims to leave your complexion as 'radiant as silk'. The shade was perhaps a little dark for me but it did give good coverage although clung to one or two dry patches and I found it oxidising throughout the day. Whilst a nice foundation it's not one I was eager to purchase in full size but did happily get a couple of wears out of this sachet.
Clinque Beyond Perfecting 2-in-1 Foundation and Concealer link
I was pleased to find a sachet of this new foundation release from Clinque and enjoyed using it. Despite being lightweight it again felt too heavy on my skin and also clung to the dry patches by end of a working day. Coverage was good and it did work well enough to cover any slight blemishes I had.
Benefit Big Easy link
One of Benefits new releases last Summer I was able to pick up a few sample tubes during my Sephora shopping trips. I had ups and downs with the formula which you'll read about in
this post but making an effort to 'use what I have' and knowing this wasn't top of my love list I thought I'd give it a go on weekends when I was only popping out to the supermarket and the like. This isn't a product I have a desire to purchase in full size as I find the coverage too light for even me as someone who doesn't like anything too heavy.
Sublime De Chanel Infinite Length and Curl Mascara link
I wasn't wowed by this mascara on using it which is a surprise as when I was using I thought it was the Volume version which I had previously used and loved in mini size and have my eye on for next months Duty Free purchasing. I suspected it could be due to it's age and maybe thats why I was unimpressed but on preparing this post I realise it's because it was a completely different mascara all together! Did it lengthen lashes, certainly but was there much of a curl or anything to make me go wow? No.
Next up we get to the perfume samples which I won't go into too much detail about as standard beauty blogger statement 'I can't describe fragrances'. Those I've tried this month have been;
Guerlain La Petite Robe Eau Fraiche* which I loved. It's a light fragrance perfect for Summer and something I would've expected to turn my nose up too. I am thinking of buying this for my Summer scent this year.
Lacoste Touch of Pink* was something I liked but not overwhelmed at. As a scent it felt too fruity for me to wear as a fragrance and something more suited to the younger audience.
Thierry Mugler Angel has long been a favourite of friends and something I'd never tried myself. I liked this more than I expected as for every friend who loves it there's someone else who hates it. I'm on the fence whether this is something I'd like to purchase for myself.
Final two are the so named
Jimmy Choo* and
Liz Earles Botanical Essence No.1. Sorry Liz but I did not like Botanical Essence it was just too garden like for me. Jimmy Choo I was a bit blah about it. At each whiff I'd get a different type of scent, none of which I liked.
So I'm using up my beauty testers, what do you do with yours?
*PR Samples