It has been a few weeks since I last blogged, so felt it was time to get back on the horse and ramble about some more beauty products.
Recently, I have been becoming obsessed with samples of beauty products. Having signed up to Glossybox, which is a monthly delivery of a box of 5-6 beauty samples based on a detailed questionnaire, and scouring the website Latest In Beauty to look for any samples that may catch my eye, my problem is only growing.
I've been switching between a few samples below and thought I would share some of my thoughts on them.
Left to Right: Origins Samples, Clarins Samples, Sample Storage.
Lets start with the bad and end on a high.
And sadly, my least favourite products were from Kiehls. I used the Superbly Restorative Argan Body Cleansing and although this was good as a shower gel, I didn't enjoy using oil in the shower like this and it has a bit of a strange, barky, herby smell. Call me strange, but I'm not a huge fan of smelling like I've been living in the woods. I also sampled the Kiehls Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner. At First I quite liked these products, I felt like they lathered well, left my hair feeling smooth and clean, but after a while It was making my scalp really dry and lets be honest that is not attractive and needless to say they were ditched right away! Lastly from the Kiehls range (yes, I sampled quite a few!) was the Ultra Facial Overnight Hydrating Masque. Now, for me, this was the most disappointing as I have dehydrated skin I am always on the look out for a lovely hydrating mask and this product is not it. My skin was noticeably drier the next morning and it wasn't particularly enjoyable to apply either.
Well, I feel like I have suitably bashed Kiehls there, but I haven't lost all hope with this brand as they do have some very luxurious and moisturising body products.
Leaving that behind, lets talk about Clarins. I am going to hold my hands up here and say that I have never used a Clarins product before, well I was missing out! I was advised to try the HydraQuench range, so I have samples of the HydraQuench Intensive serum, HydraQuench Cream and the Water Comfort One Step Cleanser. This is a really good range, the serum is ideal for pre moisturising as it sinks into the skin easily and quickly. The moisturiser is really absorbent and I do notice a difference when I use it. The best part of this range is the cleaner, it smells incredible. Think peaches and cream smeared all over your face! yumm. Not only that, it works a charm too. This cleanser is very gentle on the skin, does not leave your face feeling tight or stingy. However at the same time lifts everything you need off your face, as its a cleaner and toner all in one. Who isn't up for some time saving skin care.
All in all I would purchase the HydraQuench range as I feel it works, and is enjoyable to use.
Now for the favourite, and when I say favourite I mean I literally have to stop myself from using these products every evening. Origins have just changed my Skincare routine, in a very good way. I sampled Modern Friction, No Puffery and the Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask. All three of these products you need, trust me. Modern friction is an exfoliator, that you put on your face then with a damp cloth you circle the product around your face and neck. This is so gentle on the skin and leaves it feeling clean right through the layers. As it is natural ingredients used in Origins products your skin feels very light and not loaded down with more product trying to remove impurities. I couldn't believe the difference in my skin, the tone, the texture everything. Are you won over yet? Well hold right there, suffer from dehydrated eyes then try using No Puffery. This is a gel, that is very soothing on the eye area and can be applied with your fingers gently massaging around the eye area or put some on two cotton pads and let it soak in during a pamper night. Now, I'm not sure how well this works at making you eyes less puffy, as I don't really suffer from puffy eyes, but I really enjoy using this product a as base before a moisturiser and the cooling affect is lovely in the mornings. Lastly from origins is the Drink Me Up Intensive Overnight Mask...good god this is amazing! If you only get one thing from this blog I hope its to buy this product. After using this the next morning the difference was incredible, my skin was so much fuller and felt really nourished. For dehydrated skin I think this is the answer, your skin literally drinks this up overnight and is so soft and peachy the next day. I honestly couldn't believe the difference, obviously this does not last weeks at a time but you can use this product two to three times a week and it is something I have began to look forward to.
So that dragged on a little there, but there is just so much to say about samples. I would recommend buying small empty containers and pouring your samples into them as they last longer and you can get a better idea if it will actually work for you. On top of that samples are generally free, so raid Debenhams and House Of Frasers counters finding products that suit you before spending a months wages on an eye cream.
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xx
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