June Samples & Empties

Time for the June Samples & Empties Post. Quick thoughts about each  starting above left to right.

Oskia Nutri Active Day Cream: Love this. Reviewed it here. I have a second bottle to use shortly. It’s light yet hydrating. No bad side effects, great ingredients.

Creme de Coco Shampoo: This was OK. Love the scent. Not a too sweet coconut, more natural. It’s not really hydrating nor volumizing. It was an average clear style shampoo. I probably wouldn’t grab it again as I have others I like more.

Alpha-H Micro Cleanse Super Scrub: I used to be really into this. I talked about it here. I just really ended up preferring the Omorovicza Gentle Buffing Cleanser over this.

Perricone MD Blue Plasma Cleansing Treatment: This was OK. I reviewed it here. I bought for another reason then used as a toner. Read the review.

Simple Cleansing Micellar Water: I like this. Cheap version of Bioderma’s Sensibo. I use it for removing eye makeup mostly. Doesn’t sting my eyes, it’s cheap and gentle. I don’t wear waterproof eye makeup but I imagine it has a hard time removing it.

Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream: I know I’ve tried this before. It’s terrible. Like a greasy Vaseline cream style product. It’s like a runny heavier oil balm. Which would be OK normally. However, this has a very very strong mint scent and feel. It’s like Vicks Vaporub as a multi-purpose cream. It burned my face and the mint is way too strong. It could substitute for an expensive version of Vicks.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Recovery Complex: I liked it. A silicone feel thicker style eye cream. It’s a clear color. It improved the appearance of lines some and makes makeup glide on very easy after.

Trish McEvoy Eye Base Essentials Bare: This was OK. I tested it against multiple other eye primers. This was the driest of them all. It never creased, but being dry it didn’t grip eyeshadows as well as the others like Urban Decay, Too Faced and NYX.

By Terry Mascara Terrybly: I still think By Terry is overpriced. I thought this mascara might be good but it flaked terribly. So a pass on this one.

Paula’s Choice Resist C15 Super Booster: This was a runny liquid. It turned orange from clear very fast which meant the Vitamin C was oxidizing fast and a less stable version. I wouldn’t rebuy it.

Tata Harper Aromatic Bedtime Treatment: I loved this. Really helped with sleeping. It’s expensive but lasted a year or so. Can’t use it while pregnant due to the sage oil which can cause premature contractions.

ilike organics Grape Stem Cell Gel Mask: This is a gel style mask. The brand is organic, natural and this grape based mask gave an overall glow. It’s a small container for a larger price. I’m not sure I would grab it again.

Zelens Z Matrix Energy & Moisture Infusion: I love this thicker gel moisturizer. I like it under a light lotion in the day for extra moisture. Review coming soon.

John Masters Lavender & Avocado Intensive Conditioner: I love this conditioner. It’s a staple. Reviewed it here.

Eucerin In-Shower Moisturizer Body Lotion: I was skeptical of this idea at first but it worked. It’s a light moisturizer, nothing heavy.

Supergoop! City Sunscreen Serum: I thought this would be light, but it was greasy. It also made stuff pill ontop so I wouldn’t buy.

Mizon Pore Refine Silky Essence: A light serum texture that had a mattifying effect. It was too drying for me.

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum: This is nice. Used to be my favorite Vitamin C serum. It doesn’t change colors and oxidize. Has a nice pleasant orange scent. I just like Drunk Elephant C-Firma better.

Yes to Cucumbers Facial Wipes: Staple for swatching. That’s all I really use them for. I’ve talked about them in the past before.

Pacifica Purify Coconut Water Cleansing Wipes: These have a light coconut scent. They smell awesome. However, they are not as good at removing makeup because they’re slightly dry.

Tony Moly Rice Face Mask Sheet: I hated the shape of this sheet mask. The eye holes were too small. I couldn’t see out of it plus it kept slipping down my face. Otherwise it was great, left my face smooth, supple and moisturized.

Sephora Honey Eye Mask: I like the idea of eye masks, they tend to work. I think they’re all overpriced for what they are. These ones were nice. Came in my Sephora Play! Box. I see this particular type is no longer available on Sephora.com.

Verso Reviving Eye Mask 8: I loved this eye mask. Overpriced yes, but my lines were gone after using. This is one I may throw on my to buy list.

Briogeo Blossom & Bloom Volumizing Shampoo: This was a clear style shampoo. It was a bit too drying actually, it stripped my hair too much.

Paula’s Choice Redness Relief Repairing Serum: An OK clear serum. Hydrating, not irritating. Too small of a sample at 1mL to really be able to test it more than once.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance: Too sticky, dried too fast, yet it still creases.

Too Faced Glitter Glue: Wore like iron, a bit tacky, still creases.

1 Comment

  1. I absolutely love the Verso eye mask (and the serum) – erases fine lines (albeit temporarily) and fabulous before a night out. Have you tried Karuna eye gels or the sheet masks? sheet & gel masks in general gross me out a bit but I love the Karuna ones – ingredients are great (Niacinamide always in the top 5) and it doesn't slip off my face if I'm moving around a lot.
    As an aside, i LOVE your blog. There just isn't much out there with this type of content. I love many of the skincare brands you talk about (Omorovicza, Zelens, Tata, etc.) but unfort the blogosphere has largely made it démodé to praise high end brands so this type of content is rare to say the least. I care about product quality and clean ingredients (the latter is driven by a debilitating allergic dermatitis to a certain family of preservatives) and although some mid-range brands offer both, so do many solid high end brands – and I want to see more of those products reviewed and discussed. In any case, thank you for you posts – keep it up! xxxooo

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