Time for the finished April Samples & Empties Post. Quick thoughts on each, starting from left to right:
Rodial Dragon's Blood Sculpting Gel: I liked it, was a gel type light moisturizer. I used this under my morning lotion. I would consider buying it full size, I just already have a full size Sunday Riley Skin Adrenaline and Zelens Z Matrix which are similar. I prefer the Zelens Z Matrix of the three.
Boscia Tsubaki Cleansing Gel-Oil: This was OK. More like a cleansing gel than gel oil. I didn't really feel the oil in it like Ole Henriksen's similar product, nor like my Su-Man Cleansing Gel which is my favorite right now. So I wouldn't buy a full size.
Molton Brown Ylang-Ylang Body Wash: This is just a body wash with a floral fragrance. Too overpriced to buy full size. Their pepper scented one I got in my last free bag was a much better scent for me.
OSEA Undaria Algae Oil: Love this stuff, one of my favorite body oils. I have repurchased a full size. I talked about it a little here.
ReVive Intensite Moisture Serum Extreme: I used this on my neck at night, I didn't really notice any difference by the end of the sample to make me want to buy a full size.
Dolce & Gabbana Passion Eyes Mascara: This isn't the first mini I've finished of this. It's OK, not my favorite, not the worst. For a silicone brush, which I normally hate, it doesn't give spider lash and does decent at definition. I like it more in the beginning than towards the end of the sample when it dries out a little. I feel like I never finish the whole sample as it seems to dry out quicker on me than average, then I get clumps.
Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment: I've finished multiples of these, I love the formula and texture, I just hate the taste. This one versus the regular sugar lip balm has an odd after taste.
Tata Harper Soothing Apricot Resurfacing Mask: This was a last summer limited edition twist on their regular mask. I like it, the addition of apricot and coconut water was great, I have two full jars of it as well. I will review this fully one day coming up.
ReVive Moisturizing Renewal Cream Supreme Ultra Retexturizing Hydrator: This was so greasy and heavy. I used it on my neck so I didn't break out, but on my face I probably would have. I would not buy.
Moa The Green Balm: This was like a multi purpose balm, it had a slight mint scent. It was OK, I prefer the body oils I have over this. It wasn't really that good as a lip balm for me either, and was too greasy for my face, I used it on my elbows until it was gone. It wasn't for me.
NARS Skin Restorative Night Treatment: This was a thick, gel texture, face oil. It was almost too much for me and I'm sure too much for others. I prefer a regular face oil.
LING Oxygen Plasma Glow: This was a cream, I didn't notice any real results, but the sample was so small it's hard to say if I would have with prolonged use. For the price I'm not sure if I would invest in a full size to find out.
LING Oxygen Plasma Potion: This was a light serum, again small sample hard to see if there would be results with prolonged use. I didn't notice anything different from this sample. If I would try one of the two LING Oxygen products it would be a more concentrated serum, so this would be the one I would try, and may one day, mostly because I'm curious if the oxygen claims are true.
NUDE Omega Cleansing Jelly: This was a gel oil cleanser, it was nice. Good for one use pretty much. If I didn't love my OSKIA Renasissance and Su-Man Gel Cleanser so much I might buy this full size, but I prefer the other two.
Laura Mercier Foundation Primer: This was not really impressive. Just felt like a moisturizing serum. I didn't notice anything from it, and threw the rest of the sample away without finishing it as I have more primers with better results and benefits.
37 Actives High Performance Anti-Aging Cream: The cream was nice, it was a small sample so there's no way for me to see if it gave results with consistent use. The texture was nice. Not sure if I would buy it full size based on the small amount and it's price. It seems to have nice ingredients, I would love to use a full jar if it ever ended up on my doorstep magically.
Yes to Cucumbers Facial Wipes: I have finished these more times than I can count. I use them for swatching, cleaning any part of me when I'm too lazy for a wash cloth. Love the scent and it's moisturizing. This is probably my most purchased drugstore product besides hair dye.
Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub Brazilian Nut: Love this too, I've bought this multiple times and just recently talked about it here.
Renee Rouleau Pure Radiance Mask: This was a nice moisturizing mask. If I didn't have so many moisturizing ones right now, I might buy a full size of this.
Su-Man Velvet Skin Brightening Serum: This is the first mini of this serum I have finished. I have about 4 more to use to see if it's truly a serum I should keep buying. I just started a serum rotation system to help me get a better idea of which ones really are working for me, by only using one at a time. I was using this one in the day, I did notice an overall glow from it. It has a nice velvet texture, it's full of lots of good things which I talked about here. I hadn't used the whole bottle alone for a long period of time like I would now with my rotation, but I will do this coming up and get to this one again.
Hello
I've just bought a ton of serums to add to my routine and I was curious of how you test them? Do you use one for a week or a month to see the effects?
Hi. I bought a ton lats year and was layering them two in the day and two different ones at night to get all the benefits. Then I realized I had no idea which ones actually were doing anything. So now I do two different things, I use on day serum and one night serum. Right now on my face I use a full/trial size day serum and full/trial size night serum until the bottles empty. It needs to be at least a month. They usually run out at different times so when I change to a new day serum I'm only changing one serum at a time, not both, then once I switch I wait a week to see if it gets better or worse after the switch. Sometimes coming off a serum can show you more lines, or another issue, so maybe you thought it wasn't working but it really was. Then that means the new one you switched to is not as good as the last one. So I would just switch one at a time that way you can really keep track. I also test samples on my neck. I neglected my neck for a long time and it has more issues than my face, so if a serum works on my neck it's worth trying on my face. I test one at a time. It's a way to add an extra one in there. Good for samples. I do this with eye creams/serums too. Switch one at a time, I find noticing if it gets worse or better after you switch is just as helpful as during the test. And it depends what effect you want/is more important to you. Good luck 🙂
Thank you Michelle I read your blog daily and we have the same taste in skincare and makeup. I really would like to try the OSKIA gel cleanser and renaissance mask as well but I'm scared to buy it from overseas. You bought yours from cult beauty is that a good store
Thank you Michelle I really appreciate your answers. we have the same taste in makeup and skincare so I love your blog. Did you buy the Oskia Renaissance masking and gel cleanser from cult beauty.com? I'm scared to buy it from overseas store
Hi, thanks for your comments. At least I can help someone 🙂 Yes I have ordered from Cultbeauty many many times. Always great. If you choose fedex it's overnight, you have to factor in when you order vs them being 6 hours ahead time wise, and once in a while I don't get the tracking number until it arrived on my doorstep. If you choose free shipping it comes anywhere from 7-10 days later through the post office, always registered requiring a signature. Fedex requires a signature too. Their customer service is always fast and good, I got one bad item they just refunded me once. They have become my favorite UK store to order from, always reliable. And they always have deals, I wouldn't be surprised if they do one for this weekend, usually holidays and random ones too.