March Mini Madness: Sample Showdown to Set up for Spring Savings!

[missjeanie]

With the Spring Savings event just around the corner and samples from the holiday season gift bags overflowing, what better time to do a March Madness showdown: Beauty Edition!  

Foils and deluxe mini's seem to be taking over my stash and I'm hoping there are a few others out there who'd like to do a sample sized showdown to help figure out what they'd like add to their loves list for the spring sale.

Choose to do a bracket style showdown, a mini a day, or see how many foils you can use up in the month of March!

Who's got a stash to test out?  What are the winners and the losers? What will make it into your spring savings basket and April Hauls?

[lmaster]

@CookieGirl1 I mean, everybody is different, my hair is so thick, I'm not opposed to trying different ones,,,I tried getting the samples of the new shampoo and conditioner,,, but they just sent me the serum 😣

[CookieGirl1]

@lmaster bummer!

[itsfi]

@Kim888, I'm sorry to hear the Oribe didn't work out for you, but great that you were able to know that before spending $$$ on full sizes.

Ahhhh, Embryolisse! 😍 I feel like I have been meaning to give the moisturizer a try for years and just never get around to it. It has a huge following. Is it a moisturizer you use day and night, year round?

[Kim888]

@itsfi @I use it a lot as a priming moisturizer, especially in the fall/winter. It’s a bit thick for summer. I don’t tend to use it at night, unless I’m traveling in which case it’s often just the easy option to bring 

[itsfi]

Ahhh, that makes sense @Kim888. I'll keep that in mind for when fall / winter find their way back here, though I wasn't altogether sure it left yesterday. 😀

[SportyGirly125]

@Kim888 I don't like their colored shampoo and conditioner but I love their moisture and control line for Oribe.

[Kim888]

@SportyGirly125 @Good to know! I also try and only wash my hair twice a week so I don’t mind spending a bit more on haircare - I’d heard so many good reviews generally I was surprised this wasn’t good but all brands have meh products i suppose 

[Titian06]

Great to know about the Oribe, @Kim888 !  I have no desire to buy S&C that expensive, but part of me wants to try it out of curiosity.  Now I can check it off the list. 😄

[SportyGirly125]

@Titian06 I am not a fan of the colored shampoo and conditioner line but love the moisture and control one.

[Titian06]

Thanks for sharing, @SportyGirly125 !  I don't mind spending more $ for a quality product, especially since I only wash my hair every two or three days.  A moisturizing S&C is usually what I use, so I'll keep these in mind! 😘

[missjeanie]

@Kim888 @Ive always wondered about the Oribe S&C too, I go through it so fast though I was worried I’d love it and at that cost…. Maybe I should try it and find out I don’t love it! 

[SportyGirly125]

@missjeanie I only wash my hair twice a week and use Oribe shampoo and conditioner but their moisture and control line.  My hair can't go without it.  I have tried.

[missjeanie]

@SportyGirly125 I wash my hair 5-7 times a week... and I have a lot of hair.  lol, I feel like I easily go through a standard shampoo and conditioner in a month or less.  Maybe I'll have to try dipping my toe in with some samples or travel size.  I mean... with a recommendation like yours... I kinda need to try it right?

[SportyGirly125]

@missjeanie After I stopped washing my hair everyday I noticed how much money I was saving from not having to buy shampoo and conditioner all the time which made buying luxury hair products worth it for me.  I used a lot of hsampoo and conditioner since my hair is thick.

[missjeanie]

Well I've used up a few more of the samples I set out (put em in a little open box on my washroom vanity), so I decided to pull a few more out of my stash bags to give myself a good challenge to keep up for the month and get my sample stash down a bit more.  I went for a bunch of foils as they feel more 'doable'. I'm finding that with a lot of work from home, I'm willing to put on a foundation that may not fair so well, since over zoom it's not super obvious if it's a massive dud.

New Samples coming into the project;

Samples I've used up

Spoiler

-Replica Autumn Vibes-- This was... not for me.  I enjoy what's typically a masculine leaning scent, and even own a few mens fragrances.  This one to me though, was leaning masculine, but had a smokey type feel to it, which isn't my jam.  Glad to have tried it though, as I was planning on picking it up and now I'll save that dollar for something else.
-SC Coconut overnight mask -- Pretty sure these are waaaaayyy older than I should still have in my stash and I'm not sure they count as samples, but in my mind... they only do a few uses.  This was fine. I wasn't a fan of the packaging and have other sleep masks that do more for me.  I have three or four more of these somewhere that I need to use up ASAP.
- KS Wrinkle Warrior Serum - This was actually good.  Did my fine lines go away? No.  Did I expect them to? No.  I think is meant to be a plumping/brightening product and I think I get as much from using a sheet mask.  
-KVD Saint fragrance -- Is this still available?  Straight up, KVD gave me a bad taste in my mouth the last... however many years, so it's not something I seek out.  I didn't fall in love with fragrance either so... I'm not feeling a loss.
-Fresh Deep Hydration Sleep Mask Duo-- I haven't bought Fresh products in a few years.  The fragrance in these reminded me of the cleanser and it was a nice throwback.  The duo was actually really nice and I'd consider a purchase based off this sample.  This is a great example of how a sample can sway me.  I'm not a regular Fresh customer, but I may take a closer look at this one. This is a possible purchase for me.
- Clinique Smart Duo - Meh. 
-Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream- I like this.  That said, I don't think it's worth the dollars.  Will I use it, heck ya, will I buy it... ehhhh... I'd rather try something new or enjoy a promo from time to time.  Full disclosure, I have had full size of this one in the past. 

[ather]

@missjeanie  Great job!!

[missjeanie]

Thanks @ather I'm feeling momentum to figure out what is a yes, maybe and no for me.

[itsfi]

@missjeanie, your first pic just reminded me I have 2 of those foundation samples I need to use - the TF and PML ones. Though I've already purchased full sizes of those foundations. 😬😂 

That Fresh sleeping mask is a nice one, but "alas, no real need for another sleeping mask", she said as she glanced in the direction of her stash of sleeping masks. 🤣 Oh my goodness, I had a good chuckle reading your thoughts on the Maison Margiela fragrance sample (for me, I like the smokiness, but I completely get that fragrance really is a personal thing, and my experience with MM fragrances have been all over the map) and the SC coconut sleeping mask ("waaaaayyy older than I should still have in my stash" ~ we've all been there, missjeanie!)

[missjeanie]

@itsfi I'm all over the place with the MM fragrances as well.  Some I just adore and others... well... meh.  I have to admit I almost didn't put the SC mask in there I was so embarrassed when I saw that I still had them after what has to be at least 3 or 4 years discontinued! 

[itsfi]

@missjeanie, there's a MM fragrance that is loved by many, and I can see why as I myself picked up a rollerball because the scent sounded like something I would enjoy. Interestingly though, on me, it smelled nothing like the description - every time I spritzed it, I picked up the distinct scent of root beer on myself. 😂😂😂 

Back in the day, that SC mask was what I would purchase if I needed just a few more $$ to meet a minimum for a promo gwp. Hahaha! They were great for travel.

[missjeanie]

@itsfi @Root beer you say?? I’m not generally s root beer fan, but now I’m smelling my MM and I can’t find it in mine… which scent was it?