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The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

A place to say thank you, provide reviews and first impressions, or follow up on gratis received after more use!

 

Many of us have been very lucky to receive gratis (thanks Sephora!), and Iโ€™ve been finding that while itโ€™s easy to initially post about receiving it and initial reviews, itโ€™s not as easy to follow up! 

 

I thought maybe we could have a dedicated thread to follow-ups and reviews with products weโ€™ve received after weโ€™ve been using them for a while, especially because itโ€™s sometimes hard to find the original thank you and first impressions threads.

Re: congrats!

Thank you @blackbimmer .

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Congratulations @Loretta55!

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Thank you very much @faeriegirl.

congrats @Loretta55

congrats @Loretta55

Re: congrats @Loretta55

Thank you very much @lmaster.

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Iโ€™ve used a couple products from the gorgeous gratis I received yesterday and I have some thoughts (these are one-use/first impressions, but Iโ€™ll follow up with more consistent use later). I used the scissors and tweezers from the Sephora Collection Brows: Uncomplicated set, and the Briogeo Be Gentle, Be Kind banana + coconut shampoo and conditioner.

Spoiler

First up, the tools. Iโ€™m sure a lot of us are like me and somehow accumulate a bunch of tiny scissors and tweezers (often through sets like these given as stocking stuffers, or in nail-care kits). That being said, I did like receiving them as I was able to get rid of some older ones that have become duller. The scissors were nice. The size is good and I didnโ€™t find them awkward to hold or uncomfortable, which is the case sometimes as I have somewhat small hands. Admittedly I was using cuticle scissors that are curved for brow trimming so the fact that these are a straight edge is already a win. The tweezers are pretty good too. I normally use a precision tip Tweezerman pair, and that will still be my go-to because the SC ones donโ€™t have as precise of a tip. But to just clean up between brows or to get at a few strays, these got the job done nicely. I did appreciate that they are matte, because I feel like I was able to get a slightly better grip compared to my Tweezeeman, which have that coated metal finish and are a tad slippery sometimes.

 

Onto the briogeo, which seems to be the most hyped product from this gratis. Personally, I was more excited to see the Dior glow palette, but one sniff of the Briogeo and it becomes clear why everyone is dying to try. It smells just like banana candy! Itโ€™s tropical and yummy. The packaging is also beyond adorable, and the fact that it leaves out a lot of bad ingredients is a plus.

 

That being said - I am someone who has never really gotten into haircare. To be honest, I probably donโ€™t even wash my hair more than 2x a week. And while I have splurged on a few products (a Kerastase hair mask, Amika bust your brass shampoo/conditioner is life changing, there are a few Moroccanoil products I canโ€™t live without), most of my shampoo and conditioner purchases are based on whatโ€™s on sale, and how it smells. All this to say, a shampoo or conditioner would have to be insane for me to justify to myself purchasing a bottle that retails for almost $30 CAD.

 

The shampoo is a thinner consistency, so I had to be careful to not end up pouring out a ton. It didnโ€™t lather up too much. I personally prefer a shampoo that lathers, so this wasnโ€™t what I would normally pick up. I found it almost to be too gentle. Because I donโ€™t wash my hair often and use a lot of dry shampoo, I feel like I need something that really gets everything. I probably wouldnโ€™t repurchase the shampoo, but it does smell nice and Iโ€™ll be separating into two to give half to my mom to try, and will report back how she finds it.

 

The conditioner was more up my alley. The smell, the consistency, everything was fantastic. It wasnโ€™t drippy, which is perfect because I usually apply conditioner and then tie my hair up in a bun for a few mins while I use body wash etc. I find this has helped prevent little bouts of body acne because long hair soaked with conditioner just sitting on my back was a death wish for my back pores.  A little was more than enough, so this I could probably justify purchasing.

 

Based on first impressions of the briogeo, the conditioner is the only thing i would repurchase, but this is using the products as instructed. Next, Iโ€™ll use them how I would normally. What I like to do is use a scalp scrub if itโ€™s been a really heavy product week, or t-gel or nizoral on just my scalp if itโ€™s a normal week, then I use conditioner on my whole head and let it sit for a few mins, and then go in with a shampoo and rinse with cold(ish....) water. Iโ€™ll try using the products this way and see if it makes a difference in how I like them!

091D80DB-82BE-4D7B-A3C9-298F0CD62860.jpeg

 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@cianni  Congratulations on this awesome gratis!!! Thanks for your thoughts on the Briogeo. I love their conditioners and Iโ€™m glad to hear this is a good one, too! ๐ŸŒ๐ŸŒ๐ŸŒ

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@PinkEvergreen thank you! I definitely recommend the conditioner. Still on the fence about the shampoo, but in the interest of giving it a fair try, Iโ€™m gonna wait till Iโ€™ve used at least half before I give a โ€œfinalโ€ review or impression

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

This is such an amazing gratis! Congratulations,  @cianni!

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Thank you!! @curlychiquita I love the diversity of products in this one โ˜บ๏ธ

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

I'm so happy that you got this too, @cianni!  This is seriously such an awesome gratis box.

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Isnโ€™t it!! @CookieGirl1  congrats to you tooโค๏ธโค๏ธ I love being able to compare thoughts/experiences on new products!

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Oh wow this is a gorgeous gratis, congrats on getting it @cianni Heart 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@Mcakes thank you!! โค๏ธโค๏ธ

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Thanks so much for your reviews @cianni. The shampoo and conditioner sound amazing!!

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Thank you! @PrettyPaint Iโ€™ve used it three times now so I think Iโ€™ll be posting some updated thoughts on it tomorrow โ˜บ๏ธ

RE: Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@cianni great gratis, congrats! Would love to know how the shampoo and conditioner smell. Is it a heavy banana scent or more like a tropical, pina colada scent?

Re: RE: Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Definitely tropical, but the most prominent scent is like a banana candy! I find throughout the day my hair smelled like banana-coconut @christyrc itโ€™s really yummy!!

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Congratulations, @cianni!  Enjoy your box of goodies! ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@Titian06 thank you!! So many fun things to try โ˜บ๏ธ

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Wow, this looks AWESOME!! Congrats on receiving these goodies @cianni 

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