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Post in Beauty Confidential
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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: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@itscarin I understand where you're coming from!  I've tried several DE products and while I haven't had any negative experiences with any of it I also haven't noticed any "good" results either.  I guess I should be happy because NOT buying DE saves me money but I'm a little jealous of all of the people who swear that it does wonders for them.

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

You arenโ€™t alone, @itscarin. TLC is amazing for my skin but GG and Framboos didnโ€™t make much of a difference. Retinols also do not work for me, though they do for so many others. Goes to show just how unique each personโ€™s skin can be๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@itscarin Sometimes I feel like people are either lactic or glycolic acid people - the TLC works so well for me but I used an entire bottle of the Good Genes once just to see what the hype was and I felt like it did nothing for me 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Following up on the Gratis received: 

I used LANEIGE Cica Sleeping Mask for 5 nights. I had no reaction the first night, I broke out in hives the second - fifth. I needed to make certain it was the product I had an allergy to. The only thing I did different on night 1 was first applied Herbivore Emerald CBD + Adaptogens Deep Moisture Glow Oil 1 oz/ 30 mL so it might have acted as a barrier which may explain why I didnโ€™t get hives. Unfortunately I donโ€™t think I can continue on with this product. 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@GG84  Oh darn. Thatโ€™s too bad you had a reaction. Hopefully youโ€™ve recovered from it. 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Ooo that's not good!! @GG84 so sorry you had a reaction

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@GG84 - That's too bad!  I hope your skin clears up soon!

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

oh no! I'm sorry to hear that gave you a reaction @GG84 !

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

What a bummer, @GG84!  I'm sorry that it didn't work out well for you.

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@GG84  Iโ€™m sorry you had a bad reaction. ๐Ÿ˜ž I just started patch testing this mask, so I may or may not try it on my whole face 1 or 2 weeks from now. Hope your hives calm down soon! 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@WinglessOne 

Do you patch test on your face or arm? Iโ€™m going to do that with the remainder of the gratis. 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@GG84  I usually start patch testing on either my arm, neck, or jaw (near my ear), and I test for 1-2 weeks (or longer, if Iโ€™m only using the product 1-2 times a week). With this cica mask, Iโ€™m starting with my wrist and inner arm. If I have no bad reaction within a week, Iโ€™ll move the test up to either my neck or jaw. If no bad reaction there within a week, Iโ€™ll try the mask on my whole face. 

 

I havenโ€™t done anything with the FAB arnica mask yet; thatโ€™s the one Iโ€™m most worried about, after reading its ingredients. That might be a longer patch test for me. 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@WinglessOne 

Yes the coconut concerns me along with a few other ingredient. I think Iโ€™ll go with the Drunk Elephant F-Balmโ„ข Electrolyte Waterfacial Mask 1.69 oz/ 50 mL next. Thanks for the tips! 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Feedback on one of the products from my recent gratis package (thank you Sephora!): 

 

Algenist GENIUS Collagen Calming Relief 1.35 oz/ 40 mLCross-posting from another thread:

 

I used this on 2 consecutive nights; one was a retinol night. Algenist calls this a โ€œtreatmentโ€ but, as thick and moisturizing as it is, it could probably be used as an overnight mask. As with all new-to-me products, I read and researched the ingredients to decide if 1) I can/should use this at all and 2) I should patch test it first. This stuff seemed to contain no bad or iffy stuff for my skinโ€”not even fragranceโ€”so I went straight to full face use. It kinda feels like spreading a Lโ€™Occitane shea butter hand cream on my face; itโ€™s that thick. I almost didnโ€™t put my usual moisturizer (YTTP Superfood) over it, but it felt slightly tacky and I thought it might need that additional seal-in layer. It did play nice with my moisturizer.

 

In the morning, my face felt quite moisturized, even after my AM wash. To test Algenistโ€™s โ€œcalming reliefโ€ claim, I didnโ€™t use Herbivore Emerald CBD oil on either night and instead relied on this stuff to handle inflammation/irritation, including the patch of damaged skin Iโ€™m babying. This treatment seemed to do the job well. Iโ€™m impressed! Not sure I could use this in warmer weather, but itโ€™ll definitely stay in my winter routine for occasional use. 

 

Products I used with Calming Relief:

Spoiler

Iโ€™ve also used Drunk Elephant F-Balmโ„ข Electrolyte Waterfacial Mask 1.69 oz/ 50 mL, but only on one night. I want to use it a few more times before passing final judgment. For now, Iโ€™ll say It felt very hydrating when first applied, then felt kinda sticky/tacky for 3 hours. My skin felt pretty good then next morning. Best of all, my skin didnโ€™t react badly to it; other Drunk Elephant products havenโ€™t played nice with my face (one beat me up pretty bad and stole my lunch money... glaring at you, Pekee Bar), so this alone is a big score for F-Balm. ๐Ÿ™‚ 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@WinglessOne  I love that added other products you used it with. I think itโ€™s super helpful 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

Thanks for the detailed review @WinglessOne 

have you done ingredient compare between DE & Algenist by any chance?

if you would have to pick one as your overnight mask after retinol or 20-25% exfoliation (babyfacial), which one would you pick? No rush ๐Ÿ˜€ I will wait to hear your thoughts on these after you have had some more time to test the DE F-Balm.

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@naturalooks15  I havenโ€™t done a direct comparison, but F-Balm is mostly about hydration/moisturization with lots of emollient and moisturizing ingredients, vs. Cica Sleep Maskโ€™s anti-irritation/barrier-building claims. I just started patch testing the Cica mask this morning on my wrist and inner arm because Iโ€™m not sure my face can handle the combo of geranium oil, lemongrass oil, and tea tree oil. (I can do tea tree occasionally, in small amounts, but adding the 2 other essential oils to the mix is iffy for me.) In a week, if I have no bad reaction, Iโ€™ll move the patch test up to my neck or jaw before deciding whether or not to try the mask on my whole face. 

 

My one test of F-Balm was done on a retinol night so, for now, Iโ€™d pick that over the Cica mask. ๐Ÿ™‚ But weโ€™ll see how my face likes the Cica mask in a couple weeks. Iโ€™ll also get in a few more F-Balm uses during the Cica patch test. 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@WinglessOne  Thanks for the info. Yeah, with these many essential oils, it might be irritating. I was curious about comparison between DE F-Balm and Algenist GENIUS Collagen Calming Relief 1.35 oz/ 40 mL whenever you get a chance. 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@naturalooks15  Ah, sorry. Iโ€™ve got that cica mask on the brain now. ๐Ÿ˜„ Since the Algenist Calming Relief is so thick (because it contains shea butter), I doubt I could use it in warmer weatherโ€”so Iโ€™d use Calming Relief in winter and switch to F-Balm in summer. But yeah, I can give a better answer once Iโ€™ve tested F-Balm a few more times. 

 

FYI, INCIDecoder has a comparison function. Itโ€™s kinda buried right now: on a productโ€™s info page, under the ingredients summary, thereโ€™s a comparison link. Clicking it sometimes gives me only the option to compare the product to itself. But if I search for a different product from the first productโ€™s page, then click the comparison link on the second productโ€™s page, Iโ€™ll get the option to compare both products. So it seems the comparison feature relies on a cookie to determine which 2 products to compare, vs. having some kind of interface that lets users choose 2 products. I hope this feature gets expanded and improved, because it could be super useful! 

 

Anyway, hereโ€™s what INCIDecoder lists for F-Balm and Calming Relief (common ingredients are bolded): 

Spoiler
70D1D449-D580-446E-985F-AC58A4A80BA7.jpegC46E4D1B-2156-4C56-AF26-9B719871FD71.jpeg2EDDE6E6-7534-48C9-9625-530E6755E7BD.jpeg

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

"Beat me up and stole my lunch money"

๐Ÿ˜„๐Ÿ˜„๐Ÿ˜„

@WinglessOne 

Re: The Gratis Thread ๐Ÿ›๐ŸŽ‰

@l8totheparty  Itโ€™s true! ๐Ÿ˜„

Seriously though, Pekee Bar left my eye area all flaky and scaly, and it caused some red sores that scabbed over. Iโ€™m still kinda ticked off about that. I had high hopes for that cleanser. Boo hiss! 

testing