The Gratis Thread 🛍🎉

[cianni]

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 I’ve been finding that while it’s easy to initially post about receiving it and initial reviews, it’s not as easy to follow up! 

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

[Loretta55]

Congratulations @missjeanie. What other color did you purchase? I will be in store next week and I plan on swatching some of the other shades.

[missjeanie]

@Loretta55  I ended up grabbing Samba, it’s a mauvy berry, which is right up my ally, love that it can be sheer or built up! 

[Loretta55]

Thank you for the recommendation @missjeanie. Samba sounds like it will be a color that I need to swatch. I am also interested in Salsa.

[StyleLynn]

What an adorable card and sweet surprise 🙂 

[WinglessOne]

Results of 2 recent gratis product tests. Tagging @sprocketta  who wanted to hear my updated thoughts on the first product.  

LANEIGE Cica Sleeping Mask - When I saw cymbopogon martini oil (palmarosa oil; lemongrass family; contains lots of geraniol, something I try to avoid) listed in the ingredients, plus Amorepacific’s “forest yeast” cica component which my skin’s completely unfamiliar with (apparently they’ve patented it? They claim it’s more effective than madecassoside, a cica component my skin’s fairly used to), I knew I’d need to patch test this mask. The instructions on the jar say to use 1-2 times a week, so that’s how frequently I patch tested it on my neck and wrist. Did that for a few weeks. Last night I finally used it on my whole face. 

It’s very silky creamy and feels quite moisturizing. I appreciate that it doesn’t have much of a scent. It tingled in a couple places for 5-10 minutes, but I noticed no bad reaction. It played very nicely with the 2 moisturizing layers beneath it (Herbivore Emerald CBD Oil and YTTP Superfood Moisturizer, 2 staples of my skincare routine): no pilling or other misbehavior. And I did notice a reduction of surface redness within 15 minutes of use. 

Products I used with Laneige Cica Sleeping Mask:

Spoiler

Today I woke up to a baby soft face that felt well moisturized. After washing with Paula’s Choice Hydralight Cleanser (another of my staples), my skin still felt plump, soft, and moisturized. As I go through my AM routine, my face usually flushes quite red from any rubbing (no matter how gentle), plus I sometimes wake up to surface redness. Not this morning: I got just some minor “normal” blood-rush flushing during moisturizer application, and I had no inflammation-related surface redness. 

I’ll try this mask again next week—maybe I’ll even use it twice next week. If I get good results again, the Cica Sleeping Mask will earn a permanent spot in my mask bin. I might even transfer it to an airless vacuum pump jar. It’ll be nice as an overnight rescue or reset mask. 

SEPHORA COLLECTION - Jelly Melt Glossy Lip Tint - Flamenco - Last weekend I gave this a full day wear test and liked it enough to plan to travel with it. I reviewed the shade Flamenco on the product review page and in the 100 Days of Lipstick thread (where you can see me wearing it): https://community.sephora.com/t5/Lip-Lovers/100-Days-of-Lipstick-Challenge/m-p/5187462/highlight/true#M101800

[SAlyFitz]

Thank you Sephora & BIC!!

[quspork]

Congrats, @SAlyFitz!

[SportyGirly125]

@SAlyFitz Congratulations on receiving this gratis 

[ellem24]

Congrats @SAlyFitz ! Beautiful Valentine look, love the little hearts 💕

[SAlyFitz]

thanks!! ill have to add the picture of when i spilled half of the mac jar down the sink..smh...now its half for face and half for art projects haha

[lmaster]

Congratulations @SAlyFitz 😍

[SAlyFitz]

thank you!!!

[Loretta55]

Congratulations @SAlyFitz! Very pretty look!

[SAlyFitz]

thank you!

[curlychiquita]

So pretty, @SAlyFitz!

[SAlyFitz]

thank you!!

[itsfi]

Gorgeous @SAlyFitz! Love the hearts and that lip color is stunning on you! Congrats on the fun gratis! 💕

[SAlyFitz]

thank you! i really like the comfort of the lippies, although i want to try them with different layers as i found they fade but leave almost like a liner look on me.

[curlychiquita]

@TeamBIC, thank you for the sweet gift! It is so nice that you made our Valentine's day special! ❤

[quspork]

Congrats, @curlychiquita!

[curlychiquita]

Thank you, @quspork! 💓