Use Your Foil Samples Challenge 2019

[angel7594]

Welcome to the second year of the challenge!

Everyone is welcome to join at anytime. ❤️

Post your used samples daily, weekly, monthly, or whenever you want. Feel free to suggest any sub- challenge ideas.

[itsfi]

Last of my foils for 2019. 12 this month which brings my total foils for the last 4 months to 117/100. I’m happy to have gone through almost all my foil samples. I have a dozen or so unopen fragrance vials and about 20 - 30 skincare / body care / hair care foils that’s I plan to donate to a local non-profit. I’ll be more mindful about what foils I pick up in the future and will pass if I’m not really interested in the particular product. 

I would purchase full sizes of the Algenist Genius Liquid Collagen and Drunk Elephant Protini. Both are great. The Volition polish and Pyungkang Yul cleanser are “likes” and products I might purchase in the future; there’s heavy competition in their categories. The items in the middle row were alright; I’d use them again if I had samples but I don’t think I would run out and pick up a full size. There was a lot of product in the Sisley neck cream foil in the last row but it’s ultimately a “no” as I experienced some clogged pores and breakouts while trying it out. I ended up using what remained as a cream for my hands and feet.

[tinobiscuits]

@itsfi 

Yaasss!  You met your goal!  I...did not.  lol   But it's a new year, new start soon.  

[itsfi]

Awww, thank you @tinobiscuits! Yes, new year, new start! 😃 I think I may try to pan a full size product, something like eyeshadow, which is challenging for me to use up. What are you thinking about for 2020?

[tinobiscuits]

@itsfi  Panning is a hard and noble challenge!  I wish you luck. 

I'm thinking about several challenges but I haven't decided yet: going through all the foils first in any given category (that really takes down the visual clutter since I organize my skincare by type); doing a full brand's line all at once (DE or Pyunkang Yul, for example, but you have to fill in blanks w other stuff--DE doesn't make a toner so that complicates things); or just randomly picking an item in a category (one oil cleanser, one essence, etc.) and using it until I finish.

I may just pick up whatever makes me happy and not overthink it too much!! 😄

[itsfi]

@tinobiscuits, I’m not super confident that I’ll be able to pan eyeshadows, let alone one eyeshadow, but I’m hoping it’ll be a valiant effort on my part. 😆 I find I have an easier time with getting through skincare - with one of the challenges you mentioned - picking one product per category and working my way through it. 

Love your idea of doing a full brand’s line, but I hear ya, that has its own set of challenges depending on the products in the line. DE and Pyunkang Yul are great brands. My skin doesn’t get on well with the DE sunblocks or the jelly cleanser. What I’ve tried of PKY has been good. You have awesome ideas for challenges; hard to go wrong with any of them, but I do think having fun should definitely be factored into it! ☺️ 

[tinobiscuits]

@itsfi I think I'll go with your recommendation and do the one random item per category.  Everything is in a database and I have a random-number-picker website ready to go!  😄  Plus I am excited about finally being able to use the OneEmptyOneNewbie hashtag on Insta for once!  I have too many partially used things open. 

Have a lovely new year!

[itsfi]

@tinobiscuits, you got this! ❤️ I'm excited for you to get through your products, both the ones that are already open and the new products you'll discover. Keep us posted on if you find any new loves or rediscover products you loved. 

[itsfi]

November foils count = 42 foils, 3 de-stashed - the Laura Mercier eye shadow sticks were too old; I was able to get one use out of each shade before they dried out completely. YTD: 105 / 100. I'm happy to have gone through most of my foils and met my goal. I'll try to use up what foils I have left, or as much as I can, by the end of the year.

[itsfi]

It was a slower October as far as foil usage went. I reached for deluxe samples or full sized products more frequently last month, which is why I only went through 20 foils, which brings my YTD number to 63/100. I’m a little ahead of the average for my target of 100 by year end. I’ll have to be a little more disciplined and thoughtful with my foil usage this month.

Spoiler

I’ve been a fan of the IGK Hot Girls Hydrating Shampoo and the IGK Hot Girls Hydrating Conditioner since I first time I tried the set and my feelings haven’t changed. I have enough shampoo and conditioners in rotation right now so I don’t really need to pick up any more at the moment; otherwise, I’d consider purchasing a full size of this duo.

Love the Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask! - it's one of my favorite hair masks. I have a couple of different sizes of the mask and always try to pick up the foils since they’re so handy for traveling. The Rituals The Ritual of Sakura Body Cream moisturized my skin nicely; it just was not a standout for me. What surprised me was the Grande Lips Hydra Plump lippies. I didn’t expect to like the formula or find a color among the 3 in the sample packet. Turns out I like all the colors in the foils and the formula too. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few full size lippies showed up in some future hauls. 😉

Spoiler

These were all fine; the products were nice enough but other than the Shiseido Future Solution LX Eye and Lip Contour Regenerating Cream, I probably would not purchase a full size of any of these beauties (or in the case of the Laneige Water Bank Essence, I wouldn’t repurchase a full size of it as I have used it in the past), primarily because there are just other similar products I like better.

[itsfi]

Check-in / update on my FALLin’ For Foils self-challenge. My goal is to try 100 foil products over the last four months of the year. I started September 1 and during this first go at it, I used foils of 42 different product (for a total of 43 foils – I used 2 foils of one product, hence the different numbers). Off to a good start but I don’t anticipate being able to keep up this pace over the next 3 months so I feel like, at best, it’s a little cushion for me as I move my way towards 100 foil products. Lol. I have to give a shout out to @CorgiMommy who did over 600 foils in 2018, which means she used an average of at least 50 foils per month last year. Brava to you! Having used up 43 this month, I appreciate what you did last year even more than I did before! Kudos to you! 

Here are my September foils ~ 43/100

Toner, Essence, Serum, Ampoules

Spoiler

Except for the Skin Inc. item, I’ve tried all these products before. Laneige Water Bank Essence feels more like a light lotion or moisturizer than an essence. I wouldn’t mind using these products again, but in terms of ones I would run out and purchase, it would be the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum, Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner, Tatcha Luminous Deep Hydration Firming Serum, Skin Inc. Licorice Serum Relieve and the Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence. Nothing wrong with the other foils – Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel or the Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel – there are just other similar products I prefer more.

Moisturizers

Spoiler

My skin didn’t suffer any irritation and I didn’t experience any negative reactions to any of these moisturizers. The formulation on the AmorePacific The Essential Crème Fluid and belif aqua bomb moisturizer are too light for me as moisturizers; the latter works better as a serum for me and of the belif moisturizers, I have a strong preference for the moisturizing bomb – it’s just better suited for my skin type. For some reasons, the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream and Tatcha Indigo Soothing Triple Recovery Creme I preferred using as a body lotion. Caudalie Vinoperfect Moisturizing Sorbet, OleHenriksen C Rush Brightening Gel Cream and Dr. Belmeur Daily Repair Moisturizer were fine; I’d use them again if I had them but I’m not sure I’d seek them out. I’m interested in seeing how more consistent and regular use of the Fresh Black Tea Firming Corset Cream For Face and Neck; I have other foils of this one that I plan to use. I have full sizes of the Dr. Jart Ceramidin Cream and the belif Moisturizing Bomb - these two are great for dry skin. Moisturizers here that I enjoyed and would consider picking up full sizes are the Fresh Rose Hydration; Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Pink Juice Moisturizer (this one surprised me the most from this group of products); Sunday Riley Tidal; Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream Ex and It’s Skin Prestige Crème Ginseng d’Escargot.

Primers

Spoiler

I wasn’t looking for a new primer when I started working through my foil samples and I certainly hadn’t planned on finding a new one that I love. On the one hand, I suppose that’s still true since I didn’t find one new primer that I love… I found three.  Yep, 3!!! Oh goodness. My skin really liked the hydrating aspect of Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Hydrating Primer; it’s high up on my list of winter primers now. My skin is now dehydrated, combo-leaning-dry so the NARS Pore & Shine Control Primer probably won’t be something I reach for very often for the next 6 months or so, but I expect that it might make its way into my shopping cart for the spring 2020 sale because this stuff mattifies – my face stopped looking like there was an oil spill on my nose. Perhaps one of my favorite products from the foils in September is the Heimish Bulgarian Rose Satin Cream, which smells of a lovely bouquet of roses. I don’t know what it is or how it does it but this creamy primer does what it says – improves “skin complexion for a better makeup look”.  Once I’ve whittled down the number of products in my shopping cart, a full size of this one will be headed my way. 😉

Masks

Spoiler

I already have full sizes of the Laneige and make p:rem masks . The Laneige Water Sleeping Mask was my the sleeping or overnight masks I used. It was my favorite for years; with the onslaught of sleeping masks in the last couple of years, I’ve since found ones I like better but the Laneige is still a good one and one I keep around, both for its effectiveness and its sentimental value. The make p:rem Wonderful Me In-Shower Face Pack I like for its convenience factor – it’s simple and quick. I leave the bottle in my shower for those mornings when I don’t have time to use a sheet mask. Sulwhasoo Overnight Vitalizing Mask Ex is the new kid of the group here and my favorite of the bunch. It was gifted to me by @Shosh85  (thank you!!) and gives the Heimish Bulgarian Rose Satin Cream a run for its money as far as being my favorite product of this group of foils is concerned.

Hair Care

Spoiler

Both the foil shampoos and conditioners I tried this month smelled amazing! If I didn’t have a healthy supply of shampoos and conditioners already, I would definitely purchase full sizes of the Amika Velveteen Dream Smoothing Shampoo and the Amika Velveteen Dream Smoothing Conditioner – I don’t even know how to describe what it smells like other than to say it’s a fruity-plus something else scent that lingers. This duo does a wonderful job of making my hair feel soft and silky smooth and it gives some life to my otherwise stick straight, fine hair. Kracie Dear Beaute Himawari Oil in Shampoo Gloss & Repair and Kracie Dear Beaute Oil in Conditioner Gloss & Repair are both light weight for an oil based formulation. Interestingly, of the two products, I like the shampoo noticeably more than the conditioner; it’s not that the conditioner is bad in any way either. Argan oil products are often too heavy for my hair so I was a little skeptical when I reached for the Confume Argan Treatment Hair Pack, a pleasantly scented rich cream the emulsifies to a thin oil serum that works well as a detangler and hair mask. My hair looks and feels silky smooth when I’ve used this one. I tried it as a rinse out mask and as a leave-in conditioner and for me, it works better as a hair mask for me.

Everything Else

Spoiler

I love caramel and I love lip balms so the pairing of the two in the Fresh Sugar Caramel Hydrating Lip Balm seemed like a perfect pairing for me. I love the smell, taste and moisturization of this balm – a full size is already on its way. I went through two foils of enzyme powder based cleansers last month, Haba Squa Powder Wash and Tatcha The Rice Polish Foaming Enzyme Deep -  they're good cleansers; I have enough full sizes though to last me a while, including this Tatacha one.  Josie Maran Vibrancy Argan Oil Foundation Fluid has a nice consistency but the color of the foil sample was way off for me – I can only dream of being that tan. It’s lightweight for an argan oil foundation but my preference is for Kosas or mixing my own oil + foundation together. I didn’t think I’d ever find a BB cream suitable for me and I wasn’t really looking when I reached for this Dr. Jart Premium BB Cream (Light to Medium) - isn’t that often how it works out though? This BB cream is a nice one and one I like. Belif Moisturizing Eye Cream is a nice one; I’m not ready just yet to pick up a full size – I have a handful of foils and deluxe sized eye cream still needing to be used / tested, but this one is definitely in the running. The YSL Y-shape Cream has a nice texture and consistency and applies very smoothly. It’s difficult if not impossible to tell how well a product like this one works with just a foil sample. I have a couple of neck creams I just started trying so I’m not looking to add another one to the rotation at the moment but if the creams I’m working through end up not working for me, I’ll be interested in seeing how this YSL one works with continued and consistent use. Similarly, results from the Clarins Body Fit is very likely something that you’d see over time and not after a few uses. This lotion has a scent to it that I’m not really that fond of – it’s not horrible but it’s not something I care for so it would be hard to use this one regularly to see if it does what it says it will do.

[eshoe]

Very impressive and quite a bit of work @itsfi! Congrats, must feel good to complete such a significant amount of foils!

[ShortErica]

Wow! When I use a handful of samples I feel accomplished. 43 is amazing! Nice job @itsfi and thanks for all of your notes. You will make 100 for sure!

[itsfi]

Aww thank you @ShortErica! We’ll see how this month turns out. I’m not sure I’ll reach for as many foils as I did last month. 

[itsfi]

In anticipation for fall, I did some re-organizing around the house and it seems that my foil sample supply has gotten out of hand … again! Sigh. This year, the fall season is officially September 23 – December 22, but I think I’m going to try to use up these 100 foil samples, starting tomorrow (September 1) and going through the end of the year.  The 100 foils consist of makeup (primarily lip products), hair care, body care and skincare products, some I’ve used before and others that are brand new to me. I’ll try to post progress reports monthly, at a minimum.  And, while I’m FALLin’ for foils, I’ll *try* not to pick up any more until the end of the year – “try” is the operative word there. Lol.  🙂

[l8totheparty]

Congrats, @itsfi !  I'm trying to reach for mine more often as well.  I hope you find more likes in your foil collection!  It's nice to stumble on something you never knew about but now love.

[CorgiMommy]

You can do it. I used up over 600 samples last yeat which I documented on the 2018 use your samples challenge. It is fun plus you will discover products you will love and new brands to try.

[itsfi]

@CorgiMommy!!! 🥰 Thank you so much for the encouragement! 🤗 I am going to aim for 5-6 samples per week. I know there’ll be some weeks that may be more and some less, but hopefully it’ll even itself out. 🤞🏼 

Wow!! 🤩 600 samples??! That’s super impressive. 💕

[tsavorite]

@itsfi ,

Okay, I never thought of putting foils in a glass container like your photo, but I really find this a charming idea that I would like to steal!

[l8totheparty]

I have mine in a set of clear-sided drawers, and then bagged by type within- a clear bag of mascaras, one of haircare, etc. @tsavorite 

[tsavorite]

@l8totheparty ,

That's amazingly organized!  I'm impressed!