Foil Challenge

[ather]

I know we all talked about this but I need it in writing to hold myself more accountable! I have picked out around 28 foils that I am hoping to get through by the end of Feb. that’s 1 foil a day unless I decide to stack more than one! Here’s what I’ve picked randomly! 

 

[itsfi]

April Foil Challenge: Freestyle Foils  

My freestyle foil approach for the month worked out pretty well. As to be expected, I didn't make my way through as many foils as when I have set aside specific foils to use. I went through a little less than half the number of foils I did for the last 2 months (21 February, 26 March) when I have pre-designated foil samples to try to use.

I went through 12 foils this month, which comes out to 1 foil every 2-1/2 days. That's actually a lot more than I expected; I guessed that I would finish 0 - 6 foils. 

Spoiler

Top row consists of new-to-me products. I have varying thoughts on each. 

• Sadly, the Skin Inc Licorice Serum Relieve broke me out. 😬 My skin typically responds well to licorice root, so I'm not sure if it's another ingredient(s) in the serum or if the sample is past its prime, which I really wouldn't be surprised by if that was the case. 
• I've tried a few products from Dr. Barbara Sturm and was excited to give this Super Anti-Aging Face Cream a try. It's ... okay. To be fair,  I find that it typically takes more than one use to see any "anti-aging" results from a product.  The cream wasn't bad, but I didn't feel it stood out from other moisturizers I've used or currently use. 
• The Benefit primer foil has a generous amount of product and coupled with a little going a long way, this lasted me for a while. I used it during cooler days as well as warmer ones when my T-zone is oilier than usual and will say that Benefit the Porefessional Pore Primer definitely mattifies and blurs pores. It's one I'd consider for the summer when my entire face is  more oily.

I've used all of the products in the bottom row before and they range from "likes" to "loves".  Let's start off with the likes, all of which I'd happily use again and could see myself purchasing a full size, from time to time.

• ma:nyo Pure Cleansing Face Oil - lightweight, leaves skin looking and feeling soft, clean, and bright. I have several cleansing oils I enjoy using so I'm not in the market for another cleansing oil, but if I was, this would be one I'd consider.
• Dr. Jart Ceramidin Liquid (toner serum) - the entire Ceramidin line is a hit with my face. 😉 This toner-and-serum in one is beautifully formulated. It just falls into a "like" vs. "love" field because there are a handful of other toner-and-serum products that my skin loves just a little more. 
• Like the ma:nyo, I like both the Ouai Fine Hair Shampoo and Ouai Fine Hair Conditioner. It leaves my tresses clean, soft, shiny but not greasy), smooth and hydrated. I've been making a big effort to downsize the number of full-size shampoos and conditioners I have on hand at any given time, and I've met my quota (probably stretched it a bit) with this most recent spring sale, so the Oaui will have to wait for another day.

Which leads us to my "loves" of the bunch, both of which are so very easy to love: 

• Sol de Janeiro Braziian 4-Play Moisturizing Shower Cream-Gel is my favorite product from the BumBum line of scents. I actually wish SdJ offered shower cream-gels in all of the scents. If they do and I've missed that completely, do tell!
•  Dr. Jart Ceramidin Cream - oh, what a beautiful formulation for my skin in the winter months, or when my skin barrier is damaged. Dr. Jart has recently reformulated their Ceramidin line and what I've tried so far has fallen in the good or great camps, with one earning an excellent from me. I have yet to try the reformulated Cream but will soon enough - I picked up a deluxe size sample of the reformulated version during a promo gwp. 

Spoiler

As for sheet masks and other masks in foil-like packaging, all were good, with a few great products that are repurchase-worthy in my book.

• All the sheet masks here were good to my skin. I'd happily use any of them again, but my top 3 here (in no particular order) are the illliyoon ceramide, Mediheal R:NA, and the by Wishtrend gauze mask!
• The KAO Megrhythm gentle steam eye masks are staples in my collection and there's typically at least one pair of the caffeine eye masks. I don't often buy the Wander eye masks on their own but they always seem to find their way into my skincare drawer (sub box, gwp tote, etc) - I'm not complaining.

MAY FOIL CHALLENGE GOAL

The month of May is typically another allergy-challenged month for me, which means that I'm less likely to try a lot of new skincare products, which usually make up most of my foil usage. That said, I do have a work trip scheduled for May and will likely take some samples (of tried-and-true products) with me. With all that in mind, I will take a hybrid approach for my May foil challenge - freestyle foils but with a goal. @ather, as with April's foil  challenge, I won't set aside any samples I want to work through (the freestyle part), but I will have a target number of foils I'll aim to use. My goal will be to use 8-12 foils in May. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Wow great job!! You did an awesome job! Even with the freestyle you seem to be getting through foils! Hopefully you will get a break from allergies on your work trip and they won’t make them worse. Those steam masks are so good. I can’t remember if I have tried the Mediheal R:NA I need to try it out I think!!! Good luck with Mays foils! 

[itsfi]

Thank you! I was surprised I went through as many foils during a freestyle foil month @ather. I think it may have been due to me being accustomed since February to using a foil every so often. 🤷🏻‍♀️ In any event, I think  the bulk of my foils in May will be for my trip. 

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Excellent progress! I hope you have a great work trip. Foils come in handy for these types of getaways!

[itsfi]

@Mellmars1185, thank you. Completely agree - foils are great for traveling. My skin is sensitive so for the most part, I only take sample of tried-and-true products with me, so that drawer should be less full by the time the month is over. It's a little too early to pack for the trip but I plan for a mix of foil and deluxe sized samples. 🛅✈️

[ather]

Ok so in order to keep myself accountable I have pulled out 15 foils! So here they are. I am hoping to use minimum of 10 in May!

 

[Mellmars1185]

@ather Marvelous May Goals!

[ather]

@Mellmars1185  Thank you! I am not off to a good start. So I need to up my game!

[itsfi]

Ohhh, you have some good ones here @ather! Nice foil curation for May. The Consonant HydrExtreme does wonders for dry skin! ❤️

[ather]

@itsfi  Good to know! I haven’t tried it yet! Now I’m excited!

[ather]

I was terrible and didn’t do a half way check in. This month I have been terrible at using up foils! But I will do better next month! I’m still in a good spot with my foils right now so my goal next month is 10 to 15. 

 
I enjoyed all but the Tula which was just meh for me. The shu uemura Silk Bloom Shampoo for Damaged Hair 10 oz/ 300 mL  is amazing!! 

[itsfi]

Help me out here, @ather, how is this terrible?! It looks like you found a new product to fancy - that's a win! 👍 Okay, maybe your wallet will disagree, but that Shu sounds good - I didn't even know that product existed until I saw your post! Enabler!!! 🤣 

[ather]

@itsfi  I love how optimistic you are! I agree great I found a love. I was hoping to get through a few more foils then I did! But progress is progress right! 

[CorgiMommy]

@ather I know it is difficult to use them up.  There is always a time when you want to use the tried and true

[CorgiMommy]

@ather my skin was sensitive to changes in products, now that it is drier I can experiment more.

[ather]

@CorgiMommy  that’s awesome! I wish! 

[ather]

@CorgiMommy  I agree. Plus my face isn’t always thrilled to use new products so they doesn’t help either!! 

[CookieGirl1]

@ather I hear so many good things about Shu Uemura hair products but they have so many!  I never try anything because I don't know which one to try first.

[ather]

@CookieGirl1   This is the first one I’ve tried. I really liked it. I do have a little bit of damage from colouring so I was happy to try this one for damaged hair. I think I have a couple more foils from her line also! 

[itsfi]

How is it already the middle of the month?! I know this gets said a lot (like every month 🤣), but really, how did this month go by sooooo quickly?! 😳

MID-MONTH SUMMARY: My plan for April for foils was to not have a plan. No set goals or samples I wanted to use up. I wanted to see how often I reached for a foil sample if I didn't have a group of samples I was focused on working through. I'm pleased to report that this month's "Freestyle Foils" has been going pretty well so far.

The New Foils Setup

I started the month with a little reorganization of my foil samples. Before, my foil samples resided in a clear, cylindrical, acrylic container. They still remain in a clear, acrylic container, but this time, it's square shaped, with a few drawers, which makes it easier to group my foils. I decided on the following grouping (close up in spoiler) - 

• top drawer - single foils of never-before-used, new-to-me products (but not including the bunch of foils I received from a couple of Asian beauty stores)
• second drawer from the top - single foils of products that I've used before
• third drawer -foils of products that I have multiples of - if I had used this organization system when I was using the Eadem serum, those 14-day sample foil packets would have been placed in this drawer. It doesn't matter if they're a new product or one I've used before, if I have at least two foils of it, here it will live.
• bottom drawer - deluxe sized samples (but not including foundation samples made in store)

Close up of drawers:

Spoiler

Top drawer - new-to-me products
2nd drawer - tried-and-true products
3rd drawer - products with multiple foils
Bottom drawer - deluxe size samples

Mid-April Tally: 

• 9 foils, mostly tried-and-true skincare products
• 6 single use sheet masks

Technically, I'm averaging a foil per day @ather, but in practice, I reach for them less often but more than I thought I would without having a set plan in place. We shall see if or how this continues for the latter half of the month. Curious to know how folks have been doing so far on shopping their foils stash! 

[ather]

@itsfi  wow I love this approach to it. And the way you separate them. Do you find you are reaching for your tried and true more then the ones you haven’t tried yet? You are doing awesome so far for doing a freestyle approach! I will have to go through my foils that I used already this month and see where I am at! 

Great job!!