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! 

 

[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!! 

[itsfi]

@ather, thank you. I am reaching more for products I know work for my skin, but when I remember, I try to choose a sample of a new product about once every two weeks, if it’s a skincare sample. With samples of other types of beauty products (hair care, bath & body), I’m less concerned about a negative reaction so those I probably reach for me, but I have fewer of those types of foils. 

[CorgiMommy]

Great idea!  

I sort mine but product type.  It keeps me organized and when I pack for a trip I just go through each pouch to get what I need.  

I found organizibg my gwp, foils and deluxe samples helps me use them and see what i like.

[itsfi]

Thank you @CorgiMommy. Sorting foils by product type is a fabulous way to organize samples. 👍🏼 I tried doing it that way initially and couldn’t make it work, but that has more to do with the current composition of my foil samples. Fortunately it’s made up mostly of skincare products that I’ve used before or am interested in trying. A lot less random makeup samples. Those took forever to use up. 

Hoping by year end (or before that actually), I’ll have whittled down my foils even more, to a handful. The amount of deluxe samples I have is in a more ideal state since I’ve put a lot more effort into being very selective with gwp’s. 

[Mellmars1185]

April goal is 18. I have thrown in a few deluxe samples  I have officially run out of facial cleansers in my stash. Without the cleansers, my numbers will be lower now moving forward. Looking forward to trying some new items this month like the perfume sample.

 

[itsfi]

I'm seeing a lot of lovely skincare samples @Mellmars1185! Super curious to know your thoughts on the two different exfoliating powders from Dermalogica.

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Thank you! I am really behjnd this month in trying my foils. I will definitely report back. I have the full size Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant Refillable Exfoliator 2.6 oz/ 74g and I am enjoying it. It is gentle yet effective. My hopes are the foils will be excellent aswell.