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! 

 

[ather]

December foils!!

I was on vacation a few times in December so sorry for the multiple pictures. I didn’t want to bring things back! 

 

 

 

 

 

 I enjoyed all the fouls but I am not sure I found a fav in them. Most times I need to try them a bit longer to know if it would work better. But I did enjoy them all! 

[itsfi]

@ather, completely understand not wanting to bring back foils you've worked through. There's just a great feeling when your TSA liquids bag is lighter, has more space in it. Or, in my case, it's easier to zip up. 🤣 Nice work on your samples!  

[ather]

@itsfi  I agree!! I accidentally put an opened foil into a travel bag and it leaked all over. It was a mess. I try and be a bit more careful with them now! 

[CorgiMommy]

@ather going away is a great way to use up foils.  You have done great products in the ones you posted

[ather]

@CorgiMommy  Thanks! I don’t have any more trips booked for now so I will just have to use them at home for a bit! 

[itsfi]

December 2023 Foils

MTD = 29 (not including sheet masks or deluxe/travel sized items)

YTD = 169 (not including sheet masks or deluxe/travel sized items) - I started tracking my foils in February, 2023 so that translates to approximately 15 foils per month. 

Looking at this pic, it seems like I was washing my hair a lot this month. lol

Spoiler

❤️The Strength Cure collection is my favorite of the Pureology lines. I know the one in the purple packaging is very popular, but my personal preference is for the one with the blue packaging. My hairs looks and feels soft and smooth after I use it. It works well in my current shampoo / conditioner rotation. I have a few full size bottles of other shampoo and conditioners that I'm making my way through but I can see myself picking up a full-size bottle of each at some point next year, perhaps the spring sale.

✖️ The Barbara Sturm set, on the other hand, was a letdown; though to be fair, it may just be that the conditioner in particular, was past its prime. Consistency of the shampoo was nice - it's a clear liquid, on the thinner side as far as shampoos go. Sadly though, and maybe the batch that these samples were made from were duds or stored improperly, but every sample pack I used left my hair feeling stripped and dry, almost straw-like. I wondered whether hydration and moisture would be added back in with the conditioner, but no. The conditioner came out in chunks. 

On subsequent uses, I massaged the second and third foils to see if that would help, but even with doing so (and doing so for a good 5 minutes with the third one), there were still chunks; less so, but they were still there). If someone else has tried these products and had a different (and better) experience, I'd love to hear about it. Based on my use of these three sets of foils, the shampoo and conditioner are passes for me.

❤️Love the portability of these individually wrapped Cutex Swipe & Go Nail Polish Remover Pads. They're quick & easy; one pad can clean up all 10 nails, with little to no messiness, even when it's glitter polish being removed from all nails. These are repeated repurchases. 

❤️ Josie Maran body butter has been a regular in @Loretta55's haul posts for years. I picked up this super-sized foil sample (love how generous they were with the product) as a gwp and I could not be happier with it. I have a few more tubs of body creams I want to work my way through, but a full size will definitely be in one of my future hauls. 

These were some of the products I took with me on a trip earlier this year.

Spoiler

👍 The Osulloc Kombucha powder sticks are loves - convenient for travel, tastes good, and easy to use. 

👍🏼 Oribe Shampoo for Beautiful Color and Oribe Conditioner for Beautiful Color are nice, but not necessarily ones I love or feel are something I need to have. I'll happily use foil packets of them if I have them, but there are other shampoos & conditioners from Oribe that I would purchase before the ones in this line.

😐I'm reminded that the original scent of the Moroccanoil products is too much for my nose. The Moroccanoil Hand Cream Fragrance Originale has a lovely consistency but the original scent is too strong for my liking and can give me a slight headache. The smell does dissipate but the original scent is not for me. The consistency of the product and moisturizing effect are nice though. I ended up using it on my legs, mixed with another body lotion.

These beauties were from a long weekend.

Spoiler

👎 The scent on the Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo and the Morroccanoil Hydrating Conditioner was much less pronounced than on their other products and less problematic for me in that regard. The results from these two items, though, were mixed for me - I like how soft my hair felt after using both and unlike the Barbara Strum shampoo and conditioner, my hair did feel hydrated and moisturized. Unfortunately, one or possibly the combination of both, of these products weighed down parts of my hair, primarily my hair at the crown and my bangs. The latter looked very flat afterwards. I can see these hair care products working well for someone with less fine strands than I have, but it'll be a pass for me.

❤️Had to use another foil of the Josie Maran body butter after using and loving the one earlier this month. She's a beauty. 

👍 I often add a sample of the Guerlain Abeille Royale Double Renew & Repair Serum to my online order when it's available. It's a beautifully luxe and hydrating serum It's pricey too. I can see myself picking up a full size but I also have a fair number of serums that I love and purchase time and time again (as well as a list of serums that I've been meaning to try) so I'm not sure when I might get around to buying a full size. 

👍Not really foils but these came with me on a trip along with these other foils so here they are - Gucci Flora is a lovely scent; I have it in a couple of sizes. Having this vial makes it easy for travel. Replica By the Fireplace has a huge set of fans; the scent is a smidge too much for me on my skin, but I do love to use it for aromatherapy. I started spritzing the air space around my work desk at home during the pandemic and that practice has continued at my desk at home and work, and has extended to the desk at my hotel room when I travel. It sets a lovely mood. 

Sheet masks

Spoiler

👍I actually went through 3 sheet masks (and am making a dent through my current multi mask pack). The Life Brand cuticle & Nail Masks - Nourishing (Lemon Oil & Vitamin E) isn't pictured. I was gifted that and really like it - sometimes, it's really my nail bed and cuticles that need extra hydration and care and fingernail masks like these hit the spot. 

 👍🏼 Sephora Collection Face Mask - Grapefruit (gratis) is a nice one; does what I expect of a sheet mask - hydrates skin and gives it healthy glow. My favorite from the SC series is the lychee, both in this version of the face mask made of eucalyptus fibers, and in the newest version with acacia fibers.

👍 I stumbled upon this Sephora Collection Hair Mask - Mango when I was sorting through boxes. This, a foot mask, a face mask, a cup of tea and a good book make for some quality "me" time before bed. The hair mask works overnight to soften and moisturize the hair, making it soft, smooth and silky the next morning after rinsing out the product.

There we have it. There were 2 additional foils - shampoo and conditioner (I really did wash my hair a lot this month, didn't I? Hahaha!) that I forgot to include in the photos; will include them in my empties pics. 

I didn't realize I had as many foil samples as I did, but having gone through this challenge this year, I've reduced my lot by quite a bit @ather. Going forward, I plan to keeping my foil stash a lot smaller and being much more mindful of which ones I pick up as well as rehoming or donating ones I won't use more closely to the time I received the foil sample, rather than waiting several months or even a year before a decutter. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Wow!!! You really went out with a bang this month! I wonder why you washed your hair so much this month? Maybe travel or parties? The SC hair mask sounded like a great way to relax! I can’t wait to see what you accomplish next year!!! 

[itsfi]

Thank you @ather! This year, I've been taking photos of my foil usage, and empties for that matter, on a weekly basis, instead of keeping everything in a bin or bag and then documenting it at the end of the month. I've done it more out of practicality - month end / beginning of the month have a general tendency of being busier times for me, especially when they fall on a weekday. Having a lot of product to cull through and lay out can be a "to do" item that can be tedious and time consuming depending on how many products I have and, at that point, I'm more inclined to group products together based on how well I liked them - that's how I previously went about my foils and empties and it really is a great way to catalog it and visually it's nice to have all the loves, likes, mehs, and no's in their own photo, but it just got too much for me to do it all at once.

Doing it weekly is simpler for me; most of the time, I just grab what's in my empties and foils bin/bag the night before trash pick up day, lay them out on the table, take a photo, then place those items in the appropriate recycle, compost or trash bins. Or place them all in a bag to drop off at one of the bins in a Sephora store. It makes for a less cohesive photo thematically when posting, but it's more convenient for me based on my schedule. It also helps when I'm traveling - I take a quick shot of my empties and foils the morning I leave and I don't bring back empties with me. Yes, there was a time when I would bring back my empties with me so I could keep the products I loved in one shot, the likes in another frame and so on. 

I'm taking a slightly different approach to foils next year, but I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of it. 

[itsfi]

Oh about the shampoo and conditioner foils @ather, I do think travel played a role in more of them being used this month. I also spent more time outdoors and there were a host of factors associated with that that meant more instances when I wanted / needed to wash my hair - if I spent the day, or most of it, walking and my head became sweaty or sweatier, either because I was wearing a hat or I was just sweating more, I'd feel better if I washed my hair. Also, there were several times I was walking along a beach where the salty ocean air and sand would get in my hair and well, I needed to wash my hair afterwards. The Barbara Sturm shampoo and conditioner didn't work well for my hair and I did feel the need to wash it again the next day, so that's a contributing factor. 

[CorgiMommy]

An average of 15 foils per month is really incredible @itsfi .  Any loves at first use?

[itsfi]

@CorgiMommy, my knee-jerk reaction when I did the calculation was that average seemed high for me (I feel like my regular cadence would be 6-10 foils per month), so I went over my foils for the year and it seems the higher-than-expected average is probably due to a few factors -

(1) being overly eager & enthusiastic about going through my foils the first month of the challenge;

(2) having a couple of opportunities this year to go through multiple packets of the same product (the 14-day trial of the Eadem serum as a gwp promo, for example); and

(3)  uptick in travel this fall and winter where I packed more foils than I might otherwise. 

I didn't have a ton of new-to-me products in terms of foils this year; in years past, definitely, but less so of late. Many of my foils were either of products I loved or liked. Base on this year's foils, loves at first use would be Sol de Janeiro Beija Flor™ Renewing Body Wash 13 oz / 385 mL and Moroccanoil Shower Gel Cleanser Spa du Maroc, both of which I now have in full sizes. 😀 The amika Normcore Sulfate Free Shampoo 9.2 oz / 275 mL and amika Normcore Hydrating Conditioner 9.2 oz / 275 mL were also great but I have far too many full size shampoo and conditioners in varying stages of use to justify purchasing another set at the moment.

There were a few loves the second time around; those include Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter and Pureology Strength Cure Shampoo for Damaged Hair and Pureology Strength Cure Conditioner for Damaged Hair. Full sizes of both will be picked up at some point next year, after I work my way through similar products in my current rotation.

The foil challege this time around has been different for me. All instances where I've participated in the foil challenge have been good ones - the pre-covid challenges, around the time I was participating more in the threads was really about trying to get a better handle on my foils stash, and I did. I also learned some new and valuable approaches and habits to having a more manageable supply of foils through those past challenges. 💗 This year's challenge was a nice way of seeing those lessons learned of years past put into practice, in a very visual way with actually documenting my foil use (thank you for creating a space for that @ather) and causing me to be more methodical, in some ways, with both how, when and why I pick up foil samples as well as how and when I use them. There were some good takeaways for me from taking part in the challenge this year, ones that I'll put into practice next year. 👍 

[ather]

@itsfi  You have definitely taught me tons of tricks this year too! It’s always nice to see a different perspective from others! I learned that I don’t need to take foils if there’s none being offered that I am interested in. Although it does happen when you don’t get the foils you selected!! But an overwhelming amount of foils is also not great! So lots learned this year!! 

[itsfi]

@ather, I love that we can all learn from each other's experiences. lol, passing up on samples at checkout took me some getting used to. I was so used to picking out samples. For the longest time, I would give foils that I didn't have time to use or that were just sitting to a coworker of mine at the time. She and her husband moved and I visited them once when I was in their area and in her guest bathroom was a drawer full of the samples I had given her over the years - she said I gave her so many that they couldn't use them all so they kept the extra in the drawer to pick from and for their guests. That was a ton of "extra" ather! 😲 A very sobering experience.

[ather]

@itsfi  It’s a smart idea for her! My mom didn’t pack much skincare in hopes I had some. So I had a DS of Estée Lauder day/night and eye cream for her to use! I said she can pull from my foils if there’s anything else she needs!  I love the idea of using the guest room and having extra. I think your friend might have had too much extra tho!!

[itsfi]

omg @ather, way too much extra. When I saw the drawer I thought 'oh, those look familiar'; I was a little (read: A LOT) embarassed that it was all the ones I had given her. 😱 That was years ago and it was one of the things that moved me to reassess my sample stash. 

How did your mom like the EL cream and eye cream? I've heard good things about that EL day/night. 

I'm looking forward to doing up the guest bedroom when I can move back in. It's actually my-niece's-room-slash-my-home-office-slash-the-guest-bedroom. In that order. It's really more like my niece's play/hiding room that she'll loan out to me to use as a home office, or if needed, a guest bedroom. 😂 

[Loretta55]

I can’t remember what sparked me to purchase the Josie Maran body butters @itsfi . My husband became scent sensitive about 8 years ago so I had to give away most of my colognes to my coworkers. That was the only scented product that he could tolerate me wearing and they offer some amazing scents. I really wish that she would offer the strawberries and whipped cream scent again because that was one of my all time favorites and I am unable to find it.

[itsfi]

@Loretta55, I’m sorry about your husband’s sensitivity to scent. That can be a lot, for both of you. A silver lining to it is seems to be that these Josie Maran body butters have become a staple in your body care and fragrance collection. I feel like I’ve tried these when they first came out but they didn’t stick for me then. Now, though, I get it. Late to the show it seems. 😆 A strawberries & whipped cream scented body butter? That sounds wonderful. Hope they bring it back, even if seasonally. So you can stock up! 

[sophie55555]

Ooh, I need to do this and see how many I get through before New Years! I think one a day is a good goal for me too,  even if I'm not doing my makeup that day,  I can still use a skincare packet or two.  

[CorgiMommy]

@sophie55555 I did this a few years ago.  It was fun and you find a lot of products you love as well as some that don't work for you 

[itsfi]

Hey there @sophie55555! It'll be fun to see how many foils you get through by the end of the year! Using one foil a day is a fantastic goal! 👍 That's impressive actually. There are some months where it seems like a lot of effort for me to even get to one foil per week. Good luck and looking forward to seeing your progress (and your thoughts on the products you used)!

[ather]

November foils!

 Pretty big letdown! I enjoyed them all! I wish Ouai would bring back the repair shampoo! I thought I used more but apparently not. That’s ok I know December will be better! I will likely bring lots on my trip!