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]

Thanks @ather! It's the most practical solution I have at the moment when it comes to foils. That, combined with trying very hard to only pick up foils of products I really want to try or that I know I will use / reach for. 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  sorry so many of your foils this past month were misses for you! Those shampoo & conditioner scents sound so nice too, what a bummer that the rest of the formula didn't work out. Still, if you're going to have a product be a dud, better for it to be a foil or sample than a full size!

I think I might have tried that innisfree moisturizer, or possibly a previous version of it - if it's the same one I'm thinking of, anyway - and it actually made me break out, which was very surprising since I don't have sensitive skin and I've never had that problem with a product before.

[itsfi]

Thank you @caitbird; you win some, you lose some, right?! They can't all be amazing, and the subpar products make us appreciate the good stuff even more when we come across them, yes?! I've given away most of my samples and the ones I have left are, for the most part, either tried-and-true beauties or products I've been wanting to try. 

Oh no, I'm so sorry that the innisfree made you break out. 😣 I wonder if it was the fragrance in it or maybe just an ingredient that did not suit you. I tend to do fairly well with innisfree products but I knew going in, the consistency of the moisturizer would be too light for me. I probably should have included it in the batch of samples I donated. Lesson learned. 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  that's very true, the products that don't work for me make me appreciate my favs even more! I really need to go through my samples and pull some more out to donate - I don't have that many makeup samples at the moment, but I have skincare samples coming out of my ears, it seems like. Some of them are products I've been wanting to try, but others I could probably part with and not miss much.

I'm pretty lucky in that I haven't had a bad reaction to very many products, out of the many I've tried. Just something in that moisturizer didn't agree with my skin.

[itsfi]

That's awesome @caitbird that your skin can handle a lot of different products. It makes it even more fun to try different skincare products. 😁 

[itsfi]

April 2024 Foils  

April was a very slow month for foils and sheet masks alike @ather. We have two of each. 

Spoiler

❤️  Oribe Hair Alchemy Strengthening Mask 5 oz / 150 mL - I was able to get in 2 generous applications witht this packet and have been happy with how nourishing and restorative (?) this made my hair with each use. I'm good with hair masks but I'll definitely consider this one when it comes time to picking up another hair mask. 

👍  Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream 0.51 oz / 15 ml has a lovely balmy, but light, consistency that applies and absorbs smoothly and quickly. Strangely I was only able to get one use from this packet 🤔 - in the past, I've been able to get multiple applications, even with being generous with how much product I use. The one use isn't going to yield any noticeable results (and to be fair, my undereye area is not the area of my eyes that have the fine lines and wrinkles), but this did make my under eyes look more soft and moisturized the next morning. 

Spoiler

🫤  Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare DermInfusions™ Lift + Repair Eye Mask is okay. I didn't experience any irritation, but I didn't see any noticeable results either. There's also a smell to this mask that was off - it had a slight chemical scent to it. 

😘  I have two favorite cica-centered sheet masks. The Creme Shop Cica Mend Animal Face Mask is one of them. It really is outstanding, and my goodness, how cute is the actual print on the sheet! 🐯 

Emoji Legend:

Spoiler

🐐= GOAT = Greatest Of All Time (have gone through at least two of the particular product and other comparable items)

😘 = Chef’s Kiss = Outstanding 

❤️ = Love 

👍 = Like 

🫤 = Okay; “It’s fine.”; “meh”

🔬= Undecided = “Still looking into it”

🙊= Not for me / my skin type

🙅🏻‍♀️ = ❌ = “No, non, nein, nyet, …” 

Foils Dashboard:

Month-to-Date = 4

Year-to-Date = 38

[caitbird]

@itsfi  great job! That Creme Shop mask is so cute - they have some really cute ones! This reminds me I have a growing collection of foils that I haven't made a dent in in some time...I have been more focused on the full size products I'm working on for this year's Pan It! challenge, but I'd like to get back to using up some foils as well.

[itsfi]

The line that this sheet mask is from has a lot of cute designs and the sheet masks are good too @caitbird. They make wonderful gifts - for yourself or others.  I don't use many masks from The Creme Shop anymore (or that many in general), but this particular one is one I always pick up if i happen to run across it in Marshall's or TJ Maxx. 

Completely understand. I am aiming to have less foils in my stash in general. I was doing pretty well and then I discovered a bunch of them! 😬 They're primarily makeup so I'll put them to good use during Samples Week for the Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge that will happen in late summer. I may be able to put together a full face with all my samples - that's both scary and intriguing at the same time. 😆

[caitbird]

@itsfi  out of curiosity, is there a particular reason why you have moved away from using sheet masks as much? Do you find they don't work for you that well? I like them myself but despite having an extensive stash I never remember to use them (hence making weekly sheet masking one of my Pan It! goals for this year).

I feel like I have so many foils and, at the moment, I have not been using the ones I have and yet I can never resist GWP and free samples, so I have more coming in all the time! 😅 I really need to inventory what I have and set up some sort of plan for using them regularly. Do you have a system in place for keeping track of your foils stash and pulling from it? Or is it more free-form for you?

[itsfi]

The gwps and free samples have a way of sneaking up on us, don't they @caitbird? Before long, I have a pile of foil samples I didn't even know I accumulated. Hahaha! I know for myself that it's those gwp promos where they give you a bag full of samples that get me if I'm not on top of it, if I don't sort through them divvy them up into foils I want to keep and foils I should pass along. Easier said than done though, as evidenced by my continually growing pile of foils. 

For the last few years, my primary way to track foils was to keep them in containers or organizers of some sort. This helped me to manage the sheer number of foils I had on hand and the types of foils I had. Also, now that I try to make an effort to not just picking up samples for the sake of picking them up (or, put another way, only pick up or request samples of products I want to try), I have started to only keep track of / make notes for the following:

• products that I love/am interested in picking up a full size - this goes on my wish list (and if I know of a sale when it would be a good time to pick it up, then I note that (the sale and the general time of year it happens) on my list as well
• products that I definitely want to remember to never pick up or keep around because my skin does not respond well to them (for example, the innisfree cherry blossom gel moisturizer or the Botanist shampoo and conditioner from my May foils)
• products that I find myself having a tendency to pick up time and time again but never seem to remember that it's a good but not great product (for example, the CT cream - it's good, but I have products I like better).  

For me, doing it this way (vs keeping a list of every foil I have or have tried) is a lot easier and more manageable. Ideally, products in the latter two categories shouldn't make their way into my stash, but if/when they do, having a list of them makes it easier to just put them into the "things to be donated" bin. 

Here's how I kept track of my foil samples in 2022 ⬇️- tracking was more about number of foils - no more than 100. I managed to work my way through them that year, but sure enough, they found their way back here and I have more to work through. lol

This was my foils storage for most of 2023 and it's a system I'm hoping to get my way back to ⬇️ Right now, I have more samples than I can fit into, but they are mostly makeup samples and my plan is to work through most of them this summer, including a samples makeup capsule for the Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge and to declutter any duplicates of products that end up not being a good fit for me.

Top drawer: Single foils of products I've never used before

2nd drawer: Single foils of tried-and-true products 

3rd drawer: Foils that I had multiples of, whether they were for products that were part of a 5/6/10/14 day trial promotion or whether they were of tried-and-true products I saved up for travel purposes.

Bottom drawer: deluxe sized samples or promo sized samples

In the photo above, the top and 3rd drawers have far too many samples than I prefer having on hand at any one time.

[itsfi]

@caitbird, good question. I still like sheet masks and I'm happy with the masks in my stash. In general, I mask with them less for a few reasons, the primary one being that my skin seems to have changed over the last 9+ months and using a sheet mask on a daily basis is too much for it. Currently, my sheet mask usage averages about 2-5 per month.

This summer, I'll try to be more consistent with how regularly I use a sheet mask, but I don't anticipate it will be very often as I have historically used sheet masks less in the warmer months - they're more something I reach for when my skin is dry and dehydrated (that has been the ideal conditions for me when it comes to sheet mask usage) and my skin has leaned more oily in recent years during the warmer seasons. Weekly sheet mask use is a marvelous target and having it as a goal for the pan it! challenge is a really smart idea.   

[ather]

@itsfi  You still did a great job!! 4 is better then 0!!! Too bad about the DDG mask. I have one that I haven’t used yet. Now I may use it to get it gone! 

[itsfi]

Hopefully yours turns out better than mine did @ather! I just couldn't get the mask to stay on. 

[ather]

@itsfi  I have been so busy I haven’t masked. But I will place it on my counter so I use it! Maybe tomorrow. Will be a great way to finish my busy day!

[CorgiMommy]

@itsfi what a fun mask

[itsfi]

@CorgiMommy, it is such a fun mask and performs wonderfully, too! I don't buy sheet masks as often anymore but this is one that does get repurchased.

[ather]

March foils 2024

I didn’t do as well as I hopped even with my mini vacation but here I am!! 

 

All are good! 😊 

 

[CorgiMommy]

@ather every bit helps

[ather]

@CorgiMommy  I agree!! I’ve gotten my foils down to a manageable amount but now my DS are out of hand. Ooops! 

[itsfi]

@ather, all good samples?! I love that. That's a huge win! 🙌 Spying some great products in your foil empties 😍 - that Sulwhasoo serum is lovely; the Dior I once had an opportunity to try when it was used on me during a facial; and that Ouai detox shampoo is in my shower right now - it's what I've been using to remove / rinse out the Fable & Mane pre-wash oil.

[ather]

@itsfi  I agree. So crazy they all ended up good!! I love the Ouai detox shampoo one of my favs!! And the Dior I have used before and I enjoyed it. I feel like I have been saving my great foils for last. So I have a bunch of great ones left!