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]

January - 10

I am trying to be more mindful this year about using foils. I feel like I have been hoarding them for vacations. I have been able to use them for travel. However, I think it makes sense to use what I have at home. I have a travel pack I got from the Dollar Store that I can use to fill up containers. I don't have a goal of how many I will use.  

[KristalJJ]

I am so excited to do this, I just placed an order and got the lunar new year gift set plus a few other samples already. I've always collected clothing I just refound my love and obsession for makeup... Can't wait to be a part of the community and show you guys what I get ♥️

[itsfi]

January 2026 Foils

MTD / YTD = 3

🐐(GOAT - Greatest of All Time) (discontinued) - the Sephora Collection Caffeine Eye Masks (I don't remember, I *think* we're considering these foils? maybe? 🤔) remain my all time favorite under eye masks. I still have plenty of backups but am being more proactive in my search for replacements. My search is currently limited to shopping my stash, but trust me, there's plenty of under eye gel patches / masks to be tested in that stash. 🙄 Since there's more than a couple of products to be tested, I've added them to my list of things to use and post to Beauty Product Battles, Throw Downs and Showdowns later in the year.

🏆(Top Shelf) Dermalogica Mini Daily Milkfoliant Exfoliator .45 oz / 13 g is among my top 3 favorite exfoliating powders. If my memory is correct, the original Dailyfoliant was actually my intro to powder exfoliants, decades ago. This Milkfoliant version is designed for sensitive skin but is equally effective. I like the fine powder, how easily and evenly it lathers in to rich and creamy but not heavy consistency, and mostly, how it softens and smooths my skin. I get that scrub-like clean look and feel without the irritation or redness. 

👍 (Like but will not repurchase (immediately) Kérastase Blond Absolu Anti-Brass Purple Hair Mask 6.8 oz/ 200 mL is a good hair mask - it leaves my hair feeling softer and more hydrated and nourished. I do feel like my hair can go for longer period of time before my highlights start to veer in that brassy direction 😐 and that is a huge plus!! My rating it a like but not something I'd repurchase is because I'm new-ish to anti-brass hair masks and just gettting back into testing out the samples that I've accumulated over time, so I feel like it's too early to tell for myself which is the hair mask that will work best for me (e.g., results, price, etc.), which is why I included the qualifier that I wouldn't repurchase it immediately. That being said, this is a product I would purchase to gift to a friend, and that says a lot about it. 

Notes  / 2026 Foil Challenge To Do's / Goals:

• My month to date (MTD) foil count (3) is the same as it was this time last year, and interestingly, almost the same makeup in terms of product time - this year, it's 2 skincare and 1 hair care product. Last year it was 1 skin care, hair care and nail care item a piece. 
• I'll continue to track and post MTD and year to date (YTD) counts with my monthly check ins / updates like I've done in past years.
• I'm also keeping track of types of products (e.g., category types, new/old) as in previous years. I'll try to remember to post those on a quarterly basis here like I do on the empties thread. 
• I know you mentioned keeping track of foil samples that turn into purchases @ather and I love that metric. I'll try to remember to keep a tally of that and to post, when applicable, to the Love At First Sample!!! 🥰 thread. 
• For a personal goal this year, I'm aiming to use up (or at least half of) a sample packet of lip colors every quarter. I have several packets with a generous amount of product in those blister packets. I've inlcuded the sample packet of the Fenty Icon Semi-Matte Lipsticks for this winter season and have made it a part of theShop Your Stash Challenge: Winter 2026 ❄️ which reminds me I need to get working on a couple of the shades in that packet 😅 

There's been a lot of new product launches and reformulations, and I'm seeing more foil samples coming through as promo gwps and I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on what they've been using. 

[curlychiquita]

You know I love Kerastase, @itsfi, but the Kérastase Blond Absolu Anti-Brass Purple Hair Mask 6.8 oz/ 200 mL isn’t my favorite purple mask. I like the Redken one better.

[itsfi]

Ahhhh, this is helpful @curlychiquita, thank you for sharing. Is this the Redken mask you like?

Image credit: Redken

[curlychiquita]

@itsfi @Yes, this is it! Very powerful but be careful, if I leave it on too long on my grey roots, they can turn purple! Great with the blonde, though.

[itsfi]

Oh, that is very good to know, thank you @curlychiquita; making a note of it. I get some grey around my temples and sometimes at the crown when my stress is higher than usual. I'll see about getting a sample.

[ather]

@itsfi  Wow! Great job!!! I can’t wait to see the eye mask throw down!! I hope you find one that comes close to your all time fav!!! 

[itsfi]

I’ve been trying to be more consistent with testing them @ather. I’ll tag you when that there down happens! 

[haleyvvvv]

A few foils from my work trip/vacation

💖 = Faves

The Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta® Universal Daily Peel Pads 60 Treatments are a nice skin reset every once in a while. I've gotten so many as samples.

And the LANEIGE Cream Skin Refillable Milky Toner with Ceramides and Peptides 5.7 oz / 170 ml is my fave for my dry skin

👍 = Good/Investigate More

rhode Glazing Milk Ceramide Facial Essence 4.2oz/124ml I really liked, but I need to try a little more to see if it's a fave, ditto with the INNBEAUTY PROJECT Green Machine Vitamin C Dark Spot & Hyperpigmentation Serum 1 oz/30 ml  and Isntree BHA solution

🫳 = Meh / Would Use but Wouldn't Purchase

fresh Black Tea Corset Cream Firming Moisturizer 1.6 oz/ 50 mL 

Shani Darden Skin Care Retinol Reform® Treatment Serum 1 oz / 30 mL 

👎 = Not For Me

The Grace & Stella were a little past their prime, which is a sign I need to go through my masks more.

[itsfi]

Oh, these are some good foils to take with you on a trip @haleyvvvv! I use to stock up on those DDG peel pads too - I know it's not great to have them individually packaged but I gotta say I found / find it very helpful. I don't go through peel pads as often as I use to so it's nice to have them sealed up; and, they also come in handy for travel. 

I lol'ed hard when I read about the Grace & Stella being "a little past their prime, which is a sign I need to go through my masks more." 😂 This type of sign keeps coming up for me - you'd think I'd learn already, but no. 🙄

[haleyvvvv]

Thank you, @itsfi !! I know. I had to go through my samples and masks a few years ago and rearrange by expiration date, because I wasn't going through them super fast and some had expired (which kinda goes against my whole ethos of if it isn't open it isn't going bad* lol). So many of my Skyn Iceland eye masks this happened to too (I had stocked up and then the pandemic started and work trips decreased). Aaah, I need to just my masks and foils.

Spoiler

*I know obviously things are going bad, and like SPF doesn't last forever

[itsfi]

I get it @haleyvvvv, truly do. The sorting your sheet masks by expiration date is helpful and practical (and also a very sobering experience when you see (or at least for me) just how many sheet masks you have that are / were past their expiration date. I went through 500 masks in a span of 15-16 months - yep, if you do the math, there were definitely days when I did more than 1 sheet mask a day. It cleared out my sheet mask stash down to couple of month's worth and I'm convinced it was a major reason for my skin profile going from very dry and severely dehydrated to normal-to-dry and anywhere from normal-to-slightly-to-moderately-dehydrated. It's not really an accomplishment I'm proud of - I mean, sure, yes, because I used them and got them down to a more manageable lot with everything expiring 3 years out and my skin being much less dehydrated is great. BUT it really is just a reminder of how much I had (too much for my personal preference) at one time. I still keep the journal I kept of the last 100 sheet masks - as a reminder to not get to that place. 

[itsfi]

Decmber 2025 Foils

Month-to-Date: 3

Year-to-Date: 83 🙌

Last set of foils for the 2025, and we've got 3 this month. 

😐 L'Oréal Professionnel Mini Metal Detox Anti-Breakage Hair Oil 1.04 fl oz/30 ml was alright. I have a feeling that the consistency of my sample may have been compromised by the weather or it having sat unused (and maybe not in the best of conditions) for longer than ideal, or, possibly a combination of both factors. It was goopier than I expected an oil to be. That said, I was able to thin it out a little from the friction and warmth created by rubbing the product between my palms but it was still more viscous than I expected from a hair oil. I had 2 other foils of this product but having been inspired by @ather's decluttering efforts, I put added them to a Ziploc bag full of hair products that will be dropped off at a local women's shelter next week.

😘 Yves Saint Laurent All Hours Foundation x2, like the concealer in the line, is a good one for me, which came as a surprise because I've not had much luck in the past with shade matching when it come to YSL foundations. I was able to get by with a couple of shades in the sample packet. This is a very long-wearing, (veeery) FULL coverage foundation. I'm not sure I have a true full coverage foundation in my collection - most medium coverage foundations I find give me full coverage (or what I would consider full coverage) so that's usually the most amount of coverage I typically go. That said, I do like how this wears and would consider picking up a full size of the foundation. I will, however, hold off on even considering it until I use up my current medium coverage  foundation (which I'm tentatively planning to include in my Shop Your Stash Challenge: Winter 2025 - 2026; final lineup to be posted around the 30th of December); even then, I may elect to just go for the concealer in this All Hours collection (a the foil from last month) which is also full coverage. If I do pick up a full size of this (and/or the concealer from the collection, I'll include that tally @ather in my 2026 count of new-to-me products purchased after using a foil sample even though I finished the sample in 2025).

[ather]

@itsfi  Weird that sample was goopy. I think I have the same one. I’ll have to use mine and see if it’s got the same texture! 

[itsfi]

Oooh, I'll be interested to hear how the consistency of your serum turns out @ather; I have a strong feeling this was compromised somehow. I saw photos of the consistency in some other folks' reviews and it did not look the way mine looked. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Fair! Fingers crossed mine didn’t get compromised too!! I’ll dig it out to test! 

[itsfi]

November 2025 Foils

Month-to-Date: 1

Year-to-Date: 80

Just the one foil this month @ather. While it's a small foil count, it's not an insignificant one - there was a lot of product in the sample blister for Yves Saint Laurent All Hours Creaseless Precise Angles Concealer. I used it primarily to conceal some breakouts on my chin and a couple of dark spots and sun spots. I liked this concealer a lot, surprisingly because so much that I will likely pick up a full size, but probably not until next year. I've been doing a pretty good job of rotating through and using my foundation and concealers but I've not been needing to use as much of either, and I don't want to have too many products sitting unopen (or sitting open and unused for that matter). That said, I can see myself purchasing this one early next year and it'll make its way to the Love At First Sample!!! 🥰 thread when I do. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Great job! Small but mighty!!! Glad you found a new fav!!! 

[itsfi]

Lol, we’re not thaaaaat happy about it 💸💸💸 @ather 😂 It is nice to find one that works well for blemishes though. 👍🏼 I have other good ones currently open and in use and am currently in a good place with not being bothered by fomo, so I’ll hold for now but I, at least, know what’s on the short list when it’s time to pick up another one. 

Finding a new product that I like enough to pick up a full size did get me thinking about the number of foils I use throughout the year that are tried and true versus ones that I’m trying for the first time. 🤔 I don’t think there’s an ideal ratio as I imagine it would vary person by person, but it just got me thinking about my own foil usage.