Sampling Beauty #1

19/02/2017 by amiiat30 6 Comments

I’m pretty clueless when it comes to beauty products. I like what I know and I don’t tend to stray from my (very) little collection of tried and tested favourites.

This year, I’ve decided to try and be a bit more adventurous when it comes to beauty though. I want to try new brands and products but don’t fancy buying full-size, full-price items just for me to have a bit of a trial.

Thankfully, I came across this lovely post from Tiffany, sharing details about how to get 5 free beauty samples every month. This seemed like the absolute ideal way for me to try new beauty products without shelling out a ton of money or leaving part-used bottles/tubes/etc to go to waste.

My first order from Feel Unique included:

• Bliss lemon & sage body butter
• Australian Bodycare tea tree oil skin wash
• Cowshed Knackered Cow shampoo and conditioner
• Gehwol salve for cracked skin
• Caudalie instant detox mask

In addition to this perfect find, my sister-in-law saw the guy from Love Me Beauty on Dragon’s Den last month and having seen the great items she received in January, I subscribed this month and received this gorgeous package of products from the Love Me Edit:

This contained:

• Free lips and lipstick printed make-up bag
• Kat Von D Studded Kiss lipstick in Underage Red
• Nuxe gentle exfoliating gel
• Nuxe hand and nail cream
• Nuxe multi-purpose dry oil
• Nuxe lip balm

The Feel Unique pick ‘n’ mix offer allows you to choose 5 samples a month and all you pay is £3.95 postage & packaging. The cool thing about this though is that you receive a voucher for £3.95 to use on full-size items on the site so if there’s a sample which you’re really keen on then you get to save a little when buying it.

The Love Me Beauty box gives you 60 credits a month and then each product is worth a certain amount of credits – you should be able to get at least 3 products a month, if not a couple more. There are different subscription packages to sign up for but I went with a 6-month membership costing £11.95 per month (£8 + £3.95 p&p). You can also purchase additional credits if you want more products from the edit.

Product Review

Bliss lemon & sage body butter – Whilst I have no problem over the consistency of this body butter (goes on well, not sticky or greasy), I have a big issue over the smell. The only skin that should ever be covered in lemon and sage butter is a chicken’s before it goes into the oven for roasting! The lingering smell of a roast dinner started to really bug me as the evening went on so I had to shower it off and use my normal body lotion instead.

Gehwol salve for cracked skin – this one has been a gem of a find. I get really dry hands and feet (especially during the winter) and they’d started to become quite sore. This salve sample had enough for 2 applications for hands and feet and it made a huge difference. I’ve tried lots of different foot balms and creams but none have had the quick and lasting effect that this did.

Australian Bodycare tea tree oil skin wash – I love tea tree products as they instantly make me feel so clean and fresh. This one is no different when it comes to smell and feel, however, for a skin wash it doesn’t foam much and that’s something I quite like. There’s nothing to particularly dislike about this product but at around £10 for 250ml, I’d rather stick to Original Source Mint and Tea Tree at £1 for 250ml.

Cowshed Knackered Cow shampoo and conditioner – I like the smell of these products as they’re not too floral or overpowering. Neither the shampoo nor conditioner left a residue on my hair (something I find with a lot of hair products) and although I only use conditioner once a week, this one left my hair feeling so soft and looking so shiny and clean for days.

Caudalie instant detox mask – once I’d got over how freaky this product made me look due to the fact it’s skin coloured, I really liked it. It definitely works as my skin felt amazing afterwards – really soft and smooth – and it absolutely helped clear my pores.

Kat Von D Studded Kiss lipstick in Underage Red – I never wear lipstick so this was a bold choice for a first-time trial. I have put it on at home just to see if I could be confident enough to wear it in public but I’m not convinced yet! It’s a gorgeous shade of red though, so vibrant, it goes on really evenly and wasn’t easy to take off which hopefully means it’d last a good while through the day.

Nuxe ultra-nourishing lip balm (nature) – I love the neutral smell of this lip balm, it isn’t glossy and it is really nourishing. I’m sorry though as I just can’t get on board with lip balm in a pot – I’m a big fan of lip balm in a stick. Honestly, what are you supposed to do with a sticky lip balm finger? My right trouser legs have been thoroughly nourished in recent days whilst I’ve been trying out this product. This one will be a bed-time application for me so I can wash my hands and the balm has time overnight to work it’s magic.

Nuxe gentle exfoliating gel – what I like about this exfoliator is that it’s nearly 100% natural which means no planet-killing plastic beads. It’s also a really good exfoliator for my sensitive skin (something I’ve always struggled to find) and has a lovely scent of roses. I did find it dried my skin out a bit though but that may just be me so I’ll apply a thicker face moisturiser after using it next time.

Nuxe hand and nail cream – I love this! I’m beyond obsessed with hand cream and I’m never found without some. The texture of this cream is lovely, really silky, and the smell is pleasant. I’ve found it to be quite long-lasting too and my hands are feeling great. The sample size tube (15 ml) is also the perfect hand bag size.

Nuxe multi-purpose shimmering dry oil – I have to be honest with this one and say that when I added it to my basket I thought it was nail varnish….as such, I have absolutely no idea how to use it or what to use it for so if anyone can advise me, I’d be eternally grateful!

I hope you find my reviews useful and I definitely would recommend both Feel Unique’s pick ‘n’ mix offer and Love Me Beauty’s monthly edits. They’ll definitely both help me to meet my goal of trying new beauty products this year. I can’t wait to share the next haul with you.

If you fancy signing up for Love Me Beauty, quote code AMII47679192 at checkout to get up to 3 free beauty treats (an extra 30 credits).