The Day I Tried Chanel and ... Winner of the Weirdest Product Award

I had such a bad experience last night with absolutely cruddy products that I wasn’t even going to send my report. But, then … (picture a rising sun and streams of sunshine coming over the tops of the mountains and glorious chiming) … came the morning with FABULOUS SAMPLES!!!! So fabulous, in fact, that I rushed to my computer to write The Daily Sample! (Okay, maybe I did a few other things first, but still.) J Let’s start with the evening’s events and work our way UP.

And the winner of the “Weirdest Product Tried to Date” Award goes to:

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil: This product is a must miss. It is an olive-oil based cleanser that allegedly helps remove dirt from pores and dissolves even the most stubborn makeup with ease. You are supposed to put it on dry hands and then a dry face, which is just weird for a cleanser. When you do this, it feels hot and super oily – like you literally stuck plain olive oil (or massage oil) on your face. It doesn’t feel good when you rinse it off either, because it feels like it left a vat of oil behind in your pores – even though the website swears it is water-soluble and won’t leave a residue. Oh – and it didn’t take off my eye makeup, which isn’t that stubborn. So it doesn’t work either. Yuck!

DHC Eye Treatment Essence Peptides: What the heck was that? That is the question I kept asking myself. I opened the sample packet and it poured out like water. I quickly dabbed some on my eyes and that’s exactly how it felt – like water. Ummmmm. Huh? The website says “Peptides to the rescue! Over time, multiple factors, including dryness and aging, can contribute to your skin’s loss of its natural levels of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. DHC Eye Treatment Essence Peptides helps stimulate and support your skin’s levels of all three. It’s formulated with Matrixyl® 3000—a powerful wrinkle-fighter that uses messenger peptides to promote skin’s natural cell turnover for a younger-looking complexion.” My opinion - another DHC must miss. I’m starting to not like this brand and I got over 30 samples from them! We’ll see if we can find a hit in there somewhere. :-) It’s $46 for 30 mL, so something had to be in there besides water.

Next I used NARS Lipid Support EFA Night Infusion. I got this fabulous deluxe sample that came in a soft ivory colored pot and, since it was NARS, I thought for sure it would be wonderful. Well… I thought wrong. It is a yellow colored jelly that looked fun but stinks to high heaven! I don’t even know what you would compare the smell too, but something dead for sure. AND … it did nothing for my face. Kind of just rubbed in (needing a lot more product than the “raindrop size” it said) and didn’t feel all that great afterwards. I was really bummed too because the sample size is .21 oz or 7 mL and the full size product is .93 oz or 30 mL for $105. That means my sample, that I don’t really care for, is worth $24.50… for a sample! So I swear it must be good. (I’m still stuck on that whole super-expensive-equals-must-do-something feeling.) So … I’ll try it again and, if it doesn’t work, onto eBay it goes.

After a good shower and exfoliation, I tried the next self tanner in line – Maybelline Solar Energy Super-Lasting Liquid Glow. The product looks a lot like the L’Oreal Sublime, but wasn’t as “sparkly”. I think that is a good thing because I kind of felt like I was wearing glitter when I put on the L’Oreal. The real test will be in how long it lasts, since the Sublime started to noticeably fade after 4 days, even with intervening Jergens Daily Tanning Lotion in between. I liked that the Maybelline didn’t have such a harsh smell (although it was not a good smell by any means). It just didn’t seem to provide as dark a tan and took way more product. However, there were no splotches at all, which was a major plus for me. Between the two, I’d probably buy whatever was on sale at this point. :-)

Also in the shower, I tried my exciting new KMS ColorVitality Shampoo and Treatment Serum for Blondes. I was so excited because I went to the KMS website and simply used their contact form to ask if they would send me a sample. I told them I used the regular ColorVitality Shampoo and Conditioner (not for blondes) and was hooked – but I wanted to be sure which was right for me. Within three days, I had a generous deluxe sample of the Shampoo and the Serum (which I just thought was cool of the company to do). So … I tried this one and, guess what, I liked the OTHER one 10 times better. This one definitely weighed my hair down and didn’t give me the same brightness and the regular one. My hair was still soft and glossy, but I’m definitely buying the regular ColorVitality products.

And just when I thought I would give up on DHC, I tried the DHC Cleansing Foam this morning. This foam was FABULOUS! It was a soft and fluffy lather (just like the website says) and, also per the website, “it leaves your skin clean as a whistle”. My face had an AWESOME feel and super glow after one use of this product this morning. At only $9 for 2.1 ounces, this product is definitely making its way under my sink.

I felt a little dry this morning after having used the Solar Energy self-tanner, so I tried the L’Occitane Milk Concentrate. This was a great body lotion. It smells like almond honey butter (a bit bad too because it made me want a morning donut), but the scent has already lasted for a few hours. It was slick and slippery, but not overly so and made my skin feel less tight. The only problem I had was that the sample wasn’t large enough, so I don’t think I got a full assessment of it. My legs feel great, but my arms are still a little tight. Again, I think because it wasn’t enough product. On the other hand, it is a firming and soothing cream. At $39 for 7 ounces though, I don’t think it’s my favorite.

This was another scary sample for me. I thought “Oh great, I love Chanel; I’m going to fall in love with this product; and it’s going to cost me a zillion dollars.” Yep – I was right! I started with the Chanel Precision Eye Lift Anti-Puffiness/Dark Circle Eye Lotion. My first thought was “Hey – that’s cheating” when I saw that it was very slightly tinted a nude color. I thought it was going to work just like a concealer, which was not what I anticipated from the product. Well, I was sold after just a few seconds. It went on sooooo smoothly with the tap, tap, tap of my finger and blended into the dark circles, taking them away before my eyes. But, more importantly, I could immediately feel it working and the puffiness reduced. After 10 minutes or so, my puffiness was totally gone! It’s $67 for .05 oz but it’s going under my sink too for those mornings where I just didn’t get enough sleep. My only negative? They don’t sell it at Sephora. :-)

To keep the Chanel theme going, I tried the Chanel Precision Age Delay Time-Fighting Rejuvenation Lotion SPF 15. Oh my GOD! My face feels the best it has felt in this whole endeavor. Move over Clinique. Move over Mary Kay. This is the daytime moisturizer for me. It kept the awesome glow on my face from the DHC Cleansing Foam, but just added to it. My skin feels slick, but naturally so. I swear my forehead lines are reduced too. Can’t wait to put on some primer and makeup to see what it does to help. I ran to Neiman Marcus to buy this one ASAP. Oddly, it wasn’t on their website, but it was on others (though out of stock) at $60 for 1.7 ounces. I’ll have to go to the store if I can’t find it. There are LOTS of Chanel products I am anxious to try. I have about 10 samples, so I’ll keep the reports coming. (Incidentally, free shipping at Neiman’s on any purchase with the promo code NMSHIP).