Welcome to Your Daily Sample! Where I Can Be Your Beauty Guinea Pig!

Welcome! It’s Day 1 of Your Daily Sample! So you all know I’ve been going sample/tester crazy, so I thought I would give you the daily run down of the latest sample try-outs. This way, I’m also keeping my own list of what works and what doesn’t. What’s worth the money and what’s not. Enjoy my guinea piggy report!

HAIR CARE:

KMS Color Vitality Shampoo & Conditioner: This is by far the best sample of hair product I have used. I use Redken Color Extend, Dumb Blonde, Kerastase, Phyto, Biolage, etc. to try and keep my blonde from turning brassy or orangey. I was super frustrated this weekend with how much the color had changed and I was thinking of going in for a root touch up, despite the fact that I’m only about 3 weeks from my color. Well, I got this sample and used it and the change was soooooo dramatic that I didn’t have to do anything about the color. It restored the shine and took away all brassiness. I am a total believer in this product. AND … it made my hair feel wonderful for two days already! Interestingly, KMS has a product for blondes, but this was just for regular colors. I think I’ll have to try the others!

SKINCARE:

Mary Kay TimeWise Microdermabrasion Kit: This is, surprisingly, my favorite face product thus far. It is a two step item. Step 1: Refine. Step 2: Replenish. I washed my face and then used Refine. The microbeads were soooooo tiny that the exfoliation was really soft, but also still very thorough. My face felt great even before I used the moisturizing “Replenish” step. It’s also an exfoliator I feel that I could use every day. But the moisturizer also went on really smoothly and I like that it dried quickly. This is definitely a must buy for me.

Aveda Tourmaline Charged Exfoliating Cleanser: I’m definitely a fan of this exfoliant. I received a deluxe sample, so I’ve been using it for awhile. It’s not as soft as the Mary Kay, but not as rough as the ExfoliKate. I’m thinking it’s a good, middle of the road exfoliant. I also really like that it is a cleanser and exfoliant together. However, at $37, I’d rather have the Mary Kay.

ExfoliKate by Kate Sommerville: It’s a fabulous exfoliant, but it is STRONG. It’s definitely only for once a week use on my face. I think it would be a good product to have if I hadn’t followed my face regimen for a couple of weeks or hadn’t exfoliated. It feels like all would be repaired with one application. They do sell an ExfoliKate – Gentle. I may try that one at one point too. It’s $85 though. I expect I’ll only ever use it as a free sample.

Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub: I LOVE this one! It’s a skin polishing exfoliant for use after cleanser. It felt like it really did the job of “prepping” my face for moisturizer and the primer. It wasn’t harsh at all and it doesn’t smell at all.

Dior HydrAction Visible Defense: Oddly enough, this is for dryness (though they have another one for basic skin) and I didn’t think I would like it. Maybe I was hoping I wouldn’t like it because it is $47 for a ½ ounce. Now, don’t laugh, but I thought it was a moisturizer, so I put it all over my face, as opposed to just around the eye area, where it belongs! Well – it went on like sunscreen and it is SPF 20. It was sticky too for nearly an hour. But after that, I have to say that I could TOTALLY see the difference in the fine lines on my forehead and my skin just looked refreshed. I didn’t use any makeup this day and I felt like this was a really good sunscreen. I think my face probably benefited from such a serious eye cream being put all over it. But I’m not yet into just eye cream. It’s too much of another step for me.

Clarins High Definition Body Lift: So I thought – yeah right, like it will do anything about cellulite. What a crock. I’d never buy such a product. Well – I have to eat my words. Just the one sample actually made my skin and () cottage cheese thighs look better! I might try a few more samples before committing to a brand, though I do like Clarins. Also, it was soft and silky enough to use on my arms and legs, but I think I would just stick to the dimply areas next time. $65 for a full 7 ounces doesn’t seem that bad for the results.

Biotherm Aquasource Biosensitive Soothing Protecting Nurturing Moisturizer: It’s $28 for only 50 mL. A bit pricey. But – it goes on very smooth and is one of the few moisturizers that didn’t feel sticky afterwards. I really liked this one.

Buriti Baby Body Butter from The Body Shop: Okay, so it is supposed to be for babies, but what can I say, I got a free sample! It’s a definite no. It doesn’t smell good and it is super thick, but it doesn’t give good moisture. I used it on my arms and legs and was not wow-ed.

Bioelements Sleepwear Overnight Rejuvenation Crème with Topical Calcium: It’s a nice night time overall moisturizer, but it didn’t do anything spectacular. At $59 for a 1/2 ounce, it’s a must miss for me.

Bioelements Decongestant Cleanser: Again, a nice cleanser, but nothing to write home about. It didn’t foam up or really emulsify at all, so I didn’t like that nearly as much as the cheaper, Philosophy Purely Simple.

RareMinerals Moisturizer by Bare Escentuals: A nice moisturizer with a lot of natural ingredients and no scent. But still, nothing to wow me. I also still felt the fine lines weren’t really diminished the way they should have been. I’m not a believer.

Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion: I tried three different Murad moisturizers. Every single one was too thick and didn’t dissolve quickly enough. Not for my skin type at all, but definitely for more someone with dry or aged skin. Too pricey for the results too.