Project Use It Up – finishing all my skincare and makeup samples

I started the project of emptying my samples boxes in January. When I started, I mainly wanted those two boxes GONE, they were overflowing, messy and I was thoroughly sick of them.

As one of my main excuses ‘I’ll use them when I’m travelling!’ was rather out of reach, tackling the thing it was. In the end, I reviewed 41 samples, and used up 63. (Really – more on that below.)

• More on samples and the problem they pose (sustainability-wise).

It was more fun than I’ve thought

Astonishingly, I had fun – both with trying new products, and posting about them on IG (it’s still all there, in the Highlights!). It also gave me a new little project, which was what I needed during lockdown, and something I could genuinely look forward to each day.

I even hadn’t to go shopping: every day, I had a new product to try. (That’s a generalisation, before you’re jumping at me – no, I didn’t try one sample each day, because on some days had to give my skin a rest and also, I didn’t want to force myself to do this – it was supposed to be fun.)

And yet, I learned a few things I want to share with you.

Don’t let it accumulate!

As with everything in life, just putting it in a box and ignoring it won’t actually solve the problem. Shocking, I know. Not only will samples accumulate, but also they will (oh yes!) go off. Do use those luxury samples! There’s no better time than now, really. I had one Omorovicza sample that went off and was frankly disgusting when I opened it, but also, even worse, I tried one product I loved immediately, and then learned it has since discontinued.

• More: How to get the most out of beauty samples!

Bias and the skincare snob

We’re all biased because of things we once learned and haven’t questioned since. Fragrance and alcohol in skincare? – Booooooo. ‘Clean’ beauty brands? – ALLLLLL fear-mongering tactics! Primers? – Not for me! New haircare? – No thanks, I’m absolutely fine with the products I’m using! And so on and so forth.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have convictions. But what this project has shown me above all else was that I was sometimes very sure I would or would not like certain products and been proved wrong. I very likely wouldn’t have tried some products if it were not for this project, and I found something I’ve missed: being surprised by products, and discovering new products.

New loves, new hates

Here’re the products I discovered and honest to God want to buy, because I loved the samples:

• Diptyque Volutes and Oyodo fragrances: So, so good. (One is cozy, warm and woody, while the other one is a citrus fragrance, and thus, my winter and summer fragrance needs are sorted.) Fragrance samples are, btw, a bit of a problem: there’s not much you can do with a fragrance you truly detest. I was VERY surprised that Byredo’s Blanche gave me a headache, for example.
• Benton Snail Bee High Content Lotion: This one felt so nice on my skin, made it look nourished and smooth, and has both snail and bee extracts. I could totally see me popping that into my next Jolse/YesStyle order.
• Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation (Y215): I must be the last person in the beauty world to discover this one. (That’s what samples are FOR!) Surprise, a great foundation that matches me perfectly. (With 50 shades, it better should.) Skin-like, with a blurring effect. Works under masks.
• Burberry Fresh Glow Luminous Fluid Base: Looks scary glittery, performs great. Best primer I’ve ever used, because, well, you can really SEE a difference.
• Grown Alchemist Facial Cleanser is a surprisingly gentle cleanser full of essential oils. I was surprised how much I enjoyed using this, and would never have tried this on my own. If there was a body wash with exactly that fragrance, I’d be all over it.
• R&Co. Cactus Texturising Shampoo: I’d never had decided to try a volumising shampoo on my own, but this is divine. The silky-rich lather, the scent, the fact that my fine hair isn’t a tangled mess after using this…
• Heimish All Clean Green Foam – A bit of a novelty: I had innumerable cleanser samples, and this one wasn’t only one that didn’t break me out, but the best of them all. Oh, this I learned as well: cleansers are more important than you think. Absolutely nothing made me break out like all the bad cleansers I tested.

When in doubt, mix it

When you absolutely don’t know what to do with a skincare sample, when in doubt, either put it on your hands or feet, or mix it. Yes, this will expose me as the worst skincare blogger ever, but I mixed various skincare samples and used them as a body cream. (Obviously, I tried not to mix different actives, and I also used that concoction up immediately.) And yes, it felt great.

• More: What you can do with skincare products you don’t like.

You know what? In the end, I’m very grateful that I FINALLY tackled that drawer, and that it’s now – ok, it’s not empty. But emptier. Yay for small things.

Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.