As I may have previously mentioned in other posts, or just my Instagram, but I’ve been on a no-buy that I’ve been very shocked I’ve actually adhered to. I haven’t bought anything new since my Black Friday haul as an attempt to go through my samples stash. Also because I subscribe to the 3B Box, I get one or two full size samples so I always end up going one step forward, two steps back when trying to go through everything.
I’ve also been cutting things out of my routine, mainly my actives. I’ve been noticing my skin barrier is still pretty weak with some blemishes so I’m trying to be a bit more strategic with my use. So instead of a full barrage of Vitamin C, BHA and AHA, I alternate depending on what my skin looks like it would benefit with. This also slowed down my testing samples process a bit, but my skin is recovering slowly.
Regardless, I’ve been overdue with a KBeauty/ABeauty review so I’ll be quickly going down the line of the tiny samples I got with purchases. I didn’t get around to taking a picture of them but pics will come at a later date, but for the sake of my blog, I’ll do a quick write-up on them 🙂
I have an overwhelming amount of creams/moisturizers so I thought it’s the easiest thing to burn through:
CosRX Aloe Vera Oil-Free Moisture Cream: this one had a very faint odor. It came out colorless. There wasn’t anything to call home about though. The oil-free qualities weren’t that evident in a tiny little packet, but as with any of the CosRX products, it’s worth exploring
CosRX Advanced Snail All in One Cream: more or less the same as the aloe vera one. It was lightweight and had a decent odor. Snail qualities did seem to help my skin heal a bit from its weak skin barrier state
Avene Cleanance Mat Mattifying Emulsion: this isn’t ABeauty but I got it as a sample at oo35mm. This had a nice smooth application with a powder-like smell. In truth, I loved this one even if it had very few uses. I do like the fact it’s readily available (I saw Avene products sold at a Duane Reade near work). I honestly think this would be my moisturizer of choice once I run out.. even if that’s definitely not happening this year… looking at you full size Starfish and Earth’s Recipe jars
IOPE Super Vital Cream Bio Intensive: this was the epitome of rich (like decadent, not expensive) and smooth to me. It was nice and creamy when I squeezed it out of the packet, it smelled like baby powder, smoothed out like powder and left a nice smooth finish. A quick Google search made it seem impossible to find and when I did, it was pretty expensive. Makes sense for the nice result it yielded when I used it
Sorry to disappoint my readers on the lack of material, but I’m working on researching other products to buy so I can try them and post reviews as I go! My routine is so boring it’s making me a bit sad. I understand how come KBeauty is such a thing. There’s so many options out there.. finding things that really work is a neverending feat!
Be back soon on the ABeauty front,
xx Snuffy
Up to Snuff 