Hello again! Like I said in my first ’empties’ post, this series is designed to mimic my favorite YouTube videos where Beaty Gurus show off the products they’ve gone through and describe their experiences of what they liked and what they didn’t like. Like I said before: since this is a blog, I may re-organize these at a later date to create categories, but for now, I’ll just be posting a few items at a time until I think I have enough to create “collections” of comparisons.
Vasanti Detox Nutirent-Rich Purifying Facial CleanserÂ
I got a sample of this in one of my makeup subscription box services. I believe it was BirchBox. The sample size is 20mL, and I got about 10 uses out of it, if not more. As with most of my products, I tend to be very sparing with my usage. Some might even call me stingy in that regard. But I would rather be regarded as miserly than wasteful. This product reminds me of other mid-range basic cleansers. The cleanser that comes with the Clarisonic when you buy it comes to mind. I would characterize this cleanser as relatively boring, but effective. My face felt clean after using it, but it wasn’t exciting or anything. I might actually buy this if it were cheaper, but $24 for the full-size of 150mL is too much when there are many other alternatives for basically the same price.
*** 3 Stars
Repurchase: Maybe for half off
Origins Modern Friction: Nature’s Gentle Dermabrasion
I really enjoyed this product. As I recall, I got it as a sample with purchase when I was buying my favorite mask: Clear Improvement. This sample size was only 15mL, but I got several uses out of it. Over 10 for sure. I really liked this product because even though it is abrasive, I really felt like it was exfoliating my skin.  I felt as though I was able to get the rice starch particles all over my face, unlike other products which can be hard to maneuver. I would probably not recommend this to someone with especially sensitive skin, but I think this would work for most people. I’m not normally a fan of things that boast peppermint as an ingredient, but this exfoliator performs so well I can’t complain. I will definitely be considering this next time I need a new exfoliating cleanser. It’s $20 for 1.7 ounces on Origins.com, click on the title to buy. 🙂
**** 4 Stars
Repurchase: Yes
Matrix Exquisite Oil Biolage Micro-oil Shampoo
I got 3 samples of this from Ulta for free with purchase. I got 2-3 uses out of each sample, so I Â feel like I got to try this stuff out enough to have a fairly accurate opinion. I really loved the way this stuff smells. It’s divine. It works well; I find that most shampoos, so long as they contain SLSs (sodium laur* sulfates) work well. Right now this is available on Amazon for $12. I thought this would cost more since it’s a salon quality product, however I find $12 to be very reasonable for 500mL (or 16.9 oz). I might get this in the future, but I have a ton of shampoos and conditioners left to try out and go through, so I have no plans to buy anything for now.
**** 4 Stars
Repurchase: Yes
Matrix Exquisite Oil Biolage Oil Cream Conditioner
These samples came with the Shampoo ones and I got about the same number of uses. Again, this stuff smells amazing. However, I did not find that the smell was especially persistent after I got out of the shower. This works well, but not amazing, and I often found myself using another conditioner- either a hair mask or extra leave-in treatment in addition to this stuff in order to get my hair to be as soft as I would like. I would describe this as quite average and I would not buy it at any price. Yawn.
** 2 Stars.
Repurchase: No.
Jurlique Herbal Recovery Night Cream
I got a free sample of this and got two uses out of it. I liked that this stuff isn’t greasy at all, but I loathed the smell. Again, if you read my blog, you’ll know that I do not like strongly scented products on my face, especially at night when I will have to live with it while I sleep, and this was no exception. I though the cream performed OK overall, but I would not be tempted to buy, especially for $50. There are much better products out there.
** 2 Stars
Repurchase: No.
So, overall, this time had a couple resounding “no”s, but that’s just the learning process, and I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to try out so many new products thanks to companies like BirchBox and Ulta. I hope my next post has some more “yes”s and valuable information for you all. Thanks for reading! 🙂