I’m here with another samples post, aka: the low-down on my first impressions of another round of fab products. Samples are a great way to try products you’re unsure about or might have never otherwise tried. I think that’s why I love them so much. Maybe I’m a product commitment-phobe, but whatever, I just like to be sure before I spend my money on something. Not only because I hate wasting money, but I also hate wasting products. I’m sure there’s some stat about how much we Americans waste every year by throwing away half used products (I couldn’t find one). It feels like it could be 50% sometimes, but that’s just a guesstimate based on my personal previous experience. But if that were really true, then think of how much waste just testing out a sample saves! Have you found any good products through samples lately? Tell me about them! And check out what I’ve been sampling below:

Juice Organics Volumizing Shampoo & Conditioner
Honestly was surprised to really like these! I’m such a packaging geek that sometimes I judge a product by its packaging, I know, that’s bad, but the packaging has never really caught my eye in the past. Anyway, the shampoo had a good lather and left my hair squeaky clean. The conditioner felt hydrating on application. I like it when you can run your fingers through your hair to distribute the product easily and this one did just that. It also rinsed easily and my hair felt soft at rinse. My best description of the scent is passion fruit bubble gum, like fruity sweet. As for style-ability, my hair combed out well, and that’s without a leave-in. I was able to blow dry with a brush and had limited tangles too. That’s awesome because I have fine, tangle-prone hair. Once dry my hair felt clean and light. I wouldn’t say it was overly voluminous but, felt light. A follow up is that I kept thinking about these products and how it made my hair feel nice even days later so I think that means it’s a winner!
Would I buy? Definitely!

W3ll People Altruist Foundation Powder
I’m a total novice at using powder foundations, but this is how I applied: I applied cover up first and then applied with a brush in a circular motion all over my face, except on blemished areas, I just dabbed the powder on those in hopes of keeping my cover up work in tact. It did end up removing a bit of cover up so I reapplied and dabbed the powder on again. I’ve never used a powder foundation and was surprised at the coverage. I have a lot of unevenness right now and it did a pretty good job of evening it out. It says it has a creamy texture and I agree, it seems to glide on and stick. I like that it is essentially 2 products in one (a foundation and a powder), so it’s a time saver. However, I didn’t really like how it wore throughout the day unfortunately. It didn’t work overly well for my oily skin. I think coverage remained but it started making me looking kind of tired and greasy by the end of the day. I wanted to like this, but it just didn’t work with my skin type. If you don’t have mega oily skin I think this would be a good one. Side note worth noting, I just saw that they updated the formula on this product recently and I haven’t tried that, but I’m guessing it would perform somewhat similarly?
Would I buy? Probably not, but maybe would try the new formulation

Root Pretty Organic Coconut Sugar Scrub
Yummm! This smells like coconut macaroons. Like you’re baking coconut macaroons in your shower haha! This scrub is not overly greasy and didn’t leave much of a film on tub floor like some do. I like that it’s a bit more of a drier sugar mix as they contributes to less mess on the shower floor. After use there was a thin layer of moisturizing oil left on the skin. I blotted my skin dry with towel and it felt smooth and moisturized. The scent doesn’t seem to stick around, which is fine by me.
Would I buy? Likely, although I have a ton of body scrubs to work through right now.

Neocell Biotin Bursts
Biotin is good for hair and nail growth and this product has 10,000 mcg per serving. It’s kind of like a startburst, or a chewy candy. The flavor is kind of like grape maybe? Or berries? It’s a little tart and not too sweet. Obviously with only trying one serving I can’t say how it performs but it’s fun to eat.  For reference the other ingredients are: Dried Cane Syrup, Rice Syrup, Natural Flavors, Palm Oil, Sunflower Lecithin, Malic Acid, Citric Acid, Glycerin, Fruit and Vegetable Juice For Color, Stevia. Not too keen on the palm oil but I do like that it’s colored with fruit/vegetable juice.
Would I buy? Probably not, my daily vitamin has Biotin in it already so I don’t see the need to supplement, also I don’t know how I feel about palm oil as an ingredient?

Plant Makeup Beach Rose Skin Repair Serum 
I can’t really talk about performance, just initial observations on this one since this is a first impressions thing. With facial care, seeing results usually takes several weeks. With that said, I liked it so far. It has a light scent that’s a little sweet but not too sweet. It’s like fresh air and flowers (likely because it’s infused with beach roses). The texture is not too greasy, it felt light on the skin and absorbs quickly. I used it at night and had no breakouts next morning.  It’s made from a base of nourishing and skin replenishing oils like rosehip seed oil (which is rich in essential fatty acids and antioxidants that help fight free radicals, reducing and preventing damage to skin) and essential oils of carrot seed, rose and helichrysum. It’s also said that this can be used as a body oil, but I didn’t try that yet.
Would I buy? Perhaps!

Twinkle Apothecary Pink mafia Perfume
So I’m not actually much of a perfume person but I always wish I was. I can just never get in the habit.🤷‍♀️ It was fun to try this one though. I didn’t look up the scent before guessing and so my best guess is: Floral melon scent, like roses maybe? Maybe like a sweet rose? I then looked it up to confirm and I was sort of right. The notes are: Rose, violet and black pepper. My husband wasn’t really a fan, but I think it smells pleasant. It’s light and a bit sassy. The scent did fade as the day wears on, it was light by late afternoon. Since it’s in a base of fractioned coconut oil it seems to have a slightly moisturizing consistency.
Would I buy? Probably not, but only because I don’t often wear perfume!

Axiogy Lipstick – The Goodness
This lipstick is a cool neutral shimmer color. It’s kind of an natural lip color, like the color of your natural lips but enhanced with a cool shimmer. It feels moisturizing in its consistency. As for wearability, I applied at 9am and it stayed on for several hours, but that was without drinking or eating anything. Another bonus, my lips still felt moisturized later in the day even after it had worn off.
Would I buy? I really like this lipstick, but I think I’d choose a different color next time.

Vapor Elixir Lip Gloss – Flirt
This lipgloss does have a light tingly feeling, but I’m not sure about the plumping factor. Since I feel some tingle it makes me think that maybe it does plump a bit? It’s super glossy and has a slight light peachy color that enhances natural lip color. It looks like your own lip color but smoothes things out and darkens it maybe a hint of a shade. It did get on my teeth a bit with wear and it held its gloss for maybe 2 hours.
Would I buy? If I was into wearing lip glosses on the reg, then yes, but I’m not really. However, I’d keep it in mind as a good gloss.

Lov Tea – Lovely Night
At first smell my guess on what’s in this is: honey sweet apple chamomile. And the first taste guess is: maybe a touch of licorice? I confirmed the ingredients and was sort of right. The actual ingredients are honeybush, rooibos, cinnamon, linden leaves, licorice, chamomile, lemon verbena, pear flavoring.  It’s calming, soothing, warming and sweet and would be perfect for before bedtime.
Would I buy? Ya, this was tasty!

Weleda Revitalizing Hand Cream
This hand cream has a subtle tart floral scent. Maybe that’s what evening primrose smells like? I’ve never smelled that but I like the scent of this. It has a lighter consistency and little goes a long way. My hands felt moisturized after using. When I used it I had cracking skin from the lingering cold temps and this made them feel instantly soothed. It’s not greasy, you just have make sure to rub in completely.
Would I buy? Yes, I’d buy this!