Morgue Drawer

It hasn't even been two months yet but I think I need to do this post. I had a lot of samples to talk about plus some regular every day crap. If I wait too much longer I might have to break this up into three posts! Heavens to Betsy!

Face and Eyeballs

Mario Badescu Eye Cream: I got a sample of this in one of my subscription bags. And it is awesome. So moisturizing, no crazy smell. Nothing will get rid of my smile lines (and why would I want them to go away?) but this cream is so nice to use. I also have a little dry patch near the corner of my eye and this stuff really helped diminish it - and nothing has worked that well before. Nothing.

Josie Moran Face Oil (Argan): This stuff smells fantastic. And my face felt so soft afterwards. But the foil packet totally failed so I couldn't get more than one use from it. *sadness ensued*

Burt's Bees Renewal Serum: I've talked about this before. This is my second bottle. Though I thought it was gentle enough to use twice a day, I noticed that my skin dries out if I do that. So I stick to night time use (though right now I haven't repurchased because I've got a bottle of ROC Retinol treatment to finish).

Ahava Purifying Mud Mask: This stuff was okay. It smelled rather strong, like a combination spa/herbal scent. It was also gritty so it felt a little rough on my face. It's definitely not as purifying as a Freeman mud mask I use. It also started to sting after I worked halfway through the tube.

Olay Tone Perfecting Cream Moisturizer: My skin felt like BUTTAH after using this. Unfortunately the sample size only allowed for one use and you can't really tell if it's working until after 8 weeks. So...there you go.

Origins GinZing Eye Cream: Does NOT depuff like it claims. "Brightens" is just a word these eye creams use because it has a shiny pearlized finish. It actually made my dark circles look worse.

Klorane Eye Patches: Arrrggghh! No, not those kind of eye patches. These were thick and soft under eye patches. They didn't really do anything but instead of sticking from being over saturated with essence, they had a gel like surface that clung to the skin. Kinda cool even if useless.

Sephora Honey Eye Mask: I had two of these (one I ordered and one I got in a beauty subscription, I think). The first set stung my skin but I wanted to try the second packet just in case that was a fluke. It was nicer the 2nd time and I left them on about 10 minutes longer. Nothing outstanding but nice.

Naked Time (aka body lotions)

Elite Therapeutics Body Cream: Smells quite a bit like the plastic tube it comes in but my skin felt really good. The softness lasted all day!

H20+ Sea Salt Hydrating Body Butter: Very nice! It wasn't greasy, smelled good, and the moisturizing lasted a long time.

H20+ Sea Amber Body Lotion: This stuff smelled great...at first (like citrus). But it quickly morphed into plastic. Does a great job at moisturizing, though.

DermaDoctor Brazillian Bombshell Body Lotion: This was probably my favorite sample of a body lotion. Very thick and moisturizing and lasted a long time. No scent. Left my skin with this glowy sheen - like a highlight for your body (not glitter - this is not stripper lotion). Maybe that's the skin perfecting element? Whatever. It's awesome.

Figs & Rouge Hand Cream: This was a sample I got in my very first Ipsy bag (back in October of 2014). Obviously I don't use the stuff regularly. I really liked it though. Kind of thin but did a decent job. The scent is Roseberry and that's exactly what it smells like - like a raspberry and a rose bush (heh) had a baby.

Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific

Total Repair 5 Deep Conditioner: Did not like this crap. My hair was so greasy and weighed down. Terrible. Looking at the packaging, it seems it's the same stuff as the bottle but believe me, it isn't.

Total Repair 5 Conditioner: This stuff is all right. When I still had a lot of dry and damaged hair from bleaching, this and the shampoo seemed to help smooth it out. Just waiting to use up the shampoo to start another brand.

Batiste Dry Shampoo (Blush): I love this brand though the scents can be overwhelming. Blush is definitely better than the cherry scent. I've recently purchase the Original and Fresh scent so we'll see how those go. But the formula cannot be denied. Best one I've tried. I haven't lied. I seriously died. Check out my ride...okay, I'll stop.

Marc Antony Argan Oil Hairspray: I think this is my second can. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuff. Smells fantastic! It's a soft hold so my hair doesn't feel crunchy or stiff. If you're looking for super hold stuff, this is probably not the hairspray for you. Otherwise, you need to get this immediately.

*giant powderpuff to the face* (aka Make Up)

Benefit Eye Primer: Meh. The first time I used it, my eye shadow totally faded in a few hours. The second time I put powder over it before the shadow and then it worked a little better. But I'm glad I just had a sample so I don't have to fuck with it again. 

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara: I did like this mascara (keep in mind I had the sample size). It's supposed to hold a curl really well but I don't need to curl my lashes. They naturally curl up a little bit so most mascaras work like this one did on me. Maybe this curled them just a smidge more.

Neutrogena Healthy Lengths Mascara: I like the formula on this. My lashes looked very natural and it gave just a touch of volume. It layered pretty well with other mascaras, too. But the tube dried out really fast which was disappointing. I think I accidentally bought this twice so we'll see if that tube lasts a little longer.

RiRe Lash Essence: Got this is a 3B box. It's supposed to help thicken or grow your lashes. Yeah...not so much. It was just like putting some kind of clear gel on my lashes that ended up stuck together when I woke up in the morning.

Essence Lash Princess Mascara: I adore this mascara! It's great at giving my lashes volume and the natural bristle brush separates my lashes so well. This was at least my 2nd tube. And it's inexpensive! And how can you not love that packaging?

Randomness

Zicam Nasal Swabs: When it comes to cold medicines or remedies, Zicam is at the top of my list. There are lozenges, melts, chewables, and these swabs. Some people protested the swabs years ago because it affected their sense of smell - but I think that's because they didn't follow the directions that say DON'T SHOVE THIS ALL THE WAY UP YOUR NOSE. The oral stuff affects my taste and upsets my stomach so the swabs are perfect. 

Bath and Body Works Foaming Hand Soap: First scent was from the Halloween line - Purrfect Potion. It was supposed to smell like pumpkin and cinnamon but all I got was sugary sweet. The Sea Island Cotton scent, though, was great. Smelled very fresh and clean. Will definitely repurchase! (the Halloween scents are no longer available but their Christmas stuff is on sale plus they have a ton of other scents available in their regular line)

Sensodyne Extra Whitening Toothpaste: I believe in my last MD I said I wanted to try the extra whitening because the gentle whitening sucked. Yeah, this stuff works so much better. Already repurchased. It's also great for any kind of regular sensitivity you might have. It doesn't do much for the exposed nerve on my #29 tooth but nothing short of a composite filling would.

That wasn't too terribly long, was it? I think I prefer doing one longer post every two months instead of breaking it up into multiple posts once a quarter. Hopefully you'll like reading it that way, too. Feel free to post your thoughts!