I honestly don't know how I still have beauty samples to use up, but I do still seem to have a fair ol' stock of tiny sachets and tubes, despite my best efforts to work my way through them! I've been having another go at the sample box and have been trialling another round of skincare... Read on to see what I thought of these wee tubes, as well as whether I'll be purchasing the full-sized products!
![Six Mini Beauty Reviews - Pilaten Elemis Charlotte Tilbury Clinique Malin & Goetz]()
Pilaten Blackhead Pore Strip | Despite its name, this was actually a peel-off mask, rather than a traditional pore strip... It was painful and gross, and yet strangely satisfying, to use; there's something about peeling off a rubbery black mask and seeing all the gunk being ripped from your pores! So, yeah, I did enjoy using this and the effects were noticeable for me, particularly around my nose where I have a lot of clogged pores and blackheads. I did think there was a little too much product in the sachet, leading to me applying a slightly thicker layer of mask than I'd have liked - I think a thinner layer would have been easier to peel off! This isn't one to get anywhere near your brows or sensitive areas of skin (I'd be tempted to use it just on my nose), but at £4.30 for 60ml it's certainly affordable and worked well enough that I'd consider buying a full-sized tube!
Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel | This was a magazine freebie, and I really liked it! I got a good few uses from the 15ml tube, and found it really pleasant to use; it had a lovely scent, didn't sting or cause any discomfort whilst on my skin, and didn't leave behind any redness or irritation. It worked well to brighten and smooth my skin. You can't really ask more than that, can you!? I'd definitely consider buying a full-sized tube of this (£32 for 50ml) as I found it really effective, and a product I looked forward to using. I do feel like the 50ml would go quite a long way as I definitely got five or else six uses from just 15ml!
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Night Rescue Cream | Urgh. This was way too heavy for my skin, it felt like spreading grease on my face, and my skin was ridiculously oily come morning - it honestly felt like the product just sat on the surface of my skin rather than actually sinking in and doing any moisturising. I know a lot of people rave about Charlotte Tilbury's skincare but this certainly wasn't for me. Unfortunately, I just didn't think this was worth anywhere even close to its eye-watering price tag of £100 for 50ml! As a side note, these sachets really did not want to be photographed...
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue Cream | This fared a little better than the night cream, by which I mean it wasn't actively unpleasant to use. The cream actually had quite a nice texture, and left my eye area feeling suitably smoothed and moisturised. I didn't really see evidence of its big claims, though - no massive improvements to my fine lines and no turning back the hands of time. It's a nice enough eye cream, in my opinion, but I can get a "nice enough" eye cream for far less than £40 for 15ml.
Clinique For Men Face Scrub | I believe I signed up for this sample on either Clinique's website, or their Facebook page; either way, I wasn't about to be put off by the "for men" claim - and I actually ended up really liking this scrub. It had a gorgeous minty scent which I found really invigorating, and the texture of the scrub was absolutely spot on for me - lovely and fine so it felt really gentle on the skin. I think the £20 for 100ml is pretty reasonable and I'd consider this one again at some point down the line.
Malin & Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturizer | This isn't my first tube of this moisturise and my thoughts remain much the same; it's a nice basic moisturiser which sinks into the skin quickly and works well to leave it feeling soft and smooth without being sticky or greasy. I'm not sure I'll be spending £37 for 118ml of nice basic moisturiser anytime soon, however!
Have you tried any of these products? What beauty products have you been sampling recently? I'd love to hear if you've found any gems!
xo
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Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel | This was a magazine freebie, and I really liked it! I got a good few uses from the 15ml tube, and found it really pleasant to use; it had a lovely scent, didn't sting or cause any discomfort whilst on my skin, and didn't leave behind any redness or irritation. It worked well to brighten and smooth my skin. You can't really ask more than that, can you!? I'd definitely consider buying a full-sized tube of this (£32 for 50ml) as I found it really effective, and a product I looked forward to using. I do feel like the 50ml would go quite a long way as I definitely got five or else six uses from just 15ml!
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Night Rescue Cream | Urgh. This was way too heavy for my skin, it felt like spreading grease on my face, and my skin was ridiculously oily come morning - it honestly felt like the product just sat on the surface of my skin rather than actually sinking in and doing any moisturising. I know a lot of people rave about Charlotte Tilbury's skincare but this certainly wasn't for me. Unfortunately, I just didn't think this was worth anywhere even close to its eye-watering price tag of £100 for 50ml! As a side note, these sachets really did not want to be photographed...
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue Cream | This fared a little better than the night cream, by which I mean it wasn't actively unpleasant to use. The cream actually had quite a nice texture, and left my eye area feeling suitably smoothed and moisturised. I didn't really see evidence of its big claims, though - no massive improvements to my fine lines and no turning back the hands of time. It's a nice enough eye cream, in my opinion, but I can get a "nice enough" eye cream for far less than £40 for 15ml.
Clinique For Men Face Scrub | I believe I signed up for this sample on either Clinique's website, or their Facebook page; either way, I wasn't about to be put off by the "for men" claim - and I actually ended up really liking this scrub. It had a gorgeous minty scent which I found really invigorating, and the texture of the scrub was absolutely spot on for me - lovely and fine so it felt really gentle on the skin. I think the £20 for 100ml is pretty reasonable and I'd consider this one again at some point down the line.
Malin & Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturizer | This isn't my first tube of this moisturise and my thoughts remain much the same; it's a nice basic moisturiser which sinks into the skin quickly and works well to leave it feeling soft and smooth without being sticky or greasy. I'm not sure I'll be spending £37 for 118ml of nice basic moisturiser anytime soon, however!
Have you tried any of these products? What beauty products have you been sampling recently? I'd love to hear if you've found any gems!
xo
[Post contains affiliate links.]