Spring 2018 PR Roundup
This post has probably been sitting in my drafts for nearly 3.5 months. I was trying my best for a while to do posts that included all of the gifted products as my PR gifts were getting out of control. I actually started to feel very stressed out about posting hence the radio silence that you saw for a few months. I've definitely cut back on the number of products I say yes to because I can't possibly test it out, even if I'm curious about the product! It's helped a lot and I'm starting o feel more caught up with trying out new things. Although this post is a bit outdated at this point but I still wanted to talk about some of these products! I was fortunate enough to receive three incredible packages from Caudalie, Joanna Vargas, ClarityRX, and Josie Maran. I thought I'd do a little run through of the products I got and my thoughts on them so far (if I've gotten to testing them).
Caudalie
Are you even surprised to see Caudalie on here? The rep for Caudalie is possibly the sweetest person ever and she always sends such lovely packages - with all the best of Caudalie! I've discovered my new holy grail serum, the Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum, which I have recommended to countless people by now. She sent this little package which included some of Caudalie's cleansers. In it was the Makeup Removing Cleansing Oil, Micellar Cleansing Water, and Instant Foaming Cleanser. I've been using the cleansing oil since I got it and am *nearly* to the end of it. This one almost has a sort of sweet almond scent which I really like! The oil is a bit thicker in consistency than others I've tried but less viscose-y than say the Tatcha Cleansing Oil. I think it does a great job of getting makeup off and I'm definitely going to miss it when it's gone. Although I liked it, it wasn't necessarily a HG for me and I do have some other cleansing oils/balms that I need to try before I would go back to this. One thing I was excited for was the Instant Foaming Cleanser, but I actually ended up strongly disliking the scent. I passed it on to a friend a while ago and can't remember what it was - but if you're not sensitive to scents then it probably won't be an issue. I liked using this as an AM cleanser as it's gentle and left my skin feeling soft. I have yet to try the Micellar Cleansing Water but I actually think I tried it a few years ago during the Bioderma Micellar Water craze. Bioderma at the time was very difficult to get a hold of in the US so I settled for Caudalie's and remember being disappointed at it's lack of ability to remove makeup. These days I'm a little more knowledgeable about how to use products so I think I'd use this if I was using a first cleanse and then use this to grab any excess product after (if I wasn't showering at night and wanted a quick face wash routine). I'm still on the fence if I want to try this and might end up passing it on to a friend
Joanna Vargas
From JV's line I received the Daily Serum and Revitalizing Eye Cream. The Daily Serum is nice but I hadn't realized it had Dimethicone in its ingredients list when I first cracked this open. I'm open to any ingredients with silicone/dimethicone and they usually make me break out. Sadly I'll need to pass this on one to someone else! (Ironically) This one is supposed to be a clarifying treatment to help restore skin's balance and resilience. On the plus side it is sulfate free! The Eye Cream includes Cacao Seed which makes it smell like coffee which can be a nice pick me up in the morning (I'm a coffee addict). I like the packaging and that it comes in a squeeze tube but also has a pump. With eye products you can never be too cautious with germs and dipping your finger into a little pot. I definitely have my eye on either the Supernova Serum or Rescue Serum - for one the packaging of these looks incredible and the ingredient lists looks great too.
Clarity RX
From Clarity RX I received a handful of products, including the Daily Dose of Water, Take Care Daily Antioxidant Red Tea Serum, C-Results Wrinkle Reducer, and Daily Fruit Antioxidant Moisturizing Mango Mask. I just wanted to start and say that the Mango Mask smells incredible - so good that you'll want to eat it (obviously - don't). It has an almost whipped texture that feels so good on the skin - and it wasn't overly difficult to remove either. This one leaves my skin feeling oh so soft and I love it. Unfortunately one product I knew I disliked from the get-go was the C-Results Wrinkle Reducer. I usually like to test products first on my legs because 1. I usually see results very quickly since my skin is so dry and 2. If I get any adverse reaction to the products, they pretty much go un-seen. When I tested the Wrinkle Reducer, I applied some on my legs and omg my legs were on fire - they were red, itchy, and blotchy. I quickly washed the products off my legs and just tossed the product because I didn't want to pass it on to any of my friends because I had nothing good to say about it.
The Daily Dose of Water was something that reminded me of the Jordan Samuels Hydrate Facial Serum. A lot of people on IG love the JS serum and while I wanted it to be everything that the Glossier Super Bounce Serum was, it wasn't. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a nice product but it was a tad stickier than I would like. I was hoping that the Clarity RX version would be like SB as well, but it just isn't the same. It's less sticky than the JS serum, but I just don't get that quick sink-in feeling like I do with SB. There isn't anything bad to say, but I prefer others so I'll be passing this one on to a friend. One product I have yet to test out is the Antioxidant Red Tea Serum. Since I'm moving relatively soon, I am working on finishing up products that I already have open and don't want to crack anything new open. However, I am excited to test this one out and compare it to the Kypris Antioxidant Dew which also has free radical fighting antioxidants. I'm definitely going to test to see how this one does with treating the redness in my skin and seeing if it really does reduce inflammation/irritation and sooth sun damaged skin. Will report back soon!
Josie Maran (via InSpree Brands)
Josie Maran has definitely been a brand that I've been aware of since I was even in high school. I used to think their emphasis was more on makeup products, but it looks like they're focused more on skincare and bodycare nowadays. From Josie Maran, I was able to select a variety of products including: 100% Pure Argan Oil, Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter, Argan Cleansing Oil, and Good Brow Pencil (not photographed).
To be honest, I haven't had a chance to try any of these products aside from the brow pencil as I have so many products open. I'm nearing the end of the Caudalie Oil Cleanser (mentioned above) and will work on finishing the Tatcha Cleansing Oil that I have open as well. I may open the JM one to make sure I like it before I completely run out of the Tatcha one just so I'm not without one! I've heard nothing but great things about the pure argan oil from JM so I'm definitely excited to incorporate that one into my routine. As mentioned, I have a lot of products I'm trying to finish right now so I won't be cracking this open until I finish at least 1 other oil. I have so many open and unfinished that I just need to buckle down and get through them. (You can bet that I've been treating my body well and mixing oils with my body lotion.) And of course, I've yet to open the body butter as I have a few other body creams and unwanted face creams that I'm working my way through. I usually use face creams that are nearing the shelf life expiration or ones that I'm bored of on my body as a way to use it up. The apricot body butter definitely smells amazing and I'm so looking forward to slathering it all over my body when I hop out of the shower!
The Brow Pencil is interesting but I'll be quite honest and say that I much prefer brow powders and pomades. Occasionally if I feel like my brows are looking sparse, I'll use this pencil to fill in the gaps. I've never been one for an ultra defined brow (you know, with the concealer to smooth the edges), so the highlighting portion of this pencil will most likely go un-used. If you're into it, I think this one is quite great because the product goes on smoothly and does not budge! You do need a thicker pencil sharpener to sharpen this bad boy, but that shouldn't be an issue if you have the NARS lip pencils and sharpen those too.
Have you tried any of these products?
What are some of your favorite products from any of these brands?
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All products mentioned in this post were gifted to me, but all opinions remain my own. This post also contains affiliate links. Feel free to read more on my disclaimer.
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