How I Choose New Beauty Products + Q2 Favorites

Hey, hey, sweet friends! Happy Monday to ya! As always, the weekend came and went very quickly but I am excited for a fresh start this week. Next week will be two months at my new job and I can hardly believe it. Later this week I’ll be sharing a mini update on the job, moving, new city and everything else that has been asked over the past few weeks. My last major life update was back in October 2017, shortly after I quit my first full-time job, which you can read here. So much has changed since then and I’m excited to fill you guys in.

So, way back in January when I asked you guys via Instagram stories what you wanted to see on the blog, so many people said practical beauty tips and tricks.

So, I’ve been trying to share at least 2 beauty posts a month and I am loving how much you guys are loving it. As we all know, skincare and beauty products can start to rack up with a stop to Sephora here and an online purchase at Ulta there and shopping department stores sales. Knowing that, I wanted to put together a post all about how I try new skincare items. So, let’s jump in:

1 | Take advantage of samples – Maybe I was the only person who didn’t know this years ago, but most stores offer samples of products to try before you buy. This is usually a small container of the product equaling about 1-2 weeks of the product, depending on how often you use it. When it comes to pricey items such as eye creams or serums, I always get a sample first. Just last week I picked up two samples of eye creams, one full priced is $60 and the other at full price is $135 (I know, I know, it’s ridiculous). Even though stores like Ulta have a great return policy if something doesn’t work for your skin, I usually forget to return items and really hate doing so. In order to avoid wasting products and wasting money, I always opt for a free sample when offered.

2 | Purchase freebies – Just like samples that are free, I lookout for freebies when making purchases. For example, the last time I picked up my favorite foundation stick, the freebie was a full-sized mascara and lip treatment. The lip treatment was okay but the mascara was phenomenal and it’s now one of my favorites to use. Since I was already purchasing the foundation, I basically got better bang for my buck and now spend more $$$ at this retailer, which is ultimately what they want. Places like Ulta & Belk tend to rotate free gifts from brand to brand all year long that help you try new products.

3 | Follow blogger recommendations & online reviews – Even before I started blogging, I would search through beauty blogger YouTube and blog posts before purchasing anything. One of the perks of being a blogger is first, exclusive sneak peeks to beauty and lifestyle products. Knowing this, I would spend time researching new items I wanted to try before spending my $$$. I also adopted the habit of never buying anything without first reading reviews. Do you guys do this? Before I read all the info on the item, I scroll straight to the bottom of the page and look for reviews and pictures. I read the good and bad and ugly then decide from there. Of course, you can’t always rely solely on reviews because: only a small portion of people actually complete them, not everyone has the same skin type as you, tons of people don’t understand how to use the product/when they can expect to see results, and so on and so on. However, the reviews are a great way to know a little more about people’s experience before deciding to buy. Whenever I purchase a beauty item through a blogger’s recommendation, I use their affiliate link so they can make a little $$. This is a great way to support bloggers, like myself, which we are forever grateful for.

4 | Purchasing minis – If you want to get more product to try than the sample but are not ready to jump into the full size, buying the mini or travel size of a product is a great option. Minis and travel sizes tend to come in a pack with other minis and are available at a fraction of the price. Brands like this one are great for minis since they include 8 products for $90 all with 30-60 days worth of product. 30-60 days is a solid period of time to determine if you like the product, how it works for your skin and if it’s something you’ll consider purchasing the full-sized option of.

5 | Influenster – This is another pre-blogging recommendation. Influenster is a website and app where you can review beauty products. You can create a profile, fill out surveys on what you like and get the chance to be selected for VoxBoxes, which are filled with either one brand or several brands of products in exchange for your reviews. This one isn’t super consistent but was a great way to randomly try new products from major brands.

6 | Setting a beauty budget + thinking ahead | As I already mentioned, skincare can get expensive! No matter how much money you make, I’m sure you cringe just a little when you spend $100+ on new beauty products that may or may not work. If you are someone who genuinely loves skincare and makeup, I always suggest making a spot in your budget for it, the same way you budget for other things. Most people have a “going out” or “social” portion of their budget that can include dinner with friends, going to the movies, enjoying happy hour or exploring local restaurants. (If you don’t already have this in your budget but find that you are spending a significant amount of $$ on it, start tracking it this month so you know how to budget in the future). As a blogger, I do have a monthly shopping budget for anything I want to buy related to creating content or sharing with you guys. This is mostly for clothing since I tend to work with more beauty brands, however, when there’s a new release or brand I want to try, I’ll set it in my budget so I can better track how I’m spending my money and how long the product lasts for the cost. I think ahead about what I am running low on and if there is a replacement I want to try so I can grab it on sale and/or keep up with inventory, since some popular products tend to sell out quickly.

7 | PR packages – As a content creator, I am always so genuinely grateful for brands that want to work together and/or send PR packages. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me opening awesome packages from brands like Pixi, Urban Decay, Avon, Bioderma & Schmidt’s, all brands I truly love. With PR packages, we are able to try new full-size products for free with the option to share our reviews and opinions as we choose. I try to include PR gifts in blog posts when chatting about beauty and things I’m loving, since I try out almost everything. For items that don’t work for my skin, either the wrong shade or target a problem I don’t have, I will donate them to a women’s shelter or to friends that may enjoy them. Many of my skincare favorites come from PR packages, so I’m always super grateful to be gifted them from brands and have the opportunity to share them with you guys.

I hope that answers the many questions I receive about trying new skincare. As far as other recommendations, I would suggest not trying tons of new skincare items all at once and stop the use of anything new if you experience irritation or breakouts. If you have a dermatologist or esthetician, they can always provide insight on how your skin will react to a certain product based on the ingredients and/or if it’s something is safe or unsafe for you to use.

With that, I want to give a quick run-down of some of my recent favorite skincare products by categories:

Face washes: Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser | Drunk Elephant Beste Jelly Cleanser | Dermalogica Daily Superfoliant  

Treatments: Avon Vitamin C Warming Peel | Avon Vitamin C Brightening Serum | Fresh Rose Face Mask | PIxi Vitamin C Tonic | Neutrogena Blue Light Pen

Sunscreens: Institut Esthederm No Sun SPF 50 | REN Clean Screen SPF 30

Face moisturizers: Pixi Rose Ceramide Cream | Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream

Thanks for reading friends! As always, if you try any of these products and love them, keep me updated by leaving a comment, sending an email, sharing Instagram through comments or DMs. Simply click on the name of the product to be taken straight to where you can read more and purchases. Have a lovely day -xo, Azanique <3