Confession: I am a beauty and skincare junkie. I love trying new products. I never say no to a free sample or free gift with purchase. Free samples are especially clutch when you travel as much as I do. Here are five recent products – serums, moisturizers and primers – that I have tried out from Estée Lauder, Dr. Dennis Gross and Caudalie. What would I re-purchase and recommend? What didn’t make the cut? Read on!
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum
I scored a free mini Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum as part of an influencer marketing campaign Estée Lauder was doing with Alessandra Steinherr, who is the Associate Creative and Beauty Director at Glamour Magazine UK and very much a beauty influencer in her own right. I had the pleasure of meeting Alessandra when we spoke on a panel together at London Fashion Week and she is a incredible expert who really knows her stuff. Sidebar: here’s a link to her blog for her tips if you’re in the market.
Alessandra and I share similar skin concerns, and I trust her integrity to only partner with brands she would recommend. As a result, I jumped at the chance to register for a free sample through her campaign. To my luck, it arrived a few weeks later in the mail! The sample size was quite generous, meaning that you can use it a good amount of times and see if it’s for you.
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum is said to be ideal for multiple signs of aging, including lines, wrinkles, dullness and dehydration. Ummmm….yes, yes, yes, yes! I personally found it to be a nice addition to my evening skincare regime. I suffer from dry skin and found it to be hydrating, gentle and worked well when layered with my other evening skincare products.
Would I repurchase? Yes
Find Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum at Nordstrom (and pretty much every department store!) in US and Selfridges (and all the big department stores!) UK.
Dr. Dennis Gross Vitamin C Eye Cream
I received this product as a free sample from Cult Beauty. I love many of Dr. Dennis Gross’s products, from the Ferulic and Retinol Wrinkle Recovery Overnight Serum (UK link here), to the Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel (UK link here) and the Hyaluronic Moisture Cushion Moisturizer (UK link here), so I was super excited to try this one. I still have not been able to find an under eye cream that rivals that of my favorite – Dermadoctor Wrinkle Revenge.
Unfortunately, this eye cream was a no for me. I tried it on several occasions, always to the same results. The cream hydrates brilliantly and definitely does rival my Dermadoctor favorite, but I found the cream to be a bit irritating. My skin can be a little sensitive, so unfortunately this is a no for me. But, I can say that it layered perfectly with my under eye makeup and lasted a long time, making it an even bigger bummer that I found it a little irritating.
Would I repurchase? No
Find Dr. Dennis Gross Vitamin C Eye Cream at Nordstrom in US and at Net-A-Porter in the UK.
Estée Lauder The Illuminator
I scored this glowy Estée Lauder primer in a free gift with purchase. Another super generous sample size, I was excited to give this one a try. I actually haven’t been using primers as much these days, as the older I get (I’m 35), I find a lot of primers too drying for my skin. However, this one promises a glowy finish, so I gave it a go.
I’ll be honest – I’m on the fence with this one. It’s been too drying for me over the winter months, but as London has begun to warm up, I’ve similarly warmed up to this primer. As I use the Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation (UK Link), it works really nicely with it when my skin is not so dry, so I think I would re-purchase – but as part of my summer makeup routine. If you naturally have more oily or combination skin, I think you would like this primer.
Would I repurchase? Yes – but for use the summer months only.
Find the Estée Lauder The Illuminator at Nordstrom in US and at Debenhams in the UK.
Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum and Moisturizing Sorbet
This generous serum and moisturizer sample duo was Sephora’s birthday gift last year. As a December birthday, I have to wait sooooo darn long for those #notfair. However, I was super excited to try this serum and moisturizer from Caudalie’s Vinoperfect range. I am obsessed with the Caudalie Beauty Exlir essence (UK Link). In general, any brand sold at the French pharmacies tend to be awesome. That has been a huge perk of moving to London because I’ve discovered so many of them like Darphin that I am absolutely obsessed with.
I’ve worked the serum and moisturizing sorbet into my AM skincare routine. I’ve used them together and also mixed and matched a bit with my other skincare favorites and I am hooked! They work perfectly with my dry skin and are gentle yet hydrating. Compared to my other two favorites, the Darphin Ideal Resource (UK Link) and Lait Embryolisse (UK Link), I would say the Moisturizing Sorbet moisturizer is a touch lighter. Which, with summer coming up, is going to be fantastic. They also work nicely as a base for my makeup and don’t leave me dehydrated or patchy after a very long day.
Would I repurchase? Yes – to both!
Find Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum (UK Link) and Moisturizing Sorbet (UK Link) at Nordstrom, Sephora and Space NK in the US and UK.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been getting tons of questions lately about my skincare regime, so I will make these posts more regular on my blog. If you have any specific questions or requests specific products I use, please feel free to leave a comment below or drop me an email!
As a call out, I did receive all of these products as free samples – some with purchase, the Sephora birthday gift and I signed up for the Estee Lauder serum offer through Instagram. None of these were PR gifts and this post is not sponsored. I just love free samples and find them to be such a great way to discover new skincare items without having to shell out tons of money. Kudos to the brands and eCommerce shops that send them, keep on doing what you’re doing and I’ll keep purchasing from your websites or retail stores!
As a disclosure, this post does feature affiliate links, which do not cost you anything, but give me a small commission for linking to specific websites. Writing this blog takes a lot of time and does cost me some money in terms of website hosting and maintenance, so I see it as a small way to fund those costs. Please know that I only link to websites that I like to shop on and personally recommend, otherwise I don’t use an affiliate link. If you prefer to not shop through my links, you can always google the product yourself and find a new link.
What are your skincare favorites for anti-aging and dry skin? Send ’em my way!
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