At the beginning of October, Gummy and I decided to make an effort to try and use up samples. I suspect everyone else did better than I did, but oh well - check out that original post here.

Here's a look at my empties from the October Sampler - not bad, I think?? Read on to see how I did and what my highlights were!

1. Hair & Shower
As you can see from the before and after pictures below, I didn't get very far on this one. I only managed to use up the Jo Malone Orange Blossom Hand & Shower Gel, which I quite liked. The Orange Blossom perfume makes me sneeze, but in shower gel form I quite like the scent! Not sure if I will buy it though, as it is quite expensive.

2. Cleansers & Masks
I liked the Sunday Riley Cleansers, and I enjoyed the Omorovicza as well, but I'm really hoping I like less expensive cleansers too. I tried a sample of Skinfood Honey Black Tea Jelly Foam Cleanser, but they were sold out when I went to buy it and I picked up the Cleansing Milk instead. Since I had an extra tube of Ren Micro Polish Cleanser, I gave that to a coworker. I also kind of liked the Chantecaille Jasmine & Lily Healing Mask but I'm afraid to even check how much that costs!

3. Skincare Deluxe Samples
I managed to use up a good number of these, I think! I gave away the Ren and Shiseido because they didn't work for me, and I managed to use up a few too. I didn't care for the Armani which seemed very artificially fragranced, and I think the Guerlain eye cream even made my eyes itch. Yuck. I used up the Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum, and that really didn't seem to do anything either and it barely seemed to moisturize. I may consider the By Terry Cellularose Brightening Serum however, because I suspect it helped my dehydration and redness.

4. Miscellaneous Samples
I did not like the Juara Candlenut Body Cream or the Goldfaden Moisturizer, but I did enjoy using the Jack Black Epic Moisture Body Hydrator - Jack Black seems to be a totally underrated and affordable brand for skincare. I thought I liked the Zelens Z Matrix Moisture Infusion, but I'll pretend that never happened as it is SO EXPENSIVE. I also gave away the Lalique perfume sample, as it is totally not for me. And I seemed to have gathered more packets somehow... :)

5. Complexion Perfectors
It was harder to get through these than I thought, but I managed to give a way the Armani Maestro and Givenchy Mister Light samples. I was surprised by the limited shade selection of Burberry Sheer Concealer, and I actually liked the Peter Thomas Roth CC Cream, which I may actually buy if the light shade is appropriate for me. I really didn't get on with the Marc Jacobs Gel Foundation (icky finish) and I may take another look at Benefit the Porefessional.

Very few items made it onto my shopping list, and the only one I ran out for was the Skinfood cleanser. The items on my "to consider buying later" list are:

Peter Thomas Roth CC Cream
By Terry Cellularose Brightening Serum
Chantecaille Jasmine & Lily Healing Mask
Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm
Sunday Riley Charisma Creme Cleanser
Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Cleanser

So all in all, I think I did an OK job but could've totally done better. :) I definitely have to make even more of an effort getting through samples, as I have a few Ikea Helmer drawers full of them at home (which I've just managed to purge a bit this weekend). I don't know, it just seems impossible, as the above before photos were really collected in the span of 2 months and I had even given some away. o.O

What do you think of the October Sampler? Did any of these samples catch your eye? How do you manage to use up samples?