How I get free samples

This week was an awesome week for me in terms of samples/free products. I had numerous posts via social media requesting an explanation of how I scored everything for free. I'm always excited to share my free findings and want to help others as well. First, I got free cleaning supplies thanks to Zep and Crowdtap. Crowdtap is a free website where you complete surveys and tasks in hopes of getting free products. This was my first campaign with Crowdtap, but soon after I got accepted into two other campaigns. 

Now on to the fun part! I attended a free class at Sephora on Saturday. Bumble and Bumble reps taught participants how to do a messy ponytail, fishtail braid, and a casual twist. I LOVE the free classes at Sephora because I always learn new information. I went in set on NOT buying anything, but that never happens.
I ended up getting this multipurpose BB Dryspun product. I can use this to add volume and "grit" to my updo styles to make them stay in place. The Clinique Take the Day Off Balm is my HG makeup removing product! It is a solid, but turns into an oil to take everything off gently. Next, I became a Bite Beauty lip crayon and lipstick lover. These are hands-down my favorite lip products. I can't wait to show you swatches in an upcoming post! I spent $.50 thanks to a return.

Of course I had to stop in Victoria's Secret for a free pair of panties, so I picked up four lip balms (I ended up returning them, details in a minute) to get a 2nd pair of panties for free. After Victoria's Secret, I went to Kohl's for their beauty event. I turned in two makeup items for a $10 gift card. My strategy is to take a non-makeup lover (spouse, friend, etc) to get an additional gift card. The first purchase was the Oscar Blandi set is an amazing deal for $10.50 because I love the dry shampoo and texturizing spray. The hair tool isn't as difficult to use as I thought thanks to the handy pamphlet. The Macadamia shampoo was $4! I love the hair mask, so I was excited to try the shampoo for the great price. I think I'm the only one on the planet that hasn't tried EOS. Since I got the EOS kit, I decided to take the VS lip balms back. I picked up this set at the bargain price of $6.99. In total, I spent about $1 on tax and the Kohl's employees gave me all of the other products for FREE! Sign up for Kohl's emails because that's how I ALWAYS find out about the beauty events.

The picture below shows off my free VS and Sephora goods. From Sephora the BB reps gave us shampoo, conditioner, and repair samples. I had a Sephora cast member/employee make samples of three concealers and Bite's Agave lip masks. I LOVE Sephora because the employees are extremely helpful and willing to make samples of anything.

Last, I WON a giveaway for a Cynthia Rowley bag, eye shadow palette, and eye liner. I'm going to do a review on these products in the near future.

Secret Clear Gel review

I received this full size product courtesy of Secret and Bzzagent. I was skeptical upon receiving this product. I have never had success using clear gels. I set aside my previous experiences to try to give this product a fair review. I have to say I was fairly impressed.The smell alone won me over from the start. It is clean, slightly floral (but not overly strong). The smell lasted all day without being overpowering. Next, the formula provided lasting protection for the majority of the day. Once the gel absorbed I was good to go.

I only encountered two downfalls during my testing period. First, it does not go on with "no white marks" as secret.com claims. I found this out the tough way. One morning I put on the wrong shirt after putting the gel on. When I changed shirts I got a white residue just like stick deodorants. In all fairness to the product, I didn't allow it to dry before changing shirts. Next, this product wouldn't last all day during the summer. Vegas gets extremely warm and I sweat with little exertion. I know it wouldn't do as well as my stick formulas like the Secret Clinical because when I was working out while testing the product I perspired more than usual.

Overall, this product would get a B from me. While researching this product, I found an awesome program on secret.com. Customers send in four SKUs or receipts and Secret will send you one free deodorant. Here is the link if you are interested. Thanks for reading!