How To: Make the most of a sample

It would be lovely if all product samples came in easy to use pots or tubes but sadly they don't and I'm sure I'm not the only beauty addict out there who has been harboring a stash of sachets. It's frustrating because the sachets often contain enough product for two or three uses (even more if it's an eye cream) but they're so fiddly that most of them end up in the bin after one use. No one wants an open sachet of foundation lying around, do they?

I was at an Estee Lauder counter one day when the assistant asked me if I wanted to try their new BB cream. I said that I'd love to and was presented with twenty sachets of the stuff and an apologetic "sorry, we're out of sample pots." Whilst I did want to try the product, the faff of using all those little sachets was putting me off. One day I finished up a face cream (a sample, actually!) and had a tiny brainwave. So, I sat down with my twenty sachets of BB cream and squeezed them into the pot. It was so much more convenient to use from a pot and since still have plenty of the BB cream left (it's a bit too light for me in summer), I look forward to using up the rest at my leisure. 

The moral of the story is that if you want to make the most of your sample sachets you should decant them into a pot. It works best if you have a couple of sachets of the same product or if you have an eye cream sample. Bear in mind that there's no point using this method if the sachets you have only contain one use.

What you'll need:

Sachet(s) of product

A clean pot - big enough to hold the amount of product in the sachets

Scissors

What you won't need: 

A nosy cat who tries to pinch everything...

Here I'm putting a 1ml sample of L'Oreal True Match foundation into a 7ml Clinique eye cream sample pot. I actually already have this foundation (and quite like it) so I reckon I'll get about three uses from this sample. This is probably not the best example for me to use but it was just what I had to hand.

I really recommend using this technique with eye creams; I had a 2ml sample of one from Comfort Zone and when it was in a pot I got about three weeks' use out of it. Always remember to keep the little pots for new samples, too!

I hope this was useful for some of you. If you have any tips on how to make the most of samples, leave them in the comments.

Stace xx

Blog Sale Hosting Tips

I did a post last week about how to shop in blog sales so I thought it would be useful to write another about hosting blog sales. Holding a blog sale is a great way to get rid of unloved make up in exchange for some extra cash. 

The Instructions

Most blog sales will begin with a list of instructions so you need to decide what your terms are for the sale. Some of the information you should have there includes: where you're willing to ship to and how much postage will cost, when you plan to ship the products, how and when you'd like to be paid and how the buyers should go about making a purchase. Postage and packing costs should be as reasonable as possible. Royal Mail recently put their prices up so make sure you're charging enough to cover your costs but it's probably best to avoid setting really high postage costs. I charge £2.50 with no extra charge for additional items because it costs £2.20 to ship a parcel that weighs less than 750g (most blog sale parcels will) and the extra 30p covers the costs of the new mailing bags I use. A flat rate price is good because it should encourage buyers to pick up a few items to take advantage of the fact they won't need to pay extra in shipping. I'd recommend only taking payments via Paypal. Some sellers will state that returns are not possible and others will say that they'll accept offers on multi-item purchases. It's up to you to set your terms but just make sure you do so clearly.

Photos, Descriptions & Prices

Clear photographs of the products and the degree of usage are important. There are lots of blog posts and articles out there about taking good photos of beauty products if you're unsure about this. The descriptions of the products should be clear and should detail how used the product is, any damage to the packaging or product and anything else you think is necessary. Be honest in your descriptions so that your buyers are not disappointed; if you're unsure always overstate the usage to cover your own back. The prices you choose to set are probably the most important determining factor in the success of your blog sale. I usually charge around half of the RRP price but will charge a little more if the product is brand new or hard to find and less if it's been used more than a handful of times. Make sure your price including postage costs is not more expensive than the RRP. Try to be realistic; there's nothing more frustrating than a blog sale where everything is overpriced because no on will buy anything!

Advertise

When I post a blog sale I advertise it via a blog post, on Twitter and sometimes on muablogsales. Use the #blogsale and #bbloggers hashtags on Twitter to increase the chances of your sale being spotted. If you're selling some items which you know may be desirable you can also tweet those individually but try not to spam anyone with individual tweets for each and every product. If you have YouTube channel, Facebook page or any other relevant social network profile highlight your sale on those too. 

Manage Your Sales

It's important once you've posted your sale that you keep track of what's sold and to whom. I operate on a first come, first served basis and usually ask that items are paid for within 24 hours so I will invoice the first buyer and if they've not paid within 24 hours I will cancel the invoice and release the items for sale or offer them to the second buyer in line. When an item has been requested but not paid for, I mark it as 'pending' on the sale. That means other buyers will probably not request the item and it reminds you not to invoice several people for the same item. Once an item has sold I'll mark it as 'sold' or put a strike through it. If I've taken individual photos I'll just delete the photo and description.  Once your buyer has paid be sure to ship their parcel when you said you would. If you're unable to ship on time, let the buyer know as soon as possible. Once you've shipped your parcel you can let buyers know if it's possible to do so - I usually tweet that I've sent everything out. All being well, your buyer will receive their parcel and be delighted with the products.

I've held several in the past but I'm by no means an expert so feel free to leave your tips in the comments! Happy blog sale-ing and keep an eye out for another sale from me very soon :)

Stace xx

Holiday Preparation: My Favourite Body Products

Any of my regular readers will know I went on holiday at the end of May. I had planned on doing a post like this before going away but just didn't get around to it but I thought it'd still be useful since most people probably haven't gone on a summer holiday yet!

I use quite a lot of body care products on a regular basis anyway but before going away I try to incorporate a number of products which leave my skin looking smooth, even and perhaps a little more firm.

I seem to be a big fan of Garnier at the moment! It's not a brand I've ever really paid much attention to but the Body Tonic Sugar Scrub was recommended by Kelly so I picked it up and the corresponding body lotion. I loved the scrub instantly; it exfoliates nicely and smells great. I think this is my fourth tube! The one pictured is actually a new one since I used up the previous one before I went away. 

The body lotion is marketed as a firming lotion and I have to say, I think it works pretty well. It's not as effective as another product I'll get to in a minute but when I use it every day over a period of time there is a noticeable difference (well, my boyfriend notices without me telling him I've been using it!) 

The other Garnier product I'd been using was the Intensive 7 Day body lotion in Honey which is targeted at those with sensitive skin. I've tried a few other scents in this range and I think Honey is my favourite; it's not very overpowering. The product itself is quite lightweight and sinks in quickly yet leaves my skin feeling hydrated. It's a huge departure from my favourite Body Shop body butters but I really rate these lotions.

I used a couple of other firming creams which I only use occasionally. The Sit Tight cream from Soap & Glory is excellent, it really works on any bumpy areas on the thighs. It feels incredibly tingly and warm so be aware of that before trying it! I used this for a week before going away. I used a Nip+Fab Tummy Fix gel on my tummy area too but I don't think it was as effective although I guess the texture of the skin there is very different. It also tingles but not as much at the Sit Tight. If you're wanting something that's a great quick fix, go for the Sit Tight.

Now we get to my favourite topic, feet. I'm kidding, I hate feet. I don't like my own feet, I don't like other peoples' feet...eugh! I use a foot file after I shower and always use cotton socks after applying a foot cream but I've really struggled to find a foot cream that works well. Until I found this little gem from The Body Shop. It's the Honey & Beeswax Hand & Foot Butter and it was recommended by Estee. It seems expensive for a little tub of foot cream but if you've struggled to find anything that works I'd definitely tell you to give this a go. I've used it a lot already and still have about 2/3s left. 

So those are the products I used, I hope that was helpful!

Stace xx