Samples: Yay or Nay?

I decided to do a little laid back casual post today to discuss the advantages of free beauty samples. The short answer to this question would be a definite yay! But you know me; My motto is always 'Why be brief when you can be long winded'. 

So here's my attempt at a long winded answer. 

Beauty products these days are forever going up in price and fast. Even the drugstores aren't exempt. Before you know it you're standing at the till and the cashier is telling you that the total of your purchases is a whopping £50. Eek! How did that happen? 

There's nothing worse than spending £30 plus on a product (in my case it's always foundation) taking it home only to find; it doesn't suit your skin-tone, it's breaking you out or if its a mascara it's clumping really bad. These are but a few examples of problems that we encounter when we make quick impulse buys. 

Thats is why any savvy shoppers (not that I count myself as one) will tell you samples are the best way forward. I mean That's why subscription beauty boxes are so damn successful. 

But, I'm not here to promote any beauty subscription box, not by any means. After all I don't subscribe to any of them myself. This is not for any particular reason unless you count being broke as one. 

However don't let that deter you, Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I'm massive on samples. All the samples in the above photos were obtained by me for free and I'm here to give you the inside scoop on how I did it. 

Now there are may ways to get hold of samples for free without having a beauty box subscription service. 

1. The most common way is with purchase. This is especially relevant at department store counters. Just before you buy a product casually ask the sales assistant if they have any sample products that you can try. Believe me they often do have samples and they're usually happy to pop some in with your purchase after all they're there to be given out. 

2. If you want to trial something first before making a commitment and spending your hard earned ££ on it, you can still approach an assistant from that counter an ask for a sample. Again if they have it they often do hand them out, no purchase is necessary. However if at the odd chance you encounter a snooty sales assistant who treats you like a street urchin, just walk away. There's no need to feel pressured into buying something your still not sure about. There are plenty of other beauty halls that will have different sales assistants. 

3. If its a high-end foundation you're after and it's a new release, chances are they will have small 7 day trial vials that you can take home but you have to be relatively quick with those because they disappear fast. 

4. There are also ways online that you could nab yourself some freebies. Large companies and top cosmetic brands often have large budgets reserved for when they release new products. So often they offer free product on their website as a strategy to create awareness for said product. An example for that is Garnier found here for a new moisturiser they are promoting. 

So as you see there are plenty of ways to get your hands of some beauty samples, and if you end up liking the products then you could always stock up on them to use when you go on holiday so you don't have to take the full sized product with you.

I hope this helped, if there are any tips you would like to share then please feel free to share them in the comments below.