Sample Swap ~ What I Got!

Hi Lovelies! So for any of you that get any sample boxes each month (Beauty Army, Birchbox, Glossbox, MyGlam, etc) you know that sometimes you get things that really aren't quite right for you or your "to try" and "to review" pile/box/whatever starts overflowing! What do you do when you get backed up?? You don't want to throw it away.. but there's only so many friends who will still accept leftovers you try to hand out, right? ;)

So Shannyn over at Frugal Beautiful was gracious enough to set up a Beauty Blogger Sample Swap! (genius idea!) It was a super simple concept--she'd match up bloggers interested in swapping samples, each blogger would send 6-8 samples including one full size product (just like all our favorite monthly subscription boxes;) and send to the other and blog about it! I was matched up with Katherine over at Sparkle Girl's Life which was exciting in itself because before this swap I had never heard of her before! I've now been enjoying the sleek design of her blog and the all the fun posts she has! Her reviews are fab and she has a good balance of beauty and fashion posts! You'll have to check her out!

Now! On to the fun part! When I opened my box, I was so excited! She went above and beyond the 6-8 samples by sending me TWELVE!!! I thought I was doing good by sending her 9 and still above the requirement but she totally outdid me!:) The sad part was one of the products had leaked/melted over everything else in the box:( BUT everything cleaned up nicely!

So here's some of the big stuff:

The Big Stuff

DDF (Doctor's Dermatologic Formula) Blemish Foaming Cleanser ~ At first I was really excited about this because I absolutely adore foaming face wash (especially Neutrogena's!) But this is made for more acne prone people and there's a warning about possibly drying out your face too much... I'm a little nervous about trying it... maybe I'll wait 'til certain times of the month when my face is more oily to try it;)
Covergirl Eye Enhancers Tropical Fusion ~ A full size product! I can definitely see these colors being really pretty on some eyes, I just worry that I may be too conservative in my eye makeup to try them out! LOL. I may pass this on to someone who can use it more than I will:)
Spoiled by Wet 'n Wild Your Fly's Down ~ This color is gorgeous! I am always willing to take on a new blue polish...and I believe you may be seeing this color in my 4th of July nails;)
Bath & Body Works Wild Berry Tulips ~ So maybe I'm a lotion hoarder, but I love love love these sample size lotions from B&BW!  They are the perfect size to fit by my computer screen at work! I've been running low on the three that I have there right now, so it was great to get a new one! I hadn't smelled this scent before... and I'm still not sure how I feel about fruit and flowers being in the same scent.. but it's a comforting smell:)

The Little Stuff

Boscia Oil-free Daily Hydration SPF 15 ~ a light moisturizer with SPF! YAY! I'm a huuuge proponent of practicing safe sun!
Smashbox PhotoFinish Lid Primer ~ I've been using e.l.f. eye primer lately so I'm really looking forward to using a higher quality primer! This is probably one of my favorite products to try from the swap!
Stila Smudge Pot Starry Night ~ Not a cream! Not a powder! Not a liquid! But a gel! What a concept! I'm going to do a full review on this after I use it for a bit:)
Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner r.s.v.p ~ This is a cream shadow (obviously lol;) But I'm curious to see if it's really creaseless or not hehehe. Again, full review will come.
Prada L'eau Ambree ~ This is a very strong scent.. a little too powerful for me.. it's very deep and... sophisticated... like it just smells too old to me... if that make sense?
H2O Sea Results Eye Mender ~ This promises to make my eyes more youthful! I hope I look 21 again after using ;)
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer ~ two little packs of that! Excited to see how it holds up in the summer heat!

The Culprit

Tarte LipSurgence Natural Lip Tint Moody ~ This was the product that melted over everything else:( But it was really just the pointy part at the end, so I think it's still usable so I'll be able to try it!

Overall, this was a success and sooo very fun! Make sure you check out both Shannyn's and Katherine's blogs!!:) And if you want to see what I swapped, you can see that blog post here!

Have you participated in a sample swap? What's your favorite thing about them? Do you feel they're fair in the samples that are traded?