Bloom.com occasionally has $20 for $40 worth of beauty on LivingSocial/Groupon, and I bought one last month to try out. Bloom is a relatively new beauty etailer that offers some brands that aren't available from Sephora and markets themselves as being a "social network" kind of beauty provider, where you can fill in your preferences and get "matched" to various products. With their extensive skincare collection, this is a handy feature, though it's less so for beauty products. One particularly great thing about the site is their rewards program; you get at least 10% of your purchase back in Bloom points, which can be used on future orders, and they often have codes for more than that (in fact, with code 30BACK, you get 30% back on your first order). Shipping is free over $49, and they have 3 levels of bonus gifts that you can choose with your order; below $50, you get 3 free trial-size samples (like Sephora); between $50 and $100, you get 3 trial-size and 2 deluxe samples, and over $100, you get 5 trial, 4 deluxe, and 1 full size product. Their options for sample products change really frequently (like, daily, rather than the Sephora-usual weekly), so I definitely recommend timing your order so you get products you're actually interested in. If you buy the LivingSocial deal, keep in mind that the $40 does not go towards rewards or purchase amount, though you do still get free shipping. So, I purchased $55 worth of product, paying $35, but only $15 of that counted towards my Bloom account (as in, I now have $1.50 in Bloom Bonus and received 3 trial-size samples).
I used my $20 discount to pick up a couple of things I wouldn't normally buy, one skincare, Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum, and one beauty, Tonga CARGO blush. I'll have reviews of both those up in the next week or two, but I figured I could do a quick run-down of the samples I tried.
I love MOR products, so I was really happy that they had a couple of MOR hand creams in the selection of samples. Neroli Clementine smells like sweet citrus, very pretty and friendly, though it almost crosses into Vitamin C territory (but not quite!). A little goes a long ways, and I've been using this teeny sample every night for a week and still have a couple days' worth left. Sadly, I don't like Black Currant Iris, as it smells very strongly of rose and, to me, dirt, so I only used it the one time. The texture of both is very nice and absorbs quickly while still deeply moisturizing my dry hands. Both hand creams are $14 for 2.7 oz.
I don't have dry skin on my face, thanks to the wet Pacific Northwest winters, so I can't really speak to the moisturizing properties of the Alchimie Forever Kantic Brightening Moisture Mask. I did still use it, though, so that I could at least report on other aspects! It's a thick opaque gel-textured mask that smells strongly of berries with a hint of dirt and tastes beyond bitter (accidentally got some too close to my mouth). As a moisturizing mask, it doesn't dry down or harden, so they say to just leave it on for 15-20 minutes before rinsing it off with lukewarm water. After doing that, I felt like my skin had a thick layer of moisture still on it, and as I didn't want to risk it breaking me out, I re-washed my face with Purity. However, if you do suffer from dehydrated skin, I think you would find this mask to be really refreshing and moisturizing. Just be sure to apply it a reasonable distance from your lips, because it really does taste revolting. A full size is $60 for 3.3 oz; the 0.068 oz sample I used was enough for one application, and they recommend applying the mask one to two times a week, so the full size should supply 45+ masks, or 6 months to a year's supply.
If you want to join Bloom, you can do so here (this is an affiliate link, and if you join and purchase $50+ from Bloom, I get a $25 credit, which I will then use to buy things to review on the blog! You can, of course, also join by yourself here). If you've ordered from them before, what did you think? Any products you highly recommend?
PS: Vote in the blog poll if you want more bath and body and/or skincare posts!
CARGO Blush in Tonga, Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum
The adorable little bag the samples came in––such lovely presentation!
Clockwise from top left: MOR Hand Cream in Neroli Clementine, MOR Hand Cream in Black Currant Iris, Alchimie Forever Kantic Brightening Moisture Mask
I love MOR products, so I was really happy that they had a couple of MOR hand creams in the selection of samples. Neroli Clementine smells like sweet citrus, very pretty and friendly, though it almost crosses into Vitamin C territory (but not quite!). A little goes a long ways, and I've been using this teeny sample every night for a week and still have a couple days' worth left. Sadly, I don't like Black Currant Iris, as it smells very strongly of rose and, to me, dirt, so I only used it the one time. The texture of both is very nice and absorbs quickly while still deeply moisturizing my dry hands. Both hand creams are $14 for 2.7 oz.
I don't have dry skin on my face, thanks to the wet Pacific Northwest winters, so I can't really speak to the moisturizing properties of the Alchimie Forever Kantic Brightening Moisture Mask. I did still use it, though, so that I could at least report on other aspects! It's a thick opaque gel-textured mask that smells strongly of berries with a hint of dirt and tastes beyond bitter (accidentally got some too close to my mouth). As a moisturizing mask, it doesn't dry down or harden, so they say to just leave it on for 15-20 minutes before rinsing it off with lukewarm water. After doing that, I felt like my skin had a thick layer of moisture still on it, and as I didn't want to risk it breaking me out, I re-washed my face with Purity. However, if you do suffer from dehydrated skin, I think you would find this mask to be really refreshing and moisturizing. Just be sure to apply it a reasonable distance from your lips, because it really does taste revolting. A full size is $60 for 3.3 oz; the 0.068 oz sample I used was enough for one application, and they recommend applying the mask one to two times a week, so the full size should supply 45+ masks, or 6 months to a year's supply.
If you want to join Bloom, you can do so here (this is an affiliate link, and if you join and purchase $50+ from Bloom, I get a $25 credit, which I will then use to buy things to review on the blog! You can, of course, also join by yourself here). If you've ordered from them before, what did you think? Any products you highly recommend?
PS: Vote in the blog poll if you want more bath and body and/or skincare posts!
