Have you purchased a product after using a sample and found it to be different? Share!
I can’t recall doing so! I have had products in palettes that perform differently than the individual/permanent version many times, though.
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Yep. Most notably I got a mini NARS velvet gloss lip pencil from Sephora and loved it, but when I bought the full size it smelled so strongly of chemicals even after several hour of wear that I had to return it.
No, but I have had testers/displays swatch differently, which was most likely due to the myriad of fingers being constantly dipped into the products on a daily basis…
One that comes to mind for me is Benefit’s Big Easy. I tried a sample and loved it but the full size version just wasn’t the same! It clung to dry patches and seperated throughout the day, it was really disappointing!
Dr Jart Bb cream. The full size was such a disappointment. It’s grey and dulls my skin that I look sickly while the sample keeps my face luminous throughout the day. I’m saving my sample as much as I can. The larger size is from a kit so maybe just maybe the actual full size is much better. Will take a gamble one day.
Um, probably stupid question and you’ve already thought of this, but there are more than one formula of Dr Jart bb cream – have you checked that your sample and your full size are the same version?
Yes 🙂 I have the black one as a sample and got the kit of four different Dr jart bbs from sephora. I’ve tried all of the them including the one same as the sample and they’ve been a flop. I do think there might be a quality control issue because the 4 bbs all looked the same to me and only different in how much more horrible I looked. The sample is different from all of them.
MAC Studio Fix! I got a sample of NC15 and it was too dark (but most foundations are on me) BUT when I got the full size it was very orange. I put it on and thought it looked orange and when I went out multiple people said my face looked orange (even people who saw me wear the sample). I recently found the sample and decided to re-try it and it didn’t look orange when I applied it. I don’t even know what to think because MAC foundation no matter what formula are the same shade.
Just keep in mind with things like that, it could have very well been that their tester in store could have been older, and with the constant use, air was getting in and changing the product over time. So when you got a new bottle, that has been unopened, that is typically the “true” color. Also, with MAC foundation, just because there are several different foundations with the shade “NC15”, it doesn’t mean they are all the EXACT same shade. NC15 is my shade as well, and I worked for MAC for two years, and I know that certain NC15’s tend to run a little lighter/darker. So it’s always best to let an Artist color match you, if possible. However, if you liked the Studio Fix formula, but thought NC15 was too orange, it was probably simply too dark. I would try either an NW10 or an NW13. Traditionally, the “NW” range leans more pink, but with these colors being so fair, they don’t have a ton of pink/yellow/orange pigmentation at all. Hope this helps!
A couple of time with mascara samples, actually. I loved the sample, bought the full size, only for it to be much too wet and smear over everything. The only thing I could think of is that being in the more permeable plastic of the sample tube had dried it out some.
Ugh, YES! I got a delux sample of the TF Better Than Sex and thought mother of
God this is it! I’ve found my holy grail. Bought the regular size and it was a mess! Flaked on me in a half hour and turned to raccoon eyes within 2 hours. The mascara wasn’t old or dried out in the least, the texture looked and felt perfectly fantastic. Womp womp.
Dude, right?! I didn’t try the mini, but I tried the product in the full tube on at Sephora with a spoolie and though it was the best damn mascara EVER! So I bought it… That wand RUINED the mascara for me.
Yes, I had this happen with the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer samples. The samples perform much better than the larger bottles (which for some reason, turn watery). I do still love the primer, but I wish the consistency was better.
Not that I can think of off the top of my head. That would be very annoying!
Yes! I got a sample of Too Faced Shadow Insurance where the sales assistant just put some in a pot and I loved it. Then I bought a tube and wasn’t as impressed.
I have had this happen to me with a sample of Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint. I absolutely loved, loved the sample. Plopped down $38 to purchase full-size. Get it and the consistency (luminosity) and color were different.
Hmmm don’t think so. Usually the full-size product is better than the sample, especially when the product comes in one of those packets.
This happened to me with the Clinique CC Moisture Cream. Loved the sample, immediately went out to buy it in full size, and then it just wasn’t the same! Felt heavy and cakey when applied to the skin and I also feel like it really drew attention to my pores! I still have it though, and am hoping that maybe it will agree with my skin one day!
Mostly mascaras if so, particularly Benefit They’re Real mascara. I tried the deluxe sample and liked it, but the full size was too thin and too wet. Oh! Benefit High Beam too. The deluxe sample is creamy and smooth, but when I tried the full size, it was thick and sticky and awful. Hmm, it’s either Benefit or me.
Not that I can think of.
Benefit They’re Real mascara! I adored my mini, thought that I had found my HG mascara. Bought the full size… allergic reactions everywhere 🙁
The full version is just not the same as the mini version, period! Such a bummer.
EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
i really don’t get how samples are always so good and full sized are often so…. mh
yes,many times a mascara that I got a sample/travel size is work out so great than I go to brought a full size and feel like I’ve been cheated somehow
i’ve tried samples of eye creams that seem to work better than the full size. samples seem to not make my eyes water as much as the full size-maybe there isn’t as much fragrance in the sample???
Mascaras. EVERY. TIME.
I think, for me, it happens mostly with mascaras. It did happen with the Urban Decay Naked Foundation. I got one of those packet samples and fell in love with the application and finish. I purchased the full size and still really liked it, but somehow my jaw dropping experience with the sample wasn’t exactly replicated. 🙂 Maybe it was one of those in the moment, not expecting to like it the first time I tried it situations.
Thst’s true. I rarely use my Naked Foundation.
Boucheron Initial. Got a sample in Harrod’s and loved but full size was too sharp.
Amen on the mascara. I have basically just given up on the full-sizes and go for the sample sizes with GWPs, point perks, etc. The difference is especially blatant with the mascaras that have gigantic applicators like Benefit They’re Real, Too Faced Better Than Sex, and DiorShow Extase. That drives me crazy. You like and get used to the sample-size applicator, then here comes the club-sized, weapon-like wand on the full-size version. Not cool.
I have 2 samples of Urban Decay’s Perversion mascara…one is really wet and the other is really dry! No idea what the full size consistency is!
those perfume samples that come in magazines never smell the same in the bottle.
Yes, usually with mascara samples. Not the formula itself, but a change in the wand size can really change the experience and results.
I don’t think so.
Totally! I thought it was just me .. lol.
Monica.
Yes, with some moisturizers. The sample felt differently on my skin and the full size was just average.
Yes! Benefit They’re Real mascara! The sample size was incredible! I got complements on my lashes every time I used it, but when I started using the full size one, the compliments were much less frequent. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the full size mascara, I just can’t help but compare it to the sample! I can’t pinpoint exactly what the difference is, but I know it’s there!
Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara! I loved the mini so much that I bought the full size. To my surprise, it did not perform like the mini. It was too wet and it didn’t hold the curl well. It smudged on me at the end of the day. I was really disappointed because it was an expensive mascara. Boo. 🙁
the only thing i can think of is samples of skin care products that are comfortable to put on but are ineffective in the long term.
This happened to me with Benefit’s They’re Real. I loved the birthday sample from Sephora, then it performed differently when I bought the full size. It was really clumpy, and I’m so disappointed! It also happened with my Dr. Brandt Pores No More primer. The consistency of the trial size and the full size are completely different, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Just weird to me!
Givenchy Le Rouge Lipstick. After seeing all the great reviews online about how creamy and moisturizing this semi-matte lipstick was, I got a deluxe sample with my points from Sephora. My sample tube goes on dry and thick, and it’s a yucky “old-lady” pink color. Very disappointed. I have to mix with another lipstick/gloss to make it look good.
If this happens (it happens with mascara a lot) I tend to assume it’s because the sample is rather elderly. In general, they’re pretty tight with samples here – you usually have to buy something -, so I get the feeling they sit around for a long time…
On the plus side, this usually means that if I purchase the full size after liking a sample… the full size is usually even better! ^_^
yes ! in the past, avon perfume samples to me smells better than what you actually get, i am talking years ago though, which most avon perfume is blah anyhow lol
My mom had gotten a smashbox lip gloss in a beauty test tube and I loved the color. I went to Sephora and purchased it. When I got home and opened it I noticed that there was a difference in the color. The color that came in the test tube was much nicer then the one I got at Sephora.
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 15 was awesome in the sample, but after one use in the large, expensive tube, it turned into water!