I feel like I had more wrong foundation or concealer shades than the actual right match for my skin, and there’s nothing more annoying than buying a super expensive foundation and getting the wrong shade. I know in USA you can bring your beauty products back to the shop if they don’t work for you, but here we are not allowed to do that and once you try a product you have to keep it. Only recently I finally realize asking for beauty sample is my right as customer, as being that I can only try it in the shop and not testing it on my own in different occasions and under different lights, it’s becoming so easy getting the wrong shade.

I’m not only talking about foundations and concealers, I think it’s a customer’s right asking for any beauty sample, as also skincare is pretty subjective and you really need to try a product at least for a few days to see if your skin is going to react badly to it or if it actually could love it. It’s our right until we actually go beyond the bounds of decency, and of course asking for beauty sample is ok if you really need to try a product and doesn’t mean you can go back and ask multiple samples of the same product until you actually get a full size. I also know it’s difficult to get samples of drugstore products and that sometimes the shop assistants aren’t too keen in helping you and giving a sample, but I wrote down a little list of suggestions and tips to use to ask and obtain a foundation, concealer (or beauty in general) sample to test at home by your own and with your own light.

– Always keep a little empty pot or jar in your handbag when you go out of beauty shopping, so that you can use it if the shop assistant say they don’t have sample pots
– Ask politely to try the product in the shop, on your hands or face, to see the color or the consistency and talk about what you think (this can be super useful because the shop assistant could actually help you understand if this is the product for you without even trying it)
– Try to always look like you actually want to buy the product and you’re very interested in it (which should come natural as you are meant to be interested if you’re asking for a sample)
– Ask politely if it’s possible to have a little sample of the product to try at home – usually they will agree, but if they don’t, try asking if you can only have one pump from the tester in your little jar
– Always remember to don’t be rude in the slightest because the shop assistant could have had a bad day and be rude with you as well (this happened to me so many times)
– Explain why you want to try the product at home (for me for example I’ve just asked for a Chanel foundation sample, and besides the color issue, I wanted to try it a few times before buying a full size since I read it’s pretty highly fragranced and having sensitive skin this could be a problem)
– Always say thanks before going once obtained the sample – I know it was your right to ask, but a lot of shop assistants could actually have said no, so be thankful
– Don’t ever be afraid to ask – sometimes shop assistants will come in your help spontaneously, but if not, don’t be afraid, it’s your own right to ask and its their work to answer every of your questions.

I know that to understand a product and figure out if it works for you and your skin more than a few applications are required, but having a little sample is always worth as you can actually really test it a few days and have it in your home, test the lasting power, the shade, the consistency, how your skin reacts, and consider if it’s really worth buying a full size. So this were the tips I’ve learned recently and hopefully these could come helpful to someone of you who may needs a sample and don’t know how to ask, or who always gets the wrong shade.

Do you have any tip for asking beauty samples?