This is possibly a rather odd post, but I've had such good service at the Origins counters recently that I wanted to explain it a little more and write about the products I've had the pleasure of trying.
Firstly I love how every time I've been into John Lewis or Boots I've had a really nice welcome from the staff at the counter.
I know not everyone has this (M being one of them!) but I've never had a problem yet.
I managed to book myself a free facial in Origins in John Lewis when they had the beauty room for a week (as all the counters share it they get a week each)
This is in my opinion much better than sitting in the chair in the middle of a department store beauty hall!
The lady who was doing my facial took down my details and then asked me questions about my skin type as you'd expect and filled out the booklet above with the products she'd recommend for my skin.
I own so many products from Origins that it was quite funny going through it as she couldn't believe I owned so many and never had a facial (oops!) but as i have some skin worries she was very helpful.
She took me into the beauty room and proceeded to cleanse tone and moisturise my skin, also putting on a face mask and letting me lie down for a while in the dimly lit room with an amazing soothing soundtrack on.
It was rather enjoyable and relaxing!
She then prescribed (is that the right word?!) 3 products that i could take home and try, this included a Checks and Balances cleanser (which I've not yet used), Modern Friction scrub and Make A Difference Gel moisturiser.
The Make A Difference Gel Moisturiser was absolutely amazing, I was gutted when i finished the pot of it and would buy this forever!
It was such a lightweight lotion that sunk into my skin straight away without leaving any residue or oiliness, but leaving my skin feeling thoroughly hydrated which is something I've been struggling with recently.
I was also lucky enough to be given 2 pots of the Clear Improvement Charcoal mask recently which is great for clearing out your pores.
It's not instantly going to help shrink your pores but my face felt so much cleaner after using it and I'm sure long term use would help clear blackheads etc much easier.
These 2 products were given to me just before I went to America and so came with me on the plane.
They were genuinely the best things ever for keeping me entertained on my long haul flight and definitely helped keep my skin moisturised.
The Drink Up Intensive mask has lasted me a number of applications and I will be very sad to see it end as my funds won't allow any buying of this currently.
It is an absolute wonder product for hydration of the skin without causing an imbalance in my oily skin which was something I was worried about.
If that doesn't make you want it, it's clear so you can wear it whenever and not have the 'face mask face' that I dread my brother seeing, and also IT SMELLS DIVINE!
I could be tempted to eat it as it smells so good, containing apricot kernel oil amongst others and I'd buy it simply for the smell.
Lastly after another purchase I was given a small pot of Ginzing and also their BB cream to try back in April/May.
The BB cream was great actually, though I found it to be more like a tinted moisturiser than other BB creams I've tried.
I was given the lightest colour which was mostly fine (sometimes it didn't match perfectly), though it didn't last very long.
Ginzing is my absolute favourite day eye cream which I then went on to purchase it whilst in America and it has since become a firm favourite in my morning skin care regime.
Generally this post was to rave about the products I've tried, but also about the service that you can get from an Origins counter.
I've never received this service before where you can actually have a sample of the product to take away and try, not only once but in the case of a face mask when you need more product they actually gave me 2!
I think this is a great ethic in a company and would love to see more companies give this kind of service.
Not just because it's nice to try something for free, but also because most of the products I've tried I have actually liked and purchased because of the opportunity to test them beforehand.
I would never have spent so much money on the products I've bought without knowing if they work and think many other brands should sit up and take note!
What do you think of Origins? Do you like the way they give out samples? What have you tried?
Do you think other companies should do the same?
L xxx
