30th May 2006
How to score free samples
A little while ago, the lovely ladies over at BlogdorfGoodman did a segment called “40 Primers in 40 Days” which inspired me to interview Cavewoman for my own article on primers. What’s interesting is that during the 40 days, which coincided with Lent, Cavewoman was opperating under a “no-buy.”
So how did she test all these primers? Well, she did rely on friends and in-store application at times, but it seemed to me like she got an amazing number of free samples.
Everyone loves free samples, which are common enough in the “free gift with purchase” variety, as seen with Chanel, above, from Nordstrom.
But to just walk up to a counter and score a sample? I asked Cavewoman how she did it:
“Short of shameless begging, there is a definite technique to scoring good samples of primers. I have to say that I was able to obtain many samples from Saks and from Nordstrom. I approach the sales assistant (SA) of a particular line and explain to her that I am interested in any primers from that line. I allow her to show me the products and I pay attention to what she says. I ask questions like “is this good for oily skin?” or “does it help to keep foundation from changing color?” and I listen and let my SA know I’m serious. I ask if there are samples and I explain that I need to try the product at home, on my cleansed face, and under my regular foundation, before I buy. I also ask the SA for her business card in case I want to purchase in the future. Some stores like Nordstrom have little plastic cases in which they will dispense some product for you to take home. Other stores have pre-made samples from the manufacturer. I cannot even remember if there was a primer for which I was not able to obtain a sample. And a few times, I even went bare-faced (to Guerlain!) with my La Prairie foundation in my purse, to test the primer right there in the store! It is very important not to appear to be a sample-grubber. That’s my own expression for someone who stops at all the counters for samples of whatever. The SA’s know if you are serious or not from your attitude. They are trained to explain product, and I let them explain.”
So there you go. Go forth and sample!
(Also, look for my primer article in the June issue, if our darling beauty editor accepts it a wee bit after deadline.)
Posted by Andrea @ 9:14 am
June 2nd, 2006 at 1:37 pm
Thank you for the tip. It worked! Normally I wouldn’t ask for a sample (too shy, that’s why) but I guess with primers, you need to. Well, the SA for Smashbox at Nordstrom said they didn’t have any samples so I was surprised when she came back with a plastic container with primer good enough for five uses. Yay!