Every month I get a delivery of shiny new beauty samples and I have to decide: do I stick with my old faves or toss them aside for the newbies? Check out my winners and losers for November 2015.

Sample: Davines- Love Smoothing Shampoo vs. Staple: Living Proof No Frizz Shampoo
The Love got my hair clean…so super squeeky clean it actually washed away all my moisture! Thankfully, it came with a one-use conditionera super rich product that left my hair soft, but weighted down. On its own, Living Proof shampoo beats Love by a mile; even with the paired conditioner, my hair looks better with Living Proof.

Sample: Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate vs. Staple: Estee Lauder New Dimension Shape + Fill Expert Serum

This was a tough one. I’ve been a die-hard Estee Lauder fan for years; I pretty much use their skin care line exclusively and I starting adding New Dimension to my regimen 6 months ago. While it’s not as moisturizing as other Lauder products, its a great serum. The real problem with sampling long-term use products like these is that the sample is done before you can expect to see results. The Shiseido serum went on smooth and left my skin feeling silky, but I couldn’t handle its overpowering floral scent. It lingered for hours and kinda made me nauseous…I’m totally sticking with the Estee Lauder.

Sample: Eyeko Mascara vs. Staple: Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara

Mascaras are hard for me to review because of my super sensitive eyes. I’ve gone through practically every mascara out there and found Clinique to be my perfect match. I lasted about 2 hours with the Eyeko before my eyes got itchy, the watering started and this water-resistant mascara just could not hold up! By hour 4, it had smudged and I was washing it off. I liked the Eyeko’s soft tube casing, but that was the only test it passed for me.

Sample: Etat Libre d’Orange Perfume vs. Staple: Dior Hypnotic Poison

Tilda Swinton developed the Etat Libre, a musky, tangerine and ginger scent mixed with a splash of pumpkin. Now, I like spicy perfumes, I think they match my personality but my real scent reviewer is my husband. His first impression? I can’t decide if I love it or hate it.€ After a day-long trial he still couldn’t figure out why the scent bothered him. It’s certainly a unique smell, but if it doesn’t work for him, it doesn’t work for me.

Sample: Too Cool for School Dinoplatz Highlighter vs. Staple: NARS Orgasm
I’m not one to jump on product bandwagons, but NARS’ Orgasm highlighter/blush has its devotees for a reason. Since I switched from NARS Madly to Orgasm, I haven’t looked back. It was tough comparing it to the liquid TCFS as the NARS is a powder, but after a tragic airport bathroom incident left me Orgasm- less, the Dinoplatz got a full weekend test run. Benefit: it won’t smash on the floor like the NARS, and it gives really great flecks of light-grabbing color…but as soon as I got home, I went and bought another Orgasm. I just like a powder: it gives better placement control and has superior layering capabilities. Thank you Too Cool for School, but I’m gonna love you and leave you!!

What a month…I stuck by all my staples!
What products are you clinging to right now?