Clinique charging for testers

[princessTiasmum]

Has anyone else found this,i have never heard of it with any other brand
My daughter was thinking of trying their foundation, but she was charged £3 for a small vial ,it has put her off now as she might need to test another shade ,
I have had testers from Boots no 7 and never been charged, was even given 2 different shades to try in the past

Never heard that before! Would instantly make me never buy it again. That and the animal testing...

They need to catch themselves on- with the markup on their products I can't believe they're charging for samples, not like they can't afford it.

I haven't bought anything from Clinique in years since one of their counter staff told me that if you used two SPF products of, say, factor 20 and 30, it would give you the equivalent protection of factor 50. Luckily I knew from reading Woman and other quality magazines stolen from my mum that this was a pile of shite, and the highest factor will apply. It's like they think the lab coats actually make them qualified dermatologists.

No but I was wanting to try it and this would put me off. Guerlain gave me a free tester for foundation today.

I've heard of it.

A shop near me does it as people would just take loads of samples rather than buying the product

That's crazy. They gave me a free tester of the new foundation the other day in Boots. It's v nice but no way I'd pay for a tester!

Was it in a department store or boots?

Never heard of it, but then I've never been offered a free sample ever by any brand, they offer to try it on you, last week I had a full make over when I bought foundation in fact.

It was in Debenhams, she asked if they had any samples and the assistant said yes but it will be £3,m y daughter didnt like to say never mind, but she wont be buying any now
I cant see how anyone could grab a handfull, as you can only have what they give you, one vial at a time,
I think its very bad practice and not sure if every clinique counter would do this, but i have had lots of samples in the past, and never been asked to pay [not from clinique]

Clinique nearly always claim they don’t have any samples to give out whenever I ask. Liverpool John Lewis were the worst and really rude about it. Debenhams in Oxford years ago gave me loads of stuff but Boots and John Lewis are really tight. Some will give small samples out in little pots that they fill there and then but you have to ask, they never offer. Surely free samples are designed to entice you to buy more of the product if you like it? I’m not going to spend £30 on a product I might not like once I’ve tried it.

Last time I visited clinique was in JL in Stratford. I was given a generous sample for free but it may be because they didn’t have the shade I wanted in stock so the assistant said it would tide me over. I went in to Boots and bought it in the end the same day.

£27 for a 1.5ml sample of Penhaligon perfume!

www.ebay.co.uk/i/153439307538?chn=ps

Today my friend and I both had a massage in the Clarins salon in John Lewis. We both came out thoroughly wound up by the persuasive selling spiel from the therapists.

It was the opposite of a relaxing treatment but I thought never mind, I expect they'll give us some free samples (after 2 full hour+ long treatments) but no, we weren't offered a thing. I'm sure they always used to but after today we won't be going again.

They aren't available to grab by the handful anyway.
I needed foundation for my wedding day and went to Clinique, among other brands.
The lady colour matched my skin, which was between 2 colours so I got around 6 little pots of different colours and types of foundations to try out before buying. All were free. No way would I have paid for a sample, I'd have went elsewhere.

I just got a free sample of Clinique foundation at the weekend. It was from John Lewis. A good size sample that will last at least a week or so after they did a colour test. No suggestion of having to pay for it!

Haven't shopped at Clinique since the woman in our Boots was snooty with me and my Mum when we were looking at wedding make-up about 12 years ago. We moved on to the Benefit counter who were really helpful (did a free trial there and then on me). We got the last laugh though when we came to buy the products, as the till by Benefit wasn't working so the assistant had to take us over to the Clinique counter for us to pay! 🤣

I complained about the Clinique woman in JL Nottingham who was foul to my 70 yr old mother who has always splashed the cash on makeup and skincare and was about to do the same again. The woman literally turned her back on the "little old lady" (retired businesswoman) and carried on sorting her display.
After a few attempts of "excuse me, I'm interested in.." and being ignored, we went to Debenhams where the Clinique lady was lovely.
I think charging for samples will have them onto a hide into nowhere though.

Charging for samples implies you aren't confident in your products. You want to sell full size and don't care if it's right for the customer. No way to build brand loyalty. Quite aside from customers wasting their money the environmental impact is terrible, when you think of all those wrong products, normally in plastic, sitting in drawers or ending up in landfill

True Lago.
I'm glad I did get free samples!
While I'm a fan of Clinique skin care, I can't get away with their foundations. Out of the 6 little sample pots I was given I liked or would wear, precisely, zero. They're too heavy or matte like for me.
(No7 airbrush away won for my wedding day, the ladies on that counter were fab and not shy with the free samples also)