Am…musings

Apparently, not all Whole Foods are created equal, especially when it comes to organic skincare samples.

We have two WF’s in St. Louis. The newest one is in the burbs by my office. I hate urban sprawl and the Lou has lots of it, but it made for a spacious, pleasant, almost serene WF. It’s beautifully organized and most people who work there are happy and helpful.

By contrast, the WF closer to the city is cramped and a bit frenzied. I stopped by today to pick up some Dr. Hauschka’s moisturizer. There are several varieties and a few were new. Because they are so expensive, I wanted to try two samples to make sure they worked with my sensitive skin. In the burbs I’m typically asked several times if there’s anything I need. Today, I had to search for someone to help. Then, I got a bit of sigh and a run around when I asked for the samples.

I did eventually get them, but because I’d said earlier how great they are about the samples, I wanted to share my most recent experience. And I wanted to rant a bit that it would be beneficial to WF to train its employees to give samples … after the great treatment and sample I received at the Chesterfield store, I imagine I’ve spent close to $500 on beauty products there in about three months. Without the samples, there’s no reason not to buy my Dr. Hauschka’s products online. (And yes, that dollar figure makes me cringe a bit, but I’ve been fighting adult acne for about 20 years and Dr. Hauschka’s works.)

I’m curious … have any of you tried to get samples at WF and were you successful?

There’s just no delicate way to say it … my face is full of pimples. I swear nearly the minute I started Dr. Hauschka’s daily routine a couple of months ago they disappeared. The problem is … I can’t pinpoint the cause of the blemishes because I didn’t conduct a very good scientific study.

The recent warm up and start of the grass-mowing season sent me straight to Whole Foods for some SPF (Dr. H’s doesn’t have it). Most SPFs cause me to breakout so I could easy blame my current condition on that. But … about three weeks ago I began using Dr. H’s ridiculously expensive Rhythmic Night Conditioner. I think a few slight breakouts started then … and I’m guessing the added SPF may have just pushed my skin over the edge (not to mention that the simple change of season alone could have instigated the breakouts as sensitive as my skin is).

My plan is to cease all SFP application, stop the Rhythmic Night Conditioner and (hopefully) let my skin get back to its pimple-free state. At that point, I’ll try the SPF samples and see what happens.

In the meantime, I should have some news to report on the lip-balm front soon.