Hey guys, welcome back to my blog. Happy belated Holidays and I hope 2016 will bring the best for all of us. Once again, I'd like to share my empties with you and give you a little feedback on the products I used up since my last empties post. So let's begin, shall we?
To start of, as always, 2 Bath & Body Works Gentle Foaming Hand Soap in Twilight Woods and Eucalyptus Mint. I've purchased new hand soaps, and I need to go and buy some more, but these are staples in my bathrooms. Not only do they smell so good but they won't leave your hands feeling dry.
Biotherm's Lait Corporel which is an anti-drying body milk. This one is a deluxe sample size that I received ages ago in My Petite Box. I liked it, it had a nice citrusy scent and was moisturizing enough but I will not buy a full size since I have lots of hand/body lotions stashed and I will be pulling them out, little by little, to either use at home or at work.
L'Occitane Cleansing and Softening Shower Oil with Almond Oil. This I loved. I have heard a lot of it in Youtube, it seemed like everyone and their mother loved this and also, the fact of using an oil to shower was quite intriguing. This thing is not oily at all! It is a little liquidy, runny, but not oily. After using it in the shower your skin will be left feeling so soft and smelling so good I just want another one. I got this bottle in a gift set that I purchased back in July when I went on vacations to Orlando but it can also be purchased in Sephora, both online and in store, and here in Panama in L'Occitane stores and prices will start in around $10.00 for the 2.5 oz. bottle. I have a teeny tiny bottle that I am almost done with it and I thing I will buy a new one, at least the smaller sized one.
We all need deodorant, so mine was the Secret Outlast Invisible Solid bar. It's cheap and gets the job done. I personally do not like natural deodorants since I don't feel they work and I like this one (so much I already repurchased).
Back in January of 2015 I went to Lush and among the products I purchased there was this BIG sea salt shampoo. It is pricey but there was some sort of sale so I got it for 50%. Guess what? Even though I used it all up, I do not like it. It cleans the hair so much that it felt like string and no, ain't no body got time for conditioning the hair 3 times to make it feel softer. Will not repurchase.
Keeping it the hair theme, I used up 1 sample and the other one I just threw away. I used up the Temple Spa Good Hair Day Frequent Use Shampoo, a deluxe sample size I received in one of my first Birchboxes. I liked the scent and it did gave me some volume on my hair, it was quite good but I am used to shampoos that leave my hair less stringy.
The other one was a Sebastian Color Ignite Conditioner, another deluxe sample size that I had when I was subscribed to My Petite Box and I did not like it at all. It was supposed to be a conditioner but it did not conditioned at all, I had to use a second conditioner to make my hair look and feel better. Not bother giving this to anyone since I felt it was just crap.
I used up two perfumes: the Eau de Lacoste, a very generous sized bottled. I enjoyed it a lot, it is very fresh, a little citrus and for those days that I needed an extra umpf! that I got from the citrus notes on it. Probably would repurchase. The other one was a sample from the Harvey Prince "Hello" perfume that I got from Birchbox. The notes are: an energizing mix of citrus (top notes of Meyer lemon and Satsuma mandarin) and floral notes (summer forsythia and pink plumeria —traditionally found in Hawaiian leis). It is a very nice perfume, you can get an 8.8 ml. rollerball in the Birchbox online store for $28.00. Not bad since you only need a little bit ofit to smell really good all day long.
Now some skincare empties:
I used up the Gentle Hydro Cleanser by Clarisonic. It was not as runny as the previous Clarisonic cleanser I had once but I feel that there are better things out there. The second product shown is my favorite cleanser, after the Philophy one that I have. Is the Soy Face Cleanser by Fresh. I got it from a 500 point perk from Sephora and I love it: it doesn't dry out my skin, my face feels really squeaky clean, nice subtle scent and takes off everything. You can get a 1.7 oz. tube, like this one, for $15.00 or a 5.1 oz tube for $38.00. It is quite expensive but this is one of the best brands out there when it comes to skincare. The last product in this batch is the Origins GinZing Enery-boosting moisturizer: it was ok, it did not make me more oily than I already am, nice orangey scent but I do not recall it was amazing. This is also from Sephora an a 1.7 oz. tub will cost you $27.50. I will not buy a full size, I think I will go with something else since my skin is changing and I feel I need something extra.
In this second picture, you can see the belif (yes, that's the brand's name, I didn't misspelled) sample of The true cream - aqua bomb moisturizer. This is a Korean brand, also sold at Sephora, it is soooo goood! It is a gelly like moisturizer that helps you retain your skin's moisture, they say that up to 26 hrs. but I can't tell if it works for that long but is one of the best things I ever tried. The small size that Sephora sells is 0.84 oz. for $22.00 and the large size holds 1.68 oz for $38.00. Definitely it is in my bucket list for when I run out of any of the moisturizers I have currently in my stash.
The second one is also from Sephora, but this time from their in-house brand. It is the Sephora sleeping mask. The idea is to put this on and go to sleep, since your skin regenerates overnight and you will be able to take advantage of the different purposes of the ingredients in the mask. There are 8 different "main ingredients": Pomegranate (anti-fatigue and energizing), Honey (nourishing and balancing), Green Tea (mattifying and anti-blemish), Rose (ultra moisturizing and brightening), Lotus (moisturizing and soothing), Ginseng (toning and firming), Pearl (perfecting and brightening), and Lingzhi (anti-aging and smoothing). The one I used up was the pearl one, and what I like is that you can use the pod for about 4-5 times, it is very affordable ($4.00) and it accomplished it's function. I will definitely buy more of these.
Next was another deluxe sample size. This time of the Estee Lauder Clear Difference Advanced Blemish Serum and let me just tell you, this is THE BOMB!! This thing, with just a tiny amount of it, will get rid of any blemish for you overnight. I did not believed it at first but when I used it I couldn't believe that the very next morning that blemish was gone, GONE!! The only bad thing I've got to say is that it has a very high sales tag, it goes for $82.00 so save to buy this, I will change your skin.
The last group of skincare related products, well samples is as follows. I used a sample size of the Real Chemistry Luminous 3 Minute Peel. This is a little different from what I am used to use. You put this on your dry skin and then start to massage it and it will ball up (yeap, gross, I know) but this will take care of your dead skin and will help you reveal a very brightened, plumped skin. The full size can be purchased from Birchbox at $48.00 for 1.7 fl. oz.
Next is the Glamglow Youthcleanse Daily Exfoliating Cleanser. This thing also did impressed me. This was a packet sample that I chose in one of my Sephora purchases. The full size comes with 5 oz. for $39.00 but it is well worth it. This is a mud that, when you splash water on your face, will foam up and will take care of every single little trace of makeup, dirt, dead skin, you name it. Whenever I try this things, I do put them to the test. I just wiped my makeup with a cleansing cloth. After that, I put the cleanser on, add a little water to make it foam up and massage it on my face. I rinse it out and everything is gone, clean, and not dehydrated. You won't regret it if you try it.
Finally, another packet sample from Sephora, now for the Korres Greek Yoghurt Foaming Cleanser. This is a very thick but rich cleanser. It says that it is soap-free, also paraben free, phthalates free, and sulfate free. This will clean your face and leave a very nice and soft scent. I think I got about 5 uses of this sample and really liked it. Full size is $26.00 for 5.07 fl. oz. not bad for a higher end brand.
Now for the makeup related empties:
For makeup removing I used up 2 packs of making removing clothes: the ones from ELF that I love because they are very saturated in remover, they are soft, nice sized, I don't recall them having a scent and have that hard, plastic lid that avoid them from getting dry. The only bad thing I have to say is that they sting my eyes, aside from that, I love them. Also, a pack of the Equate brand cloths, they had a sort of exfoliating side to them that I enjoyed and this ones did not burn my eyes but what I don't like is that you "close" them with a sticker but air will get in the pack and they tend to dry out. I bought this back in July when I went to Orlando and it was less than $10.00 for a two-pack (120 wipes in total).
Also, I used up the Neutrogena oil-free makeup remover. It does says "oil-free" but it does have and oily substance that you have to shake up to combine it. It was around $12.00 locally and it takes care of all eye makeup residue however, it leaves some sort of residue on your eyes and you are kind of blinded, not good. I will not repurchase, I will either got back to Bioderma, will buy the Sephora cleansing water, or even try to get the Garnier Micellar Water that it's being said to be very comparable to Bioderma and will let you know.
For primers, I used up 2 samples. One of the Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish eye shadow primer. As you can see, I dug out the very last bit of it. Sephora sells it for $20.00 plus taxes (and then the shipping cost to Panama) and locally it sells for $26.00. This will definitely be a repurchase once I am done with 3 primers that I want to use up. Shadows won't move or crease, which is amazing in the scorching hot that we are going through right now. The other one was a sample of Benefit's famous Porefessional primer. This time I liked it better than before, I do not know if it was reformulated or because of my skin being a little drier than before but I did not feel greasy and pores kind of vanished. This can be used under makeup or by itself on those "not makeup days". Sephora sells 3 sizes, a mini 0.25 oz tube ($12.00), the regular 0.75 oz ($31.00), and a jumbo 1.5 oz ($44.00). This will last you a long time since you only need a little over your bigger pores and that's it.
Now, for setting sprays, I used up a sample of the Coola makeup setting spray. I did not like it too much since I felt it had some alcohol and didn't do too much for keeping my makeup in place. Not only that but the nozzle broke and I had to resort to and old empty bottle that I had around. The other one is a travel size of the Urban Decay's De-slick makeup setting spray that is one of my favorites and will repurchase any time soon.
I used up a Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer in Fair, one of my faves to cover dark circles and highlight because it is very light, even for me. Too bad that I can't get this locally, only online or when I travel. I really like it and it was my second tube of this.
I decided to throw away a very beat up Beauty Blender. You can buy this online for $20.00 or with re-sellers for around $25.00. I love this, makes blending foundation so fast and even that I already purchased a second one and will keep buying them. I like it better for foundation that for concealer.
I finished an ELF High Definition Under Eye Setting Powder. I was a little scared of it because it has teeny tiny glitter specs but they are not noticeable and my under eye area looked nice and bright. Heck for $3.00 you can't beat it so give it a try. I have around 3 backups in my stash, that's how much I like it.
I also used up a Maybellie Great Lash Clear mascara. I use this for my brows and it did hold them in place. To replace it I bought the NYX Control Freak brow gel when I was in Orlando but locally you can get a clear mascara from Essence for less than $5.00 and it will get the job done.
I finished a deluxe sample size of my Kat Von D liquid liner in Trooper, the blackest black I've ever used. This sample lasted for a long time considering it is not too big and I used it almost every single day. This liner has some sort of a brush tip, is matte, and very easy to maneuver and it helped me to get better at winging my liner.
I got a sample of the Makeup Forever Matte Velvet Plus foundation in #40. It was a good match to my skin but it didn't held up to Panama's heat and even though my office has air conditioner, it looked patchy by mid day. Not buying the full size, since it is around the $45.00 and it was not good, at least for me.
Finally, for makeup I just got rid of this Covergirl Clean concealer. It made my under eyes look creasy, dry, and not pretty. Not buying this thing ever again.
The final product I used up was a Renu contact lubricating drops little bottle, as usual. I am using another one and have a backup handy because sometimes drugstores seem to run out of it, all of them at the same time.
That is it for my empties and I already have a bunch that I hope to share with you guys pretty soon. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you in my next post!
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