Monday, February 24, 2014

Product Empties #3

Empties' posts and I have a love/hate relationship. I hate storing the used packaging, and I hate figuring out how much or how little to say about each item. But I love throwing them all away in one cathartic swoop, and I love reflecting on what I have tried and how long some products last. My last empties post was in September and before that May. So it seems that about every four months this polarizing process starts all over again.



Hair
The psssst! Instant Dry Shampoo works well and is quite affordable. I will repurchase whenever I run out of the dry shampoos I keep receiving in my sub boxes! I just bought myself a new bottle of the Organix Brazilian Keratin Therapy Flat Iron Spray. It smells so good and is another affordable hair product. I received the Miss Jessie's Creme de la Creme Conditioner in a Birchbox and have to say I was disappointed. It didn't do much for my hair, and it smelled so strongly of chemicals. The couple of times I used it I kept thinking, 'Am I bleaching my hair right now?'

 Body
The B&BW shower gels are just classics. I always seem to get them as gifts and the Bath & Body Works Sweet Pea Shower Gel is no exception. You really can't go wrong. It smells good and lathers well. I liked using the Whish Exfoliating Body Wash. I love coconut scented products, as is apparent in this post and many others. It was perfect for a pre-shaving exfoliation. The Qtica Colada Sparkle Shower Gel is another standard and good smelling shower gel. I enjoyed using it, but it probably won't be my go-to seeing as Qtica and Zoya products can be a costly pain to ship. Body wash just has to stay accessible, right? I love Trader Joe's Pumpkin Body Butter and am so sad it's a limited edition scent. It smells amazing and is a great moisturizer. I now have the regular Trader Joe's Coconut Body Butter, and though I love coconut, I love the scent of the pumpkin one even more. It still had coconut notes, being a coconut oil based product, but the pumpkin seed oil really gave it a great balance. I will have to stock up when it's fall again. And now I have two more coconut body butters (can't you tell I am a bit obsessed) The Body Shop Body Butter in Coconut and 100% Pure Coconut Nourishing Body Creme. I really loved both of these products but will probably stick to the Trader Joe's version as it's much more cost effective. The 100% Pure one had a really amazing creamy texture that I am really glad I got to try, so if cost isn't a concern I highly recommend trying it out!

Candles
Oh how I love candles, especially these fall and winter scents. I would repurchase all of these. For pine scents, I used the Target Nordic Pine Soy Candle, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Iowa Pine Scented Soy Candle, Illume Balsam & Cedar Candle, and Bath & Body Works White Barn Fresh Balsam Mini Candle. I currently have a larger size of the Illume Balsam & Cedar candle & the reed diffuser, evidence that I love the scent. For fall scents, I used the Target Autumn Harvest Soy Candle and Bath & Body Works Leaves Mini Candle. These as well are definite favourites. Finally in the back, I used up the Rite Aid Tropical Coconut Candle. This one I kept in my bathroom for whenever an at-home spa day was in order. The scent is a nice fresh coconut scent that's not too sweet or 'colada'-like.

Skincare
The Target Up & Up Eye Make-up Remover is my absolute favourite eye make-up remover. It just works. It also is great for cleaning stubborn make-up covered brushes and BeautyBlenders. I fell hard for the Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser after trying it in a Birchbox. I am sad I have been without this and need to purchase the full-size. It smells like sweet lemons and leaves you with squeaky clean yet hydrated skin. I went through a couple of face moisturizers that I really loved the Malin + Goetz Vitamin E Moisturizer and the Michael Todd Citrus Cream Moisturizer. I am currently debating which one to repurchase. Both were perfect at hydrating my skin during the fall and winter months without making it too oily. I also finished the Juice Beauty Cleansing Milk. Though I probably won't be repurchasing this brand, I am now in need of a cleansing milk. I really like using this type of cleanser in the morning. The pur Dirty Girl Detoxifying Mudd Mask was a powerful clay mask. I think it was the difference in pasculite clay vs. kaolin that made it seem extra clarifying. The Yes To Blueberries Cleansing Facial Towelettes smell so good and were nice to use as a toning step in my routine. I am not a 'make-up wipe' type of girl, so I haven't repurchased these. I will though next time I travel as an alternative to packing toner and cotton pads. As a post Valentine's day treat, I bought myself the Freeman Clay Mask Chocolate & Strawberry. This mask took a lot longer to dry than any clay masks I have used in the past, but it smells exactly like chocolate, so I might have to try it again. For the most part, I throw away samples, but if it's a product I want to mention (whether it be good or bad) I have been saving them so I won't forget to mention them. I really loved the little packet of First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. It was very hydrating for winter skin.

Random
I can't live without the Bath & Body Works PocketBacs and went through Caribbean Escape & Island Margarita (and probably a couple of others I forgot to save.)

Make-up
I liked the Nars Radiant Cream Compact Foundation Mont Blanc. The texture was very creamy but lasted all day. I am not planning on purchasing as I am not a fan of the packaging (half the compact is room for a sponge). But I am happy that I found that Mont Blanc is a good shade match. I might have to splurge on the Nars Sheer Glow foundation. The Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion is a holy grail; I will always repurchase this. Luckily, I have another small tube like this one, and the sample card from the Naked 3 palette to use up first. And now for a list of mascaras. Some I loved, some I hated, some that were just okay. I hated the FushionBeauty Lash Fusion XL. Way too dry of a formula. Even the bristles of the brush were sticking together. Not a good look for your eyelashes. The Pixi Lash Booster Mascara was okay for me. It gave a natural look, a bit darker and a bit longer. Another formula that didn't work for me was the Julep American Beauty Volumizing Mascara. It made my lashes longer but stick together and definitely didn't add volume.  I really liked the tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara and the tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes Mascara. I like the natural but extra long and extra volume of the Gifted mascara. It took me awhile to get used to the rubber brush (each side of the brush has a different layout of bristles) of the Lights, Camera, Flashes mascara, but once I did I really liked it. It gave crazy volume.

So there is a super long list of products I went through! I am already running out of more products, so perhaps the next empties post will be sooner than four months...

In case any of these products caught your attention, I made a huge Luvocracy Collection of all the products that I enjoyed to make it easy for you to try them out yourself! I am planning on continuing this in future posts to make it easy to find products that I mention or review. Let me know if it does!

What have you used up lately?

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