Recent Empties w. Mini Reviews!

by - June 12, 2014

I was actually planning, when I started this blog, on doing empties monthly... but then I realized how rarely I actually use things up and decided that I'll just do them when I have enough products to make the post worth it. 

Keep reading for a closer look at what I've used up and to see what I think of these products!

HAIR CARE
1. Pantene Original Fresh Dry Shampoo - No repurchase
This isn't even empty and the truth of the matter is that I can't even actually give a decent review of this product because I hardly got to use it. What I can tell you is that the packaging SUCKS. After two uses, the nozzle completely stopped working. At first I thought it must be user error and I tried to Google to see if there was a fix. All I found was that I wasn't the only person having this issue with the nozzle. Didn't find any way to fix it. So it went into the trash bag, because... Just no. I do not have time for complicated packaging on my dry shampoo, particularly when there was nothing that I remember being excited about in terms of the formula.

2. Herbal Essences The Sleeker The Butter Conditioner - Already repurchased
I mentioned this product in my monthly favorites for May and I'm still pretty much amazed at how much I love this stuff. I added the shampoo to my regiment and my hair is just loving me for it. And I am loving my hair for how good it smells after I use this. I don't have a ton of product loyalty when it comes to shampoo and conditioner, I like to try new things, but I have a feeling this one is definitely going to stay in regular rotation for a while.

3. L'Oreal Re-Nutrition Conditioner - No repurchase
Normally, I really like my L'Oreal haircare. I actually use the crap out of their hair masks and probably have one in my bathroom that should be in this empties post. This conditioner, however, didn't really wow me. I feel like it maybe left a little bit of residue in my hair so that if felt heavy and just... not quite clean. Maybe my hair just wasn't in the right place for this product, I'm not really sure. I'll probably stick to other L'Oreal hair products in the future though.
 FACE AND BODY
4. Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara - Definite repurchase
This is my Holy Grail mascara. I swear, I don't know anyone who has tried this (and I admit to having talked some people into trying it) who doesn't love it as much as I do. I feel like this just gives me exactly what I want in a mascara. It's not too wet and doesn't clump on me at all. It gives me amazing length and really good volume. It lasts all day without flaking on me. Just all in all, this mascara is beautiful on my lashes and ticks all the boxes of what I want in a mascara. Only problem? The Canadian markup at Sephora on this product is unacceptable so I will only pick it up when I visit the States.

5. Elizabeth Arden PREVAGE Advanced Anti-Aging Daily Serum - Would purchase but won't
Straight away... This is a sample size that I received quite some time ago in a subscription box and I was, admittedly, trying to savor it. It's so good. And it's so expensive. I would repurchase it if I could justify the expense, but I can't even a little bit at the moment. I don't even know how to explain what this did for my skin. I don't really need advanced anti-aging in my skin care yet, but this product just made my skin look young and fresh and luminous when I used it. It didn't even take building up, I literally saw a difference in the appearance of my skin right after using it. This stuff is the knees of the bees and I'm really bummed that my sample is finished. So beautiful.

6. Sephora by O.P.I. Nail Color Remover - No repurchase
This stuff was fine, but disappointing for the price point. It didn't work any harder or faster than any of my drugstore nail polish removers. It wasn't any better at taking off my glitter polish. It was, perhaps, a little less drying on my cuticles but not enough to make a difference to me. I won't repurchase because this stuff was literally just... fine.

7. L'Occitane Amande Supple Skin Oil - Would purchase
This is another product that I'm not sure I can justify the expense on... but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to find a way to justify it. And soon. This stuff came in the Sephora Favorites beauty oils kit that came out earlier this year and, while I loved a lot of the products in that kit, this was both the absolute smallest one and my absolute favorite. This kickstarted me on an obsession with all body products almond and... I just want more. I applied this all over my skin after getting out of the shower and my skin just felt soft and silky and smelled heavenly. I want the full size in my life very, very badly.

8. Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous Foundation - Already repurchased
I'm sure that anyone who scours the internet for info on drugstore products has heard all too much about this foundation, but it's all true. When I want a makeup look that's going to stay matte all day and not budge from my skin, this is the holy grail for me. I really like the coverage and the appearance on the skin, the staying power is on point, and I love the packaging with the pump for a more hygienic product. Recently I've been getting more and more interested in higher end foundations, but I'm definitely going to keep a bottle of this on the go as well. If you haven't tried it and you're looking for a medium to full coverage, long wearing foundation, you really should pick this up.
SAMPLES AND PACKETS
 
9. Shiseido Facial Cotton - Already repurchased
Yes, this is a much pricier option than cotton rounds, but I challenge you to use these and not love them like I love them. I still keep cotton rounds around, because there's no way in hell I'm going to use the good stuff for taking off my nail polish (and truthfully, my cotton rounds have some texture to them that takes the polish off more easily), but these are the only thing I use to take off stray eye makeup and to apply toner. They're just so luxurious and soft against your skin. In the past, I've had irritation from the cheap cotton rounds and that has never been a problem with these. So yes, they're expensive, but the cost and worth are pretty close to the same for me. Also, there's a LOT of cotton pads in this package.

10. Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer - No purchase
It seems to me like I get packets of these every time I order something from Korea and when my skin is looking a little dull and lackluster I tend to bust them out and smooth a little on my skin under my makeup. I'm not sure they make a heck of a lot of difference in the appearance of my skin and I suspect that they negatively effect the wear time of my foundation/BB cream. It's kind of a cool idea, though, and maybe they do help a little bit. I don't know. They're fine and I'll use any samples I get in the future, but I definitely wouldn't run to the internet to order a full size.

11. TonyMoly Panda's Dream Eye Patch - Maybe purchase
I do actually really love opening my packages from Korea and seeing what kinds of samples they included with my order and this one was one of the more hilarious. This package literally contained two oval shaped black patches that you put on your eyes to take down puffiness and diminish dark circles. And the craziest part? It actually worked. Yes, I looked like a crazy person for the 15 or 20 minutes that I wore this while sipping on a chat latte and catching up on TV shows on my PVR, but when I took the patches off I could actually see a difference in the darkness under my eyes that I hate so much. So I'm not going to run off and buy a lifetime supply of these, but I actually would consider putting them in my cart in the future. And I would do a little dance if they come with my incoming order of BB cream.

12. The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask - Would repurchase
A while back I listed this, as well as another foil packet face mask, in my haul from The Body Shop. I wanted to try out some of the masks from TBS because... Well, maybe you've noticed that I'm a bit obsessed with face masks. I used the Ionic whatever whatever mask and I didn't really like it. I also threw out the package in my boyfriend's bathroom, hence why it isn't a part of this post, but I made sure to keep this one. Because I really liked this one. I felt like my skin was really, really clean and fresh when I washed this one off. It didn't leave my skin feeling tight or dry like a lot of these kinds of masks tend to, and my skin looked really rad the next day. I'm putting this on the shopping list for the day when I make it through the HUGE tub of Queen Helene Mint Julep mask that I have in my bathroom. By the way, I love the Queen Helene as well. A lot. 

13. DIOR Hydralife BB Eye Cream - No repurchase
So basically... this performs like concealer? The coverage and feel of it was pretty good, I'll definitely give it that, but it really just felt like concealer. I got a few solid uses out of this packet and I didn't see or feel any skin care benefits to my under eye area. It was just concealer. Really, really expensive concealer whose performance doesn't match the price. So. Nope, wouldn't repurchase. But it was fun to use all the same.

So there you have it... Probably six weeks worth of stuff that will be going into the garbage/recycling later today. DONTCHA JUST LOVE MY TRASH? Look for another one of these posts coming up... if I manage to stick to my plan to actually USE SOME SHIT UP.

XO.  

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