Empties

[wendyomgwar]

I love seeing other peoples empties! So I decided to make a board where people could post pictures of their empties, or just tell us about them! I'd also be interested in knowing whether you're repurchasing anything or not.

[RGbrown]

I decluttered a few things today, so I figured I may as well post while I'm thinking about it. YTD 474

Notes in the spoiler!

Spoiler

Skinfix Coconut Water Hydrating Mist: Declutter. This has alcohol in the ingredients list; I asked Skinfix about it, and they said it was less than 2%, but I was still never enthused about it being there in the first place, so I rarely used it. I recently noticed it has started to separate; there are small yellow oil blobs floating on the surface, so it's time for this to go. But...if you want a superfine sprayer, this bottle is right up your alley. I think I'll keep that!

Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Shampoo: Declutter. So many folks rave about the scent of this, but I didn't like it all that much. That wasn't the main turn off for me though...this leaves my roots greasy, as in I have to use dry shampoo pretty much as soon as my hair dries after washing. 

Rusk Restart 04 Dry Shampoo: stiff texture, and not all that effective. Declutter.

Yuni Shower Sheet: much better than the last one I tried (which was way too dry). I give these a thumbs up instead of a meh rating now 🙂

Cala Peppermint Moisturizing Foot Mask: love these. Cost effective ($5 for 3 when you can find them at TJM) and they do a great job. 

Schick Brow Razor: meh. These dull way too quickly, like one use is about it...I'm lucky to get two out of one. And I just find the Tinkle ones do a much better job (and last longer; I can get 3-4 uses out of them with no trouble at all). These tend to skip a good bit of hair, and I wind up having to go over the same area two or three times. I'm also more likely to nick myself with them. 

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion: really nice, great for my oily skin. Not too heavy, but plenty moisturizing, and it mixes with my facial oil well.

DevaCurl Leave In Decadence: not bad, but I don't find it any better than my current TXTR by Cantu leave-in. Would use again (and I have more I picked up as point perks from Sephora), but if I'm going to spend money, I'll just grab more TXTR (only $9.99 for 16oz).

Laura Geller Lash Boss Mascara: still my favorite mascara of all time. Gives me the perfect mix of length + volume, and I love the silicone brush (I think I might actually save this one and try it with a few other mascaras). Have more, and will rebuy when needed.

Julep Boost Your Radiance Facial Oil: my favorite AM facial oil; two drops in my moisturizer is the perfect amount for me. It soaks in well and has never messed with anything else I put on top of it, either skincare or makeup.

[RGbrown]

More trash!

YTD 463

Spoiler

Belif Hungarian Water Essence: all in all, a nice essence. I use an essence day and night, but haven't found one that makes me say "hot dang, I can't live without this, it's THE ONE!". This is no exception, but it's perfectly lovely and I'd happily use more if I got it.

Duke Cannon Cold Shower Cooling Field Towel: some of these were in my last batch, and I don't have much else to add. These are great!

Elizabeth & James Nirvana Bourbon Dry Shampoo: only ok to me. The white cast wasn't bad, and it didn't leave any texture or sticky residue, but I didn't catch much of the Bourbon scent...it smelled more burnt to me. I have one or two more, and I guess I'll use them at some point, but they're not high on my list.

Indie Lee CoQ10 Toner: lovely non-acid toner. It's not stripping or drying, and I'd use it again.

Blue Lizard Sensitive Face SPF 30: the worst white cast I've ever seen from a sunscreen; it was so white it left me looking purple. Wut? Used it up on my arms/chest/etc because this was definitely a no-go on my face.

MAC Fix+ SPF30: destash. Perhaps the worst product ever made. It was my mistake to order without seeing the ingredients list first, but with MAC, I ASSuMEd it would be good. Turns out alcohol was the first ingredient...strike one (and that's a huge strike to me, more like two or three strikes all rolled up into one). And as a spray, it was pretty terrible...it's a powder-in-liquid formulation, but the powder clogs the sprayer, so it just comes out in large white blobs, everywhere. Face, hair, clothes, the wall. 🙄 Looks like MAC pulled the product not terribly long after release, and I see why. 

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner (intense black): a really nice liquid liner. I almost never use a black liner and somehow this little mini survived nearly two years before running out. I'm not in the market for one (I have another mini already lol, plus I don't generally use liquid liners), but if I were, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of these.

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion: really nice. I liked it enough to pull out a second mini after finishing this one, just to get a better feel for the product. It soaks in well and mixes with my oil well, and provides the right moisture for my oily skin without being heavy or greasy. I'm leaning more and more towards budget options on my loves list, and this is a serious contender for whatever I decide to buy (at that point in the distant future when I finally run out of samples lol)

Paula's Choice Resist 4% BHA: a staple and love for me. I use 2% daily, and the 4% once a week or so. PC sells sample packs and/or travel sizes for nearly every item on their site, and when you do the math, for the most part, buying samples/travels comes out roughly equivalent to the price of the full size (and I appreciate that...so many brands inflate the cost of their samples/minis/travel stuff). BUT, I recently noticed that the samples for this item are a smoking great deal. The full size is 1oz/30mL for $37, or the sample is 3mL for $1.50...thats $15 for an ounce, less than half the price of the full size. I will be adding more packets in to every order I make there now, and just keep refilling my full size bottle 😁

Spoiler

Random extra spoiler that I can't delete...the mobile site drives me nuts some days 😐

[RGbrown]

Another round of trash 🗑️

YTD 445

Notes in the spoiler 😊

Spoiler

Ulta Pumpkin Spice candle: Another one I wanted to showcase since it's not my usual BBW lol. Simply fantastic. Great throw, burned well. I don't see it on their site anymore, but I'd buy scads more if I could. I've got Crisp Apple and Frosted Berry to try shortly, and I have high hopes for both of those as well...they smell heavenly in the jar.

Clarins Foot Beauty Treatment Cream: A surprise "omg I need more of this". It's super thick and rich, and while I normally hate florals, this has a delightful honeysuckle scent that was fantastic. I'm not sure I could use it every single day...I think the scent might become a bit too overwhelming to me at some point, but I'd love to have more of this to mix up my foot lotion from time to time. Considering I just bought 24oz of BBW's foot cream for somewhere around $32, this is spendy in comparison at $27 for 4oz (and sadly, not available at Ulta)...but I'll be watching for a deal to snag one at some point.

Paula's Choice Clinical 1% Retinol: A lightweight lotion-textured serum that sinks in well and has next to no scent. May consider buying this again in the future, but I have too many samples right now to get through.

Murad InvisiScar Resurfacing Treatment (Sephora gratis): At its heart, this is a vitamin C product, with a little dash of Centella Asiatica and Salicylic Acid thrown in for good measure. The texture is...interesting. It's really thick, but not in a creamy way. If using as a spot treatment, it's great for staying where you put it, but if you want to use it full face like a regular vitamin C (which is how I used it), it's hard to spread. The finish is almost powdery...I think I read "velvety" in their marketing description somewhere, and that's pretty accurate. All in all, it was a nice vitamin C, but perhaps not meant for how I wanted to use it...I had to mix it with another serum to thin it out for spreading. Would use again, but not looking to purchase.

Valjean Labs Firm Vitamin E + Ferulic Acid Serum: My thinner of choice for the above Murad (and I've been mixing it with pretty much every vitamin C I've had for the last year or so). This way I can pretend every vitamin C I have is Skinceuticals at a fraction of the price (and without the stink lol). I don't have  more right now, but may grab another bottle if I come across one (I originally found this at TJM).

Leaders Balancing Recovery Mask: perfectly fine. I really like the material of their coconut gels...it's thin and lightweight, sticks well, doesn't slide of shift. The scent is on the stronger end of "sheet mask fresh", but still pleasant enough, and it fades fairly quickly. Using several of these masks lately though, I'm starting to get annoyed with how difficult they are to apply...the gel material makes them a bit trickier than the typical fabric mask. Decent mask, have more and won't hate using them, might even buy again with the right deal.

Ulta Citrus Splash Shower Flower: nicely scented shower tablet...I could smell this one way more than the eucalyptus one I finished off not too long ago. I find these to be way bigger than I need for one shower, so I crumble them down and just sprinkle a bit into my soap dish...I think I get 4 or so showers out of each one, which makes them a decent value to me. I have a well stocked smelly shower stuff stash right now, but would consider grabbing more of this one at some point if I need a filler.

Duke Cannon Cold Shower Cooling Field Towel: ok, these are really nice! I've been buying one here and there for months (at $.75, they're a great cart filler when you just need a few more cents), planning to piece them out to my BIL's for Xmas. But now that I've tried them, I may have to rethink that lol. They are lightly cooling, and one side of the cloth is lightly exfoliating (if you've ever tried the Sephora bamboo exfoliating wipes, these are gentler, not nearly as scratchy). Love, have more, and will happily keep buying as long as Ulta carries them! 

[RGbrown]

The latest batch! 🗑️

435 total YTD

Notes in the spoilers! 😊

YES (Loves or Staples)

Spoiler

Homeworx by Harry Slatkin candle (Oak & Pomegranate): I stopped picturing my BBW candles because they felt a smidge off-topic, but I still go through a large candle every week or two, depending on how often I remember to light one. But, I wanted to showcase this one and throw out a huge recommendation for the brand. This scent is incredible, the perfect balance of woody and fruity without being too sweet or too dry. The throw is simply spectacular, and it burned down nearly every last drop of wax...there's barely a thin film left across the bottom. The only drawback is it burns high, and it burns fast. The wicks are perhaps a bit too sturdy for the size, and I really had to watch it, extinguishing every couple of hours just to trim them back down, which I never have to do with my BBW ones. I ran through it a little quicker than I would have liked, especially the first couple of days where I didn't watch it like I should have, but all in all, I would love to pick up more of these every now and again as the scent is absolutely worth it. They're pricey at $25, but Ulta has them 2/$40, and a 20% plus points dump makes them much more palatable to my wallet.

 Zoya Remove+ Polish Remover: HG status; have more and would never consider straying. It removes everything without stripping my nails or the surrounding skin, allowing me to do a completely waterless manicure.

Clinique Take The Day Off for Lids, Lashes and Lips: another HG for me; removes all of my eye makeup easily. It's probably an unnecessary step since this is always followed up by a double cleanse, but it's one diehard habit that'll probably never leave me...I think it's the only holdover from my teens that has actually stuck with me, and since I keep getting soooo many samples of this, I see no reason to abandon it.

Pacifica Cuban Mango Lip Balm/Burt's Bees Pomegranate Lip Balm: both are perfectly decent daily balms. Nothing spectacular or outstanding...both probably would have fit into the "like" category just as well, but since I have a balm practically glued to my hand most days, this is a Staple category for me. Decent moisture, not the longest lasting, but passable for my balm-every-30-minutes habit. Would reuse, and even rebuy either or both if my stash ever got smaller (it never seems to though).  

PERFECTLY FINE

Spoiler

Alterna Caviar Replenishing Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner: I had been saving up packets of this for what seemed like eternity, and finally decided to try it out. There are two time periods in my recent haircare history: pre shower filter and post shower filter. Pre shower filter, this was thoroughly meh to me...it was fine, but not moisturizing enough...turns out my hard water was having more of an effect than I realized at the time. Post shower filter, this was much better. I still had to followup with a leave in conditioner though, and right now I'm just excited to go back and retest all the stuff in my shower in this post shower filter era lol. Would use again, but at this point, there's nothing on my sham/cond rebuy list at all until I get a better idea of what works (or doesn't) with my new water.

Sheet masks (TonyMoly I'm Peach Layering Mask/Leaders Caribbean Coconut Calming Mask/Oh K! Superfood Acai Berry Mask): Leaders, I really like the material, even though it's bit a of a pain to get in place (it's a super-thin gel). I have more varieties of these, and might even buy again with the right deal. Oh K!, thankfully I made some notes on the back of the package because I don't remember it at all lol: "little sweet but ok; not slimy/milky; similar to new tencel". TonyMoly, I am again glad I made a couple of notes: "slices smell vaguely like alcohol (side note, there is no alcohol in the ingredients list, so I dunno where the scent comes from); thin"

Earthly Body Miracle Oil: A pretty nice assortment of oils (soybean, avocado, hemp seed, apricot kernel, jojoba, tea tree, vitamin e, eucalyptus, rosemary). I have no idea where it came from, and I'm not sure I'd seek it out, but it makes a nice general purpose body oil. I am jumping on the make your own cuticle oil train, following Cristine/Simply Nailogical, and dumped this in to my jojoba/vitamin e mix...figured it would be a nice addition, and this probably never would have been used up otherwise because I just don't think about oils often.

Dermalogica Antioxidant Hydramist: I used it up as a morning essence; I like a little antioxidant boost under my sunscreen. I have plenty of other products to fit this category for my routine, so I doubt I'd buy a full size, but would absolutely use again

Cowshed Refreshing Chamomile Towelette: no opinion, really. I didn't hate it, but I rarely use wipes...this was just employed to remove a bunch of swatches off my arm 😛

Klorane Smoothing & Relaxing Patches: similar to the Skyn Iceland patches, these are a dry gel. They adhered well, and caused no irritation (but not much bothers me, either). I really can't recall a scent anymore. I never feel like I get much benefit from eye patches, but they are fun to use, and I'd use these again.

NOT FOR ME

Spoiler

Yes To Tomatoes Detoxifying Charcoal Facial Wipes: mostly used for removing swatches, but these have no "slip" to them...if I use it on my face, it takes two hands to push them around, and if used to remove swatches, I have to wrap it around my fingers so I can slide it. The time or two I used these on my face, I never really felt any cleaner, and the black material doesn't let me see if it actually picked anything up. Swatches came off just fine, but these still drove me a little nuts.

Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Tapioca Dry Shampoo (Warm Sugar): smelled more like burnt sugar to me, which was a big no. Destash.

Vita Liberata Self Tanning Gradual Lotion: I'm still fairly new to self tanners, so perhaps it's just my technique, but I never got the hang of getting this one smooth. I tried with a mitt, rubber gloves, and bare handed, but it was always streaky. The color was nice, but the patchiness was a no.

BBW Sun Ripened Raspberry body lotion: a surprise nope. I like the scent, and I normally find all of their lotions to be of a similar formula, but there was just something about this one in particular...it seemed to leave me almost powdery? Dry spots were amplified, not quenched. Can't explain it, but can't finish it.

Pacifica SPF 15 lip balms: gritty, grainy, oh, and gritty. Nope. Destash.

[CookieGirl1]

Great mini-reviews, @RGbrown!  I was definitely interested in your Homeworx candle thoughts and that particular scent sounds AMAZING.

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

It was absolutely fabulous, and while I'm trying to hoard some of my points a little longer, I'm getting itchy to pick another one or two up very soon ❤️

[greeneyedgirl107]

@RGbrown I think QVC has been selling Homeworx candles...they might have some good sales around the holiday 🙂  IDK if it'd be worth it to buy it there or from Ulta, though.

[RGbrown]

@greeneyedgirl107 

Good to know on QVC! Ulta tends to get my splurgey purchases though, in the form of "paid for with points". It's so much easier to justify unnecessary things like spendy candles if I don't have to use real money 😅

[CC3616]

We all got to the same point in our stash with that vita liberata tanner, @lmaster just finished one and also disliked it. I'm working on one and have mixed feelings. I love that you wrote notes on the mask packages!

[RGbrown]

@CC3616 

Glad I'm not the only one with issues with the tanner. I mean, I'm sad it's a bad product, but glad to know it isn't just me being a novice lol.

I've finally come to realize that a one-use product is going to escape my brain almost immediately, so I stuck a sharpie in the bathroom to write down my first impressions on the sheet masks. At least I can remember a little something that way 😂

[RebeccaBT]

Hi @RGbrown,

Lots of good empties 🙂 That candle looks like it smells very good!

Best,
Rebecca

[RGbrown]

@RebeccaBT 

Thanks so much! It was fantastic ❤️

[sonnydee]

September. And im all caught up....😊(I think) Top-loves,middle-liked,bottom-ummmmm.......CT foundation is maybe a no. its feels to greasy & I'm having a hard time matching my color. Derma, I think it mightve broke me out so not sure about that one but like that its a triple duty: remover, cleanser & toner. 10 total.

[sonnydee]

Aug empties. Top-loves, bottom-likes, love delectable but strawberry is my least favorite scent. (its too fake) so will not purchase that specific scent. Bottom-no, not for me. olly can't compete with my insomnia but they do relax you. avene, nothing special, didn't clean well. 9, uggh, I could do better. 😜

[RebeccaBT]

@sonnydee I have to try the "Sleep" supplements! 

Best,

Rebecca

[sonnydee]

if you aren't a hard core insominac (like myself unfortunately😔) they really do relax you to sleep @RebeccaBT & I didn't have any of the crazy dreams that melatonin supplements can give

[sonnydee]

July empties, yes I'm that behind....to the best of my memory... 😬😅 top-loves, middle-likes, would use again but may or may not purchase (fab)bottom-no. never again. Tea tree & ysl I don't remember. 26 not bad.

[RebeccaBT]

Hi @sonnydee,

Lots of empties! How did you like the "Detox" mask? It looks interesting! 

Best,
Rebecca

[karap03]

SEPTEMBER EMPTIES! LOVES: giorgio armani power fabric foundation (shade 5.5), bioderma, batiste, elizabeth and james nirvana white dry shampoo, origins ginzing tinted moisturizer, kate somerville eradikate, laniege moisture cream, it cosmetics secret sauce, smashbox prinerizer, dolce and gabana the only one perfume. i had lots of loves this month! not any misses. the products i didn’t list are good but not outstanding.

[PenelopeBT]

I love the Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Foundation. It's my holy grail foundation! <333

[RGbrown]

The latest batch! 

YTD: 389 (packets and minis really add up 😂)

Notes in the spoiler! 

Spoiler

Leaders Caribbean Coconut Calming Mask: I really like the thin, almost gel-like material, but it's also a bit tricky to get on since it sticks to itself so easily. Nice moisture and decent fit. The scent isn't bad...a bit strong, but it fits in that "sheet mask fresh" category, and I didn't find it too overwhelming. All around nice, would use again, and might even buy more with the right sale.

TonyMoly Master Lab Intensive Brightening Mask: good grief, it's only been a week and I still have no recollection of this one. The package is retaining a lemon-fresh Pledge scent, which I do vaguely recall now. I think this might have been the one with the minuscule eye holes too. Overall I don't recall disliking it, but apparently I wasn't terribly impressed either.

Jack Black Reserve Cardamom & Cedarwood Body & Hair Cleanser: smells sooooooo good, though cardamom doesn't always agree with me, and I'd catch a slight hint of funk from it every now and again. Served its purpose as a shower gel well. I'd use more of this if I had it, but I have way too much other shower gel to use up, so it's good that I don't.

Yuni Shower Sheets: a lot drier than I expected, and I felt like I had to prioritize where I could use it. The cloth is huge, which was nice, and the scent is lovely (there are lots of essential oils in it...citrus and mint and rosemary seem to be the most fragrant) but wasn't overpowering, but all in all, I was a bit underwhelmed. I have a couple more, and will use them, but not looking to purchase. 

Paula's Choice Clear Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution: PC BHA is my HG. It's a part of my routine every single night; 2% most days, with a splash of 4% once a week or so. I have more and will rebuy (though I usually buy the Resist formula now...it's got peptides in it, and I figure that's a great addition).

Ulta Beauty Deep Breaths Shower Flower (Mint Eucalyptus): disappointing; I couldn't smell it hardly at all until I got my nose right up to it. And while it looks pale in the bag, it's loaded with kelly green dye. It didn't stain, so no harm no foul, but I really don't need dye in a scented shower tablet lol. I prefer the 4pk bag Ulta sells over these jumbo single ones...they smell much better.

FAB Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer: just a good basic moisturizer for my oily skin. Soaks in well, mixes with my oil well. I have more minis I'll eventually use up.

Wella FusionPlex Shampoo/Conditioner/Mask: the top contender for favorite sham/cond of all time. I am debating hardcore whether I need to make myself use up some other stuff before buying full sizes of this, or if I just chuck everything else and get this now. The shampoo makes my hair feel clean, but it also feels like I've already conditioned it...it's soooooo soft just after washing. And the conditioner, wow, it just gets softer. My only peeve is the conditioner is smaller than the shampoo in the full sizes (unless I go all in for liters lol).

Rituals The Ritual of Yalda Foaming Shower Gel: smells great (pomegranate watermelon), works well, lathers nicely. All in all, I really like the Rituals shower gels.

L'Oreal Pure-Clay Mask Exfoliate & Refine: great drugstore clay mask; I like all of these that I've tried. This one has exfoliating beads in it, but they are really gentle. It dries down, but it's not that face-pulled-tight dry, just a soft dry that's easy to remove. Does a good job at soaking up excess oil. Thumbs up for these for sure!

Perricone MD Eyelid Lift Serum: a very lightweight serum. Did nothing in way of lifting my eyelids, but provided enough moisture in the mean time while I watched and hoped for some results lol

Bumble and bumble Pret-a-Powder Tres Invisible Dry Shampoo: one of my favorite aerosol dry shampoos. Love the scent, there's next to no white stuff, zero product feel, and my hair looks fresh and shiny. 

Herbivore Bakuchiol Retinol Alternative Smoothing Serum: I already use retinol and have no issues, so a gentler retinol-alternative wasn't necessary for me. But I had a bit of a lightbulb moment when I realized couple of products on the market combine retinol with bakuchiol, so I just added a couple of drops of this into my existing retinols for a little boost. It's a nice product, the scent is good, very light, almost non-existent. It's a bit of a thick texture, almost jelly-like, but it mixed well and soaked in well, no pilling. Results are harder to measure, especially since I've been hopping around with many different retinol samples the last few months. I didn't dislike it, but I'm not looking to buy it any time soon. Would happily use again though.

Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum: perfectly fine. A creamy, lotion type texture that soaked in well. No complaints.