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]

The latest batch o' trash!

Notes in the spoilers 😊

Loves/staples

Spoiler

Ulta cotton rounds: I guess love is strong for these, but they are a staple. I've got reusable cotton I use for most everything now, but still use these for removing eye makeup on full face days. At my current rate of a couple rounds per week, my backlog of 8 bags will last approximately 6 years 😮

Exuviance AF Vitamin C20 Serum Capsules: true love with HG status. Sadly, they're more than I want to spend, but I will be keeping an eye out for a great deal and stocking up again. The capsules have way more serum in them than I can use at once, so I get 2 days out of each, which really helps stretch the supply. In the mean time, I have The Ordinary's 23% Vitamin C to try out next.

Biobelle Unicornglow sheet mask: my true love sheet mask brand, and this one did not disappoint. Nice fit, low scent, good moisture. 

Bareminerals Complexion Rescue: love the light coverage for days when I want a little more than my tinted sunscreen. Just bought a full size

L'Oreal Pure-Clay Yuzu Lemon Mask: I really like L'Oreal's clay mask line, and I think this is my fave. If I needed more masks, I'd absolutely buy a jar of this. Fresh lemon scent that's not too overpowering, and it dries quite softly...it's not one that makes your skin tight. It does a nice job of drying up excess oil without being harsh. 

TIGI S-Factor Health Factor shampoo: I picked this up on clearance for something like $2, and had zero expectations. Turns out it may be my favorite shampoo of all time. This cleans well without drying out or stripping my hair, and doesn't turn it to straw. Light citrus scent. Almost a total dupe of the Oribe Gold Lust shampoo I tried a couple of weeks ago (Oribe was a tad darker in color, but scent, performance and texture were exact). Would buy more if Ulta still carried it, but I have plenty of other samples I'm content to work through for now anyways.

TIGI S-Factor Serious Conditioner: kinda funny I finished this off at the same time as the shampoo, but I didn't use them together lol. This was my conditioner on clarifying days. I think it'd be too heavy for my fine hair on a daily basis, but it was great when I wanted that extra kick after a strong shampoo. Love it, and am grateful I have another tube in the closet (Ulta dropped this too, of course...if I love it, no one else does lolol) 

Liked just fine

Spoiler

Mario Badescu Herbal Hydrating Serum: this is a really nice light moisture layer. I have a few more samples of it, plus a few other samples of similar products from other brands to finish off, but could see myself considering buying this at some point in the future.

Peach & Lily Wild Dew Treatment Essence: I have to admit I don't see much difference between most essences I've tried. I really liked this one, but I've liked all of them (except one...looking at you, Exuviance!). Light scent, soaks in well. Would use again, but have some others on hand and am looking forward to exploring the genre more thoroughly...maybe I can get a better grasp on them...essences are still really new to me. 

Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mask: perfectly nice, but not $12 nice. Would use again, but would never pay for one 😛

FAB Ultra Repair BarriAIR Cream: the bubbling effect is neat, but I'd really prefer a cream that's not in a tub. All in all, this was nice; it wasn't too heavy for my oily/congestion-prone skin, didn't break me out or have any unwanted side effects. Overall I liked it, and would use again, but this is another category where I have tons of samples and am looking forward to moving through some of them. Would use again, but won't buy.

Derma E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum: this was fine. I use the Exuviance above at night, but like to put a little something on during the day when I'm wearing sunscreen, so I used this up in my daytime routine. Would use again. 

Sum Bum CocoBalm: a really thick stick, waxy like Burt's Bees was years and years ago. Provides a good barrier to stop moisture loss, but not all that moisturizing on its own...really needs something under it first if your lips are dry. OK, but not my fave.

The One by Frederic Fekkai One To Believe In Leave-In Conditioner: good conditioning without weighing down my fine hair, but way more than I want to spend. Would use again, but I'm not enamored enough to hunt a deal or consider a splurge.

Ulta Superfood Mud Mask Blueberries & Yogurt: "3-4 uses per pouch" literally made me laugh out loud. It's a full size 1.8oz product 😛 This was a good clay mask. It dries, but it's not that tight dry...it just sorta flakes and powders away instead (so you might look like you have a bad case of dandruff if you leave it on for a while like I normally do lol). The blueberry scent is a bit artificially sweet, but it's still relatively pleasant, and all in all I was happy with the results. Would use again.

BBW Wild Honeysuckle shower gel: the scent is a bit too sweet for me, but I love the gel itself.

Nah

Spoiler

Versace Bright Crystal Perfumed Body Lotion: I like this scent every now and again, but the texture of this was quite different from any other lotion I've ever used. It's quite -cone heavy, very thin and slick. It did a halfway decent job of keeping dryness at bay, but I found myself doing a few touchups here and there, plus I still prefer more traditional lotion formulations.

Rituals Good Luck Scrub Sweet Orange & Cedar Wood: this is my favorite Rituals scent, so I'm sad the scrub doesn't meet my needs. The scrub itself is excellent, but it leaves my shower so slick that I have to soap it down immediately (and usually twice) or risk breaking my neck. I have other scrubs that work just as well without testing my complete lack of coordination.

Drunk Elephant Babyfacial: yup, call me a heretic 😮 I find this didn't much for me other than make my face look like carp for about three days, and then poof, I go back to normal. My theory is that perhaps I do enough other exfoliation that this was superfluous in my routine, and just causing my face to say "dangit, that's enough" with the three day tantrum. Shrug...thankfully for my wallet, this isn't for me. 

[CookieGirl1]

@RGbrown you do some of the most thorough reviews! Might have to look into the shampoo because I'm on the hunt for a new one.

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

It was a really good one!

Retail price for the whole S Factor line is somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 (which I find ridiculous for the size) but when Ulta carried it, they would run it for $10 a couple of times a year...I'm not sure what other stores carry it, but definitely watch for a sale!

[CookieGirl1]

@RGbrown I know I've seen it in a couple of stores before but never really gave it a second thought.  I don't think it's a brand that I've really heard people talk about much.

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

🤔 I don't think I've heard anyone talk about it either. The conditioner was the first thing I grabbed on one of the $10 sales, then I got their moisture spray (which I also liked), then snagged the shampoo on clearance. Now that I know how much I like this stuff, I'm extra sad Ulta isn't carrying it anymore. I'd love tour thoughts if you ever give it a try! 

[eshoe]

Makes my life that much easier when a $$$ product leaves me 🤷🏻‍♀️ @RGbrown.

[RGbrown]

@eshoe 

Yes, my wallet is certainly happy over this nope 😂

[Loretta55]

I laughed at the cotton rounds comment so hard that I started to choke @RGbrown . I feel the same way about some of the items in my stash too.

[ShortErica]

Interesting @RGbrown, I've seen so many people love the baby facial so I'm curious about your impression of it.

[RGbrown]

@ShortErica 

I've got notes up now, but I really didn't find any benefit from it. My face would look worse for about three days after using it (small bumps/congestion) before going back to normal. I tried to stay positive for a while by thinking it was just purging up stuff from under the surface, but the reality is that my face never looked any better, even after that three day mess...and I've used enough acids/exfoliants/retinols for years that purging shouldn't really be an issue anyways.  

[ShortErica]

I appreciate your comments @RGbrown. No reason to keep using a product that makes your skin worse. I've never experienced a purge and don't think I would be patient enough to keep testing a product that caused it.

[RGbrown]

@ShortErica 

I've been working on it very intermittently since August or so...I just kept being hopeful that the next use would be the one where I finally liked it lol. Then it just became a "I'm gonna finish this dang thing off, like it or not" project 😋

[ShortErica]

I've had those products too @RGbrown. 🤣 Why do we do this to ourselves?! Great job finishing it off!

[mmmiu]

Not my most exciting empties/purges this time 😋 My continued ride or die: Kiehl's ultra facial cleaner and creme de corps Finished a third bottle of the Anika mousse but won't repurchase. Didn't really do that much for me, dunno why I still used up 3! Picture with the makeup is stuff that's been hanging around too long and needs to go.

[PenelopeBT]

@mmmiu Love the Disney Creme de Corps packaging and love the Creme de Corps line in general. <333

[2manyperfumes]

Hi 😊 I have a can’t live without products that I repurchase when almost empty and top of that list over and over is Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Visibly Firming Refillable Body Cream 8.1 oz/ 240 mL

[Weetart]

@2manyperfumes I also adore those scents. My boyfriend gets a little peeved sometimes when I go a little bonkers with the lotion and/or body spray before bed because it makes him hungry.

[2manyperfumes]

They work so well and I love those scents @Weetart lol it does make you hungry for baked goods 🥰

[sephoraaddict918]

I only recently started using the SDJ Bum Bum Cream, but I feel the same way @2manyperfumes! I'm almost done with my current jar, but I have one waiting in the stash.

[2manyperfumes]

I saw that the gift bags (mini travels) are again available at Sephora.  Great time to pick up the turquoise one,  it has a more intense scent but I love it too. 

[2manyperfumes]

It’s such a good product line.  After using it regularly it toned and firmed my skin.  No dry, itchy, scales - best neck cream too and I use it on my feet over winter at night and they’ve stayed so soft.  The blue tub is a tingling formula and smells different but delicious too.  I’m on tub 6 I think.  I want to try their scrub too.