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.

[eshoe]

The scent on that Jack Black sounds amazing @RGbrown. I love cardamom. Will check that one out, haven't tried anything from that brand before and I hear so many people rave about the lip balm. 

My skin doesn't tolerate retinol/oids at all, and that Herbivore has dramatically improved my skin. Nice solution you found to use it up!

[RGbrown]

@eshoe 

The Jack Black smelled divine in the packet! I was sad that the scent went a little sideways once on my body, but not entirely surprised...several of the savory kitchen spices do that on me, rosemary and cardamom in particular. But it saved me from wanting to buy a bottle, so I guess it worked out 😂

[eshoe]

Yeah, I know what you mean @RGbrown. I haven’t seen that ingredient in a shower gel yet so I’m gonna have to try it though. Still kicking myself for not picking up that free Becca powder this would have been a good excuse 🙄

[PenelopeBT]

I'm really interested in trying the Herbivore Bakuchiol Serum as I heard it's a natural form of retinol. <333

[RGbrown]

@PenelopeBT 

Bakuchiol isn't actually related to or a form of retinol at all, but it has a similar effect to retinol, while generally being gentler on your skin. It's a great option for folks that can't handle the side effects of retinol/retinoids etc!

[Samtian]

@RGbrown That's a bummer about the shower sheets for you. I really really love them!

[RGbrown]

@Samtian 

I'm really wondering how old mine are...it almost feels like I've had them hanging around for a year or two at this point, which makes me think they might be drying out. This one wasn't bone dry, but it wasn't much more than barely damp. I need to try my others soon to see if they are any better!

[Samtian]

@RGbrown Awe I'm sorry. Hopefully at least one of them won't be so bad. 

[CookieGirl1]

Ooh, @RGbrown, super glad that you posted about that Rituals shower gel; l've recently fallen in love with a couple of things from Rituals myself and wasn't aware that they had that particular scent but it sounds divine!

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

It was fantastic!

Unfortunately, Rituals seems to change up their scents fairly frequently...looking on their site, I don't see it 😞 I got it in a holiday advent calendar last year form...Barney's maybe? Or Neiman Marcus? Lord & Taylor??? I can't remember now (obviously), but maybe keep an eye out on holiday sets to see if it pops back up!

BTW, if you haven't looked at Rituals direct site, do so...I see several of their shower gels are on sale for $5, which is a great deal!

[samkeaysxo]

My September empties! Not too much this month, absolutely loved them all except for the La Roche-Posay Serozinc spray which was just okay, I prefer other mists and sprays. Smashbox primerizer and the Clarisonic head have already been repurchased. And planning on repurchasing the Garnier hair mask! The Bath and Body works body wash, and candles were great, but I have sooo many others to go through before I repurchase anymore!

[RGbrown]

Somehow I lost track of time...I like posting every week or two to keep my thoughts fresh, but it got away from me and my bag is overflowing this go'round. A couple of things in this batch have me scratching my head; I barely remember using them but I'll muddle through as best I can 😋

YTD empties 371

Notes in the spoilers!

Loves

Spoiler

Biobelle AfterParty sheet mask: the original Biobelle sheet masks are a consistent love for me. Low scent, nice fit, phenomenal moisture, thin fabric. Will come back for time and time again.

TonyMoly Pureness 100 Red Ginseng sheet mask: low scent, nice fit, good moisture. A little thicker than I prefer, but still not bad. I grabbed a bunch on sale a while back and will enjoy using them while I can.

Bumble and bumble Pret-A-Powder (loose): I think I'm going to try transitioning away from aerosol dry shampoos, or more specifically, the alcohol in aerosols. My hair is baby fine, and thinning, and I don't think alcohol sprayed nearly daily at my roots is doing it any favors. I have a ton of aerosols in my cabinet that I want to get through, but I'm going to start being more cutthroat about destashing ones I don't like much instead of forcing myself to use them up, and I'm going to alternate with a loose powder more frequently. In any case, this is a lovely dry shampoo. Nice scent, and does the job well...cleans my hair up without any product feel, and even gives me a touch of volume. I hate the bottle, but I empty it into an old alterna pump bottle for easier application. Would buy again (and have more ready). 

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream: cream is a bit of a misnomer...it's really more like a thick ointment that melts to an oily finish. It's not my daily foot cream, nor it is good for slapping on before heading out in sandals, but if I'm putting on socks, I love the feel of this one. 

Philosophy Purity Made Simple cleanser: just a nice, basic face wash that will be in my routine perhaps for eternity (or until my samples run out...oh, yeah, eternity 😛 )

Bumble and bumble Pret-A-Powder (aerosol): one of my two favorite aerosols (the other is Frederic Fekkai The One). I will hoard and use every mini I can get my hands on, but not sure I'll ever buy...I use it too fast to be willing to pay for a full size, plus that whole "trying to cut back on aerosols" thing above lol

Bumble and bumble Don't Blow It: simply amazing, magical, phenomenal stuff. This was my first Bumble love, and I think it's leading me down a Bumble fangirl path lol. It feels like nothing, but tames frizz and defines my waves with no weight or greasiness or crunch. Every now and again I forget what my hair used to look like before this product, so I go without it after a wash just to see if it's really doing anything for me, and I'm astounded every time. It doesn't make my hair "fresh out of the salon" perfectly smooth or anything like that, but it still makes a world of difference. I set this to the side and try other curl creams or stylers from time to time, but I always always always come back to it...nothing else compares.

Perfectly fine

Spoiler

Pacifica Hardcore Happy Dust Shower & Bath Fizz: I love the idea of a jar of loose powder smelly stuff for my shower...I can just sprinkle a little out into my soap dish without the mess that some of the larger cubes leave behind if I don't finish it one shower. The only con is that there is no anti-caking agent added, so chances are it'll be a solid block when you first get it (mine was). It didn't take me long to break it back into powder with a butter knife though (and it was a great way to take out some aggression lol). The scent is vanilla coconut, and it smells lovely. I have no immediate plans to buy more as I have other cubes to use up for now, but I am kinda eyeing it this week since it's part of Fall Haul...the right gwp and I may have a back up after all.

Dearpacker Black Ginseng Gold Hydrogel Mask: one of the items I sadly don't remember much about, but I recall I didn't hate it. Hydrogels are always tricky to get on, slippery as they are, but I seem to recall the fit was nice, and the scent didn't bother me. It stayed in place well. It might have even been a love? I wish I remembered more...

Kenra Platinum Restorative Reconstructor: perfectly nice, though I likely wouldn't have used it at all if it hadn't come in with a hole in the tube lol. I tend to need moisturizing masks more than protein masks, so I won't go out of my way to buy it, but it was fine as my after-clarifying deep conditioner.

Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels: took a little family vacation last week, and while I took several sheet and wash-off masks, I couldn't get anyone to join me in masking other than these (who are these non-skincare-oriented folks I'm related to, anyways?? 😛 ) They're fun to wear and feel good. Wouldn't buy, but I keep using them up.

Clinique High Impact Mascara: perfectly fine. Nice length/volume, doesn't flake or clump, and I like the brush. It doesn't dethrone my fave, but I'd be happy to use more.

Pureology Refresh & Go Dry Shampoo: this didn't knock any faves off the top of my list, but I really enjoyed it. The scent is fairly unique...kinda woody/fruity, not perfumey, but perhaps an acquired taste...I could see plenty of folks not liking it even though I really do. This is extremely low on the product-feel scale, and leaves no white stuff for me. All around enjoyable.

Ulta Triple Size Cotton Balls: not much to say...just a perfectly functional product

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence: the first time I had a mini of this stuff, I wanted to be impressed so badly that I was. I felt like my skin had never looked better than it did when I used this. This time around...it's a nice essence, but no better for me than any other. Yay! I will continue to use samples as I get them just so I can feel fancy, but I no longer have to go out of my way for them or feel like I have to ration them or save them for special days. 😄

Indie Lee CoQ-10 Toner: lovely non-acid toner, but acids are where my heart is at. I'll use samples, and I'll grab a travel sized one from Nordie's from time to time if there's some sort of fun glitchy deal to be had, but it won't be a staple for me

Malin+Goetz Detox Face Mask: I really have to pay more attention to directions/product info when trying new stuff. I always assume "detox" = "clay", but nope, this was a bubble mask lol. It was a nice one; plenty of bubbles without feeling invasive, and my face felt fresh and clean afterwards. I don't recall the scent, but I don't recall disliking it based on scent...

EOS stick balm, vanilla: nothing special. Fine as a daily balm, but didn't wow me. More than anything, I don't like the long lid...sometimes I want to only use one hand when applying my balm, but that's not possible with this one; I had to put down whatever was in my other hand so I could use it. I'd use one again if I had it, but won't go out of my way to buy it.

Schick brow razor: these aren't bad, but I still prefer Tinkle. Debating now if I want to spend cash on Tinkles, or Ulta points on more of these lol

Dermalogica Biolumen-C Serum: didn't dethrone my favorite Exuviance, but this is a nice, lightweight serum that soaks in well and doesn't mess with anything else in my routine or makeup. Would use again. 

Not for me

Spoiler

Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer: Broke me out 

Clinique Lash Power Flutter to Full Mascara: tubing mascara just doesn't fit my cleansing routine. It takes *forever* to get hot water in my bathroom (it's as far from the hot water heater as possible), so I start removing makeup while running cool water...by the time hot water hits, I'm done with eye makeup remover/oil cleanser/second cleanse and ready to rinse. Hitting this stuff with makeup remover first makes removal more difficult, and I'm not willing to wait and wait and for hot water before cleansing. It's a lovely product; I'm just not willing to revamp my routine to accommodate it.

Kenra Volume Dry Shampoo: I knew based off the name that there was a good chance I wouldn't like this, and I was right. If you are looking for volume, this is a good one...it wasn't terribly stiff or crunchy, nice volume while managing to stay fairly low on the product-feel scale. I just don't like product feel at all.

PTR Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel: I used this a couple of years ago and don't remember disliking it, but holy cow, the scent is atrocious to me. I like the cleanser itself, but it's got a cloying, too sweet, ultra-fake peach scent that I tried to get through but just can't stomach. I was sad to find I somehow had two open.

Soap & Glory No Woman No Dry Body Butter: I didn't find it to be any more moisturizing than my normal BBW lotions, and the scent is not for me...I picked up a fermented/alcohol-like undertone, like fruit that's gone bad.

Bliss Drench & Quench Cream to Water Hydrator: a really neat moisturizer that might work better for me if my routine was a bit different. I normally mix a few drops of oil with my moisturizer, but the melting aspect of this made that difficult. Fragrance is low on the ingredients list, and I don't recall picking up much of a scent at all. If I ever drop oil from my routine, or change up how I apply it, I'd consider giving this another chance, but it just doesn't work for me for now.

Shiseido Controlled Chaos MascaraInk: massive hourglass brush, which is pretty much always a nope for me. I can't not make a mess while applying it, and there was nothing special enough about this one to warrant putting up with more than one use. I really can't remember much about the wear, though I kinda feel like I was also annoyed by flakes or clumps or something...

[tinobiscuits]

@RGbrown I love reading these!  (Sheer Transformation broke me out too).  Question:  Did BioBELLE change their masks lately and this is your older stash that you still love?  I seem to recall you talking about a reformulation or them changing the masking material.  And I can't remember if it was all or some of their 'flavors'.

[RGbrown]

@tinobiscuits 

Biobelle added some new masks to their lineup (peach, watermelon, pineapple, vitaminsea, and rose). The new ones are fairly heavily scented to match their namesake (except vitaminsea), which is new for the brand...their scents used to be light, that basic "sheet mask fresh" scent. They also are not the same Tencel material as their original masks (even though some of the new ones say Tencel)...the new fabric is thicker and less stretchy, and I find they just don't fit as well because of it. They don't lay as flat or conform as well or stay in place as nicely as the old ones did. To me, the new ones are kinda sorta ok, but I've decided to avoid them out of disappointment, because I know Biobelle can do so much better. I also don't really enjoy heavily scented masks, so there's that aspect as well.

I have no idea if they've changed the fabric of their original ones, or if they're going to...I am still working on a stash of ones I bought before the new ones came out. I've got my fingers crossed that they aren't going to fiddle with the old ones though 🤞

[tinobiscuits]

@RGbrown Yes, yes that was it!  Now I remember.  I was piecing together previous reviews you'd done and only got part of it right. 

Thank you for the breakdown of which ones to avoid.  I'm pretty scent sensitive so I wanted to get it right when I tried my first one (so let me go ahead and bookmark this thread!).  

I wonder if Old Tencel and New Tencel feel different (thickness-wise, maybe?) when you squish the package.  Hmmm.

[RGbrown]

@tinobiscuits 

Oh, nice thought...I hadn't even thought of that. I tried though, and couldn't tell by squeezing the package. The difference is just too small to be noticeable that way. I mean, it's a huge difference once applied, but not when it's all folded up in a plastic/foil bag 😥

[Shelbstirr]

The first photo is my faves, I’ve repurchased the Hourglass stock foundation, Good Genes, CEO Oil, Nars Comfort Matte concealer, and GrandeLash. If I didn’t already have a million other mascaras I would totally buy the Pat McGrath mascara again. The second photo were things I was neutral about, finally tried the infamous Luminous Silk foundation and was surprised that it wasn’t more dewy. I liked it but have others that I like more at the moment. I HATED the Kat Von D mascara and the Urban Decay eye primer. I can’t stand the applicator for either.

[JaneanBT]

Hi @Shelbstirr ,

I love almost every item in your first photo too! I use the Hourglass Stick Foundation as a concealer because it provides such great coverage. 

Best Wishes,

Janean

[xcicee]

Hey how long did the Tatcha primer last for you? 

[karap03]

august empties!! loved the lancer method polish, urban decay all nighter, and purity cleanser very proud to have used up a full size blush and a mini bronzer!!

[sephoraaddict918]

Congrats on using up an entire full size blush @karap03!!! I've had a NARS blush for years, and I just hit pan last month! LOL