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.

[CynthieLu]

Great empties @RGbrown I am a fan of the scent of Tula's classic face wash 🙃  I like the powdery-ness of it. I can totally see it not being everyone cup of tea and to be fair, it is pretty heavily scented. 

[RGbrown]

@CynthieLu 

Baby powder is near the top of my most disliked scents of all time, unfortunately 🤨 I dunno if they changed the scent or my nose changed, but when I first started using it 2-3 years ago, it didn't smell like powder to me...everyone else said it did, but I caught a weird herbal scent that I also wasn't keen on, but I liked the cleanser enough to power through my olfactory displeasure and use it anyway. But now my last two tubes have been very strong with the baby powder scent and I wish I could go back to the weird herbal scent lol. But I love the cleanser!

[CynthieLu]

I knooo alot of people that really dislike that powdery smell @RGbrown it is a super solid cleanser thou. I wouldn't be able to wiegh in on any changes, I only discovered this last year. I wonder what changed in it or in your nose scent perceptors. 🧐 I love that it is so good you power through the unpleasantness. Maybe it'll change again,  hopefully to something you can tolerate or even enjoy 😉 🤞

I have a perfume I love with definite powdery notes, so many people don't care for it by but I'm sold 🤩

[RGbrown]

YTD 143 🗑️

I've been bad about not coming back and posting my notes (I really should get better about that), but I am always happy to answer any questions if I can (I've also been bad about letting my empties pile up too long lol, so I may not remember much about some of these, whoops 😬)

Notes below!

Spoiler

L'Oreal Pure Clay Mask: I've liked pretty much all of this line for a budget clay mask. This one has some grains for exfoliating, they're fairly gentle, mostly rounded, not sharp and scratchy, and it does a nice job of soaking up excess oil. Would buy again if I came across it (though Ulta has stopped carrying this variety in particular, so I may never see it again lol)

elf Hydrating Water Essence: lovely budget pick, sadly discontinued, though I've been using the same bottle for literal years as I tend to stop and start essences on a whim. Kinda looking forward to trying some others though, and may be crushed this is gone at some point.

H2O+ Beauty Milk Mousse to Oil Body Moisturizer: this is the coolest stuff I have ever used in my life, it's a moussey foam that melts into a fantastic body oil as you apply it, and it does an excellent job at keeping my skin hydrated and happy. I was sadly not a fan of the scent of this variety though, it's a fairly strong floral that turned me off; I had another variety (Sea Salt, I think it might have been called?) that was more pleasing to my nose. Long discontinued though, so it's not like I can run out and buy more anyway.

Matrix Total Results High Amplify Dry Shampoo: not my fave, though not the worst I've ever used either. Left flaky build up if I used it more than once per wash cycle, but that one use did a decent job at making my hair look fresher. Falls into the "would reuse samples" category because I can't help myself when it comes to freebies lol, but not looking to buy it.

Paula's Choice Resist 4% BHA: I've been on an off-cycle with this for a while, mostly just using my 2% and forgetting I had this in the cabinet. I've noticed an explosion of blackheads in the last few months and pulled this back out, but it hasn't been helping...am wondering if it might be ineffective because it's expired (quite possible). I have a new bottle I just opened a couple of days ago, so hopefully that gets me back in decent shape soon, otherwise I may be lost 😕

Peach & Lily Water Gel Moisturizer: lightweight moisturizer that soaks in pretty quickly and mostly leaves me feeling nicely hydrated; on days where I need a little more, I add a couple of drops of oil on top. No scent, good packaging. I'm not sure it's my all time HG, but I have a few more of these travel sizes, and will be more than happy to use them between trying some others.

FAB Ultra Repair Cream (Candy Cane): Used as a foot lotion, where I love the minty scent. Not my fave formula for the purpose, but I still love getting this scent from time to time

LRP Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser: does a great job at cleansing without stripping my skin. I have lots of cleansers I like, so I'm not really committed to buying any of them because samples are always piling up, but I'd consider buying this one if I ever needed to buy something.

Urban Veda Purifying Exfoliating Facial Polish: way too strongly scented, loaded with essential oils with an overall "herbal insecticide" scent. Tried it a couple of times and liked the product performance wise, but the scent was just too off-putting.

Philosophy Fresh Cream body wash: I love the Warm Cashmere variation of this scent, but this one didn't float my boat...I got "leftover milk from overly sweet marshmallow cereal" from it, and while I love me some Lucky Charms, that's not the scent I want in my body wash lol. Not a big fan of the brand's body wash in general though, I find it doesn't lather quite as well as BBW does for me, and I frequently have to reload my loofah halfway through my shower.

Peach & Lily Power Calm Hydrating Gel Cleanser: this was not enough for me as a main cleanse at night...might have been better suited to a morning cleanser for my oily skin. Wound up with a few breakouts while using this, and as soon as I swapped cleansers, that all stopped.

Philosophy Purity Cleanser: the cleanser I've used for literal years and have never paid a single penny for, ha! Samples of this were so free-flowing at one point that I built up somewhere around 60 packets (and dozens of small bottles). It gets used a couple of times a week, and I'm happy enough it to keep using it until I run out (if that ever happens lol).

Ulta Lip Oil (Sugar Plum): basic staple for me, I use a lip oil over my lip mask every night. Have more, and will continue to repurchase as needed

Fragrance samples: used as pillow mists because I cannot be bothered to remember to use fragrance on myself, ha! 

Spoiler

The Ulta and Aldi candles were all moderately ok, medium-ish throw, wish they were stronger, but I've had much worse, so I was fine with them for a gentle freshening instead of a fragrance assault lol. I am mad at myself over this Homeworx candle though. I have been disappointed with nearly every single candle I've bought from the brand over the years, and keep telling myself not to buy more, they just aren't worth the money, and I've been pretty vocal about that in all my empties posts too. But nooooooo, I can't stop, because the first one I ever tried was flat out amazing, and I keep hoping I'll find another one that's equally amazing. Welp, here it is, this one is *fantastic*. I loved it enough that I went back and bought two more (one to burn, one to keep forever 😂). If you like smoky fireplace scents, you will adore this one, and it has amazing throw, scents up my whole place. Love!

Spa Naturals Shower Fizzies: total waste of money (I didn't have high expectations as they came from Dollar Tree), no scent in the shower.

Ulta shower tablets: much better, I have a stash of these, and will be sad when they finally run out.

Cala peppermint foot mask: I like these enough that I keep a small stash of them on hand for a little treat

TonyMoly Changing U Magic Foot Peel: I am just as happy with my results from this one as I am from Babyfoot...I find that wearing it longer (about 2.5 hours this time) really helps with the effectiveness, and the occasional foot soak 'n scrub while peeling helps dramatically. Also, I avoid foot lotion until the peeling has stopped...no sense in trying to soften the dead stuff, I want it to be dry and flaky lol. It took about three weeks from start to finsh, but that's the same for me with any foot peel, so I'll happily pay just a few bucks for this one instead of big bucks on more expensive ones.

Sheet masks, all good except Global Beauty Care hydrogels. Another Dollar Tree experiment, big time fail. They smell like burning rubber, are way too thick and heavy to even consider doing anything besides laying down while wearing them, and are just wadded up in the pouch, coming out a wrinkly mess that won't lay flat. Don't waste your time and money on these; I tried two, and just tossed the third out of frustration. I also got a couple of non-gel sheet masks from the brand, and they're actually ok (I think one was in my last batch of empties, and I still have one waiting to be used). I go to DT like once a year, so they won't become a staple for me or anything, but I'd be willing to pick up a couple more of those next time I go (if they have them again, DT is always hit or miss on what they stock...I was actually hoping to find some Freeman sheet masks I'd gotten a couple of years ago, but no luck there)

[itsfi]

Look at the bevy of beauties!! Nice work @RGbrown. 👊🏼 You went through a lot of the Philosophy cleanser. Wow! How’s the Matrix dry shampoo (if you remember)?

[RGbrown]

@itsfi 

Somehow I managed to accumulate something like 60 packets of that philosophy cleanser over the years, but set them off to the side and forgot all about them, so I've been doing my best to use them up. When my bottle in the shower gets low, I dump a bunch back in it all at once lol. Almost done though...currently working through my last few!

The Matrix is ok. It does a decent job of making my hair look much better, but I can only use it once per wash cycle or else it leaves me looking flaky. I'm trying to cut back on how much dry shampoo I use anyway, so it wasn't the end of the world, but I have better faves (Redken Deep Clean, and Matrix Biolage All in One)

[Mellmars1185]

@RGbrown Excellent empties!!

[RGbrown]

@Mellmars1185 

Thanks so much! 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@RGbrown you finished the e.l.f.!  What a shame it was discontinued.  I have about half a bottle left.  Have you found anything to replace it?

[RGbrown]

@greeneyedgirl107 

I've got a mini of the Peach & Lily essence going now, and have a bottle of the elf essence they released after this one in the cabinet as well. Pretty sure I've got 2 or 3 others to try too lol, really can't remember what all is in the cabinet right this second. I hate it when favorites go away! 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@RGbrown I've stayed away from the P&L due to the eucalyptus.  What's the name of the e.l.f. essence that came out after the Water Treatment?  I think there are too few essences out there in general and even less good ones.  The e.l.f. and Paula's Choice (loved that one!) Are the only ones I ever liked.  I'm thinking about trying Good Molecules at some point.

[RGbrown]

@greeneyedgirl107 

Ahhhhh, I was thinking what I picked up was closer to the original than it really is (it's been so long since I bought it that I forgot the details)...looks like I've got the Pure Skin Toner, which isn't as similar as I had been thinking. Still looks like a good product though, several ceramides and glycolic acid, no added fragrance.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@RGbrown I understand -- isn't it amazing how memory can play tricks on us?!

[Lanbreofficial]

Is it only something that can be purchased at Sephora?

[Lanbreofficial]

My current empties (March-April 11, 2023). I’ve been repurchasing these products multiple times already & I really love it all. I already have repurchased some of it again and enjoying it 🥰 I love trying different products but I have noticed that I keep coming back for these. So I guess, I can just say these are my regulars 🥰

 

[itsfi]

That’s awesome when you find products you keep going back to time and time again @Lanbreofficial! Great job on working through all these beauties! 😃 

[RGbrown]

@Lanbreofficial 

Howdy and welcome! 

Nah, we are free to discuss any and all beauty items regardless of where they are sold. The only stipulation is we can't post non-Sephora links. We'd love to see you join us!

[Lanbreofficial]

Thank you 😊

[sonnydee]

My out of state empties. All loves...thats why they travel with me🤗💋

 YTD 63

[Sofra]

i had the Oribe empties a while ago and they are so good i love it lol

[itsfi]

Just on the packaging alone, that sheet mask is perfectly designed for travel. Did you use it on the plane?