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]

I love your comment about squinting and smiling, made me smile @flamingolegs 😊

I used to use that Kiehl’s, it’s a nice gentle toner. 

[Lazybeautybeast]

I'm not sure where the past few months went. Here are my February and March empties. Still trying working through my DS and mask collections. Now that it is warming up, I'm going to work on my spf collection (it's kind of small but a lot of it expires at the end of this year).

[shyvicki]

I love the Tatcha Deep Cleanse but not the $38 price tag for a full size. I wish I could find a good dupe for it. 

[RGbrown]

I've been holding onto this batch longer than usual lately, so I don't remember details on everything, but I think I got 'em sorted at least pretty close to right. Maybe. 😋

Notes in the spoilers 😁

Loves/staples

Spoiler

Biobelle Stay Gorgeous sheet mask: just lovely all around. I love the thin fabric that stays in place, fit is good for me, scent is almost undetectable, and the hydration is excellent.

Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid: lovely stuff, helps with both skin tone and pores. I've swapped over to The Ordinary's version for now, but would buy PC again with the right deal.

Clinique TTDO Balm: staple first cleanse for me; I have a full size and a couple of travels in my stash as well, and am extremely happy with it. It removes everything with no fuss and takes very little product to do it.

Burt's Bees Lip Balm: I mix the flavors up from time to time, but continue to keep some on hand at all times. I do keep trying other balms, but haven't found anything I like better for daily (nearly obsessive) use.

Clarins Lip Oil (Honey Glam): I can't stand honey, so I was a bit nervous of this one, but the scent is very faint (I didn't really notice it until I pulled the stopper out to get the last bit), so I was good with it. This is my night time HG lip treatment, layered over a coat of Skyn Iceland's Lip Fix. The combo keeps my lips mostly smooth and hydrated better than anything else I've tried. The Skyn soaks in well, and the Clarins seals it up for the night. Before discovering Clarins, I woke up every morning and immediately grabbed a balm off my nightstand because my lips were dry and maybe even hurting, before I even got out of bed...now I can get up, do some morning stuff, and take 30+ minutes before I grab a balm out of habit...my lips are soft and hydrated, and I still have the Clarins in place.  

The better side of ok

Spoiler

Yes To Grapefruit Vitamin C mask: soft grapefruit smell that was pleasant. I don't think the fit was great...I seem to recall having to make a few cuts. The fabric was ok, a bit thick, but stayed in place relatively well. No phenomenal glow results, but I don't look for that in a sheet mask anyways...moisture is my main interest. I was satisfied with this one, but not blown away.

Tony Moly Pureness 100 Red Ginseng Mask: another mask in the "squarely fine" category...I picked up a few of these for $1 when I needed an Ulta filler, and don't mind using them. Light scent that is ever so slightly herbal/spicy, decent fit, decent moisture. Not something I'd go out of my way to find when I run out, but would use again if I ever saw them cheap.

Leaders Moisturizing Recovery Mask: Has that "sheet mask fresh" scent, though this one is a bit stronger than some. The hydrogel is really nice once applied, but IIRC, this one was super-thin and a bit tricky to apply. Excellent hydration though, so it falls into "would buy again with a great sale"

Algenist Advanced Retinol Serum: it's hard to evaluate a retinol on just a couple of weeks worth of product, but this seemed fine. My skin didn't backslide dramatically after moving to it from my PTR 1.5%, so I assume all was well. Would use again, though it's a bit on the ridiculously expensive side for me, so I don't think I'd ever buy it.

SK-II RNA Power Eye Cream: I hate how much I liked this lol. Really nice moisture with no milia or clogged pores. It wasn't phenomenal enough for me to consider buying it, but if it comes around as a points perk again, I'd probably grab another one (or two 😛 )

Hum Beauty Zzzz: I don't have too many issues falling asleep most nights, but I'd take one of these on those night I felt like I might be restless for a bit. Not sure 3 is enough to really evaluate a supplement, but perhaps it helped a bit. Would at least be willing to try it again, though I'm not really in the market to buy a sleep supplement right now.

Not Your Mother's Royal Honey & Kalahari Desert Melon Leave In Conditioner: I liked this a lot...nice moisture and detangling assistance without weighing my hair down, and I never found I had to go easy with it to avoid making my hair greasy. I have more leave ins and detanglers to try, but this was nice.

Kenra Platinum Deep Detox Scrub: Based on the name, I kinda expected this to be a scrub, but nope, it's "just" a shampoo. All in all, it was a nice clarifier, but I wasn't any more impressed with it than I am with my usual Matrix Biolage clarifying shampoo. The scent was really nice though, an almost masculine leaning/unisex herbal, woody, slightly spicy scent. 

Passable, but not desirable

Spoiler

Victoria's Secret Vanilla Lace Ultra Moisturizing Cream: not all that moisturizing for something called "ultra moisturizing". I bought these in a panic several years ago when I found out Vanilla Lace was being discontinued (it is one of my all-time favorite scents, forever and ever amen, and can we have a moment of silence for its passing, please and thank you? :p), but I much prefer the VS lotion to their cream (or at least their old lotions...I haven't tried any of their stuff in years). This was hard to spread, and just didn't hold up that well...I frequently found myself having to touch up spots on my legs or arms, which I don't normally have to do. I love and will miss the scent, but am thankful I'm done with the cream (and also thankful I have one more bottle of lotion in my stash lol)

Starskin Exfoliating Foot Mask: this was ok. It took 7 days for my feet to start peeling and around 19 days before I would have worn sandals, but I never got to peel much off myself...it mostly just flaked off in tiny pieces. A foot soak or a shower was kinda fun though, if not messy lol, since I could just wipe them down with a towel and pull off what seemed like a pound or more of small stuff. All in all, the results were ok...my feet are smoother and softer than they were, but I still have a good bit of thick skin around my heels and calluses on the balls of my feet...I think TonyMoly actually gave me the best results out of the few I've tried so far. 

H2O+ Waterbright Gel Mask: this would be my favorite mask in the whole wide world if I felt like it did anything for me, but I really can't tell that there are *any* results. It's a 2pc gel with a sticky back that really adheres well, and there's no serum...it's all impregnated in the gel, so there's no drippy mess or worry about squeezing the excess serum off. The fit is great. No scent. But sadly, I can't tell a lick of difference in my face after using it.

Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo: The scent is nice to me (it smells just like Carol's Daughter Monoi Dry Shampoo, if you've ever smelled that...I really don't know how to describe it, other a little dry, a little woody...but there's something else too), but I've seen a lot of folks can't stand it. My main dislike is the nozzle itself...I like to use light pressure with aerosol dry shampoos, but that's almost impossible with this one...it's either nothing or "the room is now completely filled with powder", and I wind up going through it so quickly that it's just not worth the money. I also frequently wind up with too much in my hair, leaving an unattractive powdery cast. It works well when I get the right amount, but those times are pretty infrequent. I generally know how to operate an aerosol can, so this just makes me feel a little inadequate some days 😛 

Nah

Spoiler

ACV by dpHUE Dry Shampoo: I had high hopes for this one, only to be disappointed. The scent was good, I didn't detect any vinegar to it at all, just a soft floral/herbal scent. It did a nice job of removing oil without leaving too much residue. The slightest hint of volume. No product feel. But...it's a fairly wet formula (it dries by the time you get done spraying it, so there's no problem with your hair being wet or anything like that). The problem is it leaks white liquid all down the can as you spray. And heaven forbid you shake in the middle of using it...I am still finding white spots *everywhere*. They clean up easily, but good grief, the mess.

Andalou Naturals Instant Lift & Firm sheet mask: made my eyes water for the rest of the day. I've had that reaction to a couple of their products now, so I guess I should have predicted it (though another one of their items is my HG winter moisturizer and gives me no trouble). Strong floral scent as well, so even if this hadn't bothered my eyes, it still would have been a no.

Boscia Charcoal Pore Pudding: this would be a really nice clay mask that I'd enjoy having in my stash again if it weren't for the strong floral scent. I recently saw the term "hate panning" for using up items you can't stand, and that was pretty close to my goal here. Glad to see it gone, I feel good knowing I didn't waste it, but I almost wish I had just tossed it from the beginning (or maybe I should have sniffed it *before* I shoved my spatula in it, slapped it on my face and then caught a whiff lol...just a thought 😛 )

[cianni]

@RGbrown HATE PANNING omg that is the most perfect term and may or may not describe half the things in my 2019 panning project .... looks like you did great with these empties!! I appreciate all the detail in your reviews ☺️

[RGbrown]

@cianni @missjeanie 

😂😂 It's a great term, isn't it? 

[missjeanie]

How did I not notice this when I first read it??? I feel like I'm hate panning most of my 19 in 19 project! @cianni @RGbrown 

[CookieGirl1]

Ironically I was considering purchasing the PC Azelaic Acid, @RGbrown so can I ask--what were you specifically using it for?  I'm dealing with some mild acne scarring/residual redness and I'm trying to come up with some options; the PC was one of the products that I came across that was recommended for helping to remedy that particular issue.  Do you feel like you've seen any noticeable results from using it?  H

[RGbrown]

@CookieGirl1 

I use for two reasons: it can help unclog pores (I am *extremely* congestion-prone) and also to help with red marks/scars (I am so so bad about picking when I know I shouldn't). It has definitely been helpful...when I inevitably go too far picking at something, the mark disappears much faster, and I don't seem to get quite as congested as I used to. My congestion could still be better, and I'm vaguely curious to check out a prescription version one day, wondering if 20% might be even better for me, but I'm pretty content to work with an OTC version for now.

I do like that the PC version includes a little bit of BHA as well (0.5%), whereas The Ordinary version doesn't, but I use a separate BHA anyways (also PC), so I don't think I'm missing too much there by swapping brands. 

[RebeccaBT]

@RGbrown Awesome empties!

Best,
Rebecca

[RGbrown]

Thanks @RebeccaBT!

[ShortErica]

@RGbrown how much of the CLINIQUE Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm Makeup Remover 3.8 oz/ 125 mL do you use? I have a small maybe deluxe size from a holiday kit that I will start using and don't want to waste it if a little goes a long way. Thanks!

[RGbrown]

@ShortErica 

A little goes a long way with this stuff! I've got a 1oz jar in use right now too, and have gotten somewhere around 10-12 uses from it, and it's still about half full. Just start with a small amount, and maybe grab a little more if you feel you need it. It's hard to evaulate how much I dig out with my spatula each time, but it's maybe a dollop around twice the size of moisturizer I use?

I do generally use a liquid to take my eye makeup off first, so you may need a little more if you're doing that all in one step, but it really doesn't take much of this stuff at all to get everything off.

[ShortErica]

Thanks @RGbrown - super helpful as always. Excited to see how many uses I can get out of my small size and see if it cleans up to its reviews. 🙂

[RGbrown]

@ShortErica 

No problem; I hope you love it! 

[ShortErica]

Hi @RGbrown - I've been using it for the past couple weeks and it is much better about removing makeup. It struggles more with my tinted sunscreen but does a significantly improved job than the Boscia. My one concern is it doesn't seem to breakup my non-waterproof mascara. I don't think the product is intended for eyes but it's weird the oil doesn't do much to get it off. What was your experience with the balm and eye makeup? Do you use a different product for eyes? I only wear mascara and would love a one and done remover but this has been a step in the right direction. 🙂

[RGbrown]

@ShortErica 

I have used it a couple of times for my eye makeup (also non-waterproof mascara), and don't recall having any problems, but my normal routine does involve a separate eye makeup remover. Not because I feel I have to, but because it is the one diehard habit I established in my teens lol. I use TTDO liquid (mostly because I can replenish with samples for the rest of eternity, but it's also excellent at its job).

If you don't want a separate step (and I get that!), did you try letting it sit on your lashes for maybe 15-30 seconds before trying to rub  the mascara off?

[ShortErica]

I'll try it tonight @RGbrown. I tend to spread the balm all over my face until it is oily and then wipe it gently over my eyelashes a few times..then rub my face some and then go back over the eyelashes. I was wondering if maybe the liquid would be the better option for me..personal preference type of thing so I may have to try that instead. Thanks again!

[samkeaysxo]

My March empties. Absolutely loved the Marc Anthony dry styling oil, and conditioner, Lise Watier cleanser (repurchased), Lancôme genifique (purchased the full size), MUFE primer, and Stila glitter in “Diamond Dust”. The rest were nice, but not a necessity or must have to me, so I won’t be repurchasing.

[CookieGirl1]

I got a DS of the Dr. Brandt primer too, @samkeaysxo, and I sadly couldn't make it work for me!  It seems like a lot of people really enjoy it but it always pilled up on me no matter what moisturizer I tried or how much/little of the primer I actually used.  Hope you had better luck!

[karap03]

MARCH EMPTIES! loved everything this month. not a ton of empties but all good things. the wella brilliance is my favorite shampoo/conditioner of all time. bath and body works body creams are incredible. batiste dry shampoo is a lifesaver. sleepy lotion from lush is so relaxing i usually put a dollop on my upper body for a bit of aromatherapy to help me unwind before bed. donna karan deodorant is a luxury item i just tried this month and loved the scent which lasted allll day- perfect for work since it’s subtle and i don’t feel the need to wear perfume with it. olly flawless complexion gummies were new to me this month - can’t say these alone cleared my skin but i think it helped a bit! joico kpak hair mask is perfect if you’re looking for something hydrating that will make your hair silky soft.