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.

[itsfi]

Wowwy @missjeanie! Look at all those empties and your declutters! 👍🏼 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi @Thanks! Im super happy with my January progress!

[RGbrown]

End of January empties!

YTD 45

Notes in the spoiler!

Spoiler

Left Hand Soap Company Peppermint Sage Sugar Scrub: fantastic product from a local small business, just a basic scrub made with sugar and castor oil. Unfortunately, I way overbought in the past, and let this one sit entirely too long, and as a result, it has gone bad. Sad tears! But I will rebuy in the future, once I finish off a bit more of my scrub stash.

Ulta Crisp Apple candle: when Ulta gets it right, they get it right! Love the scent and the throw on this one; it's a fresh fall apple, not too sweet, borderline dry even, with a hint of woody warmth. Will definitely keep an eye out for it next fall.

Huntington Home Vanilla candle: Aldi, $3.99! I knew Aldi did special holiday candles, which I usually miss, but I feel like a dolt for just discovering that they have some on their cleaning aisle pretty much year round. They are very nice for a $4 candle! The throw is medium-ish on this particular scent...I've had better, but I've also had much worse. This is a warm, creamy vanilla, not overly sweet or cloying, and the candle burned well without any tunneling or any other fussy behavior. I love a good vanilla, and will definitely be buying more of these.

Klorane Nourishing Shampoo with Mango Butter: it doesn't quite compare to my love for FusionPlex, but this is one of the few samples I've tried lately that I actually liked. It cleansed well without overly stripping my hair, and was easy to spread with a nice lather. Would use again.

Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk: Works reasonably well, though I found that the nozzle liked to clog with residue, and then shoot larger dried chunks into my hair...had to start remembering to clean the nozzle before every use. Mildly annoying, but I'd pick this up again with a good deal. It has low residue that disappears easily, and it's not stiff or crunchy or sticky, so it meets my other criteria for a thumbs up.

Sun Bum Tinted Sunscreen Lip Balm: Not quite full on gritty, but it definitely had a bit of a grainy texture, plus, I felt like the color washed me out. Not that it matters sitting around the house, but I jusst couldn't bring myself to finish it with the texture. Declutter.

Guerlain Mon Guerlain EDP: I'm not generally much of a gourmand person, but I really like this one every now and again. Sweet, but with a warmth that helps keep it from being sickly sweet. 

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion: fantastic basic budget option, plenty moisturizing for me even in winter. I ever so slightly prefer the texture of their regular Daily Moisturizing Lotion, but I have more samples and will happily use it again.

FAB Ultra Repair Cream Candy Cane: I adore mint, but finding a good lotion with mint can be tough...they smell metallic, or have next to no scent, or straight up stink. This was fantastic! Nicely minty, with no metallic or floral undertones. I stockpiled a few when Ulta had them on sale, and will relish pulling one out from time to time. URC isn't my all time favorite hand/body lotion, but it's a nice enough formula for me, especially with the right scent. 

CosRX  AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner: love this as a budget friendly, gentle acid toner. Have another, and will buy again with a deal. I have other faves, but this is a solid option. 

Sheet masks, all fine

[eshoe]

Hmmmmm knowing that Aldi owns TJ’s, I am interested in trying that candle, @RGbrown. Thank you for the tip and nice work on your empties!

[ather]

@RGbrown  Good job!!! Those masks look good!

[RGbrown]

I struggle with finding my balance between "waste not, want not" and "not gonna use it if I don't love it", but early Jan saw me tossing quite a few things I'm just plain old tired of hate-panning. If it doesn't work, I've got no room for it, and there's no sense in saving my true loves for some future date that never seems to arrive. I spent a good bit of 2020 figuring out what works for me and what doesn't, so I'm looking forward to a bit of stability in my routines going forward. I'll try a few things here and there, but barring any drastic changes in my skin or hair, this is going to be the year of sticking mostly to my staples 💕

YTD 30

Notes in the spoilers!

LOVES

Spoiler

Exuviance Vitamin C Serum Capsules: a really nice formulation of 20% LAA in individual capsules, helping to keep them more stable for longer. I do have one other vitamin C I'm going to try at some point this year (Good Molecules powder), but unless that just blows me out of the water, this is my HG.

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion: a basic, budget friendly moisturizer with a nice formulation. It doesn't break me out or clog my pores, and I don't feel the need to be spendy on this category. Have more samples, and would buy whenever I run out.

Lip Smackers Dr Pepper lip balm: just plain old fun in a tube. It's not mindblowingly good, but it's not a bad balm, and I adore both the flavor and the price point. It's a cheap daily driver for a balm addict like me lol. Have more and anticipate buying again as well.

Peach & Lily Glass Skin Serum: my skin loves niacinamide, and I'm really liking all the samples of this that I have. I'm not in any need to buy anytime soon as I have several more samples of both this and the Awake brand niacinamide serum, but I'd consider purchasing with the right deal when I need more.

Sheet masks...all fine. Just using up my stash, but this isn't a category I'll spend much on in the future.

NOPE

Spoiler

Homeworx Mandarin Pink Grapefruit candle: not citrusy at all, but instead a very perfumey rosy floral. 

Alterna Caviar Replenishing Moisture Priming Leave In Conditioner: a painfully sharp citrus scent to my nose, and I couldn't tell that it did anything at all. Plus, it sprays out in a stream instead of a mist. Declutter.

Cela Essential Balm Miracle Multi-Use Oil: I used this up as a foot cream, and it wasn't bad for that, but it's definitely oily, as implied by the name, which makes it only good for when you're putting on socks. I'd use more samples, but this isn't something I'm looking to replace.

Phyto Phytophanere supplements: I've been using these for a year or more now, admittedly not always good at remembering them everyday, but I think I'm pretty good with remembering them most of the time. All in all, I've noticed no difference in either my hair or nails, so I won't be rebuying these once I finish off my last bottle.

CND Ridge FX Nail Surface Enhancer: I've never seen a texture for a base coat like this before; it makes me wonder if this bottle is super old or otherwise off, or if it's supposed to be like this. It's almost like pudding? Chunky, streaky, and just plain weird. I tried adding some thinner, but that didn't help. I've got other ridge fillers I know I like, so I'm not going to try and "make it work", I've got no patience for that. It was a $2 cart filler anyways, so I'm not out much. Declutter.

PUR 4-in-1 Cloud Cream Gel to Water Hydrating Essence Moisturizer: never felt like it soaked in, and it was incredibly slick feeling. Left my hands so slippery that I'd have to wash them before I could even put my skincare away or move any further in my routine. The scent is light, but it's powdery-slash-perfumey, which doesn't agree with me either. Declutter.

Algenist Splash Absolute Hydration Replenishing Sleeping Pack: a lightweight gel with a nice texture that I liked, but the perfume scent was just too much. Declutter.

Chapstick Total Hydration (Fresh Citrus): a fairly thin balm that didn't last all that long, but for my daytime balm habit, it was fine. However, I've decided long caps aren't really my jam, so this won't be a repurchase.

The One by Frederic Fekkai The Universal One shampoo + conditioner: the shampoo takes some work to spread, and the conditioner is nowhere near enough for my dry ends; I wind up a frizzy mess. Declutter.

Briogeo Be Gentle Be Kind Banana conditioner (gratis): another conditioner that just isn't enough for me, and I've reached my limit with frizz when I know I have products that work better for me. Declutter.

Tonymoly Changing U Peppermint Foot Cream: this was ok, but not rich enough for my taste. The peppermint scent is there, but it leans a bit metallic. I have one more I'll use up, but I'm not looking to rebuy.

Klorane Nourishing Conditioner with Mango Butter: I like the shampoo from this line, but the conditioner isn't enough. Declutter.

Commodity Vetiver: I must be nose-blind to this; I really can't smell much of anything.

MyClarins Recharge Relaxing Sleep Mask: smells like baby powder (yuck!), so this was an instant declutter.

Follain Moisturizer Replenish + Protect: fairly thin texture, but felt perhaps a bit too heavy for me. Rosy scent that I could do without as well. Declutter.

Pacifica Pineapple Splash lip balm: nothing special, but not terrible, this is another long-cap balm that I won't rebuy.  

IGK Thirsty Girl Coconut Milk Conditioner: I really liked this in conjunction with the matching shampoo (but I felt like I had to use a ton of the shampoo to get clean, which made it a nope for me), but this didn't work nearly as well with other shampoos in my stash and left me frizzy.

[eshoe]

I tried one of those Exuviance Vita C capsules, @RGbrown - it was very, very nice indeed!

[Samtian]

@RGbrown I really like that idea, of not hate panning. I think I'm going to adopt that with my lipsticks. Thank you.

[RGbrown]

@Samtian 

Yeeesss! Lipstick was the first category where I got brutal...if I didn't love it, it hit the declutter box immediately! There's no point in "making it work" if it's a chore, not when I'm sure you have plenty of easier lippies to work with 💕

[Samtian]

@RGbrown That's for sure! And when you have so many more to use haha.

[Guessgal]

Aw that’s too bad the MyClarins mask smells unpleasant! It was on my “interested to try” list @RGbrown 

[RGbrown]

@Guessgal 

Most everything I've tried from the My Clarins line is perfumey 😣 I am kinda eyeballing their powder cleanser, as it seems to be one item without fragrance...may give that a whirl at some point, but otherwise, I'm pretty unimpressed with the brand 👎

[missjeanie]

@RGbrown you summed up how I've been feeling with empties/panning so well in your intro paragraph.  I don't want to simply toss products that I'm not in love with because I don't want to waste them... but I don't want to force my self or "hate pan" a product when I have others that I'm excited and love to experience using.  I'm also loving the term "hate pan".  Hopefully this year we'll all be a bit better about enjoying the products we're using.  

[RGbrown]

@missjeanie 

It's definitely tough to find the middle ground sometimes! How bad is so bad that it just has to go, as opposed to just being "meh" or "not horrible but not my fave", and exactly how much "meh" is tolerable? I waffle so much on what to get rid of versus what I make myself finish, but I think I'm getting less tolerant of the mehs, and hope to find myself tossing them more quickly now. There really is no point in making myself look like a giant frizz ball, for example, just for the sake of using something up, when I know I have shampoos and conditioners that don't do that to me. I enjoyed trying a billion samples for several years, but think I'm ready for the continual rollercoaster of "will I love it or hate it" to slow down, and enjoy products I know I like without the round robin for a bit!

[ather]

@RGbrown  I totally agree I use my favs hardly never but I shouldn’t be saving them for a special day I should just use them everyday!!!

[RGbrown]

@ather 

Use your loves! At the very least, they'll go bad if you don't, so make that part of the motivation. There's no sense in letting them go to waste!

[itsfi]

Wholeheartedly 2nd this @ather! @RGbrown  

[itsfi]

I'm with you @RGbrown! Gonna use what I love! 💖 And speaking of loves, Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker holds such sentimental, nostalgic value for me and because of that (along with liking the color and price point), it's a staple for me. 😁

[RGbrown]

@itsfi @ather 

I've "only" got three in my drawer now (for a stockpiler like me, that's not many lol), so I need to start watching their site for a deal lol. I wish Ulta carried the singles (or even a Dr Pepper set), but alas, nope 😞

[ather]

@RGbrown @itsfi  I’m ashamed to say I ran out and haven’t restocked yet 😩

[itsfi]

lol @ather, no restock? Are you feeling alright? 😉 

@RGbrown