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.

[arielaaaaaaaa]

I use the Murad Lightening Gel, And i've had one bottle for close to a year. I wonder why it went bad? I've gone through 2, 1oz bottle and have a 2.oz bottle that's been sitting around for months and months.None have changed it color. 

[arielaaaaaaaa]

Brown? Why did it turn? That's odd

[crayzeeRN]

Interesting... I wonder if the packaging of the deluxe sample allows more oxygen in or something and makes it turn?

[arielaaaaaaaa]

Maybe, The bottles could be defective. 

[Anonymous]

3 Foil Deluxe Samples First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads 

And a 28 Count Size.  I've already repurchased another big tub.  However, the sample ones had turned discolored, so I ended up having to throw them out.  It was a sad waste of product.  

First Aid Beauty Smooth Shave Cream.  This was decent, but I didn't feel like it was any better than a regular body wash.  

Josie Maran Bear Naked Wipes When I first started using these I loved them.  After a while I had a reaction to the regular oil.  I was afraid to use these for a while after that.  I finally finished them up.  I found if I use it too long during wiping my face I do get a slight burning sensation.  I mostly just use them if I need a quick wipe down or to remove swatches on my hands.  

Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil in Be Beautiful and Be Loved.  I liked the scent of the Be Loved better (small jar).  These moisturize great.  I don't think I'll repurchase right now, but possibly in the future.  I am not a huge fan of tubs for moisturizer.  

Josie Maran Natural Volume Lip Gloss.  I really like the formula to Josie Maran's lip gloss.  It really moisturizes my lips, but never makes them peel.  I wish it was a more opaque color.  I may repurchase in the future because it is so nourishing for my lips.  

Make Up For Ever Sens'Eyes.  I've already repurchased.  It is my HG eye makeup remover.  Nothing else compares.  

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion.  You can probably tell from the bottle how old this one was.  The consistency was just gone.  

DevaCurl No Poo and One Condition. I really love the DevaCurl system.  I've repurchased large bottles of both of these.  

Mascaras:

Lancome Hypnose Star--ehh I found my lashes would not hold a curl with this.  

Lancome Hypnose Doll--again okay, wasn't great for me.  

Lancome Definicils--this was probably my favorite of the whole bunch that I used.  And I liked the traditional brush.   

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes!--I didn't love the formula.  It was too dry for me.  

Guerlain Maxi-Lash--I liked the results to my lashes and I also surprisingly liked the smell, but I noticed when using this one my lashes were falling out when I removed it.  It could have been coincidence, but I don't want to chance it.  

MUFE Smokey Extravagant--okay not too impressed.  I found the brush really large.   Hated that this sample was one time use and thus hard to really test.   

[wendyomgwar]

You went through an impressive collection!

[bvnny]

End of summer empties for me. (I am so glad I found this post, I thought I was the only one holding onto empty bottles to see what I use and don't use) ❤️

[wendyomgwar]

Glad you found your way here 🙂

Lots of those sample foils being loved! I need to use mine seriously I wonder how long I could go without buying another jar of moisturizer 

[bvnny]

In between buying new primers and moisturizers, I give them a go. If a certain brand is not working for me, I'll just pass those on to someone or trash them. I went for almost 2 weeks without having to get it once 😛 

[jaimelove]

haha i'm probably good on moisturizer until halfway through next year, just going by foil and deluxe samples! it's too bad they don't give as many eye cream samples, though! that's something i'll have to buy probably in a month or two. but at least it lasts forever 🙂 

[fitzg]

I like to hoard my empties for two months at a time so I feel a little more accomplished when I throw them out! This is (almost) everything from July & August

Foil Samples:

Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer  - did not like. Felt greasy and did not extend the wear of my foundation

Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation Moisturizer  - wasn't anything special. It did feel nice and light and easily absorbable but there's no SPF in it and I obviously couldn't tell if there were any brightening benefits from the foil sample.

Deluxe Samples and Travel Size:

Ojon Damage Reverse Shampoo and Conditioner - so gross. I'm really glad I bought the travel size before splurging on the full size. Left my hair with a lot of buildup and feeling disgusting.

Sephora Anti-Shine Primer - Loved, bought full-size

Arganics Argan Oil - got this in a subscription box a while ago and set it aside because Argan Oil is actually listed as one of the last ingredients. Went to use it the other day and it was just really gooey and thick and unusable.

Fresh Sugar Rose - Loved, will repurchase in full size once I go through all my minis (bought the sample pack with all the colors last xmas)

Ole Henricksen Truth Cream - sample lasted 2-3 weeks, used at night because there is no SPF but left my face very shiny so I wouldn't have been able to use it at night anyway. Might have made my skin a little firmer but not enough of a miracle to get me to switch.

Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleaner - did not like, felt like it really stripped my face

Full size

Up & Up Daily Cleansing Cloths (x2) - these were my go-to for a while but after having issues with the resealable closure on the last 4 packets, I've decided to move on and try something new

Say Yes to Cucumbers Facial Towelettes - these have been hanging around for a while since my face has a horrible reaction to them and I've just been using them as hand wipes

Boscia Clarifying Detox Mask - didn't really feel like it did anything. I much prefer the Origins Activated Charcoal mask.

BBW Butterfly Flower Shower Gel

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion SPF 15 - has been my go-to day time moisturizer for years although lately I've bumped it up to SPF 30

Complex 15 Therapeutic Moisturizing Face Cream  - my go-to night time moisturizer 

L'Oreal Color Juice Stick  (Pink Lemonade) - I've had this for a shamefully long time, but I really enjoyed it. I have no idea if L'Oreal still makes this product, but if they do I would consider repurchasing after I make more of a dent in my lipstick stash

Ulta Professional Eye Primer - this wasn't actually finished, but after trying to go through it for over a year I just gave up and trashed it. No where near as good as the Smashbox eye primer.

MAC Studio Finish Concealer (NW 15) - another product that isn't finished but I'm just giving up on after having it for ~5 years (gross) and never loving it because it wasn't the best match. Had someone at Sephora match me to one of the Tarte concealers and its 1000x better.

Clarisonic Brush head (I think its the regular one)

Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara - I strongly prefer super volumizing mascaras, and I felt like this one really hit the mark with that, but it seemed really dried out when I opened it so it didn't last very long. Not sure if I just got a dud.

Lush Dreamwash Shower Smoothie - I got this to shave my legs with and it was alright, but not my favorite. I do think it would be a really nice body wash for someone with sensitive/dry skin though, which is what it is marketed for.

Bio True Contact Solution (x2) - my favorite

Not Pictured:

Lush Fair Trade Honey Shampoo & American Cream Conditioner - AWFUL. The saleswoman at Lush told me this would be a wonderful and hydrating combination for dry hair. It was terrible and made my hair feel like straw. The only way I was able to power through both bottles was by combining it with a matrix biolage deep conditioner. On the plus side, I did feel like my the shampoo volumized my hair a bit and made it feel cleaner for longer.

[wendyomgwar]

I actually really like the Ojon hair stuff, but then again I have dry hair and I can skip shampooing all together.

[fitzg]

I've always done really well with the rest of the Ojon products that I've purchased in the past, which is why I was so disappointed with this shampoo and conditioner. Oh well, I guess its a good thing in the long run since I'm just sticking with my cheapie shampoos until I can find a high end one that really is worth the price!

[wendyomgwar]

Haha! Definitely 🙂

[Anonymous]

This month I tried really hard to use up some of the million different samples I had lying around, I have a bad habit of hopping from one product to another and never finishing any of them so it was good to see how much room I can make just by using all those samples, haha. 

- Philosophy Purity Wipes, these were nice and smelled good. I stocked up on Soap and Glory wipes a bit so I might repurchase these again after

- Nivea antiperspirant, repurchased in the scent I usually buy but they didn't carry it in Mexico so I bought this one

- POREfessional sample card, I accumulate samples of this faster than I could ever use it, I probably have six minis. 

- Urban Decay De Slick and All Nighter sprays, repurchased already. Thought these would last me until I was done in Canada, but I was wrong. 

- Nivea Free Time shower cream, repurchased. It smells so good, starfruit is delicious!

- Opti-Free Replenish contact solution, repurchased. It's been so sunny I've had no choice but to wear contacts almost every day or I will be blinded without sunglasses, haha.

- 4x Lancome Visionnaire packets, I bought like 20 of these on ebay because it was about 1/3 the price of buying a full size. It was an awesome deal. 

- Philosophy Cinnamon Buns sample, nice but I won't buy.

- Alterna Bamboo Shampoo sample, OMG. Will buy. I kind of fell into this thinking that nothing would make my hair look any better, so why spent any money on it, but I know there's a massive difference between drug store and higher end makeup and skincare, why didn't I realize hair would be the same??

- NARS Pore Refining Primer, I don't think this did anything for me.

- AmorePacific Future Response Age Defense Creme, I still have loads of samples of this, but one day I just might shell out for it. I love it as a night cream.

- Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Cream, NO NO NO. This is the only thing I'm throwing away unfinished. I really hate the smell and I've given it lots of chances the past couple months, it makes me break out, and I don't think anything else did out of a zillion things I used this month. 

- AmorePacific Eye Complex, I don't think this did much for me. Won't buy.

- Boscia SPF 30 moisturizer, light, sinks in quickly, not greasy. Don't love it though, and I have lots of SPF to work through. 

- Caudalie Makeup Removing Cleansing Water, smells really nice, gentle on the skin. Repurchased.

- Caudalie Beauty Elixir, refreshing, smells good, I don't find the plant derived alcohol drying at all to my skin, repurchased.

- Lancome SPF 30 moisturizer, see the Boscia one above

- Caudalie Premier Cru the Eye Cream, I like this a lot, and the golden light reflecting particles are great for my dark circles. Will probably buy when I'm through samples.

- Caudalie Vinosource Eye Rescue, I liked the Premier Cru better.

- Caudalie Vinexpert Firming Serum, I liked this but I have lots of serum samples to use, so no need to purchase for now. 

- Stila Face the Day gel moisturizer, meh. Didn't love, didn't hate.

- Sephora Instant Moisturizer, I liked this more than I thought I would. Might pick some up at some point.

- AmorePacific SPF 30, I liked the oil free formula, but I'm well stocked on sunscreen for now. 

- Korres Greek Yogurt Sleeping Facial, I will probably buy this at some point. I have the Wild Rose for now though.

- Shiseido Advanced Super Restoring Cream, this is too much for my skin, even overnight it would still not be fully absorbed sometimes. Better if you have dry skin I bet. 

- Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish, I will repurchase this for sure, it smells like peach yogurt and it's a super scrubby exfoliator. 

- Cartier Baiser Vole sample, purchased already. I was running low on my EDT spray pen so I wanted to put off emptying it by using up this sample first. Luckily my mom decided she likes the scent on me better and gave me another spray pen, yay!

Plus all of these. Busy month!

[wendyomgwar]

Woah! This puts my little pile to shame lol, and that's a lot of deluxe samples I have so many to go through too, I want to finish all my opened jars first though. 

[Anonymous]

I realized I had a LOT of half used samples, as you can see. I didn't really want to haul them all around across the continent again with me, haha.

[LadyInWhite]

Does it look like you'll be back in the US soon?

[Anonymous]

Should be less than three weeks, two and a half-ish if I'm lucky, but I swear everything that could go wrong has so far so I don't want to get my hopes up for a specific day. The days are going by soooo slowly!

[wendyomgwar]

Yay 🙂 I'm sending positive thoughts your way!

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I can use them, I'm just sitting here imagining everything that could possibly go wrong, haha.