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.

[sister13]

Some empties and declutters to start the year! I am going to try to count them this year (we’ll see how long that lasts, lol).

Heart = Love

Half-smiley face = Like/good and/or need more time to judge

The HUM Nutrition Collagen POP + Vitamin C Dissolvable Tablets is a love, although I’m still bitter they changed the Rose Lemon flavor, I’ve gotten used to this one. 
I got this body cream in China a few years ago, it’s really nicely jasmine scented and smooth.

The Clarins Total Eye Lift Anti-Aging Eye Cream 15 ml is super creamy and feels great.

The warming eye masks are so nice and relaxing! 

This Glo moisturizer came in a New Beauty box. I’ve liked other items from this brand but this moisturizer pilled up every time, I tried with many other serums, etc and alone and it happened every time, so it’s gotta go. The TimeBalm was not a bad product, but is so old and was never actually a good color for me so not sure why I kept it for so long, lol. 

The others I might need more time to fully judge. 

Full Size: 2

Masks: 1

Foils/Deluxes: 6

Declutters: 2

[missjeanie]

Love Love Love the warming eye masks @sister13 I keep a running tally by month in the notes section of my phone to keep count, hope counting works out for you!  

[sister13]

That’s a great idea! I am so glad for these empties threads. In the past I probably would have held on to this moisturizer for no good reason. Now I can give it to someone else who might like it while it’s still

new and almost new, only used a couple a times. It felt like a nice product so hopefully it might work for someone else. 

[sonnydee]

January should be clear out some lil "hanger ons" month. At least it is for me🤗. Top row loves-have or will purchase again. Middle likes- may or may not get fs but happy to use all my samples. 

 18 total. 

[Mellmars1185]

@sonnydee  Great lot of empties! 

[itsfi]

Empties from the last half of December: 

MTD: 50

YTD: 850

LOVES are marked with a ❤️ and are products I will definitely repurchase at some point if I don't already have a backup on hand.

Spoiler

The cooling feel from the Ariul 7 Days Mask Green Tea adds a welcome soothing and calming effect. I like that this mask reduced the appearance of some redness I was experiencing in addition to leaving my skin looking and feeling more plump, hydrated, lightly moisturized and with a healthy, fresh-faced glow that seemed to last longer than most sheet masks.

Algenist Sleeping Collagen was the (pleasant) surprise of the month and one of my favorite discoveries of 2021. It really does live up to its claims to plump, smooth and hydrate the skin after 10 days. This is definitely one of my favorite sleeping masks and I plan to pick up a full size when the spring sale rolls around.

L'Occitane Immortelle Overnight Reset Oil-in-Serum is one of those products that had been on my "to try" list for the longest time. I finally got around to it and all I can say is: "why did it take me so long?!" This claims to reset skin in just one night. I don't know about that; what I do know is that it gives my skin some bounce the next morning and makes me look like I got more rest than I actually did.

LIKES (and repurchase-worthy) are marked with shopping bags. 🛍  I might not run out immediately to pick these items up but they are products that perform well enough for me that I would repurchase under the right circumstances (e.g., I've run low on other similar products - haha! or there's sale that makes it hard to resist).

Spoiler

Victoria Beckham by Augustinus Bader Priming Moisturizer Golden grew on me over time. It gives my mug a nice golden glow that is sorely needed to perk up my complexion in the cooler winter months. It doesn't provide enough moisturizing on its own but it is a nice primer before my base makeup. It also works to warm up and give some color to a few of my cushion compacts that will be better suited for my complexion as we get deeper into winter.

E-Nature Bio-Zeup sheet mask brightens and lightly hydrates my skin, and requires minimal adjustments for fit, which is a rare thing indeed when it comes to sheet masks and my face. That's rarely a deal breaker for me but when there's a sheet that fits well, I take notice, and I did with this mask. I was also happy with the brightening effect from this mask and intrigued by the ingredients likely responsible for that brightened glow - paprika extract and licorice root extract. The latter I'm familiar with and is an ingredient that has worked well for my skin. It's the first time that I've tried a mask containing paprika extract. I was concerned it might irritate my skin, but that was not the case at all - zero tingling or redness; just more supple, plump and brightened skin.

Bath & Body Works Ultimate Body Cream Winter Candy Apple is a fruity floral scent from B&BW that is not too sweet for my nose and is one of the few scented body products from the brand that I repurchase time and time again (though not in 2020 as I've been trying to make a concerted effort to use up all the body and shower products in my stash).

I'll admit that I can be quite picky when it comes to multi-step sheet masks. While my preference most days will be for the 2-step version of this mask, the Miguhara Big 3Step Whitening Mask Pack is one I like to use on very cold winter nights or before or after a flight, as it's best suited for dry or very dry skin or dry conditions. Even with my dry and dehydrated skin this time of the year, I ended up looking a bit shiny all over immediately after using all 3-steps, but by morning, my skin looked fabulously refreshed, hydrated and more supple.

I now understand the hype for Tatcha The Silk Canvas Filter Finish Protective Primer. The silky consistency of this primer makes it a dream to apply on the drier and driest parts of my face (e.g., cheeks, around nose and mouth) and that's where I tend to concentrate my use of this primer. I find it tends to cause certain foundations to pill if I use it to prime the oiler parts of my skin, but with the dry parts, it really does create a nice, smooth and silky canvas for my base makeup.

LACKLUSTER:  

Spoiler

The powdery and slightly floral scent of the Sephora Collection Bubble Bath & Shower Cream Cotton Flower was not my favorite. I like the bath and body products in this SC line but this scent would not be my first choice. I wouldn't say it's so bad that it's offensive but it's not what I would call pleasant, at least not to my nose.

BCL Saborino Night Care 5-in-1 Face Mask White Grape suffered from my reaching for them in the wrong season. This would probably be better for me in the warmer months as it really wasn't hydrating or moisturizing enough for my skin in the fall / winter seasons.

LOATHE:  

Spoiler

I usually reserve this category for products that irritate my skin. Fortunately, I didn't come across many of these type of products in 2021. I didn't so much loathe this fabric perfume as I loathed having to work my way through it, which is really on me. This item, along with the TonyMoly Limited Edition Minions Strawberry Banana Lip Balm, should have been decluttered a long time ago. @lmaster  decluttered the lip balm and I should have done the same. Making a note to self for 2022.

Products I didn't specifically mention here fall between the "like (and would repurchase)" and the lackluster categories. They're generally fine but not a standout, good or bad. I do want to note that I liked the results of the Rossano Ferretti 02.2 Grandioso Extra Volume Shampoo (soft, smooth tresses with some bounce to it), but my goodness, that scent took a lot to get used to, and not really something I wanted to get used to.

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Congratulations on 850 empties for the year! This is my first year that I will be starting from January. I think i will keep count like you. My goal is to use more than I purchase this year!

[QueenMarceline]

@itsfi What a lovely Empties pile! 🙂 Looks like you made some great progress the half half month with your products.

[itsfi]

Thank you @QueenMarceline! My 2021 empties tally was about 20% less than my 2020 total so I’m hoping the trend continues this year as more of my stash consists of full sizes and tried and true products, and as I’m committed to de-stashing more frequently and not holding onto something when it isn’t working for me or worse, I don’t like it and have no use for it. 

[QueenMarceline]

@itsfi I definitely have a decluttering issue. I found it helps (but is annoying) to go through all my product several times on separate days. I only pulled out a couple products from my bathroom the first day, but now that I've redone it a few times over I have nearly a full XL ziploc bag of goodies (or in this case, not-so-goodies) LOL

[CookieGirl1]

Great job on the Empties, @itsfi 🙂

[itsfi]

@CookieGirl1, thank you! The plan is to have fewer and fewer empties since I’m moving more towards just my full size staples and only a handful of DS and foils of products I really want to try. Less stuff will be better!

[CookieGirl1]

A labor of love, @itsfi 😉.

[lmaster]

Wow!! @itsfi you did phenomenal!!! 

[itsfi]

Thank you @lmaster! I think we'll be seeing more candles in my empties for the next couple of months. I went a smidge overboard with picking them up at the end of the year and, of course, I can't just work on one candle at a time. 😂

[lmaster]

Me either!! @itsfi last night I had 3 going in my bedroom 🤭

[itsfi]

@lmaster, I’m sure I was supposed to say “three!!!” but my gut reaction was “oooh, which 3?” Hahahaha! Candles are just so great this time of year! They help to warm up a space, make it smell good, put you in a good mood … why not have more than one burning?!! 😃 

[lmaster]

@itsfi yep!! So so yummy!! Just sets the mood 😊

[sister13]

Nice job on the empties and the reviews! @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Thank you @sister13! 😀 I'm hoping to work through a few more "older" items in my stash this year. Would be nice to get to a place where the oldest product in my home is from a few months back, with the exception of makeup probably. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.