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.

[Lazybeautybeast]

Thanks @RachFace2921! Because of my addiction to Sephora favorite sets and GWP plus my Play box , my DS collection has gotten out of control. I decided I won't be buying any full size items of anything in my collection until the DS versions are used up or under control. So far so good! 😊

[jen81]

@Lazybeautybeast My deluxe sample collection has gotten out of control too! I have to use up some things before getting new! I lve using up deluxe sizes though because you can really try them out and see if they are worth purchasing.

[jen81]

Love- Amika mask is my fav hair mask! Have backups if all these in deluxe or full size Likes- about half of these I have another deluxe sample to try Nope- mascara was dry and did nothing for my lashes!

[curlychiquita]

Good work in March, @jen81!

[sister13]

Great job on the DS’! @jen81

[b3autygrl]

Briogeo Rosarco Repair Shampoo - I absolutely love this shampoo.  I got introduced to this brand by Tati (I think) and Kathleen Lights.  Prior to using this, my hair was very very dry and frizzy (I have straight, semi coarse hair).  And after using a trial/travel size I found that my hair became much softer and not as frizzy. I've already repurchased it because I can't live without it.  The only downside is that I do feel that I have to use more product.  This bottle lasted me only close to 4 months and I only wash my hair twice a week (please don't judge me).  I also use the conditioner but I still have some of that, but will be repurchasing once I get close to finishing it.

Ban Roll-On Deodorant - I know, this is kind of one of those personal products but I thought I'd share it.  The reason is that for the longest time I suffered from funky odor when using deodorant.  I tried all the popular ones like Secret, Suave, Degree, Dove, etc and they all left me stinky after a few hours!!  Until one day I finally got to try out Ban.  I know, it's not a sexy name but the "active ingredient" works magic!!  No more funky smell.  So, if you feel that your deodorant is not working with your body's chemistry and is making you more stinky, I say give this a try or any deodorant with the active ingredient "aluminum cholorohydrate 18%".  Now I know this is not a natural deodorant and I haven't tried one of those new ones yet, maybe I"ll venture out and risk being stinky to try it out. For now, I'm sticking to what I know works for me.

[RGbrown]

March empties!

Notes in the spoilers 🙂

The great

Spoiler

Andalou Naturals Probiotic + C Renewal Cream: super rich without clogging my skin, which is a freaking miracle. I have a feeling it will get to be too heavy for me when summer humidity rolls around, but seriously considering a purchase once the dry season hits again.

Body Shop Japanese Matcha Tea mask: since clay is the second ingredient after water, I expected this to harden like a clay mask, but it's more of a chunky cream that doesn't dry out. Once I got over that surprise, it was quite a nice mask. "Pollution clearing" is a gimmicky phrase in my opinion, but it left me feeling clean and soft without quite as much effort as a clay mask normally requires.

Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Eye: lovely all around; rich without congestion, leaves my eyes soft the next morning, and a little goes a long way.

Skyn Iceland Glacial Facial Wash: this is a thick mousse-y texture that foams up gently when you add water. Nice and clean without being dry and tight...serious contender for "facial wash I'd actually buy" once I clear out more samples.

Pacifica Purify Coconut Water Cleansing Wipes: love the Pacifica wipes; alcohol free, and great for a quick morning cleanse when I'm in a hurry. I have more of several varieties in the closet from a deal a while back.

BBW Bergamot & Mint Leaf Body Oil: body oil is a completely new step for me; during the particularly dry winter we just had, body lotion or body butter wasn't cutting it for me anymore, so I added a layer of oil to the top of it. LOVE. I probably won't keep doing this through the summer, but I have another bottle in the cabinet so I'll be ready once dry air returns.

BBW Snowflakes & Citrus candle: One of my favorite scents this winter; I hope it comes back again.

PTR Pumpkin Enzyme Mask: The first time I ever used this, I was amazed at how much quicker and easier the rest of my skincare sank in, and it became an instant love. I will use this once a week for eternity 😛

Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil: Pure magic for me. The *only* thing that has helped my dry, flaky lips get anywhere close to normal. I use it once a day, right before bed, and if I wear makeup, I'll put it on before I start my face, then blot the excess off and apply lipstick as my final step. I can't stand the $26 price tag, but I love the results. I have a backup ready to go, but for now I'm trialing Ulta's lip oil as a substitute (it has promise, and my wallet says hallelujah 😛 )  

The good

Spoiler

Clairol Natural Instincts Color Treat conditioner: came with the haircolor I did a few months back, but I used my Orlando Pita Play red conditioner while I wanted to maintain/enrich the color, so this sat off to the side. Once I decided it was time to let the red go, I pulled this out. It's a nice conditioner; I'd actually consider buying it if they sold it outside of the haircolor boxes. Not too heavy for my fine/thin hair, but great moisture and detangling.

Burt's Bees Pomegranate lip balm: lip balm is an almost OCD habit for me, and the more I branch out trying new ones, the more I like this as my basic balm. I like the stick, it's small enough to be very pocket-friendly, and I can use it one-handed if need be (I have several pots and squeeze tubes in progress right now, so I am very much aware of why I adore sticks lately lol). I also have decided I prefer stiffer wax-based balms like this to the softer or creamier oil- or petrolatum-based ones.

Smashbox Full Exposure mascara: no flaking or clumping, nice volume and length. All around nice mascara.

Skin Laundry Gentle Foaming Face Wash: I used this right before the Ulta daily deal to see if I wanted to buy it...and I kinda did. Then I shopped my stash and saw I have enough cleansers for a while. And truthfully, there are a couple of others ahead of this one in the "yes, I'd pay for that" line right now, plus it's always hard to know a true-love off one packet, so I decided to hold off on buying, but I will happily use more samples if I get them.

DermaDoctor Kakadu C Intensive Peel Pad: tried these before the Ulta daily deal and liked them enough to grab a box for further testing. They are big enough to cut in half and get two uses, so that helps me deal with the completely ridiculous price ($78 for a box of 30, IIRC 😮 ) 

Philosophy Purity Made Simple: a perfectly basic, if even boring, face wash...nothing fancy or exciting, but it gets the job done without any muss or fuss. Not sure I'll ever buy it again, but that's because I somehow have another big bottle on standby as well as somewhere in the neighborhood of 836 sample bottles laying around.  

Paula's Choice Clinical 1% Retinol: this is my second bottle. I like it just fine, but am also a tad bored. It definitely helped my skin, but after two bottles, I want to see if something else may be better or help more. I am currently playing with other stuff in my routine and haven't decided if I'll replace this or not quite yet.

The meh

Spoiler

Tony Moly Magic Changing Foot Peeling Shoes: I used one last month and was completely fascinated and really upbeat about it at first; it was my first foot peel. But...the more I contemplated the results, the less satisfied I was. It peeled a decent amount of stuff, yes, but not quite as much as I expected. So, I followed it up with a second one this month, and while that pulled a bit more off, my heels and the balls of my feet are still pretty tough. Maybe my feet are just particularly thick, but I'll keep testing some others here and there. Won't rebuy these (unless even the more expensive ones give me similar results...in that case, why spend more, right? 😄 )

Pura d'Or Hair Loss Prevention Therapy shampoo & conditioner: Passable enough to finish, but likely won't repurchase. The shampoo cleansed reasonably well and the conditioner wasn't too heavy. Not really sure they did anything for hair loss or its prevention (not that I realistically expected much of anything, but I still had my fingers crossed), and the shampoo was weirdly thick and hard to spread...washing my hair was a bit of an arm-workout lol. Sadly I stocked up a while back when I thought I was in love, so I have more in the closet, but I'm bored.

BBW White Citrus body wash: for years and years this was my favorite BBW scent. Now I'm just bored with it, even after using other scents for a while. 

Ulta Mandarin Mint Body Butter: Fine. Nothing special. Won't buy, but would use it up again.

Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo (unscented): Unscented = weird chemical smell since there's no fragrance to mask it. Thankfully it wasn't overpowering, but I could have done without it. The dry shampoo itself wasn't half bad...might try it in their scented version at some point.

Formula 10.0.6 Be Berry Clear Illuminating Peel Mask: fun little mask every now and again. Nice berry scent but with a strong alcohol undertone to it. Generally peeled off in one piece, and wasn't painful...it wasn't really thick enough or strong enough to hold onto hairs like the Boscia peel mask can. I wouldn't plunk down cash for this, but it was an ok diversion from more serious masks.

Body Shop British Rose Plumping Mask: Perfectly fine, but I can't get past the rose scent. Not sure why I even opened it...I knew better lol.

FAB Facial Radiance Pads: these have been a staple for a while, but I think it's about time I graduate to a stronger peel.

Tarte Drink of H2O Hydrating Boost: didn't clog me up, but didn't excite me either. I can't really put my finger on why, but it just wasn't for me.

Body Shop Oils of Life Facial Oil: nothing special. Wasn't too heavy for me (which can actually be a tough requirement), but it didn't wow me either. Used it up mainly so I can have the bottle to put other oil samples in 😄

Ulta Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads: did a great job at breaking down eye makeup...but they are so thin they're practically see through, which means they don't actually pick much of that eye makeup up...I wound up with black smears all over my face. I also found that I had to use one per eye (my normal routine of TTDO liquid + cotton round picks everything up, and does both eyes with one round, so this was a big shift for me) . Not that it really matters since I'm still going back over it with a cleanser anyways, but I wasn't really a big fan. The case though would make a great travel container for 3-4 of your own rounds pre-soaked in your own eye makeup remover.

Sheet masks: eh, whatever. I'm not a fan of the genre in general, it seems, and I haven't found one that screams "I love you" yet.

The nope nope nope

Spoiler

Clinique for Men Charcoal Face Wash: I never thought I'd kick a product for being too drying, but this is it. Destashing as I can't make myself finish it

H2O+ Waterbright Color Correcting Mask: thought this might have been the culprit of a breakout last month, so I set it off to the side and tried it again after getting back to normal for a while. Yup, breakout city. Destash.

Bumble and bumble Pret a Powder: this is my first loose powder dry shampoo, and so far I am not a fan. It all just settles to my scalp then sticks together in clumps and flakes and bits that I wind up fluffing back into my hair as I try to spread it out/rub it in. I'm setting it off to the side until I find a different bottle to put it in...maybe a new delivery method will be helpful. Not going out of my way to do that in any hurry though. 

Boscia Exfoliating Peel Gel: Love the idea, but it sticks to peach fuzz like crazy, making removal no fun.

GlamGlow Volcasmic Matte Glow Moisturizer: the scent was a little too sweet for me, and it was just another "dunno why, but I don't like it". Finished it off on my arms one day just to get it gone.

BBW Dancing Waters body lotion: pretty sure I bought this blind off their site, thinking that a soft water scent would be lovely and fresh. I should have read the description: "inspired by cool water flowing though a field of fresh flowers". Way too floral for me; destash.

Exuviance Performance Peel AP25: I am so glad I tested this before ordering as a daily deal from Ulta. While the peel itself was fine and dandy, that scent...nope. It's floral, and when I first opened it, I thought "oh, it's not so bad". It's not an overwhelming floral scent at all, but it is sweet and persistent as all get out and it *never*ever*fades. Even after washing off the peel (twice!) and following up with my normal skincare, I could smell it all freaking day.

[sister13]

Great empties! I love the B&B pret a powder though but I find less is more with that one. I dump a small amount in my palms, rub together, then rub into my roots. In store once the rep showed me how to sort of hold it sideways and squeeze/blow a fine dusting into roots but I usually just use my hands. @RGbrown

[curlychiquita]

@RGbrown, great collection of empties!  I need to break out my sample of Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Eye, I keep hearing good things and am trying to use up what I already have open!

[cindyvonlovely]

Here’s my empties for March! 🍀 I have no dislikes this month, which has never happened before. Loves: Rosebud Perfume Co. Rosebud Salve (my lips love these), Bath and Body Works Comfort Aromatherapy Hand Cream, Lush Rose Jam Shower Gel, Lush Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner. Likes: Dior Miss Dior Perfume, Olay Whip Moisturizer, Olay Deep Hydrating Eye Gel, Briogeo Deep Conditioning Mask, Olay Orchid and Blackcurrant Body Lotion, Olay Orchid and BlackCurrant Body Wash, Gabels Isopropyl Alcohol( I use this to sanitize my makeup).

[lolchels]

I like 👍 how you took these pictures with the Snapchat! 😁

[WhereYouStand]

Hi Cindyvinlovely I Love lush ro’s Argan body conditioner too 🙂 It smells amazing and works great !

[Mochapj]

March was a good month! I didn't use up too many products but it's the first month in a lonnnnnnnng time that I had no "NOPES"

YASSSS QUEEN:

Spoiler

DeMamiel Summer Oil - I love the texture of this oil so much and how plump it makes my skin feel. My one complaint is that it's only available seasonally, and *I think* the owner changes the formulation from year to year :S

Alpha H Vitamin A - a surprise win for me, I used this up and felt it was a mild enough product that produced decent results so I will probably repurchase.

Alpha H Vitamin C - another surprise, vit C typically doesn't get on well with my skin but the formulation was gentle but still brightening.

Clarisonic Pedi Disc - I go through these religiously every 3 months but I've noticed Pedi products disappearing from retailers so I think the device has been discontinued. I'm hoping I can find enough discs to last me until my device burns out; my last one gave me about 3.5 years before kicking the bucket.

Beautyblender - I don't wear foundation and I don't use this daily so BB tend to last me a longggggg time. I was starting to see the pores of the sponge opening up, so I guessed it was time for a new one.

Look Beauty Pomegranate sheet mask - good, cheap and easy.

Skin Republic CoQ10 + Caviar sheet mask - nourishing, hydrating, fits well, doesn't slip around. 

NO TEA, NO SHADE:

Spoiler

Biologique Recherche P50 PIGM400 - this was fine but I have other acids I prefer that quite frankly, don't smell nearly as bad as the P50s do 🙂

Tony Moly Rice sheet mask - it was a mask, it felt nice on but I saw no appreciable difference afterwards.

Tony Moly Red Wine sheet mask - same as above.

Dr Jart Clearing Solution sheet mask - no ill effects same as the others above but I didn't think it did much for clearing flared up acne spots. Dr Jart does make my fave masks for my face shape, though.

Tea Tree Balancing sheet mask - I'm not sure who makes this or where it even came from (a gift, perhaps?) but it would not stay on and the serum itself was neither good nor bad.

Skin Laundry Hydrating sheet mask - fine for hydrating but I don't like the way it fits my face.

Odacite Deep Hydration mask - a sample found during spring cleaning that helped me determine it wasn't wow enough to buy a full size.

Farmacy Sleep Tight balm - the last of my minis, this stuff was not so good for my face, but really nice on my heels after using the Pedi.

Demeter Cherry Blossom - an old EdC I still occasionally enjoy, I finished it off during my vanity clean up.

REN Evercalm Cleansing Milk - this was fine but I don't think cleansing milks are my cup of tea; I dislike the milky texture 😄

May Lindstrom Honey Mud - I had one jar left from a gift set and even though I finally found a way to use this that I didn't hate, I just don't love it enough for the price to ever repurchase it. I'm sure it's fantastic for dry skin, though.

[sister13]

Wonderful empties! I love the Honey Mud but I’m dry city over here! @Mochapj

[curlychiquita]

I'm glad you had so many loves and likes, @Mochapj!  The Skin Republic CoQ10 + Caviar sheet mask sounds fascinating!

[Mochapj]

Thanks @curlychiquita ! I've had surprisingly good luck with the masks from Skin Republic.

[Aaliaa]

How did you like the Honey Mud mask @Mochapj?

[Mochapj]

sorry @Aaliaa it took me a while to edit in my comments on all those products.

This is the second or third jar I've used; they used to sell a gift set that I liked the other products in so I kept ending up with jars of Honey Mud.

I think it's a great product for dry skin but I don't like it for my combo oily skin. I don't like it at all as a 'cleansing silk' as it leaves a film on my skin that never rinses off. Sometime during my prior jar a friend suggested using it as an in-shower mask and letting it steam off - this I liked better but I still wouldn't repurchase it. They've also stopped making that gift set so I won't get stuck with them anymore 🙂

[Aaliaa]

Thanks for the reply @Mochapj! I've been tempted to get Problem Solver, but on the fence for the Honey Mud. Great to know your opinion.

[Mochapj]

@Aaliaa I would heartily recommend the Problem Solver if you ever have acne or any skin congestion. 

It was the first product I tried from ML and I’ve been using it for around 5 years. Although I don’t go through it as quickly as I used to, I have gone through about 6 jars in that time. It was very helpful when I was first dealing with hormonal acne after I quit hormonal birth control. It’s my favourite of all the ‘detoxifying’ powder masks.

[Aaliaa]

Thanks @Mochapj! My hormonal acne definitely acts up around my chin. I go in and out of having de-congested skin so this might be great for me. Thanks again!!