Empties - V2

[scott1201]

Seeing product empties is so satisfying 🙂

Post your weekly, monthly, quarterly, whenever-ly empties and let us know how you felt about them!

Previous Empties thread:

Spoiler

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Insiders/Empties/m-p/589003

[greeneyedgirl107]

@quspork What didn't you like about the Wella hair oil? I have a couple samples of it, and was thinking of trying it.

[quspork]

@greeneyedgirl107 I wasn't a fan of the scent and overall the performance just wasn't there for me. I've had better luck with Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Oil and Healthy Sexy Hair Love Oil. The Wella has good reviews on Ulta though, so maybe you'll like it more! 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@quspork Thanks for the info - it was helpful!  I recently bought a Rubbermade organizer for all my boxes and boxes of samples, so I'm hoping to go through them all and start using them.  I thought the Wella would be at the top of my list since I recall getting two samples, but from your input it sounds like a no-go as I've been sensitive to smells recently.  

[quspork]

I hear you on the overloads of samples, @greeneyedgirl107! I went through and organized mine at the end of last year in an effort to try and use them up before they all go bad. Hopefully we can both make a dent in them this year! 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@quspork I think part of the problem I have is that most of the samples I wind up getting aren't ones I'm particularly interested in.  I usually give them to my sister, and when she goes through them she's like a kid in a candy store.  Of course, I've never heard her actually say she used any!

[itsfi]

Late posting - empties from the first half of February (and some from January that were missed)

Makeup + Hair + Tools

Spoiler

Makeup + Hair + Tools (Loves marked with *)
The Creme Shop Clear The Way Cleansing Towelettes (Collagen) 

*Beautyblender Nude - this is my favorite of the beautyblender sponges; well, for now, at least. I haven't tried the BioPure Sustainable Green one yet.

*Smells Like Lemon Cleansing Towelette

amika Flash Instant Shine Mask

Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Joia Conditioner

Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Joia Shampoo - for some reason, this makes my hair very stringy and feeling more dry

Ouai Leave-In Conditioner

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer

 Blending together Bobbi Brown Long Wear Weightless Foundation in Porcelain, Sand and Warm Beige might net me my best foundation match yet. 

Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint ST4 Formosa is probably a good match in the peak of winter.

*Too Faced Hangover Replenishing Face Primer has been my go-to primer for spring, summer and fall pre-covid; just finishing up a partially used DS I kept in my travel bag. 

I love the burgundy-wine-aubergine color of the Clinique Chubby Lash Mascara Bodacious Black Honey, but I'm not a fan of the wand so I used a wand from another mascara that I saved after tossing the mascara. The formula is more lengthening than volumizing.

This was my first time trying RMS Beauty "Un" Cover-UP and I really like the lightweight feel and natural finish it provides. Adding it to my list.

Skincare (part 1)

Spoiler

Skincare
First half of February was good for skincare empties. Nothing in this batch was a 'no' but there were a couple that just didn't work for me the way I had hoped, like the Dr. Hauschka Rose Day Cream (which I repurposed as a hand cream) and The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Foaming Cleanser (repurposed as a shower cream and shaving cream), as well as others that were fine enough but that I had other similar products I preferred (e.g., Peach Slices Snail Rescue, Heimish Refresh Water, Glossier Pure Bounce serum, First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy,  Bite Beauty Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub (now discontinued), and Look At Me Panda Hydrogel Eye Patch (Snail)).

With the exception of the following standouts, which have been or will be repurchased at some point, all other products were good and ones I'd happily use again. Now for the loves of this bunch: 
*Tatcha Violet-C Brightening Serum - kicking myself for not having given this a try when it first launched. Imagine how much better my skin would be... lesson learned.

*Dr. Ceuracle BioBalance Cleansing Oil was one I didn't expect to like so much. I've been a fan of the brand ever since it was known as Leegeeham. My skin seems to be more dehydrated-combo year round now, with the degree of dryness and oiliness for any one part of my face depending on the season or weather and this has been a nice and reliable go-to that cleanses and balances my skin. 

*L'Occitane Immortelle Reset Overnight Reset Oil-In-Serum has been kind to my combination skin, giving the different areas and textures of my face what it needs without aggravating any particular skin condition.

*Bioderma Atobalm Ultra-Moisturizing Lip Balm is one worth keeping in the lip balm library, especially nice in the cooler months. Thank you @missjeanie for introducing me to this balm!

Skincare (part 2) - mask edition

Spoiler

Skincare - Masks (loves marked with *)
It's been a good month so far for masks of all types, but there were standouts - good and bad ones. The lingering and overwhelming fragrance on the Dermal sheet masks (salmon and garlic) were too much for me, though the potent perfumed floral scent is probably a better option than the mask smelling like their respective star ingredient. 

On the flip side, the following masks are all worthy of repurchase, with a couple being absolute loves:

Milcera Facemask - peachy scent from the moisturizing peach ceramides, together with the lactic acid from the milk proteins make this a nice all around mask that can be used daily.

Goodal Mugwort Infused Water Mild Sheet Mask is another within this line that is just goodness in a sheet mask. As claimed, this one is soothing to the skin with its mugwort extract and calming to the senses with its light herbal scent.

*Vitamasques Vegan Collagen Lychee is a find I cannot get enough of. From the scent to the thin material to the plumping and moisturizing results, this has a reserved place in my sheet mask library. Sephora Collection Lychee Face Mask makes for a nice substitute if the Vitamasques is a challenge to find. 

If there was a petition to bring back the discontinued *Ole Henriksen Power Bright 3-Step Peel, I'd sign it and I'd make the rounds on BIC to get others to sign as well.

Clogged pores along my jawline and breakouts lying just under the skin's surface are no match for the *Peach & Lily Super Reboot Resurfacing Mask.

*Klavuu Personal Care Aurora Pearl Eye Mask is nearly perfectly tailored to my face shape and features and brightens up my eye area beautifully. It also doesn't hurt that it looks like a very pretty superhero eye mask. 

Fragrance + Candles + Bath & Body

Spoiler

Fragrance + Candles + Bath & Body (loves marked with *)
I love the fresh lemon in the Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus, but would have preferred if the osmanthus were more pronounced. I also wish the scent in general lasted longer. 

YSL Black Opium Eau de Parfum, with its coffee and vanilla notes is one of those scents that I have a feeling will eventually make its way into my curated fragrance library. I want to work through some of my full size fragrances so I'm holding off on picking up any more scents for the time being.  

I discovered *Ellis Brooklyn Myth while on vacation a couple of years ago. Spritzed it on my wrists in store (back when that was okay) one day and went back the next morning to pick up a rollerball. This scent has . 

The blend of white florals and the almondy scent from the tonka bean in *Carolina Herrera Good Girl Eau de Parfum make it one of my favorite fragrances.  

Candles have been a source of self care during the shelter-in-place. I have at least one in every room of the house so that I can light one if I find myself in any one room for a lengthy period of time. 

Sad to see the Pier One Rose Bubbly go, but I've had it for a while and it was time. I could still pick up the notes of the rose but the throw was understandably  less pronounced due to age.

The cinnamon and vanilla scents in Bath & Body Works Cinnamon Spiced Vanilla make the house smell amazingly warm and cozy in the cooler seasons.

I don't believe I've met a Voluspa candle that I didn't like. These particular votives were part of this year's 12-candle advent calendar, a great way to try different scents for new and old Voluspa admirers alike. All the candles from that advent calendar have fallen into either a "like it" or "love it" camp. No duds in the bunch. The standouts to me of these particular Voluspa candles are *Yashioka Gardenia, with its balanced pairing of the white florals and spicy clove, and *Goji Tarocco Orange with its bright burst of citrus and fruity notes - this one really but a smile on my face whenever I caught a whiff of the scent.

Baltic Amber makes for an unique warm and cozy scent; I'd be interested in trying it again, when I don't have so many other warm and cozy scents in rotation, so I can get a better sense (lol) of how it stands on its own. Panjore Lychee and Japanese Plum Blossom are both very pretty scents that I think I would really enjoy in the warmer months. Santal Vanille and French Cade Lavender suffer from there being so many other candles in similar scent categories to these that kept them from being standouts to me. 

The flowers that make up Capri Blue Aloha Orchid candle makes me think of strolling through a floral garden in Hawaii. Not a bad memory at all. Thank you @lmaster for this beauty. 

*Ellis Brooklyn Marvelous Massage & Body Oil is just that - marvelous! I picked up a roller ball size last month after the first use from this foil. Something about it really helps soothe the aches and pain in my neck and shoulders.

The packaging for the deliciously strawberries and cream scented Zoella Soap Pop Fragranced Soap on a Stick is super cute and would make a great gift (thank you @Tamara76!).  

I've had lotions and hand creams in varying degrees of use lying around my house, in various pockets of my handbags, several drawers on my desks at work and at home, and in the car for way too long. Last fall, I gathered all the jars/bottles/tubes that were open, and set about the task of finishing 'em up. With these all used up, I'm about one-third of the way through all the partially used lot. 

The sweet fruity floral scent of *Bath & Body Works Winter Candy Apple Body Lotion is a favorite, but there's really no need to repurchase this anytime soon as I still have the body butter and hand sanitizer versions to go through. 

Avon Ginger Bread & Cappuccino takes the prize for the longest time spent on my shelf. It's taken me maybe two years to finish it. Scent is nice; it just kept getting lost in the shuffle.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Gilded Pear was okay; I might have liked it better had the pear scent been more pronounced. 

*TonyMoly Natural Green Hand Cream Avocado smells very lightly of avocado and shea butter. It absorbs really well and without leaving any greasy residue. I'd consider picking up another one of these, as well as checking out others in the line, after I get through my other hand creams. 

*Hey Honey Hands On Honey & Propolis Hand Cream feels soothing and moisturizing and is a good choice for combatting dry and cracked hands. The beauty of this cream is in its ingredients and functionality; there's not really a scent to this, which actually makes it more suitable to everyone.

I would never have thought to combine pear and peony but the good folks at Alo did with the *Alo Fruits  Passion Hand Cream Pear Peony and a big thank you to them for the pairing and to @l8totheparty for gifting this one to me! 

The scent from *Sol de Janeiro Brazilian - 4- Play Moisturizing Shower Cream-Gel is amazing. Good thing I have a couple of full sizes waiting to be opened!

[Tamara76]

So glad you enjoyed the Zoella soap!  I am intrigued by the salmon and garlic sheet masks - interesting!  @itsfi 

[ather]

@itsfi  Look at all those empty Voluspa candles!!

im happy you like the rms! I actually use both the coverup and the foundation but I think I prefer the coverup formula!! 

[itsfi]

That's really good to know @ather! Thank you!! 🤗 I saw that they had a foundation and was wondering how it compared with the coverup. My "no buy" ends tonight and I may order a couple of samples of the uncover from The Detox Market in both the whole number and half-number shades to compare. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Have you used any other products from rms? 
I think I’ve been using 11 in the coverup and 22 for the foundation. The foundation is quite thick I do like it it just takes more time to blend out and I’m usually rushing in the morning so the coverup is super easy. I also love using my clean fingers to apply makeup in a hurry. I’m interested in hearing what you think about the half numbers. I don’t think they were out when I got mine. 

[itsfi]

The shades in this sample card were the half numbers but I didn't have the whole numbers to compare it to, so we shall see @ather. I read "quite thick" and "it just takes more time to blend out" and that confirmed that the foundation wasn't in the running. 😂 I haven't been super keen on spending too much time with foundation in the morning. The easier and faster, the better. lol. Maybe I'll try to change that in March and spend more time on makeup application. We shall see.

[haleyvvvv]

Great job on the empties (first half of February!!), @itsfi!! When I saw the garlic and salmon masks, and the comment about scents, at first I was like, gotta pick up the garlic one, but them being too fragrant with like florals is a disappointment.

[itsfi]

@haleyvvvv, this particular Dermal line of sheet masks all seem to have very strong scents that linger. Great if you like the scent, but they were just too much for me. I don’t remember the regular line of Deemal sheet masks having such potent scents. 

Thank you! I finished a handful of full size items early in the month, as well as some things that I’ve held onto for far too long. Seems that decluttering has been motivational for other areas as well! 😆 I’m happy to have finally finished off some of those hand creams - my aim is to not have so many of them (and so many partially used lip balms) at the bottom of my bag going forward! 😔 

[lmaster]

I'm always so impressed with how many foils you get through!! @itsfi look at all those delicious scented candles,, I'm so happy you liked the scent 🤗

[itsfi]

Thank you @lmaster! 🤗 I did a couple of foil challenges two years ago that helped me figure out a good system for myself for incorporating samples into my routine. It also doesn’t hurt that most of the foils I have left are of skincare products that I like and know my skin responds well to. 😉 I’ve just been using them rather than saving them for travel. 

[CookieGirl1]

I love all of your little votives, @itsfi 🙂

[itsfi]

They're so cute and smell amazing @CookieGirl1! A part of me wants to keep them as decorative pieces or to hold things, like hair ties or rings or q-tips or . . . but working on decluttering projects makes me think I should not now turn to hoarding candle votives. 

[missjeanie]

Love the reviews @itsfi .  I keep hoping that someone out there will tell me the SDJ Shampoo and conditioner are amazing... I just want my hair to smell like the bumbum cream.  Maybe the hair mask will be a love.  

You got through so many products this month.  I'm super impressed.  

I used to find that all I looked to Bioderma for was the miceller water, but then I did a bit of a dive into samples and found a few gems. 

I also will sign the OH petition for the Power Bright... I may have hoarded a few packs upon finding them at Winners.  

[itsfi]

Thank you @missjeanie! Many of those full size skincare products have taken me years, plural, to finally finish. Ugh. Lesson learned. I will try not to go down that road again.

It feels good to have gone through these, and to not have them around. With my current unopen full size products, I think I'm going to have to just pick out the ones I plan to use and then donate or gift a good lot of them. With the exception of 4 foils, I now only have foils I picked up last year and this year in stock so that makes me very happy. I've also tried to be very good about not picking up samples just for the sake of picking them up. 😆 My deluxe samples probably include a handful of 2019 DS, but they're unopen so I just need to decide whether to try to use them, save them for when travel becomes a thing again, or donate them - it will probably be some combination of all three options. 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi I'm totally loving seeing so many people do declutters.  It's something I've been trying to get up to for a while now.  I feel like having so many things becomes overwhelming.  I finally worked though all my foils last year and it felt sooooo good.  I think I may have some deluxe samples still from 2019 as well.  I was just saying earlier that I have a three foot tall vase that I normally put deluxe samples and foils into that I'm interested in (Ipsy etc) and when friends come over they grab whatever they want.  With no friends coming over this last year it's been overflowing!  We may need to set up a Sample September!  Also... thanks for the inspiration... I just went and rounded up 12 open body/hand lotions... and that's just from the house and truck!

[itsfi]

It feels so great to get through things, doesn’t it @missjeanie?!! You’re doing an awesome job!!! 🙌🏼 It’s amazing how many open lotions and creams (and lip balms) I have around the house, in my purse, the car ... everywhere. All in various stages of “almost done” or maybe some that are not even close to being done. 😝