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

[adamsev]

What makes the Biossance cleanser a favorite for you? btw, thanks for allt

[itsfi]

@adamsev, the jelly consistency on the Biossance Elderberry Jelly Cleanser is thicker than many of the gel / jelly cleansers out there - not so thick that it's difficult to spread across or massage into the skin; there's a nice slip to it. It's gentle - good at removing makeup without irritating my normal-to-dry, sometimes sensitive skin. It feels nourishing; not stripping or tightening. 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  awesome job! I love that Ceremonia leave-in conditioner, it's my favorite that I've tried - I have noticeably less tangles and hair breakage when I use it. I remember loving that discontinued Biossance cleanser too - I think I still have an open one I haven't finished yet.

One of my goals for this year is to keep count of my empties each month and for the year total, which I haven't done before. My goal is to have more empties + declutters than purchases and GWP items this year. 

[itsfi]

Those are marvelous results you're seeing from the Ceremonia leave-in @caitbird. I've gotten back into leave-in conditioners over the last few years and the Ceremonia one is one I have repurchased. It works really well and it smells so nice, too! I held onto that Biossance cleanser for the longest time; I have a couple of possible alternatives to try, but need to make more progress on the couple cleansers I currently have in use right now. 

Those are fabulous goals for the year. It really helps to see the month-over-month counts and yearly totals over time, at least for me. Not only for patterns that may be seen but it also helps me to see where I can make adjustments in my beauty use and spend. 

[lmaster]

Wow super impressive!! @itsfi 

[itsfi]

It looks like we all had a good year with our empties @lmaster 👍 Looking forward to seeing everyone's work this year.

[missjeanie]

@itsfi That's quite a number count!  

I remember quite enjoying the Biossance cleanser as well and had to get up and see if I still had a full one in my stash of cleansers.  I must have used it up at some point and never replaced.  Sad to see it discontinued!

[itsfi]

Yeah, I'm happy that there are more full size product @missjeanie and that I used up more than I purchased last year. I think I can do better so that's the aim for this year. We'll see. 

[Samtian]

@itsfi Amazing work!!

[itsfi]

Thank you @Samtian; just been putting my head down working through the same things, rotating a few things in and out as the seasons or months go by. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Great job!!! Is there a reason you think you have been declining in product use? Are you using more of the same type so it takes longer to get through or have you been using more full size products? 

[itsfi]

Hmmm, that’s a good question @ather  🤔 There’s probably a few factors at play - 

• Using more full sizes and a lot less foil and deluxe sizes means less number of items being used in general.
• I’m also rotating through less products in my skincare routine and not wearing as much makeup so there’s less of a pool of products at any one time that’s available to be emptied. Even though I incorporated more makeup products number wise than in years past, I didn’t use as much as I did previously - I had more days this year where I only applied a dot of foundation on parts of my cheeks as opposed to foundation all over my face.
• I also went from sheet masking as much as once a day sometimes twice a day to around 30 for the entire year.

[ather]

@itsfi  Ahhh your so smart!!! That makes perfect sense!! 

I feel your less makeup. I use to never leave the house without a full face. And in the last 4 weeks I might have had just mascara on twice. No foundation or blush or anything else. Hoping to head back to work tomorrow (another injury 😫) getting old sucks! Which I will usually wear a tinted moisturizer and blush and mascara. My eyes have been watery lately so no eyeshadow! 

That’s quite a gap between masks!! Is it more for skin reasons? Or time? 

[itsfi]

Oh no, I'm so sorry about the watery eyes @ather; been there, and completely understand about no eyeshadow or just no eye makeup. Yeah, it's a big difference. After I went through using a sheet mask once every day, sometimes twice for over a year, my skin really benefited from the extra dose of hydration. My skin still leans on the dehydrated side under the surface and sensitive to certain ingredients, gets easily flushed/pink and it became more normal, normal-to-dry (combo in the summer). It also became more sensitive to frequent sheet mask wear so I eased off of it and at some point, easing off of it became more a once in a while thing and I would use other types of masks, serums or treatments and then that gradually lead into a less is more skincare routine as a whole. It's fun to see the new wave in Kbeauty again and to see a lot of the things discussed or shared as being something we wanted to see come about but it's interesting, ironic that sheet masking is less a part of my daily skincare routine with there being even more access to it. It's another year so we'll see what it brings.

[ather]

@itsfi  Aww that’s to bad that your skin has gotten more sensitive. I feel as I aged my has gotten the same!! Hopefully this year your skin gets better and less sensitive!! 

[itsfi]

Cheers to that @ather! 😄 I sometimes wonder if it's also that I've become more aware of what causes it to react poorly, but I also feel like weather, particularly the more significant seasonal transitions, along with just getting older, have contributed to my skin going through changes. C'est la vie. Nice to have products, and access to products, to help. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Yes to all of this! It could be a combination of everything. I agree I feel so lucky that we have so many tools to help us!! I feel like even 10 years ago we had all the things but it just keeps getting better!   

[itsfi]

100% @ather and having access to info regarding ingredients has been helpful, not just with ingredient lists, but there's so much more information available to do your own research if you want to. It does mean it can get a little overwhelming at times, and also that you have to be extra mindful of where you're getting your information and how sound it is, but it's great to have those resources available. 

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Great job! Happy New Year! I like how you have been mindful for using up certain products for concentrated periods. That is something I need to work on, which can be overwhelming with my collection. How did you decide what to declutter/rehome? I am looking forward to what is to come in 2026 😊

[itsfi]

Thank you @Mellmars1185. Happy New Year!! Did you stay up to ring in the new year? 

Yeah, it took me a while (and it's still a work in progress, for sure) to figure out how to best use products and which ones to work on for shorter periods of time versus longer ones. It was definitely some trial and error for me. 

You're really good at using what you have and working through products - I'm thinking specifically of how you work through your setting powder, very impressive!!! 

Oh, for decluttering, I usually think of it as products going into 3 separate buckets or bins - (1) toss it / declutter; (2) re-home; or (3) undecided. I have a bin for (2) and (3). Things that fall into (1) need to just toss it in the garbage as soon as I decide to declutter; otherwise, the chances it stays in my collection goes up. Or, I'll empty the contents, clean out the container and then recycle the container, depending on what the actual product is.

Toss It

• It's an automatic toss if the item fails the smell or sight test or it begins to perform poorly. I don't really want to put that on myself and I certainly wouldn't want to give it to someone else to have them use it.
• I tend to keep to expiration dates or PAO (period after opening) dates when it comes to sunscreen and products for acne that includes actives in it. That said, subject to the smell/ sight/performance test, I have used skin tints containing sunscreens a little longer than the expiration / PAO date because I don't use those types of produts as my source for sunscreen. Also, I've used a sheet mask and a non-sheet mask well past their expiration dates, provided, of course, that they pass the smell/sight/performance test.

Re-home

• If the product has been gently used and in a condition that it can be re-used by someone else / is acceptablle to whomever I am passing it onto, then I'll pass it along to a local shelter, a non-profit or I'll give it to someone I know who doesn't mind that it's been slightly used. Things like body cream, shower gels, fragrances, hair care products and nail polish are things that fall in this category.
• Anything unused and unexpired that doesn't suit me or that I know I won't use - for me, this is generally, non-waterproof mascara, red lipsticks that are promo gwps, most skincare geared towards very oily skin
• WIth things in this category, I have to make sure that I actually pass the items along instead of havin it just sit in the house piling up. I haven't found a really good system for this but I've been working on trying to do donations to local shelters / charitable organizations about once a quarter. I usually have to set aside a declutter weekend and then make sure I schedule a drop off at the local shelter or Goodwill, etc. Otherwise, I'll find a bag full of stuff in the hall closet six months later - that's a very specific thing to happen and it's happened to me more than once. 😣

Undecided

• If I'm not sure whether I like a product enough to keep it in my collection - either because I haven't had another time to really use it or I haven't tried it yet or it's not the right season to put it to use or for whatever reason, I'll put it in a bin with other beauty products I'm on the fence about, with the idea that I'll go back and give it another try. I have to be really good about making sure I actually go back and give it another try and not let it sit there indefinitely, or worse yet, sit there long enough that it blows past its expriration date by the time I actually get around to trying it. 

[haleyvvvv]

I really appreciate the thoughtfulness about the quantity of the items you're finishing up @itsfi !! Fabulous job for the year and really impressed at seeing your dedication to using your collection!!