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

[itsfi]

@Mellmars1185, on good days, it's my pre-cleanse - I go over my entire face with it before double cleansing. But that's on good days. Most days, I use it to breakdown my eye makeup, especially if I had on waterproof mascara, which is most days. 

I asked about it because up until a year or so ago, I had consistently had clogged pores and acne (and cystic acne) along my jawline and chin. There's a combination of things I did to address that, but one of them was to use the Bioderma micellar water on those areas every night before starting my double cleanse and using a mask or salicylic-acid based toner on those areas. Was just wondering if that might be something that might work for you. 

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi I am glad it helped you out! Sometimes I double cleanse. I will try it. At this point I will try anything. I heard that taking zinc helps. I started that about a week ago. Not long enough to know if it is helping.

[itsfi]

@Mellmars1185, I think zinc helps with acne. I also found it helped when I cut down on my (cow) dairy and gluten intake. In terms of topical care though, I used a micellar water over that area before my double cleanse routine and I did a gentle mask, just along that area once per week. 

[itsfi]

January empties - Starting off the year with 25 empties, mostly likes and loves, some meh's. More detailed thoughts on each item in the spoilers.

🐐= GOAT = Greatest Of All Time (have gone through at least two of the particular product and other comparable items)

😘= Chef’s Kiss = Outstanding 

💖 = Love 

👍 = Like 

🫤 = Okay; “It’s fine.”; “meh”

🔬= Undecided = “Still looking into it”

🙊= Not for me / my skin type

🙅🏻‍♀️ = ❌ = “No, non, nein, nyet, …” 

Spoiler

🫤Trader Joe’s has a wonderful candle collection; I don’t love all of them but the vast majority are hits for me. The scent themselves vary but they all generally have a lovely throw to them (both cold and when lit). The Trader Joe's Woodlands Scented Candle is … meh, but to be fair, it suffers from having to compete with other similarly scented candles that smell better to me. 

😘The Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissant Scented Candle, on the other hand, is delicious!  🤤 It’s literally a chocolate croissant in candle form - all the goodness without the calories. 🥐 This will reach 🐐 status soon. Very soon. 

👍 Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Complexion Drops Dewy Skin Tint surprised me, in a good way. It’s definitely dewy but the tint, while lightweight, offers some coverage, though I typically reach for a concealer during the workweek. The thin-ish, serum consistency makes it both easy to spread and hydrating. This one is better suited for those with dry or very dry skin.

🫤 Unpa Bubbi Bubi Lip Ampule, a bubbling lip is alright, can be fun to have the balm bubble/foam up, but it can also be a bit time consuming. Overall, it does what it’s intended to do, light exfoliating and balm in one. 

😘Skinfix Barrier+ Foaming Oil Hydrating Cleanser 6 oz/ 177 mL is great for my mildly rosacea-prone skin. Thankful for the recommendation from the Sephora castmember during a Perk facial.

💖 Bioderma Atoderm Ultra-nourishing  Anti-irritation Shower Oil is a wonderful cleanser. My skin feels soft and moisturized (not greasy) stepping out of the shower.

💖 I was not expecting to love the Yves Saint Laurent Candy Glaze Lip Gloss Stick 02 healthy glow plumper but I do. Soft, moisturized, more plump lips. This does not bode well for my wallet. 💸 It's been added to my spring sale wishlist.

Spoiler

😘Tatcha The Indigo Cleansing Balm Moisturizing Makeup Remover 1.9 oz / 54 g - Since my criteria for GOAT status requires that I've gone through 2 of these, it’s a question of when, not if, that will happen. 🐐

 🔬 I'm undecided about Floral Street Chypre Sublime Eau De Parfum 1.7 oz/ 50 mL - some days the woody, floral, patchouli blend is something I enjoy and other days, the powdery floral from the violet and the patchouli notes are too much for me. If I had another sample of it, I'd probably use it but with the other fragrances I need to work through, a full size of this one is not likely.

🫤 CLEAN RESERVE Reserve - Sparkling Sugar 3.4 oz / 100 ml eau de parfum spray was okay - neither offensive nor desirable. It's a very light, soft scent. Again, not offensive, but on my skin, the notes didn't last long enough for me to determine whether it's something I'd like.

 🔬 I'm also undecided on Floral Street Black Lotus Eau De Parfum 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray though this particular scent leans more towards the "like" camp. It's long lasting and a very lovely, smoky rose scent for an evening out. I am sure I have a couple of similar scents so this isn't one that I feel I need to immediately run out to pick up. 

Spoiler

💖 #Dr. Jart+ Cicapair ™ Sensitive Skin Serum Face Mask for Redness 1 Mask / pack is ideal for sensitive skin - it soothes, calms, reduces redness (albeit temporarily) and hydrates. There's a ton of serum in this mask too which was fine by me but those who don't like a lot of serum in their sheet masks might want to wring out some of the serum before applying the sheet to their face.

👍 Mediheal is another Kbeauty sheet mask brand I go back to time and time again. I particularly liked the black charcoal sheet on this Mediheal Ocean Black Toning Gel Mask. It has a floral (honeysuckle, maybe?) scent that dissipates quickly and leaves my skin well hydrated, brighter and bouncy.

💖 BCL Saborino multi-mask packs are hit and miss for me. I like the ones marketed for evening use since they don't contain the strong menthol scent that the morning-use verions do. This BCL Saborino Night Time Face Mask (Peach) is a hit for me - it has a pleasant, fresh, peach scent and can provide some light moisture to my skin in just a quick 60-second masking sesh.

My foil samples made up almost half of the total empties for this month (11), are summarized in the Foil Challenge Thread. I had a few good finds from my January’s foils. 👍

[missjeanie]

@itsfi As always... you make trash look gorgeous in your photos! I'm a fan of the YSL Candy Glaze as well.... I want them to do more shades... but also... maybe not toooo many new shades 🤔

You've also sold me on the TJ's Chocolate Croissant Candle.  I may or may not be sending my dad to search one out! He needs missions to stay busy as a retiree anyhow! lol

[itsfi]

@missjeanie, that’s really nice of you to say; the products though do most of the work - the packaging on the YSL and Tatcha, to name a couple, are just so pretty! 😍 

ha, that’s so good of you to give your dad something to do to stay busy, active. And how fun that he takes you up on your missions. I’m just thinking about how my dad would react to that - look for the candle, no, probably not something he’d say he had time for. Look for an actual chocolate croissant, no problem; he’d love to help me out there. 😝 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi Don't sell your skills short!!  Those photos are goooooorgeous!!!

I feel like if I tell my Dad exactly what to go in for he'd be willing to make the trip.  I already sussed out a Trader Joe's about a 5 minute drive from his winter place.  I might mention there's an old car place next door.... We'll see how it goes lol. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

@itsfi Theae products look amazing 

[itsfi]

@peculiarzmakeup, most of them performed really well for me 😍 Love that I was able to finish some repurchase-worthy full sizes.  

[peculiarzmakeup]

@itsfi that’s so good to hear 🙂 

[lmaster]

I don't think I've smelled either one of those floral street fragrances @itsfi good to know your thoughts! Great job

[itsfi]

Those fragrances were part of a Floral Street discovery set @lmaster, but a (much) older version. I don’t think those 2 scents are part of the current discovery set; they’re older to the collection - heavier, darker too than the profiles of what’s popular from the brand currently.

[Cissy63]

@itsfi  Those candles sound amazing!  Oh chocolate 🍫!   I am a Tatcha fan as well.   Thanks for your usual in-depth comments 😀

[itsfi]

@Cissy63, that Tatcha cleansing balm is one of the best out there, my current favorite. The chocolate croissant candle really does smell like a chocolate croissant.  I haven’t caved (yet) into running out to get a chocolate croissant though. 😝 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@itsfi love your spoiler notes!

[itsfi]

@greeneyedgirl107, thank you! I'm finding it's easier for me to take pics and retain my thoughts on my empties on a weekly or bi-weekly basis - I gather them up and snap a shot the night the garbage is taken out and then into the recycle bin (or in a bag for recycling at Sephora). Done. It makes for less cohesive group shots at the end of the month but it's easier for me to keep track of, both from a notes perspective and just accumulating / storing the empties.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@itsfi glad you found a good system!

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Awesome feedback! Bioderma has become a favourite of mine for micellar water. I should branch out and try some of their other items. They sell in at Shopper's Drug Mart here and they have a great points program. *Adding to list*. What did you like about the YSL lippie? I like the formula. However, I decided to pick one up with a bit more colour for myself. I like your ranking system!

[itsfi]

Thank you @Mellmars1185! I love Bioderma micellar water - is it the one with the pink cap that you use? I learned of these other Bioderma products a few years back from @missjeanie - they have a lip balm that's really good and this shower oil is wonderful! Ahhhh, Shoppers! I've only been to a couple of them, but was impressed with the variety of things they carry and I just hear so many good things about their rewards / loyalty program from you lovely Canadian BIC'ers.

I have several of these YSL balms in a variety of tints; but I've never tried the non tinted one until receiving it as a gwp. I was happily surprised by how rich it was - there's a thickness to it that makes it very moisturizing but it's not goopy or heavy. I first reached for it when my lips were very chapped and I was impressed by how nourishing it was; not what I expected from a makeup item from a luxe brand like YSL. I thought at most it would be lightly moisturizing but it really did a good job of soothing my dry, chapped lips and infusing a lot of moisture back into it without it being heavy. Oh, which shade did you pick up in the YSL?

lol, I wanted to have a little fun with my rankings this year. Going to try to keep to this set of rankings for my empties and foils during the year. 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi @Mellmars1185 Oh my gosh... ladies... the Bioderma Hydrabio Facial Serum... so nice!  It's like the 'extra' version of the Drunk Elephant B-Hydra™ Intensive Hydration Serum with Hyaluronic Acid 1.69 oz/ 50 mL .  I can usually snag it on sale at Shoppers and It really does hydrate so well, while still feeling cosmetically elegant.  

I know the pump bottle of the micellar water well.  It's so nice for controlling how much you use!  

Such an unassuming brand with solid performers, I'm so glad others like their stuff too!!

[Mellmars1185]

@missjeanie I wilk check out the facial serum tomorrow! I have to get some items and use my points coupon 😉