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

[Mellmars1185]

August

Empties - 15

Destashes - 2

Foils - 5

Empties ^

All likes and loves except for the Sephora brush cleaner.

Destashes ^

The Merit I found too heavy as a foundation and as a concealer it creases. The shade match was not the greatest either. I have a cream formula palette by MUFE that I think I will get more use out of. The Laura Mercier was a bit light for my skintone and I wasn't reaching for it.

 

 

Foils ^ 

 

[Mellmars1185]

@ather Thank you! I had it for years and didn't use it much. I gave it another try before getting rid of it.. I think I have to many products to get through and I just wasn't loving it. But it definitely is a good product that may work better for others 😊

[ather]

@Mellmars1185  Great job! Too bad the Merit didn’t work for you. 

[lmaster]

@Mellmars1185 sorry the merit didn't work out! Great job on the empties 

[Mellmars1185]

@lmaster Thank you! 😊

[Samtian]

@Mellmars1185 Great work!

[Mellmars1185]

@Samtian Thank you! 😊

[WinglessOne]

Browsing my personal (not BIC) photo albums, I saw May 2020 was the last time I posted any empties. 😮 That made me gather things I’ve used up this month. 

Some longtime faves, newer loves, and an “eh, it’ll do.”

Notes in spoiler because y’all know I tend to ramble: 

Spoiler

Not pictured: COSRX Pure Fit Cica Serum and Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster. I already recycled those glass bottles. Both serums are longtime loves, especially the cica serum as a reliable skin soother. 

Theramid Azid serum comes in a vacuum pump bag. To completely use it up and prep for recycling, I pulled it out of its bottle and cut the bottom open. Totally worth the effort to get every last bit of this 15% azelaic acid serum. I hear Niche Beauty Lab stopped shipping this product to the US a couple months ago to comply with US rules about OTC azelaic acid (15% is prescription strength in the US; NBL is located in Spain), so I guess I ordered my last 2 bottles just in time last May. I should’ve ordered more. Sure, I can get Rx Finacea, but even the generic costs a lot more than OTC 15% azelaic acid from outside the US. 😑 And Azid’s formula plays very nice with my skin. 

Medik8 Crystal Retinal 20 is my nightly 0.2% retinaldehyde. Since this is a UK brand, I wonder if sellers like Dermstore will hike the already high price to cover tariffs after today. Good thing I’ve got a few tubes stockpiled, whew! 

COSRX Alpha-Arbutin 2 Discoloration Care Serum is something I haven’t used consistently, so I can’t accurately say it’s made a big difference in my hyperpigmentation. But I did enjoy using this watery serum, so I like to think it played a supporting role alongside heavier hitters in my routine. I’m still not sold on topically applied tranexamic acid vs. taking it orally but hey, if I’m gonna use an alpha-arbutin serum, it might as well contain other hyperpigmentation fighters (acetyl glucosamine/NAG, niacinamide, licorice root, and glutathione). Not sure if I’ll get another bottle because I like the next serum on this list better. 

Abib Glutathiosome Dark Spot Serum is really lovely. It brightens my skin a bit and makes it feel plushly hydrated and moisturized. Contains glutathione, NAG, niacinamide, 3 forms of vitamin C and centella asiatica, ferulic acid, a ceramide, allantoin, and some seaweed/algae- and sugar-based hydrators. Choosing between Abib’s and COSRX’s discoloration serums, I’ll probably pick this one going forward. Or maybe this’ll be my cold weather option, with COSRX’s reserved for warm weather. 

The Inkey List Hydrating Cream-to-Milk Cleanser mini convinced me to buy a full bottle. It’s a good morning cleanser for me: I usually only need to wash my eye area in the AM (I just water-wipe the rest of my face), and this gentle cleanser doesn’t sting my eyes. 👍 It’s also fairly moisturizing, as it contains shea butter. I definitely don’t recommend it as a solo makeup remover, and it struggles to fully remove tinted mineral sunscreen. In those scenarios, it’s better as a second step cleanser. 

Good Light Taste of Space Lip Milk is my nightly lip serum. Technically this one’s almost empty: there’s still a good week’s worth of product clinging to the sides. The bare spot in the middle is where the doe foot applicator reaches. I wish the wand was longer so I wouldn’t have to go in with a separate spatula/cotton swab/etc.

Paula’s Choice Gentle Touch Makeup Remover has been my favorite stubborn eye makeup remover for a few years now. I always compare it to Lancôme Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover: both products will remove almost anything, but PC’s is gentler on my eyes & lids (no fragrance) and considerably less expensive per ounce. I don’t often use it on my whole face because the next product on this list handles that task very well. I like to reserve Gentle Touch for eye duty. 

COSRX Low pH Micellar Cleansing Water is my favorite micellar water, hands down. Fragrance-free, no weird filmy feel, and removes a lotta makeup (aside from stubborn eye makeup). Anything left behind is minimal enough for a second cleanser to tackle. Like other micellar waters I’ve tried, this one’s not the best for mineral sunscreen removal; for that, I still rely on a cleansing balm. But on nights or mornings when I’m too ill to stand in the shower or at the sink long enough to wash my face, this stuff comes in clutch. 

BeautySoClean Conditioning Brush Cleanser is still my favorite spray cleanser for most makeup brushes. (I don’t often use it on squirrel hair brushes, but I could.) It’s not a thorough cleanser—gotta use a sudsy cleanser for that—but it does remove a good amount of product between true washings, and it sanitizes brushes without wrecking them. You’d think my skin would react badly to brushes after using this spray since it contains lime oil, but nope, no irritation. 🤷‍♀️ (If I use, say, a sheet mask containing lime oil, my skin will absolutely throw an angry red bumpy peely tantrum. Learned that the hard way.) 

[lmaster]

Nice job!! @WinglessOne 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @lmaster !

[Mellmars1185]

@WinglessOne Amazing progress. It is good to know you sre happy with Cosrx products

 I have only tried the snail essence. I would like to try more! I also have the Inkey cleansing milk in my stash. I will bring that into my rotation for the morning. Thanks for the feedback!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Mellmars1185 (hope you like any other COSRX products you try) and @Samtian ! 

Hey @TeamBIC: a few minutes ago, I said (in the Commuity Feedback thread, which I can't @ now) BIC was back to looking normal. But the more I browsed around, the longer it took BIC links to open. Then when I tapped Reply here in this thread, I got the botched css view again. 😭 At least this time I did get a reply text box, so hopefully this reply actually posts. 

[Samtian]

@WinglessOne Glad to see you post again!

[Shosh85]

Empties for July and August (not including masks and foils because they're too messy and I'm too OCD to save those 😅)

My family and I will be moving soon and I've been trying really hard to get through some of my stash to lighten the load. It's amazing how things just accumulate 😬

Loves: 👇

more loves: 👇

 
Likes/fine, nothing standout. Would use again, but not purchase 👇

[Mellmars1185]

@Shosh85 Fantastic work! You got through a lot! This should definitely lighten your packing. All the best with your move and next chapter!

[Shosh85]

Thank you so much, @Mellmars1185! 😊 

[Samtian]

@Shosh85 Wow great work! I hope your move goes smoothly. 

[Shosh85]

Thank you so much! @Samtian  😃

[lmaster]

@Shosh85 great bunch of empties!! I hope the move will be great for your family!! 🤗

[Shosh85]

Thank you so much @lmaster! I hope so too! 🤞

[CookieGirl1]

@Shosh85 great job on getting rid of so much stuff pre-move!  Hope that goes well for you 🙂