Tag: Beauty Empties

Beauty, empties, Hair, Makeup, Review, Skincare

Product Empties November 2022

by LeaLeave a Comment on Product Empties November 2022

Hey guys! I’m back with another product empties. As I mentioned in my last empties, I’ve been going through products faster than I can write about them! I have fifteen empties to share today and I have about another twenty in my empties bag. Maybe I should do an empties Youtube video? Let me know what you think. Let’s get into today’s post!

Starting with body lotion, I finished the St Ives 24 Hour Moisture Body Lotion in the scent Almond & Flaxseed. I’ve mentioned my love of almond-scented products before and someone recommended this to me (I think on Insta). I liked this lotion! The pump made it easy to apply and it absorbed quickly into the skin. My only complaint is that it didn’t smell like almonds! If you prefer lightly scented products then you’ll love this but if you’re like me and want almonds this won’t hit the spot. I have other lotions that I like more but if you’re looking for a good drugstore lotion, this is a great option.

If you watched my USA shopping haul, then you’ll know that I’ve fallen in love with the Hero Cosmetics Mighty Patch. It’s just as good as my beloved Peace Out Acne Patches but more affordable! If you’re in the US you can get them at Target. For my fellow Canadians, they are available at Shoppers but currently only online. I put it on a whitehead before I got to bed and by morning the pimple is all gone! I will be purchasing these again in the future.

Another favourite is the OLEHENRIKSEN Cold Plunge Pore Remedy Moisturizer. I finished both a full-sized and a mini travel size of this moisturizer. I recommend this to all my fellow oily & acne-prone friends out there. It’s super lightweight and doesn’t feel heavy on the skin. If you have sensitive skin I would be careful though because it has BHA and LHA in the moisturizer to help with pores. While I decided to purchase something else to review, I would purchase this moisturizer again in the future.

I had a deluxe sample of the First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Face Cleanser and it was alright. It’s a fragrance-free, gentle cleanser and I would say that it does exactly as it says. But for my skin I just like a little something more. If you have sensitive skin you would love this!

The next product is the Cerave Moisturizing Cream. I much prefer Cerave’s Moisturizing Lotion over the cream. The lotion comes in a pump so it’s easier to apply. I find the cream to be a little too thick for my skin. It’s nice in the winter when it’s super cold and my skin is super dry. But for the majority of the year, it’s just not the right moisturizer for my skin! If you have drier skin you’ll love this though!

I got the Clean Skin Club Pineapple Glow Mist in my Boxycharm box and I ended up liking it! It’s like having hyaluronic acid in mist form! It’s super easy to apply to the skin, it provided some extra hydration and smelt great. I would consider repurchasing in the future but I don’t want to deal with shipping and customs so I’ll be passing on that because I’m sure there are similar products available in Canada.

Now I wish the St Ives lotion smelled just as good at the L’Occitane Almond line. I finished the Almond Smoothing and Beautifying Milk Concentrate and it was amazing. It smelled just like almonds and applied so well to the skin. It left me feeling so soft after. I used this only on special occasions because this is a pricey body lotion. But if you’re looking to treat yourself (or badly want an almond-scented product) then I highly recommend checking it out! I see myself purchasing from this line again in the future.

It takes a lot for me to not like a mascara, but the PUR Cosmetics Fully Charged Mascara just wasn’t it for me. I like length, definition and a little volume with my mascara. This PUR one gave me barely any length and was so clumpy. As the mascara aged it also became flaky, which is not something I normally deal with mascaras. It was almost impossible to remove! There are so many better mascaras out there, don’t get this one.

Another item I received in my Boxycharm was the Skin & Co Truffle Therapy Radiant Dew Mist. The website says this can be used to set makeup but I preferred using this as a skincare mist. I would spray this all over my face and then apply my hyaluronic acid. This mist is supposed to be good for breakouts and oil but I didn’t notice a difference. Based on the photos from the website it looks like they changed their packaging, which is good because I found the nozzle wasn’t the greatest. I won’t be repurchasing this mist because it was fine but not great enough to deal with shipping it to Canada.

A product I’ve repurchased is the Dove Exfoliating Body Polish. I decided to pick it up again since it’s a great body scrub available at the drugstore. I’ve come to realize I’m not a huge sugar scrub fan because I find they dissolve before I can scrub my body. This one is great because it’s not sugar so I can get a good scrub in. And I love the Macadamia & Rice Milk scent it’s nutty and sweet. I would repurchase again in the future.

Another scrub, this time a face one, is the Origins GinZing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser. I struggle with texture so I love having a good physical exfoliator. This one was pretty good. It has tiny beads to buff away the dead skin. It has a very refreshing and citrusy scent which I enjoy. Overall I like this cleanser and would recommend it!

I finished a deluxe sample of the IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Makeup Primer+. Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed by the primer. It wasn’t bad. But if a primer claims to be a gripping primer, I expect it to grip my foundation and not budge throughout the day. I found it didn’t make much of a difference in the longevity of my makeup. If you want a gripping primer, the ELF one is much better and cheaper.

Another product I was completely unimpressed with was the Bumble and Bumble Curl Defining Cream. I didn’t finish this product, I’m throwing it away. It’s way too heavy for my hair. I could feel the cream in my hair and it weighted my hair down so the curls couldn’t form. I tried using this cream a few times using varying amounts and each time it was too heavy for my hair. It’s a real shame because I love Bumble and Bumble’s Curl Reactivator. But this curl cream wasn’t for me.

The Mudmasky Vitamin-infused Eye Serum was like the neverending eye cream. Most eye creams are 15 ml (or 0.5 oz) and the Mudmasky eye cream is double at 30 ml (or 1 oz). It took me forever to finish the eye cream. Overall I found it to be an alright eye cream. It did a good job of hydrating my under eyes and that’s all I ask for in an eye cream. It absorbs quickly into the skin and it worked well under concealer. But I don’t love it enough to ship it to Canada.

And the final empty is the Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara. I liked this one! It was great at adding length to my lashes. I liked the skinny wand because I find it easier to not get mascara on my eyelids with the skinny wands. I wish it was a little bit more volumizing but overall it was great for everyday wear. I would repurchase this mascara.

And those are my product empties! If you have tried any of these products let me know what you thought about them in the comments!

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, empties, Hair, Makeup, Skincare

Product Empties September 2022

by LeaLeave a Comment on Product Empties September 2022

Hey guys! It’s been a busy summer for me, that’s for sure! And while I haven’t been posting consistently, I have been using beauty products so I have a huge bag full of empties. I will be sharing 15 products today, but probably have enough to do another post next week haha. So since I have a lot of products, I’ll try and keep it brief. Let’s get into it!

First I finished the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser. I had first tried this cleanser in my Boxycharm and then decided to repurchase it myself a second time. This has some strong acids so if you have sensitive skin, stay away! It has jojoba beads so gives that physical exfoliation along with the chemicals. I haven’t repurchased because I wanted to try other exfoliators but would consider repurchasing in the future.

You can tell I love the OLEHENRIKSEN Balancing Force Oil Control Toner by the fact that I finished two of these – a travel size and a full size. I am currently using another bottle. This just helps keep the oil at bay and keep my pores clean. If you have oily, acne-prone skin you need to check out this toner.

Another major love is the Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm. I love testing out cleansing balms but this is one that I always go back to. I don’t have to use a ton of product to remove my makeup. It doesn’t leave any greasy residue to sting my eyes. It’s great with stubborn mascara, lash glue, glitter, etc. All the stuff that’s hard to remove. I will probably repurchase this again in the future.

A product I did not like and didn’t finish is the Christopher Robin Instant Volumizing Leave-In Mist. I like to use empties posts as a way to update you on my thoughts. And my thought on this product is that it’s not good. It left my hair looking frizzy and my curs undefined. I tried this quite a few times, with different products and application methods, and each time I wasn’t satisfied with how my hair looked. So into the trash this product goes!

I finished my favourite limited edition leave-in conditioner – the Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair Apple Honey Deep Conditioning Hair Mask. They usually only have it available near the holidays, and it looks like it’s finally available again! This mask is more moisturizing compared to the original. This is the best silicone and sulphate-free mask I’ve found so far! Highly recommend picking it up!

Up next is an empty bottle of Bioderma Micellar Water. I find the Bioderma and Garnier Micellar waters to be the extra same, I just buy whichever is on sale. I don’t often use micellar water, mainly just to fix any makeup mistakes. It does the job so I can’t complain!

Another OLEHENRIKSEN favourite is the Find Your Balance Oil Control Cleanser. I got a mini kit that include the whole line when I travelled to Vancouver but I’ve used this cleanser before. It’s a great cleanser for those with oily, acne-prone skin. Does a great job of deep cleaning the skin. I totally see myself repurchasing this again in the future.

I got a mini of the Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter using some of my Sephora VIB points. I had the unscented version but I just learned there are scented versions! I would purchase one of the scents because the texture of this body butter is divine. It’s on the thicker side so it’s great for the cold and dry winter months. This body butter is often a point perk, so if you see it I would recommend picking it up!

Another point perk was the Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream. I know this cream has been really popular online lately and while it was good I don’t think it’s anything spectacular? It was almost balmy in consistency and took forever to sink into my skin. It did make my skin look super glowy but I think my skin is just too oily for this product. It was just too heavy for my skin but if you have drier skin you’d probably love this.

I finished a mini of the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo. I’m not a huge user of dry shampoo. Because I like to wear my hair natural most of the time, it means that I was it frequently and don’t often need dry shampoo. I found that this dry shampoo wasn’t any better than the Batiste dry shampoo that you get from the drugstore. Maybe I’m not the best person to get dry shampoo advice from haha.

I have four bags photographed, but I actually have finished five bags of the Peace Out Salicylic Acid Acne Healing Dots. These are some of the best acne patches that I have tried. I might have found another favourite – but that’s for another post. They sit nicely on the face and do a great job of pulling out all the gunk in a pimple. If you suffer from acne you need these in your life.

A product that I received in my Boxycharm that I finished is the Skin Inc My Daily Dose of Uplift serum. I liked the product but I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to reorder the product. If I can’t get a product at my local drugstore or online at Sephora it has to really wow me and this product didn’t do that. I can think of many different serums that can do something similar. It’s not bad just nothing special.

The first of two mascaras is the Too Faced Damn Girl Mascara. It’s an alright mascara – it just doesn’t tick the boxes for what I’m looking for. I like a lot of length with a little volume and this gave a lot of volume with a little length. This wand was very thick so it was hard to separate the lashes, especially as the mascara got older. I throw my mascaras out after being open for a year so this mascaras time has come. I will not be repurchasing.

The second mascara is the Covergirl Exhibitionist Mascara. I’m not sure what’s going on with this mascara because I can’t find it in store anymore but it’s still available on the Covergirl website. Either way, I did like this mascara! It reminded me a lot of the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. It gave great volume to the lashes but also kept them defined and long. This was a great drugstore mascara but it’s expired so it was time to let it go.

The final product is the Ouai Detangling and Frizz Fighting Leave-In Conditioner. Oh man, I love the scent of this leave-in conditioner. It’s the Ouai Bondi scent, which I think I’m going to get the perfume because I love the scent so much. I will say that this is also a pretty good leave-in conditioner. It did a good job of fighting frizz and helping define my curls. It does have silicones in it, so I probably won’t repurchase BUT if you don’t care about silicones then you HAVE to try this leave-in conditioner!

And that is a round-up of some of my product empties! Let me know if you tried any of these products in the comments and what your thoughts were!

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, empties, Hair, Makeup, Skincare

Product Empties May 2022

by LeaLeave a Comment on Product Empties May 2022

Hey guys! It’s time for another product empties. I don’t know if these types of posts are very popular anymore. I love doing them because it allows me to follow up on products I’ve mentioned before and give my in-depth thoughts. I’ve been finishing a bunch of products lately. I’m trying to limit to 10 products per post but I have another 15 so maybe sometime I should do a Youtube video? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Let’s get into it!

Product emtpies

The first product was the CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion. I’ve mentioned this before but I use a face lotion on my chest and back because those areas are acne-prone. Using my heavily scented body lotions breaks me out in those areas so I use lotions like this CeraVe one. I liked this moisturizer! First, it’s a pump which I prefer for body lotions. The formula is thin but still moisturizing. It sinks very quickly into the skin and isn’t sticky. And best of all it’s from the drugstore! I tried to repurchase this and it was sold out everywhere! I picked up a different lotion but would get this again in the future. This lotion has my stamp of approval.

A haircare empty was the Moroccan Oil All in One Leave-In Conditioner. Just want to note that this isn’t curly-girl approved but I was all out of leave-in conditioner and was gifted this so I was like might as well use it. And I did enjoy it! I did a nice job of adding a little moisture to my hair. I still think my favourite is the leave-in by Living Proof. I wouldn’t repurchase it because it’s not curly-girl approved but I think it’s worth trying out if that is not something you look for in your products!

A mask empty!! It takes me forever to go through masks and the Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner Pore Purifying Mask was no exception. I got this mask in a Boxycharm back in 2018… that’s a long time. This mask wasn’t bad it just wasn’t my favourite. The mask is white with little beads that turn blue as you rub it into the skin. This is a pore-purifying mask and I just have masks that do a better job. I won’t be repurchasing and wouldn’t recommend it.

Another Boxycharm product was the Elemis Superfood AHA Glow Cleansing Butter. I got this product back in September 2021, not four years ago haha. My initial review was that this would be great for people with dry skin and that thought still stands. It has a very creamy texture that is very hydrating. My only issue is that it wasn’t the most effective cleansing product I’ve ever used. It’s fine for light, everyday makeup but if I was wearing liquid eyeliner or lash glue it wasn’t very good at removing it. I finished the product but I won’t be repurchasing it.

One of the many cleansers I recently finished was the Glow Recipe Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser. This is a gentle cleanser with AHAs and hyaluronic acid to help with skin texture, oiliness and acne. When they say this is a gentle cleanser they weren’t joking. If you have sensitive skin you might enjoy this. But I personally found it wasn’t strong enough for my skin. I will not be repurchasing this.

The next product was the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray. I was a little disappointed with this product. Everyone raved online that this setting spray would help make my makeup last long and I didn’t notice a difference. I was also not a big fan of the scent either, it was very floral which I personally don’t like. Now this might be because I got the mini size, but I found the nozzle often got clogged and would spray big droplets all over my face. If you want a long wear setting spray I would recommend the Milani Make It Last which is half the price of this Charlotte Tilbury one.

A cleanser that I didn’t even finish was the Juice Beauty Green Apple Brightening Gel Cleanser. Unfortunately, this cleanser broke me out so I stopped using it. I know it has Vitamin E in it which does clog my pores but I’m unsure if that was what was causing me to break out. Either way, I would suggest being cautious if you wish to try out this cleanser.

Another setting spray that I finished was the Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional: Super Setter Pore-Minimizing Setting Spray. If you read my Sephora haul post then you would know that I already repurchased this setting spray. Unlike the Charlotte Tilbury spray, I do notice a difference in my skin when I use this spray. It just helps smooth my skin and blur my pores. It’s great after I use powder to just make everything look more skin-like. I highly recommend checking out this setting spray.

The final cleanser I finished was the Glamglow SUPERCLEANSE Clearing Cream-to-Foam Cleanser. This was my shower cleanser. I generally keep on cleanser in the shower so I don’t have to remember to bring one from my skincare to the shower each time. I generally relegate cleanser I’m not as fond of or ones that aren’t as strong to the shower. I chose this one to be a shower cleanser because it’s a messy cleanser and it’s easier to contain the mess in the shower. Since it’s a charcoal cleanser it would leave grey water stains in my sink. Also this has a licorice scent which I do not like so I would also hold my breath while using this cleanser. Probably would have returned it if I had purchased it but I got it in my Boxycharm so I was persistent and finished it instead. I will not be repurchasing though.

The final product today is the Frank Body Caffeinated Scalp Scrub. This was another Boxycharm product. This was my first time using a scalp scrub and it was alright. It felt nice in my scalp to use it but I didn’t really see a difference in my scalp or hair after using the scrub. I have a rubber scrubber that I use with my shampoo and I find that stimulates my scalp enough to help with product build up and dandruff. Overall maybe if you use a lot of product in your roots you would like this more but it just wasn’t for me.

And those are my product empties! Let me know in the comments if you have tried any of these products and what your thoughts were!

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, Drugstore, empties, Hair, Makeup, Review, Skincare

Product Empties February 2022

by LeaLeave a Comment on Product Empties February 2022

Hey guys! It’s time for another product empties post. I love writing product empties because I’ve finished a product so I usually have formed my opinion on a product. I feel like I can give you guys the best review after using up a product. I had a bunch of empties but decided to break up my collection into two posts, so expect to see another product empties post in the future. Let’s get into it.

A collection of makeup, skincare and hair care products that I recently finished.

The first empty is a hair mask. I’ve mentioned before I’m on the hunt for the best hair mask that doesn’t count sulphates or silicones, which is proving to be difficult. The latest one I’ve tried is Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque. This is the second Shea Moisture mask I’ve tried and I’m a little underwhelmed once again. I want to love this brand’s masks because they’re available at the drugstore. I found the other mask I tried from this brand to be too heavy. With this Deep Treatment Masque, I don’t find much of a difference. Maybe I need to let it sit longer than five to ten minutes? I just find that hair masks with silicone always make my hair feel soft and smooth and I can’t seem to find a similar effect with silicone-free masks. Maybe if you have dry hair you’d like this, but for me, it’s a pass.

Next, I finally finished the Kylie Skin Foaming Face Wash. You know I’ve had this for a while when the packaging has changed since I got this haha. I got this in my June 2020 Boxycharm. This cleanser is very gentle so I only use it as a second cleanser after I use a cleansing balm. It took me forever to go through this cleanser because it’s a foaming face wash. I only need about one pump to wash my face so it just took a long time to go through it. Overall it’s not a bad cleanser, if anything it would be great if you had sensitive skin. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it and ship it to Canada for such a gentle cleanser.

A product that is slowly becoming a reoccurring empty is the Peace Out Salicylic Acid Acne Healing Dots. I finished this pack back in January and I’m almost finished my current pack. To be fair my skin has been freaking out lately so I’ve been using a lot of these dots. They are by far the best acne patches I’ve tried and the patches make a difference with how quickly my breakouts heal. The key is to use these when the whitehead has appeared to suck all the gunk out. I will say the only thing that breaks my heart is that they’re not the cheapest at $25 for a 20 pack so I only use them on my had breakouts. Sometimes I’ll also cut them in half if I had a small breakout. Overall if you suffer from acne you have to check these out!

Another product that I’ve received from my Boxycharm is the Farmacy Honey Grail Ultra-Hydrating Face Oil. I’m just gonna put it out there that this oil is no joke. As someone with oilier skin, I generally don’t reach for face oil. I used this oil as my moisturizer found that it gave me more than enough moisture. It claims to be fast-absorbing and I would have to disagree. I found that it took a while for the oil to sink into my skin. Maybe if you had super dry skin you would love this. As an oily skin girl, this just wasn’t meant for me so I will not be repurchasing this oil.

An oil that I do love is the Biossance Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil. This is one of my favourite vitamin C serums I’ve tried. I find this vitamin C is potent enough to make a difference in my acne scars. The squalane and rose oil also had a visible brightness and glow to my skin that I haven’t found in other vitamin C serums. My only complaint is that it’s quite expensive, which is why I recently go the Glow Recipe vitamin C serum, you can check out my review of it here!

The next two empties are mascaras! I’m trying to be better about throwing out expired makeup and I’ve had both of these for over a year so it’s time for them to go in the garage. The first mascara is the Tarte Maneater Voluptuous Mascara. I got this one in a Boxycharm. I generally like Tarte mascara and this one is no exception. The shape of the wand means that I don’t get mascara all over my lids. I do prefer the Tarte Tarteist Lash Paint Mascara over this one because I prefer length over volume. My second mascara empty is the Hourglass Unlocked Instant Extensions Lengthening Mascara. I thought I was going to love this mascara and I was disappointed. It’s supposed to be a lengthening mascara and I find it didn’t give me that much length. I also found that so much product got on the wand and it became very goopy very quickly so it would get all over my eyelids. The only pro was that it was easy to remove since it’s a tubing mascara. But I will not be repurchasing this mascara.

A drugstore empty! I decided to pick up the ELF Holy Hydration Face Cream because I wanted to test out some affordable skincare and this was a winner baby! This is a little on the thicker side for my oily side so this is more of a winter/nighttime moisturizer for me. But if you have dry skin you would love this. At $16 this is such an affordable moisturizer and shows you don’t always have to pay a ton of money for good skincare. I have purchased other moisturizers but this is one that I would instantly recommend to people in the future.

If you read my Body Lotion Round-Up post, you might recognize that I mentioned the Bath & Body Works Body Lotion. I had finally finished this Pumpkin Pecan Waffles scent back in January. I had bought this back in August so it took me five months to finish this! I have learned my lesson and won’t be buying seasonal scents anymore because I was sick of smelling like fall in early January haha. But the actual body lotion is great. It’s thick but absorbs quickly into the skin. The scents are strong and do linger so just keep that in mind if you are sensitive to scents. I have already repurchased another one, I like the B&BW lotions!

The final empty for today is the Youth to the People Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser. This is an amazing cleanser if you have acne-prone skin. I didn’t realize how effective it was until I stopped using it. It’s gentle enough that my skin doesn’t feel stripped when using it. But it did a great job at reducing the number of breakouts I had. It comes in a glass bottle with a pump, which is great for the vanity but not good for travelling haha. I have purchased a different cleanser since but I am considering getting it again in the future.

And those are my product empties! Let me know if you’ve tried any of these products and what your thoughts were!

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, empties, Hair, Makeup, Review, Skincare

Product Empties November 2021 (What Beauty Products Would I Repurchase?)

by Lea3 Comments on Product Empties November 2021 (What Beauty Products Would I Repurchase?)

Hey guys! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done an empties post. I barely had any empties for a while and then within the last couple weeks I’ve finished like five products. I have 12 products for today’s post so let’s get into it!

Up first is the Hempz Natural Herbal Body Moisturizer in the Sweet Pineapple & Honey Melon scent. I was totally influenced by Sierra Schultzzie on this one. She did an “influencers made me buy it” video and fell in love with this lotion which in turn made me buy it. This is a great body lotion! It smells absolutely amazing – it reminds me of this certain gum but I can’t remember the name. I love the consistency because it’s not too thick but still hydrating. It sinks into the skin quickly and the scent lingers a bit but isn’t overpowering. I decided to repurchase the lotion but this time in the Fresh Coconut & Watermelon scent. Would recommend checking out this lotion.

The next product is the Versed Day Dissolve Cleansing Balm. Cleansing balms are one of my favourite products to test out and this is one of the best I’ve tried so far. It’s an oil-based cleanser so I find that it’s incredible at removing makeup. Even the most stubborn mascara, liners, lipsticks and glitters come off easily with this balm. Despite the fact that it’s oil-based it doesn’t leave my skin feeling oily or greasy. Sometimes if I’m feeling partially lazy I won’t double cleanse because my face feels clean enough after using this cleansing balm. AND best of all it’s available at the drugstore. I recommend checking out this cleansing balm if you wear makeup.

My brother has gotten into the habit of using my eye cream. He loved the Farmacy Cheer Up Brightening Vitamin C Eye Cream. We both have very sensitive under eyes and this didn’t both us. I honestly didn’t notice much of a difference but he did. He said it was hydrating and he just found it made a visible difference. He even asked if I was going to repurchase it (to which I replied he can purchase it himself since I have another eye cream open). So this eye cream has my brother’s seal of approval.

The first of two haircare products is the Living Proof Restore Repair Leave-In. I highly recommend this leave-in conditioner. First, it’s curly girl approved so my fellow curly hair friends can use this. Second, it does such a great job of leaving my hair smooth and silky. You can use a leave-in product as a heat protectant since its coats your hair. I will use this if I’m going to diffuse my curls and it helps prevent any frizziness. I currently have some other hair products open but once I finish them up I will buy this again.

The second haircare product is the Playa Healing Hair Masque. Honesltly I was a little disappointed by this mask. I had heard great things about the brand and assumed I would like the mask. It wasn’t a bad mask but it didn’t do anything more from my hair than using conditioner. If I’m going to pay almost $50 for a hair mask I want a noticeable difference and I didn’t get that. Still on the hunt for the best hair mask.

If you suffer from acne, then you HAVE to try the Benzagel Acne Gel. If you’ve followed me for awhile you might remember that I was using prescription acne cream for awhile. Unforuantely I’ve run out of the cream and cannot afford to repurchase it. So I switched over to this Benzagel Acne Gel. This contains Benzagel Peroxide, which is the main ingredient in Proactive. This is the best over the counter cream I’ve used so far. I apply it to wear I break out once a day and I noticed a huge difference in as little as two weeks. I’ll be honest and I still get breakouts but this has helped me. I recommend it to everyone suffering from acne.

Another cleanser I finished is the Laneige Cream Skin Milk Oil Cleanser. If you have dry skin you’ll love this cleanser for removing makeup. Unlike cleansing balms which sometimes can be stripped, this cleanser is quite hydrating. I will say it’s not as effective compared to other makeup removing cleansers so I used this more on my lighter makeup days. I personally won’t be repurchasing it but would recommend to anyone with normal to dry skin.

A moisturizer I finished is the Murad City Skin Overnight Detox Moisturizer. While I like this moisturizer I still find it funny that it has vitamin C. I’ve already heard that it’s best to apply vitamin C in the morning because it helps prevent UV damage, so it’s weird to be that they put vitamin C in a night cream. But besides that this cream isn’t bad. A little on the thicker side, which makes sense since it’s a nice cream. I like the packaging. It’s a push pump so I don’t have to dig my fingers into a jar. Overall it was a good moisturizer but I’m not going to go out of my way to repurhcase it on the Murad website.

A product that I was surprised that I enjoyed so much is the MineTan Body.Skin Hydra Glow Sleep Serum, which is a hyaluronic acid serum. I haven’t had the best of luck with finding a hyalurnoic acid serum that I like but this one worked great! I noticed a difference in how moisturizer my face felt after using this serum. I also noticed that my skin looked brighter as well after using it for a couple of weeks. Overall I enjoyed this serum. Unfortunately it’s only available through their site so I don’t think I’ll repurchase it because I don’t want to deal with the hassle that is shipping to Canada. But if you live in the US check this out!

A finished a makeup product! Doesn’t happen very often but I finished my tube of my Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. You already know that I’ve repurchased another one. I just love the way it brightens my undereyes and it’s so easy to blend. It does start to crease on me around the six hour makeup but it’s creamy enough that I can usually just tap out the creasing and lines with my finger and it looks fine. I think the fact that I finished a whole tube of this is just a testament to how much I love it.

Back to skincare again, I finished a bottle of the Clean Skin Club Vitamin C Brightening Booster. It was alright. At this point I compare all vitamin C serums to the Biossance one and this one just wasn’t as good. Now if you don’t like an oily feeling serum then you’ll probably like this one because it dries down almost matte. But I didn’t notice having any immediate brightening effect nor was it any faster at helping with my hyperpigmentation compared to the Biossance serum. It’s not bad but not good enough for me to want to repurchase.

And the final product is the Versed Look Alive Hydrating Plumping Mask. I thought for some reason based on the packaging that I would go through this in a few uses. But it took me like two years to get through the mask (expiry dates? what’s that lol). If you just want a mask to add some extra hydration to your skin, this is the mask for you. It’s like an extra juicy moisturizer. I leave it on for ten minutes, wash it off and my skin feels plump and juicy. It has a very nice, light floral scent. And best of all like other Versed products it’s affordable! I haven’t yet but I am considering picking another one up.

And that is it for my product empties guys! Let me know if you’ve used any of these products and what your thoughts are on them. And if you have any hair mask suggestions leave them in the comments because I’m still on the hunt!

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, empties, Makeup, Review, Skincare

Product Empties September 2021 (What Beauty & Makeup Would I Repurchase?)

by LeaLeave a Comment on Product Empties September 2021 (What Beauty & Makeup Would I Repurchase?)

Hey guys! It’s time to show you my beauty trash. ✨ I always love doing product empties posts because I have a good sense of the product since I’ve finished it. We have a few makeup products in today’s mix which is always fun so let’s get into it.

First I finished a mini version of the Olehenriksen Glow2OH Dark Spot Toner. If you’ve read any of my other product empties posts, then you would know that the Balancing Force Oil Control Toner by the same brand is one of my all-time favourite toners. So I thought I would try this one out. This toner has AHAs to help brighten the look of dark spots, which I have a lot from acne scars. Now it would be too much for my skin to use two toners at the same time so I switched from the oil control to the dark spot toner. I found that my face just really missed the oil control toner. It became more textured and oilier. I decided to switch back from the dark spot toner to the oil control toner and only used this toner when I was doing pamper routines in the evening. Overall it’s not a bad toner but it just doesn’t match my current skin needs so I won’t be repurchasing right now.

The next product is the Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover. I don’t know if anyone else is like this, but I have a good makeup-removing routine and a lazy makeup-removing routine. When I’m being good and doing my full evening skincare routine I’ll use a cleansing balm and double cleanse. When I’m feeling lazy I’ll use this Neutrogena makeup remover and some micellar water to remove my makeup. This stuff is great at removing makeup, especially stubborn mascara and eyeliner. Even though it’s supposed to be oil-free, it does leave my face feeling oily so I’ll just use some micellar water after to get rid of the oily feeling and any leftover makeup. I think this is a great affordable makeup remover and I have already repurchased another one.

The first makeup empty I have is the Tarte SEA Quench Lip Rescue Balm. You know it’s a good product when I purchased it in November and finished it within a year. That’s unheard of when it comes to lip products. There are many reasons why I love this lip balm. First, it’s in a twist-up tube so it’s easy to apply. Second, it’s very hydrating but also leaves the lips looking nice and shiny. And third, it has a nice tint to it so I can just add a little something to the lips. The only downside for me is that it has a mint scent which isn’t my favourite. But it doesn’t linger after it’s applied at least. This was the second one that I repurchase. I haven’t repurchased another one yet but I think I will once the weather turns colder.

The next product is a mini of the Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb. I’ve heard a lot of good reviews of this product so I was excited to try it out. This moisturizer is a lightweight gel that is supposed to give a ‘burst’ of hydration and then quickly absorb into the skin and leave a smooth finish, ideal for oily and combination skin types. I didn’t find it hydrating enough surprisingly. I did find that it leave a smooth finish instead of leaving my skin looking hydrated. If you don’t like looking dewy then this is the moisturizer for you. I want a lightweight gel moisturizer that will still make my skin look dewy instead of oily and this just wasn’t it. So not a bad product but just not what I was looking for.

I finally finished The Inkey List 15% Vitamin C and EGF Brightening Serum!! If you read my review on The Inkey List products, then you might remember that it wasn’t my favourite vitamin C serum that I’ve tried. I just found that it wasn’t as effective compared to other vitamin C serums that I own. I get that it’s more affordable compared to other vitamin C serums. But I rather use a more expensive serum and see results in two weeks than use a cheaper serum and see results in a month. I also didn’t that it made my face feeling sticky and tacky as well. I finished it but won’t be repurchasing it and honestly wouldn’t recommend it.

The next makeup empty is a mini of the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder. I honestly can’t remember much about this powder because it was almost empty when I found it in my collection so I only used it twice haha. It’s also a powder – if it sets my face and doesn’t look weird then it’s good haha. I mean this Laura Mercier powder is a cult classic – it has nine thousand reviews on Sephora and a 4.5/5 star rating. If you are ever looking for a good high end powder this is a good one to check out.

Another mini sample I finish of the Moroccan Oil Night Body Serum, which has unfortunately been discontinued. Which is a shame because I did enjoy the oil. I feel like their Dry Body Oil might be similar though. Using a body oil instead of a lotion is nice if you don’t like the greasy feeling of lotions. I haven’t tried the Dry Body Oil so I can’t recommend it but I would be interested in trying it in the future since I liked the Night Body Serum.

The next product I’ve had in my collection forever – the Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater. I think I’ve had it for over four years? I just didn’t know what to do with it for a while. The spray is just too aggressive to use with makeup so I never used it. Until I figured out that I like using a facial spray before applying hyaluronic acid. So I started using it for that and finally finished this spray. Honestly, I find that it didn’t do much for my skin except make it wet. Also, I know there was a lawsuit against Mario Badescu for some of their skincare products so it makes me hesitant to repurchase any of their products.

The final product is the MAC Cosmetics Prep + Prime Fix +. You guys know this is one of my favourite makeup products. I will always have some Fix+ in my makeup collection. This spray is just the best at setting the face. It helps melt the products into the skin and make the makeup look more skin-like. It’s also great for intensifying any eye products. I have already repurchased another Fix +. If you haven’t tried this setting spray yet, I highly recommend you try it out.

And that’s it for my product empties this month! Let me know in the comments if you tried any of these products, and if you did what you thought of them!

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, empties, Makeup, Review, Skincare

Product Empties July 2021

by Lea1 Comment on Product Empties July 2021

Hey guys! It’s been a couple of months but today I’m going to be sharing some of my product empties. I always like doing these posts because I’ve finished the product so I have a good idea of what the product is like. So let’s get into it.

The first product is perfume! Back in the spring, I got into wearing perfume daily. I never wore perfume much and found all my perfumes were just sitting unused. So I made it my mission to use them more and because of that, I finished the True Religion Hippie Chic. I’m 90% sure that this perfume is discontinued because it’s only available on Amazon and eBay. Which is fine with me because I wouldn’t repurchase it. This was the first perfume I got as a teenager and while it’s a good teen scent it’s not as much my thing anymore. The notes are Red Apple, Raspberry, Pomegranate, Hibiscus, Lily-of-the-Valley, Star Jasmine, Wood and Musk. It’s much fruitier than what I typically go for. It was good for when I was a teen but now I like other scents.

The next product is the Cetaphil Extra Gentle Daily Scrub. I’m currently on the hunt for my favourite exfoliator. I liked the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser and I’ve been comparing everything I tried to that one. I like an exfoliator that has something physical to it, but not necessarily St. Ives level of physical. That’s why I liked the Murad one because it was slightly physical but also chemical as well. This Cetaphil one was just too gentle for me. It says that there are micro-fine bamboo particles but I didn’t feel any. It wasn’t bad, like my face still felt clean after using it. But it was more similar to using a cleanser than an exfoliator. Still on the hunt for my favourite but it might be the Murad one.

I think the next product has been discontinued or at least renamed. I finished the Tarte Ready, Set, Radiant Skin mist and I can’t seem to find it anywhere. But on the Tarte website, they have the Rainforest of the Sea 4-in-1 Mist which sounds similar. Either way, I’m not sure I would repurchase it. The mist isn’t the finest and sprays droplets everywhere. I also found that the formula is more hydrating than setting down makeup. Then I read somewhere that it’s good to wet the face before applying hyaluronic acid and decided to try this mist and loved it for that use! Since the mist wasn’t fine it got my face wet quickly. It also provided extra skincare benefits on top of the hyaluronic acid. And finally, it has a cucumber scent that is nice while applying skincare. The reason why I wouldn’t repurchase is I think I can get a mist for cheaper than this that would do a similar job.

Taking a step away from skincare, I had a deluxe sample of the Drunk Elephant Sili Body Lotion. This lotion is meant to restore dry, dull and irritated skin. It was a thin liquid but was quite hydrating. It was easy to spread all over the body and sank into the skin easily. The scent was pretty basic. There is no added fragrance so it just smells like a combo of the marula and shea butter in the lotion. If you don’t like overly fragranced body lotions, then you’ll love this. I, on the other hand, love scented body lotions so I won’t be picking this up again because the scent was pretty basic.

Another body product, this one I did not like, was the Quo Vanilla Brulee Salt Scrub. I was looking to try a new body scrub and saw this one. I wasn’t able to smell it so I just bought it on a whim. I thought it would be a nice vanilla scent but no it just smells like straight-up salt and vanilla extract – not very pleasant. I also find that the scrub melts away easily so I can’t get a good scrub in before it dissolves. Was not a fan and will not be repurchasing.

The next product is a sample of the Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash. This cleanser should be right up my alley because it’s meant for oily skin to remove makeup, impurities and surface oils. But I found it was a little too aggressive. My face always felt tight after I used it. It also has a strong mint scent, which isn’t my favourite. I always had to hold my breath while using it. Overall not my favourite and I wouldn’t purchase a full size.

If you’ve read any of my product empties posts, then you’ll know I love the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. Sephora usually has the deluxe sample as a point perk so I always have one kicking around. And for a good reason because this cleanser is gentle but effective. This is a great second cleanser to use after removing makeup because it’ll get rid of any leftover makeup and cleanse the skin but not strip it. And I love the light cucumber scent. You need to try this cleanser if you haven’t already yet.

A product that I haven’t finished but will be throwing away is the Wander Beauty Lift Off Purifying and Brightening Peel Off Mask. I know that peel-off masks were big a couple of years ago and I had this one kicking around because I got it in my Boxycharm. I decided to use it the other day after not using it in months. It broke me out so badly. And not just around my chin, where I normally get acne. I had small pimples all over my face. I know for sure it was because of this mask. It might be expired but I believe my face just doesn’t like peel-off masks so I decided to get rid of it.

Now one of my favourite products that I have already repurchased is the Ole Henriksen Balancing Force Oil Control Toner. I can’t live without this stuff. I do notice a difference in the texture of my skin when I don’t use it. The toner evens out my face and helps keep the oils at bay. If you deal with texture skin and oiliness, you need this toner in your life.

Now for a drugstore product, I have the NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray. I’ve mentioned this spray quite a bit on my blog because it’s so good. It helps melt all the product into the skin and makes me look dewy but not oily. And it’s also so affordable, it’s only $11. This is like my third bottle and I see myself buying more in the future. I purchase the Radiant Finish to test it out and see if it’s any different compared to the dewy.

And the final product is my BareMinerals Translucent Powder Duo. If you’ve been keeping up with my project pan then this powder is probably familiar to you. I finished the matte side of the powder and don’t like the glow side so I decided it was time to just toss it out. It feels pretty good to finish a makeup product up because that doesn’t happen very often. Unfortunately, the powder has been discontinued so there isn’t much point in me giving a review since you can’t purchase it. But I just wanted to mention it since I’m proud that I finished it!

And those are the products that I finished recently! Let me know in the comments if you guys have tried any of these products before and what your thoughts were on them.

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, empties, Hair, Makeup, Review, Skincare

Product Empties May 2021

by LeaLeave a Comment on Product Empties May 2021

Hey guys! Today we’re back with another round of product empties. I love doing these posts because I feel like I give the best reviews after using up a product. Lots of skincare and some haircare in today’s trash pile, so let’s get into it.

A collection of empty makeup, skincare and hair products.

First, we have L’Occitane Almond Delightful Body Balm. Almond is one of my favourite scents and I heard good things about the almond range from L’Occitane so I picked this one up. This stuff is thick. It was perfect during the winter months when my skin was drier. I prefer something slightly lighter because it’s less work to rub it into the skin. I would consider buying another product within their almond range because I do enjoy the scent. If you have dry skin I would recommend this one. It is on the higher end price-wise, just something to note.

The next product is a deluxe sample of the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. I like to use cleansing balms if I am wearing a full face of makeup – full-coverage foundation, liquid liner, glitter, etc. you get the point. This balm did a good job of breaking down all the stubborn makeup and leaving my face clean and ready for my second cleanser. I would consider repurchasing, but I decided to get the Versed cleansing balm instead. It’s almost half the price and available at Shoppers!

Another sample I had was the Biossance Squalane + Peptide Eye Gel. This eye gel is supposed to reduce puffiness and dark circles. Honestly, I didn’t notice much of a difference. I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again: I don’t think eye creams do much besides hydration. I do have to be careful because I find some eye creams can irritate my under eyes, which makes. After all, the skin is thinner under the eyes. So while the eye cream gets points for not irritating my under eyes, I didn’t notice a difference in puffiness and dark circles. I don’t think you need to buy this eye cream and I wouldn’t repurchase it.

The one makeup product I have is the Laura Geller LashBOSS Bold Mascara, which seems to have been discontinued since I’ve received it in my Boxycharm. This is fine by me because this mascara was mediocre. I don’t remember my thoughts on it because I didn’t reach for it often. It didn’t give me more volume or length so that’s why I didn’t use it. I’m getting rid of it because the last time I used the mascara it flaked on me and it hadn’t done that before, so I took that as a sign that it was done.

My first haircare empty is the Briogeo Farewell Frizz Blow Dry Perfection Heat Protectant Cream. If you watched my curly hair routine then you would know that I like to use this and a Living Proof Leave-In product as my heat protectant on days that I blow dry my hair. And I have to be honest that I like the Living Proof product more. I like the smell of this Briogeo cream. But I find that it weighs my hair down more and my curls never look as nice when I use the Briogeo cream. I’m not saying it’s bad necessarily. It’s great considering there are so few sulphate and silicone-free heat protectants on the market. But I prefer Living Proof’s heat protectant more.

The other two empties I have are the Briogeo deep conditioners: the Be Gentle, Be Kind Avocado + Kiwi Mega Moisture Superfoods Hair Mask and the Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Hair Mask (not pictured). Of the two I would say the Be Gentle, Be Kind is my favourite. I just don’t find the Don’t Despair, Despair mask to be hydrating enough. I don’t notice a difference when I use it. This is funny because I love the honey version of that mask. But even the Be Gentle, Be Kind is okay. I’m still on the hunt for the mask that will make my hair softer and smoother after using it. Please leave your suggestions for hair masks in the comments.

This product is slightly covered up in the photo, but the next product is a deluxe sample of the Biossance Squalane + Omega Repair Cream. This is a pretty thick cream so I didn’t want to use it on my face. I used it on my body instead. I don’t have any complaints. It did the job of moisturizing my skin. But I can’t necessarily recommend it since I don’t know what it would be like on the face.

I know a lot of people like The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum but I didn’t notice a difference while using it. I would pause and resume using the serum and I didn’t notice a difference. I have another hyaluronic acid serum that I got in my Boxycharm and I do notice a difference when I use that one. Maybe if you have dry skin you’ll notice a difference. But this is a pass for me guys.

A product I loved is the OLEHENRIKSEN Truth Juice Daily Cleanser. This is a great morning cleanser. The citrus scent just wakes me up. This leaves my skin feeling clean and smooth without stripping my skin. But it’s strong enough for my acne-prone skin. If you have normal or oily skin then I would recommend checking it out. I decided to not repurchase and tried a new cleanser, the Youth to the People one I got during the Sephora sale.

The next product is the Farmacy Daily Greens Oil-Free Gel Moisturizer with Moringa and Papaya. This moisturizer is for all my oily skin friends. My brother loves this moisturizer. He was using it behind my back and when I found out I told him to buy it himself. He said it was too expensive (but he’ll steal it from me, brothers 🙄). This is a lightweight gel that gives the perfect level of hydration for oily skin. Also, I feel like there is tea tree oil in this because it smells similar, but I can’t find it on the ingredient list so it must be something similar. Overall a good moisturizer. I have others I want to use up but I would consider repurchasing this one.

I finished my prescription acne cream recently and it’s $200 without insurance so I won’t be repurchasing it. 😭 So instead I decided to try the Benzagel Acne Gel. There are different – Differn XP is adapalene (retinoid) whereas Benzagel is benzoyl peroxide. I used benzoyl peroxide as a teen (I used Proactiv) and it was fine. From my research, it seems that the only difference is that adapalene is only available with a prescription but anyone can get a benzoyl peroxide cream. I just use this as a spot treatment. I find it’s too strong to use all over the skin. It does a good job of helping clear up my acne so I’ll continue to use Benzagel.

The final product is the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten and Depuff. I’ve already explained my grips with eye creams in general. This one has a slight orange tint which I guess helped with the look of darkness. I will say that this took a while to sink into the skin. So I would have to wait for it to sink into the skin otherwise my makeup wouldn’t look right. It’s not bad, but I have other opened eye creams that I will be using next.

And that is a very long product empties post. I hope this was helpful for you guys. Let me know in the comments what products you’ve finished lately!

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, empties, Hair, Makeup, Review, Skincare

Product Empties March 2021

by LeaLeave a Comment on Product Empties March 2021

Hey guys! I’m back with another product empties! I love product empties because I’ve used up the product so I’m able to give you guys my in-depth thoughts about a product. I also try and not waste products so I feel like I usually have a good mix in between hits and misses. This time I have a good mixture of products, so let’s get into it.

empties, product empties, beauty empties, makeup empties, skincare empties, haircare empties, OGX, Biossance, Josie Maran, Tatcha, Lancome, Briogeo, GlamGlow, Murad, Kypris, Tarte, Laneige, Colourpop

Let’s start with makeup products. First I have a mascara that has reached its end, the Lancome Monsieur Big Mascara. I didn’t like this mascara at first because I felt like it didn’t do much. Once it dried out a bit, I would say maybe a month after I’ve opened it, it got so much better. I would say for me this mascara gave my lashes lots of length with a big of volume. I prefer length over volume, but it’s good to have some volume to balance out the eye. This mascara is perfect for when I wanted a bold lash but I didn’t want to put on false lashes. It’s started to get clumpy on me though which is a sign that it’s getting old and tired. To be honest I’ve had this mascara for a very long time so it was time to get rid of it. I would recommend this mascara if it sounds interesting to you. I would consider getting this mascara again. I have a pretty large open mascara collection currently that I need to go through before considering buying another mascara.

Up next is the Colourpop Freckle Pen. I mentioned this in my Colorupop haul update, but somehow the cap accidentally fell off and it was unopened for an unknown period of time. Instead of drying out, the pen turned to a weird blue-green-grey colour that looks like mold. Not cute. So I’m throwing it out. Kinda pisses me off that the cap fell off so easily and now the product is unusable. So I won’t be repurchasing and wouldn’t recommend it. I think it’s possible to create the look of faux freckles easily with other products as well.

I’ve been trying to use up my primers because I have so many open, half-used primers. The only I recently finished a sample of the Tarte SEA Quench Hydrating Primer. This feels and acts just like a moisturizer. It has a gel consistency and blends into the skin and gives great hydration. It’s literally a moisturizer! I think I could just use my moisturizer and get a similar effect. So far that reason I don’t think it’s worth it. When I use a primer I tend to use it to give me a luminous shine to the face or blur my pores. I don’t need hydration. I wouldn’t recommend this primer. I would recommend just getting a good moisturizer that you can use all the time instead of just priming the skin.

The final makeup product is the Laneige Lip Glowy Balm. I do enjoy this balm! I actually like it more than their sleeping mask. I find the packaging to be so easy to use. I just squeeze it out and I don’t have to dip my fingers into a pot. Where the product comes out is curved so I can rub it on my lips. The balm is super moisturizing and has the most beautiful shine. I can wear it on my lips almost like a lip gloss but it’s way more hydrating than a lip gloss. I have the pear flavour and it smells amazing. It’s more expensive than a drugstore lip balm but it’s lasted me a long time. I will be purchasing it again in the future.

Okay let’s talk about my one hair empty. I recently finished the Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Honey Moisture Deep Conditioning Mask. This is the best Briogeo mask I’ve ever tried, which is sad because it’s limited edition. The honey version of their regular Don’t Despair, Repair hair mask came out for the holiday season. I find that the mask does a great job of making my hair feel soft and smooth. I’ve found it difficult to find a good hair mask that doesn’t include silicone and this is the best one I’ve tried yet. It’s been a few years since I’ve tried the original so it’s hard to remember it but I do have a mini of it. So I will try it out and see if it’s as good as the honey version. If they bring this mask back I highly recommend picking it up.

I have two body lotions. The first being a deluxe sample of the Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Unscented. Even though it’s unscented, there is a faint argan oil scent to it – which makes sense, it is argan oil. Even though it’s a body lotion is does have an oiliness to it that is quite nice and hydrating. I liked using it after I’ve shaved my legs because I find that’s when my legs are the driest. I think I would have liked it more if it was scented but I got this for free with my Sephora points so I can’t complain. I like using scented body products more. I probably won’t repurchase because for the price I prefer L’Occitane products. But I would use my points to get it again.

The second body lotion is the OGX Coconut Miracle Oil Lotion. I got this at Shoppers. It does smell nice, a combination of coconut and vanilla. It does a pretty good job at hydrating. But what I find annoying is that it takes a while to absorb into my skin. For being such a thin formula I have to work it in and it takes forever to dry. I have lotions that are just as if not more hydrating that I don’t have to work into my skin as much. So I wouldn’t recommend it. I think there are better options on the market.

Speaking of hydration, I finished quite a few face moisturizers. The first being the Kyrpis Antioxidant Dew. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about this but the more I used it the more I fell in love with it. It’s a very thin and liquid formula that comes in a serum dropper. I love droppers because they are easy to use. I put it on my palm and I don’t have to dip my finger into a tub. I hate getting products under my fingernails. It’s quite lightweight but still gives me the hydration I need. I will say that it has an odd scent that I’m not a fan of. Even though I love how this works, I will not be repurchasing it. With taxes and duties, this moisturizer would be $112. That’s insane. I cannot afford that and I would never recommend a product that expensive to you guys. I think there are other moisturizers on the market that do just as good of a job as this one.

Moving onto a moisturizer I wasn’t a huge fan of – the Glamglow MOISTURETRIPâ„¢ Omega-Rich Cannabis Sativa Seed Face Moisturizer. There is just something in here that breaks out my skin. I used it on my face and just found that I got breakouts. So I started using it on my body. I do that to not waste any product. But I found it broke out my chest and shoulders. Luckily it’s winter so it doesn’t matter. I thought it did a decent job of moisturizing. It also has a green tinge to help with redness. But as someone who does have a lot of redness, this did nothing for me. Overall not a huge fan of this moisturizer. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Time for another moisturizer. I had a sample of the Biossance Squalane + Omega Repair Cream. This is a pretty thick formula that I knew wouldn’t work for my face so I used it on my chest and back. If you have oily skin stay away but if you have dry skin then you might like this. It is quite moisturizing. It’s fragrance-free but it has the weirdest scent. I guess it’s the natural ingredients that smell weird? Either way, not the most pleasant scent. Listen I’ll never purchase this for my face, but if you’re interested just maybe try and smell it before you purchase it to see if you can handle the funky smell.

The final moisturizer I have is a sample of the Tatcha The Water Cream. I actually didn’t like it. I tried it on my face a few times and then relegated it to body moisturizer. It goes on very watery, just like the name suggests, but then it dries down to almost a matte finish. Which you think, as an oily person, I would enjoy. But I didn’t find it hydrating at all! While I don’t want something thick and heavy, I still need some hydration. I was shocked because I know this cream is a fan favourite. But I wasn’t impressed and wouldn’t recommend it.

On the other hand, I did enjoy the Tatcha The Deep Cleanse Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser. I got a sample of this along with The Water Cream. I don’t know what’s in it but there’s something that gives a gentle physical exfoliation to the skin. It’s not hard beads – it’s hard to explain but you can kinda see it in product shots. It just gently exfoliates the skin leaving it soft and clean. It’s gentle enough that I could use it every day. If you have sensitive skin and are looking for an exfoliator this is a great one to check out. Something I did notice though is that the packaging is made out of hard plastic making it difficult to get the product out. Wish they would change it to a squeezy tube or a pump. I like it and would recommend this cleanser. But I like the next exfoliator more.

The final product is the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser. I got this in my Boxycharm and fell in love. I keep it in the shower and my brother uses it (much to my chagrin), and he loves it! This is a combination of a physical and chemical exfoliator. It has jojoba beads that great rib of any dead skin and debris. And it has salicylic acid, lactic acid, and glycolic acid to help even the skin and brighten it. My brother and I both have oily, acne-prone skin and find this just helps prevent breakouts and help scars. Highly recommend this one and I am considering purchasing it again.

And that’s my thoughts on some products I recently finished! It’s so funny that I have so many moisturizers. I guess it makes sense since it’s winter and my skin is drier. Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried any of these products, and if so what did you think!

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, Drugstore, empties, Hair, Makeup, Review, Skincare

Product Empties January 2021

by LeaLeave a Comment on Product Empties January 2021

Hey guys! I’m back with another product empties! I feel like I go through ebbs and flows when it comes to finishing products. I’ll have so many products and then finish them all at once haha. Today we have thirteen products so let’s get into it.

skincare, makeup, beauty, empties, beauty empties, skincare empties, makeup empties, tula, dove, briogeo, cetaphil, beauty blender, ouai, fresh, farmacy, stila, colourpop, origins

The first product is the Tula Super Calm Gentle Milk Cleanser. I got this in my Boxycharm and it was alright. As the name describes, it’s a gentle cleanser that doesn’t strip the skin. I find that for my acne-prone skin I need something a little stronger than this. I used this as my shower cleanser. I generally use a gentler cleanser in the shower because the hot water can be drying so it’s nice to use something gentler in there. I wouldn’t buy this again because I didn’t think it was anything special. Also I’m not sure if Tula ships to Canada, because at one point I know they didn’t. There are better cleansers on the market.

I finished another bottle of the beautyblender Liquid bleandercleanser. This is what I use to clean all my brushes and sponges. I find the packaging more sanitary compared to their solid cleanser that I used in the past. I just squeeze a drop onto my brush cleaning mat and swirl my brush in it and it’s clean! It does an amazing job at cleaning my brushes and leaves them feeling soft. Because I only use a little bit (and don’t wash my brushes that often oops) so this lasts a long time. I’ve already repurchased!

Moving to body care, I used up a Dove Exfoliating Body Polish. I liked this body scrub! I find a lot of body scrubs can be quite thick, but this one was thinner and therefore easier to use. My skin always felt so smooth and soft after using it. I had the crushed macadamia and rick milk scent and it was sooo delicious. I didn’t repurchase this because I wanted to try body scrubs by other brands but I would highly recommend this one. Especially since it’s available at the drugstore, it’s accessible and affordable.

Another drugstore find is the Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion. This was my upper body moisturizer. I’ve mentioned this many times but my chest and back are also acne-prone, so I use moisturizer meant for my face on this portion of my body to help with breakouts. This one did the job. It’s a pretty thin and lightweight formula, so it was nicer in the warmer months when I didn’t need as much hydration. Now that it’s colder my skin needs something a little thicker. But overall it kept my skin hydrated and didn’t break me out so I would recommend it.

Moving over to haircare, I finished the Briogeo Be Gentle Be Kind Avocado + Kiwi Mega Moisture Superfoods Hair Mask. This mask is alright. Something I’ve noticed is that hair masks without silicone tend to not give that soft and silky feeling as much. Which makes sense because the silicone is just coating the hair and not healing it. This mask doesn’t give instant gratification but I did notice over time my hair feeling and looking healthier. I much prefer Briogeo’s Don’t Despair, Repair Honey deep conditioner mask, but unfortunately it was a limited edition product for the holidays so I can’t repurchase it. This mask isn’t bad, but I’m currently testing out other hair masks because I think there are better ones out there.

I got a mini set from Sephora that had the OUAI Scalp & Body Scrub and the OUAI Body Creme. I didn’t use the scrub on my scalp just my body. It had visible, thick chunks that melt into the skin while you scrub. I enjoyed it but I prefer the consistency of the Dove one. It was good but I wouldn’t repurchase. The body creme smells amazing in my opinion. It’s not like other ones because it’s slightly peppery in scent. I enjoyed it but won’t repurchase any time soon because I have so many other body lotions.

I mentioned this in my December products of the month update, but I am getting rid of my Colourpop Jelly Much shadow. I liked it but it’s dried out so there is no point in keeping in.

Another product that has dried out is the Stila Glitter and Glow Liquid Eye Shadows. I have the shades Diamond Dust and Kitten Karma. I’ve had these liquid eyeshadows for a couple of years now so I’m not surprised they have dried out. I do enjoy these because they are just so beautiful. They are packed full of glitter and are easy to apply. I don’t wear them as often anymore since I don’t leave the house much lol. But I did repurchase the shade Diamond Dust since I do like it. I have a shade similar to Kitten Karma so that’s why I didn’t repurchase that one.

A classic empty for me is the Fresh Soy Cleanser. This is a cleanser I always seem to have since I always get the mini from Sephora as points perks. I do like this cleanser. Unlike the Tula one, I find this to be gentle but effective. And I love the cucumber scent. I’m not repurchasing it because I have other cleansers but I do recommend it.

I finished two Farmacy products. I finished a full size of the limited edition Very Cherry Clean and a mini of the Green Clean Cleansing Balm. I do like using these cleansing balms when I have a full face of makeup. It does a great job of getting rid of stubborn liquid lipsticks or tough glitter. But it’s also gentle and leaves my skin feeling soft after. I do prefer the cherry version because I find it irritates my eyes less. I’m currently testing some other balms for fun but I do recommend both of these.

The final product is the Origins Original Skin Matte Moisturizer. I bought this a couple of years ago and just finally finished it. I went through a dry phase and just found this too mattifying. True to its name, I find that this moisturizer does visibly mattify the skin and evens out my pores. I have found that my skin has calmed down a little bit and it’s not as oily as it once was so I prefer something a little more hydrating. If your someone with really oily skin or prefer a matte look then I would recommend this moisturizer. I won’t be repurchasing because it’s just not what I want anymore.

And that is my length product empties list guys! Let me know what you have finished lately. And if you tried any of these products do you agree with my thoughts? Let me know!

xoxo

Lea