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

April Boxycharm 2022

Hey guys! Today I’m sharing my thoughts on my April Boxycharm. I will say that this will be a mixed review because of some products I’ve tested and otherwise I haven’t even tried – oops! Let’s get into it.

May Boxycharm 2022

The first item is the Beauty Bakerie Sour Ya Doin’? Eyeshadow Palette. I was excited to receive this palette because I’ve heard great things about Beauty Bakerie eyeshadows. I like the colour story but I will say they’re not necessarily the most wearable everyday shades for my skin tone. I think this palette would look gorgeous on deeper skin tones. For me, it’s a more bold, colourful palette. I’ve yet to use the shimmers because they’re a little deep for everyday use. I have used the mattes and they are a great formula. I like the palette so far and can’t wait to play with it more. Price: $38 US

Beauty Bakerie Sour Ya Doin'? Eyeshadow Palette

I was just thinking to myself the other day that it’s been a while since I’ve tested a new powder and then BAM I got the Viseart Seamless Setting Powder. I must say that the shifter on this powder is one of the best I’ve seen on a loose setting powder. It keeps the powder locked in when it’s closed but it’s easy to tap some out when I open the lid. So many loose-setting powders either let powder fly everywhere or are so difficult to get the powder out of so I appreciate that. The actual powder is pretty good. It does a good job of setting everything and gives a slight blurring effect to the last. By the end of the day, my face is a little oily and creasy which is pretty good since I have very oily skin. Overall I like this powder and I’m excited to own it. Price: $35 US

I am unfortunately not a huge fan of the Christophe Robin Instant Volume Mist. This mist is supposed to make thin, fine or flat hair feel thicker and have more body. I don’t normally struggle with that but I thought that a little more volume couldn’t hurt. If it did add any volume I didn’t notice because it made my hair so fizzy. Every time I used this mist as well my hair didn’t curl very well. This is quite surprising because this is a curly-girl-approved product. Either way, this mist just didn’t work well with my hair so I will not be using it again. Price: $39 US, $51 CAD

A product I really really like is the Item Beauty by Addison Rae Lash Snack Lengthening Mascara. You guys know I love lengthening mascaras, and this is one of the best I’ve tried yet. I will say that it gives barely any volume but the length is insane. This is great everyday mascara. It would also be great on the lower lashline. My only gripe is that the brush head is quite small so it just takes a little longer to coat all the lashes. But this mascara, along with my new Bite Beauty mascara, are easily my new favourite mascaras.

The final product is the Persona Cosmetics 24HR Waterproof Eyeliner. I’ll have to be honest, I haven’t tried this eyeliner yet. I’ve been keeping the eyes very minimal lately so I haven’t had the chance to try it. I do want to try this eyeliner eventually because I’ve heard great things about Persona Cosmetics. Price: $14 US

The overall total of the box is $141 US. This box is quite hit or miss. I like the mascara and the powder. On the other hand, I haven’t even used the eyeliner yet and I don’t like the hair mist. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. And if you are subscribed to Boxycharm, let me know what products you got in your May box!

xoxo

Lea