October and November Empties

Hello again! Sorry it’s been so long since my last post, but I’m back today with an empties post for you! I said I would only be doing these every few months, but in the last two I’ve used up 9 products!

My thoughts:

Vitamine & Sea Perfect Skin Solution (face oil):
I got this as a sample in a Glymm bag, and was super sceptical about smearing any kind of oil all over my face. After trying it out though, this stuff is amazing! It goes on oily, as one would expect from something entirely made of oils, but I put this on at night after washing my face, and by the morning, it had completely absorbed and had done wonderful things for my skin! It smooths, it shrinks zits and blemishes, and it super-hydrates! I also didn’t use this more than once a week, and since you use so little, even the tiny vial we got as a sample (about the size of a free perfume sample) lasted me about 4 uses. Also, if you’re hesitant because you have oily skin, you should know that oils don’t necessarily make skin oily, and some of the ones in this mixture help to combat oily skin! I think the idea is that your skin doesn’t need to produce more oils if you are using one to moisturize.
Would I repurchase? Possibly; though it is $68 for 45ml… so it’s quite pricey. Still, that’s probably more than more than 80 applications so I’d probably consider it if I had the money.
LA Fresh Waterproof Makeup Remover:
These are great, way better than the LA Fresh non-acetone polish removing pads. They smell great, make your skin feel nice, and get off all your makeup.
Would I repurchase? Probably not. I think a regular remover is much cheaper than a pack of one-use remover sheets.
Truly Cosmetic Pads:
I honestly don’t think I need to tell you much about these. They’re cotton pads that I used for toner and nail polish remover, and they were cheap. I had no problems with them separating, which is really my only complaint with any cotton pads. However, you probably can’t get more unless Truly is sold somewhere that isn’t a Zellers, or unless your Zellers hasn’t closed yet.
Would I repurchase? Definitely, but Zellers is closed now, so I’ve had to find something else. Currently using ones from Dollarama, so we’ll see how they hold up.

Secret Va-Va Vanilla Anti-Perspirant:
I mentioned another of these in my last Empties. Why? Cuz I usually have two on the go: one in my room and one in my gym bag. This is just a great, cheap deodorant in my opinion, and it smells like vanilla!
Would I repurchase? Already have.
Bath & Body Works Wildberry Hibiscus sanitizer:
I think this is one of the 10 for a penny sanitizers I got probably end of last year, if you recall that post (if you’ve been reading that long!). My friend and I got $10 coupons handed to us for B&BW one day at the mall, and there were no rules, so we used them to get a bunch of sanitizers, which I think were 5 for $5. So awesome. This one smelled so good. Like juice or candy or something!
Would I repurchase? Definitely, if I ever run out of the ones I have already! I probably still have at least 10 more!
The Body Shop travel-size Satsuma Shower Gel:
This stuff is most certainly my favourite shower gel, and it has been for a long time. I love the strong, simple orange scent; it’s so refreshing! This is just one of the mini’s that I got for Christmas, but I do have a large one waiting as well! I'll probably also keep this bottle and refill it so I don’t have to lug the full-size bottle in my gym bag!
Would I repurchase? Definitely, once the ones I have are done. Though I would like to clean out my shower gel stash first, which is pretty large to tell the truth…

Evolvh UltraShine Shampoo and Conditioner:
I got these as samples in a Glymm box, and thought I was going to like them. I definitely didn’t, after finishing them! Ugh. These are supposed to be moisturizing, as you can see from the bottles’ claims. However, I found that the shampoo completely stripped my hair of any moisture, and the conditioner barely helped to restore any of the damage the shampoo did. It took me a long time to finally use these up because I didn’t like to use the terrible shampoo more than once a week.
Would I repurchase? Never. Not even if these were the same price as an Herbal Essences or Aussie or something. I’ve overall come to the conclusion that, for shampoos, I prefer drugstore by far!
Joico K-Pak Revitaluxe:
This was another Glymm sample. This one I really loved! It smells great and it’s super moisturizing, even if you don’t leave it in for the full recommended 5 minutes.
Would I repurchase? Maybe. This is another expensive product, though, like the Vitamine and Sea oil, plus it’s more work than a leave-in treatment like argan oil or the Buttercreme product from my last Glymm bag, and I’m lazy. So probably not, but I wouldn’t say no if someone handed me a new bottle!
And that’s everything I’ve used up since my last Empties post. What products have you completely used up recently? Have you used any of the products I’ve finished? Let me know your thoughts!
Thanks for reading!

Empties: July-September 2012

Hello again! This is going to be my first empties post. I don’t plan to do them too regularly, since it takes me a long time to finish up products, but since I like reading and watching these types of posts, I thought I’d start saving up my empty beauty products to show you all.

I started saving them at the beginning of July, and I’ve been storing them in an old Glymm post box (excuse the nail polish and such. I also use these boxes as shields when I do nail art, and the top is covered in polish and tape):

My first product to run out was my first bottle of Seche Vite:

It looks like there’s a tiny bit left in the bottom, but since I don’t have Seche Restore, and since it’s so little and insanely thick, it’s not really work trying to get out. I already have a new bottle (which I’m 1/3 done now), as well as a bottle of Out the Door topcoat.

The next product was my OPI Original Nail Envy:

I basically squeezed as much out of this bottle as humanly possible. It even look empty! I’m pretty impressed with my perseverance. However, it’s understandable for two reasons, I think:

1) This stuff is amazing, and is the reason I can grow my nails now. It is great for strengthening. (The Sensitive and Peeling formula that I am using right now isn’t as good for strengthening, and doesn’t do much more than the original for peeling nails, so when it runs out, I’ll probably switch back).

2) Reason number 2 is that one bottle of this stuff in store here in Canada is $20! Hence why I don’t want to waste a single application!

Maybe this doesn’t count as a beauty product, maybe it does. Next, I finished up my Secret Scent Expressions Antiperspirant in Va Va Vanilla. I figure Sephora sells high-end deodorants, though, so it should count!:

By the way, that pinky/red splotch is a streak of nail polish I got on the computer and just haven’t moved yet. I promise it isn’t blood!

Anyways, this is the deodorant/antiperspirant I’ve been using for a couple years now. I’m addicted to the vanilla scent, and it works really well for me, and is pretty cheap. The amount of aluminum zirconium, or whatever the active ingredient is used to be listed on the front, and it has a higher percent than Lady Speed Stick, which doesn’t work for me. Which makes sense. I have repurchased this since, and will again, when the two sticks I have now run out (one for my room, and one for my gym bag).

The next product I finished up in early August, and it’s the Alpen Secrets Apple Fresh Shower Power Gel:

It isn’t exactly anything special, just a body wash I got for Christmas last year. It smells pretty great, since I like green apple scents, and it gets you clean and doesn’t dehydrate your skin. However, I probably wouldn’t repurchase this since I’m so obsessed with my Body Shop shower gels!

Next we have two samples from Glymm boxes that I finished up in August. First, was the Vitamine & Sea clay mask:

This was nothing special. In fact, I really hated it. It was supposed to be good for two uses, but  needed to use all of it to cover my skin, since it dehydrated really quickly and refused to spread. I also don’t think it did anything for my skin, and it was horrible to try to remove. I would never purchase this product.

The second sample I finished was the Caudalie Crushed Cabernet Scrub:

I loved this. At first, I wasn’t sure about the scent, but I really grew to love it! It smells a lot better mixed with the hot water of a shower than it does cold in the jar. It was very exfoliating without being too coarse and left me feeling very clean. I would definitely consider buying this product if it wasn’t so expensive ($29.00 for 150g)!

And finally, just last week I finished up my bottle of Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Shampoo:

This is a shampoo I picked up on a whim to try something new. I had been using Pantene, and I wanted something fruity and specialized for my hair. This is specifically for long hair, and is supposed to strengthen, and I think it’s been really good for my hair. I actually like it a lot more than the high-end samples I’ve received in my Glymm boxes, and I will definitely repurchase this shampoo. If you’re wondering, I’m not quite done the matching conditioner, though I am getting very close.

So that’s all my empties since July. I am getting very close on a few other products, but these posts will probably be more of a quarterly thing than a monthly one. I hoped you enjoyed reading this, let me know if you do want to see more of these, or if you have any other suggestions leave them in the comments!

<3