April & May Empties

As a welcome interruption to our orange-themed posts, I thought I'd share my collection of emptied products I've managed to amass during the past two months. I'm still very much trying to downsize my collection and only get beauty bits that I know I'm going to use - with varying results. I do feel however that I have used up/tossed quite a few products since the beginning of the year, so at least my skincare hoarding tendencies have been somewhat limited. I also gave away a lot of products to my girlfriends, and I'm planning to give away even more; in short, I can see the light at the end of... my bathroom cabinet?

 Starting with the tossed pile: 4 full-sized products in total. The Neutrogena sunscreen spray was past the best before date, as was the Ziaja (it's an inexpensive Polish skincare brand) coconut body lotion - it smells like Raffaello, no kidding. The Bioelements Breakout Control lotion still had 1/4 left, but I don't use benzoyl peroxide anymore, and the got2b playful hair paste wasn't any good to begin with.

 Used-up haircare and bodycare: 2 full-sized products and 1 deluxe sample. For in-depth thoughts on the Bath & Body Works Shea Cashmere range click here, for the TRESemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo review, click here; I won't repurchase either. The Korres Fig Little Showergel smells absolutely terrible to my nose, like a cheap dishwashing detergent - a big disappointment, especially that I really like the scent of figs.

 Used-up skincare: 3 full-sized products, 3 deluxe samples and 1 sample sachet. Bioderma Hydrabio H20 Micellar Water was mentioned previously here, bliv Shield Me sunscreen here, Burt's Bees Pomegranate lip balm here, of which Bioderma Sensibio is still being used, the sunscreen I really liked but it's not quite HG yet, and I won't repurchase the lip balm mostly due to the smell. The L'Occitane Brightening Moisture Mask was ok, but it stung my face a little, so I won't repurchase - same for Mario Badescu Strawberry Face Scrub. I really liked the La Vallee Ultra Healing Cream for treating dry patches, but I think it's too rich for me to use every day. As for the little The Body Shop pot, it had some awful 'energizing' face wash in it that I used up on my body.

 And lastly, for the most exciting part, make-up and perfume: 4 full-sized items. I was indeed VERY HAPPY to finally part with the 100% Pure Tinted Moisturizer, especially after I discovered it would turn orange as the day went. I also didn't like the Stila Guava lipgloss (reviewed here), and was quite 'meh' about theBalm Cheater! mascara - ok, but nothing special. The Burberry Classic EDP for women with always have a dear place in my heart as it was a gift from Mr just before our wedding, but I was also ready for a change.

And there you have it! 4 full sizes tossed and 9 full sizes, 4 deluxe samples and 1 sample sachet all used up. Not bad, right? I'm still working my way through some other products I'd like to get rid of, including some make-up bits again. How are you doing in terms of streamlining your collections? Any tips you'd like to share?