June-July 2013 Empties

MOAR beauty stuff has been emptied - high five! The more I use up, the more I can't believe how many backups of products I'd managed to accumulate in various cupboards and drawers without actually having any risk of running out at the time. Take this round of empties: I have finished three different toners, I have a nearly full one on the go and another untouched one still waiting to be cracked open. Boy, I really have enough of stockpiling these skincare backups!

Boring stuff out of the way first: haircare and an antiperspirant. Similarly to Redken Body Full Shampoo mentioned here, the Body Full Light Conditioner has failed to impress me - even for my fine and relatively healthy hair, this doesn't do much to condition. On the other hand, Nioxin Scalp Therapy Conditioner 3 is actually a very decent product for fine hair, if you don't mind the minty smell. Husband approves, too. The Degree Ultra Clear Antiperspirant in Red Satin was a complete fail: it did leave white marks on my shirts, and the scent was of the awful floral kind that seems to make you smell even worse than skipping an antiperspirant altogether.

Bath & Body: no significant mentions, no planned repurchases. The Bath & Body Works Bubble Bath in Dark Kiss is a solid product that does give you mounds of fluffy white bubbles and packs a lot of scent - the Dark Kiss was just OK though and it has to be said that this contains loads of SLS. For Haus of Gloi body scrubs, I do prefer the Bubbling Scrub formula over this Emulsifying Scrub in Picaroon, which was not as soft and very oily. The two Fortune Cookie Soap items, the Spray Lotion in I Wet My Plants and the Jelly Body Shot snot-thingy I actively detested and promptly unsubscribed from the Soap Box service; I'm not dissing all of their products, but the stuff included in the sample subscription was not for me and most scents were misses as well. Not pictured, but I also used up Lush Dorothy Bubble Bar and the Rose Jam Bubbleroon, both reviewed here.

More interesting stuff: skincare! I promise, I'm not a crazy toner lady; there's a reason there are three toners in this round of empties! Truth is, I've used up the Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Rosewater a while back, but was using the spray bottle for my Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel (mentioned here) - I was down to a half when the rest separated in the bottle and was too suspicious looking to use any longer. The small bottle of Palindaba Lavender Hydrosol (reviewed here) took only a couple weeks to use up. The John Masters Organics Vitamin C Anti-Aging Serum won't be repurchased for reasons listed here, and the Chanel Ultra Correction Line Repair Eye Cream sample was ok, but not $85 worthy. The Neem Oil from Alaffia (click!) just had to be chucked - couldn't stand the smell.

Some samples: the Dr Dennis Gross Extra Strength Alpha Beta Peel wipes are really good, if a bit scary. I do get quite a bit of tingle from the glycolic but surprisingly, my skin doesn't get very red and irritated and doesn't peel too much over the next day - I quite like these. Oscar Blandi Jasmine hair oil was nothing special, as was the L'Occitane Concentre de Lait body lotion, but I did like my little Sephora sample of Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer and I might purchase the full size next spring/summer season.

More samples, of the scented nature: my favorite from the three was Diptyque Vetyverio, woodsy, earthy vetiver with floral notes of ylang-ylang, rose and geranium. I would say it read a bit masculine on me, which I didn't mind at all, and I liked the fresh, citrusy opening and the muskier, woodsy drydown; however, I probably wouldn't splurge on the full size without exploring other vetivers out there. Prada Infusion D'Iris is a lot more feminine, etheral and powdery - too softly floral for my tastes, although I do appreciate the drier notes of the base. I won't purchase the full size, but I also have a full rollerball to further analyze the scent. Lastly, L'Occitane Vervaine EDT was just bad - more lemon drops than true lemon verbena, and for the life of me I don't know where there's rose in this. In my opinion, not worth the second look.

And that's it, more beauty clutter has been succesfully cleared! I do feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now and it's nice to finally see some more space emerge in my various drawers and secret beauty compartments. Have you finished a lot of products this summer? How are your stash-reducing efforts coming along, if you have any?