February-March 2013 Empties

Hurray for another round of beauty trash and a little update on my stash reduction! I powered through a lot of deluxe samples these past couple of weeks and (drumroll) even managed to completely finish some make-up products!

Starting with skincare: I used up my Alaffia Rooibos & Shea Antioxidant Facial Toner more info here, and honestly, that's the only product I may consider repurchasing at some point in the future; all the other bits in the photo were just not that great. The Estee Lauder Soft Clean Tender Cream Cleanser was not tender at all on my skin; it seemed so loaded with a floral fragrance that my skin would instantly turn beetroot red on contact, plus it felt heavier that my regular Clarins Cream Cleanser. From the three make-up removers pictured, NARS was the best but still not great enough to warrant a future purchase. The By Terry Creme de Rose smelt absolutely beautiful but the siliconey texture did not agree with my combination skin, and lastly the Lancome Absolue Eye Premium BX was fine (it actually has tiny light pink pearl particles to brighten) but by golly, for $95 it better make my undereye area the best I've seen... which it didn't. And I prefer a lighter, more hydrating texture.

 

Some fragrance samples: Bvlgari Mon Jasmin Noir (citruses, lily of the valley, jasmin, cedar, patchouli, musk) was umm... not dark enough for me, despite the name a bit too bright and pretty; but then, it's a younger sister to Bvlgari's Jasmin Noir. On the other hand, Thierry Mugler Alien (Indian jasmin, woods, white amber) was a lot more memorable with its strong but cheerful jasmin notes and sensual dry down, and Mr's favorite from the three perfumes. My favorite though was Kenzo Amour (white tea, rice, cherry blossom, frangipani, heliotrope, musk, vanilla, woods, incense), an oriental, warm scent with incredible sillage and lasting power; in fact, I've finished my sample about 3 weeks ago and can still smell it on some of my scarves. The beautiful, smoky, creamy sweetness of Kenzo Amout definitely captured my imagination and I think I will be going back for a full bottle as soon as I finish some of my less-loved perfumes.

Oh hello, make-up empties, how nice to see you! Finally, I'm making some progress in downsizing the make-up stash, and so 3 full size products are biting the dust: a Coastal Scents Flawless Finish Mineral Foundation in Honey Light (replaced by the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder), a Wet'n'Wild Eye Khol in Taupe, which I used for my eyebrows, and lastly Essie nail polish in Hot Coco, which mysteriously dried out on me as was beyond salvaging.

Haircare and hand creams: Alba Botanica Gardenia Hydrating Hair Conditioner, smelt nice but that's about all I can say on the subject, Loma Objective Clarifying Shampoo, sadly discontinued but replaced with MoroccanOil Clarifying Shampoo; I'm not sure yet which one I like better but I think the MoroccanOil is a deeper cleanse. For hand creams, L'Occitane Shea Butter has already been repurchased in the large tube, and Bath & Body Works Shea Cashmere Hand Cream is really nothing like it and I'm not sure who needs shimmer in their hand cream...

Lastly, three lip-themed discards: Lush Sweet Lips Lip Scrub did an okay job of exfoliating the lips but I've found that for me, a damp towel is a whole lot cheaper, faster and less messy; no sugar crystals clinging to the corners of my mouth like a five year old who just had a donut. The Lush Let Them Eat Cake is just far too old now to be safe for use, and the praline-shaped no name lip gloss, a gift from my sisters-in-law, just wasn't something I enjoyed using, even though I really appreciate the sentiment behind the present. Oh, and some things that aren't pictured: two very old Lush bath bombs, Honey Bee and Big Blue (maybe) have finally been used up as well.

Now, for some more stash-reducing magic: I did another big clearout of my make-up drawers with specific recipients in mind; what I mean is that I divided my rarely used items into a couple piles and then packaged them nicely in little pouches and make-up bags, ready to be given to (mostly work) friends. Not to get into too much detail, I approximately gave away 20 various full size make-up products, 7 make-up brushes and 5 deluxe make-up samples.

Now, as for my monthly 2 items allowance: depending on the counting method, I'm either over or short or just right. For some replacements, I got Essie Chinchilly to replace Hot Coco, especially that Chinchilly has just been discontinued and I'd had my eye on it for a long time. For bath treats, I got three bubble thingies from Lush since I'd diligently used up everything in my stash. In terms of new purchases, I got a new high-end lipstick, review coming soon, and a lash serum, something I'd never tried before. So, to make things fair and square, I shall now specify that my allowance is two new items excluding replacements, and still, back-ups can only be bought once the product in question is nearly/completely used up or otherwise disposed of. I think I didn't do too terribly this month; I already have one order planned for April, which I'm going to count as one purchase, and I'm not sure what the second new item will be.

February-March Empties Total: 23 items, including:
9 full size products
8 deluxe size samples
3 one-time use samples/ perfume vials
3 products tossed
32  products given away
Year To Date Amount: 52 full sizes, 21 deluxe samples, 9 one-time use samples.

Overall, I feel a lot happier about the size of my collection now and I'm looking forward to freeing up even more space in the upcoming months. One thing I've observed though is that the entire stash-reducing process is making me a lot more careful and discerning shopper and that not so many items manage to catch my attention. How are you doing on your minimalist resolutions? Have you discovered any new ways to reduce your existing stash as well as new make-up lemmings?