Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Final Beauty Empties of 2015

Since we're flying home for the holidays, I'm writing my final empties round-up for 2015 a couple weeks early - but I also don't think I would have completely used up any more products before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, so it doesn't change things much. I think my usage was quite consistent for the last quarter of this year, and similarly to the previous update, I decided to toss some half-used and/or expired items as well.
Let's start with make-up this time, just to keep you on your toes ;) In the comments to my previous empties post, Neo suggested that she would like to see the tosses separated from the products that are completely used up. I took that suggestion to heart, but I have to say that when it comes to make-up, it can be a bit difficult to establish the line between empty/ no longer usable and somewhat used/ decided to throw out. I tried though - let's start with the tosses:
Products I disliked and wouldn't repurchase: Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF30 (expired; scratchy brush, orange-tinted powder that looked heavy on the skin), Maybelline Baby Lips SPF15 (expired, dried out my lips), Fyrinnae Pyxie Epoxy (started to make shadows adhere unevenly to the skin; overall good for making pigments pop, but too much hassle to use)
Products I enjoyed, but I'm trying out other things: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Concealer (half-used but had it for too long now; mini review here), Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Visual Kei (I've had it for too long; review and swatches here), NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Garnet (color changed; nice product but I'm not into pigmented glosses any more).
Products I would repurchase (but am probably trying out other things too):  Inglot Cream Blush no. 88 (scent changed; great cream to powder formula at a good price point).
Now for the make-up that I did use all up or at least used to the point where it was no longer serviceable (too dry/ thick to apply).
Products I disliked and wouldn't repurchase: LORAC Front of the Line PRO liquid eyeliner in Black (reviewed here)
Products I enjoyed, but I'm trying out other things: Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Genius (waterproof mascara topcoat - liked the option of making any mascara waterproof, but truth be told forgot the extra step most of the time), Benefit Stay Flawless 15-Hour Primer (a good but not outstanding face primer)
Products I would repurchase (but am probably trying out other things too): Mally Beauty Volumizing Mascara in Black (review), Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 (review), NYC In a New York Minute Nail Polish in Manhattan (discontinued, swatched here; used up 2/3 of the bottle before it got too thick)
As for skincare, I did pretty good on my minis/ deluxe samples, and finally finished some products I've been working on for a really long time. The Paula's Choice RESIST sunscreen and Jurlique serum are about 2/3 used up, but I had to toss them as they're now expired.
Products I disliked and wouldn't repurchase: Andalou Naturals 1000 Roses Pearl Exfoliator (reviewed here; did absolutely nothing apart from leaving my face covered in large glitter particles - WTF?), SK-II Facial Treatment Essence* (review), Andalou Naturals Blue Geranium Creamy Clay Mask (the product itself was fine, but the packaging sucked - couldn't get any mask out of the tube no matter how hard I squeezed, which is why it's cut open).
Products I enjoyed, but I'm trying out other things: Jurlique Herbal Recovery Serum* (reviewed here), Paula's Choice RESIST Superlight Sunscreen SPF 30 (review), Reviva Labs Microdermabrasion Pomegranate Scrub* (review; very effective but prefer dissolving scrubs), NUDE Omega Treatment Oil, Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye Cream
Products I would repurchase (but am probably trying out other things too): Andalou Naturals 1000 Roses Rosewater Mask (review), Andalou Naturals Probiotic + C Renewal Cream (review); funny how Andalou made it both to my least and most favorite products' lists :)
Bath and body products: you can clearly see the colder season has started from the number of hand creams I've finished. Mr helped me on the shower gel and shower oil front, and Soap & Glory body washes (both this one and Clean On Me) are his favorites. I know.
Products I disliked and wouldn't repurchase: Reviva Labs Seaweed Soap* (unfortunately, too drying, and didn't enjoy the scent)
Products I enjoyed, but I'm trying out other things: Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve (not all that super duper ultimately moisturizing, actually), Boots Botanics Bath Soak in Rebalance, First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream* (again, not moisturizing enough for my hands), Neosalus prescription barrier cream (effective, but not OTC and VERY expensive)
Products I would repurchase (but am probably trying out other things too): Soap and Glory Rich and Foamous Body Wash, Nivea Natural Shower Oil (good drugstore alternative to L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil but unavailable in the US), Lush Massage Bar in Soft Coeur
Haircare - finally finished some lingering bottles from my shower and bathroom cabinet! It takes me an inordinately long time to finish my hair products.
Products I disliked and wouldn't repurchase: Nivea Intense Repair Shampoo (passed on to me by my mother in law; the shampoo contains SLS, which I may be sensitive to, makes my hair quite greasy by second day, and I disliked the scent - smells almost like hair dye), Kenra Platinum Finishing Spray (too wet, the nozzle didn't work well, too strong of a hold for me)
Products I enjoyed, but I'm trying out other things: Goldwell Rich Repair Hair Mask (great mask, but I don't really need hair masks on my smooth fine hair), MoroccanOil Clarifying Shampoo (again, great product but I'm questioning the need for it - further explanation in this post)
Products I would repurchase (but am probably trying out other things too): OGX Coconut Water Conditioner, Batiste Dry Shampoo in the Blush scent (already repurchased in the Classic scent - to be honest, I get whatever scent is the cheapest online)
And just a few foil samples/ one use sachets this time.
Products I disliked and wouldn't repurchase: Koh Gen Do Makeup Base SPF 15 (sad to say, but this makes my skin look ashy and contains fine glitter particles)
Products I enjoyed, but I'm trying out other things: The Face Shop Hand Sheet Mask (great concept, but didn't really make much of a difference to my hands), Japanese Vitamin C Mask (sorry, don't remember the brand - it was a gwp), Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask (I'm glad I had this sample as I was really interested in purchasing the full size; however, after trying it, I concluded it's a nice product, but not worth the price tag for me).
Products I would repurchase (but am probably trying out other things too): Aura Cacia Meditating Cedarwood Mineral Bath (this was probably my third packet; possibly my favorite scent out of all Aura Cacia's bath salts)

And that's it! Well, okay, I forgot to include a mini of Pureology's volumizing hair mist (wouldn't purchase the full size), and one of my serums run out literally the day after I took shots of all my trash, so I guess it will have to be included in the next post. I'm glad to have all of these products done & dusted and to move on to some other back-up stuff in my stash. As you may remember, I'm attempting not to purchase ANY new skincare products for all of 2016, both for the face and body, so I'm just really focusing on clearing out what I've accumulated so far. What was your favorite product that you've recently finished? I think out of all of my beauty trash, I'm sad to see my NYC Nail Polish in Manhattan go, but I have so many other similar shades that it's a bit silly to feel that way, to be honest.

Disclaimer: Products marked with an asterix (*) were received complimentary for testing purposes from the brands or won in an official giveaway. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the products featured were purchased with my own monies or provided as free press samples. Thank you for reading!

3 comments:

  1. Wow, Monika, that's a lot! I don't know most of the products exept those from LUSH, Morroncanoil, Batiste and Nivea - But I haven't tried them. My anual posting will be really close to New Years Eve because I am tossing and emptying a LOT of products in december.

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  2. The Nivea Shower Oil sounds good to me!! I'll start looking for that soon. Happy Holidays to you and safe trip!

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  3. Goodness, how do you make it through so many products! Thanks for following my suggestion, it's nice to see what you think is not even worth finishing. I recently finished a Guerlain lippie, but I already have a back-up so I'll survive!

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