2016 Empties - Third Quarter

Slowly making my way through my beauty drawers and using things up properly before trying something new. This is the third instalment of my 2016 empties!

SHOWER

As always, we went through a few bottles of shower gel this quarter. I finally used up my Lancôme Tresor in Love travel size shower gel that I insanely hoarded (I admitted it in this post many years back, eek!) and I loved how the shower gel scented our whole bedroom when I used it. I also really enjoyed the affordable Nature's Organics Vanilla Berry shower gel that is exclusive to Woolworths, the smell was much nicer than the raspberry vanilla scent from Original Source.

HAIR

My scalp seemed to really like the Garnier Grow Strong Anti-Dandruff shampoo, but I made the mistake of buying the original Grow Strong one when this tube was empty and boy am I regretting that now - I'm going to have to pass it on to someone else, my scalp is far too sensitive for it. I also finally finished off my tub of the Kerastase Sensidote Dermo-Calm treatment* that soothed my sensitive scalp, I've loved every Kerastase product I've tried as they are such a high quality brand!

SKINCARE & SCENTS

Not a whole lot used up on the skincare and scent front, though I did get through a travel size Trilogy cleanser*, My Beauty Diary face masks and a Nivea cream cleanser* that I adored. It's always sad when I reach the end of my Guerlain Champs Elysees perfume, it's my all time favourite scent and one that I'll definitely be asking Santa for this year.

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As always, if you spotted anything interesting in this post fire away questions or comments down below! How are you all going with your current beauty stashes? Are they manageable, or still a wee bit crazy like mine is?

-Emma x

 

*Marked items provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Mecca Beauty Election Beauty Loop Sample Box

I've finally started to take advantage of the generous Mecca Beauty Loop rewards program, which is free to join and gives you access to some lovely samples once you hit the first tier (for which you must have spent $300-$599 in store within the year) After receiving my first sample box and posting about it here, I was surprised to receive another email offering a special edition 'beauty election' sample box - I did vote in the beauty election, and must say it was a lot more fun than the Australian political election! I made it a mission one Sunday with Mister to detour to the shopping centre nearest me that has a Mecca Maxima store and nab myself one of the boxes - and it was definitely worth the detour! Each store had a different range of products in the sample box as chosen by the staff members, and my store nailed it!

Seriously, a mini Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick!? I felt so lucky when I opened my box to see such a neat miniature of it, I've never tried a lip product from Too Faced before despite owning many of their palettes, and the shade received was Chihuahua, a very 'me' colour and one that I am excited to try! The other products in the box were from really interesting brands too...

Yet again my sample box contained a product from Josie Maran, which I'm very pleased about as I'm enjoying trying out such a popular brand. This Whipped Argan Oil Face Butter sounds perfect for this cold snap we are having here in Melbourne, I am looking forward to trying out the whipped consistency on my face!

I've tried some lip products from Korres but that is as far as I've gone with the brand, but I'm quite obsessed with rose products at the moment so this couldn't have arrived at a better time. The Wild Rose Brightening & Line Smoothing Serum will be a nice bedtime treat, and I'm intrigued as to how a serum in sachet is going to work for me.

It seems like Mecca have a few very generous brands who aren't afraid of dishing out samples, claps for that! I once again received a Kate Somerville product from Mecca, after falling in love with the ExfoliKate cleanser in my previous sample box I am very interested to see how this EradiKate To-Go Pre-Treated Swab will go - will it be similar to my Mario Badescu Drying Lotion that I dab on with a cotton bud?! 

Still swooning over this, even if I don't end up loving the formula how wonderful is it to be able to try such an adorable and popular product from Too Faced without dishing out a single dollar?

 

Are you a member of the Mecca Beauty Loop? If not, you should be!
-Emma x

 

2016 Empties - Second Quarter

I finally feel like I'm making a dent in my backup stash of beauty and bath products, and with much more room for storage in the cupboards of my spare rooms I'm a lot more content with things in general. Let's have a look at what I've finished up so far this year!

SHOWER

The Dirty Works Life's A Beach Coconut Scrub* took me a while to finish as it just wasn't scrubby enough to make me want to reach for it, whereas the Cocoa Brown Tough Stuff Scrub* I eked out bit by bit to make it last longer. As an aside, you should all follow Marissa Carter on Snapchat (cartermarissa) as it led to me gaining a deep admiration for her as a person and her brand  - her product tips are pretty spot on too! Also used up were a variety of shower gels, most notably a hotel sample from our honeymoon in Hawaii which brought back beautiful memories and the new Cherry & Nettle Original Source which was just heavenly.
HAIR

Mister Bovary finished up his beloved Muk Hard Muk Styling Mud that was featured in his recent post here, while I finished off a pot of my favourite hair mask, Dove's Intensive Repair. I tried out some new anti-dandruff shampoos that were just okay, and emptied out a bottle of coconut and lime conditioner that was also hoarded from our honeymoon in 2014.
SKINCARE

I'm probably most proud of using up two cleansers, my unofficial goal for the year is to work through the cleansers in my stash and use them up entirely so I can justify trying newly released cleansers on the market. I finished the Paula's Choice Hydralight One Step Face Cleanser that I won from The Belle Lumiere and a tube of the Natio Facial Cleansing Balm which I'll have a full review of up soon (spoiler alert: it's great!) I also finished up some travel and sample sized products: Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub (contains microbeads, not effective) Simple Kind to Eyes Eye Makeup Remover (not effective) Natralus Paw Paw 95% Pure Moisturiser (no petroleum, yahoo!) and Kate Somerville Exfolikate Cleanser (instant love)
MAKEUP & PERFUME

I'm still not using up as much makeup as I'd like but at least my samples are getting a workout, right? I used up the Rimmel Lasting Finish Powder Foundation* by using it as a pigmented setting powder, and a tube of my Face of Australia Face Base Primer which I recommend to everyone. Also gone are a sample vial of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and sample sachets of Too Faced Shadow Insurance (great stuff!) and Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer (was glad to try because of the hype, would like to trial properly one day!)

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I look forward to the days of having a curated stash, but for now I'm content with delving through my old hoarding efforts and coming up with new products to try out and use up. I've curbed the habit of flip-flopping between skincare and body products leaving a tonne of half-empty bottles in my wake and that has to count for something, right?
-Emma x

*Marked products were provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

May Favourites

All it takes to reinvigorate my love for beauty is a few new products to trial, finding an old favourite and seeing beauty products through someone else's eyes. A few weeks back my niece asked me to do her makeup for a party she was going to, and it was fun to rifle through the beauty drawers to find products that would suit a 15 year old, and that I was confident enough to use on someone for the first time. The star of the show for that makeover (apart from my gorgeous niece, obviously) was the Rimmel Kate Moss Sculpting and Highlighting Palette* - a surprise favourite of mine, since my typical cheek choices are distinctly mid-high end. The bronzer is what really sold me on this one, buttery and pigmented, and blends without effort which is what I need for my fair skin.

In terms of other base products I've returned to my half-full tube of Rimmel Matte BB Cream in Light*, which has impressed me so much that I recently purchased a back-up tube during the half price sale at Chemist Warehouse. It has the coverage of a foundation with the ease of application that a BB Cream would typically provide, making it a morning routine go-to when I've spent too long hitting the snooze button on cold mornings. The other face product that made it into the top tier for May was the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural, which I'm much more enamoured with now than when I first trialled it. It gives a healthy glowing finish to the skin rather than the stark matte base I typically lean towards, which is quite refreshing for this cold weather and my dry skin seems to appreciate that.

Eyes have been done up with either my Too Faced Bon Bons palette or my Revlon Photoready Eye Art Lid + Line + Lash in Peach Prism with a slash of Maybelline Master Graphic Liquid Liner*. I'm loving how the addition of a jet black liquid line can really frame my eyes, and I can apply it really quickly with this sharpie-esque liner which is just what I was after. Lips have been pretty low-key (read; lazy) with my NYX Butter Glosses getting a workout - possibly my favourite gloss formula of all?

NYX Butter Gloss
Revlon Peach Prism (lid colour + glitter liner)
Rimmel Kate Moss palette - highlight, bronzer and blush

Last but not least we have the sweet Britney Spears Intimate Fantasy perfume, which I alternate with my staple Guerlain scent and genuinely adore, and my very first Kate Somerville sample which I was immediately impressed with. I received the Exfolikate Cleanser sample in my Mecca Beauty Loop Box (post here) and loved how luxuriously it cleansed my skin - it's been placed onto my running to-buy list for when I work through my backlog of skincare products (so I might get a chance to buy it in the next 5 years, ha!)

Emma x

My First Mecca Beauty Loop Box

Despite being a diehard beauty addict, in the last few years my budget has leaned towards home wares and house projects over a regular big splurge at the beauty counters. I think that is why I've only just managed to reach the first real tier of Mecca's Beauty Loop program despite having been a member for quite some time. I am now a Level 1 Beauty Discoverer, which means I've spent between $300-599 annually in store. As well as the quarterly sample boxes I receive complimentary makeup application on my birthday, and as you move up the rungs to 'Level Two - Beauty Devotee' and 'Level Three - Beauty Aficionado' you get birthday gifts, makeup applications and lessons as well as special events etc. Here's a link to all of the details if you want to take advantage. The sample box is very cute and I didn't need to make a purchase in order to receive it, they simply scanned my card and were really friendly overall (as they always are at Mecca!) It comes with a card of product details which I think is a nice touch, and very reminiscent of beauty subscription boxes.

 

 

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer
I've used this before and really liked how it felt on my lids and how it gripped onto my powder eyeshadows to help them last. Experience has told me that I can stretch a sachet like this out for 2, possibly 3 uses if I don't let it dry out.

Josie Maran Cosmetics 100% Pure Argan Oil 4.5ml
This was easily the most exciting product in the L1 box, how dinky is the miniature bottle? I've always wanted to try out something from Josie Maran and I haven't used an oil product in the longest time, so this is a wonderful addition for me!

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Cleanser 2ml
Another brand I've yet to try, I have heard great things though so I'm looking forward to trying out this foaming exfoliating cleanser for the first time!

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer 1ml
I love a good primer, and this is meant to be the bees knees! I know the lovely Vita from Making Up 4 My Age liked this one so fingers crossed it works for my skin.

Have you tried any of these products?
What store cards do you find the most beneficial, and which aren't worth it?
-Emma