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.

2015 Empties - Third Quarter

I'm definitely beginning to see a trend with my product usage since beginning a quarterly empties post cycle - I always seem to finish a hair mask every 3 months, a few dry shampoos, hairspray, a heap of Original Source and minimal makeup products overall. For the first and second quarters I finished off some skincare as well but seem to have failed on that count this time around, most likely because I've been using up a few half-used bottles before I start using fresh cleansers and lotions again. I'm hoping that the final 2015 quarter will see some moisturisers, cleansers and perhaps a body lotion or two in preparation for my big Bath & Body Works haul in January.

Let's get on with the empties, shall we?!

 

HAIRCARE

Garnier Sensitive Anti-Dandruff Shampoo - They seem to have discontinued this and to say I'm disappointed about that is an understatement!

Schwarzkopf Moisture Gloss 10 Days Shine Mask - I'm going to go into detail in a full post for you guys, but this is not something I would repurchase in the future.

L'Oreal Elnett Satin Normal Hold Travel Hairspray - Still remains the best hairspray I've tried and I love using it to hold my fringe in place each day.

Girlz Only Hazy Days Dry Shampoo - A nice and affordable dry shampoo, but it's true that it leaves more of a white cast and has a stronger scent than other options out there.

Batiste Tropical Travel Dry Shampoo - I love the tropical scent of this and find it works really well in my hair, plus I love the cheery packaging!

BODY & NAILS

Norsca Zero Fragrance Free Deodorant - I threw out all of the other deodorants we used this quarter, but kept this in primarily as a reminder not to buy it again.

Manicare Coconut Scented Nail Polish Remover Pads - I loved these little guys, and am now on the hunt for the Black Vanilla version seen in Vita's empties!

Kiehl's Orange Flower & Lychee Skin Softening Lotion* - The formula of this is second to none and the scent was just incredible; this was easily one of the nicest body lotions I've ever used!

SHOWER

Original Source Shower Gels in Tropical Pineapple, Mandarin & Basil, Lime  - Lime is Mister Bovary's favourite from this line-up, but mine would have to be Tropical Pineapple which I loved!

Original Source Daily Scrub in Blood Orange - I would not be inclined to call this a scrub, more of a shower gel with small bits in it. The scent was nice but I was a bit disappointed as a scrub was what I wanted from this product.

L'Occitane Iris Bleu & Iris Blanc Shower Gel* - The brand can do no wrong in my eyes, but the scent was a bit too mature for me so I'd be more inclined to choose a different scent if I were shopping for myself. How lovely is the packaging though?!

The Body Shop Vanilla Bliss Body Polish* - Let's just say that this features in my upcoming disappointing products post...nuff said!

FRAGRANCE

Lancôme Tresor in Love - I finally finished this bottle! It was a gift from Mister Bovary many years ago that I enjoyed, but I'm happy to have moved it out of my collection to make room for new scents down the track. A great tip to use up fragrances is to decant them into a Travalo atomiser - being able to touch up during the day is wonderful and means you work through the scent much faster, too! 

 

Perfume samples (L'Occitane Sun Verbena, Balenciaga Rosabotanica, Flora by Gucci and Marc Jacobs Oh Lola) - I was really sad that Oh Lola didn't smell as lovely on me as it does in my solid perfume ring of the same scent. I don't have any strong lemmings from this lot of samples so I'm counting it as a positive for my bank balance, but I did enjoy trying them out for my sample project.

 

MAKEUP & SKINCARE

Smashbox Photo Finish Colour Correction Adjust Foundation Primer sample - This was lovely to use and I liked the way it minimised the appearance of my pores before I applied foundation. It's something I could see myself buying in the future once I get a hold of my beauty stash. 

 

YSL Shocking Faux Cils Mascara sample - This was a wondrous product for me, and made me understand just how good a mascara can be (and why some people pay over $50 for a tube!) 

 

Benefit They're Real Mascara sample - This was at the other end of the mascara spectrum for me, doing absolutely nothing positive for my lashes at all. I think it still had some use left but it was useless to me so I'm counting it as empty by default.

 

Clinique High Lengths Mascara sample - The brush was a bit strange to use but this gave me decent separation and I generally like Clinique mascaras. Not the best I've tried from them so I'd rather go for another from their mascara line over this one.

 

Benefit Foamingly Clean Facial Wash sample- Truth be told, I went in expecting to hate this purely for the word foam in the title (and I've never had much luck with Benefit skincare!) but it really turned my opinion around! It was a creamy lather rather than a foam and though it left my skin a bit 'squeaky clean', I didn't mind that too much and it felt really good to use.

essence Long Lasting Liner in Hot Chocolate - My very favourite liner, I loved using this on my upper lash line for definition each day and have already repurchased (and have back-ups, too!)

MAC Slimshine in Missy - I could never really vouch for the authenticity of this one (bought it from a cosmetics store in Melbourne Central back in the day) and the formula is too squishy and soft anyway, so out it goes!

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Phew, if you made it to the end of that I applaud you! I've really enjoyed showing my empties in a quarterly format but would love to hear more about what style of 'empties' you like to read - mini reviews like this? products grouped into 'would/would not buy'? I would love your input to guide me with my 2016 empties in the coming year!

Emma x

 

*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

2015 Empties, First Quarter

My first quarter of empties leaves much to be desired in all honesty - I mean, it clearly shows that my household showers and wears mascara on the daily, but on the makeup front it's pretty woeful! I know that I'm on the verge of completely finishing up a few products from my Project Use It Up so I don't feel too bad about it, but I still think I need to put more work into creating a slim-lined stash in my beauty room/skincare storage. This trash-collection is about 3 months worth, and you can check out my last empties post here if you're interested - grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this one though, it's a big 'un!

 

MAKEUP

I was due for a mascara toss so out went three tubes which cleared up my daily drawer immensely - I have and would repurchase Rimmel ScandalEyes Rockin' Curves but Covergirl Flamed Out* and Maybelline Mega Plush Volum' Express* aren't my favourite (Mega Plush is my sister's favourite though!) I was pleased to see that my YSL Touche Éclat* had bit the dust as I have another two in the wings, and the Innoxa Daily Moisture Protection was a toss as I'm not sure why I bought it in the first place (and it's skincare, so I'm not sure why I threw it in with the makeup!)

 

SKINCARE

Am trying my hardest to burn through some skincare so my overflowing backup stash can return to normal - I don't even remember using the Clinique Mild Liquid Facial Soap and I hated the strong mango scent of the Swisspers Spa Cleansing Wipes so they are both getting tossed out. I mourn the loss of my beloved but pricey Lancôme Dreamtone Serum* - I loved that serum so much! I have just posted a full review of the Boscia Makeup Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil and will be doing a full review of the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads, too. 

HAIR CARE

My new hair cut (which I posted about here!) is definitely influencing my hair care empties - you'll be seeing lots more hairspray and dry shampoo in my future empties! I didn't get to try the Schwarzkopf 10 Carat Shine Hair Lacquer* as it broke in my hair care stash, but I fell in love with the L'Oreal Elnett Satin Normal Hold Hairspray* and can't wait for it to go on sale (currently 20% off at Priceline but am thinking of holding out for a bigger discount and using up my stocks first...) I used up some Girlz Only Dawn 'til Dusk and Batiste Cherry Dry Shampoo* as well - I prefer the other scents from both brands if it came down to a repurchase. As always I finished off a bottle of Garnier Fructis Anti-Dandruff Shampoo which is my staple shampoo, and the Goldwell Rich Repair 60Sec Treatment* which was lovely and had a faint vanilla smell which I really enjoyed.

SHOWER & BODY

We are all about Original Source in our household, and the Orange Oil & Ginger Shower Gel is deliciously fruity and I preferred it to the limited edition Dragonfruit & Capsicum Shower Gel that I picked up at The Reject Shop. I wasn't a fan of the Sanctuary Spa 2Day Moisture Shower Oil* (I didn't find it very moisturising, or cleansing really) but I liked the lavender scent in the Natural Instinct Body Wash* - throw lavender into anything right now and I am so there!

I enjoyed using the Gillette Satin Care Shaving Cream for Dry Skin but I often find it more cost-effective to buy the male version in a large size when it comes to shaving creams - this one was bought for our holiday, hence the teensy size! I used up a 100g bottle of Lush's famous Snow Fairy Shower Gel* - love the glitter aspect of this but you have to make sure you really love the scent, as it's strong and long-lasting! A can of Rexona deodorant is always featured in my empties, and the final product I used up was the gorgeous L'Occitane Arlesienne Shower Cream which I've just reviewed here.

Phew, I'm quite pleased that the first quarter of empties is over! I'm looking forward to featuring more makeup items in the next instalment as well as even more skincare as I work through my stocks, trialling and reviewing different products for you.

-Emma

*Marked products provided for consideration. Honesty, always.