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.

A Fragrance Wardrobe

I have a plethora of scents in my possession, but I’ve taken to keeping a select handful on my desk to help me use them up faster. I swap some of these out and I do still use scents from the rest of my ridiculous collection, but these are the ones that have taken their place on the desk shelf lately!

 

 

I spoke at length about my issues with Lancome Tresor in Love, and I’m hoping to use a lot of this bottle before our next anniversary rolls around, to increase my chances of getting a new bottle of juice. This is a fruity rose scent, with notes of nectarine, bergamot, peach and Turkish rose, and I tend to wear it at night when we go out for coffee.

A recent launch from one of my favourite brands, Illamasqua Freak* is definitely a unique part of my scent collecton and unlike anything else I own.  It smells spicy and rich to me, and I tend to wear it when it is cold out and I feel quite tough and brave. I had to look up the notes for this, and they include opium flower, poison hemlock and frankincense. I have personally smelt this on quite a few people and it is definitely one you have to try on in store to judge, as it changes drastically depending on your skin.

Balenciaga Paris*, a powdery floral scent with notes of violet, cedar and carnation, is one of the most luxurious scents in my stash. I find this stays quite close to my skin when I wear it, and I use it sparingly as it is a travel sized sample gifted to me from the Balenciaga PR. I adore the bottle and have been hoping to add a full size Balenciaga to my collection once I use up a few more bottles, and this is a contender for that top spot.

Tucked away in the back in that image is a gorgeous Jo Malone bag filled with a teensy bottle of Orange Blossom* and a body cream in another scent, that I have been squirrelling away since before I began beauty blogging a few years ago. I received this in a Primped goody bag, the very first bag of that kind that I had ever received. I absolutely adore both the aesthetic and the scents from Jo Malone, and know that when I begin full time work my Jo Malone collection will grow from this small bottle up.

So Hooked on Carmella from Benefit is one of the stronger scents in my collection, and was purchased from a blog sale a while back.  Classified as an oriental floral, this contains notes of grapefruit, lemon, rhubarb, peony, sandalwood, amber and vanilla. Most of these notes are my very favourites, and though I can’t wear this scent around my sensitive-nosed Mumma Bovary, I do pop it on quite often on days when I know I won’t see her.

Last but not at all least is my all-time favourite fragrance, and the one I hope to wear for the rest of my days here on earth. Guerlain’s Champs Elysees is a fruity-floral that contains notes of mimosa, rose almond and forest fruits, but most of all it smells like me!  I feel strong, powerful and intelligent when I wear this, like I am the woman I want to be.

 

Isn’t it amazing how fragrances can make you feel certain things?