EMPTIES| July 2014

On the quest to finish all, or being realistic, most of my beauty products before I move out, I'm looking through my stash and finishing up almost done products and my samples. I've divided it up below into skincare and makeup items so y'all can just scroll to whatever you're most interested in (but I do hope that you read everything!)

--SKINCARE--

Murad Instant Radiance Eye Cream* (not pictured) -- I got a sample of this in a Sephora perk I believe and used it during a trip. I didn't feel like it made my under eyes brighter or helped with the dark circles. It did layer well under makeup due to the silicone feel and make my concealer look nicer and last throughout the day. I don't remember if it had a scent but it did have these little white pellets that were hard to dissolve--ended up trying to pick it off my face before it scratched the delicate skin. I would not recommend it to eyes that are drier as I feel that it wouldn't solve the problem. It will make your eyes smoother and mask fine lines but isn't going to permanently remove them. Bottom Line: Will not be repurchasing. It's so expensive and didn't provide any radiance underneath my eyes even with twice-daily use.

Yes To Tomatoes Clear Skin Daily Balancing Moisturizer -- This surprisingly lasted me a very long time, even with daily use. It has a cinnamon oatmeal scent that I find is consistent throughout this line of products that I've tried. Glad that it doesn't smell like tomatoes because I hate the taste. The lightweight feel and fast absorption makes it a great moisturizer for normal to combination skin. I used it at nighttime only because it doesn't have an SPF. I don't know if it helped me to have clear skin as I didn't notice a reduction when I used it or an increase in breakouts when I used something else but at least it didn't cause more breakouts. The pump and mostly opaque packaging made it a winner in my book. I was able to pump every last bit which is lucky because there's not way I could've cut into this (but I'm pretty sure I could if I was really motivated). It's paraben-free and contains 1.7 fl oz/50 ml of product for $14.99 USD ($8.82 USD for 1 oz). Bottom Line: I would repurchase!

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Stress Control Power-Clear Scrub -- This was one of the first scrubs I ever used. I liked it when I was using it because it did seem to help my acne and flakey skin but it really dried my skin out. The burning sensation was uncomfortable to say the least, but I put up with it because I equated burning with efficacy (NOT true at all--actually a sign of skin irritation). I stopped using it for some reason and recently picked it up again only to find out that the product had gone bad (used it one night and made my skin really red and itchy). Still have a bit left but am definitely not going to attempt to finish it. I'm moving away from scrubs that have those plastic pellets in them because those accumulate in the water and are causing some serious environmental damage as they degrade in the oceans. This retails for $7.49 USD for 4.2 fl oz/125 mL ($1.78 USD for 1 oz). Bottom Line: Will not be repurchasing.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture with sunscreen SPF 15 -- Let me start off by saying that I do like Neutrogena products. Their eye makeup remover is my all time favorite and their makeup removing towelettes are my favorites as well. This moisturizer (and the scrub) was just not my thing at all. I'm glad that it was oil-free because it was lightweight and absorbed quickly.  It layered well under makeup and didn't ball up. However, it made my skin look really shiny--I often had to powder over it to reduce the slick, sweaty look. It only contains SPF 15, which isn't enough when I live in sunny California, especially since it's summer here. When I went hiking a couple months ago, I actually burned a little. I know it's not a dedicated sunscreen, I was sweaty, and I should've reapplied but on other parts of my body, I was fine. I did use a titanium dioxide and zinc oxide formula on those areas and in my experience, those stick to the skin better and don't have that oily look that "chemical" sunscreens have. Towards the end, the product couldn't be dispensed using the pump anymore so I had to cut the bottle in half--lo and behold, I still had enough moisturizer for 1 and a half weeks! I would recommend this more for people who have normal to combination skin who want a more dewy look because it did not provide enough moisture when I had dry flakes. It contains 4 fl oz/118mL for $9.99USD ($2.50 USD for 1 oz), so it was on the more affordable side of moisturizers but the low SPF and oily-looking face are deal breakers for me. Bottom Line: Will not be repurchasing.

• Active Ingredients: Octinoxate 7.5%, Octisalate 5%, Oxybenzone 3%

The Body Shop Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash (not pictured)--I got this in a travel size kit. My skin was going through a really bad breakout period late last year and earlier this year and I was just trying out so many different skincare products hoping to get things under control. This cleanser was gentle yet effective at removing the oils and leftover make up on my face. It didn't dry out my dehydrated skin. Ii was highly fragranced but it wasn't an off putting smell--ocean-y and salty. Looking at the ingredients list now, I don't think it's natural in the sense that there are no chemicals and such in it but SLES and menthol are just some of the problematic ingredients in this wash. There aren't any standout ingredients either and I know antioxidants and the good stuff would be washed away once you wash off the cleanser so it's not really a pro. It does do its job at making my skin feel clean without dry but I'm avoiding menthol in my products. Bottom Line: I will not be repurchasing.

The Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Toner (not pictured)-- From the same travel size kit mentioned above. It is alcohol-free, which is a huge bonus for me as it doesn't over dry the skin, which damages the skin in the long run. This toner also removed residue well on my face and neck  after makeup removal and cleansing. However, it contains a lot of fragrance additives and menthol, which I'm working to eliminate from my skincare items because they are potential skin irritants. Really liked this stuff before I knew what was in the ingredients. I have the full size that I'm working on right now but will most likely not repurchase. Bottom Line: I will not be repurchasing.

Bath and Body Works Shea Enrichd Shower Gel in Pink Chiffon -- I have finally used up my entire stash of BBW shower gels! I did cheat a little since I gave one away ;) Anyhoo, this was an okay shower gel.The notes are red pear, vanilla orchid and whipped chiffon (what does that even smell like? O_O) but it smelled like strawberry lemonade to me. My main problem with it is that it was very drying. I mean, that great if you were super sweaty or had some tough sunscreen to remove but for every day it was just too much. I found my self slathering on the lotion afterwards or risk looking like the Sahara Desert if I didn't. The shea butter, star ingredient of this shower gel, isn't in the first 5 ingredients so there's most likely not enough of it to show an effect on the skin. The first 5 ingredients after water are sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), TEA-Lauryl Sulfate, Oleth-10, Lauramidopropyl betaine, and fragrance (parfum), which means that this shower gel is mainly composed of surfactants and some hocus pocus advertising. Lauramidopropyl betaine contains DMAPA, a dermal sensitizer so this would not be very good for sensitive or dry skin. It also contains various dyes which is really to make the shower gel look pretty rather than serving some skin cleansing need. This shower gel contains 10 fl oz/295 mL. Bottom Line: Will not be repurchasing.

--MAKEUP--

Kat Von D Tattoo Liners in Saint and Poetica -- I haven't used liquid eyeliner since high school and I wanted to get back into it. The Kat Von D line is known for its longevity and I definitely need that for my long school days and oily lids. I'm not going to go into too much detail here because I have a review of these liners up on the blog. I'm a bit disappointed in myself because I never really used them more than 5 times and they have already dried up. It's been about 6 months since I got them and noticed they were completely dried out. I stored them how the box recommended me too and made sure the cap was on tightly every time. Surprisingly enough, the third liner, Sinner, is still going strong so it might just be that these two were duds. The packaging is lovely and they really do last a long time yet are easy to remove. There isn't an offensive smell coming from these nor did they make my eye sting. Bottom Line: I will not be repurchasing because I prefer a softer eyeliner look these days but I would recommend these to those who like a black and long-wearing liquid liner.

Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara -- So far, this is my HG mascara. I cannot say enough about how much I love this mascara! It lengthens my lashes and gives them volume. It is quite waterproof, even when I've done some heavy crying yet it is easy to remove at the end of the day. I'm trying out some other high end and luxury mascaras at the moment and I still find that this beats them in terms to removal and lasting power, which are the most important factors for me when I'm deciding on a mascara. Curl, length, and volume are also very important but I find that most mascaras can only deliver on one or two of these at best. The Hypnose Star does well in terms of length and moderate in volume but I do need to curl my lashes beforehand for the best curl. My lashes do tend to droop after a couple hours with this mascara but that's nothing a lash curler can't fix. I do have a review of it on the blog if you want more detailed info and pics. Bottom Line: As much as I don't want to because of the price, I will be repurchasing when I finish up some more mascaras.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara -- This was my first foray into the world of high end mascaras. I loved the long lash and volume it gave me. Paired over the Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara, my lashes were long, voluminous, and beautiful without looking too spidery. The only gripe I have is that it is not smudge-proof or waterproof so unless the panda eyes look is what you're after, I'd recommend layering it over a WP mascara or adding a WP topcoat, like the one from Anastasia Beverly Hills if you have oily eyelids and watery eyes like me. Bottom Line: I'm on the fence with this one but I don't think I need any more mascaras right now.

Sally Hansen Golden Luster Natural Highlighter -- I remember reading in a magazine way back in the days when makeup was new to me. When one of the articles recommended that adding a highlighter to the high points of the face would provide a nice glow to the face, I thought they had meant the kind that comes in neon colors and used more in a school setting. When that mix-up was rectified, I went out and got the only highlighter offered at my local drugstore, which happened to be this one. The champagne side does look like it was more liked but it's still really full so I must not have like the look it gave me. I'm tossing it out because it's been several years since I've had it and cream products aren't meant to last that long anyway. It smells a little rubbery, just like it did in the beginning days. The gold side gives a more bronze-y look that would be perfect for the collar bones and such but the glittery nature of these highlighters just makes it a bit much for the face. The silicon-y texture makes it glide easily when I swatched it on my hand. Bottom Line: I will not be repurchasing. I don't even use highlighters now, 5 years after my first encounter!

e.l.f. Essential Lipstain -- I'm not going to go on and on about these because I can sum up my feelings about these in one word: poo. At the time, they only offered 4 colors: Crimson Crush, Berry Flush, Pink Petal, and Nude Nectar. Two came dried up and I couldn't get any color from them. The remaining two were not pigmented enough. My lips are quite pigmented so these didn't do more than add a slight tint to them. Even if they were only $2 USD apiece, the poor performance makes it a total waste. Bottom Line: I will definitely not be repurchasing these.

e.l.f. Essential Lipstick -- I bought these in an array of colors (and regret it now since I hardly wear lipstick) and was very happy with them. They had a fruity smell, were free of glitter, had a satin-y matte finish, and weren't drying. The only problem was the bullet broke easily, as it did with the two I have here. I know I can repair them but I never really used them and they were only $1 USD. I was thinking of turning them into a cream blush but I hardly use those either (but now that I think about it, I could just turn it into a tinted lip balm if I get enough Vaseline xD) Yay for DIY! Bottom Line: I will not be repurchasing these.

So that concludes all the products I've used up in July. I have a couple more that are in their last legs so those will be featured in next month's (or this month's really) empties. Rigorously cleaning out my makeup collection these days. I've set aside a few products that I'm most likely going to be giving away--makes me feel really accomplished to see the empty space xD

Skincare items are always easier for me to finish than makeup--what about you?

XOXO.

MWAH ♥

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Disclosure Statement: All products mentioned were purchased with my own money. I am not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned above and was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own. Links are not affiliate links and are provided for the readers' convenience. I cannot guarantee that the product(s) will work for you. I do not approve or endorse the products or information available on these sites. Proceed at your own risk. Products marked with an asterisk (*) were given to me as samples or gifts with purchase.