Products I've Used Up/Empties Vol. 8

My last empties was during September and I am so happy to finish up a lot of products. My stash is really getting overwhelming! Here are the products I was able to use up during the last 2-3 months!

Maybelline Clean Express! Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover: My very favorite drugstore makeup remover. This is my third or fourth bottle and I will definitely repurchase.

Lancôme BI-FACIL - Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover: You may already know that this is one of the most popular eye makeup remover in the market. I got this as a GWP from Sephora and it has lasted me a long time. I usually take this with me when I am travelling and I know that I am gonna wear some heavy eye makeup during that time! I need just a little bit of it on a cotton pad and it removes almost all of my makeup. I am definitely open to repurchasing.

Himalaya Herbals Purifying Neem Face Wash: This is favorite brand from India. It’s a brand that markets itself as herbal and pure! Neem is an evergreen tree that has a lot of medicinal quality; in India neem has been widely used for ages for skincare purpose primarily for its antibacterial qualities. I used it as my morning facewash. I generally bring them when I go home annually but you can find them in most of the Indian Grocery store. I have gone through at least 5-6 bottles of this :-)

No7 Quick Beautiful Skin Quick Thinking Wipes 2 pk: I love these. Very affordable and Ulta has deals all the time! It is very moist and does not really strip my face off of all the moisture. I will definitely repurchase. I may even like them better than my most fav Neutrogena wipes.

PACIFICA travel Size Hand And Body Lotion Wipes in Indian Coconut Nectar: So, I am an idiot. I used 9 of these 10 wipes thinking these were makeup remover wipes rather than lotion wipes. And when I went to grab the last one I read the cover. These are lotion wipes meant for hydration! My stupid brain! :-P Anyway, because I thought these were makeup remover, I was liking how moist and non-drying they were. And I am impressed that they kept their moisture even after a month of opening the packet. But makeup remover wise it was not good. I will not repurchase.

O.P.I Hand Cream in Cran and Berry: I sometimes hate how I have become a hoarder. I don’t even know why I bought this. But I have a set and I am still finishing through the set. I don’t like it. The scent was too strong and too sweet and it did not do a good job in keeping my hand moisturized. Will not repurchase. I am just hoping the rest of the scent is not this overpowering. 

Caudalie Lip Conditioner: I considered this my most favorite lip balm. Its silky, very hydrating. But this is the second tube that I have had problem with. It started smelling a bit off towards the last leg of the bullet. I like it but for this price I should be able to use it up before it gets bad (I typically finish lipbalms within 2-3 months). I have another tube that I need to finish up but at a price of $12, I don’t think I am going to repurchase.

Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla & Macadamia Kiss: My favorite overnight lip balm. Simple, affordable and efficient. It just takes a lot of time to finish one pot of these. I have already repurchased.

Touch In Sol “Stretchex Stretch Lash Effect Mascara”: It was from a Sephora Favorites Superstars set (reviewed here) during last holiday season. The set is now back in stock in Sephora. I used up the mascara long ago, but forgot to put in my “empties bin”. Surprisingly it did not dry up though! That was very nice! I am not a “hard-to-please” critique of mascaras! I love natural lashes; as long as a mascara gives me separate defined lashes and is easy to take off at night, I don’t need a lot from mascaras to impress me. This one does not offer much volume but it gives me a lot of length! I love the brush too, it’s easier to use on my small eyes. It also comes off easy with cotton absorbed in hot water. I typically don’t buy regular size mascaras, but if I need to I will buy this :-)

Makeup Sponge: I bought this at the very beginning of my makeup journey-maybe 3 years ago. I recently discovered it while cleaning up my closet and hence it ended up on the bin. I think it was just 3 bucks. And when I first started 20$ for a beauty blender seemed crazy. But I am now hooked to it! Anyway, I will remember this fondly as it gave me a helping hand while learning makeup!

Philosophy Miracle Worker Eye Cream: Did not like this at all. It was such a pretty, functional tube which is hard to find in a travel size product. It was of a gel type consistency. I did not experience it doing anything for my eye area. Some times it even stung my eyes. What was weird was that it will typically be after hours of application. Glad to be done with this.

Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx Eye: Another disappointment. It was dried inside the tube; I may have let it sit for a bit of time before starting to use it. But yeah, I did not get much use out of it. Will not repurchase.

Ayur Herbals Mask: This is a product I generally bring from India. It is a Sandalwood powder which is known for its antiseptic benefits. I typically apply it over my acnes. I don’t use it as much as I used to. But it’s a regular product in my routine.

ORIGINS Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask: I first tried this over a year ago. I bought a set of 4 pods and I am hooked ever since! I collect mini samples from Sephora whenever possible and currently I am using a full-size. It clears up my pores, tightens my skin and brings a lot of liveliness to my skin! I simply LOVE this mask and use it at least once a week! I will definitely repurchase.

Sephora Honey Eye Mask: It was very nice to put on and it stayed put in place for the entire time. My under area really felt quite nice and relaxed but it did not improve the dark circle situation :-) I am not sure if I will repurchase! 

Tony Moly Hyaluronic Acid Mask Sheet - Hydrating: This was the first sheet mask I ever used. It was very easy like I expected and during the entire application I could feel how much of liquid product is in the product to keep my face really moisture during the entire time. As I typically wear masks that dries up after 5-10 minutes, it was a bit of uncomfortable feeling. I would have loved if that extra hydration remained even after removing the mask but I did not really see whole lot of difference. It was just ok! I think I am going to stick to my general masks :-)

Freeman Charcoal & Black Sugar Facial Polishing Mask: I was actually very pleased with this mask. This is not a sheet mask but it only provided one time use for me. It is a charcoal mask with sugary crunchy base. It was really easy to wash off.  I loved that it did not dry out my skin right after washing. I loved that it remained somewhat lukewarm on my skin. Afterwards, my skin looks clean and fresh; typically that’s what I want from my charcoal mask. Will probably repurchase, someday.

Fresh Youth Preserve Face Cream: A very favorite product from this empties bunch! It’s such a light moisturizing cream. I love the smell, quite different, almost herbal-y but not overwhelmingly so! It’s an expensive product and I often think that my dry skin might need a thicker moisturizer. But nonetheless using this makes me feel fancy and that’s something I need once in a while :-) This was my second bottle and I will definitely repurchase it.

Tata Harper Repairative Moisturizer: So much hype about this brand! It is good that I got this in sample size in a value set from Birchbox (reviewed here) to try. The brand markets themselves as 100% natural and high-performance skincare brand. This was a thin, milky type of consistency moisturizer. I liked using it. It provided me enough moisturization for 8-9 hrs then in the AC environment my skin gets dehydrated again. Will I buy again? Given the price, most probably not!

Fresh Rose Face Mask: It has to be one of my favorite hydrating mask. It feels so nice and refreshing. I tend to use it more during the winter season and it really provides me the necessary hydration. In summer it can get a bit heavy. I have already repurchased.

Clarisonic Brush Head in Sensitive: I don’t want to say much about it as I will have detailed post on the clarisonic brush.

Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter :This was the first product that I tried from this brand. It definitely lived up to its name/hype. It's very thick and have a strong but pleasant fragrance which reads a little medicinal to me; pleasant type of "medicinal", if such thing exists, It really IS moisturizing. Its a little bit too thick for my taste, but I get the moisturizing I want. So that's fine. :-) Plus, I love the cute little pink pot. I already have a backup.

Dr. Teals Lavender Foaming Bath: This is bath product and even though I don’t get a lot of time to have bath everyday, I absolutely LOVE this product. It’s so inexpensive and yet so invigorating! Very calming and best thing to do before a relaxed night sleep in.

Veet Fast Acting Gel Cream Hair Remover (6.78 oz., 7.99$): This is my absolute favorite product for removing the unwanted hair  - easy and fast enough! 

Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser: Overall, I think this is my very favorite cleanser by far. I love that you can really use this around your eyes without irritating them, if I were heavy eye makeup it is difficult to remove everything at one go. So, first I use a makeup remover to remove my mascara and then use Purity. I love the result. It is been few weeks since I finished it up, and I am definitely missing it in my routine. I am currently using a 16 oz. bottle and already thinking about repurchasing.

Philosophy Shampoo, Shower Gel and Bubble Bath in Sparkling White Ginger: This bottle looked so cool! It is Christmas-edition flavor but the shower had tiny sparkles of gold shimmers. It looks so pretty! But, I am not too happy with the product. It was moisturizing but I want more of stripping cleanliness from my showers. I am not going to repurchase.

Briogeo Don't Despair! Repair Mask: Another tiny sample I got in One of Sephora Play Box. (reviewed here) I guess this s the only advantage of hoarding samples- you get to finish a lot of them. This brand is advertised as a natural brand; it was an average conditioner. This lasted for just 2 application and it could not wow me with that 2 application.

Schwarzkopf Professional Bonacure Hair Therapy (Repair Rescue) Shampoo and Conditioner: Phew...that was a long name! It was suggested to me by my hairstylist after the smoothening treatment mentioned above. Both the shampoo and conditioner are very good to use. I feared that my hair will go back to its fizzy natural wavy self, but I am glad that it is still smooth and healthy enough and more importantly 'Straight' :-)

I also finished up some samples. It takes so much time and effort to go through the samples, and unfortunatel none of this really, really stood out to me. I am not going to try full-size of any this. Not at least in the near future.

Do you love to finish up products?

Love,

~Arrru