Products I've Used Up/Empties Vol. 13

I know I just did my last empties post just in November, but I wanted to record all the items I finished this year. What's the point to carrying the empty tubes and jars to a brand new year! 

Parachute Coconut Oil: Nothing new here! I go through a huge bottle like this every six months, I use it as overnight mask before washing my hair. It is a must-have for my hair.

Tree Hut Tropical Mango Moisturizing Body Wash: I love the Sugar Scrubs from Tree Hut; that's why I wanted to try this shower gel too. It is a very runny shower gel; I liked using it. It has very nice subtle fruit-y scent from the mango. It contains organic shea butter and is sulphate-free. I also love that Tree Hut does not test on animals :-), Anyway, I enjoyed using it but towards the end, the gel kind of solidified at the bottom and I could not completely use it up. I would not repurchase but I enjoyed while it lasted.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash: I did not really like the from Soap & Glory. This, however is ok. It does a good job as a body wash. Plus, the smell is very nice & refreshing. But the product itself look weird to me. It is white in color and looks like milk but thicker. I am not personally fond of the appearance of this product. For this reason alone, I am not going to repurchase.

The Body Shop Moringa Shower Gel: Some of the fragrance lines from Body Shop sometimes feels a bit too strong for me. However, this one I liked. The vegetable from Moringa Tree is regularly used in Assamese cuisine. I think that’s why I can this fragrance feels a bit familiar. I loved using this gel. However, not enough to repurchase.

Alterna Caviar CC Cream: A got a bunch of free hair care samples from Ulta in one of their awesome promotional codes. This was one of them. I do not switch out my hair products at all. But I am also sick of all the sample products I have been hoarding from my purchases here and there. So, I am outing good effort in using them up. This tiny sample gave me 4 uses. I have long, thick hair! I used it after washing my hair skipping my regular conditioner. It helped in preventing any freezing in my hair. That way it performed well. But I am not blown away by it, so I won’t repurchase. But I loved the color of the tube; useless observation! :-)

Murad Acne Spot Fast Fix: I actually enjoyed using this. It helped tackling with my acnes, at least to some extebt. I dont think I will repurachse just yet though! We will see!

Ahava Mineral Hand Cream: I am lovingthis hand cream, it smells really nice and faint enough for me. It provides good moisturization as well. I have one or two sample sized tubes. But I can definitely see myself repurchasing.  

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper: The Stay All Day Waterproof Liner from Stila Cosmetics is my all-time favorite eyeliner. However, I enjoyed this liner too! I wish I could have this brush with the formula from Stila. That will be a match made in heaven. I would enjoy another sample but I don't I will repurchase it anytime soon. 

Burberry Brit Eau De Parfum: I don’t like strong, warm perfumes. This was not my favorite, it was very long lasting though. If you like this kind of notes, you may like it.

Nest Dahlia & Vines: Same experience above Lasts a very long time. But because I don’t like this type of notes, at the end of the day I get headaches. So, will not repurchase.

Origins Out of Trouble Clear Improvement Mask: This is one of my favorite masks. I have a full size that I am using, but this small pods are great for travelling. I typically use it for my trouble spots so the small pods can last a few uses. 

May Lindstrom Skin The Honey Mud Mask: Out of all this products that I finished here, this gives me the most pleasure and most sad. Joy - because I fell in love with the experience from the very first time I used it. It smells so divine; I mix with a few drops of water and some clean dirt and it polishes up my skin. I then use some blue cocoon and the whole experience is AMAZING! But I am sad - because this was the sample I got from my black friday order last year, and right now I cannot really justify buying this expensive of a mask where I already have a bunch of other masks to finish up! I hope I can purchase this full-size some day soon!

Amorepacific Moisture Bound Rejuvenating Crème: I really enjoyed this sample. Although it looks a bit substantial in size, the product here is very little. It hardly lasted me 4 usages. It was of silky smooth consistency, absorbed very quickly and gave me ample moisturization. It did not feel heavy. I also absolutely enjoyed the smell. I would love to try this in full size, but it is CRAZY expensive!

Dr Jart Ceramidin Cream: Very thick, but not heavy. I can see why dry skin people absolutely adore this product. This was very tiny sample, but I enjoyed using it. I don’t even need to think about buying any moisturizer has I have plenty of backup.

Nivea A Kiss of Milk & Honey Lip Balm: I love this. This is one of the best lip balm money can buy. I have quite a few backups already and I will buy it again.

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum & B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel: First of all, I have fallen prey for Drunk Elephant Packaging. It is so adorable, immediately grabs your attention and it is not trying hard or extra girlish or such! I have been using their full-size night serum for 2-3 weeks now and it has actually helped in smoothening the texture of my skin. The other two items are sample size and I have been enjoying the set. Not 100% sure yet if I want repurchase just yet; these are very expensive stuff.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser: I love Origins as a brand and I love their GinZing line. However, this one was not that mind-blowing. It acted great as a good, simple cleanser. The smell is fantastic; its refreshing to use in the morning. However, as an exfoliating cleanser it was not much effective. I have other scrubs that really are effective and that I liked way, way more. So, I will not be repurchasing.

Ole Henriksen Truth Facial Water: I bought a set of these travel Facial water sprays a while back. It had Nurture Me Facial Water and Grease Relief Facial Water. I am halfway through the Nurture Me one and I have not yet started using the Grease Relief one yet. But This Truth Serum is my most favorite. I love their Truth Serum; my mom loves that too! This spray is lovely in all weather and is quite refreshing. It contains Mandarin, White Tea and Pomegranate – very lovely concoction. I loved using it before bed or during the day! Would I repurchase? I may, once I finish all of the Facial Sprays I have been hoarding. (PS: I believe this is now called Fountain of Truth Water - please correct me if I am wrong?)

Mario Badescu Facial Spray With Aloe, Herb and Rosewater: This is without doubt one of the best facial spray in very affordable price. This was one of the first spray I bought and I did like it. I have expanded my spray collection. I do recommend this, but I am not sure if I will repurchase just yet.

Neutrogena Body Oil Light Sesame Formula: I have reviewed this product here. This is one of my HOLY-GRAIL products. I cannot do without this oil, especially during the winter! And when winter lasts 8 months in a year, it's a savior :-) I have gone through many, many bottles of these and I am pretty sure I am gonna need many more.

Love,
~Arrru

Beauty Favorites - 2017

I love editing my blog post for my yearly Beauty Favorites blogpost; I keep an alert mind about the products that I have used & loved the most throughout the year. And then when the Christmas holidays starts, I devote a day to take pictures and sum up my thoughts. For me, it is a creative process that gives me much joy!​​

This year, however, this process has not been that exciting or enjoyable. First of all, I have not been wearing or experimenting much with makeup this year. Actually, I have not been buying a whole lot of makeup (I think that's definitely a good thing). I also have not continued my monthly favorites series mostly because I don't have much to talk about. I still figured, that there are a handful of products that I have been constantly using this year; they definitely deserve some love :-)

Let's start with something glamorous!!

Diorskin Nude Air Luminizer in 001 & 003 (full review here): These highlighters cost me an arm and a leg. But they are so pretty! I have 001 & 003. 003 has been a strong candidate against Champagne Pop from Becca Cosmetics which is my all-time favorite highlighter to use! The powder here is soft, easy to apply on bare skin as well as over foundation and it has great staying power. The luxurious feel of the compact also makes me feeling special.

Marc Jacobs Beauty O!Mega Bronzer Coconut Perfect Tan in 104 Tan-Tastic! (full review here): I have a very detailed review of this here; I have explained why I was not 100% in love with the product. But this has been my most used bronzer this year. Even when I am not wearing any type of makeup I do love a bit of bronzers. The powder has a lovely smooth texture and is very easy to wear on a bare, just-moisturized skin. Also, now that it is winter, it shows up more on my skin allowing me to wear and love it more!

Nars Blush in Goulue: I was not able to wear wear a lot of blush this year, mainly because of acnes! But this has been my most used this year. It is a deep muted maroon-rosey shade. It gives my cheeks some healthy color. Very pigmented but easy to blend and has excellent staying power. It appears to have some sheen but on application the glitters does not really make my porous acne-ridden cheek look bad.

Colourpop Pressed Shadows in Come and Get It: Such a great shade. It is a bliss to wear in the morning - perfect one-lid color - I love it.

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color in Plum (full review here): I simply adore this eyeliner. It's actually an eyeshadow stick and designed to be layered on the lids to wear alone on apply eyeshadow over it. I have used it that way but I mainly use it as eyeliner. You can see that it is a wider pencil so I can’t get any thin eyeliner shape, but I just slap it on and it immediately adds a definition to my eyes – makes me look alive! The texture of the product is so smooth and it glides effortlessly without any tagging! It is a bliss to use in hectic, task-heavy work weeks where I cannot simply bother to worry about my makeup. Also, you get so much of product! Not sure if I can use it up. I started using it in May and have not stopped since. 

Nars Dual Intensity Eyeshadow in Himalia (full review ): I wore this non-stop for the first half of the year, you can see the dip I made in the product. It is a beautiful beige-y gold shimmery shade. Absolutely brilliant for my rushed mornings. I just lightly pat it on my lid with my fingers and some days I dont even need to use any matte crease shades.  

Ilia Beauty Lip Conditioner in Bang Bang (full review here): I don't have a load of products from passionate green beauty creators. But I do love the ones that I have! This particular one is called a lip conditioner - a somewhat fancy name for what essentially is a tinted lip balm. Personally, I don't like such balms. I like to wear full pigment on my lips; not some “tint”. But this one has won my heart! It has such a smooth consistency - keeps my lips moisturized. The shade provides a subtle, easy hint of red. I love layering it over my everyday lip shades like Mac Amorous, Bite Beauty Meritage etc. to get that extra layer of moisturization and color. I have almost used up half of the tube and I can definitely see myself repurchasing. 

Mac Satin Lipstick in Amorous: I think I mentioned it in my last year's favorites (see here) too. I think about 60% of time this year, I have worn this to work. It is such a great everyday shade for my complexion. And because it is satin finish I don't find it drying at all. It stays put all day! Because of the subtlety of the shade, it is also very easy to layer it. 

Bite Beauty High Pigment Lip Pencil in Meritage: Another of my workhorse lip products this year. You can see, I almost finished it up. It is a beautiful everyday rose-ish color! It's a good formula, stays comfortably the whole day! 

CoverFx Custom Enhance Drops in Candlelight (full review here): It was in my last year’s favorites and it is still a favorite. About 90% of the time, I have worn foundation this year I have mixed a drop of this. I love the subtle illumination it gives me. 

NAILS Inc. Nail Polish in Rainbow Wishes (full review here): Last 3 year, there has been a nail polish that will jump out at me - that I have loved that year. This year, it took me a while to figure out. Nonetheless this beautiful soft purple shade with multicolor sheen has to be the favorite this year! It is beautiful, glamorous and easy to wear to work. I really enjoy it. The staying power is also very satisfactory!

Hope you all a had lovely holidays! Tell me about your favorites, this year?

Love,

~Arrru