Products I've Used Up/Empties Vol. 14

It has been 4 months since my last empties post. But I am back it at again with quite a few products that I have used up :-)

Yankee Candles Appalachian Daisy 2-wick Candle: I bought this candle at a discount but cannot exactly remember from which store. I really like the fragrance and if I find it at a fairer price again, I will repurchase.
Bath & Body Works Eucalyptus Mint 3-wick Candle: I soooooo loved the fragrance of this candle! Now that I have tried a few different brands now, I have finally arrived at the conclusion that the performance of BBW candles is much superior; especially when I can get them during sale! I will definitely repurchase, but of course, I will wait for a sale.

Voluspa 3-wick candle in Mokara: This Mokara fragrance is such a familiar fragrance to me, I cannot really pinpoint why and how, but I think this fragrance brings back childhood memories. While I loved the smell, I did not like the quality of this candle. It has 3-wicks but as you can see it did not burn evenly and there is still a lot of wax left unburnt. The throw also was not that strong. I will not to repurchase but I love the smell so much!

Skincare & Hair Empties:

Redken No Blow Dry NBD Just Right Cream: I saw absolutely no effect of this cream on my hair. It just felt like an additional step without resulting in any benefit. I am just glad to get it finished. Will not repurchase.

Living Proof Timeless Shampoo: This was a deluxe size and hardly lasted me for a single use :-)! Honestly I don’t exactly remember if I liked it or not. I did not have any negative experience though :-)

O.P.I. Avojuice Coconut Melon Hand Body Lotion: I sincerely hope this is the last of a set I bought quite some time ago. This was ok  but it took a little bit of time to sink in which was not very convenient. As you can imagine, I will not repurchase.

L’Occitane Almond Smoothing and Beautifying Supple Skin Oil: I love using body oils because my dry skin really need it. I have been trying and  using a lot of different body oils for a long time now. And I was quite excited about this one because it is a cult favorite within the beauty community. I liked it but at times it felt a little bit heavy. It also has a sweet smell from the almond which I am not a big fan. I am not quite sure if I want to purchase a full-size just yet.

The Body Shop Pinata Colada Shower Gel: It is a decent shower gel. I did not really enjoy the smell. I have never tried the drink so I don’t really know how close is the smell is to the actual drink. But it was a bit thicker in consistency and I had hard time getting the gel out. I will not repurchase.

The Body Shop Mango Shower Gel: One of the very few scents I can use from Body Shop is this Mango one. I still would not want to repurchase a full-size.

Ole Henriksen Nurture Me Water: I love a good facial spray! This is one out of the 3 sprays from a set and I have already finished the Truth Facial Water. That was my most favorite. This was enjoyable too! Would I repurchase? I do not know :-) Btw, they have changed the packaging and it looks so much better now.

Sephora Collection Super Supreme Body Butter: Can you tell I go through Body moisturizes like crazy? I absolutely loved this one! It is a huge jar but because it has been a long winter and often I have been it using twice daily, I finished it sooner than I expected! It is very moisturizing with a lasting effect. It is kind of a thick cream but easy to apply all over my body. I think I purchased it randomly just to get qualified for picking deluxe sample, & I can definitely see myself repurchasing!

Tree Hut Mediterranean Salt Scrub: I absolutely enjoy Tree Hut products. As it is evident from the total 3 Tree Hut products I finished here. I absolutely enjoy the smell of this one, it is sooo comfortable and relaxing! And it was perfect for winter. However, I actually prefer their sugar scrub formula more than the Salt one. I will not repurchase the salt scrub but I already bought 2 or 3 sugar scrubs as backup.

Tree Hut Shea Body Butter in Coconut Lime: Another lovely body butter. I have loved almost everything from this brand. This was no exception. It was lighter in consistency than the Sephora body butter.But it was enough for the transitional Spring weather here. I will repurchase full-size at some point but for now I would love to repurpose this jar from my travel needs. 

Korres Body Butter in Jasmine: I am sad that this is finished. I absolutely loved the product. It is quite moisturizing, easy to apply and sinks into the skin so quickly. The smell of Jasmine is quite subtle but oh-so-lovely! I have two other body butters from Korres in my backup shelf but I would definitely repurchase in the future. Also, it is not so difficult to find gift sets of these so I will buy them in sets; otherwise it can get a bit expensive.

First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Face Cleanser: It is a very generic, very simple cleanser. It did a good job as a basic cleanser. This 1 oz. tube also lasted for quite some time. I love my Philosophy Purity Cleanser as my second cleanser. Hence, I would not repurchase. It was a good enough cleanser while it lasted.

(2) Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet: I do not know if there is any difference between the pink and the white packaging, The name of the moisturizer seems to be the same. I do detect a ever-so-slight difference fragrance. It is a decent lightweight moisturizer; not quite enough for my dry skin during winter. I think I would enjoy it more during the summer months. I will not repurchase but I would not mind it in smaller size in skincare kits. 

Kinerase Advanced Cream: I do not know about this brand & I did not care for it either. Just glad it is finished.

Philosophy Miracle Worker Overnight: I did not love this night cream. It did not sink in quickly and it kind of peeled on my face, especially near my face. I ended up using this on my neck. I will not repurchase.

CAUDALIE Resveratrol Lift Face Lifting Soft Cream: I got this deluxe sample size in a Sephora Favorites set. This is a glass jar, I appreciate it so much because it is almost rare to see companies put the same quality in deluxe size samples compared to the full-size products. In general, I do like Caudalie products. Most of them I really, really love. This one however was not extraordinary. I did not like the consistency that much! Like all other Caudalie products, I enjoyed the faint nice smell of this product but other than that it was just ok.

Fresh Beauty Rose Deep Hydration Face Cream: This was the first new product I tried in 2018 and I very much ENJOYED it. The texture is so silky smooth, the smell is so natural & beautiful. It is also easy to apply and it absorbs almost immediately. The best part is it keeps my dry, parched skin moisturized. I have already collected a deluxe-size from Sephora & I truly want to buy the full-size but right now, I have 2-3 other full-size moisturizers that I want to finish up.

Sunday Riley Luna Sleepng Night Oil: I ended up collecting three of this sample sizes from Sephora in order to see if those product works for me. This is second bottle I finished and honestly I not excited by it. I accept that I have not been very diligent in using this but I don’t even find any excitement to use it. It is an expensive product to begin with so naturally I had high hopes. It felt greasy on my face which would have been ok if I would have seen any improvement of my skin’s overall health. I will definitely not repurchase.

Erborian Bamboo Crème Frappe Skin-Revining Fresh Gel: I finished this back in January, I think. And I am having a hard time remembering how i felt about it. All I remember is that it was very light consistency, and it was refreshing!  But it still offered moisturization. Beyond that, I don’t remember if I wanted to try it in a bigger size!

Drunk Elephant T.L.C Framboos Glycolic Night Serum: Oh man! The hype around this brand! I finished this serum back in February, and I must admit that I am definitely missing it in my routine. I used it 1.5-2 pumps almost every night and it lasted me only 3 months. That seemed a bit quick for such a pricey product. Now that it has 1-1.5 month without using it, I do have to accept that I really did see positive effect of the serum on my skin. I had uneven texture along with a lot of cystic acnes and I could feel this serum smoothening that out. My acnes were also under full control! I did get one or two here and there. Now that I have not been using this serum, I can definitely feel the issue of uneven texture coming back to haunt me. I have repurchased a 0.5 oz size bottle in the Acid Trip during Sephora VIB Sale. I do have other serum type products that I want to finish up first though!

Lotus Herbals Aloehydra Aloe Vera Gel: This a product from India and my sister passed it onto me. I actually mainly used it on my elbows. I don’t have much to say about it. I did like using it so when I go to India next, I may pick it up again but for now I not missing it in my routine.

Freeman Beauty Infusion Cleansing Sheet Mask: This was the first charcoal “sheet” mask that I have used. What I liked about it is that I did not feel the need to wash my face after using the mask. It claims to instantly boost purity but I did not feel any special cleansing effect on my skin. Overall, I did feel good right after using the mask. However, the very next day, I got two huge acnes right on my skin! So, I am terrified now.

Makeup & Perfume Empties:

Marc Jacobs Daisy Deluxe Sample: Look how cute is this tiny bottle? I am going to display it along with the other mini perfume bottles I have finished up :-) This is a cult favorite scent. It is a simple, clean fragrance. It is not a favorite per se, but I don’t dislike either. I do not need repurchase this because I have way tooooo many perfumes to use up.

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara: I have said this before that I am not too picky about mascaras. But I love this one, I think this is my second tube! I always get this in travel size :-) I am using another tube now and I can see myself repurchasing it. Also, Sephora & Ulta often includes this in travel size as Gift with Purchase.

Bite Beauty High Pigment Lip Pencil in Meritage: I absolutely adored this lip product. It is a beautiful rose hued shade; perfect for every day. It was one of my favorite shade last year and I would love to repurchase but I fear that Bite Beauty is discontinuing this product line. Do you guys have any idea?

Bite Beauty High Pigment Lip Pencil in Rhubarb: Another Bite Beauty product that I thoroughly enjoyed! This formula is so moisturizing on the lips and on me it stays almost the entire day. I would not repurchase this over Meritage though!

Stila Stay All-Day Waterproof Eyeliner in Intense Black: This has been my holy grail eyeliner since 2014. One of these I finished a long time ago but for some reason it never made it to my empties bin! This first liner lasted me a long time too! However, the second one did not even last me a year. It makes a bit sad! I loved this liner, mainly because of its waterproof quality and its jet black color. I have worn this for my sister’s wedding and it survived beautifully through a hot, humid, hectic and emotional night till the next morning! I want to repurchase but I am hesitant because the second  one dried out sooner! I recently picked up a few colored ones from this line during Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty and I want to see how they perform, then probably decide.

Clinique Pink Honey: This was a tiny, deluxe sample but it was in my #finish17in2017 project pan. Nothing special about this but I am just glad this is finished! The shape of the bullet makes it difficult to use up till the very last bit of product.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleansing Cloths: I have been trying to cut down my usage of makeup wipes. I have to say that I have been somewhat successfully. Anyway, this was a good enough wipe. It had enough moisture in it and it did a decent job in removing the first layer of makeup! Will I repurchase? Probably not!

Aquaphor Heal Ointment Mini Jar: Such an inexpensive lip balm. And this tiny jar lasted me a long time. I typically used this before I go to bed and it healed and smoothened my lips for the next day. I always used this at night if I knew that I will be using matte liquid lipstick or any drying regular lipstick next day. I would ABSOLUTELY repurchase.

I also finished up some samples (and of course my trusty contact lens solution!) 

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Balm & Agave Sugar Lip Scrub: This tiny little sample lasted for almost two weeks. But keeping the price of these products in mind, I don’t think they are worth it. Just my experience.

Love,
~Arrru