March's farewelled products (2013 edition)

Here's another month's worth of empties served up fresh with my opinions for your enjoyment!

Hand and body care

18) Jericho Hand Cream (2ml sample) - Whoa! What's a sample doing in here?!? I'm a renowned hoarder of samples for that 'rainy day' which never seems to come...Well...one day last month I actually was caught out without a tube of hand cream in my bag so cue the rainy day sample! It's impossible to form a definitive opinion on a 2ml sample of hand cream but my first impressions were positive enough although nothing really remarkable.  The cream absorbed quickly, and left no greasy feel and I also note it is paraben-free and "...enriched with Dead Sea minerals".  Would I consider buying it? If I didn't have such a glut of hand creams in my drawers, on my bedside table, and in my handbag and I was looking for a specifically paraben-free formula then I'd delve a bit further into researching it first - or at least grabbing another sample or two to get more of a lasting impression!

19) L'Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream (30ml/1.oz) - Now this one is my favourite hand cream for instant relief from desert-dry skin.  This rich, luxuriously perfumed cream is one of L'Occitane's Shea Butter based products enriched with 20% Shea Butter and I'm unapologetically addicted to it.  I use it any time of the day as needed but if your skin isn't as dry as parchment paper you may find it a little on the rich side and it's recommended as an overnight hand treatment for best results.  It's one of the more expensive hand creams on the market but I don't mind paying for this luxe paint tube.

20) Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser (1 litre) - One of my in-shower daily essentials that also serves as a facial cleanser in a pinch!  It's not sexy at all but it cleanses my sensitive skin without drying it out and the 1 litre bottle lasts an age.  Expect a few more of these to pop up throughout the year.

21) BYS Nail Polish Remover (100ml approx) - I bought this bottle for a very reasonable $4AUD on holiday and it did the job of removing my polish with a pleasantly fragranced, acetone-free formula.  Bonus points for the spill-proof top too!

Hair care

I don't usually include shampoo or conditioner in my empties but I don't usually use Toni&Guy either so I figured I'd share my impressions on these trial size bottles I had gifted to me from Priceline a little while ago.

22) Toni&Guy Cleanse Shampoo for Damaged Hair (50ml/1.7 fl.oz travel size) - It promises to "...repair and revitalize dull damaged hair".  I'm always skeptical about anything that claims to repair damaged hair but I did notice this thick creamy shampoo left my over-processed, straw-like blonde hair feeling conditioned rather than its usual tangled snarl after rinsing.  I was even tempted to skip the conditioner because this was so rich in itself, although nooo I didn't! Because it is so rich I found only a small dollop was sufficient to wash my hair and while I did worry it may have weighed down my fine hair I didn't notice my strands looking lank or spaghetti-like at all.  Oh yes, did I mention the divinely fresh fragrance too? Oops, I think I may have just sold myself on this to alternate with my blonde shampoo...  

23) Toni&Guy Nourish Conditioner for Damaged Hair (50ml/1.7 fl.oz travel size) - The blurb on the bottle is much the same as the shampoo with the words "repair and revitalize" headlining the claims.  The conditioner was extremely thick, to the point of being difficult to squeeze out of the bottle and very rich, like a pomade on the hair although it rinsed out easily and thoroughly.  I tend to find very little difference across drugstore brand conditioners and this actually reminded me of some considerably less expensive drugstore varieties I've tried.  While I was in hair heaven with the shampoo I found this unremarkable. Did it condition and detangle my hair? Yes. Did it weigh down my hair? No. Did my hair feel like it was in superior condition when using this product? No.  Did it have that lovely fresh fragrance?  Well, yes. Would I buy it based on that alone???

Cosmetics

24) Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer (02 Nude) - I've raved about this little highlighter/concealer pen in my full review here and Maybelline have recently upgraded the packaging so the brush in my newly opened tube is even softer and more tapered.  It's now perfection in a pen!

25) MAC Frost Eye Shadow (Phloof!) - or was it?  I was so disappointed with this pan I bought from a discount online site because it wasn't the real deal.  I hit the bottom of the pan after a few months of use, after which the shadow crumbled away very quickly and was all done and dusted in another few months.  I've never encountered this with a MAC eyeshadow before - all other shades I've used on a daily basis have lasted several months to a year and have never crumbled away.  The definitive test was when I swatched Phloof! in-store at the MAC counter and saw and felt the difference between the silky, smooth in-store version compared to the sad crumbly, chalky imposter I had.  The lesson has been learned and I'm glad to see this go!

26) Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss (Racy Raspberry - Limited Edition) - It may look like there's still a little bit of gloss left in the tube but I swiped every available bit of it because I loved the cool-toned pink sheen.  I've loved many tubes of Revlon's Super Lustrous glosses over the years because of the buttery feel on the lips. These really do feel like a more luxe product. Repurchase? Yes!

27) L'Oreal Shadow Minerals Mineral Eye Shadow (10 Gold) - This was not an empty but a toss-out.  I found this shadow was poorly pigmented, messy to apply resulting in glittery fallout glistening on my cheeks, creased like crazy, then all but disappeared from my eyelids by mid-afternoon. Oh yes - that's a great big crack running down the front of the pot too.  The good news? These little pots have been discontinued.

28) L'Oreal Bare Naturale Powdered Mineral Foundation (Light Ivory 458) - Contrary to my opinion of the eyeshadow I actually liked this mineral foundation because it provided easily buildable, opaque coverage and rather than looking flat and matte it actually gave my skin a more natural luminous look.  I also need to confess I'm lazy when it comes to wearing primer beneath makeup (beauty crime!) and I wore this all day without primer and didn't need any touch ups.  Finally, in terms of how it agreed with my combination/sensitive skin, I didn't have any problems with dryness, clogged pores or breakouts and I like the convenience of products with built in SPF - SPF 19 in this case.  If there's one thing to fault it would be the stiff, slightly scratchy brush although that wouldn't detract me from buying this powdered mineral foundation again.

Fragrance

29) Tom Ford Black Orchid Eau de Parfum (1.5ml sample) - Ahhh, I just inhaled a little of the lingering scent from the vial.  I was sad to see this little vial go but rapturously happy to receive a full size bottle from my husband!  Mr Ford's Black Orchid fragrance contains notes of:  bergamot, citrus, mandarin, black gardenia, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lotus wood, black orchid, patchouli, sandalwood, incense and vanilla.  Truly intoxicating as those deeper notes develop on the skin but I learned it must be applied with restraint!

What product were you sad (or happy) to finish this month?