May's farewelled products (2013 edition)

So what did I finish up this month?  What were my loves, likes, loathes?  Read on...

Skin care

41) Maybelline City Rescue Total Clean! Express Eye & Lip Makeup Remover (70ml) - So this is the new updated remover from Maybelline.  The notable differences are: the dual-phase liquid is now colourless and the bottle is now a teeny 70ml so I'm going to easily go through a bottle a month (I guess 2 for 1 Maybelline purchases will be a no-brainer!) Aside from that the product seems to be basically the same:  A dual-phase formula you shake up then sweep over the lids and lashes to remove makeup - yes, even waterproof makeup - with a sweep of a soaked cotton pad.  Because of the travel-friendly size and drugstore price I'm happy enough to stick with this for now.

42) Avon Anew Reversalist Renewal Serum (30ml) - After being seduced by a sample tube of this stuff over a year ago, I bought a full-sized bottle on sale.  Suitable for 40+ skin this serum claims to reduce the appearance of fine wrinkles and skin discolouration.  I liked how soft and velvety this felt when applying and how my skin immediately felt super-soft to the touch.  I also noticed some minor reduction in my pigmentation over time but I don't know that I noticed any wrinkle reduction.  To tell you the truth I try never to get that close - I don't fancy checking out my fine wrinkles! What I didn't like was the strange pump dispenser which threatened to break my nails and how I had no way of guaging just how much was left in the bottle until it ran out! I think I'll wait for another sale before I buy another one of these.

43) Yes to Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butter (Melon) - I loved this little tube of lip balm! I used it as my nightly lip treatment and it was very moisturising without being overly slick or greasy on my lips.  This little 4.25g tube lasted me months too.  Other pluses?  This is certified 95% organic and is paraben free. 

44) Hydratherapy Q10 Replenishing Cleansing Wipes (25 wipes) - I'd never heard of this brand when I spotted this pack of wipes to try.  They claim to hydrate the skin as they remove makeup.  The wipes were a good size, nicely textured so I could feel them cleansing my skin, and nice and wet with the alcohol and oil free cleanser.  One wipe was easily enough to cleanse my entire face. I really liked the fresh slightly citrus scent too and my skin definitely felt moisturized afterward.  At around $5AUD a pack I would definitely repurchase these.

Hand and body care

45) MOR Marshmallow Body Butter - This strange little pink tub was a discount purchase I think.  Anyway I've been going through a lot of small bottles, tubs and sample sachets of body moisturizers lately and this is one of those.  The body butter is pungently strong with MOR's marshmallow (musk candy) scent so I used it occasionally, and sparingly on my knees and elbows.  It's a very thick formula but very well absorbed and it did a decent job of softening the extra-dry bits.  However...I just can't handle the strength of the scent which seemed to be much stronger than the vial of Marshmallow fragrance oil I have!  I'm relieved to see it go.

46) Sportsgirl Hands Down Moisturising Hand Creme (60ml/2.02 fl.oz) - Another disappointing discount purchase.  I bought this reduced from $7.95 to $1.95 and the reason it was discounted became apparent to me very quickly!  For a hand cream this had the potential to make a good body lotion - it was soooo watery to the point of running out of the tube.  I had to tilt the tube upwards to avoid pouring this milky lotion everywhere. That drove me crazy!  On the plus side I did like the soft vanilla fragrance.  Also it did a reasonable job of moisturising my hands, although it did wash away very easily so I had to reapply constantly.

47) OPI Original Nail Envy (15ml/0.5 fl.oz) - My go-to nail strengthener and base coat.  My father also swears by the matte version for his crumbly, splitting nails.

48) Kiehl's Creme de Corps (5ml/0.17 fl.oz sample) - I'm sure I'm preaching to the converted out there but this is the first time I've tried Kiehl's famed body moisturizer and I loved it! It was thick but instantly absorbed, left my skin feeling soft and not at all greasy and there's no perfume to fight with whatever fragrance you feel like wearing.  I'll definitely treat myself to some of this when I clear my current backlog!

Hair care

49) John Frieda Luxurious Volume Lavish Lift Root Booster (29ml/ 1 fl.oz travel size) - Another old sample I found lurking and I wish I'd saved this for my upcoming trip. It gave my hair soft volume and I liked the expensive salon product scent.  After returning to my usual L'Oreal thickening spray I can say I prefer John Frieda so I'll be purchasing the full size product in future.

Cosmetics

50) Christian Dior Diorshow Mascara - After too many months of use it was simply time to go for this mascara.  It remains one of my favourites as it beautifully separates and coats the individual lashes.  No clumping with this one right up to the end!

51) Essence Shimmer Effect Eyeshadow (Cappucino, Please!) - I absolutely adored this pretty shimmery beige eyeshadow and I used it as my MAC Shroom backup because it was such a close dupe.  See my original comparison post here.

Until next month!