This month's not just about empties - there are also a few product fails in here I finally psyched myself up to let go. Read on and you'll find out why...
Skin care
24) Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes With White Tea Extract (30 towelettes) - These pleasant smelling wipes promised to "...remove makeup, cleanse and tone in one easy step". They were sufficiently moist to do a thorough job and leave my skin feeling comfortable afterwards. Besides White Tea Extract other botanical goodies include Aloe Leaf Juice and Cucumber Extract. I liked the snap seal on the package too.
25) Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturiser SPF 15 (75ml) - I normally go for moisturisers with higher SPF but I got this as a magazine freebie a while ago so I was happy to use it. The oil-free, soy enriched formula felt light on the skin and two pumps were enough to moisturise my face and neck so the bottle lasted a few months. It did leave a bit of sheen on my combination skin though so I needed to mattify afterwards.
26) The Face Shop Collagen Essential Mask Sheet - I loved this lifting and moisturizing mask because it did as it promised as my skin felt softer and firmer afterwards. I will be repurchasing this (and my other favourite Pearl Extract) from The Face Shop the next time I need to replenish my sheet mask supply.
Hand and body care
27) Natio Meditate Hand Wash Yoga Scent Khus Attar (240ml/8.1fl.oz) - I loved this moisturising hand wash but I used it up far too quickly and now I'm pretty sure it's been discontinued. As you can infer from the yoga reference the Khus Attar scent was distinctly relaxing and I'm sadly deeply inhaling the remnants of the bottle now as I prepare to throw it away.
28) OPI Expert Touch Lacquer Remover (120ml/4 fl.oz) - My third bottle for the year.
29) MOR Grapefruit Body Butter - This little tub was part of a 3-pack I bought for a Christmas gift a couple of years ago but then naughtily decided to keep! The truth is I found something more appropriate for that person and then I put these away and forgot all about them! The grapefruit scent has the perfect mix of citrus zing and sugary sweetness and it absorbed beautifully into the skin. The small tub (say around 50ml) didn't last very long at all unfortunately and this scent has been discontinued.
Cosmetics
I decided to get a bit more brutal on my beauty diet this month and following Anissa's very brave and sensible lead (Norlin has also made fantastic progress!), so in addition to accumulating the empties I'm taking a long hard look at some of the makeup items which shouldn't be taking up space in my drawers. Let's start with the empties first:
30) Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Treatment Concealer (20 Light) - Perhaps all the hype around this concealer set my expectations way too high because I was underwhelmed by it. The coverage was too sheer for me, meaning I had to build it and sometimes even reapply it under my eyes later in the day. I don't have anything against Maybelline concealers per se because I still swear by my old favourite Dream Lumi - I just won't be buying this one again because it doesn't stand up to my PANDA EYES!
31) Lancôme Hypnose Doll Eyes Waterproof Mascara (Black) - I was sad to let this mascara go and not just because it's limited edition. Read my original mini review here.
32) Bloom Eye Base (3.5g/0.12oz) - I thought this was quite a good eye primer until I switched up products recently. No matter as it's been discontinued anyway.
31) Lancôme Hypnose Doll Eyes Waterproof Mascara (Black) - I was sad to let this mascara go and not just because it's limited edition. Read my original mini review here.
32) Bloom Eye Base (3.5g/0.12oz) - I thought this was quite a good eye primer until I switched up products recently. No matter as it's been discontinued anyway.
Culled...
Yup, I've finally taken the plunge and decided to get rid of a few products that didn't quite work for me. At this point I'm deciding these won't count towards makeup empties and I won't use them as credit towards new products in my beauty diet - if they don't work they don't necessarily need to be replaced!
Styli-Style Timeless Lipstick (Beauty 1512) - I received this in a swap ages ago and unfortunately silvery matte beige lips are just not for me. If this was glossy I could have used it as a topper and I suppose conversely I could have topped this lipstick with gloss but seriously I have too many lipsticks already to have to worry about making this one work!
L'Oreal Shine Caresse (Princess & Eve) - Ugh, I do feel bad about not loving these and I so wanted them to work for me. Another case of not being swayed by the hype perhaps - but for me they applied unevenly, felt weird on the lips and worse still, bled out in a tacky mess beyond the lip line. Out they go.
Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Lipstick Pencil (Cherry Cherry Girl) - Considering they are a budget brand Essence are usually surprisingly good quality so I was in a state of disbelief over the shocking performance of this pencil. It applied way too thickly, virtually pilling into balls of colour on the lips. Very hard to describe but trust me it was horrendous and unwearable. The only positive was it didn't cost much.
Fragrance
33) Tom Ford Lys Fume EDP (1.5ml sample) - This is my second sample vial of Lys Fume so I don't need to say too much. Top notes: Italian mandarin, pink pepper, turmeric and nutmeg; middle notes: white lily, ylang-ylang, Artemisia and rum; base notes: Madagascar vanilla, labdanum, styrax and oak.
Now that feels lighter!
You are smashing the makeup! Maybe with the ones you have thrown out you can count them as 5 out 1 in? That's what I'm doing with my tosses.
ReplyDeleteOnce I get to 5 I'll reassess how I feel :)
DeleteI suppose because I've bought a few lovely rewards lately I feel like there's no rush - although I'm pretty keen to check Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer off my list because I'll actually be needing one as soon as I finish my She primer. Primer's the one thing I don't have a backup of!
Wow you're really getting through stuff! I guess that's what happens when you don't buy new stuff... I should definitely try it more often haha! Well done!
ReplyDeleteI tend to focus on tried and true stuff during the week too so that helps as well! I'm saving my makeup experiments for the weekends at the moment :)
DeleteGreat job Vita! And yes-if something doesn't work why keep it? Throw it out!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm learning to become more fearless in that regard - if I have to put in too much effort to make something work then it's going out!
DeleteOooh, Lys Fume :D
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I agree with Tracy - I hate hanging on to things that fail. Just more clutter T_T
My last sample :(
DeleteSo true about the unnecessary clutter! I have a habit of thinking maybe I can make the fails work but really the product should work for me, not enslave me to trying to make it work! :p
Love these posts. I'm going to take a cue from you and just discard a few products that haven't worked for me :-)
ReplyDeleteI was amazed at how liberating it felt! Kudos to Anissa for suggesting it as part of the beauty diet. Next on my hit list is a brown MAC lipstick which doesn't do a thing for me - at least I can use it for Back 2 MAC rather than it sitting unloved in my drawer :)
DeleteOMG I think this is the first time that I saw you throw out unfinished makeup. Your finished stash is still so amazing though! I decided to put a halt on buying any more shadows and will be getting rid of some that I don't wear. As much as I love all the variety of shades out there, I honestly don't care about eye shadows very much. It's time for a big clear out!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you there on the eye shadows - it's very rare these days that I fall for a palette so I think I'll rein it in there too. Lips and nails are always a big temptation though ;)
DeleteAlso, the Age Rewind didn't work for me either.
ReplyDeleteNice to know I'm not the only one underwhelmed :)
DeleteYou are totally killing it with your empties Vita! I did a post the other day with like, 4 products…lol. I have a sudden urge to get rid of a few things here and there that didn't work out, I hold onto them thinking I can make it work somehow, but like you said, it's time to get brutal!
ReplyDeleteYes I'm going to keep going with the culling Stacy - no point in letting fails just sit there unused!
DeleteYou are doing so well with the empties/culling! I totally hear ya - "if they don't work they don't necessarily need to be replaced!" I've been throwing out quite a few makeup items that have been used and are too old to be given away. In the past I would sort of let myself buy new makeup (one out, one in "theory") because I've more space but I've just got so much now that I need to address my bingeing habits. I'm throwing out more but just not buying. May the force be with me.
ReplyDeleteMay the force be with you indeed!!! I have a few more items to be thrown out this month that don't need replacing. Some are going out because I've moved on to better things ;)
Delete