May, June & July 2017 Empties

 *Links are affiliate links*

I fell incredibly behind on updating you all on the products I've used up. Being a mom has, of course, taken precedence in my life, and my daughter has had a ton of appointments. She's also been wanting more attention, so I try to get things done during naps, but she doesn't seem to like sleeping either. Anyway, I have three months worth of empty products to share with you, and I'm quite proud of what I have!

I'll start with skincare, since that's what I have the most of. I used a When Glamour Base sheet mask, which I was a fan of! I feel like it did brighten up my skin and helped it feel more hydrated. 

The Caudalie Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Cream took me a while to use, considering it's a deluxe sample size. It has SPF in it, so I would only use it on days where I would leave the house. It seemed like it was fine, but nothing special. 

The Body Shop Tea Tree Toner used to be one of my favorite toners to use, until I discovered it has a high concentration of alcohol in it. This was my last bottle, thank goodness, so I won't repurchase again. 

I LOVED the Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Booster! I would put just a couple drops into my morning moisturizer, which really seemed to help with some dehydration I was having. I doubt I'd repurchase, since Dermalogica is quite an expensive brand. 

I had the Michael Todd Pumpkin Nutrient-Rich Facial Mask in my stash for quite a while, so I'm glad I was able to use it up. It was very tingly on my skin, and left it a bit red once I rinsed it off. It did, however, make my skin feel super soft. 

The Boscia Luminizing Black Mask is a love/hate for me. I love how incredibly soft it makes my skin feel, and it grabs any little baby hairs that are annoying. I hate how hard it is to remove. Seriously, if you get this anywhere near eyebrows or hairline, oh man does it hurt! I think I may have one more of these deluxe samples, but I wouldn't buy a full size. 

Origins is one of my favorite skincare brands, so it was no surprise I enjoyed the Make A Difference Plus Rejuvinating Treatment. I used it mainly as a serum before moisturizer, but it could be used by itself for very oily skin. I would consider buying this once my stash runs low. 

I used the Clinique Spot Healing Gel on any blemishes I may have gotten. Most times I only had to use this once, and the next day my skin was clear. I'm not too fussy when it comes to spot treatments, I just can't use benzoyl peroxide. 

I'm completely horrible with using body scrubs, but I adored the Tree Hut Shea Sugar Body Scrub in the Coconut Lime scent. I have so many scrubs to use, but I will likely buy this brand again when I use up what I have first. 

I go through lip balms like crazy normally, but I only have 1 I used up. I love the Badger brand, and their Lime Rocket scent of their Cocoa Butter Lip Balm is fabulous! Very moisturizing and kept my lips soft throughout the day. I have many different scents in my lip balm stash and don't think I'll run out anytime soon!

There's a sad story to the OXG Anti-Breakage Keratin Oil, since I didn't get to use it. I was cleaning up around the house and found the bottle laying on the floor, empty. I have no idea what happened to it, because my carpet is fine. I really wanted to use this too! My hair breaks easily, so I thought this would be great to use. Maybe one day I will purchase one for myself. 

I don't wear my contacts often, so it took a while to use up the Opti-Free Pure Moist contact solution. I surprisingly liked this, since most solutions burn my eyes, but this didn't. 

With how often I wash my hands, you would think I'd have more than one hand soap. Lemon Meringue Cheer from Bath & Body Works smelled amazing! Plus, I love these soaps with the scrubbing bits, although I think they end up drying out my hands more. 

Only one hand cream as well, also from Bath & Body Works. I absolutely adored this Island White Pineapple scent and would consider buying again. This is a great Summertime hand cream as it's not too heavy or greasy. 

We must've loved brushing our teeth the past few months! There's the Colgate Cavity Protection, Tom's of Maine Rapid Relief Sensitive, and a mini Crest that I had from when Olivia was in the hospital. The Colgate one my husband mostly used, and I always need a sensitive toothpaste. I was not a fan of this particular Tom's toothpaste, though. It made my teeth feel clean, but the taste wasn't very good, and I felt like I had bad breath really fast. 

I gotta include the baby products! So my daughter has fairly sensitive and dry skin. Because of that, her doctor recommended baths no more than twice a week, so we only used up two mini sizes of the Johnson's Head-to-Toe Wash, as well as a mini Johnson's Baby Lotion. I gotta admit, I'm not the biggest fan of Johnson's, but we have a ton of products we were given, plus I was able to take home what was used in the hospital, so we're likely set with body washes and lotions for the next year. 

The Hydraguard Phytoplex Silicone Cream is what was used on Olivia's diaper rash while she was recovering in the hospital from open heart surgery. Guys, THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! I kid you not, this cleared up her diaper rash so fast, and made her butt so soft! I went on a hunt for this because I had never heard of it, and I found it on Amazon. When I run out of other diaper rash creams, this is what I will be buying. It's a miracle! Plus it smells like cake batter. 

Number of products used up: 21
Total used up for the year: 43

I probably mention this in nearly every empties post, but my goal for the year was to use up 150 products. That includes full size, deluxe samples, foil packet samples, and now Olivia's products. Considering we have about 4 and a half months left to the year, I'm not quite sure I can make that goal. I'm doing well so far in August, and have a bunch of stuff nearly finished. I also want to start doing my makeup again, and I know I need to clear out some old stuff that hasn't been used since before Olivia was born! So maybe I will make my goal, who knows? 

What are some things you've used up recently?

Current Skincare Favorites

 *Post contains affiliate links*

You all know my love for skincare, and that it is my focus for this year instead of makeup. You always have your skin, and the better you take care of it, I always feel you need less makeup. Don't get me wrong, I still love makeup, but with having Olivia home now, I don't have the time to play around with colors or looks, let alone put any on. So today's post is going to be the skincare products that I currently have been loving. 

The Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash has been a favorite cleanser of mine for years. I pulled it out from my stash and fell back in love with it. It has teeny tiny scrubbing bits in it that helps with a little manual exfoliation, but it's super gentle enough to use on a daily basis. This has been my morning cleanser, and it's helping to get rid of all the dry, flaky skin I've been having lately. 

I'm obsessed with lip balms. I literally have a huge bag full of ones I have yet to open. This Lime Rocket scent from Badger is AMAZING! It's so incredibly hydrating and creates a nice barrier from everything; wind, food, drink. It lasts such a long time between applications, so I don't see myself using all this up very quickly, unless I slather it on a million times a day, just because. 

I was given the Monat Rejuveniqe Oil Intensive ages ago to review. It's an oil that can be used in your hair or on your skin. It's way to much for my hair, but when I add just 2-3 drops of this oil into my moisturizer, my skin is hydrated and has a 'glow from within' look. 

I have also done a review on this Derma E Firming DMAE Eye Lift. Loved it then, and still love it now. I pulled this out again because my eye area was really dry and irritated. This helped it after just one use and keeps the delicate skin around my eyes looking nice and healthy. The little lines and circles I have from being exhausted are slowly starting to diminish as well. 

My last skincare product is from Bath & Body Works. Now I typically am not a fan of B&BW body care products. I adore their candles and hand soaps, but their body products left little to be desired for me. Since being in the NICU with my daughter, I have still been washing my hands a million times a day and am dealing with rough, cracked patches all over my hands. The Island White Pineapple Nourishing Hand Cream smells divine, but also hydrates my hands well without making them feel greasy. 

What are some of your favorite skincare products currently?

December 2014 Empties

Hello everyone! This is my last empties post from 2014! I used up a good amount of products in December, so lets see what I have!

The first product that was used up is the Silkience 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner. I bought this at Big Lots for I think around $3 when my husband ran out of his shampoo. I didn't want to spend too much money, so he said to get whatever, he's not picky. After he used it a few times, he said he hated it, so I decided to try it out myself. It really is not a good shampoo. It didn't clean well, and didn't feel good rinsing out of my hair either. It felt like I still had product in my hair after using it. My husband has lots of curly, thick hair so for him it was really bad. We used it up though since we don't like wasting, but we will never repurchase!

It wouldn't be an empties post if I didn't have a can of Batiste dry shampoo! This is the Sassy & Daring Wild version, and I think this is my new favorite scent. I typically love the Tropical scent, but I can never find it in stores, and the last time I tried ordering it online from Drugstore.com, my package was lost in the mail, so I had to call and get my money back. So I'm either going to start buying it in-store at Ulta, or on the Ulta website. 

I used up the Nature Made Multi For Her vitamins and this brand of vitamins is definitely my favorite. They're always on sale somewhere, and they're a good price to begin with. Will always repurchase this. 

This perfume is so old! It's from the Victoria's Secret Pink line, and this was called Wish Pink. I remember first seeing these in store and thinking how cute the packaging was. This particular one smelled the least offensive to me, it's sweet with just a hint of floral. I honestly rarely used this as actual perfume. I used it mainly as an air freshener! If I felt like maybe the trash was starting to smell funky, or I just wanted the air to smell nice, I'd do a few spritzes of this, and everything smelled good again. They discontinued this line so long ago, I don't even remember when. 

I was glad to finish up the Bath & Body Works shower gel in the Vanilla Tini scent. I'm pretty sure I've said before that these shower gels aren't my favorite. The scents are nice, but I don't feel like they clean very well, and they make my skin feel drier than the Sahara. I have a few more of these to use up, but I'll never repurchase any. 

This Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream sat in my stash for ages! Once the weather got really cold, I decided to finally use it up. I now know why it sat for so long. The scent is overbearing and it actually made my hands burn and feel more dry. I'm so glad this is finally used up.

I also used up the two lip balms I was rotating through. The first one is the Badger lip balm in the scent Vanilla Madagascar. I love Badger lip balms and typically buy a few when I see them. I have such a large stash of lip balms though so I don't need to repurchase any for a long time. I used this one mainly during the day as it was easy to just take off the lid and swipe it onto my lips. The second one I used up, I used at night and it's the Rosebud Strawberry lip balm. Oh my heavens, does this smell amazing! I love how this applies to the lips, and it gives a nice sheen where it makes your lips look so full and healthy. I usually loaded up on this stuff because my lips dry out alot overnight, but this helps a ton with that. 

I have finally used up the Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips that I've had since before my husband and I met. I always heard these were so bad for your skin, but they really cleaned out the pores on my nose and made them look so small. I typically used one after I washed my face, then I would use a deep cleansing mask afterwards, and it was a match made in heaven. I probably won't go out and repurchase right away (spending ban time!), but eventually I will. 

I used up the little jar of the Ole Henriksen Walnut Complexion Scrub. I was using this for ages because you only need the tiniest amount to get the job done. I could've sworn I had a review of this, but I actually don't. I do have the larger size jar to use up as well, so I may review it sometime soon! I really am a fan of this scrub. It makes my skin feel so soft and smooth, and the grains are the perfect size and not too irritating. 

I had a little sample size tube of the Sephora Instant Moisturizer hiding in my closet and decided to use it up. I have mixed feelings about this. I love how it spreads evenly on the skin and it makes it feel really soft at first. As the day goes on however, my skin turns into a big greaseball. The scent is also a little overwhelming, it's very floral-y. I probably will not repurchase. 

I also used up the Valentia Even Glow Serum, which I reviewed here. This serum is amazing! It felt so lovely on my skin, it sinks right in, it smells like oranges, and it helped brighten up my complexion when it was looking really dull and tired. I'm tempted to buy this, but with the massive amount of skincare I have in my stash, and it being $35, I'm going to pass on it for now. 

I've been trying to use up alot of the samples I have, and I wanted to try the Lancome Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector. This product is no joke guys! I know the bottle is really tiny, but I noticed a difference in my skin the next morning after using this. This is supposed to help with wrinkles, pores and evenness, and I swear to you, my pores were almost invisible when I used this. I do have another one of these little bottles to use, but I won't buy the the full size. A 1 ounce bottle costs $79, and the 1.7 ounce costs a whopping $115!

The last product I have used up is the Korres Wild Rose moisturizer. I didn't like this really. It felt heavy on my skin, even with it being so cold out, and the rose scent was too strong for my liking. I do think I have another one of these small tubes to use up, so I'll probably use it up soon before it starts to get warm, otherwise I'll be an oily mess after using it. 

Well that's everything I used up in December! I have to say, I was curious to see how many products I had used up this past year, so I went through all my empties posts and counted the products. From January through December, I have used up 181 products! I can't believe that! I was in shock when I saw that. But hey, that just leaves room to buy more products to try and use up, after my spending ban of course! ;)

What did you use up in December? Did you count how many products you went through?