Hey everyone! Today I'm going to show you everything I used up in December. Now if you remember my empties post for November, I said I wanted to use up a total of 20 products in those two months. Well, in November I used up 13 products, which wasn't too shabby. But in December I used up 14 products! I'm so excited that I made and exceeded my goal! 27 products in two months combined is pretty freakin' awesome for me, so lets see what I used up last month!
My husband was the main one using this Rusk Sensories Brilliance Grapefruit & Honey Color Protect Shampoo, but I helped use it too! He doesn't have color treated hair, but my mom had given us a bunch of these shampoos to use, and he's not picky so he took it. I do have color treated hair, but I don't care much for this. I feel like I have to use a ton for it to lather nicely but it does smell really, really good!
I finally used up the Suave Keratin Infusion Smoothing Conditioner that I was using since probably last Summer. For some reason it takes me forever to go through conditioners, but this one in particular took so long! I'm not sure what it is, but you don't need much of this to make your hair feel soft and healthy. I loved this stuff and will probably repurchase once I use up everything else I have, and don't come across something I like better!
I used up the Philosophy Shower Gel in the scent Sugar Plum Frost. This is one scent by Philosophy that I kinda didn't like, which is a shocker. I'm obsessed with these shower gels/shampoos/bubble bath combos. I don't ever use them as shampoo or bubble bath, but they're the best shower gels ever! I just didn't care for this scent but it did the job cleaning my skin!
I finished up (mostly) a Philosophy Body Lotion in the scent Cinnamon Buns. Now I say mostly because the packaging sucks at being able to get every drop out to use. I had to take the pump out inside and smack it on my hands to get anything out at the end and eventually I just gave up. I do however love, love, love how this smells! It really does smell like fresh made cinnamon buns and I loved using this after my shower.
I then used up a tiny little body butter by the brand On10 in the Sweet Chocolate scent. I honestly can't remember when I got this, but I think my mom got it for me for Christmas a few years ago. I know that seems like a long time, but I made sure to do a sniff test and look at it and it wasn't separated at all, so it was fine! I probably got about 10 to 12 uses out of this even though it seems like a small pot. I didn't need to use alot of this to get the hydration I needed.
I also used up a Natural Factors Vitamin D3 softgel. I take extra D3 because I hate the sun and feel like a vampire, plus I tend to deal with some depression. I keep reading that you get D3 from the sun and it can help with depression, but I honestly don't know if it's true or not. I still take it for the supposed health benefits anyways!
Man do I go through these Aloe Calming Toners from The Body Shop! I've mentioned these about a million and one times, so I won't ramble on about how awesome this toner is. Seriously, try it out!
I used up a moisturizer that I was using in the morning from Clean Scene called Begging for Balance. This moisturizer was alright but I won't go out of my way to find it and buy it again. It did its job at moisturizing my skin and keeping it a little less shiny than normal, but it didn't do any kind of miracle for my skin.
I also used up my Neutrogena Clear Face Break-Out Free Liquid-Lotion Sunscreen SPF 55. Phew, that's a long name! I actually liked this stuff! I kept hearing so many people saying they hated it and it broke them out. Not for me! I think this actually helped my skin and kept it matte for a pretty long time. I don't know if this beats out my favorite sunscreen, the Neutrogena Dry Touch Sunblock, but this comes very close! Depending on pricing, I'll buy this again!
I finally used up the lip balm I was using for daytime use, and it was the On10 Lip Balm in the scent Lemon Lime. I like these lip balms because they have sunscreen in them and they smell really good! I still have so many lip balms from this brand to use up, so I don't need to purchase any for a long while!
I used up quite a few mascaras. If you remember me mentioning about the stye I had, I got a bit paranoid and got rid of the mascaras I had used during the couple days prior to my eye getting bad. The Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara is fantastic! This gives my favorite mascara, the bareMinerals Flawless Definition, a run for its money! I constantly got compliments when I wore this mascara and was even asked a few times what falsies I was wearing. *Confession* I've never worn falsies in my life!
I was also using the Sephora Lash Plumper Mascara and to me, it was actually pretty good. Once my stye came out in full force, I got rid of this and found another one in my stash, but the wand was so smushed and clumped, so I had to toss it as well :(
The Too Faced LashGasm Mascara is a surprise to me with how much I liked it! It gave me natural looking lashes that had good length and surprising volume. I like how I was able to get to all my baby lashes in the corners and overall, this was just a good mascara that I was sad to toss because of my eye. I may actually purchase the full size once I run out of mascaras!
That's everything! Sorry this is a long post, but I was so excited to finish up all this stuff! I'm hoping this month is good with empties too. I'm doing a spending ban currently, but I do have some birthday/Christmas money to use up still so that doesn't count! I do have a little bit of a haul using some of that money coming up so stay tuned! Also, I got my hands on the much talked about Naked3 Palette the day it came out, so a review should be coming up very soon on it!
What did you use up in December? Are you doing a spending ban as part of new years resolutions?
Hey everyone! It's been a little over a year since I've done a post about my skincare routine, so I thought it was time to show you all the products I'm currently using. Now the routine I'm about to show you is still a good part of my Summer routine, and the weather is just now starting to cool down. I'll probably stick with what I'm using now for a few more weeks, then I'll change it up a bit.
The first product I start off with is the Soap & Glory Face Soap and Clarity 3-in-1 Daily-Detox Vitamin C Facial Wash. I just started using this a few days ago as I had ran out of what I was using prior, and so far I do like this. There are little exfoliating beads in this, but they're small enough where I can use this cleanser every morning without having it irritate my skin. The vitamin C in this helps to promote a glowing complexion, which I seem to really need right now. So far, so good!
The next product I use is The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner. This was featured in my last morning skincare post, and for good reason! I absolutely love this toner when my skin is feeling super oily, especially in the Summer. It can be drying, which is why I'll have to switch this out soon. I always have backups for my backups of this!
After toning my skin, I follow-up with the Clean Scene Begging for Balance Moisturizer. I purchased this when the Clean Scene line was carried at Sephora, which was quite a while ago to be honest. I don't really care for this moisturizer. It doesn't do anything special for my skin and actually makes it feel a little drier than normal. I don't know if they still sell this anywhere, but don't spend your money on this. It's not worth it in my opinion.
I should've switched the last two products in the picture, because I always use eye cream after I moisturize my face. I've currently been using and loving the Philosophy Eyes Wide Open Instant Refreshing and Depuffing Eye Gel. I've talked about this in a favorites post, and I'm so in love with this product! It actually works when I wake up in the morning and I see I have puffy eyes. Seriously, I wake up sometimes and my eyelids are so puffy, it looks like I've been punched! This is a miracle worker for me, but I don't think they sell this anymore :(
The last step in my routine is, and always will be, sunblock! I'm currently using the Neutrogena Clear Face Liquid Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 55. I know that seems like a high SPF, but I burn very easily so I have to use it. I'm really enjoying using this sunblock alot! It hasn't broken me out and it keeps my skin looking matte, but doesn't dry it out. I normally use the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunblock, but had this one so I changed it up a bit. I do like this one and would repurchase once I go through my other sunblocks I have.
That's my routine! I'm going to be doing a separate nighttime routine post because that actually takes longer and has more products involved. I didn't want to make this post 10 hours long ;)
What products do you use in your routine?
Hi guys! I feel like I went through a ton of products this past March! I had to actually categorize the pictures I took so everything didn't look so jumbled. First I'll show my skincare empties, then haircare, and lastly a mish-mash of things!
The first skincare product I used up was the Clean Scene Craving for Clean Cleanser. I did a full review on this in the beginning of January, which you can read here if you like. Back then, I had been using it for maybe two or three weeks, so this bottle lasted me for about three and a half months, which isn't too bad. I was only using this at night, so that's probably why. I really liked this cleanser because it made my skin feel clean without feeling tight and dry afterwards.
Next, I used up another one of my amazing The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner. I know I've talked about this a zillion times, so I won't go into just how amazing this stuff is. Pick up a bottle, I promise you'll like it!
Then I used up The Body Shop Aloe Protective Serum. I'm pretty sure I've talked about this in the past as well, but I mixed this in with my morning moisturizer to give my skin a bit of extra hydration. I'll probably always buy backups of this along with the Aloe Toner, unless something more awesome comes along. Those two products are pretty much Holy Grail products to me.
Lastly for skincare, I used up The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion. Pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but this is a great moisturizer that helps prevent breakouts. I mixed the Aloe Serum in with this because it is very drying in the Winter, but in the Summer, it's fine by itself. I know I always have a ton of Body Shop products and you're probably getting tired of seeing them, but I do have a ton of products to go through partly because I used to work there, so I'd always buy alot because of the discount, and I just love the products! I always stock up when there's a sale, so I do apologize if you're getting tired of hearing me talk about The Body Shop!
Next up is haircare! I have finally used up the Garnier Fructis Length & Strength Fortifying Conditioner. I can't even tell you how long I've had this, but it's definitely longer than when I moved out of my parents house, which was last July! I really loved this conditioner. It made my hair feel soft, and made it less tangle-y. I don't really think it helped with my hair being stronger as I let it grow out. I still have tons of split ends and my hair still breaks very easily. I'm not sure if it's genetics or what because I don't blow dry my hair at all and I very rarely use a flat iron on it. I might just need a good old fashioned haircut!
Next I used up The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner for dry hair. These were honestly nothing special. The shampoo gave me bad dandruff and the conditioner is probably the least moisturizing conditioner I've ever tried. It did absolutely nothing for my hair whatsoever. Trying to get a comb through my hair after using this was terrible, it would always snag, and I'd have to use extra leave-in conditioner to help get the tangles out. Not fun.
Lastly I used up the Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Spray. I did a full review here, so I won't go into great detail about it. This dry shampoo wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't amazing either. In my review I did say that it took away the oily look I had but didn't take away the oily feel, which is why I'm still looking for a dry shampoo that does both. Shortly after posting my review of this dry shampoo, I was contacted to try out another brand's dry shampoo, so I'm super excited to try it and do a review on it. Stay tuned for it! I'll probably post it in the next few weeks!
Finally the miscellaneous products. I used up The Body Shop Shea Shower Cream, and I can't say enough good things about this! It's so creamy and hydrating, but still foams up nicely when you use a loofah or washcloth. The smell is very nice and light as well, not overpowering at all. The Body Shop's Shower Creams are pretty pricey so in the future, this will be a splurge purchase for me!
Next I used up two hand creams. The first one is Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream. I had this in my purse for ages, and finally it's gone. This isn't so special in my opinion. It took away the dryness I had, but not for very long. The bottle even says it lasts through hand washings, but for me, it didn't at all. My skin was dry and flaky again afterwards. The second hand cream is a different story. It's The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector. This is the small tube they have, there is a larger one. I honestly can't remember if I've ever talked about this before, but this is probably the most amazing hand cream I've ever tried! For some reason I don't even think I put this in a monthly favorites post. Shame on me, I'll have to do a review on this, because it truly is amazing. This lasts through hand washings, and it's amazing if you have to wash your hands alot at work. I have alot of hand creams for backups, so I won't repurchase for a while, but once my very last one is used up, this is what I'm repurchasing!
The last two things I used up are lip balms. The first one is Auquafina Flavor Splash lip balm in the raspberry flavor. This wasn't that great. It didn't moisturize my lips enough, and I went through this tube in like two weeks. The second lip balm is the e.l.f. Therapeutic Conditioning Balm in the strawberry creme scent. The product is definitely not as good as the name makes it out to be. It was like the Aquafina lip balm in my opinion. This smelled amazing though, and that's the only thing I really only liked about it.
So that's everything I used up! I really think I used up a ton of stuff and I'm sorry if this post was long! If you made it to the end, I love you :)
What all did you use up recently?
Hi guys! The product I'm going to be talking about today is a cleaner I've been using as my nighttime cleanser for a few weeks now and it's the Clean Scene Craving for Clean Cleanser. Clean Scene is a sub-brand of Murad created mainly for teenage skin. I also have a moisturizer from Clean Scene that I have yet to try out but lets talk about the cleanser for now!
First of all, the packaging for Clean Scene is really cute! It's all simple white packaging with pops of colored circles. The pricing of the products isn't bad either. I purchased this back when Sephora carried the brand and I believe the price was around $18 but now you can find it for $8.50 on Amazon along with the other Clean Scene products.
This cleanser is surprisingly really nice. It's got a thick, creamy consistency but it lathers up very nicely. It also smells very fruity but that's from an ingredient in it called Yumberry. I absolutely love how this smells! It's not geared toward any specific skin type but it's got some really nice antioxidants and ingredients that help protect your skin from free radicals.
The tiniest bit goes a long way too. Only a pea-sized amount will do so this tube will last you for a while, unless you use it twice a day. This product cleans very well too. I always use makeup remover to take off my eye makeup first but I always use my cleanser over my eyes to make sure I've cleaned everything thoroughly. It doesn't make my skin feel dry or tight afterwards, just soft and clean.
Overall, I'd say this is a very nice cleanser, but I don't think it's only for teenagers. I'm 24 and I enjoy it quite a bit. I like that it cleans my skin without making it feel tight and dry. It just feels like fresh, clean skin which I think is what everyone wants. I would repurchase this now that I know it's alot cheaper now than when I had previously bought it, but only after I use up what I have in my stash first!
Have any of you tried this cleanser before?
