January, February & March 2017 Empties

As promised, I'm showing you all the products I've used up so far since the beginning of the year. It's not alot since I wasn't really taking care of myself because of being with my daughter in the hospital. Now that she's home, it'll be much easier using up products and caring about my health and happiness again. 

Starting off with skincare, I have finally used up the Clean & Clear Morning Burst Shine Control Facial Scrub. I used to like this, but over time I ended up actually hating it. The scent is overpowering and the scrubbing bits can be kinda harsh. 

The Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is something I'd buy over and over again if it wasn't so expensive! I LOVE this cleanser so much. It makes my skin feel clean, without stripping it dry. 

Jack Black lip balms are incredible. I had been trying to use up the Natural Mint scent since before Olivia was born. Granted, I lost it a couple times, but always ended up finding it. I have a few more of these in different scents to use up and would consider repurchasing once I go through my stash. 

Philosophy skincare is hit or miss for me, but the Renewed Hope in a Jar is a hit! I'm not a fan of the cult classic original moisturizer that everyone raves about, but this one is nice. I'd consider purchasing once I use up what I have. 

I got a sample of the Exuviance OptiLight Essential 6 Serum with a product I was sent to try ages ago. I got quite a few uses out of this, but I didn't find it to be anything special. Exuviance is a pretty expensive brand, and I'm sure if I had a bigger size, I would've seen a difference in my skin. 

I tend to get a few samples of the DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew, and I think I may have another to use up. This is a pretty decent moisturizer that has a gel consistency, so it's great for Summertime use when my skin is more oily. 

You all know my love for Valentia and their skincare. I did a review of their Royal Rose Hydrating Serum, and completely love it. The rose scent isn't too strong, and it helps to hydrate my skin well. If I didn't have a million serums to use up first, I'd buy this again in a heartbeat. 

I didn't care for the Murad Oil Control Mattifier SPF 15. It smelled weird and made my skin look super pale. 

Philosophy body products are my jam, and the Gingerbread Girl body lotion is no exception. It's not the most hydrating moisturizer in the world, but it does the job well enough and smells like baked goods, which is a plus in my book!

The next four products I used up were hand creams. I went through so many handcreams while my daughter was in the NICU from all the hand washing. The Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Cream with Aloe is probably meant to be a body moisturizer, but it felt so nice and luxurious on my hands, and made them feel like soft baby skin. The Mitchell and Peach Luxury Hand Cream is far from luxury to be honest. It smells like nothing and didn't hydrate my skin at all. I think it made the dryness worse. Everyone talks about the Soap & Glory Hand Food and for good reason! The scent can be a little strong, but the hydration it gives is amazing. Out of all of these hand creams, the L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream is my favorite. It smells like baby powder and hydrates like no other. It's expensive as hell, but worth it and I will probably repurchase when I use up my stash. 

Lastly, we have some random products. Bath & Body Works hand soaps are amazing, but expensive, even when there is a sale. Crisp Morning Air smelled nice and fresh, but I like sweet smelling hand soaps more. 

The Colgate Cavity Protection Toothpaste is something both my husband and I used. He used it more than I did since I prefer toothpastes with sensitivity protection. 

Since having Olivia, I have been shedding like a German Shepard. It's so bad, but I know it's postpartum hormones that are causing it. I like the Natrol Biotin 10,000mcg because I feel like it really helps in normal, everyday life, and works great at making my nails super strong as well. 

Number of products used up: 16
Total used up for the year: 16

I'll be going back to monthly empties now that things are starting to settle down. Hopefully I can make my goal of using up 150 products, and that does include foil packets as well. I'm so bad at using my foil packet samples and need to make it a point to use some up this year. 

What are some products you've used up recently?   

April 2015 Empties!

Hello everyone! It's time to look through my trash and see what products I was able to use up in April. I think I used up a fair amount of products, and it's such a rewarding feeling seeing it all. 

The first product I used up is the Philosophy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleansing Gel & Eye Makeup Remover. This took forever for me to go through since you only need a tiny bit to get the job done. It was an amazing cleanser for taking off makeup and overall cleansing. I probably would repurchase, but I have so many cleansers to go through right now. 

Next up is the Mario Badescu Special Mask for Oily Skin. Unfortunately, when I went to use this, it was all dried up so I had to dump it out. I'm saving the little pot though as I'm sure I'll find a use for it eventually. The Aloe Moisturizer was alright. It felt nice going on the skin, but it never really sunk in and made me feel greasy after a while. The drying cream was also a dried up mess and unusable. 

I wasn't much of a fan of the Sephora Supreme Cleansing Foam. It smelled really strongly of flowers and didn't clean the best either. I'm glad it was a sample size that I got through quickly.

The Pangea Organics Facial Cleanser was alright. It was super liquid-y but it did clean my skin nicely. I can't remember where I even got this little sample, but it lasted me quite a while.

Both my husband and I used the Pantene Sheer Volume Shampoo. He's not picky and neither am I really. This was good. It cleaned my hair nicely and left it soft and fluffy. 

I used up sample packets of the John Frieda Luxurious Volume shampoo and conditioner while staying at my Mother-in-law's house during Easter. I really liked this alot. The duo made my hair feel so soft and it looked amazing once it was all dry. I'd consider buying full sized bottles once I use up what I have.

I have to throw out the Radha Beauty Argan Oil. It smelled funky when I received it for review, and it smells even worse now. I don't know what is wrong with it, but I have to toss it. I feel bad though because I only used it a few times and I did like what it did for my skin and also my hair when I used a tiny bit. 

The Philosophy Peppermint Hot Cocoa shower gel smelled so amazing and made my whole house smell good after I took a shower. You all know my love for Philosophy shower gels, so I won't ramble on about how amazingly awesome they are. 

I finally was able to use up the Juice Beauty Hydrating Mist. I hated using it by directly spraying it on my skin as it burned my eyes like hell, even though they were closed. It was much better just spraying some on a cotton pad and swiping it on my skin. It didn't do much for me though. I still am obsessed with The Body Shop's Aloe Calming Toner and nothing really comes close to it. 

Last few products! I absolutely loved the bareMinerals Firming Eye Treatment. It made my eye area feel so soft and hydrated, but it wasn't heavy at all. I only used it at night and when I woke up in the morning, the skin around my eyes felt really nice. 

The product next to it is the Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm Balm in the Black Tea & Blackberry scent. It got lots of love from me as it usually was the one I brought with me to work. I loved this stuff. It made my lips feel nice and hydrated and it's a great base for drying lipsticks. 

The last product is the Urban Decay Complexion Primer Potion. This stuff was like magic for my pores! Seriously, it covered them up so I could put on foundation or concealer and not have to worry about my pores looking like massive craters. I would most definitely buy the full size once I use up other primers. 

What did you use up last month?

December 2014 Favorites

Hi everyone, and Happy 2015! I honestly have no idea where this last year went. Time seriously went by so fast. I know everyone says that, but I think because I'm now 26 and I've been married a little over a year, it seems like life is just flying by me! This is my first post of the new year, and it's my December favorites. I'm on the fence about doing a yearly favorites, only because I don't feel organized enough to put one together. I know, I should probably start making lists and writing things down more, so that may be a resolution this year! Anyway, lets get into my favorites from December!

My first favorite is the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. I had been using the Lancome Grandiose mascara, which I did a review on here, but I wanted to open up another one to try. I should've tried this sooner! I absolutely love the volume this gives my lashes. Doesn't do much for length, but holy cow the volume! The only downside is if I don't set my under eye concealer well enough, this does smudge on me.

My next favorite is the Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm in the scent Black Tea & Blackberry. This lip balm is amazing! I got it in a kit a while ago, maybe last Christmas, but hadn't tried any of them til now. I love how hydrated this makes my lips feel, and it's not shiny at all, so it makes a good base for lipsticks and other lip products. 

Next up we have a Philosophy Hand Cream in the Spiced Gingerbread Cookie scent. First of all, I could eat this stuff, it smells that good! Second, it's actually alot more hydrating than I thought it would be. I got this in a set I think last year as well, and just now started using it. I mainly use it during the day because I have something thicker to use at night before bed. My hands stay hydrated with this, even after some hand washings and I get a whiff of the scent throughout the day, and I just love that. 

I've also been loving the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder. This stuff is no joke for me. If I got no sleep the night before, I just use a bit of this under my eyes after concealer, and it looks like I got a ton of sleep. I find that incredible! I think this is pretty pricey, but you don't need alot at all, so it's going to last me quite a while. I also have been using this a little bit for highlighting my face in places and it doesn't look fake or cakey. 

My last favorite is the Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder. This is a sample size that came in a kit. If I used a BB cream or tinted moisturizer, I usually set it with this powder. This makes my pores look nearly invisible and makes my skin feel so darn soft! I also use this if I only want to wear mascara, but no concealer at all. I dust it over my eye area, put mascara on, and I actually look put together. This past month has been harsh with work and I barely wore makeup, so using things that were quick but made me look less like a zombie were key for me.

That's everything! I know it probably is a bit of a sad favorites, but like I said above, I cherished my sleep because of work and wanted to do minimal effort in terms of makeup. 

What were some of your favorites?

Skincare For Men

Hi everyone! This post is actually a request from my dad (hi dad!) and I thought it was a good idea to give a few tips about skincare for men. Men definitely have to take care of their skin like we women do, but most men want less fuss so here are some tips and ideas for men with their skincare!

I know guys want the simplest of routines regarding skincare, so other than shaving men should at the very least, wash and moisturize their skin. Skin on men is much more thicker than women's skin, so they especially need moisturizer to help hydrate and protect skin, especially after shaving.

Photo from Sephora website

 There are lots of brands that have products specifically geared towards men, and one that particularly sticks out is Jack Black that can be found at Sephora. Their packaging is blue and black, so it's not as "girly" as other skincare products can look. And I gotta admit first, their lip balms are incredible! I use them myself, but guys would love them because they're hydrating but they don't leave lips shiny like some other balms can. Anyways, starting off with a cleanser, a good one is the Pure Clean Daily Facial Cleanser. It's got a rich lather that's still hydrating which is a great prep before shaving. Men should always clean their face before they shave with warm water because it helps to open the pores and makes beard hair softer. After you wash your face, shave like normal, then pat skin dry and moisturize right away to seal in hydration. A good moisturizer for daytime from Jack Black is the Double Duty Face Moisturizer SPF 20. I've said it in many posts before, but sunblock is super important for everybody, so you absolutely have to use one. 

Photo from Sephora website

 I couldn't find a good nighttime moisturizer from Jack Black, then I remembered the brand Anthony Logistics For Men. They have a really good range of skincare products for men, so a good moisturizer to use at night would be the All Purpose Facial Moisturizer. This is formulated with vitamins and alpha hydroxy acids which help to improve skin's elasticity and texture. 

Or you can do what my dad does. Use Dove Men+Care Body and Face Wash. Seriously, he loves that stuff. It is pretty multifunctional and quick to use for saving time. Plus it does hydrate his skin nicely, but the bugger always has soft skin (-_-). Yeah, I'm jealous with my dry, cracked alligator skin. 

So there you have it. I know this probably isn't the best post but like I said, my dad requested it, so I had to write it. Oh, and have I said that he's the best dad ever? No? Well he is! He got something for me that I've been dying to get since the day it came out. He got me Urban Decay's Vice Palette! Exciting right?! I can't wait to try this little baby out and do a review for you guys!

My Last Haul For Three Months!

Hey everyone! If you read my 2013 resolution post, shown here, then you might have seen that I'm putting myself on a 3 month beauty spending ban that started January 1st. Once I decided I was going to do this, I wanted to kinda splurge a little beforehand because I know this will be hard for me. I will also say that if I run out of eye makeup remover or cotton pads and stuff I absolutely need before the 3 months is up, I will be repurchasing what need. Just wanted to mention that! Anyways, onto this rather large haul!

First, my things from Walmart!

I only got these three things from Walmart and I honestly can't remember if I got these in the beginning or middle of December, but I definitely know it was sometime in December. Anyways, the first thing I picked up is the Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara in extreme black. Apparently this is supposed to make your lashes appear 117% longer in 30 days. That's a pretty bold claim for a mascara of any price and this was only under $6, so we'll see if this works.

Next I got the L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm in the color Rose Elixir. For some reason, I don't remember ever trying any makeup by L'Oreal so I'm pretty excited to try this. Plus, it's a really pretty pink color that looks like it'll be flattering for my skin tone.

Then I got the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Concealer in the brightener shade. I kept hearing that this one is better at covering dark circles than the concealers with the colors. I have the one in Fair and it actually works pretty well for my dark circles, so I'm interested to see if this one works better than my other one.

Onto what I purchased from Bath & Body Works!

So Bath & Body Works was having a buy 3, get 3 free sale on their body care plus I had a coupon for $10 off of a $30 purchase so these 6 bottles cost me a little over $20 including tax. I got two Coconut Shower Gels and a Coconut Body Lotion to go with it. Then I got an Orange Sapphire Shower Gel, which smells flipping amazing. I'm currently using an Orange Sapphire mini hand sanitizer, which I and everyone I work with loves. I also got a Pink Sugarplum Shower Gel and a Vanilla Tini Shower Gel. Both of these smell amazing too!

Now for The Body Shop!

These were also good purchases. They were having their sale where end of season and discontinued products were like 75% off and I had my 8 point gift to use, which was $25 worth of products plus a free Love Your Body membership renewal so altogether I only had to spend a little over $20, which for all this is pretty darn good! I first got a Vanilla Duo Body Butter which was on sale for $8, when I think normally they're $18. Obviously, I love the smell of vanilla so I had to get this. Then I got the Rainforest Radiance Hair Butter for Coloured Hair. This is just a deep conditioner I thought would be good because my hair is starting to get drier with this nasty cold weather now. Plus it smells awesome! I also got an Eyeshadow Blender brush, because lets face it, a girl can never have enough blender brushes. ;)

The next three products were literally so inexpensive, I don't know how anyone would pass them up. The first product is the Spa Wisdom Africa Ximenia & Marula Oil Shower Cream. This cost me $2. Yep, just $2! I couldn't believe it! I don't think this is going to be a foamy shower gel type thing, but for two bucks, I'll make it work. The next product I got is the Spa Wisdom Polynesia Lime & Coconut Shower Gel. This stuff smells so good and it was only $5. I think this was the last one my store had too because I did look around for more. Then I got the Brazil Nut Shower Cream. I think The Body Shop is getting rid of the Brazil Nut line, or they already did and this was the last they had of it. It only cost me $4. 

Now for Sephora!

Now these purchases were exciting! I placed an order online and of course like 2 days later I got an email saying their clearance section was an extra 20% off with a special code, so I placed another one. The first picture is my first order and the second picture is the clearance items that were 20% off. So first I bought a Super Hand & Cuticle Cream with Yogurt Probiotics. It seems like I'm using alot of hand cream lately because my hands are just so dry and chapped. I really hate winter because of that so I wanted to check out another hand cream and see how it works. Then I got the Nails Inc. Neon & Nude nail polish Collection. I love the colors here, except for maybe the yellow, (not a big fan of yellows) but I might try it and see how I like it. This next product I was super excited for, and it's the Jack Black It's the Balm Limited Edition Lip Quad. I've heard nothing but amazing things about these lip balms and although the brand is geared toward men, I can't wait to try them.


So like I said, the second picture is my second purchase. I was so excited for the Sephora by OPI Tinsel Town nail polish Collector's Set because it was only a little over $25 with the 20% discount. I don't remember what this originally cost, and it's now sold out on Sephora's website, but I thought that was a pretty good deal. I'm getting more into nail polish and these colors looked amazing! I have to leave them in the box to remember the names because they're not on the bottle :(. Then I got the ClickR Skin Care Diamond Dust Skin Polisher. At first I thought it was an exfoliator, but when I read it, I found out it's actually a serum that "polishes your skin, refines pores, and controls moisture to eliminate dullness and restore radiance." That's what it says on the box and I'm pretty excited to try this out. I love finding good skincare but of course, this was on clearance which usually means Sephora isn't going to carry this anymore so if I end up loving it, I gotta find it elsewhere or be sad because the whole line will disappear. I also got my Fresh birthday gift, a free Origins White Tea Moisturizer with a code, and the Hourglass face primer everyone talks about for my 100 point perk.

Finally, my favorite of the haul... stuff from my momma! :)

Yes, these are from my momma's stash and yes, she let me keep them! Love you mommy! So on Christmas when my fiance and I were at my parents' house for dinner my mom wanted me to look through her makeup and pick out some eyeshadows that I thought would look good on her. Then she basically said, "take what you want." I was like "O.O, YAY!!!" If you know me, you know I love my bareMinerals eyeshadows. Yes, they can be messy, but they're still awesome. Anyways, she let me have a bareVitamins Eye Rev-er Upper, which is an amazing eye cream (and she had three of!), and the colors she let me keep were Bikini, Mermaid and Fog from the first picture and Angel, Nob Hill, Pacific Heights, Amethyst and Summer in the second picture. 

I realize this post is incredibly long, and I apologize but I wanted to show you everything I got before I did my 3 month beauty no-buy. I purchased everything before January 1st, and I can't wait to use up what I have in my stash! It honestly will be pretty hard not being able to buy anything beauty related for that long, but hopefully I'll be able to use up things and write reviews for you guys on what I like and don't like. I have some posts planned for this month but if you want to see anything specific, please comment below what you want me to write about!


Love you guys!
Katy