September 2015 Empties

Hey guys! This is my first real post in a while. I didn't get a chance to show you all the products I used up last month, so without further ado, here they are!

The first product I used up was a joint effort between myself and my husband. We both really enjoyed the Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Shampoo. It cleans my hair well and actually does make it shiny. Does it work for my husband's curly afro? Not at all with making it shiny, but he says it gets the job done. 

Next up is a Tom's Whole Care Toothpaste in the Spearmint flavor. I didn't care much for this honestly. I'm in love with their Sensitive toothpaste and it's always sold out when I need another one. I would only repurchase the Sensitive version.

Using up body scrubs can take a while for me. I honestly wasn't much of a fan of The Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub. I adore the scent, but it doesn't have enough scrubby action to it to make that much of a difference.

I used up a ton of skincare, which I'm really happy about! Of course it wouldn't be an empties without The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner. I always go on and on about how much I love this stuff. Best toner of life. 

Next up we have the Purederm Choco Cacao Collagen Mask. This came in a Memebox ages ago, and I finally got around to using it. The only good thing about this is that it smells like chocolate. Otherwise, it did nothing for my skin. I just don't really like sheet masks, and I don't know why I keep trying to.

I had the Juice Beauty Green Apple SPF 15 Moisturizer sitting in my collection for ages. I did a sniff test (it smelled fine) and saw that there was no weird separation, so I used it up. I actually really liked this! It smells nice and blends in the skin nicely too without feeling greasy or leaving a white cast. 

I also used up a deluxe sample of the Dermalogica Oil Control Lotion. I had an oily skin kit from the brand in my stash and decided to finally try and use up the products. I used to be obsessed with this moisturizer about 7 or 8 years ago, but now it just doesn't work for my skin. It dried it out pretty bad. My skin must be alot less oily than when I was younger, which is nice!

Another Dermalogica product that came in the kit was the Dermal Clay Cleanser. Again, I used to love this cleanser as it also acted as a quick 3 minute mask to help soak up oils and get rid of blackheads. I also feel that this is just too much for my skin now. The only nice thing I liked about it, is that it feels so refreshing and cooling on a hot Summer day. 

I finally used up the InstaNatural Youth Express Eye Gel. I had done a review on this over a year ago here when I was sent the product to try. I really ended up liking this because it made my eye area feel tighter and brighter. I am glad that I was able to use this up, it sure took a while!

The Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant also came in the oily skin kit I mentioned above. This stuff is freakin' fantastic! Seriously, if I could afford the full size, I'd buy in bulk. This product is basically a powder exfoliant that you add water to, creating a paste. You gently rub it into your skin and when you rinse it off, prepare to feel the softest, smoothest skin you've ever felt. Seriously. This is most definitely gentle enough for daily use, even on my sensitive skin. I adore this product!

The last skincare product I was able to use up is the Radha Beauty Vitamin C Serum. I really enjoyed using this when I felt like my skin needed a glow booster. even though I have oily skin in the Summer, I am prone to some dry patches and dullness. This really helped to smooth out my skin and make it look pretty again.

Finally, we have a few makeup products! I used up my beloved Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser Concealer in the Brightener shade. This is my all time favorite concealer for my under eyes, and also wherever I feel like I need some brightening. I do have a backup of this, but I don't want to crack it open just yet as I have quite a few concealers to go through first. 

I was so sad to use up this sample size Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel. I honestly don't do much to my brows, usually just some gel does it for me, and this stuff is magic. It literally is like hairspray for your brows. It keeps them in place all day and it doesn't flake or wear off. It's amazing. 

I technically didn't use up the bareMinerals Round the Clock Waterproof Eyeliner in the shade Midnight. I had gone to use it one day, and while I was sharpening it, the whole eyeliner color just fell right out onto the floor and shattered! I guess it had dried up too much. That's a shame too because I have Urban Decay 24/7 liners that I've had for YEARS, and they're still good and still perform amazing. Oh well, I don't go through liners often, so it's not a huge deal.

I'm so sorry it's taken so long to get this post up. If you read my last post, you know I had a bit of a health setback, and I'm trying to get posts done when I have the energy. Today is a good day so far, so I'm going to try and get a few posts pre-written so I can schedule them for you guys!

What products did you use up last month?

*Post contains affiliate links*

My first Memebox! #45 Chocolate Mania

Hey guys! I have an exciting post today, because I received my very first Memebox in the mail earlier this week! I've been hearing so many amazing things about this box all over YouTube, so I decided to take the plunge and buy one. 

Memebox is the #1 Korean online beauty retailer in the world and they ship to 51 different countries internationally. Shipping does take quite a while. I ordered this box around the middle of September and it shipped out October 24th. Estimated shipping time is 10-20 days, so from October 24th to just earlier this week isn't too bad, especially since it came from Korea. There are so many different boxes to choose from, yet they do seem to sell out quickly. They also do sell products individually as well! The price point is very fair considering you receive 4 to 8 full sized products and deluxe samples. This particular box cost $23 and shipping was $6.99, but a YouTuber had a $5 off code I was able to use. I also have to say, the pink box is just too adorable! I love the color and I may actually keep it and find some use for it!

Here are all the chocolate inspired products in all their glory! As you can tell from the title of this post, I received box #45 and it's called Chocolate Mania. If you know me, you know I'm pretty much a chocolate freak. Once I opened the box, I immediately had to do a sniff test, because I'm weird like that. Here is a closer look of the products. 

The first product at the very top is the Zamian Super Gold Cacao Pack. This is a full sized product and retails for $22, so that right there almost covers the box! I kid you not, this stuff smells like rich, chocolatey cake batter. I could really sit here all day and sniff it. Anyways, this is basically a mask to smooth, firm and nourish the skin. I have to look at the card everything is on because directions and whatnot are all in Korean, and I don't know Korean at all. I'll also say now that every product in this box is full sized! 

The second product is Skinfood Cacao Hand Balm and this retails for $5. This product doesn't smell as chocolatey as the mask, but it's still nice! I haven't tried this yet, but with the dry skin I've been having, I'm sure this will be put to use soon enough. This hand balm looks so thick too, so I have hopes that it's super hydrating. 

The last product pictured here is the Neogen Code9 Gold Cacao Cream. This baby retails for $30! Now this product actually doesn't smell chocolatey at all, more floral if anything. The key ingredients in this are gold, cacao seed butter, mango seed butter, shea butter and olive oil. I can tell just by those ingredients that this will be a Winter only moisturizer, as I'm pretty oily throughout most of the year.

The product pictured at the top is the Binucook Cacao Choco Pie Soap and it retails for $6. Even though this is packaged well, the smell of cake batter is amazingly strong and I just love it. At first I thought this was bar soap you use for your body, but it is actually a facial soap that deep cleans but also maintains skin's moisture/oil balance.

Beneath that product is the Dearberry Miss Mona Lisa Eyebrow pencil in the shade 01 Choco Brownie, which retails for $2. This comes with a spoolie brush on the other side, which is definitely handy. I've never tried eyebrow pencils before, and I think if I use a light hand with it, the color should be fine. It's not overly brown which is nice too.

The next product I got is the Purederm Choco Cacao Collagen Mask and it retails for $2. I've tried sheet masks in the past and haven't had much luck with them because of the holes being too small for the eyes, or they just don't line up properly. I will try this though since it has high concentrates of cacao and collagen extracts, which is good for moisture.

Next up is the Missha Cacao & Cream Facial Scrub which retails for $12. This scrub looks like cookies and cream ice cream, but only has a faint smell of sweetness. This scrub is supposed to get rid of dead skin cells, blackheads and whiteheads while still maintaining skin's moisture level.

Last but not least, we have the Shara Shara Tempting Avocado Chocolate Massage Cream, which retails for $11. I thought this was also a body massage product, but it's for your face! I always loved getting facials when they did a facial massage. It's incredibly relaxing and now I'm excited to do it more with this product. My mother-in-law now wants a facial from me too!

Well that's everything I received in my first Memebox! I'm so impressed and the total value of this box is $90! I paid only $24.99! I also love how this is basically all skincare, since I'm a skincare junkie. Before I even got this in the mail, I did order another box, but that won't ship out til the end of this month. I also decided to sign up with them as an affiliate, that's how impressed I am! If you want to sign up with Memebox, use my link here! Like I said above, there are so many boxes to choose from, and prices are great too.

Have you tried Memebox before? If so/not, what do you think of it?