March 2018 Empties

April is here, which means it's time to share all the products I used up in March. I've been doing really well so far this year, and I'm really excited to share my progress with you all!

For skincare, I used up a Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash. I used to really like this stuff, but I realized it doesn't do anything for my skin.

The Algenist Overnight Restorative Cream was really freaking amazing, and I want the full size at some point. This made my skin look and feel so nice!

I wasn't able to use up the Neocorium Derma Carrier and EGF & Stem Cell Concentrate before it expired. It's a shame because this duo was pretty nice, and it's super expensive. 

I really wasn't a fan of the Derma-Nu Blueberry Cranberry Oxygen Facial Scrub. It smelled nice, but felt way too harsh on my skin. 

Montagne Jeunesse is a brand I'm unsure of, but I did like their Creamy Coconut Hydrating single use mask. It made my skin feel really soft and supple. Four more packets of the Dickinson's Oil Controlling Towelettes done, and just a few more to go. 

I usually don't wear perfumes or body sprays, so this Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction Body Splash took years to get through. I have different scents hanging around, so I'll try to use them more. 

I have another Philosophy Cranberry Medley hand cream used up, which I do like. I think I mentioned before, but this doesn't work very well if my hands are extra dry and cracked, but for a little moisture, it works just fine. 

I really enjoy Serious lip balms, and I used up a Peppermint one. I loved this so much. It makes my lips feel soft, and the peppermint scent is really nice. 

I have little samples of the Exuviance Evening Restorative Complex and the Caudalie Eye and Lip Cream. The Exuviance was nice, but felt maybe too hydrating at times, and I really enjoyed the Caudalie eye cream as well. It felt like a balm, but wasn't too heavy so I used it during the day. 

I had a deluxe sample of the Tom's of Maine Rapid Relief Sensitive toothpaste, so I used this up quickly. I didn't care for it much as it didn't help the sensitivity I have. 

I finally have some makeup! The Miss Mona Lisa Eyebrow Pencil was all dried out, and it fell out of the packaging, so I had to throw it away. I've been a fan of The Body Shop's Lightening Touch pen in shade 01 for ages now. I honestly am not sure if they still make this, but I may have a backup to use. I LOVE the Rimmel Match Perfection concealer in shade Fair. It's such a nice color for my under eyes, and blends in like a dream. 

Products used up: 19
total for the year: 57

I truly am so proud of myself right now! I never thought I could use up this many products so early into the year. I'm not sure how April will go, but I may focus a bit more on using up deluxe and foil packet samples. I have a ton of those to go through and really need to start using them up. 

What have you used up recently?

October, November & December 2016 Empties

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With my daughter being born early, I had no time to write up empties posts every month, let alone any posts really. I did still keep all the products I used up, and I'll have another empties post for the first 3 months of this year so far coming in the next couple weeks. 

I'll start off with some bath and hair products. The Pantene Volume Shampoo is one that both my husband and I used. I'm a big fan of Pantene shampoos and conditioners, and this one was no exception. I was sent the Derma E Scalp Relief Shampoo a while ago, and I did really enjoy it. It had a tingly effect on my scalp and made any dandruff I had go away. 

Two deluxe sized body washes I finished up were the Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Stress Relief, and the other was the Dove Deep Moisture. I LOVED the scent of the B&BW body wash and am considering buying a full size once I use up my stash. The Dove I didn't care for. It really wasn't moisturizing to me and left my skin feeling rough. 

We used up two toothpastes the last 3 months of the year. A Colgate Total Whitening, and a Colgate Enamel Health. The Enamel Health was mine and I really liked how it made my teeth feel. I would occasionally use the Total Whitening, but it made my teeth too sensitive. 

While I was pregnant, I took the Thorne Basic Prenatal vitamin. I liked these because they contain Folate, not Folic Acid. Folic Acid is the synthetic form of Folate, and I have a disorder where my body cannot process the synthetic version. These are more expensive than other vitamins, but they were worth it to me. 

Lastly for health products, is a mini Degree deodorant. Since I was in and out of the hospital for the better part of 5 months with my daughter, I would take travel sizes since they were easier to manage. I liked this enough, but probably wouldn't buy again. 

For anyone that doesn't know, NICU's are very warm and very dry. My lips, hands and whole body took a beating, and I went through all these lip balms the last three months of 2016. I love The Body Shop lip butters, and this one was the honeymania scent. Families who have had babies in the NICU tend to give gifts here and there throughout the year,and in a gift bag I had gotten, there was the Blistex Fruit Smoothies lip balm in the Berry Explosion scent. I kid you not when I say I went through this tube in just two weeks! Last lip balm is the Serious balm in the Snickerdoodle scent. I love these balms and was sent a few, I wanna say last Spring. I still have the other two to use up and I'm sure I will get to them soon. 

Last up is some skincare! I'm fairly certain I used the BioRepublic Green Tea Detox sheet mask just before having Olivia, because I had zero time or energy to do any kind of face mask after she was born. I finally used up the First Aid Beauty Daily Face Cream that I had been working on for probably a year. I love this face cream because it's fragrance free and simple to use. The White Tea Facial Cleanser from Korres was nice, but slightly drying. I liked the scent, but this is better for me to use in the warmer months. 

I've used up more hand creams since, but the one I had finished up before the end of the year was the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream in the fragrance free version. I adore this hand cream as it's nice and thick, but is gel-like and sinks right in. I washed my hands probably 20 times a day, at least, while tending to my daughter, and needed something that would help heal the dryness and cracked skin I had. 

Total number of products used up: 15
Total for the year: 128

128 products used up in 2016 is not too bad! Considering having my daughter early, I'm pretty proud I did as well as I did. My lofty goal was to use up 250 products, and I initially wanted that to be my goal for this year as well, but I decided to be nice to myself and lower it to 150. Olivia has only been home for 2 weeks now, and we're still figuring out a good routine, so it may take a bit to get into a groove of using products efficiently. My husband and I would also like to move, maybe in the Summer, and I'd like to use up as much as I can before that. Anyway, like I said above, I will have an empties post for the first 3 months of this year up very soon, and will go back to monthly empties after that. 

Did you keep track of how many products you used up last year? 

August 2016 Favorites

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Hi guys! August was much better on the favorites front, as the last few months have been kinda blah due to pregnancy and life, and not caring much about makeup, skincare, or anything beauty related. I have a few favorites to share with you today, so lets get to it!

I've been making it a point to use a hair mask or deep conditioner about every other hair washing. I'm way overdue for a haircut, so I'm trying to keep it looking as soft and manageable as possible until I can get it cut. I've been really into the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deeeeep Conditioner. Why are there so many E's in deep? I have no idea, but this stuff makes my hair feel fantastic! It works by just squeezing the tube and product comes right out. No need to take caps off or have the bottle fall onto the floor (that happens quite a bit now, and having a pregnant belly in my way makes it difficult to pick things up). It smells nice too, and is fairly inexpensive. 

Next up is a travel size of the Tree Hut Shea Sugar Body Scrub in the Coconut Lime scent. Taking care of the skin on my body has become more important as well due to my growing belly, and just having drier skin in general. I already have old stretch marks from weight gain and loss over the years, but I have no new ones (yet), and I attribute that to using this scrub and moisturizing regularly now. I absolutely love how this smells, and I pretend I'm on the beach with a pina colada in my hand every time I use this, even though I'd need a virgin one instead!

The Dr. Brandt Oxygen Facial Flash Recovery Mask has got to be my new favorite mask. I did a full review on it here, and have just been amazed with how awesome my skin looks after using this. It's ridiculously expensive, but when I have the money to splurge, I'm so buying this again. I love how it foams up on the skin, and it gives me such an amazing glow that pregnancy hasn't necessarily given me. 

I did a post back in February on three Serious Lip Balms. Since I'm a lip balm hoarder and only use pretty much one at a time, These kinda fell to the wayside. I pulled out the Snickerdoodle scent after using up a balm that I had been trying to use up for many months, and remembered how much I love these! They're so hydrating, they have amazing scents but no taste, and the women behind the brand are incredible people. Definitely be sure to check out my review of these balms!

I know I've mentioned the Sephora Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in the shade Pin Up Pink before in a favorites, but I can't get enough of this gloss! I'm finally about half way through this deluxe sized tube and will be sad when it's gone. I just love how soft and not sticky these feel on the lips, and they make my lips look so full and luscious. If I didn't have a million different lip glosses to use up, I'd go out and buy this in a heartbeat.  

What were some of your favorites in August?

Review: Serious Lip Balm in Snickerdoodle, Peppermint & Burnt Sugar

*Disclosure* Products featured were provided for review. All opinions are 100% honest and my own, like always!

Hey guys! Today I have a pretty exciting review for you. I was contacted by the lovely Khara of Serious Lip Balm, and was asked if I wanted to try out some of their lip balms. If you're a reader of Skin Stuff by Katy, you know I can never have too many lip balms. I have a stash that will probably last me for the next 10 years (no, seriously, I really do). I can always use more though, and I'm always on the hunt for a good one! This Winter season has been horrible on my lips, so these came at a good time. 

Serious Lip Balm came about after Khara started making lip balms for her friends and family that was free of all the chemicals and icky stuff that are in many products today. She started to get her friend Megan involved as the business continued to grow, and went on to selling these lip balms in a coffee shop, then went on to sell on Etsy, and now they're doing wholesale and vendor fairs! I always love when a passion comes together and becomes something incredibly fulfilling. 

Onto the review of these balms! I was kindly sent Snickerdoodle, Peppermint, and Burnt Sugar. Guys, if I could have you sniff these through the computer screen, You'd probably fall in love just by the scent alone. I am OBSESSED with how these smell, especially Snickerdoodle. I had my husband smell that one, and he almost stole it from me. Peppermint is very fresh and tingly, and then there's Burnt Sugar. That scent, to me, is Fall in a lip balm. It smells so warm and cozy, and I could probably slather it on my lips all day long. 

The lip balms are made with Beeswax, Sweet Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Lanolin, and of course the flavor oil. There is nothing bad in here at all and my lips have improved since I started using these. They're super hydrating, and they make an awesome base for liquid lipsticks. The hydration lasts a good while too, so you're not constantly having to reapply. Unless you're crazy like I am, and just apply to get a whiff of the scent ;)

It's safe to say I'm super impressed with these Serious Lip Balms. They sell a 3-pack where you can choose your own flavor, or they have sets already made up that make perfect gifts. Pricing starts at $8, which is sometimes at least what I've paid for just one lip balm in the past. They also sell wholesale bundles as well, which are incredible deals. I know once I go through my stash of lip balms, I'll be placing an order!

You can search their Etsy shop here to see what they have to offer and learn a bit more about them! 

Do these lip balms sound lie something you would try?