January 2018 Empties

Hey guys! I know, it's been ages. I know, I say that every time I haven't posted in a while. Life is absolutely crazy lately and there are times where I just need to focus on my family and not worry about blogging. I really miss blogging so much though, and want to start again, so bear with me as I figure out a new schedule. I realized I've been hanging on to all the products I've used up since the beginning of the year, so today I'll be sharing what I used up in January, which was a great month!

I'll start off with all the skincare I used up. I have 3 of the Ole Henriksen Ultimate Lift Eye Gels that I'm decluttering from my skincare stash. I had used one of them once and absolutely hated how it felt on my skin, so I'm just getting rid of them. 

I loved the Caolion Hot & Cool Pore Pack Duo! It's this 2 step process that is said to help get rid of blackheads, and it's just awesome. I purchased mine a while ago from Sephora, but I don't think they carry it anymore.  

I had a deluxe sample of the Lancer Eye Contour Lifting Cream that I got from Influenster. I liked it, but it was nothing remarkable. Lancer products are so expensive, I don't think I could ever purchase anything myself. I also used up The Method: Nourish moisturizer and did like that but again, wouldn't purchase myself. 

Valentia is a brand I've liked for a long time, and I finally used up their Clear Lift Revitalizing Serum. I'm not as big of a fan of this product as I am with their other products, but this was still nice. I used it at night and woke up with nice, soft skin. 

Glamglow products are hit or miss for me, and their Youthmud Treatment is definitely not something I care for. Luckily, this deluxe sample was only a one-time use. 

I'm decluttering the BareMinerals Eye Rev-er Upper. It just got old and smelled funky, so in the garbage it goes.

Kate Somerville products are ridiculously expensive, so when I get samples, I'm happy. I really did enjoy the SPF 55 Serum Sunscreen. It was nice for my oily skin, but I don't think they even make this product anymore. Thank goodness too, otherwise I'd be tempted to buy it. 

It took me ages to use up the Garnier Blackhead Eliminating Scrub. I liked it at first, but realize it's too harsh for my skin. 

I love vitamin C serums, and the Kleem Organics Professional Age-Defying Vitamin C Serum was really nice. It smelled good, and made my skin look much brighter. 

Now for some body/haircare. I got the Softsoap Coconut Scrub in an old Influenster box and it took me far too long to use it up. I like the scent, but it wasn't an effective scrub. 

I also got the Curel Itch Defense Moisturizing Spray from an Influenster box, and I did enjoy this. It helped my dry skin feel soft and less itchy than usual, and I like the idea of a spray moisturizer. 

I'm decluttering the Monat Rejuveniqe oil. I keep hearing different things about this brand and I don't feel comfortable putting this in my hair or on my skin anymore, so it has to go. 

This isn't too fascinating, but I managed to use up a sample of the Degree Dry Protection deodorant. In all honesty, I don't wear deodorant much since I stay home with my daughter and don't leave the house much, so I don't go through it as much as I used to. 

Two hand creams I managed to use up are the Vaseline Healthy Hand & Nail lotion and the Philosophy Cranberry Medley hand cream. I ended up not liking the Vaseline one because it burned my hands, but I do like the Philosophy. It smells nice and is hydrating, but when my hands are really dry and cracked, it doesn't do much and I need something heavier to get the job done. 

I used up a Desitin diaper rash cream on my daughter, in case anyone wants to know what she went through. I'm not the biggest fan of Desitin products and like other creams better, but this was fine and helped when she was a bit rash-y. 

I've been trying to use up the Absolute You're the Balm Green Apple lip balm for so long, and it's finally done. I really, really liked this balm a lot. I used it primarily at night and always woke up with hydrated and plump lips. 

Lastly, we have some foil packet type products. I used up 5 of the Dickinson's Oil Controlling Towelettes, which I do like, but they can be drying. The Blue Agave Hydrating Paper Mask by Freeman was nice, but it's not my favorite. I've really been enjoying using sheet masks after a clarifying mask, and it makes my skin feel so incredibly soft, and I wake up looking so nice. I've been wanting to try products from Andalou Naturals, and I had a sample of the Probiotic + C Renewal Cream. I LOVED this so much! I think it would be better for me in the warmer months, but it made my skin feel so soft otherwise. 

Products used up: 27
Total for the year: 27

I already feel so proud of myself! I had lofty goals last year, and only finished up 92 products. I said in my previous empties post that I want to use up 150 products this year, and I feel like I could make that goal possible! I'm also making more of an effort in doing my makeup as well, so I'll likely have some of those products to share at some point. I'm determined to make 2018 better in all aspects, not just with beauty and blogging. Thank you to those who have stuck around with me. I know I've been really slacking with my blog, but I really do want to make an effort and post more often. 

What are some products you've used up recently?

December 2015 Empties

*Post contains some affiliate links*

Hey everyone! I've fallen behind a little bit on the blog here lately. I've been on this decluttering my house kick, and all I want to do is just clean. That's pretty weird for me since I hate cleaning, but I figured since we're in a new year, I should start getting rid of junk I no longer use or need. Anyway, today's post is going to be the products I used up in December. I initially didn't think I used up much last month, but it was more than expected!

Starting off with a few bath/shower products, I finally have managed to use up the Pura D'or Premium Organic Hair Loss Shampoo and the Argan Oil Conditioner. I had reviewed this duo here close to a year ago now, and it took forever for me to go through. Now that these are gone, I'm glad they are honestly. In the end, I didn't like these. They didn't do much for my hair, and if anything, they made it feel more dirty. The only good thing is that the conditioner smelled incredible and made my hair feel soft. 

I also manged to use up the Adovia Dead Sea Salt Scrub. I did a review on this here, and at first I really did like it. The scent is pretty strong that reminds me of a very fancy spa, and the scrubbing bits are pretty rough as well. That helped me with the rough bumps I have on my arms, but this scrub is oil based and it made the bathtub so slippery, which I'm not a fan of. I'm clumsy enough, so a slick tub and I don't get along too well. 

Next is some body and health products. The Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer seemed like it was never ending! It lasted me through the Summer til the middle of December, with nearly daily use on my arms. I had gotten this a long time ago in a past Influenster voxbox, and I really freaking liked it! It's very light, sinks in nicely, and feels pretty hydrating considering it was so light. I have another one of these in a brown container which I believe is a cocoa butter scent. This one has pure oat extract in it, so it smelled like uncooked oatmeal to me. 

Next up is a Bath & Body Works Foaming Hand Soap in the Georgia Bourbon Peach scent. I adore these soaps, but prefer the soap with the scrubbing beads, so I'm trying to use up the foaming ones first. This scent was incredible for the Fall time. 

The Tom's Sensitive toothpaste is wonderful! It's fairly expensive and I only buy it when it's on sale, but it makes my teeth and gums feel clean and not irritated. 

Last up is a Wegmans brand Women's multivitamin. Nothing special about this, but I do like to take a daily multivitamin for the supposed health benefits they're said to provide. 

Lastly is some skincare and a lone makeup product. The sample size of the Lancome Definicils Mascara was awesome while it lasted. it gave my lashes amazing definition and length, but not the best volume, which is fine. I just use a separate mascara if I want the extra volume. 

You all know my love for The Body Shop is strong, and the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner is no exception. This makes my skin feel soft and not as greasy. However, I don't think I'll be purchasing this anymore, because it contains denatured alcohol in it. I haven't had any bad reactions because of it, but I want to start really taking care of my skin more and use products with better ingredients. I do have one left of these that I'll start using again in the Spring, but that'll be it once it runs out!

It took forever for me to use up the Radha Beauty Intensive Youth Eye Gel. I reviewed this almost a year ago here and overall, I think it's a nice eye gel. It's not incredibly hydrating, and if you have very dry under-eyes, you won't like this at all. I'd say I have normal under-eyes, so this worked fine for me, especially in the warmer months. As it got colder, I felt like I needed something a bit more hydrating. 

I used up a sample of the MyChelle Sun Shield SPF 28. Don't buy this stuff, it's awful! I'm not sure if the sample I had went bad, but it balled up immediately when I put it on my skin, and I had to wash my face all over again. 

The final product I used up is a deluxe sample of the Murad Perfecting Day Cream SPF 30. Murad products are pretty darn amazing, but they're expensive. I hate to say that I liked this, but I really liked this! I may have oily skin that turns more combination in colder weather, but this made my skin feel incredible and look amazing. 

So, I decided to be a little weird and tally up how many products I was able to use up the entire year of 2015:

January: 17
February: 16
March: 19
April: 15
May: 15
June: 15
July: 8
August: 11
September: 14
October: 10
November: 25
December: 12

So if my math is correct, I used up 177 products this year! I honestly didn't think I had used up that much, but it just shows how much stuff I really have. I'm making it my mission in 2016 to use up as many products as I can. Like I said above, I'm in decluttering mode lately. Mainly because the lease is up on our apartment the end of June, and I really want to be able to move by then because we'll have been living in the same place for 4 years, and I feel like it's time to move on to a bigger place. I figured I'd get a head start with cleaning up and just getting rid of stuff I no longer care for, use, or haven't used in years (which is alot honestly), therefore making the move a bit easier for us. I'm also putting myself on a beauty spending ban for three months, so I can't buy myself any makeup, skincare, bodycare, or haircare until April 1st. I don't foresee myself running out of anything in that time frame, so I should be okay. There are alot of new products out in the drugstore that I'm dying to try out, but they'll have to wait for now!

What did you use up last month? Any resolutions you have that you hope to stick with?

Mini Drugstore Haul feat. Walgreen's and Ulta

Hi guys! So I know I'm not really supposed to be doing any beauty shopping for a while but there were some sales going on, and if you know me, you know I love a good sale! Anyway, I did a little shopping at Walgreen's and placed an order online from Ulta. Lets see what goodies I got!

Fist up is Walgreen's. This week Walgreen's has certain Wet n' Wild product for only $2 with your Walgreen's card. I went in really only looking for the Fall 2014 Limited Edition 5 pan shadows. They typically retail for $3.99 which is already a steal, but when I got up to the register, they were only $2 each! I picked up the palettes called Melrose at Night and Smoke and Melrose. They had two other ones, one called High Waisted Jeans which I didn't care for as I don't really like blues on me, and the other one was called Angels in Aubergine, which just looked too harsh for my skintone. Of course I went with the neutral ones, surprise surprise. 

Lastly from Walgreen's, I picked up two of the Vaseline Lip Therapy balms. The first one is Rosy Lips which I had been tying to find but had no success til now and I also picked up the Cocoa Butter one. I was originally only going to buy one but if you bought 2, you got an extra 2,000 points with your Walgreen's card. I'm excited to try these, especially in the Winter when my lips are drier than dry. 

Now we have Ulta, which I'm really excited about. I had heard over and over about these Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stains and wondered what the fuss was about. I don't own many Revlon lip products but was definitely curious about these. I had gotten an email from Ulta saying they had free shipping on orders of $25 or more. Free shipping for Ulta is typically $50 so I always wait for the $25 promo. Revlon also had a buy 1, get 1 50% off deal, which is why I bought four of these, plus I also had the code for $3.50 off of a $10 purchase and I used a bunch of points I had saved up, so with tax everything came to just under $20, and I still got the free shipping! Now keep in mind these typically cost between $7 and $10 depending on where you get them. Drugstores in my area carry them for $9.99, my Ulta carries them for $8.99. I basically got two of these for free! Can't complain about that! Anyways, I picked up the colors LA Exclusive, Rio Rush, Barcelona Nights, and Shanghai Sizzle. I've already tried three of the four and I must say, I'm very impressed! I plan on doing a review of these so I won't go into much detail here, but these are definitely really nice lip products.

That's everything I picked up! What have you purchased recently?

Influenster Sugar N' Spice Voxbox 2013

I was so excited when I found out I was going to be receiving another voxbox from Influenster! I had previously received the Holiday Voxbox which I liked, but this one is amazing! If you haven't heard of Influenster, basically it's a site that you can only join if you're invited by someone who's already a member or you can request an invite. You then do surveys and quizzes which can make you eligible to receive these voxboxes. I have some invites left if you're interested in trying the site out! Now let's see what I got in this box!

Sorry the picture isn't the best. I had taken it right before I went to bed so I wouldn't forget! Anyways, The first thing I got in the box is the Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer Total Moisture. Phew, that's a mouthful! On the card that came in the box it says that this "is a continuous spray lotion that moisturizes and absorbs in seconds, and leaves skin feeling instantly soft- not sticky or greasy." I'm pretty excited to try this out! I could always use a good lotion and I've never tried a spray version before, so we'll see how this works! This retails for $7.99 for a 6.5 ounce can.

The next thing I received is NECTRESSE, which is a 100% natural sweetener. The card says " NECTRESSE sweetener tastes like sugar but has zero calories per serving! 100% natural, NECTRESSE is made primarily from monk fruit combined with other natural sweeteners." I have to admit, I'm a little wary to try this. I'm a typical sugar girl. I've never been one to use artificial sweeteners, so I may have to do a little research before I use this. This retails for $6.99 for a 5.9 ounce container, or $3.99 for a box of 40 packets.

Next, I received Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Oil Controlling Towelettes. I'm super excited to try these out! I'll probably try these when taking off my makeup at night. The card says "The soothing blend of Witch Hazel and aloe on these facial wipes rejuvenates your skin by gently lifting dirt, oil and impurities from your pores while nourishing even the most sensitive skin. The result is a clean, refreshed and blemish-free complexion even when you're out and about." Seriously, I'm really excited for these! My skin's been going nuts with the weather change so I can't wait to see what these do for my skin. I also got some coupons for Dickinson's products. These retail for $5.99 for a 20-count box.

I then received the Colgate Optic White Regimen, which came with toothpaste, mouthwash, and a toothbrush. The card says " Your Voxbox contains not one, but THREE Colgate Optic White products in a new high impact formula. Use Optic White toothpaste, toothbrush, and mouthwash together for whiter teeth in five days (vs. brushing with an ordinary toothpaste alone). I'm also very excited to try this! The mouthwash and toothpaste look awesome, but the toothbrush I'm a little nervous to use. It's good that it's a soft toothbrush, but I have such sensitive teeth that I need super soft bristles, plus I have a prescription toothpaste that I use at night for sensitivity. I may give it a try, but if it's too harsh on my teeth, I'm giving it to my fiance. The toothpaste retails for $2.99 for a 4 ounce tube, the mouthwash retails for $2.99 for an 8 ounce bottle, and the toothbrush retails for $2.99 per brush.

The last thing I received in my voxbox is the belVita Breakfast Biscuits in the flavor Cinnamon Brown Sugar. The card says "belVita Breakfast Biscuits are made with delicious ingredients and carefully baked to release steady energy that lasts all morning. They are a good source of fiber and B-vitamins, contain no high fructose corn syrup, have 18-20 grams of whole grain per 50 gram serving and taste great- perfect for on-the-go!" I can't wait to try these either! these should be good when I'm in a rush to get somewhere or if I just want something quick without having to cook myself breakfast. These retail for $3.69 for a box of 5 packets of 4 biscuits. 

*DISCLAIMER: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes! Any reviews I do are always 100% honest and my own!