May, June & July 2017 Empties

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I fell incredibly behind on updating you all on the products I've used up. Being a mom has, of course, taken precedence in my life, and my daughter has had a ton of appointments. She's also been wanting more attention, so I try to get things done during naps, but she doesn't seem to like sleeping either. Anyway, I have three months worth of empty products to share with you, and I'm quite proud of what I have!

I'll start with skincare, since that's what I have the most of. I used a When Glamour Base sheet mask, which I was a fan of! I feel like it did brighten up my skin and helped it feel more hydrated. 

The Caudalie Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Cream took me a while to use, considering it's a deluxe sample size. It has SPF in it, so I would only use it on days where I would leave the house. It seemed like it was fine, but nothing special. 

The Body Shop Tea Tree Toner used to be one of my favorite toners to use, until I discovered it has a high concentration of alcohol in it. This was my last bottle, thank goodness, so I won't repurchase again. 

I LOVED the Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Booster! I would put just a couple drops into my morning moisturizer, which really seemed to help with some dehydration I was having. I doubt I'd repurchase, since Dermalogica is quite an expensive brand. 

I had the Michael Todd Pumpkin Nutrient-Rich Facial Mask in my stash for quite a while, so I'm glad I was able to use it up. It was very tingly on my skin, and left it a bit red once I rinsed it off. It did, however, make my skin feel super soft. 

The Boscia Luminizing Black Mask is a love/hate for me. I love how incredibly soft it makes my skin feel, and it grabs any little baby hairs that are annoying. I hate how hard it is to remove. Seriously, if you get this anywhere near eyebrows or hairline, oh man does it hurt! I think I may have one more of these deluxe samples, but I wouldn't buy a full size. 

Origins is one of my favorite skincare brands, so it was no surprise I enjoyed the Make A Difference Plus Rejuvinating Treatment. I used it mainly as a serum before moisturizer, but it could be used by itself for very oily skin. I would consider buying this once my stash runs low. 

I used the Clinique Spot Healing Gel on any blemishes I may have gotten. Most times I only had to use this once, and the next day my skin was clear. I'm not too fussy when it comes to spot treatments, I just can't use benzoyl peroxide. 

I'm completely horrible with using body scrubs, but I adored the Tree Hut Shea Sugar Body Scrub in the Coconut Lime scent. I have so many scrubs to use, but I will likely buy this brand again when I use up what I have first. 

I go through lip balms like crazy normally, but I only have 1 I used up. I love the Badger brand, and their Lime Rocket scent of their Cocoa Butter Lip Balm is fabulous! Very moisturizing and kept my lips soft throughout the day. I have many different scents in my lip balm stash and don't think I'll run out anytime soon!

There's a sad story to the OXG Anti-Breakage Keratin Oil, since I didn't get to use it. I was cleaning up around the house and found the bottle laying on the floor, empty. I have no idea what happened to it, because my carpet is fine. I really wanted to use this too! My hair breaks easily, so I thought this would be great to use. Maybe one day I will purchase one for myself. 

I don't wear my contacts often, so it took a while to use up the Opti-Free Pure Moist contact solution. I surprisingly liked this, since most solutions burn my eyes, but this didn't. 

With how often I wash my hands, you would think I'd have more than one hand soap. Lemon Meringue Cheer from Bath & Body Works smelled amazing! Plus, I love these soaps with the scrubbing bits, although I think they end up drying out my hands more. 

Only one hand cream as well, also from Bath & Body Works. I absolutely adored this Island White Pineapple scent and would consider buying again. This is a great Summertime hand cream as it's not too heavy or greasy. 

We must've loved brushing our teeth the past few months! There's the Colgate Cavity Protection, Tom's of Maine Rapid Relief Sensitive, and a mini Crest that I had from when Olivia was in the hospital. The Colgate one my husband mostly used, and I always need a sensitive toothpaste. I was not a fan of this particular Tom's toothpaste, though. It made my teeth feel clean, but the taste wasn't very good, and I felt like I had bad breath really fast. 

I gotta include the baby products! So my daughter has fairly sensitive and dry skin. Because of that, her doctor recommended baths no more than twice a week, so we only used up two mini sizes of the Johnson's Head-to-Toe Wash, as well as a mini Johnson's Baby Lotion. I gotta admit, I'm not the biggest fan of Johnson's, but we have a ton of products we were given, plus I was able to take home what was used in the hospital, so we're likely set with body washes and lotions for the next year. 

The Hydraguard Phytoplex Silicone Cream is what was used on Olivia's diaper rash while she was recovering in the hospital from open heart surgery. Guys, THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! I kid you not, this cleared up her diaper rash so fast, and made her butt so soft! I went on a hunt for this because I had never heard of it, and I found it on Amazon. When I run out of other diaper rash creams, this is what I will be buying. It's a miracle! Plus it smells like cake batter. 

Number of products used up: 21
Total used up for the year: 43

I probably mention this in nearly every empties post, but my goal for the year was to use up 150 products. That includes full size, deluxe samples, foil packet samples, and now Olivia's products. Considering we have about 4 and a half months left to the year, I'm not quite sure I can make that goal. I'm doing well so far in August, and have a bunch of stuff nearly finished. I also want to start doing my makeup again, and I know I need to clear out some old stuff that hasn't been used since before Olivia was born! So maybe I will make my goal, who knows? 

What are some things you've used up recently?

September 2016 Empties

Hey everyone! I know I normally do my monthly favorites before my empties, but honestly, I don't really have any favorites to share! I was lazy again and didn't wear makeup at all. I have been better with my skin, though I haven't been using many new products, and it was a pretty crazy month overall. So, I'm instead just continuing with my empty products!

Starting off with the few skincare products, I used up two different sheet masks. The first one is from When, and it's their The Last Choice mask. I've gotten a little more into sheet masks lately now that I know how to use them better, and the When brand is pretty great. I also used up a Pur~Lisse Blue Lotus + White Tea mask. I had gotten two or three in a previous Ipsy bag, and this was my last one. I really liked this one too, but I don't think I'd go out and purchase myself. 

I used up a deluxe sample of the Shiseido Ibuki Gentle Cleanser as well, and this cleanser is freaking amazing! It gives me that squeaky clean feeling, which I know not many people like, but in the Summer when my skin is super oily, this comes in handy. This tiny tube lasted ages too because you only need the tiniest amount to get the job done. 

I have a few bath and shower products as well. My husband and I both used the St. Ives Rich & Creamy Vanilla Body Wash, and we both enjoyed it! It lathers up really well, smells amazing, and is pretty inexpensive.

I've been working through my Bath & Body Works handsoaps, and this Sugared Vanilla Wish scent is to die for! I wish I had 50 backups of this stuff honestly, but B&BW handsoaps are too expensive in my book, even during a sale, so once I use up what I have, I'll be moving on. 

The Garnier Olia After Color Conditioner came in a boxed hair color from ages ago, and I just never used it up until last month. I love Garnier hair products but I don't care much with coloring my hair anymore. The Olia line of haircolor is fantastic, though!

Lastly is a few random products. I had gotten the Secret Clinical Strength as a sample, and I really do like this. It dries down and doesn't leave a white residue on your clothing, and it smells nice too!

I pretty much exclusively used the Bausch+Lomb Renu Fresh Contact Solution, as it's the only kind that doesn't make my eyes burn. It's rare I wear my contacts anymore, unless I'm going out. I tend to stick with my glasses. 

Technically I didn't use up the two vitamins pictured, but I had to get rid of them. They both contain Folic Acid, and I found out I can't take folic acid, I need folate. Folic acid is the synthetic version of folate, and my body can't break it down like others can, and being pregnant, I need the folate to help keep my baby healthy. The Super B-Complex is by Nature Made, and the Prenatal Vitamin is by The Wellbeing Centre. 

Number of products used up: 10
Total for the year: 113

What have you used up recently?

June 2016 Empties

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Hey guys! I usually start off the month with my favorite products of the month prior, but in all honesty, I did absolutely nothing with makeup and hardly took care of my skin. If you've already read this post, then you know that pregnancy has been taking a toll on me. I've been exhausted and sick all the time, and just couldn't be bothered with anything beauty related. As of today, I'm just over 15 weeks along and feel (almost) like a new person! I'm still tired, but I don't feel like I could sleep all day anymore. I somehow did manage to use up a few products, so I wanted to share them with you!

I'll start off with the skincare and one lone makeup product. The When Snow Magic sheet mask was surprisingly pretty good! You all know I don't really care for sheet masks much, but this one surprised me. I actually noticed results right after, and when I woke up in the morning, my skin was so much brighter and softer. 

The Christie Brinkley Close Up Instant Wrinkle Reducer and Treatment was shit. Sorry for the language, but this was such an awful product, I have no idea why it was even made. I used it in the past as a smoother for the fine lines around my eyes and also around my smile lines. I followed directions to a T and I always ended up with flaky, white stuff on my skin. Forget putting makeup on top of this too, it makes you look like your skin is falling off. This was kindly sent to me for review, but it's time to throw it away because I will never use it. 

Next up is the DDF Amplifying Elixir. I used this as a serum underneath my moisturizer in the daytime, and I adored how soft this made my skin feel. It's incredibly liquid-y so a few times, I did squeeze out too much. This deluxe sample lasted me quite a while too. I'm not sure if I would repurchase, but it was nice while it lasted. 

The one time in June I wore makeup, I tried out the Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara. It was quite dried up, so in the garbage it goes. 

Lastly for skincare, I used up two sample packets of the Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil. Now I can't use this directly on my skin, otherwise I breakout in tiny red bumps. What I did with these was put them into a clay mask that had dried up a bit to give it some more life, and it worked like a charm! I'm not sure what it is with this particular argan oil that I have such a strange reaction if put directly onto my skin, but mixed into a mask or a drop in my foundation is fine. 

Next up is some random body and hair products. I love Bath & Body Works handsoaps, but they're so darn expensive, even with a sale. Pumpkin Cupcake lived in my bathroom, and the Fresh Lavender stayed on my kitchen sink. Both were lovely and if I can find cheaper handsoaps in yummy scents elsewhere, then I'm abandoning B&BW unfortunately. 

I had gotten a nice PR package from Derma E and it included a deluxe size of their Scalp Relief Conditioner. This was nice, it felt cooling in my hair, but didn't do an amazing job at conditioning. I usually had to use extra leave-in conditioner after using this. 

I also have a deluxe size of the Softsoap Juicy Pomegranate & Mango Infusions Moisturizing Body Wash. The scent of this was pure heaven, and I was so sad when I was finished using it. There is a tiny bit left, but I couldn't get that out no matter how hard I tried. I may have to look for this brand next time I need body wash. 

Last up is some boring stuff, vitamins. Once I found out I was pregnant, I definitely tried my hardest to be good about taking my vitamins. Most times they made me sick, but I still tried my best! I managed to use up the Nature Made Fish Oil as well the Prenatal Multi. I would most definitely repurchase the Fish Oil, but not the Prenatal. I have a condition that I found out about and can't take vitamins containing Folic Acid. I need Folate, the real stuff. Folic Acid is synthetic, and with my condition, my body doesn't process Folic Acid like other people can. Ideally what I need to take is Methylfolate, but it's so hard finding an inexpensive vitamin that contains it. I'm still on the hunt!

Number of products used up: 12
Total for the year: 87

I didn't do too good last month. I mentioned before that my goal was to use up 250 products, and now that it's half way through the year, I don't think I see myself hitting that goal. Unless I use up a bunch of samples and deluxe sized products, it's gonna be tough. I'm still trying my best of course, and I'm making it my mission in July to start taking better care of my skin and wearing makeup more often. 

What did you use up last month?

Review: When Revitalizing Face Masks

*Disclosure* Products were provided for review thanks to When and BrandBacker. All opinions are 100% honest and my own, like always

Hey guys! You all know how much I love a good face mask, but sheets masks I haven't been very impressed with. I had the chance to try out two from a brand called When.

Here are some product highlights:

When uses an all-natural bio-cellulose sheet that is made from coconuts, which is gentle enough to treat burn patients. Despite its light weight, the bio-cellulose sheet can hold essence 100 times its weight, that is 10 times more than fabric or paper mask sheets. As much essence as it holds, the bio-cellulose sheet delivers essence to skin with minimum wastage by maintaining exceptional dermal contact.

Natural, hydration, adhesion - the elements you demand in a face mask, When has them all at their best.

You can find these masks in many different retailers including Sephora, Ulta, Birchbox online, and Ricky's NYC, and they cost just $7 each. 

The two masks I was sent to try out are called The Last Choice and Snow Magic. The Last Choice is good for dryness, dullness and uneven skintone. Snow Magic is good for dryness, dark spots and uneven skintone, and dullness and uneven texture. 

Remember when I said above that I never really got along with sheet masks? Well, these are kinda the same, but the way they make my skin feel is nice. I always have issues with how sheet masks fit and they just don't seem to do much for my skin. These are good though, especially for such a low price. I'd definitely be willing to try out different sheet masks from the When brand, as there are some decent reviews on the Sephora site for others I'm interested in. Be wary though if you're allergic to coconut, since these are made from coconut. I'm hearing so many people are allergic to coconuts lately, and it's in everything these days. Just a warning!

You can find more information on the When face masks here on their website, or you can just search them online!

What are some of your favorite sheet masks?