Hope everyone is enjoying the season! I’ve kept away from the holiday sales – wish I could say the same about the holiday food…
I’m so excited to do my first Empties post… I love reading these on other blogs because they provide the most comprehensive product reviews. By the time you’ve used up a product – you know for sure whether it works or not and if it’s worth repurchasing.
Fragrance & Body:
L’Occitane Rose 4 Reines Body Milk, Eau de Toilette and Bath & Shower Gel – I love buying travel-sized body products as I like to switch them up frequently. Of these 3 products, I would only repurchase the Body Milk – it has such an amazing “true rose” scent. The EDT and body wash are average – they smell okay but the fragrance doesn’t last too long.
Jennifer Aniston Perfume – I always layer perfumes and this one makes a great base scent – it’s sweet smelling (from the Jasmine & Rose water notes) and lasts a long time. However, it’s not a must-have and I’m not going to repurchase it.
Chloe Eau de Parfum Rollerball – I’m so glad I purchased the rollerball rather than the full-size perfume. I started off LOVING this perfume – I was obsessed. But now I don’t really like anymore – I find it too sweet!
Burberry Weekend for Men – Now this is a perfume I will ALWAYS love – this is my 3rd bottle. It’s for men but it has a light and powdery citrus scent – no musky/masculine notes. I like layering it on top of a sweet smelling perfume as this doesn’t last too long (I’ve found that most citrus scents don’t). I’m not sure if this is being discontinued – it’s getting harder to find – but whenever I see it at Winners/Marshalls, I stock up – I currently have 2 back-up bottles.
Face, Hands & Hair:
Kiehls Amino Acid Shampoo – Got this as a deluxe sample with an order. Nothing special at all. Will not repurchase.
Spa Sister Hand Scrub & Hand Butter – Bought this set from Winners mainly for the cotton gloves that came in this package. I thought these products would be cheap & ineffective, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the Hand Butter had lots of natural ingredients (like olive oil) and was very moisturising. However, I have A LOT of hand creams and will not be repurchasing.
Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture, Sensitive Skin – One of the only products I can use when my skin is acting up (like it did over the summer). Luckily my skin has calmed down and I have moved on to an Olay moisturizer with SPF. But I always keep a bottle of this in reserve to use when my skin is feeling sensitive.
Proactiv Revitalizing Toner – This is my night time toner – I chose it because it contains 6% Glycolic Acid. It is mildly exfoliating and helps fade acne scarring – I’m quite happy with it and will continue to repurchase.
Dermalogica Skin Refining Masque – I bought this back in 2010 during my last acne outbreak. Although I used it up, I did not find it to be effective. I get better results using Queen Helene’s Mint Julep Mask or Proactiv Refining Mask.
Clean & Clear Popped Pimple Drying Paste – I have my reservations about this product. I used it on large pimples – and it smoothed them out within a day or two BUT I feel that it drove the infection under the surface of my skin. So although I had smoother skin in the short term, the whole area underneath the spot was soft and painful – and more breakouts followed.
Nivea A Kiss of Flavor Milk & Honey Lip Balm – This is my holy grail lip balm – I’ve repurchased it multiple times and will continue to do so!
Hope you liked my mini-reviews. What products have you used up recently? Were you happy with them?
Thankyou for these posts. They have really helped me a lot with my skin. I also have acne on the sides of my face~like you showed in your photo last post. It seems I never break out on my nose and only a tiny bit on my forhead. I just ordered Serious Skin Care from HSN. Jennifer Flavin Stallone had problem acne skin when she was younger and it helped her. I am going to try it out when it comes. I could not use the proactive set because it dried my skin out so badly~but I will try just using the toner at night~thanks for posting about that and the lemons. I am currently using Philosophy's microdermabrasion wash and it helps calm down the acne in my skin. My face does not look red after I use it. I feel as though it is helping. Thanks for the tip in the Nivea lip balm. I feel that my lips, and around my lips get very dry. One thing that did not work on my face was Trader Joe's tee tree oil face wash. After I washed my face with it~my face was so red and dry~it felt like it was inflamed! I put some of Evan Healy's organic rosehip oil on my whole face and it made the reddness go away. I have been using the rosehip oil ever night before bed and it has actually helped clear up some acne. I have been using it after the microdermabrasion wash. I am using Tarte concealer stick on my acne and it covers it well~it does not make me break out. Then bare minerals powder over. The Bare minerals blemish therapy I use over the Tarte concealer, also. I have never been on any medication for my acne and am 17 now. I will let you know how the Serious skin care acne kit works out. Thanks for the great post!! Laurel
Awww – thank you for your feedback Rose – it's great to know that my reviews are helpful.Acne is so hard to treat – it's all trial and error – and everything keeps changing!!! I love reading about what works for other people – so that I have options if I ever need to change my skincare. Am definitely going to try the Tarte concealer stick in the future – have read good things about it – and it's great to know that it doesn't irritate your skin.Hope the Serious Skin Care kit works for you – good luck!
Great post!Within 2 weeks, I've finished two hand creams.It's small but it's a start lol
Great post!Within 2 weeks, I've finished two hand creams.It's small but it's a start lol
Finishing products are SO satisfying! I'm excited to declutter and use up more products this year – for beauty junkies like us – there's always so much stuff lying around, huh?