End of Winter 2024 Empties and Mini Reviews

Hello! The end of winter is practically here and I have collected a few empties so time to clear them out.

Shiseido Facial Cotton (x 2) - Another two done! I think I forgot to include one in my last empties so that is why I have two in this post. I would repurchase these in a flash but they are so expensive now at $17.50 Canadian. Even with the Sephora sale, they are still pricey. I bought another similar product to try which is less than half the price. I will report back on them but I fear I will be disappointed and be back to buying Shiseido before I know it.

Nivea Pure & Natural Body Body Milk (x2) and in Organic Avocado (refill) - I love the fact that I can now buy these in a refill format. I have been buying Nivea cream for years and suddenly I feel the need for a change. So I have bought a couple other brands and will report back. I still have a couple Nivea bottles kicking around the house though I believe to use up.

Klorane Floral Water Make-Up Remover - Love this. There is no substitute. Will always buy this until it is no longer available.  

Tower 28 Beauty MakeWaves Lengthening + Volumizing Mascara - I really love this mascara. It quickly became my favourite mascara right after I bought this and then the unthinkable happened. I acquired 3 other mascaras that outdid this one. Unbelievable! So this went from #1 to my #4 favourite mascara within record time. Would I repurchase this? Hell yes! But it may be awhile before I do. This mascara lengthens and volumizes. Considering I have very short and sparse lashes, this works great. 

Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Refill Face Cream - I am not sure how many jars of this I have gone through but this is one of the few skin creams that helps my rosacea. I hear they have reformulated this product so I am living in fear. I don't know if the replacement I have is the new or old formula so we will see. Already repurchased as mentioned.

NARS Mini Radiant Creamy Concealer in Medium 1 Custard - I bought this awhile ago. I barely used it and it's all dried out. I am not sure if I got an old one from Sephora, but the product was always very dry and I really didn't understand the hype. I feel as though I wasn't really able to test this out because it was so dry and I hardly got anything out the tube. I am not even sure about the colour! I have repurchased another mini in another colour because it is killing me that I don't understand what the fuss is all about. I made sure to get it on sale though. The colour I bought is too dark on me. Grrr. Hopefully, I will solve the mystery and hype behind this product one of these days.

Tower 28 Beauty ShineOn Lip Jelly Non-Sticky Gloss in Pistachio - Loved this gloss! It is not a typical gloss in that it is quite watery and milky but I liked it. This is the perfect gloss colour to go on top of lipstick that you want to add a shine to or some extra moisture to without disturbing the original colour of the lipstick much. The gloss is fine on it's own too but I would use a lip liner if you do as it is a tad slippy on the lips. I would 100% repurchase this and will in this and other colours. I have so many glosses at the moment, I feel I need to use a few up before I bring more into my life. So I think once I have thrown out 2 or 3 I will repurchase this for sure. Also, I love the packaging! It's got some good weight and it's very attractive to look at. Solid purchase. 

Charlotte Tilbury Hyaluronic Happikiss Lipstick Balm in Pillowtalk - OMG would you believe me if I said I have already repurchased 4 of these????!!!! Three are in Pillowtalk and one in Crystal Happikiss. I have a problem and I know it. This is mostly what I wore last summer and I finally finished my first one a few weeks ago. Already well into the second one. Paired with Charlotte Tilbury's Pillowtalk Medium Lip Liner, this is a combo that cannot be beat. It goes with every makeup look and outfit pretty much. It feels great on the lips. This product is both something and nothing at the same time as it is very unassuming at first glance. If you wear it alone or with another lip liner than the one I recommend, it's not as great but still good. 

Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser (Removes Makeup) - This was by far one of my best finds in 2023. The fact that it is easy to get (any drug store) and is reasonably priced is the cherry on the icing on the cake. This cleanser is very hydrating, gentle, does not play with my skin barrier and removes my makeup including eye makeup! Makes my skin so clean! I tend to use this only at night but I think you could use it morning too if you want. Already repurchased. I cannot say how much I love this. It will replace most of the cleansers I have as I phase those out. 

Sephora C+E Ultra Glow Serum - Interesting story with this one. I have no idea what possessed me to buy this. I think I was trying to save a buck. If there is one thing I keep learning over the years, it's that I have wasted a lot of money trying to save a buck by buying inferior products or ones that leave me wanting. This product did not react well on my skin, specifically my face. It irritated it. Please bear in mind that I have very sensitive skin. However, I have found that what irritates my face does not always irritate my neck. That is where this came in. It's glorious as a neck serum. It gives a nice youthful glow to my skin and it very hydrating. If I need to work my foundation down my neck a bit, it serves as a great skin base. I repurchased this on sale and I believe it has either been discontinued or reformulated with a slightly different name. As a result, not sure I will repurchase after I finish my second bottle if the formula has changed. I will report back as some point on this. Last thing of note is that the packaging, or rather the lid to the dropper sucks! The coating has all flaked off and it is a hot mess! I hate having to wash my hand off everytime I use it as I end up with small white bits all over my hand. How cheap. 

Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in 260 - This was a free sample I got from Sephora. The colour was too dark for me. I started mixing it with other foundations that were lighter and really liked the effect. So much so, I bought it in a lighter shade. I have had that full sized bottle longer than I care to admit and it is only half used. The colour I bought was too light. I can't win. My skin started changing from oily to dry around the time I bought the full sized bottle. I soon found this foundation way too drying on my skin and it was going on patchy. I have mixed it with other foundations or skin tints to make it wearable but I don't love it at all and will not repurchase. Fenty Beauty has come out with other foundations since and my understanding is that they are far superior to this product. I would be tempted to clean out this sample and save it for putting other foundations in it for travel, but the pump sucks so out it goes! 

December 2023/January 2024 Empties

 

Here are my latest empties with some mini reviews included. 

Shiseido Facial Cotton - Another one done! Already repurchased. My favourite cotton pads, period. As a side note, I swear these used to be $11 and now they are $17.50 Canadian! Talk about inflation! I do my best to only buy them on sale.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - What was left in this tube was hardened so I am throwing it out. Already well on my way through another tube. This is the only eyeshadow primer that I trust these days. 

Beautyblender - I keep trying other sponges to save a buck but the original Beautyblender is still the best. Already repurchased.  

Nivea Pure & Natural Body Lotion in Organic Oat (refill) - I love the fact that I can now buy these in a refill format. I believe I have already repurchased two more refills. Best drugstore lotion in my opinion. If anyone has a better suggestion for body cream from the drug store, please let me know.  

Grown Alchemist Body Cream in Mandarin, Rosemary Leaf - I got this in a subscription box and at first I quite liked it. So much so that when I had the opportunity to buy another one on sale for around $8, I pounced. As time has passed I don't find this to be as good as I thought it was. I will use up the other tube for sure but will not be repurchasing as I have gotten sick of the smell and it doesn't moisturize as much as I would like. 

Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Shampoo - I've lost count of how many of these I have finished. I feel like a may take a break from this shampoo for a bit a try a few others plus use up some shampoo I have in my cupboards. I will definitely repurchase though. May wait for the next Sephora sale in the spring. 

Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat Protectant Leave In Conditioner Primer - This product is all that. It's a heat protector, detangler and leave in conditioner. I will never be without it. Already repurchased.  

Christophe Robin No Frizz Care x Style Leave-In Anti-Frizz Rescue Milk - I got this in a subscription box and loved it. It tamed my frizzies and gave me some volume. I have been checking online for ages to see if I could buy another one. Sephora has stopped carrying this brand and the product's website didn't seem to carry it any longer. I checked this morning and see that it now says "coming soon" on Christophe Robin's website and the price is $51 Canadian. Wow! That's a lot of money for 150ml/5 fl. oz. of product. The product was good, but not that good! Doesn't look like I will be repurchasing unless I can get it significantly on sale. 

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes! - This was an ok mascara in terms of the results it gives, but it wasn't anything extraordinary. Gave both length and volume but not as much as other mascaras I have tried. I found this this mascara was the most likely to smear onto my contacts too which was highly annoying and inconvenient. Will not repurchase. 

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Vanish in Medium - There are days when I am not convinced this this under eye corrector is good enough for my very dark circles. When I switch to another brand, I find I definitely look worse. So I have repucrhased. This product lasted me for ages. Well over a year and I would say it was worth the money. The packaging is sleek and great for travel. Already repurcased. 

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - Whenever I used to use this, I noticed an improvement in my skin right away, as in the next morning! I lived on gwp samples of this for literally years. I finally took the plunge and bought a regular sized bottle and spent the money. Unfortuately for me, soon after I bought this, my rosacea got really bad. I have it semi under control these days but it is still a daily struggle. Because my skin needs have changed, I am not noticing any difference to my skin when I use this product now and I am not even sure my skin likes it any longer. I used it up by putting it on my forehead mostly each night as I do not have any rosacea in that area. Given how pricey it is, I will not be repurchasing unless the day comes when my rosacea disappears. Only then will I likely give it another shot. 

The INKEY List Super Solutions 10% Azelaic Acid Serum - I bought this as I had read it is good for treating rosacea. It is! I did notice very soon after starting to use it that it was helping. I was only using it at night originally. I later clued in that you can layer this with other serums. As a result, I started using it morning and night and the difference was fantastic. Already repurchased. This may become a holy grail I cannot live without. 

Beautyblender Blendercleanser Solid - Used up another. I really like the way this cleans my brushes and it smells so nice. I grab a free mini one every chance I get when Sephora is offering them as a reward or sample. Already repurchased. 

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask - I keep finding minis of these I have hidden all over the house. So sad they don't make this anymore. This was the original formula. Wish I would have bought a lifetime supply when I had the chance. 

Clarins Lip Comfort Hydrating Oil in Honey - I got a set of 4 of these around Christmas. I have only finished the Honey one so far. These are very much mini sized. I finished this one in maybe 2 weeks using it infrequently. I have not decided as yet how I feel about this product as I barely used it and it was done. I will have to use another one or two of them before I can form an opinion. 

Skinfix Barrier + Triple Lipid + Collagen + Niacinamide Activating Serum - Another refill done! Already repurchased. This is great for keeping my face hydrated and reducing redness.

Skinfix Barrier + Triple Lipid + Collagen Eye Treatment - This product is $73 Canadian. That's a lot of a money for an ok eye cream. For that kind of money, I expect to see some results. I found this eye cream to be very basic. It moisturized and did 0 for my dark circles. I can easily find hundreds of eye creams for far less money that are just as good. This eye cream is apparently recommended by dermotolgists. I am assuming it is for the non-irritating properties but otherwise I have no idea why. Maybe better ingredients? Kudos to Skinfix for putting it in a glass jar though! Will not repurchase but would take it if it's in a set of Skinfix products for a good price.

So that's it for now! Happy Ground Hog Day!