January, February and March 2026 Empties

I can't believe it is already May! Yikes! I guess we better get into the empties I had from the first part of the year and my mini reviews of them. 

Bondiboost Thickening Therapy Spray - I bought this on a total whim last year when Sephora had it on sale. I wanted to try the brand and sadly, I must say, I was not impressed at all with this product at least. First of all, the spray nozzle is awful, it comes out in clumps. Impossible to get an even application. This works better in wet hair than dry but it says you can use it on both. The product makes my hair sticky and nasty after use. You can forget about combing your hair after it sets. I have used thickening sprays that work better than this and I have also tried some that are even worse. So it will thicken your hair but the result is not extreme and you can't do much of anything once you have applied it. Even blow drying becomes difficult after it is in your wet hair. So stiff, sticky and gross! I had to use small amounts to use up the bottle and even doing that, the product was still not nice feeling in my hair. Will not be repurchasing. 

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue - This was a full sized glass jar and it took me eternity to finish and I was not mad about that. It felt nice on the eyes and was a good foundation under makeup. I can't say that it did anything for my undereye circles though. However, what does? I am trying to use 4 or 5 other eye creams that I have hanging around to get rid of them and all of them are inferuior overall as an eye cream to this. I would conisder repurchasing this, but I won't for quite awhile. My search for a great eye cream continues. 

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

Cake Beauty "It's a Slice" Supreme Body Mousse - It took me 10,000 years to finish this monster sized bottle of body cream (1 litre!). I cannot even begin to tell you how delighted I am to have accomplished this. I have another similar bottle in another scent that I am working on as well. I think I paid around $12.99 for this in Winners which was a steal and a half. While not even close to my favourite body cream, it works well enough and at the price I paid, it was worth it. The scent is that of an orange creamsicle and it's quite nice. I believe this scent may now be discontinued. 

OGX Beauty Nourishing + Coconut Oil Weightless Hydrating Oil Mist - I bought this ages ago and it was way too heavy of an oil for my hair. I also wasn't keen on the scent - too coconut for me. So I had it sitting in my bathroom gathering dust until recently when I started using it as a pre-shampoo oil treatment. Seemed to work ok, but I have a better oil for that. Anyway, I used it up finally. Won't be repurchasung because of the smell and also that there are better products for my purposes out there. 

Fresh Tea Elixir Skin Resilience Activating Serum – I'm so sad. They discontinued this serum! They have a new one that I have to try. In the meantime, I bought another brand that I hoped would be a cheaper substitute and it was not at all. This made my skin look glowy, feel bouncy, minimized fine lines and softened. 

Skinfix Barrier + Triple Lipid + Collagen + Niacinamide Activating Serum - Another refill done! I may repurchase but I won't right away as I have so many products I need to use up and I am on a mission. I primarily use this when my skin is acting up and needs calming. This is great for keeping my face hydrated and reducing redness.

Caliray Come Hell or High Water Mascara - I am not sure how many of these I have gone through but I love this mascara. Already repurchased. I love the fact that this doesn’t budge or smudge so it is great when I am wearing my glasses. It gives good length, volume and curl too. Not my favourite mascara, but definitely in the top 5 and it serves a specific purpose for me. I buy the travel sized one as it lasts me 3 months plus and it's great to throw into my purse. The regular sized one would be a waste of money for me as it would go bad before I finish it. 

Maybelline Fit Me! Concealer in 20 Sand - There was a time when this was probably the best concealer you could buy at the drug store. Times have changed and now this one seems drier compared to modern concealers and the shade range is not great. Coverage is also medium at best. I bought two of these ages ago and use them when I am in a pinch or running to the store quick etc. They were never good enough really for going out all day or going somewhere special. The shade 15 Light is more rosey, cooler toned than the 20 Sand. Finished 15 Light as noted in my last Empties entry and now 20 Sand is done. So glad to be done with both of these. Will not be repurchasing.  

Estee Lauder Little Black Primer - This was a travel sized tube. I should have thrown it out ages ago. I recently opened it and it was off so out it goes. This is a good product and I would consider purchasing it but I try to stick to mascaras that don't need a primer.

Origins Eye Doctor - Yep, I went back to this and again, as soon as I put it on, my eyes sighed with happiness. It's a great eye moisturizer, but my dark circles are bad and I don't feel this does enough for that issue. I will likely repurchase, but I have some other eye creams I want to use up and/or explore first. 

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Vanish in Medium -  This was the second one I purchased and it works well but I wish it worked a bit better. I am currently trying two other colour corrector products to see if I prefer them to this but I have a funny feeling I will be repurchasing this again. 

Sephora Collection Instant Moisturizer - I believe this specific product has been discontinued. This was a small sample I used up and it was actually pretty good. I was sad when I finished it. Too bad for Sephora, they should consider bringing it back. 

Aveda Invati Advanced Thickening Conditioner - I found what was left of this sample in my stash and decided to use it up. When I have used this product in the past, it did seem to thicken my hair but as soon as I stopped using it, the effect was gone. I would consider repurcashing this regardless. 

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Soft-Lit Naturally Luminous Hydrating Longwear Foundation in 185 - This is one of the best foundations to come on the market in the last couple of years. It works well with my dry, sometimes combo skin. Coverage is full and gives you a nice glow. The colour I have is perfect for me. Already repurchased.