Used & Abused – Product Empties

It’s been a long time since I’ve done an empties post and my basket overfloweth so this was long overdue.  So on to it!

HAIR PRODUCTS

Batiste Dry Shampoo: I talk about Batiste all the time on my blog and I did a review on it very early on into my blog.  I only wish they’d bring more scents to Canada – the Floral, Tropical and Fresh scents are the only ones I’ve seen stocked regularly in store.  It’d be nice if there was more selection as I know they definitely make quite a few different scents than just those 3.  Won’t stop me from using it though!

Repurchase: Yup!

Chi Magnified Volume Finishing Spray: This made my list of Top 15 of 2015 Products because it does what a hairspray is supposed to do.  I know that doesn’t seem like much but me and hairspray don’t typically get along.  My hair is stubborn and this shows it who’s boss.  If you have problem hair like me, I’d recommend it!

Repurchase: Yes

Paul Mitchell Color Protect Daily Shampoo: Another product on my Top 15 of 2015 (God I’m boring!) but I’m estatic to have finally found a shampoo that works for me (it’s been a long journey, believe me).  This moisturizes my fine hair just the right amount and leaves it feeling silky and smooth.  Also because I colour my hair using a shampoo with colour-protecting properties is important to me so I appreciate that too.  I’m already on my third bottle of this.

Repurchase: Yes

David Baba for WildAid Bohemian Beach Spray: I bought this at Winners quite a few years ago and I always threw it in my travel bag to use on beach days.  I haven’t used many beach/sea salt sprays but I was pretty impressed with this one.  It definitely gave my hair some texture and a bit of wave (which is something given my hair is naturally stick straight).  I had to be careful not to overuse it though as too much of it made my hair crunchy and sticky.  I had about 1/2 a bottle left of this but I had to dump it out as it was starting to smell a little funky and looked like it was discoloured.  I’d love to be able to find this again but I haven’t been lucky enough to come across it.

Repurchase: Yes

BATH & BODY

Radox Time Out Herbal Bath (Lavender & Mimosa): I purchased this bubble bath in the clearance section at Superstore later last year for something like $3.  I’ve used bubble baths from this brand before and had always been happy with them.  I like having lavender-scented bath products around for when I am struggling to sleep; there’s nothing like a lavender-scented bubble bath to drift me into dreamland.  This definitely does the job but I don’t see myself making a point of repurchasing this; I liked it but I just picked it up because it’s on sale.  No complaints with it at all though!

Repurchase: No

Delectable Vanilla & Cream Super Smoothing Body Polish: Mmmm this stuff smells divine – like a delicious vanilla cake.  The scent won me over immediately but I also love that it’s a gentle yet effective body scrub.  If you’re looking for a super intense scrub this probably isn’t for you but my sensitive skin loves this stuff.  I’ve tried the Strawberries and Cream scent too and it’s equally as amazing.

Repurchase: Yes

Ombra Aromatic Foam Bath (Berries): Ombra makes my favourite Eucalyptus bubble bath and I actually received this mini bottle when I purchased that exact product.  This worked just as well as the Eucalyptus version but it smelled like cranberries.  It foams up well and the bubbles don’t dissipate which is key to a good bubble bath.

Repurchase: Yes

Delectable Coconut & Cream Ultra Nourishing Hand Cream:  I love this hand cream but I hated the scent.  And I love coconut-scented things!  But this just smells too synthetic to me, kind of like one of those fuzzy car air fresheners that hang off the rear-view mirror.  So while I wouldn’t buy this lotion in this particular scent, I know I’d be happy with the vanilla or strawberry versions.

Repurchase: Yes

SKINCARE

Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water: Another repeat offender in my empties – I’ve been using this for years mainly as my eye makeup remover, sometimes as my all-my-makeup remover when I’m feeling lazy. I did a full review on it here.  I’m happy with it – it works great and I have no complaints with it but I kind of feel like trying something new.  We’ll see.

Repurchase: Yes

Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief: This is a fantastic moisturizer for dry/dehydrated skin!  I have combination skin but it made such a difference in the dry patches that I sometimes have flare up.  I also loved it as an overnight moisturizer if my skin was feeling parched – I’d wake up the next morning with super soft, re-hydrated skin.  I particularly loved the gel texture of this – I found it be to really cooling and soothing.  I didn’t really find that it did anything for wrinkles or fine lines though so I wouldn’t buy it for that reason.

Repurchase: Yes

Too Cool for School Egg Cream Sheet Mask: Maybe I haven’t found the right one yet but I’m not sold on sheet masks. I haven’t tried a lot of them but the ones I have tried haven’t done anything amazing to my skin that I feel I couldn’t get from just a regular face mask in a tube or bottle.  I had high hopes for this one but again, it just fell into that “ok” category.  My skin felt moisturized after – yes.  But that only lasted for about an hour or so and then my skin was back to way it was.  Perhaps you need to use these regularly to see lasting benefits but that would get really expensive.  I’d much rather spend more money on mask in a jar or bottle that will last me months than continually buy these.  Anyway back to this mask – I kind of expected this to smell like eggs but it didn’t thank god (gag – that would have been gross); it had more of a light floral scent.  No issues there.  I did find it a little difficult to apply as there was a sheet of thin plastic mesh you had to remove first and I ended up ripping the mask trying to do that.  Ugh.  Anyway I got it on and I found it to be quite goopy/tacky although once I took it off and rubbed the serum into my skin the tackiness disappeared.    One last thing I will say about sheet masks in general though – they will force you to relax.  It’s pretty much impossible to do anything but sit there and will it to stay on your face.  So if you’re in need of some relaxation, you might want to give one a try.

Repurchase: No

BareVitamins Skin Rever-Upper: I’ve mentioned before that I just don’t do thick moisturizers in the morning.  My skin takes forever to absorb anything so I don’t have time to sit and wait.  Which is why I like this stuff!  I have a more detailed review on it here but in short, it’s lightweight and absorbs quickly but still leaves my skin moisturized.

Repurchase: Yes

CeraVe Eye Repair Cream: Eye creams are another thing that I just can’t ever get to work for me.  There hasn’t been one that I’ve tried that’s done a darn thing.  No exception here – this did absolutely nothing. Note that I rarely have dark circles or puffiness but I didn’t even find that it moisturized my under eye area.  Despite that, I was trying to use it up but I contaminated it when I had my eye infection so there’s still a good 1/2 of the tube left.  Can’t say I’m super torn up about that.

Repurchase: No

Peter Thomas Roth 10% Glycolic Acid Moisturizer: This was the very first product I reviewed here on my blog (a few months short of a year now – time flies!).  This is another product I’ve used for years and I’ve kind of fallen out of love with it because I don’t find it works as well as it used to on me.  I was using it twice a day however, so I feel like my skin got a bit too used to it and it stopped being so effective.  Either way, I did see results when I used this – my skin was clearer and less prone to breakouts, it helped fade old scars, and decrease redness.  And as I write I feel like I want to go purchase another tube of this, just to have on hand and use a couple times a week.  The only thing that bugs me is the price – but one tube would typically last me 6 months..  So if you’re a fan of glycolic acid, I’d recommend this!

Repurchase: Yes

Olay Wet Cleansing Towelettes: These are my go-to makeup remover wipes – I’ve tried a few different brands and types and I always come back to these because they work.  They’re gentle on my skin yet strong enough to actually remove a face full of makeup, including eye makeup.  They also stay moist right through to the last wipe – I hate it when wipes dry out halfway through the package.  Most importantly for me – no breakouts!  I always pick up a package of these before I travel anywhere.

Repurchase: Yes

Sephora Collection Express Cleansing Wipes – These used to be my go-to makeup remover wipes – but I think they’ve since changed the formula.  I wasn’t able to remove all my makeup with just one of these – I often had to use 2 or 3.  Then, halfway through the package, they dried up. Which is surprising given they have the plastic tab to seal them.  These are double the price of the Olay ones I mentioned above but don’t work near as well.

Repurchase: No

MAKEUP

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation: I rave about this often because it’s my favourite foundation to date.  This made my Top 15 of 2015 for a reason; full review here.

Repurchase: Yes

Almay Clear Complexion Concealer: This was an okay concealer, but I’m not sure I’d re-purchase it again.  It provided a good amount of coverage but I found it to be pretty dry, which is most likely related to the fact that it contains salicylic acid in it.  It’s supposed to help to clear up any blemishes but I honestly didn’t notice any difference.  And it’s use is limited because of that – you most definitely can’t put this under your eyes.  However it didn’t cause any additional breakouts so that’s something!

Repurchase: No

Buxom Big & Bushy Mascara: This is kind of a horrible name for a decent mascara.  I had just started using this when I got an eye infection last month and I had to chuck it before it’s time because I didn’t want to risk re-infecting my eye.  This has my kind of brush – a wand with full with “natural” (not silicone) bristles.  It provided some pretty good volume but I wouldn’t say it was massive as the description states.  It also references maximum length which I can’t really agree with – it gave a good amount of length.  Overall I feel I can obtain similar results with a number of drugstore mascaras though.

Repurchase: No

Covergirl The Super Sizer Mascara: This was my second time purchasing this mascara and even though I loved the first tube I purchased, this time I was kind of meh about this.  First off, my brush was wonky when I opened it – not sure if it went into the tube weird when it was packaged or what but the wand was all bent.  I did my best to straighten it out but it didn’t seem to function normally as a result.  I also experienced way more clumping this time, whereas I was able to comb any clumps out no-problem with my last tube.  If this had been my experience the first time I tried this mascara, I never would have re-purchased it. I’m hoping I just had a lemon.

Repurchase: On the fence.

Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara: This was another “meh” mascara.  It had a really weirdly shaped brush – similar to an S shape and it was quite large and fluffy.  Which normally I would like, but because of the S shape, I found it hard to apply evenly.  It did give me some decent volume but it flaked like crazy.  No go for me.

Repurchase: No

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara: This little sample introduced me to my new favourite mascara that didn’t come from the drugstore.  I haven’t purchased a non-drugstore mascara in ages because I never found one that was worth the extra cash.  This one is.  Crazy volume, length, thickness, super black formula, definition.  The list goes on and on.  It checks all the boxes but be warned – it does flake.  I find using no more than 2 coats lessens the flaking but the good far outweighs the bad for me with this guy!

Repurchase: Yes

L’Oreal Infalliable Super Slim 12H Liquid Eyeliner: This is one of my favourite drugstore eyeliners.  It stays put all day, is super black and the slim tip makes it easy to draw a precise line.  My dislike is also the slim tip – it’s flexible so it damages easily and once it’s damaged you might as well just chuck the whole thing.  I tend to be a little hard on my eyeliner so I find I go through these quicker than I would like; however I experienced the same issue with the Stila Eyeliner that everyone raves about and it was much more expensive.   I get similar results with this one so I’ll just stick with these as they are about half the price!

Repurchase: Yes

e.l.f Eyelid Primer: This is the best “drugstore” eyelid primer I’ve ever tried. I still can’t believe its is only $3!  Full review here.

Repurchase: Yes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance: My favourite non-drugstore eyeshadow primer!  It made my top 15 of 2015; love this stuff!

Repurchase: Yes

 

Lipsmackers Dr Pepper Lip Balm: My favourite lip balm ever, hands down.  I’ve been wearing Lip Smackers since I was in elementary school…so let’s just say that it’s been a very long time.  I almost had a heart attack last year when they said that they were potentially no longer making Lip Smackers – thank goodness someone stepped up and continued production.  Out of all the flavours I’ve tried, the Dr. Pepper one is the best – it gives my lips a hint of colour and smells like my favourite soda.  Can’t go wrong!

Phew and that was everything!  Apparently I need to do these more often as this was much too long.  If you read it all, or even just a portion – thanks for reading!