December 2021 Empties

Happy 2022 folksickles! (I write on 12/7 lol, but alas, gotta be prepared). Wishing you all loads of wonderful makeup and skincare discoveries this year!  

1. Kiss Lash So Wispy Lashes in Pompadour x3: These are a pretty, voluminous wispy lash. They're very lightweight and fairly easy to apply which I appreciate.

2. beauty 360 100% Acetone Pro Strength Nail Polish Remover x2: This nail polish remover makes super quick and easy work of removing my nail polish, which I appreciate. 

3. Soap & Glory Scrub for Joy: This scrub has a delicious grapefruit scent and is nicely exfoliating while being gentle on the skin. It's always a joy (haha!) to use this and I am glad to have had it.

4. Fourth Ray Beauty Acai Face Milk: Alas I have finally used up the last face milk in the set! Honestly, this was the first one I tried and I loved it initially but then I kind of fell off loving it. Maybe because it's wintertime now but I feel like I prefer a product with a slightly heavier, more emollient texture and while this provided hydration to my skin I honestly wanted a bit more.

5. Nature Republic Hand & Nature sanitizer gel in Rose: This hand sanitizer has an absolutely delicious sweet rose scent and I appreciate that it sanitized the hands without drying them out.

6. Lune+Aster 05 Porcelain Skin Tint: Y'all I am SO SAD to have finished this up. I love that this product is a medium to full coverage tinted moisturizer that is super thin and lightweight. It has a slightly satiny finish to it that I'd describe as a "natural matte" - your skin just looks healthy and is neither powdery or intensely glowing. I LOVED that this product went on smooth without gathering in anyone's lines and wrinkles and thus didn't create any texture even on mature skin. The latter part obviously doesn't refer to me but I did like recommending this particular product to clients because, as I said, it gave good coverage without being heavy and just looks like skin. I would highly recommend checking it out.

7. Laneige Water Sleeping Mask: This is a very lightweight, hydrating sleeping mask with a gel consistency. I really liked the extra boost of refreshing hydration that this gave my skin.

8. Trader Joe's Hair Mask: This is a nice hydrating mask that doesn't leave my hair weighed down but definitely adds hydration, softness, shine, and manageability to my hair. I was able to get two uses out of the packet and I'm fairly happy with it. 

9. beauty 360 Original Nail Polish Remover Pad: I purchased these to use on my feet since my local CVS, unfortunately, was closing and out of the liquid remover. These work fairly decent and do a good job of removing my nail polish. I'm able to get both feet done before it dries. That being said the pad is a bit thick which, overall, is not bad but it's difficult to get it around the cuticle area to remove nail polish there. 

10. Trader Joe's Formula No. 3 Winter Citrus Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash: Honestly when I saw the name of this product I was genuinely skeptical and even a bit... uncomfortable. As someone who's spent many years in the beauty industry I can confidently say that many products that claim to do several things generally will do one thing well and the rest of them in a whatever manner. So I figured this would either be too drying to use as a hair-care product or too emollient to be a nice body wash. Color me impressed because I was in a pinch of switching shampoos and had put this in my shower so I figured YOLO, if it dries out my hair I'll throw a hair mask on or something. Now, it works nicely as shampoo and as body wash. I'd personally describe its texture as being something akin to Johnson's baby shampoo although I wouldn't recommend getting this in your eyes as I'm sure there will be tears. I would say using this as a conditioner is a stretch, it doesn't have the same slip or hydration so if you're a regular conditioner user, I'd stick with using your conditioner after. It has a very light citrusy, slightly pine-y scent. 

11. CVS Ultra-Soft Cleansing Wipes - Fragrance Free: I mean nothing really to write home about when it comes to these baby wipes. I use them to wipe down makeup and dusty furniture. These have a nice thickness and moisture content to them. 

12. Oribe Serene Scalp Exfoliating Scrub: Personally I found this just ok. This is meant to help with dandruff and has both a physical and chemical (salicylic acid) exfoliator. I will agree with its "serene scalp" claim as this is a fairly gentle scrub. That being said, I personally prefer something a bit more intense for several reasons. Firstly, my hair is long, so despite this having a little applicator tip it's still difficult to directly deposit the product on the scalp... despite me not having that much hair in the first place... Additionally, when I am afflicted with dandruff I tend to get it in... somewhat mound-like areas dispersed through the scalp and the flakes tend to be sizable instead of small, especially right around my forehead/bang area. When I use this, it just doesn't attack the flakes as aggressively as I'd like, especially for a product designed to only be used once per week. I grittier scrub tends to actually lift the flakes off my scalp. 

13. Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in Too Shy: This shade is a gorgeous blue but unfortunately it's developed quite the funky scent. 

14. Dove exfoliating body polish in pomegranate seeds & shea butter: I was honestly not expecting much from this body scrub and was pleasantly surprised. I'd describe the texture as having a gentle grit - it's scrubby enough where you definitely feel something is happening but it's not as intense as say a salt or sugar crystal. This also has a really yummy scent to it. 

15. Aveeno baby eczema therapy moisturizing cream: I mainly purchased this because I figured since it's designed for babies that it would very gentle on my compromised skin. That being said, for me personally, this works best layered over cortisone. It doesn't clear up or relieve my eczema on its own. I like that it's more lightweight and quick-absorbing versus other things I've tried because most of my eczema flareups now occur on my groin/crotch area (it isn't fun!) and having that area feel wet or heavy just leads to further discomfort.

16. MAKE UP FOR EVER Lab Shine Metal Collection in M0: Unfortunately this has developed a really off scent. I've probably held onto it for too long because I honestly really loved the Lab Shine collection and this gloss in particular - the glosses came in pretty colors and finishes and were long-lasting without being sticky. They were literally the perfect gloss!  That said, it's time to let it go.

17. OVERTONE Blue for Brown Hair Coloring Conditioner: I used this over both my natural hair - which is a light to mid-tone ash brunette and then over a violet-red-brunette hair that's been highlighted. In both instances I can't say that this showed up in a way that one would definitively say my hair looked blue. Sure, there were maybe a few strands that turned definitively blue but overall the effect this had was that it made my hair overall look darker and more cooler-toned which is... fine... but it's not really what I paid for. Personally, I find that it's false advertising to say that this is meant for brunettes and it's meant to make your hair literally blue when it doesn't really do that - the only people whose hair I've seen this turn blue are those with pre-lightened hair that was blonde or extremely light brunette to begin with. Even the swatches on the website show the darker brunette hair going cooler-toned but not necessarily blue.  

18. Trader Joe's Vitamin C Serum: I like how this serum has a nice citrusy scent and feels moisturizing. I find that it gives my skin a pretty glow.

19. Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover: I really like this because, while it doesn't really remove cuticles, it softens them quickly so I can gently push them down and get nicer looking manicures. 

20. Dove refreshing cucumber & green tea nourishing body wash: I've mentioned many times that I really like these to shave with and they're available in bulk at BJ's so that's why you keep seeing them on here.

21. e.l.f. HD Powder: Personally I found this just ok and, to be fair, comparable to other HD powders on the market. That being said, my under-eye area still creased when I was using this and, based on how I currently use powder, I prefer a less "smoothing" type under the eyes because I find that this settles rather strangely and it's mostly because I tend to be a bit heavy handed with my under-eye powdering and need a powder that can settle nicely without sliding on itself or getting cake-y. 

22. Virtue Volumizing Mousse: I really loved this mousse because it gave my hair volume, fullness, and a feeling of thickness that... coming back from the damage I had in my hair from both stress and bleach it just feels so much thicker now and this definitely helped it feel healthier.

23. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter: I really liked using this as an illuminating primer - it gave my skin a beautiful glow and lasted a really long time - I used it for nearly a year before it ran out completely. Although I really like the product I feel like I can probably find something at a lower price point that would give me a similar effect. 

24. Cala 3D Faux Mink Lashes in Wisper: These were a really pretty kind of spikey-ish pair of lashes. I didn't super love their shape but they were fun to play with.

25. Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream: I was using this to give my hair a boost of hydration at the ends and this did a nice job of giving me hydration without being heavy.

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Disclaimer: I purchased all of the above with the exception of the Lune+Aster, Oribe, and Laneige products.