Ah, the first empties post of the new year. So many possibilities, lol. Let’s hope I make my goal this year.
Skincare
Innisfree Green Tea Hyaluronic Acid Toner: This lovely, gentle toner lasted me a long time. I think I bought it in May. It left my skin cleansed and hydrated. Recommend? Yes, absolutely. I am using up another toner I have, but I will replace this one when I get caught up. I think Innisfree is a terrific, efficacious and affordable K-beauty skincare brand.
BeautyStat Universal C Eye Perfector: BeautyStat vitamin C undereye serum was a good, off-white, fragrance-free product. It is a little thicker than some other eye creams I have used. I’m on the fence about it since I believe that BeautyStat products can be quite pricey. I stopped using it to test other eye creams, and I forgot about it. I went back to it recently to finish up the bottle. I think the vitamin C may have turned a bit because it was a little darker and thicker, maybe? Did it make a difference on my dark circles? Not really, but then none of them lighten my semi-dark circles. Recommend? For me, BeautyStat Universal C Eye Perfector wasn’t a homerun. If I were looking for a vitamin C eye cream, I would choose Paula’s Choice Vitamin C Eye Cream since it is less expensive ($39 vs. $65), and it has the same percentage of stabilized vitamin C (C5).
IT Cosmetics Confidence In An Eye Cream with 2% Super Peptide Concentrate: Yes, I have used up another little jar of Confidence In An Eye Cream. I find it to be just thick enough, it’s gentle, and it does a good job firming my eye area. Recommend? Yes, I like it so much, I have two more jars waiting in my stash.
Theraderm Anti-aging Lip Complex: I loved Theraderm Lip Complex. It’s juicy, makes my lips feel hydrated and cushiony, it’s fragrance-free and flavor-free, and it’s long lasting. It contains peptides to make my lips feel and look good. Recommend? Yes, I recommend it. It costs a little less than my absolute favorite City Lips and provides twice as much product. My only slight complaint is that it doesn’t last on my lips all night the way City Lips does because it isn’t quite as viscous, yet my lips still feel good after using it.
Bath & Body
Nest Moroccan Amber Liquid Soap: I got this liquid soap from Nest at an amazing price with a promotion from American Express a year ago. The 10 oz. bottle lasted me for 13 months, and it’s the one I kept at my kitchen sink. The fragrance is a nice, strong amber scent, but truth be told, it was a little bit more masculine-leaning than I hoped. I still have an almost full bottle of the hand cream left, lol. Recommend? It’s an excellent liquid soap that cleanses well and doesn’t dry out skin. But this fragrance is for amber lovers who like a gender-neutral scent that leans a little more masculine, and it’s 20% off at Bloomingdale’s.
Crabtree & Evelyn Avocado Oil Bar Soap, travel size: I really liked the C&E Avocado Oil Bar Soap that had a light, herbal scent and made lots of moisturizing lather. Even though a “travel size” bar, it lasted me for almost 2 months in my shower. Somehow, my little sliver of soap didn’t make it into my photo. Recommend? I’m wondering if Crabtree & Evelyn is going out of business. They filed for bankruptcy and closed all of their retail stores in 2019. I was just on their website, and all of their products were listed as “Sold Out”. Also, it seemed like the current iteration of the much reduced C&E stopped making the avocado oil collection. Boo! I hope another company who is a better marketer buys the Crabtree & Evelyn name and relaunches the business.
Fragrance
Lolita Lempicka Eau de Parfum, mini sprays: I used up two more minis that I bought last month. The bag they were stored in smells lovely, lightly floral. Too bad they don’t smell like that on me. Recommend? I can’t give an opinion on fragrance since it’s your own preference and body chemistry. I just wish this set of 12 sample sprays smelled as wonderful on me as the first sample spray mini I was sent from some online retailer (which one, I can’t remember). Lolita Lempicka Eau de Parfum has been reformulated from the Original launched in 1997, again in 2010, I think again in 2017, and maybe even in 2021. Who knows which these little minis are? My original mini came in a clear glass mini spray in a white cardboard folder with green rather than purple plastic mini spray in a green folder with white.
Nails
DefenAge 360-Rejuvenation Nail Root Serum: I had planned to review this product this past week, but I didn’t get to it. I will do it soon! Recommend? Yes, and I’ll tell you why soon.
Makeup
Chella Good Drama Mascara, black full size: I love Chella mascara. It’s lengthening with some volumizing, but that’s the way I like mascara. See my original Chella Good Drama Mascara review here. Also, it also comes in Brown and Blue as well as in minis that I usually buy so I can finish them up in 3 months. Recommend? Yes, it’s one of my favorites for almost 2 years.
Project Pan Summary: January 2024
I would say that I am off to an inauspicious start for 2024, finishing up only 8 beauty products (not counting the two samples from Lolita Lempicka). And so far, February doesn’t look much better. Hopefully, I’ll make up for it as the year goes on!
Impressive job with your January Empties, Allison! Wow, what a sign of the times that Crabtree & Evelyn appears to be going out of business. They made such lovely products!
Actually, I was so impressed with your 15 empties! This is one of my smallest empties posts in a long time, boo. But yes, how sad about C&E. It appears that they declared bankruptcy several years ago, but they’ve left up their website. Odd. I truly hope someone buys the brand and relaunches with their best-selling products and values what the brand stood for.
I’m most interested in your eye cream reviews. Beauty Stat advertises so much on
FB that I wondered about the brand, now I’ll skip it. But the new IT Cosmetics will be my next eye cream buy.
My current two eye cream faves are Thrive Beauty Defined Eye Cream in a tube and the IT Confidence in a Cream. The fact that the Thrive is in a tube but is still a rich cream is quite amazing to me.