Three weeks late and at least a dollar short – that’s me with my April empties post! Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the number of products to write mini-reviews on, and I just delay doing it. But today, I will do it.
Project Pan Update for April
I ended March with 31 empties. In April, I used up 14 beauty products. I’m happy with adding 14 empties to my total so far for 2024. I’m ending April at 45 empties. Plus I have quite a few empties coming up for May.
Skincare Empties
BioDerma Hydrabio Micellar Water: I have used up lots and lots of BioDerma HydraBio Micellar Water over the years. It’s gentle, moisturizing, effective, and affordable. Recommend? Yes, absolutely! I had another bottle waiting in my stash.
Natural Sponge: I love natural sponges because they are so soft on my skin, though if you are vegan you will likely want to pass. Recommend? Yes! I bought another bag of natural sponges on Amazon to replace the one that I will toss into the compost pile.
Bigger Than Beauty Defying Gravity Eye Cream: Last year, after being sent a tube of Thrive’s new skincare brand, Bigger Than Beauty’s Defying Gravity Eye Cream to try out, I’ve repurchased this wonderful eye cream on my own dime at least 4 times. I love it. The tube is recyclable and it defends the effectiveness of the eye cream by keeping air out. I use this eye cream around my total eye area for lifting and firming. It’s great! Recommend? Yes, by all means!
Vitabrid C12 Wrinkle Serum: I believe that Vitabrid sent me their C12 Wrinkle Serum over a year ago. I liked it very much, but I would say I get more bottles of different serums from PR companies to try out for review than any other product. That said, I seldom repurchase facial serums. Nevertheless, Vitabrid is a superior quality skincare and haircare brand that makes effective products including C12 Wrinkle Serum. Recommend? Yes, I recommend it if you are in the market for a new facial serum.
Meg21 Bright & Clear Brightening Gel Cleanser: I feel so bad about the fact that I held onto Meg21 Brightening Gel Cleanser for more than 2 years before I used it. I have so many products to try that I sometimes lose track of them. In the meantime, it appears that the brand, Meg21, has gone out of business. They were the first brand to flag the process of glycation: a process of sugar molecules adhering to collagen and elastin, creating inflammation and skin aging. The excess sugar may arise from too much glucose, sucrose or fructose in our diet or from UV radiation or stress. Their products contained carnosine and other ingredients to prevent glycation. Anyway, I used up Meg21 Brightening Gel Cleanser, and it was a fine, gentle, non-stripping cleanser. Oh well.
Paula’s Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum: If you are in the market for a Vitamin C serum to brighten skin and help fade dark spots, buy this one! It has 25% Vitamin C in a stable form, so it will do more for skin than most C serums on the market. Recommend? Yes.
Guinot Longue Vit+ Anti-aging Serum, sample tube: Unfortunately, the sample I got from Guinot, a French skincare brand, was fragranced like many European skincare brands. Although it was a nice serum loaded with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and loads of antioxidant and more, I didn’t like the strong scent. Recommend? No, unless you like fragranced skincare.
Health & Beauty
JustCBD CBD Gummies Clear Bear, 1000mg: I love these yummy gummies. They taste delicious. However, after using them for about a year and a half, I realized I wasn’t taking enough to make a full dose. JustCBD recommends taking 4 gummies. My bad. But they were right, 4 gummies work better than 2! Recommend? If you like CBD gummies, these are good. In fact, I am also finished with my current tub that’s about half the size of the one I finished in April. I need to reorder pronto!
Sensodyne Pronamel Intensive Enamel Repair Toothpaste: Before I received the new RADIUS toothpastes, Sensodyne Pronamel was my brand of choice. At some point, I will most likely go back to Pronamel, but now I am enjoying using RADIUS Immunity Minty Toothpaste as well as the others. Recommend? Yes, I recommend both brands!!
Secret Outlast Sweat & Odor Antiperspirant: I took me a year to use up this bottle of Secret Outlast. I usually use non-antiperspirant Kiss My Face Liquid Rock Deodorant. Nevertheless, I like to have an antiperspirant in my cabinet for hot summer days or if I am going somewhere stressful. Recommend? Yes, Secret Outlast always does the job.
Makeup
Pili Ani Moisturizing Tinted Lip Balm (now called Lip Butter), shade Barely Red: It’s really hard for me to use up an entire lipstick. I have a lot of lipsticks, and when I’m at home, I wear City Lips or another lip balm. The Pili Ani Tinted Lip Balm was one of my go-to tinted lip balms for going out during the daytime. I love the translucent red shade. And it didn’t get grainy the way some lip balms can. Recommend? Yes, it’s a lovely red lip balm and they have 5 other shades!
Tatcha The Liquid Silk Canvas: I’ve been using Tatcha The Liquid Silk Canvas as my primer of choice for several years. It’s a moisturizing liquid that provide a lovely “silky canvas” for my foundation. Recommend? Enthusiastically yes!
Body & Hair Care
Mountain Mist Cashmere Vanilla Shea Creme: I mentioned this products and its divine fragrance in yesterday’s post. I love this handmade, cruelty-free, natural, highly moisturizing body butter! It keeps my skin feeling soft and smooth, and it smells fantastic. After I used up the first tub that I bought when we were in Asheville, I ordered two more and also the Roll-On and Solid Perfume in the same fragrance. Recommend? Oh yes!
KMS Moist Repair Shampoo, travel-size: KMS is a quality haircare brand that I have used off and on for decades. The Moist Repair shampoo helped my dry hair feel hydrated. Recommend? Yes, it’s a good shampoo for dry hair like mine.
So, this was April. May will be coming up soon! Did you finish up something you really liked?
Project Pan posts are always a treat for me, Allison. Way to go!
Thank you so much, Cynthia! I’m glad to know that you enjoy them xoxo
This is very impressive, Allison! I can’t believe that you had 31 empties in March and 14 in April! I am currently using a bottle of the Bioderma Micellar Water, and love it! I am also currently using a bottle of the Vitabrid Wrinkle Serum, and I also like it very much! You really did a great job finishing up so many products! I am thoroughly impressed!
Oh no, Lola, I had 31 empties at the end of March, meaning January through March!!! I guess I didn’t make that clear! Now I’m at 45 through the end of April
I’m a few days late too and many dollars short. I finished a Bioderma Micellar water in April too. I just put it on autodelivery since it’s the only micellar water I’ll use. (I have a new one and one that’s almost finished too). I only use the Sensodyne Toothpaste. I go to the hygienist soon so I’ll see what she says. I also used up a mini SPF from Innis and several travel size mascaras that were past date.
Well done!!