September 2018 Beauty Empties and Tosses

First, I want to announce the winners of the Farmhouse Fresh Lip Scrub giveaway. Julie W’s name was picked first so she gets her scent choice, Blackberry Wine. Cynthia R’s name was picked second, so she will get Beach Punch. I’ve emailed them both, and hope to hear back soon. If I don’t hear from them, I’ll select a new winner(s) and let you know. Thanks to all who participated. Stay tuned for another giveaway coming up soon!

In September, I used up quite a few full size products, and that makes me really happy. I love recycling, and making room for new or replacement products. I am also trying to get better at getting rid of products that don’t work for me, and I have a few of those this month too.

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Let’s talk about the empties first.

Bath & Body

• Farmhouse Fresh Moon Dip Back to Youth Body Mousse: I absolutely adored this lightweight but very hydrating body mousse. The milk oat scent was divine. I loved everything about it. Repurchase? When I finish up some of the other body products I have in my stash, I definitely will. I also would love to try the Moon Dip Hand Cream, too. I highly recommend this body hydrator.

• LATHER Oatmeal Lavender Bar Soap: LATHER makes excellent, fine milled bar soaps with natural and organic ingredients. Over the years, I’ve decided I don’t like bar soaps with “stuff” like oatmeal or seeds in it, so I didn’t love this soap as much as I’ve loved other of their soaps. Nevertheless, a very nice non-drying, long lasting soap. Repurchase? No, I have a couple of other LATHER soaps in my stash, and I just didn’t love the oatmeal flakes in it.

• Kneipp Soft Skin Shower Cream: I bought this creamy body wash during our trip to Holland when Jeff and I took a day trip to The Hague to go to the Maurithaus Museum. The store that was the Dutch version of Boots was selling Kneipp and a few other brands on deep discount for Mother’s Day. I wish I could have bought several to bring home, but I was concerned they might leak inside my luggage on the way back to the US. This was a creamy, hydrating, lightly fragrant (floral) body wash that was pleasant to use. I may save the bottle as a memento. Repurchase? Right now, I have a lot of other shower gels/body washes in my stash as well as in my shower to use up. I may try the Soft Skin or another scent at some point in the future to get more experience with this excellent German brand.

• Nature Island Botanicals Body Lotion, Caribbean Coconut: If you follow my blog, you know I adore NIB body products. They are so well made with fabulous scents and excellent natural and organic ingredients. Nature Island Botanicals Body Lotion is a thick, white body butter that has a lovely summery scent and is very hydrating. Repurchase? When I saw Daphne, who hand makes NIB skincare products, at the Waterfront Craft Festival in August, I stocked up. This time, I bought the Body Lotion in Citrus Sunrise, her other scent that I also love.

• Purlisse Coconut Oil+Coffee Sugar Body Scrub, travel size: I don’t always love body scrubs. They often make the floor of my shower greasy and dangerous, and I am too lazy to wash the tub floor every day. So I approached using the Purlisse Body Scrub with skepticism. I absolutely loved the strong coffee scent that made it a joy to use. The scrub wasn’t as greasy as many other scrubs I have tried, and though it hydrated and smoothed my skin (with small sugar bits), it didn’t make the bottom of my shower greasy and dangerous. Repurchase? I really liked this scrub because of the scent, the fact that the sugar crystals didn’t hurt my skin, and the fact that it wasn’t overly greasy. I will look for a sale, and buy a full size then.

• Kyo Miori Koisuru Tamahada Hand Cream: I bought this hand cream at Barneys a while back when I was trying to make the spending threshold to qualify for the Beauty Bag. I had been looking for a cherry blossom scented hand cream, but the Kyo Miori Cherry Blossom Hand Cream was sold out. The scent that I bought was similar to cherry blossom but slightly different. I bought it because I thought the container with the lovely cherry blossom illustrated label on top was so pretty, and the right size to go into my purse. I remember the price of the hand cream; $22 for 1.4 oz., kind of pricey for a relatively small amount. The scent was nice, but not as cherry blossom as I wanted. The hand cream itself was fluffy and effective. Repurchase? No, it was too expensive, and there are other hand creams that smell better and are more effective at better prices.

• Somersets Grooming for Men Extra Sensitive Shave Oil: I received several different versions of Somersets Shave Oil. They worked very well when I used them to shave my legs and underarms. The only drawback for me was the one I mentioned above about some body scrubs: leaving an oil slick on the bottom of my shower. So I gave the oils to Jeff to use in shaving, and he looooooves them. Repurchase? Not yet, I think Jeff still has a couple more bottles that I gave him in his stash. But these are really good shave oils – they give a close shave and hydrate at the same time.

• Amope Pedi-Perfect Foot File Extra Coarse: I really love my Amope Pedi-Perfect Foot File. It works sooooo well. I got the Extra Coarse version of the file, and boy, does it remove a lot of dead skin! Repurchase? I just replaced the foot file cartridge. I think the original cartridge lasted for at least a year. This is one of my favorite tools!

Haircare

• JOICO K-PAK Color Therapy Luster Lock Instant Shine & Repair Treatment: I’ve been using JOICO K-PAK for more than a year, and during that time, I have not found anything that works as well to soften and shine my thick, coarse hair. Repurchase? Yes, I did. In fact, I think this is my fourth tube of this great stuff

• eva-nyc Mane Magic 10-in-1 Primer: I got this travel size leave-in hair protectant and conditioner in one of my Ipsy bags. I absolutely fell in love with the vanilla lavender scent of this relatively lightweight spray that I use after shampooing and conditioning my hair. Prior to this I was using It’s A 10 Leave-In Conditioner and I still have almost a full bottle. Truth be told, I think the heavier It’s A 10 may work slightly better on my thick, coarse hair, but I adore the scent of this leave-in. Also, the lighter spray doesn’t fall in clumpy spots on my hair like It’s A 10 has a tendency to do. Repurchase? Yes, I just bought the two pack of full size Mane Magic at Costco. Stay tuned for a giveaway with one of the spray bottles coming soon.

Skincare

• belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb: Again, if you follow my blog, you know I love gels or gel creams especially for eye skincare because it is less likely to create milia, the white tiny pimples that can form on skin. I really like belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb to help firm the crepey skin above my crease, and to hydrate my dry eyelids and crease. Repurchase? Yes, I did during the recent Sephora VIB sale event.

• MyChelle Bio-Firm Hydrogel Concentrate, travel size: I thought this memory gel hyaluronic acid (sodium hyaluronate) was a very cool product that reminded me of another of my memory gel favorites that gets rid of my very rare blemishes, Shiseido Multi-Solution Gel. I enjoyed using the MyChelle hydrating gel this summer, and I thought it was effective, somewhat cooling as well as innovative. Repurchase? I have so many hyaluronic acid hydrating serums and essences right now, that I don’t think I will repurchase MyChelle Concentrate at this point, but it is an excellent product.

• Chanel Hydra Beauty Micro Serum sample packet: I’m not a big fan of Chanel skincare or makeup because I always thought they were too heavily fragranced for me. But I got a sample packet of hydrating serum maybe from a Sephora purchase. It’s a delightful, lightweight but hydrating serum with a lovely light slightly floral scent. Purchase? From the two usage occasions I got out of the little packet, I thought it was an effective, esthetically pleasing facial serum. If I didn’t have about a million facial serums, I would definitely consider buying it on sale.

Makeup

• Benefit Bad Gal Bang Mascara, travel size: As I mentioned before, I try to buy a travel size mascara whenever I can because I can’t use up a full size in the 3 months that is safe to keep a mascara. So I think this is my 3rd tube of Benefit Bad Gal Bang Mascara. I like the formula which I would describe as lengthening and also volumizing. I like the plastic teeth wand that makes it relatively easy to apply to my downturned eyes and somewhat wonky lashes. No flaking on me, and mostly no clumping unless I’m at or past the 3 months. Repurchase? Yes, I already did.

• Beautyblender Blendercleanser Solid: I just finished up my 4th Blendercleanser Solid. I think it does a good job. Repurchase? Not now because I am using Clean Apothecary Makeup Brush Cleaner. I think it is better at sudsing and is larger for the same money.

• Urban Decay Anti-aging Eye Primer, travel size: My friend and blogging colleague, Marcia from Beauty Info Zone, kindly gifted me this travel size UD AA Eye Primer that she had in her stash because she knew how much I loved it. UD changed the formula and put a useless applicator in the tube a couple of years ago, and I don’t like it nearly as much as I loved this old version. Sadly, I finished it up. Repurchase? Right now, I’m finishing a sample tube of Elizabeth Mott Eye Primer that I like, but I did buy a travel size of the current UD AA Eye Primer to use while I try to find a new eye primer that I like better. Any recommendations other than Too Faced Shadow Insurance that isn’t good for me?

• First Aid Beauty Priming Moisturizer, sample size: I got this priming moisturizer from FAB in one of my last Sephora Play bags before I cancelled. Courtney from Phyrra really likes this primer, and I had wanted to try it for a long time because of her recommendation. I’m going to do a full review of it soon. Repurchase? Yes, I bought a larger size to replace it.

Tossing before they’re finished

Because these products didn’t work for me for one reason or another, it doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t work for you!

• AmorePacific Future Response Age Defense Dual Eye Creme: It truly pains me in more ways than one to have to chuck this terrific product. I loved the idea of both day and night eye cream. In fact, I am always wishing that I had daytime eye creams that worked for me. I used up the hydrating, rich nighttime eye cream ages ago, but I have not finished up the daytime eye cream because there’s something in it that makes my sensitive, dry eyes sting and water. In truth, I have this same problem with most eye creams that contain sunscreen. So even though I tried it again just the other day, I can’t wear it so I am tossing it.

• Shu Uemura Color Lustra Brilliant Glaze Conditioner: I got this travel size tube in one of my past Barneys Beauty Bags, and I’m a fan of Shu Uemura so I was hoping that this glaze conditioner would revitalize my red color. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice any brightening of the color and as a conditioner, it just didn’t have enough juice for my thick, coarse hair. I tried using it quite a few times but nothing, so I am finally tossing it.

• Mineral Fusion Mineral Liquid Foundation: I was sent this foundation for review a couple of years ago. While it is a lovely medium coverage, buildable foundation made from natural ingredients, the shade is just not right for me. I kept it around thinking it might suit my pink undertone skin tone better during the summer when I have a slight tan, but it just looks too yellow on my skin. Sadly, it needs to go. Some time when I’m at Whole Foods or the Common Crow Natural Foods, I will look at the shade range and see if there is a shade that’s a better match for me.

• Oribe Cote d’Azur Replenishing Body Wash and Restorative Body Creme, travel size: I was given this bath and body duo in the goody bag I received at the Interlocks Medispa event for Kjaer Weis last month. Oribe is a borderline luxury brand, so I was excited to get these products to try. Unfortunately, the perfumey scent that they both share is so awful that I have to throw them out. Boo hoo.

So that’s it, what I used up or what I’m tossing in September. Do you see anything you’d like to try? Did you finish anything up this month?

Today's Author

Allison Cohen

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