July 2016 Empties

Alrighty, I'm back to writing these ahead of time as I use up products which makes my life SO MUCH EASIER like... firstly I remember the product better and secondly I don't have to do as much at month's end

1. Sheet Masks Galore: 

-Tonymoly I'm Real Rice Mask Sheet Real Skin: I just used this today, as of the day I'm writing this, this definitely has a nice brightening effect and is somewhat hydrating but I wish it were a little bit more nourishing. 

-Sephora Collection Pomegranate Face Mask - This smelled really wonderful and hydrated my skin beautifully, I'd definitely look into it again. I have to give Sephora a giant thumbs up for having redone theses masks and made them A LOT better than they used to be.
- Sephora Collection Pearl Face Mask- I'm going to admit I was frightened to use this because the older version had a very pronounced sea... urine-like odor but this one smells amazing and brightens, smooths, and hydrates my skin beautifully. I dig it.
- Papa Recipe Bombee Honey Mask x2- LOVE. Absolute adoration and love for this mask. Firstly, it smells like dipping your face into a honey pot... which to me is just delightful but I had to avoid trying to lick it. It left my skin feeling soothed, hydrated, nourished, calmed, pampered. ALL THE GOOD THINGS!!! This is definitely a favorite of mine.
- Nature Republic Real Nature Seed Mask in Shea Butter- This was alright but somewhat too heavy for my skin for the summertime.
- Sephora Collection Rose Face Mask- This smelled really nice and had a nice hydrating and smoothing effect.
- Sephora Collection Orchid Face Mask- This also smelled really fantastic and left my skin looking bright and feeling hydrated.
- Skinfood Everyday Quinoa Facial Mask Sheet - This is pretty hydrating and works well. I was expecting it to be more milky for some reason but I liked it all the same.
- Skinfood Everyday Olive Facial Mask Sheet- This was... not as hydrating as I expected it to be given that it's olive. I like it ok but I prefer other olive masks over this one.
- Sephora Collection Avocado Face Mask- This was kind of disappointing. It smells fresh and nice but is nowhere near as soothing or hydrating as the rest of the avocado sheet masks I've tried and had this awful tendency to slide all over my face. I think it's a pass.
- Sephora Lotus Face Mask- Another one that smelled nice and was hydrating and brightening.
- Too Cool for School Egg Cream Mask- I really love this mask because of how moisturizing and refreshing it is, I would absolutely pick it up again. :D
- Sephora Collection Almond Foot Mask- Honestly, truly, I wanted to love this. I know you're only supposed to have these on for 20 minutes but my feet are going through quite a dry and crusty phase and... the skin gets tight and dry... I'm in pain... etc... I figured I'd give my feet a little extra tlc and leave these on overnight. I woke up several times feeling as though my feet were very sweaty/wet... and had to take these off halfway through the night. They smelled very much of almond exract which was nice. All that said, I don't see a very visible increase in softness, nor did I see it "soften rough areas and make skin supple" I WISH!!!! Overall I think this would be a skip for me in the future. My feet need something much more intense. 

2. Sephora Collection Instant Nail Polish Remover Wipes x3: I like to use these on my feet and the dippy kind for the hands, mostly because the actual liquid seems to no longer be available. Anywho, no t no shade, this stuff works really great and is quite generously sized, the only downside is that it dries somewhat quick but if you work fast you can actually get both feet/hands done with one wipe which I think is pretty economical. I think this is good stuff and definitely worth getting your hands on.

3. Skin Inc Replenish Hyaluronic Acid Serum: If I'm going to be honest I really wish that I got a larger sample, like this was good for maybe 3-4 days when used twice a day. Secondly, it isn't as hydrating as I would've wanted or expected. It feels refreshing but isn't mind-blowing in its hydrating ability.

4. Tria Laser Hair Removal Skincare Smoothstart Calming Gel: This... I use it with the Tria machine and... I mean it's slightly numbing but nowhere near where you'd want it to be. The Tria at full strength is painful whether you use this or not. Like it only takes the pain down a notch, so if it felt like a 5/5 before it'll feel like a 4/5. I mean it's something but... I wish it had a more novacaine/lidocaine numbing ability. 

5. JulieG Nail Color in Sugar Rush: I am so, so sad to say goodbye to this. I loved this polish so much. The color and texture were so unique and beautiful but alas it's all dried up and goopy and seems to no longer be available. Sad times.

6. Sephora Collection False Eye Lashes in Celebrity: These are Sephora's bestselling lashes and... why? Like... I don't get it. They do not do anything. There I said it. When I glue them on it's like gluing a pair of my own lashes, if they were perfect and  not clumpy, on top of my own lashes. Like you can hardly tell a difference which is like... why even bother. There are lashes that look natural but at least give you a little "something-something" I mean... if you're going through the effort to apply lashes, shouldn't they at least do SOMETHING? Just saying. 

7. Derek Lam 10 Crosby Rain Day: This smelled pretty nice and fresh. I'm not blown away by it but it wasn't bad.

8. Eucerin Sensitive Skin Experts Professional Repair Concentrated Lotion for Extremely Dry Skin: I'm kind of disappointed in this. It moisturizes ok but it has AHAs and ceramides in it which I hoped would at least make a dent on my calloused heels but alas.... I didn't find that it changed the degree of callousness/callus growth at all. I'm sad. I feel like there really isn't a moisturizer that'll make my feet soft and smooth for a long period of time; meaning over a few hours, my feet just suck up moisture like sponges.

9. Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub in Hawain Kukui: I love these scrubs so much! This smelled really nice and feels really gritty and exfoliating, kind of has a nice awakening effect. I dig it. 

10. Clarisonic Radiance Brush Head: Oh boy, me tossing this was a long time coming because I certainly felt a difference when I switched out brush heads. This feels somewhat more abrasive than I expected it to and I think it'll only give you a "radiant" effect if you were to use it with cleansing products specifically meant to brighten. Otherwise it's essentially a slightly more dense version of the original brush head. 

11.  Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel Matte in 88 : I was sad to see this go because I really loved the color but this is just all dried up and smells funny. Sad times.

12. Crystal Pure Glycerin Soap in Tropical Rain: My friend got this for me and it's a really nice soap. Foams up beautifully and leaves your skin feeling soft. I give it a thumbs up. As far as scent it smells pretty clean and like a basic bar soap. I was pretty happy with it.

13. Pampers Sensitive Fragrance Free Baby Wipes: As mentioned in previous empties I use these for removing swatches and for random cleaning around the house. We got them in bulk at BJ's. My real issue with these is that the tips of them tend to dry out when they sit in the plastic box and in general they tend to dry once they hit the air way faster than the Rite Aid Tugaboos wipes which is disappointing. They are really plush and soft which is nice. I find that if I have the box upside down then they don't dry out.

14. Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Beauty Booster BB: Another thing I'm sad to see leave my collection. This is an amazing BB cream that gives you medium to full coverage while also being super hydrating and it just has a beautiful luminous finish but still looks natural. I love it so much.

15. Living Proof Restore Shampoo: I wanted to like this but the odd thing is I felt it was a slight bit drying to my hair. I wish it were restoring to me because that's what I need but... :/

16. The Skin House Lavender Lightening Emulsion: I liked this so much. I don't know why in my original review I said I wish this was more hydrating because, in use, I found it to hydrate really nicely and to leave my face feeling soft and silky. I'm sad to have used it up. It felt and looked really luxurious and I dig it.

17.Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Primer : I like this primer a lot. It gives a nice extra boost of hydration to the hair, which mine needs because it's been pretty dry for a while and is a good product to spray on the ends of the hair, whether it's wet or dry, to smooth them out and give them a little extra loving.

18. Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream: This is a pretty nice, grainy scrub. I definitely wouldn't use it every day because it's a little too abrasive for that. But other than that I liked it alright. It wasn't mind blowing but it wasn't bad either. 

19. Dove Go Fresh Cool Moisture Body Wash in Cucumber & Green Tea Scent: I feel I go through one of these every month. It's great for shaving and leaves my skin feeling pretty moisturized and does what I want it to do. I wish that bulk packs of this came in multiple scents together so you could get variety though. This one smells pretty good - really clean and soothing, very summer-rain esque.

20. Bath & Body Works Ultra Shea Body Cream in White Citrus: I love the way this smells - really citrusy and refreshing. It moisturizes pretty nicely as well, which I'm happy with.

21. Nature Republic Bulgarian Rose Moisture Toner: Another product I'm sad to say goodbye to. This adds a nice boost of moisture to the skin, brightens, and smells absolutely amazing. It has this rose honey scent that I adore. Going to miss having this in my collection.

22. Caudalie Polyphenol C15 Anti-Wrinkle Eye & Lip Creme : This was quite lovely, it hydrated nicely, smoothed, and absorbed fairly quickly - it had  a really beautiful lightweight texture. That said I'm not really sure how well it worked in terms of "anti-wrinkle" because that's not really a big issue for me at this time so... there's that.

23. Embryolisse Laboratories Lait Creme Concentre: This is a really lovely moisturizer/primer for folks with dry skin essentially, but is a very popular item for professional makeup artists in general because it's a multi-tasker and it calms down and soothes the skin which is a great property when you're applying and re-applying makeup to your models over and over. Personally, I loved this product and how it really helped to rejuvenate my skin from a dry crusty mess to beautiful and glowing. Unfortunately, my tube went quite rancid and had a lovely (sarcasm) urine-like odor to it so I had to say goodbye.

24. Jurlique Purely Age Defying with Ultra-Smooth Complex Firming Eye Cream: This was a really nice hydrating eye cream. Again, I don't have aging concerns so I can't speak to its affect on that. I look for brightening, hydrating, and de-puffing qualities in eye cream and this worked nicely but I feel like I can find what I'm looking for at a lower price point. 

25. tokidoki Rollerball EDT in Siberia: I wish these could be brought back. This is a really lovely, slightly sweet, refreshing watery fragrance that was perfect for summertime. I really enjoyed using this and am really sad to see it go.

26. Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Shampoo: This was a really fantastic moisturizing shampoo. Lately everything dries my hair out but this felt like a nice extra boost of moisture so I was pretty happy about it.

27. Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Conditioner : This was really great as well and really beautifully moisturizing when paired with the shampoo. I dig it.

28. Briogeo Curl Charisma : I... really didn't felt like this did very much :/ like it added some extra moisture but in terms of making my curls extra special or cute I just didn't find that this did that. :/

Disclaimer: I purchased all of the above with the exception of the Skin Inc, Living Proof, Bumble and Bumble, Clinique, Caudalie, and Jurlique . The Tria, Derek Lam, Bumble and Bumble (packets, not shown) and Briogeo (packet, not shown) were provided as gifts-with-purchase. The Crystal soap was a gift from a friend.