spring 2017 empties

I’ve accumulated a looooot of empties over the past three months, so bear with me.

• Benefit Watts Up: I really like this because it’s a buildable champagne color, but I would not purchase it because I’m not that into highlighting.
• Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Foundation Powder: This was too orange on me, so I used it as a bronzer.  I have other bronzers I like more so I wouldn’t repurchase this.
• MUFE Step 1 Skin Equalizer Hydrating Primer: This was nicely hydrating for my chin area, but I doubt I would buy it again – it wasn’t anything special.
• MAC Strobe Cream mini: I use this to hydrate around my mouth and add some reflectivity to the discoloration there before using corrector and/or concealer.
• MAC Studio Finish Skin Corrector in Pure Orange (the empty pan): I would not buy this again!  You have to mix it with something yellow unless you have very, very deep skin.
• Urban Decay Primer Potion mini: Good stuff, standard, but if I were buying eyeshadow primer again, I’d go for the NARS Smudgeproof or something similar.
• Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm in Black Cherry + Pomegranate: I’ve used up many of these in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.
• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Advanced Therapy: I got this in a kit, and it’s nice, but I doubt I would ever pay for it when there are so many options that hydrate my lips fine.
• Buxom Full + Fabulous Mascara mini: This was nice and volumizing, but I didn’t love it so much that I would pay money for it.
• Lancome Drama Liqui-Pencil in Noir Intense mini: I used this up surprisingly quickly!  It’s a good standard black eyeliner pencil that I used to tightline, sometimes to line around my eyes, and sometimes to create a smoky eyeliner effect.
• Rimmel London ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in Nude: This was ok!  I would not repurchase – it fades very quickly.
• Lotus Ecostay Kajal in Black: I loved this eyeliner pencil and was very sad when I couldn’t sharpen it anymore.  It barely ever smudges, and it stays strong long into the day.  I’m going to try to get a hold of this from India again.

 

• Some foundation samples and some primer samples.  Nothing jumped out at me as really great, although the Guerlain Meteorites Baby Glow sample really did have a very nice glowy satin effect.

 

• Kate Somerville Daily Deflector Moisturizer SPF50 PA+++ mini: This was good, and I think I’ve actually had the full-size before.  But I wouldn’t repurchase because now I’m looking for better sunscreen formulas for under makeup.
• Dr. Dennis Gross Dark Spot Sun Defense Broad Spectrum SPF50 mini: This didn’t sink in very easily, so I would not rebuy.
• Pond’s Clarant B3 Dark Spot Correcting Cream: This actually does a decent job of correcting dark spots, but the jar packaging made it seem like it lost its effectiveness, so I used it as a neck cream and then as a body cream to finish it up.
• Biore Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF50 PA++++: Loved this stuff, but unfortunately it’s been reformulated.
• belif the true cream aqua bomb mini: I remember liking this lightweight hydrating moisturizer, but there are more affordable similar options out there.
• First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Hydrating Serum mini: This was nicely hydrating, but again, there are better hydrating options out there.

 

• Fresh Soy Face Cleansing Milk mini: This is a cream that you put on your face to break down makeup, but it was far too thin to really emulsify and break stuff down.  I didn’t like the texture, and I also found the smell annoying, so I would definitely not purchase.
• Vichy Purete Thermal 3-in-1 one step micellar water: This was a fine micellar water, but I really didn’t like the packaging – the cap is hard to open and it makes it seem bigger than it really is.
• Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover: I like this stuff and would repurchase in the future, although I’m trying out some other eye makeup removers now.
• Clinique liquid facial soap, mild: This was a very gentle cleanser that I liked because it didn’t dry me out at all, and I may even keep it in mind for the future.
• MAC Cleansing oil mini x2: I got these samples with MAC orders, and they’re good but I wouldn’t buy the full-size.
• Boscia Charcoal Cleansing Sponge: I’ve had this for a looong time and haven’t used it in a long time either; it was time to get rid of it.
• Sephora Express Eye Makeup Remover Wipes: These samples were useful for travel.

• A whooole bunch of foil stuff, including sheet masks, a peel-off face mask, eye cream foil samples, and a bunch of blotting sheets (thanks to it being summertime, I finished like three of these).

 

• A random assortment of stuff I forgot about, including perfume samples, the MAC lipstick/shadescents sample, body lotion foils, another primer sample and another eye cream sample.

 

• Random hair and body stuff, including cocoa butter lotion, Neutrogena body acne wash (which I’ve already repurchased), dry shampoo, etc.