February Empties!

Another great month of empties! I'm on a roll!

L to R: Dr. Scholl's Odour Destroyers All Day Deodorant Spray Powder, Secret Clinical Strength Clear Gel with Olay Beauty Anti-perspirant, GlamGlow ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment

Dr. Scholl's Odour Destroyers All Day Deodorant Spray Powder: See review here. Have already repurchased!

Secret Clinical Strength Clear Gel with Olay Beauty Anti-perspirant: This is probably my favourite scent and formula from Secret! It just works! And this "Olay Beauty" scent is the most to my liking. Clean without powder!

GlamGlow ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment: From this haul. I've been reading rave reviews about GlamGlow for a while now, and with my skin so parched I pulled this out and gave it a go! I got 2 uses out of this packet. This is not a typical mask and shouldn't be treated as such. This is more of a leave on treatment and is probably best to do before bed. I loved the scent of the mask, luxurious and delicious (seriously I considered eating it!), it smells of honey with sweet coffee and something else I can't quite put my finger on. Anyways, after using this treatment my dehydrated skin was soft and rehydrated for 2-3 days afterwards. I also liked how easy this was to use, put it on clean skin and just leave it on. Easy peasy! I will consider buying this once I'm through my mask / treatment hoard.

L to R: Clean & Clear Advantage Blackhead Eraser Scrub, Selection Organic Makeup Remover Pads, Bath & Body Works Peach Bellini Gentle Foaming Hand Soap

Clean & Clear Advantage Blackhead Eraser Scrub: There was nothing special about this facial scrub, it didn't "erase" my blackheads, and I didn't love the cream texture with the exfoliating beads. I prefer Neutrogena Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit. I will not repurchase.

Selection Organic Makeup Remover Pads: Standard no-name brand cotton pads. These are thinner than some, but still do a good job at toning and nail polish removal. Truth be told these are tied for third place cotton pads for me: first is an as yet reviewed Costco brand that will likely be in my March empties post, second is Quo, and tied for third with Selection is Compliments. They do the job and are cheap! Will repurchase if the first and second choices aren't available!

Bath & Body Works Peach Bellini Gentle Foaming Hand Soap: Love the subtle and lingering scent of this BBW soap! It's like fancier peaches! Also who doesn't love a peach bellini - they're pretty much the only decent item at Milestones! Well I like this formula, foaming hand soap doesn't do me any favours during the dry winter months, every time I wash my hands with these I feel the moisture sapped right out of them. I will repurchase, but only during Spring and Summer!

L to R: Buxom Lash Mascara, Orly Top2Bottom, nails inc. Stratford

Buxom Lash Mascara: Same as previous review here. This is from this haul, and I believe I now have no backups of this mascara. I will not repurchase and I will not use my Sephora Lashstash coupon to get the full-size.

Orly Top2Bottom: From this haul. This lasted me a looonnnggg time. And it's the teensiest cutest bottle. I used this primarily as a top coat. But it did a good job of drying quickly, not bubbling, and adding shine! If I didn't have 5 or 6 other bottles of top coat, I would repurchase. I need to use up at least 4 of those bottles before contemplating buying a top coat, so we'll see how this stacks up then!

nails inc. Stratford: From this haul. Sadly this is dried to the bone with no hope of salvaging (plus with 200+ nail polish, this one just isn't special enough to make a trip to a beauty supply outlet to buy nail polish thinner. Harsh but true). This looks more interesting in the bottle than on the nail. As you can see from the NOTD below, it's just a plain old gold on the nail:



Life is too short to keep dried out nail polish, so Stratford is getting the boot!

L to R: Secret Scent Expressions Antiperspirant Va-Va Vanilla, Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner in Vamp, Calvin Klein One

Secret Scent Expressions Antiperspirant Va-Va Vanilla: See review here. Probably won't repurchase.

Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner in Vamp: I bought this for $10 on sale at Sephora a few years ago. Sadly it's dried up and unusable now. It was a unique purpley brown with shimmer in it. It wasn't the creamy gel eye liner I've tried, but it was the most unique colour! I've come to the realization that I just don't reach for gel eye liners as often as my pencil eye liners, so I likely won't repurchase. If you are a gel eye liner aficionado I highly recommend this shade! Perfect for those with brown, green, or hazel eyes!

Calvin Klein One: I received this deluxe size fragrance for Christmas MANY years ago. It took probably more than 5 years to use up. This is why I like fragrance sets better than full-size bottles, fragrance lasts forever! Sephora lists the notes as bergamot, cardamom, fresh pineapple, papaya, jasmine, violet, rose, nutmeg, and musk. I interpret it as more of a citrus-y fresh fragrance. Really reminds me of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. I liked this well enough (even though it wasn't my typical sweet and fruity fragrance), but I have too many perfumes on the go to contemplate buying anything!

L to R: Stila Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Illuminating Beauty Balm, Balea Defrizzing Hair Mask Mandarin & Grapefruit

Stila Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Illuminating Beauty Balm: From this haul. First up, this is the only shade offered by Stila, and it isn't a one-size fits all situation. It worked nicely for me, and I liked the light coverage it provided, but those with medium or dark complexions would be out of luck. As I mentioned in January, my hoarding situation is out of control, so I will revisit whether or not to repurchase once I've used up 5 face products.

Balea Defrizzing Hair Mask Mandarin & Grapefruit: I bought this on a whim at a Shoppers trip a while back, and finally put it to use! I found this easier to use than I expected (although it's hard to rip open while you're soaking wet in the shower!). I didn't notice an immediate change in my hair - I'd say it's still as frizzy as normal. It smelled divine while I massaged it in - very citrusy and fragrant. The smell did stay while my hair dried naturally, however after blowdrying the scent was gone. Maybe I will venture out and try more hair masks after this one! Will not repurchase, but it's opened my mind to more hair care choices!

That makes the total count 7 full-size products, 5 deluxe-size products, and 2 foil packets! Another great month! Hopefully I can keep this up in March!

What products did you use up in March?

Thanks for reading!

May Empties

Thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and start posting empties posts. Not only will it help me use up my makeup/products but I will also give a short review on each of the items. So here's the items I used up in May!

Front row L to R: Garnier Fructis Body & Volume Conditioner, CoverGirl Lashblast Fusion Water Resistant Mascara in Very Black, Garnier Fructis Body & Volume Shampoo
Back row L to R: Balea Purifying Face Mask in Jasmine & Cactus Flower Extract, SPAresource Coconut Body Mist, Murad Acne Clarifying Cleanser, Compliments Premiere Quality Cotton Pads, Secret Clinical Antiperspirant Waterproof.

Garnier Fructis Body & Volume Shampoo and Conditioner: honestly can't say where I got these samples from or even how long ago. I don't generally need volumizing hair products, since my hair is medium-thick naturally.  These smelled great (as expected), and did a good job cleaning and smoothing my hair. I won't repurchase however as it isn't a product I need.

CoverGirl Lashblast Fusion Water Resistant Mascara in Very Black: definitely my favourite drugstore brand mascara! Lives up to the volume & lengthening description, and definitely lasts smudge-proof throughout a long day at work. I would highly recommend this mascara, definitely worth the price! On a side note, I'm keeping this empty mascara around, since my ELF Lengthening & Defining mascara seems to last longer when I sweep this brush through my lashes after applying the mascara.

Balea Purifying Face Mask in Jasmine & Cactus Flower Extract: received this mask a while back for Christmas and finally got around to using it. I'm not a huge face mask person, but I do enjoy them every so often. This one isn't one of my favourites that I've tried, it's a peel off one, but I must've not applied it evenly because even 5 minutes after the recommended time to take off the mask, I was unable to peel off my right cheek.  The stickness/goopiness of the mask took probably longer to get off my face than the total time to apply and wait to dry.  Pretty frustrating. Also didn't notice any difference in my complexion. I won't repurchase this product.

SPAresource Coconut Body Mist: received this as a Christmas present a few years ago, and have finally finished it up. Although I wouldn't have picked a coconut scent for myself, I actually really enjoyed this scent. It was a sweet coconut scent, that reminded me of pina coladas without the pineapple. Refreshing & sweet, a great combo in my opinion. Wouldn't repurchase though since I'm not sure where I could buy this brand.

Murad Acne Clarifying Cleanser: received this in my IT Kit from Sephora back in December. Thought it was a decent cleanser, but definitely won't be replacing my usual Cetaphil with this, as I didn't notice any difference, and I find this product too expensive for no results.

Compliments Premiere Quality Cotton Pads: picked these up quickly at Sobey's for nail polish removal. These were strong enough not to completely disintegrate and didn't have a lot of lint. For the price I will definitely buy these again. Good for both nail polish removal & toning my face.

Secret Clinical Antiperspirant Waterproof: my favourite deodorant! Haven't found anything that works as well as this!

What products did you use up this month? Any favs or recommendations for me?

Thanks for reading!