Finish 7 by Spring didn't turn out as well as I had hoped in the makeup department, but I did go through quite a few products. They are all spread out in front of me, sorted in their categories. I kept a brown paper shopping bag in my bathroom for empties and it's time for me to get everything into the recycling bin!
Let's start with skincare. I had talked about the Isomers line in my last update post. I am really liking this line. I have been using it every night with noticeable results. My face is more even toned, smoother, firmer. Everything has changed about my skin appearance from using this product line. I've read some reviews, they are not exactly positive but I'm going with the results that I see in my skin. Big changes. I expected to finish up these bottles in 3 months but I over estimated how fast I would finish them. I think that I have 1 month to go.
I did finish OleHenricksen visual truth eye cream and I finished up another L'OREAL Revitalift Anti-Wrinkle and Firming Eye Cream. I really liked the L'OREAL. I will consider repurchasing in the future. I have another sample eye cream currently in the works and I was planning on buying the Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream next after using up some sample foil packets of course!
I finished N7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing water which I love and is no longer sold at Target. I purchased a cleansing oil for its replacement which I will talk about in my updated skincare routine which will be coming up next. I really like cleansing waters but cleansing oils really dissolve all of my makeup. I use cleansing waters and cleansing oils as makeup removers and always follow both up with a cleanser.
Also in the skincare category, I have several other empties. Korres Pomengranate Grenade Cleansing and makeup wipes were a holy grail for me last year. I've gotten away from wipes but they are still good in a pinch. Botanics Hot a Cloth Cleansing balm was next for me used up. This is very thick stuff. My water does not get hot enough from the tap to use this most effectively. When I did have time to use this, I would massage it on to the skin for a minute or two and add some rice flour to exfoliate. I would gently wipe away with warm face cloth and follow up with a cleanser. My skin felt very nice after using. I would need to use a separate eye makeup remover. I really like using the cleaning oil right now as it is one step, not 2.
Additionally, I finished up a Cetaphil cleanser, Josie Maran Argan oil light and a Korres Greek Yoghurt Advanced Nourishing Sleeping Facial. I finished up 2 masks. Boscia Luminizing black mask, which wow, this pulls off everything. I broke a capillary under my eye, which is my fault, do not apply on any delicate skin. Luckily, it wasn't permanent and took only a couple days to reabsorb. Maybe as I am aging, my skin is becoming thinner and more delicate. I did not notice any crazy changes or benefits from using this product. This sample size has enough for 3 uses. I do enjoy peel off masks but I'm not sure if this will be a repurchase for me. I also finished a sample of Origins Clear Improvement. This has active charcoal which my deep pores really need. I enjoy sample sizes so that I can mix them up often.
I'm throwing in 2 Body Shop Lip butters in Mango and coconut. The mango one has dried out and the coconut one leaves an uncomfortable filmy feeling on my lips that I just can't handle. Currently I am using a lip balm from Kiehl's. When that is finished, I am going to try the Dior Creme De Rose. I don't want to feel a film. I've become quite particular. Back in the day, plain cherry Chapstick was good enough for years. Maybe I should try it out again...
On to makeup... I have come to the conclusion that I will never finish an eye shadow palette or a color tattoo. I'm okay with that fact. I will continue to use them until they expire and I feel that is quite good enough for me. I like variety, I cannot do the same eye look every day for months on end. Maybe I don't pile it on enough. Summers are tough on eyeshadow in NC humidity. My smokey eye days are numbered... However, I did finish a couple of things. AVON Glimmersticks Chromes in mocha flash, Milani Easybrow in Natural Taupe and Physicians formula Concealer Twins. The Milani doesn't have a ton of product, the Concealer Twin dried out and I always finish up AVON Glimmersticks. They stay put on my oily skin and in the heat and humidity of North Carolina Summers. Glimmersticks are winners.
I'm also pitching 3 foundations this go around. I've added a couple foundations to my collection in the last couple of months (oops, I'm like a chameleon, so frustrating) and it's time to say bye bye to Revlon Colorstay Whipped. I believe these are 3-4 years old, Sand Beige is newer actually which I may keep. I have 150 Buff, 200 Sand Beige and 240 Natural Beige. I use Buff in the center of my face and Sand Beige around the perimeter and outer cheeks. Natural Beige was always too pink for me. It's a good foundation but I could never quite get it right every time I used it. It liked a certain moisturizer and my skin needed to be freshly exfoliated or this foundation would stick to every dry patch or it would just find them. I have oily, combination skin and this would also slip off or catch in different areas of the face with certain primers. Bottom line, I need quick effortless blending for my everyday use. I liked to use this for special events at night where I knew my photo would be taken. I've replaced the Colorstay Whipped with a higher end foundation which I will talk about soon!
I tried out 3 different brands of cotton rounds/squares. Out of this round, I believe the Ulta Premium Round Cotton pads won in terms of quality but Target cotton rounds win in the price category. I have about 5 squares of the CVS premium cotton squares left. They work well but just a touch linty. This is not something I want to spend a lot of money on but I also do not want to be left with cotton bits sticky to my face because ultimately they end up in my eyes. I'm sure I will be in Target soon to pick up a new package. I have seen a review on the White Cloud Cotton Squares on Amazon but since I am using the cleansing oil, it dissolves nearly all of my eye makeup so a separate remover is unnecessary. Maybe I can hold off for a while... Actually, I need cotton for toner!
Now on to Bodycare!
This is a huge category for me every time I do empties so I will just stick to the highlights...
Nivea In Shower Body Lotion in Shea Butter. I really love this stuff. Olay has a similar one thst my husband gave me for Christmas years ago. I never found it again. It does make things slippery in the shower when it builds up, meaning if you use this every day and skip a week of cleaning, it's going to be slippery. However, every other day, cleaning of the shower once a week, I haven't had any problems. I enjoyed using this during the cold winter months that we have been having down here in NC.
Victoria Secret Pear Glacé is my all time favorite scent. Takes me way back to my undergraduate years where I think I made one bottle last about a year. $12 was so expensive back then. Maybe it was more back then actually. $17 seems to be the price I remember. Hmm... But anywho, I bought this a couple of years ago and was saving it for who knows what. I will repurchase.
c Booth Nourishing Bath and Body Wash. I bought a lotion and 2 other body washes on a sale at Ulta and used a coupon and rewards. Bought all for for under $10. There is nothing truly remarkable about this body wash that can be doubled as a bath. It smells nice, feels good. There are no parabens, sulfates, mineral oil or petrolatum in this product which I can appreciate as some of those do have some conclusive and inconclusive studies pointing out their effectiveness, ineffectiveness, toxicity to the body... It's all too confusing really and opinions run high. After looking briefly at the ingredient list, this product from c Booth doesn't seem too natural. I have 3 more products to go from this line...
And 3 bars of soap. I guess that means I use about a bar of soap a month. I grabbed the men's care because it was on sale. I usually stick with Dove. A huge club pack of the pink bars were on sale last week at the commissary so I have 12 to try out during the next year.
Hair!
I left this one wide open. I have a ton of samples and fixing my hair in the morning usually consists of brushing and possibly curling. It just takes so darn long to dry my hair! I did just recently invest a brand spanking new Hot Tools Limited Editions Precious Metals in Titanium as my trusty old Revlon 1.5 spring finally sprung on the clamp. I've had it for a few years, 2-3. It never held a curl but smoothed things out so it worked. The Hot Tools works a little better and the curls lasts for a couple of days. Not perfect like those YouTube hair wizards, but good enough for my imperfect being.
I did finish lots of shampoo and conditioners, so like bar soap, I finish approximately 1 shampoo and 1 conditioner every month. Mental note... I have 2, maybe 3 pumps of the L'OREAL OleoTherapy Perfecting Oil Essence. This product is really nice to use on the ends of the hair. It doesn't weigh down or add any grease. It really extended my last haircut for at least 5 months. And that was one of the best haircuts I have had down here in NC. Finding a hair stylist that I can trust has been such a challenge down here. I usually ask for the long layers, pointing out exactly where I want them to start, I don't dare ask for fringe, occasionally I want angles in the front starting an inch above my shoulders. I specifically ask for no triangle point, I want my hair level in the back. Once have I found someone who listened. I just went back to her again and boom, all wrong. Luckily, I'm a huge fan of piling my hair on top of my head in a bun...
I really enjoy using the Bumble and Bumble line and I still have a ton of sample and travel sizes to use. But I use the Tonic on my scalp and the Prep Spray after every hair washing which is usually every other day. I also enjoy using Aveda products and have a few more samples as well. So need for me to buy any hair products for quite a while.
Oh and two boxes of dye. I am having a really hard time finding this hair dye. In fact, it's difficult to find any semi-permanent/washout hair dye. I use the same color 21 every time I color my hair but I like that it rinses out because there will come a day when I am sick of dying my hair and will embrace those greys... Well not anytime soon but I really want all the length of my permanent hair dying days to eventually grow out and be cut off so I will be left with semi "natural" hair after those "28 washes.". I've tried some semi-permanent colors at Sally's but this Clairol Natural Instinct just has that perfect color. It's just dark enough and it gives a little warmth. Is this being discontinued? I can only find it a Ulta. These were the last two boxes on the shelf, different packaging to boot. Eeek!
So a ton of stuff is headed to the recycling bin! I think I covered most things exhaustively. Bottom line, I use a lot of products and have a lot of empties in 3 months. My bathroom cabinet is still full of products but this was a good jump start. I will continue using and not purchasing or realistically, continue using and purchasing less... Which I have been good at. Currently I have only 1 replacement shampoo and conditioner for the set that is almost empty in the shower. Still have a ton of lotions and potions...
"5 by Cinco de Mayo" is the next tag so I will pick out 5 products in each category. I might skip makeup. 5 products is not happening for me! Not a pessimist, but a realist. Actually I can think of 2 products that are nearing the end so maybe this go around I will get lucky in the makeup empty department. We shall see!
More on that later!
