Empties

I like trying out new products, but I have a rule that no matter what, I have to finish them (unless they are hurtful to my skin or hair). Consequently, over time, I empty quite a lot of bottles and tubs. I’ve accumulated all of the products that I’ve emptied over the past few months, and I wanted to share them here, because I feel like you’re only able to give a truly good review when you’ve used the same product for a while (I also like this type of post because I’m nosey and it makes you feel like you’re snooping around in somebody’s bathroom. Hehehe.).

For each product, I will give you my final thoughts on it, what I liked, what I didn’t like and the odds of me purchasing it again in the future. Let’s go!

*Disclaimer: the photos of the empty bottles were taken before said bottles were thrown out. I didn’t pick the trash can in search of empty products.

OGX Nourishing + Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum
I am constantly on the hunt for the perfect hair serum. Because I have very curly hair, it is also dry and pretty frizzy. I know I’m using a good hair serum when my hair becomes smoother and is more easily manageable. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case here. I’ve heard really great things about OGX, which is why I wanted to try this, but it did not do it for me. The serum itself is very rich, and smells like a tropical island, but it is extremely thick and heavy, which makes it really hard to distribute evenly throughout your hair. Because it is so rich, it can make your hair feel greasy (even dry, curly hair), and weighed down. Also, on a less important note, the way that the pump is designed is not ideal. Its sleek and smooth design makes it extremely slippery, especially when you have a mixture of serum and water on your hands. I found myself dropping this a couple of times, and it is not because I’m clumsy.

Heck yeah : Great coconut smell, very rich.
Oh no : Heavy, greasy, weighs down your hair. Slippery pump.
Purchase again? Most probably not.

Garnier Skin Active Micellar Cleansing Gel Wash
I think this is the best face wash there is on this planet. Right up there with my trusty Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub. In an ideal world, I would use the latter in the morning, and the Garnier gel wash at night. I like to wash my face in the shower after a long day, and I don’t like spending time rubbing my face with a cotton pad to remove my makeup with some sort of oil. This product is perfect, because you can use it in the shower, and you can simultaneously remove your makeup and wash your face. The best part is that it removes your makeup effortlessly. You pump a little bit of the product in your hands, massage your face with it, rinse it out, and voila; your skin is clean, fresh and happy. It removes eye makeup and lipstick as well, on top of being non-greasy and super gentle. I mean, what more can you ask for?

Heck yeah: Removes makeup instantly. Attracts dirt like a magnet. Feels good. Not drying.
Oh no: I dropped it once and the pump popped off. Literally, that’s the only thing I can find that is not so great about this product. That, and the fact that I went to buy it once and it wasn’t at the store. I think we can all live with that.
Purchase again: I will and I have.

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Miraculous Oil Hair Elixir
Not only am I on the hunt for a good hair serum, I also do keep an eye out for the perfect hair oil. That is the unfortunate truth of curly hair people. I’ve never been a massive fan of Garnier before, but lately I’ve been trying out more and more of their products and I’ve really been liking it. I thought I’d give this Miraculous Oil Hair Elixir a try, but sadly I wasn’t impressed. It does the job; the thing I liked the most about it is that it never makes your hair greasy, no matter how much of it you use in one go. However, there really isn’t anything about it that would make me purchase it again. And of course, it has the same problem as nearly every hair oil/serum bottle: the pump is super slippery.

Heck yeah: Non-greasy.
Oh no: Slippery pump. Doesn’t smell all that good. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Purchase again? Nah.

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector
I don’t think I will ever find a lip product that I love as much as this one. I’ve been using it for years (this was only my second tube; it goes to show how much product you get out of it), and I don’t think I will ever stop. In my opinion, it is the perfect lip product. It adds shine to your lips, a bit of color that looks super natural, it is not sticky at all, and it smells like caramel. In addition, as the name would suggest, it truly does add light to your lips and makes you look glowing. I love using this all year round, but it comes in especially handy during the winter, where my lips get dry and they tend to lose their natural pink color. Just add a dab of this and you instantly look radiant, happy and healthy. Love it.

Heck yeah: Not sticky. Instant pick me up. Luminous. Natural look. Smells delicious.
Oh no: Does rub off pretty quickly. This is not a lip tint.
Purchase again? Hum, of course!

Burt’s Bees Peach & Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub
I’ve been a massive fan of Burt’s Bees lip balms for years, and I’m excited to be trying out more of their product. I bought this scrub because I had run out of face wash and saw the perfect opportunity to dive into their products. Man, am I glad I did. This product is great, especially during the winter or if you have dry skin. First of all, it smells amazing (like anything that smells like peaches, in my opinion). Second, it is super moisturizing, which I find to be surprising in a face scrub. Often, scrubs can be harsh on your skin and a bit drying, but not this one. I feel like it actually provides moisture while cleaning your skin, which is why I think it’s great for the cold season. Lastly, it is very gentle and you don’t need a lot to wash your entire face. I loved using this in the morning.

 Heck yeah: Nice smell. Gentle on the skin. Rich and moisturizing.
Oh no: Because it is so moisturizing, it doesn’t leave that extra clean feeling behind that some people love.
Purchase again? Yes!

Arbonne It’s a Long Story Mascara
I got this sample size when I collaborated with Arbonne (if you haven’t seen my posts on Arbonne products, find them here, here and here), and it took me no time at all to finish it. I have to say I was a little skeptical at first, but I actually really enjoyed this mascara. The first thing I noticed was the brush, which is the old school, dense brush, with same length bristles all around. Even though the new, sometimes-weirdly-shaped brushes are nice, I have to admit I do miss the old brushes from time to time, so I was happy when I pulled it out of the tube. I don’t know much about the formula of this mascara, but I noticed that it smells like mascaras used to a few years ago. I couldn’t say what makes that smell, but to me it was a nice throwback, along with the brush. The mascara itself is extremely lengthening, which is what I liked most about it. Also, even though it’s long-wearing, it is very easy to remove (nobody likes to rub their eye with a makeup remover-soaked cotton pad for hours to remove that 20-hour-wear mascara. Nobody.). On the flip side, Arbonne products are more on the pricy side, so I would have expected a little something more for that price. However, it made my eyelashes look incredible, so maybe the price is worth it.

Heck yeah: Extremely lengthening. Easy to remove. Old school brush and possibly unintentional throwback smell.
Oh no: Pretty pricy.
Purchase again? I just might.

Bath & Body Works Forever Red Shower Gel
I love the Bath & Body Works shower gels because they have such a wide variety of scents. One of my favorite things is to go around the store, smelling almost all of them before deciding what I want to smell like for the next couple of months. Last winter, I had selected Forever Red, from their Signature Collection, because it had a rich and cozy smell. However, the vanilla rum smell quickly became overwhelmingly sweet. Towards the end, I felt like I was using a Play-Doh scented body wash. I think that, after all, that smell was simply too sweet for me and I quickly had enough of it.

Heck yeah: Nice texture. Smell that lingers on the skin long after your shower.
Oh no: Heavy and overwhelmingly sweet smell.
Purchase again? Unfortunately not.

Maui Moisture Curl Quench + Coconut Oil Conditioner
I cannot wash my hair without using conditioner, and the more moisturizing it is, the better. I absolutely adored this one. Not gonna lie, I picked it up because the packaging was cute and it looked like a juice bottle. Then I saw that it was vegan and made with natural ingredients, and I was more and more interested. Finally, when I tried it, I was hooked. It made my hair so incredibly soft. I have naturally curly hair, so it’s (unfortunately) not naturally smooth, or soft, or shiny. The minute I distributed this product throughout my hair, it became silky smooth. I could easily brush out any tangle and it stayed that way once my hair had dried. Plus, it smells incredible.

Heck yeah: Makes your hair silky smooth. Smells incredible. Natural ingredients + vegan.
Oh no: As cute as it is, the shape of the bottle makes it hard to get the last drops of product out.
Purchase again? Yas!

Nivea Moisturizing Night Care
Like the name, this product is pretty simple. It is a standard night cream, that is rich, moisturizing, and is sold at a decent price. This is the moisturizer I use every night, and have been using for the past years. The reason I love this product so much is because it is heavier than a day cream, but it doesn’t make you look shiny or greasy at all. Plus, it is affordable, whereas most night creams are pretty expensive. The only negative to this is that the container is pretty small, so you have to repurchase it pretty often.

Heck yeah: Good price point. Rich, but not greasy. Doesn’t make you look shiny.
Oh no: The container is kind of small.
Purchase again? I have, multiple times.

Aveeno Absolutely Ageless Eye Cream
I started using eye cream pretty late (I know, I will regret it later). I first selected this one because eye cream can be extremely pricy and this one was affordable. Aveeno is also a brand that I love and trust. I did like this product, I liked its gel consistency, but above all else, I liked the packaging. Most eye creams come in small glass containers that look super luxurious, but aren’t very hygienic. This product comes in a tube, which keeps you from having to dip your finger into a pot and then touch your eyes.
The thing with eye creams – and anti-aging products in general – is that you have no way to know if they really work until you see signs of aging. And by that point, you know that they did not work. So all I can really say is that I enjoyed using this product, and I hope it does work.

Heck yeah: Affordable. Hygienic package. Nice, cooling gel consistency.
Oh no: No way to see immediate results. But I don’t think that’s the product’s fault.
Purchase again? I don’t see why not.

Jergens Hydrating Coconut Moisturizer
I hate having dry hands, to the point where I physically can’t deal when I don’t have lotion on me. Since I use moisturizer so many times in a day, even when I’m at home, I have developed a little trick; I strategically hide a big tub of moisturizer in my book shelf, behind all the books, with just the pump peeking out. That way, I can easily access it, but I don’t have to display the giant tub on my desk. The only thing I don’t like about the Jergens brand is that the smells are kind of boring (they’re all “coconut” and “shea butter”). I’d like to find a brand that does these giant tub, but with smells like “blueberry birthday cake” or “oceanic breeze”. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Heck yeah: Big container. Rich and moisturizing.
Oh no: Boring scents
Purchase again? Yep.

L’Oréal Paris Dream Lengths Savior Mask
I never really liked hair masks, because they tend to be very thick and slippery. For some reason, it’s always a struggle, when I get in the shower, to open that round tub, scoop up some of that thick, jiggly product and distribute it evenly throughout my wet hair. Using conditioner just seems much simpler. This one, however, rocks. It really did save my dry, untamable hair. In addition to being effective, it also smells really good (apparently I have a thing with products’ smells) and it leaves your hair feeling nourished. That’s worth the hair-mask-in-shower-battle.

Heck yeah: Truly a savior mask. Smells great. Leaves hair soft and nourished.
Oh no: It’s a hair mask.
Purchase again? Sure!

Soap & Glory Smoothie Body Buttercream
This was my first time trying Soap & Glory products, and they just got a new fan. This body butter(cream) is rich, has a nice whipped consistency and deeply nourishes your skin. Opening up this tub feels like opening the door of a bakery full of unicorns. I’m surprised there aren’t glitters that pop out. Also, this is a brand that is on point with their “delicious smells” game.

Heck yeah: Smells sweet and delicious. Thick, whipped consistency. Cute packaging.
Oh no: Not much.
Purchase again? Yas!

Those are the products that I’ve used up in the past few months. I did find a couple of gems that I’m really excited to start incorporating into my usual beauty regimen. If you still feel pretty nosy and want to know what others have been using, head to YouTube where you can find a lot more empties videos, as they are increasingly popular in the beauty community. I’ll see you guys next week!

Love you all.

Much love,
-TM-