Empties #3 - My trash, people!

All of these products have been collecting under my bathroom sink for the past 3 months.  It feels like there are alot of products, but I am pretty sure that there were a few that I tossed out while traveling etc. that are missing. 

As in prior Empties posts, I will provide my thoughts on the product and whether or not I would buy them again.

Regarding my BUY/NO BUY label, I will only label if I feel STRONGLY one way or the other. If there is not a label, it means that I may repurchase if it was on sale, and would not be opposed to trying it again. Kinda wishy/washy, take it or leave it!

HAIR: I chopped off my hair in March so have been trying to patiently let it grow out.  I miss ponytails and of course have not really tried anything new and exciting with my 'do.  You may feel that this does not seem like enough for 3 months, but I only wash my hair about 2-3x/week (and yes I shower more frequently, just don't always wash my hair) so don't go through very much.  Also, we brought nothing from Chicago, and started brand new bottles in June.  With 3 bathrooms, the useage gets pretty spread out.

1. Bumble & Bumble Thickening samples - first of all, I do not have long hair.  It is almost to my shoulders, relatively thick so this sample size should have been enough for at least 1 thorough wash & condition session. Nope, barely made any impact on that cleanliness feel and was not enough to condition my hair. Did not like and will not buy. NO BUY
2. Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy - I like the whole Organix line so would re-purchase these in full size once I have some empties.  Smells sweet, gives me that summer feel.  Did not make my hair noticiably straighter or less frizzy, so do not believe the claims, but my expectations for any shampoo/conditioner are so low, that it is pretty hard for me to be discriminating.  BUY
3. L'Oreal Superior Preference Conditioner - this is from the permanent dye for my roots.  These are great thick conditioners and leave your hair so soft.  I wonder why they do not sell these separately, would BUY if I could.  Maybe they do and I am unaware, hey it happens......

BODY: Let's keep it clean and soft baby!

1. Vaseline Spray & Go - Love this.  Not very moisturizing, but I do a heavy layer during and after a shower.  This is terrific for touch-ups to get rid of any ashiness.  Already repurchased in the cocoa butter flavor - BUY
2. Lush Olive Branch Shower Gel - like the smell, not too flowery.  Hub likes it too and suds up well. BUY
3. Up & Up Acetone Nail Polish Remover - pretty drying, but works well to remove all nail polishes (even glitter polish).  This from Target generic brand, similar to other acetone removers.  Would BUY again if I happened to be in Target and needed remover.
4. Korres Body Butter in Guava - mild floral scent, very moisturizing, but $$$$$.  Would BUY if on sale.
5. Philosophy Love Sweet Love sample shower gel - was ok, sudsy, fresh sweet scent. 
6. Mac Naked Honey Body Wash - found this at a CCO (cosmetics company outlet), still pretty pricey.  Smells good, not too flowery, Hub liked it too.  Would BUY if discounted
7. Jo Malone fragrance samples - have a ton of these, love mixing them up.  Have purchased several of them (may need to do a separate post on collection).  BUY

FACE: very happy I am making some progress in finishing products!  Now if I would just stop buying them!

1. Make Up Forever (MUFE) Smoky Lash Mascara - love this stuff!  I got this in a kit and considering buying it, but it is $$$$.  It def creates volume and makes my lashline look thicker.  BUY
2. Nars Laguna bronzer (small size) - again, came as part of a kit (sidenote: Sephora Favorites kits are terrific for value, get to try many diff products for minimal $$). Worked fine, but would not say it is my favorite.  I used it to warm up my face, but during summer was not dark enough to contour.  One peeve - breaks apart once you hit pan, so it would spill all over - booo! NO BUY
3. Wet n Wild Brulee eyeshadow - love!  So inexpensive, and provides great coverage for those of us with veiny lids. BUY
4. Tarte Gifted mascara (sample) - this took me a while to like, perhaps it needed to dry out? Prefer Tart Lights Camera Lashes so NO BUY
5. Almay Get Up and Grow Mascara (waterproof) - really like this for volume and swimming.  Great drugstore BUY
6. Clinique High Impact Mascara (sample) - good volume and the size of the brush allowed me to get the smaller inner lash hairs.  Good volume (are you sensing a theme yet?????), and black color payoff.  BUY
7. Korres Lip Butter Glaze in Guava - lovely light pink color and very moisturizing.  This had a slight glossy finish, but would classify this more as a balm than a gloss.  Great for on the go use, but prefer the original lip butter for keeping my lips soft.  NO BUY
8. Make Up Forever 0L Black eyeliner - eh, still smeared a bit.  NO BUY
9. Fresh Twilight Freshface Glow primer - really liked this glowy primer either under foundation or standalone with concealer for a "no makeup" look. BUY
10. Soap & Glory Sexy Motherpucker Lipstick/Crayon in Nudist - fave nude gloss.  Love the formula and portability of the crayon.  Not sticky, sheer color.  BUY

FACE-SKIN - picture would not load, so here is just the text:
1. Koh Gen Do Cleansing Spa Water - good makeup remover for non-waterproof makeup.  I don't wash my face in the morning, so this was good as a pick me up.  BUY
2. Colgate Optic White toothpaste - eh, no diff in teeth color, good strong minty flavor.
3. Kate Somerville Exfolikate - terrific facial exfoliator that combines physical (scrub particles) with chemical exfoliants.  I used this in the shower about 3x/week and will repurchase. BUY
4. Embryolisse Eye Contour Care - eh, no diff, moisturizes.  NO BUY
5. Kiehl's Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Corrector (sample)- I did not use this consistently or for long enough (ran out, it was only a sample!) to see results.  Have heard good things about it, so maybe BUY after further reviews and research.

Already started the next Empties bag and added 2 items into it this morning!  Ooooooooh the suspense!

A good night's sleep...........

When the weather turns cold (it is currently 17 deg F, feels like 9 deg brrrrrrrrrr), my focus tends to shift from color to skincare.  Though I am always trying to make my eyes bigger and nose less red, my biggest concern is skincare.  See, I have a confession:  I am a picker.  When my skin is dry and flaky, people, it is Party-time!  Pick, pick, pick.....

So to try to prevent my face from becoming a landscape of spots, flakes, and dry patches, I try to exfoliate and moisturize as much as possible.  Here is my night-time routine:

1. Remove eye makeup with Sonia Kashuk eye makeup remover and 2 cotton rounds.

2. Use a Cleansing Oil (currently Mac) to remove the rest of makeup, wipe it off with hot, wet wash cloth

3. Exfoliate with Clarisonic Mia 2 and a face cleanser (trying to run through my samples, will review during an empties post).  I do this 2-3 times per week.  For the other nights, I just use a cleanser and hot wash cloth.

4. Treatment - focus is primarily on brown spots (damn baby oil and sun when I was a teenager) and eveness/tone.  Thankfully, wrinkles and fine lines are not a big issue yet (or at least I do not care enough about those that I do have).  Using up samples, currently Chanel

5. Moisturize with Josie Maran Argan Oil.  I use about 5 drops for my face/neck.  I think the directions say 2-3 drops, but maybe my face is drier/larger than the average persons.

6. Apply current lip balm and smush lips together (Korres Lip Butter Glaze, may be drying out my lips, will use 1 more night and then decide).

Ta da!

 Night night!

TAG - 4 or More

One of the tags that is going around right now is 4 or More.  Essentially what it is: look at all your products and determine what products you have 4 or more of.  The thought is that if you 4+ of them, you must really like them.  The caveat is that it cannot be products that you bought in a multi-set (of which there are a TON out right now due to the holiday collections).

So I took a dive into my drawers and cabinets and this is what I found - very easy to see that I LOVE lip and eye stuff:

Revlon and Chanel - both ends of the spectrum!

For lips, I love Revlon lippies: lip butters, balm stains, and glosses.

At the other end of the spectrum is my Chanel Rouge Coco Shines - best combo of balm, color, and gloss ever!

For eyes:
 




Love me some liners........

 I love quads.  I just find them so convenient for travel. I have several palettes, but there is just something about a gorgeous quad that I find hard to resist.  From the pic above, again Chanel has my heart, followed by the Mac quads that I can customize.  The singles below the quads are from Burberry (who just released some new quads......I must resist) and they are just fab!

Next pic shows my fave drugstore shadows - NYX.  Smooth, buttery and super pigmented.  I need to use a light hand with the dark colors or I look like I got punched in the face.  Mac Paint Pots follow as a terrific base for covering up my multi-colored lids and helping the shadow stay put.  I need to make sure to use a very thin layer, or they do not set and end up creasing.

Liners - I love eyeliners.  Faves are pencils from Stila and Bobbi Brown.  These are waterproof (more like resistant), but smudgeable for a short time so you can avoid the 80's harsh line (oh come on we've all been there).  I am not too adventurous when it comes to colors, mainly sticking with brown and black.  But I love buying the olives, purples, deep navy........I just do not end up using them very often.

So that is it, not too terribly bad.  I have alot of other products but have not really hit the magic 4 yet for others.  I love these products and still have to resist picking up more of them (hoarder much?) especially when there are holiday sets with 5 liners for only $32 (hate you Stila!).

FOTD 102212

I debated a bit on whether or not to do a FOTD, but decided that I would like a way to keep track of what I wear regularly.  I figure this will help me know better what I really LOVE and what looks decent.  Here goes:

and the stuff:

CoverFx Brite Primer
Healthy Mix Serum Foundation
Hourglass stick concealer
UD eye primer
WnW Brulee
Chanel Rives quad
Maybelline Mahogany color tattoo
Kat Von D tattoo liner in Trooper
Tarte emphaseyes in black
Almay get up and grow mascara
Mac Dirty Blond for brows
JM Rosey stick for cheeks
Korres light trio in Santorini
Revlon just bitten in Romantic
YSL Sheer Candy #7 Sweet Fig

Now that I look at the pic on a bigger screen, think I need to up my blush application  I look pale.