I think I’ve done a little better this month with regards to empties – I tried my best to use up some of the already opened bottles of skincare and don’t recall opening any brand new ones unless I’ve used up something. Although many of the empties this month are sample size, there are also many full size and my skincare shelf is looking less cluttered so I think I am making good progress here! Anyway, let’s get on to it and see what I’ve used up!
1. Dove Sensitive Skin Nourishing Body Wash
I usually default to cheap body wash like Dove; unless I’ve had a cash winfall, I don’t splurge on body wash because I find it really wasteful – it goes down the sink within seconds and the pretty scents that you paid for usually don’t linger around long. This Dove body wash does the job well, isn’t harse on my skin, smells good, and is cheap.
2. Codage Creme Gommante
A scrubbing cream with very tiny scrub bits; I think it’s quite nice because it doesn’t feel too harsh on the skin like some scrubbing creams can be if the scrub bits are too large.
3. Oskia Renaissance Mask
This has fruit acids that help decongest the skin by gently exfoliating away dead skin cells and impurities. There are no scrub bits so it exfoliates simply by the acids – I find it rather mild and very gentle so the impact was not too visible although it didn’t irritate my skin.
4. Bio-essence Hydra Tri-action Aqua Droplet Sleeping Beauty Mask
One of the mask that I dislike the most – I’m so glad it’s finished; I’ve been slathering it all over my shoulders so as to use it up more quickly. It has a weird film feeling after you’ve applied – it’s a little like if you put on a really thick layer of primer.
5. Bee Good Honey & Camelina Facial Exfoliator
This is quite nice – it has a rather strong smell of honey, with some scrub bits. I find the scrub bits to be gentle enough – but there’s not quite enough of them.
6. It’s Skin Power 10 Formula VE Effector
I’ve shown this in skincare posts before; this is a Vitamin E essence and I love it. It’s very lightweight so it’s great for layering other skincare. I’ve tried a lot of It’s Skin essences and I highly recommend them – they’re affordable, comes in nice packaging and works great.
7. Omorovicza Illuminating Moisturiser
I really liked this – it’s quite thin but feels quite moisturizing; it’s not quite enough for the evening routine because I have dry skin and I sleep in an air-conditioned room so I need some oils, but this works great for the day time underneath makeup.
8. Ariul Spa Water 24 Hours Moisturizing Refreshing Mist
This is actually not used up but I hated it too much. It’s extremely perfumed – so much that it’s actually intoxicating. I think the strong scent is so ridiculous – I tried using a cotton pad to apply instead of spraying it directly on my face but the scent is still too strong.
9. Origins GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer
I really like the light citrus scent of this; it’s not overwhelming but lifting enough. The moisturizer is on the thinner side, which is nice for the day time.
10. Polaar Icy Magic Instant Eye Contour Energiser
This has a little roller ball inside that ‘massages’ the eye contour as you roll the serum across the skin. I like it at the start, but as time goes on I can’t help wondering about all the germs that’s on the roller since I’m rolling it across my skin.
11. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
I really like this; I’ve used up a few full bottles of this before but it’s very expensive so I haven’t repurchased it for awhile. I do feel like my skin looks better with consistent use, but this is a very small bottle so it’s not quite enough to see the difference.
12. Guerlain Beaute Des Yeux Biphase Eye Makeup Remover
This was quite nice – removed waterproof eye mmakeup quite easily and feels really gentle on the eye area. Only thing is that the full size is really costly so I doubt I will purchase.
13. It Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream
This claims to be a transforming moisturizing super cream – I find it just an average face cream with quite a nice texture but nothing really memorable.
14. Lancome Tonique Confort
A re-hydrating comforting toner which I find really good for dry skin – particularly when the skin feels truly parched and can’t stand any drying toners. It’s thicker in consistency than the average toners, pretty much like a light lotion.
15. Model Co Fat Lash Volumising Black Mascara
I really dont like it – the whole mascara is very fat and it’s not comfortable to hold; the wand itself is also very big so its harder to control when your lashes are short even though there is a little ball at the end of the wand. Unfortunately I still have a few of these in my stash which I will try to use up – it was given in a number of beauty boxes in the past.
16. Innisfree Skinny Microcara
My favourite everyday mascara – this has the skinniest wand and it separates the lashes nicely but yet coats very evenly because of its skinny wand. It’s also the best mascara for coating the lower lashes. It’s very natural looking because it never gets clumpy – I sometimes use it as a second coat over other lengthening or volumizing mascaras that tends to be more clumpy just to separate the lashes and extend the wear.
17. MAC Kiss Me Quick Pro Longwear Lip Pencil
This has dried out totally; I’ve only used it for a few times and I really love the colour so it’s a shame. I don’t use lip pencils often enough to finish them before they dry out.
18. Illamasqua Hydra Veil Rehydrating Gel
This is a gel primer; I don’t like it. I feel like it does nothing to make my skin look better and in fact it pills up underneath my foundation, which makes it look bad.
That’s all the empties for July! I honestly thought it would be nearly 30 items because I really do see a very significant change in my beauty cabinet, but I think the number of items don’t really matter compared to how much space it has freed up and making it all look so much less cluttered. I’m really proud of myself although I know that August will be a different story since I will be travelling most of the month.
Have you been decluttering and using up your beauty items too? How’s your progress?
The Good Life Bunny 