Empties

 Hello,

this post is prepared a bit in advance since I'm on a vacation. These are all the products that I finished before my trip to the beach and after I come back I will probably have a lot more empties, especially products with SPF.

First is Aveno body wash with Tiare flower and Coconut water. Very inexpensive but for me these are hit or a miss, scent wise. Unfortunately this one landed on the miss side after trying it for the first time. It has this typical tropical scent but on me it turns a bit plastic and I don't like it. I did finish it up since the scent doesn't last, it did foam up and make me feel like it did clean my body so it wasn't a big deal (if it would be a lotion then probably I wouldn't be able to finish it up). I won't repurchase it again, maybe I will get some other scents but not immediately. I will take my time off and maybe after a while I will forget :)

Next is Melvita's floral Lavender water face mist. I used to love these (Lavender in particular but also Rose was close) but now I don't use them as regularly as I used to. First, the mist on these bottles is amazing, so I'm keeping the bottle and reusing it, second, the blue color is lovely and third, the product itself is great. I like using it on my face after I'm done applying my cream make-up (concealer and foundation) to melt everything together and make it one with my skin and afterwards I'm applying powder. That is my secret when my skin feels a bit dry. I also use it on clean skin in my skincare routine but I feel like it is really great with my make-up. At the moment I have some other ones but probably I will return to this one.

Next is super old Avon planet SPA Heavenly Hydration with Mediterranean Olive oil face mask. It is more of a gel texture mask which you are supposed to apply on clean face for 20 minutes (I once made a mistake and left it on for way longer, it is a moisturizing product what can go wrong? The moisture disappear and the texture becomes thick which makes it hard to take it of, I had to scratch it to get it off my face) but if I stick to the instructions it was okay. I didn't notice any difference so at the end I was just using it to finish it up, I will not be buying it again but I remember the body butter and hair mask from this Olive line being amazing.

Second to last is The Body Shop Strawberry body yogurt and I have to say that the scent is amazing. Very realistic and juicy, plus the scent lasts. The texture is jelly like and fun to use, it absorbed super fast but it is not very moisturizing on its own. I had one before and still have one left (I purchased three at the time all in different scents). They do recommend to use them in the Summer time when our skin isn't so dry and I would agree but then again why buy something which isn't as nourishing or hydrating as it can be? Probably for the scent because that is what all three have in common and are a joy to use. I will finish the last one but at the end I probably won't buy more of them, I will rather spend a few Euros more and just get some of their lotions or butters.

I finished up one more lipstick :) It is the last one I have from this Catrice limited edition, collaboration with Peta that they did a few years ago, this shade is called Have Mercy, peachy nude with shimmer, it can look very natural with just a hint of flush but if I'm reapplying it all day long than shimmer becomes a bit too much for me and the color build up also doesn't look too appealing on me. I like this lipstick in a small dose and it looked nice, I will miss it but also at the same time I have so many that it is a relief to finish some.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

this time around I have some more empties and some of them are my holy grails... the rest are all nice products, nothing terrible in this bunch...

This is definitely one of my favorite shampoos and this time I have finished a big bottle of it. It is Ilirija Birch shampoo for all hair types. This magical potion cleanses my hair and leaves them shiny and smooth, just what my hair need. It can be a bit too drying but nothing a little bit of hair oil can't fix. I will definitely repurchase it again and again.

Another one of my favorites is this REN flash rinse 1 minute facial  with vitamin C. I already used up a few tubes of it and already have a backup. It is a slightly grainy product which feels like a scrub but after massaging it with dry hands, then add a few drops of water and it turns instantly into an oil type of a product and then it can slightly burn over more sensitive areas (I guess the vitamin C is then activated  and it can sting) the magic is that my skin doesn't turn red even though it is very prone to redness and is super sensitive. The next day my skin is baby soft and pimples are reduced. Even my sister with perfect skin is a loyal fan.

I finally finished up a Labello original lip balm. I remember having it before and loving it but now I felt like it was just okay. It was greasy (which is a plus in my books) but I felt like it just sat on top of my lips instead sinking in and working its magic. Maybe they changed the formula or I got a different batch this time? It wasn't bad but I also didn't feel like it did much.

Another lip balm is presented in this tube with a convenient pump and it is Blistex conditioning lip serum. I liked it for the night time since it did leave a bit of a white trace but it was nourishing and my lips looked nice in the morning. I'm more inclined to repurchase this one than the Labello one.

Next is a pot of hand cream but honestly I used it as a body moisturizer. It is Avon planet spa Blissfully Nourishing with African Shea Butter hand, elbow and foot cream. As mentioned I used it all over my body since I was trying to just finish it up. It was heavily fragranced and I have to admit that in small dose it is gorgeous but all over the body it was sometimes a bit too much. I still wanted to finish it up since it is pretty old and I was scared that it might go bad, plus the 75 ml packaging is somewhat small for the entire body. The texture was quite thick and it took me a long time to finish it up. If I ever get it again I will start using it immediately but only on my hands and little by little.

This next serum tried to replace mine The Ordinary 10% Niacinamide and 1% Zinc serum (whenever I try to order it it is sold out...) it is from a SI brand Miss Alice (Milnica) and is named Face it, you love me serum (I really do love the name ;), it has Niacinamide, Collagen and firming Peptides in the formula (how much of each is undisclosed). It was a nice serum but I think I seen better results with  previously mentioned The Ordinary serum so probably I won't repurchase it again unless I will notice my skin misbehaving now since I'm out of it. 

The very last item is another hand cream but this one I did use as a hand cream. It is from The Body Shop and it is their limited edition Joy and Jasmin scent. It is floral but also pretty green smelling, the scent alone is not my favorite but I could handle it, even men in my life liked it since it wasn't too floral but it is quite strong and the scent does linger. I won't repurchase it in this scent but I'm willing to try some new editions since the cream does absorb pretty fast and makes my hands feel soft.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

it is the end of the month and I expected to havemore finished items... probably I will finish a whole lot more in the next couple of days.

First is Avon's care revitalising with Banana hand cream (one of my absolutely favorites). It is lightweight and it does its job done. My hands are soft and supple even after washing, that for me is the ultimate test and this one succeeds. This particular one is in the limited edition packaging but is it exactly the same. I already have a new tube waiting to get used.

Next is another hand cream and is also a gem. It is Neutrogena's unfragranced hand cream which has a very interesting formula. Like a thick gel, perhaps? A little goes a long way and I agree, this tube lasted me more than a year (I didn't use it all the time but still it lasts way longer than any other hand cream that I tried). I like that it isn't sticky or tacky (well, it can be if I put too much on at once but if I apply little by little it is okay). I also already repurchased it but I think now I have the fragranced version.

In the middle is a Rosehip face cleansing oil from the Q + A brand. I recently discovered this brand and I bought a bunch of their products, this oil is just the first to be finished. I liked the packaging (the bottle has a nice and precise pipette and it doesn't leak) but I expected this oil to be more Rosehip... in fact there is Sweet Almond, Rosehip, Hemp seed, Avocado, Argan, Kernel, Castor and Sunflower seed oil. It was on the thicker side and it definitely leave oily residue but that doesn't bother me too much since I double cleanse if my first step is oil. The one thing that is making me rethink is that it didn't completely remove my eye make-up, in the past I had some other oils and were better at removing my eye make-up so I won't repurchase this one again.

The last are two bottles of the same Cucumber toner from Milnica (I ordered 100ml bottle but apparently they were out of it so they send me two smaller bottles). The packaging has a big opening and since I am a very clumsy person I often spill... my solution was to pour it in a spray bottle and use it as a mist to refresh in the evening in the middle of my moisturizing routine or on days with no make-up or even on top of freshly applied make-up to make it melt into my skin better (but always setting with a powder on top). It was a nice refreshing toner, I didn't noticed any big difference but I like spraying my face :) my favorite still remains Lavender... I still have a few toners left that I need to finish before buying more but honestly I don't think I will repurchase it again, I might get the Chamomile one next.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Project Polish

 Hello,

I'm continuing with the project polish where I handpick a few nail polish bottles and rotate among them until one is finished and replace it with a 'new' one from my already large collection. This is my way of minimizing and so far I have been successful (my number went down) and I'm realizing that I don't need to have 10 slightly different shades of pink at once.

Essence discontinued these nail candies a long time ago and I was so upset that I bought a lot of them at once to stock up (most of them were for my mom, because she loved them but I bought way too many of them so I kept some of them for myself). This one is my favorite shade and is named Like Love Birds, it is pink with a slight violet hue. Not opaque but milky in two coats sometimes I did three just to even it out and I love the 'clean' and polished look of a milky nail polish. This is my last bottle of this hue but I won't miss it because there are plenty of nail polishes that look similar.

The next one is also from Essence and it is called Sweet as Candy. This one is still available just in a different bottle design. It is also milky but less pink compared to the previous one, it is almost white and I comes off as a little more obvious/noticeable. I prefer this one because two coats were always sufficient and less pink tone looked even better on me. I decided not to buy a new bottle of it immediately because I have two other similar shades but at the end I did (I was buying products online and I needed to spend a few extra € to get free shipping... so I caved in and got myself a backup). This and the next one are some of my favorites.

Next in line is Misslyn Beauty Naturale and it was a limited edition shade so I can't get my hands on it again. It was such a lovely dusty pink with a bit of nude thrown in the mix. It almost looked like nothing (it was opaque in two coats) but the shade looked pretty similar to my skin tone so whenever I wore it, it made me think at a quick glance that my fingers were extra long :) It looked good with everything and it matched my every mood. It will be missed.

The very last one is also from Essence and it was part of their advent calendar from years ago and it is also the last left. It was an ombre top coat in the shade Candy Cane Lemonade. This red sheer liquid was a nice top coat, I often put it over all the three shades mentioned above and it just made them a bit brighter and vibrant (I used one coat over all of the nails, I didn't play with the ombre effect), I also liked it over light grey hues just to get a different tone out of it. I don't think I will buy nail polish like that again but writing this review made me miss it...

This was a bunch of nail polishes which I enjoy wearing a lot lately, I was really in a light pink mode ;)

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

the first half of the month is already behind us and I seriously thought I would have more items finished up. There is a whole bunch of products hanging on their last legs which will be featured at the end of the month.

Teaology Matcha Latte body milk with Matcha Tea infusion and organic vegan milks is a lovely body moisturizer which I received free of charge when I bought my first face cream from them  (it is already used up and I already have a new one), the scent is the same, green tea like and very comforting and nice. It felt nourishing and my skin liked it but I didn't think it was anything too special, especially not for a bit higher price tag. Maybe I will get it again if I see it on sale but this 100 ml tube was finished up in just two weeks...that is a bit fast even for me. 

Next is The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% toning solution. I heard a lot of good things about this type of acid in toners and I wanted to try it out. I haven't noticed and changes which I could pinpoint to this product, after a while it started to get pointless for me and I started to use it less regular and that helped my skin even less. I know I just got lazy with this item because I know I should use it regularly but my laziness got the best of me. I still have some bottles laying around that I have to use up and maybe this next one I will use as instructed.

I managed to finish up a  bottle of a fragrance. It is only a 20 ml version of Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb perfume but still, this is a big deal for me because I have a lot of bottles. I really liked this scent but probably I won't repurchase it again because I have two other fragrances that smell similar but are even better to me (Armani In Love with You and Dior Miss Dior Absolutely Blooming).

This next item is a love of mine and I already have a backup of it. It is Alverde Dog Rose face oil. This little 15 ml bottle lasts for quite a while since I don't need a lot but it helps with my overall red tone of my face, it sooths and calms down my skin and I love it. Extra bonus is the nice rosey scent.

Second to last is The Body Shop Tea Tree pore minimizing face primer which is my very last tube of it because they don't make it anymore :( My skin is acne prone and using something with Tea Tree under my make-up makes my skin happy. I'm not 100% sure it helped fight off acne but it sure did have trick my brains and had a big psychological impact on me. I was sure I will buy this till the end of my days... my make-up also did look very nice on top of it. This doesn't feel like a regular silicone primer but rather like a face moisturizer, my skin afterwards did look a bit more matte but it didn't hold my oils at bay for long. As mentioned above, I liked the strong Tea Tree scent which triggered my brains into thinking that I'm using skincare under my make-up. If they ever come out with a similar sounding item I'm getting it immediately.

The very last item is Catrice LE lipstick (collaboration with Peta) in the shade Feel Good. A lovely mauve toned shade (my favorite  out of the three I had). I liked that it goes on pretty sheer but it can be intensified with an extra layer, it looks pretty glossy and juicy on the lips and it did nourish my lips for a while. I still used regular lip balm in between just so the color didn't build up too much but my lips looked happy using it. 

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

this month was quite successful when it comes to finishing up products and if the month would have a few extra days I could squeeze even more empties in...

Balea comes out with limited editions pretty regularly and this one I just couldn't resist. It is Follow your heart body wash with a Floral and Tropical Fruits infused scent. I mostly just smell a mixed fruit scent but it is lovely. In the past I had some and most of them had a bit of plastic scent to them but fortunately not this one. If I will find another bottle I will get it again.

Next is the lotion from Avon Today, Tomorrow, Always collection. Mine is in the Today scent which is so far my favorite. A beautiful creamy white flower scent (I also had a bottle of perfume), it was a nice addition (not particularly moisturizing but I bought it for the scent alone) and it was so nice to go to bed smelling like this white floral lady :) I think I will eventually get it again just because I like the scent.

Catrice Bronze away to Fiji (LE from 2021)and Sungasm (LE from 2020) make-up fixing sprays. I used them together because I wanted to see if they performed different on my skin but I haven't noticed any difference. I feel like they make them very similar each year and release them under new packaging. I still have one bottle left from last year which will last me long enough to get new one this year if they will release one this Summer...

Biore seems like such a popular brand oversees and when it arrived in our stores I was over the moon but it still took me months to buy something. At the end I picked up a mechanical face scrub (I purchased it a long time ago) it is their Rose quartz collection with active charcoal infused formula. I no longer enjoy scrubs on my face but this one felt very gentle so it was easier to use up but I also used it on my body just to finish it up faster. Needles to say that I won't buy it again but maybe I will get something else since I'm still interested in what this brand has to offer.

I also finished up two Catrice all matt plus face powders in Transparent shades (they are skin colored not white). I had one at home and another one at work for touch-ups and finished them at the same time. These are some of my favorites and very inexpensive but I think they quietly replaced them with different ones since I can't find these anymore...

The Body Shop shine lip liquid in the shade Strawberry BonBon which is a lovely soft pink with an actual candy scent but it has no taste. The formula is infused with oils but my lips still got dry at the end of the day if I was only using this product. The biggest setback is the longevity, this lasts half an hour on me, it is not sticky and the shade is great but reapplying it constantly is not my jam so I won't repurchase it.

The very last item has most of its writing rubbed off but it is discontinued Essence plumping nudes lip gloss in the shade Big Softie. Neutral toned nude with a hint of cooling and since I don't like tingling lip glosses anymore this slight effect was bearable. This lasted up to one hour (much better than the previous gloss) but I still wouldn't repurchase it since this brown/nude shade wasn't my favorite. 

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

for today I only have four items but by the end of this month I will have plenty more to show in my pile of empties.

This first item has become my holy grail of face washes for me. This CeraVe foaming cleanser for normal to oily skin in a massive 473 ml bottle is absolutely amazing. I love the pump which keeps it sanitary and I get even application per each use (one pump is enough for my face), the texture is liquid enough to easily spread all over my face (I use it with damp hands and it 'foams' up nicely) and it really removes most of my make-up and my natural oils. My skin afterwards feels refreshed, matte but never dry or dehydrated. This huge size also lasted me up to 8 months and I used it in the morning and at night. My skin has become really nice, I still get an occasional breakout but this face wash never irritated my skin or gave me any kind of discomfort. I already bought myself a new bottle but first I have to use up some other face washes and then I get back to this one.

I think this is my oldest body moisturizer and that is the sole reason why I started using it still in the cold weather even though the scent is pretty summery. It is The Body Shop Virgin Mojito body butter. It did smell like it sounds and it was a nice scent, the formula was a bit on the thicker side which I don't like that much especially not in the warmer weather, so at the end I think it was better for me that I used it up in colder weather. I think this scent is already discontinued but if it would still be available I wouldn't get it again. Now I prefer lighter formulas (lotions and milks) and the citrusy scents no longer float my boat.

I'm pretty sure I purchased this in some sort of set because I also have the face wash from the same line, which is next in line to be used up. It is Avon planet spa Korean Charcoal cleanse and refine peel-off face mask. Honestly I don't see much benefits after using it. Yes, it is fun to peel it off and my skin does look matte but in the unhealthy kind of way. To me it looks like it just takes away the oil sitting on top of my skin, it does nothing about cleansing my pores and by now I'm just happy to throw this empty packaging away.

The very last is jet another empty tube of my beloved Neutrogena oil free face moisturizer. I don't know how many I have already used up (they are all well documented on this blog, I should just count them) but it is still my favorite to use in the morning under my make-up. It moisturizes and keeps my face matte for longer than any other face cream, plus it is quite inexpensive. All in all, an amazing moisturizer for my skin.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day