Empties! (Traveler edition!)

Hi All!
    Hope that this summer break is treating you well! I am really excited to bring you guys another batch of empties (no I did not pack empties from my home to take with me for this post) This is strictly a post of what I have finished on this trip so that I don't have to carry back to the USA a large bag full of empty plastic containers (I think TSA would find that kinda crazy too!)

So what have I finished?

Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Facial Towels:
These were okay towelettes, I bought the sample pack before my trip yet I
found that I didn't use them as much.  These just didn't feel like they actually
got all my makeup off.  Plus these stung my eyes. 

Make-up Remover Facial Wipes:

These I got from the Dollar Store, and didn't really like these for my face. They were small, and not very saturated.
I actually used these to spot treat my makeup brushes.

 Neutrogena Oil- Free Acne Wash:

This was another product I picked up in a previous haul
just so that I could try out some other facial products.  This was a pretty good face wash I might go back and purchase it in the future.

L'Occitane Shower Gel Mini (x3):
I had a whole bunch of mini L'Occitane products from my hotel and I really
like the way this smelled.  It had Rosemary and Mint and just felt so
refreshing! Would I purchase this on it's own...probably not because it is pretty pricy. 

Asira Body Wash:

This was from a hotel I stayed in YEARS ago (yep I hoarded mini bath products)
Anyways, I found that this wash dried my skin out, and anyways I can't purchase this any
place....so I'm just glad I have less crap hanging around my room.

L'Occitane Shampoo (x3):
Yep, I told ya I had a bunch of these minis! The shampoo was pretty good,
but it doesn't work better than drugstore shampoos like Garnier or Herbal Essences. 

L'Oreal EverSleek Reparative Smoothing Conditioner:
So this conditioner worked pretty well for my hair.  I think I actually like the conditioner
more than I like the shampoo (the shampoo always left my hair feeling greasy).
Would I repurchase it? I don't think so, because I like so many other conditioners. 

L'Occitane Conditioner:

ANOTHER conditioner (do we see a theme here?) Anyways this was also nice stuff
but I just can't justify purchasing the full bottle at that price when so many
other conditioners work just as well for much cheaper.  I think I'll
just enjoy it in the hotel sample bottle form.

Jade Hand & Body Lotion (x2)

FINALLY! This is like the last of many minis I had in my dresser drawer (but let's
not talk about the big vase full of minis that my mother has that I need to start working through). I
liked the scent of this lotion though, it had a light and fresh rose fragrance.  Yet, it was
also a hotel sample so I have no idea where to buy it.

Dove gofresh Cool Mini Deodorant:

This was a life saver while I was here in Poland the first few days.  I was still running around
trying to get all my little items and kept forgetting to grab deodorant (oye!)
I liked this for the few days that I used it, but I had the full size in the past
and got really sick of the scent after a while.  So I might repurchase a mini to keep on hand, but not the full size.

ELF Exact Lash Mascara in Black:

So after the big hoopla about lower lash tiny brush mascaras, I went out and bought
this thinking "AWESOME! It's cheap and I can really use it." First off, I don't usually wear
mascara on my bottom lashes, and Second...this sucked.  The brush handle was too short so that caused a mess, the formula was barely there, and at times it looks like it was dried out because no color would come off.  This was just a waste and I'm glad I used what I could (which was not much anyways). NOT repurchasing.

NYC Lipstick in 319 Violet Shine:
This is a beautiful lipstick color that has some shimmer in it.  This is very much a "my lips but
better" color, it's not very purply as the name suggests, it's more of a pinky with hint of purple.
I wore this a lot this year so it was going to finish out sooner or later.
I would purchase it again, but I have a lot of similar colors to this.
PS I was NOT going to dig out the color from the tube...not worth all the extra fuss. 

Julep Nail Color in Grace:
This is a perfect "clean nail" polish.  When I wore this it just left my hands looking so fresh.
It did take about 4 coats to make it opaque (but it was still not fully opaque), and this polish
went very quickly because of that.  I don't know if I'm going to purchase this again
because of the price of the polish (14 bucks).  I have many similar colors
so I think I'll work on finishing out those colors.

NYC Loose Finishing Powder in Natural Veil:
Well, I can already say that I'm shocked that I finished this product out so fast.
I'm not a fan of loose finishing powders, and this one did not help keep my face shine free as long as I would have liked neither did it help my makeup from breaking down as quickly,
but hey it was a product I really wanted gone and done!

There was a sifter, but I popped it out and lost it. Oops

LaSource Relaxing Body Lotion from Crabtree & Evelyn:
I love Crabtree & Evelyn products but I just could not get behind this scent.  It was a spa scent but it
was also sickly sweet on me.  It's just not a fragrance I would have chosen
for myself.  I'd rather look towards the thick lavender or rose creme.

Vitamin C Tablets on Left, On Right LaSource

Vitalsss Plus Witamina C Tablets:
So these are just effervescent Vitamin C tablets that I took while my stay at the dormitory.
We have had 3 rounds of heavy sicknesses in our dorm and I took these as preventive measures.
Boy was I happy to have done that because I didn't even cough during my stay here!
Anytime I travel I always take a pack of these because it helps my immune system
battle and airplane bugs and transition to the climate colds.

Carea Cotton Rounds:
These are just generic cotton rounds that worked really well for taking off makeup.  There are 120
rounds and they cost less than a buck, so it's a win win situation for me.

TREsemme Freshstart Dry Shampoo:
So the first few times I used it, it was ok.  Then the second half of the bottle felt like I was spraying
liquid onto my scalp.  I've heard from quite a few people that they
also have this problem the with this particular dry shampoo.  I have to say, I'm not on the whole
dry shampoo band wagon though, I still feel gross when my hair isn't washed.
I might give this another go another day, but for now...eh.

NIVEA Stress Protect Anti-Perspirant:
So I have to say, I was a little skeptical when I first bought this antiperspirant, because it is
milky and not a heavy duty men's product.  But even on the 100 plus
degree days, this worked really well.  I wish the US carried this product (or
at least it was more readily available).

Timotei With Jericho Rose 2 in 1 Shampoo & Conditioner
I really liked this shampoo, I found that it kept my hair feeling REALLY soft despite the hard water here in Poland. I still did follow up with conditioner, but this lathered well and smelled really nice.  Sadly this is a product I've only seen here in Poland, so I probably won't see it in the US.  Oh well.

L'Occitane Body Lotion
This was another one of my tons of minis I had with me.  But this was probably my most disappointing products form L'Occitane that I've used.  The lotion was very thin and watery and did not soak into the skin.  The scent was ok, it strong resembles goat milk products, which I personally do not mind.

L'Occitane Conditioner (x2)
 Yep, I know...didn't I already post earlier about finishing one of these...well I finished two more and the way I've been writing about these products is as I go through them.  So you, my readers, will have to deal with a double on the list. I liked the conditioner...but still feel there are much more and better products for much lower prices.

St. Ives Apricot Scrub (Fresh Skin)
Um... someone care to remind me why I stopped using this product? (Erm...guilty I had too many face washes and couldn't justify going out and buying so much more until I finished a few...oops) I found that the scrub was nice and gritty and very useful for opening up the skin for another cleanser so that it could get in real deep.  When I get back home, I'll be purchasing a large bottle of this!

Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser
This stuff makes my face tingle! But in a really refreshing and clean way.  Did it perform miracles when it came to my breakouts? Not really, and this surprised me.  I have a few other products that work a lot better and faster.  


Needless to say...it's been a busy summer of empties!
What have you finished?

Updated Empties

Hi Again,
   In the continuation of my project for this year, I have another batch of products that I have finished out over the last few weeks.  As you can tell, I'm pretty hell-bent on working my way through all these products.

Vaseline Firming Lotion: I can't really say that I saw "firming" in this lotion, but it was really good quality.  My skin felt soft and it sunk in rather well.  What was most important is that my ashy knees were gone!

Old Spice Fresh Deodorant: Yes, I use men's deodorant.  I don't like the women's scents and just feel that the men's versions work so much better.  I just wasn't the biggest fan of this particular scent.  I kept smelling a toothpaste-mint fragrance and while I love my mint, I didn't like it in this form.

Givinchy Le' Jardin Perfume: I had this perfume for a while and had a complete love-hate relationship with it.  I bought it and used it for a month or two, then hated the heavy floral scent.  Thus it wasn't used for about 6 months. I kept bouncing back and forth until this winter where I finally said "to hell with it" and used it up.  But guess what? I actually liked it, but I won't repurchase it.

Dove gofresh in Green Tea Cucumber: This was an "ok" scent, but it just didn't fit me.  I ended up using it as a room mist, but towards the end it started to smell sickly sweet (I guess it was going bad).  Overall I won't repurchase.

Olay Night Cream: I love this cream because it was thick but not greasy.  It was calming enough that it could repair damage or drying but light enough that I didn't feel like Mrs. Doubtfire when she smashes her face into the cake.  This is a cream I might come back to.

NYC Nail Polish in 219: This was before the NYC nail polishes even had legit names for their colors.  This was from their "nail glossies" line, and it was so pretty.  It was a light enough pink that it made your nails look healthy, clean and polished while being able to cover any stained nails. (too many dark shades used!) I don't think they even make this any more.

NYC In a New York Minute in 248B Manhattan: This was one of my favorite colors this year.  I can't tell you how many times I would repaint my nails consecutively with it.  Towards the end it got very clumpy and so thick that the air bubbles created actually puffy nail polish.  I would get acrylic thickness nails when I put this on towards the end! If I didn't have about 4 other same colors, I would repurchase it.

Colgate Mini: It's a toothpaste. It kept my teeth clean.  I don't know what else to say about it because this was just about as basic as they come.

Renpure Organics I love my hair! Conditioner: This smelled really good and was pretty thick consistency, but it didn't out perform any of my less expensive conditioners.  So while it lasted a while, I just don't see myself picking this up anytime soon.

Amika Hair Oil: Oh my goodness, this was something that sparked a love for hair oils.  This smelled so lovely, almost like a light perfume but was so pleasant when I caught a whiff of it.  I would consider purchasing a full sized bottle of this.

L'Oreal EverCreme Shampoo: I used this for a while, then when I came back to this I disliked it.  I don't think I'll repurchase because I'm not extremely concerned about using organic shampoos.  Since my hair is fine and greasy the sulfates seem to keep it dryer for longer. 

Oscar Blondie Protein Mist: What can I say other than I used it more as a detangler.  I didn't see any improvements in my hair strength.  It smelled good though, but to pay the price for an Oscar Blondie protein mist and use it like my much cheaper drugstore detanglers doesn't seem to make any sense.

Organix Moroccan Argon Oil Conditioner: I was so disappointed in this product.  I thought it would leave my hair in beautiful condition, but instead it looked like a rats nest, and I'm sure I lost a few too many hairs from all the yanking of my hair brush.  Not going near this stuff ever again.

 

Bath & Body Works Lavender & Chamomile Body Wash: I love the scent of this stuff and it always lasts me between 2-3 months, so even when I buy these at the 50-75% off sales, I feel like I'm getting an awesome deal. I'd repurchase this fragrance over and over too. 

Desert Essence Face Wash: This was a really good cleanser, but it took a little while to get used to a purely liquid product versus gel or cream cleansers.  I'd repurchase this product because it didn't alter my skin and kept it pimple free. 

Neutrogena Rapid Clear Face Scrub: This was a life saver when I went through a pizza face month.  It was awesome for killing all the bacteria and just getting rid of any additional bumps.  I'd repurchase this one.

My FaceWorks I Need to Heal Face Mask: So one thing I'll give this mask is that it is VERY saturated in liquid. I actually had to put it between a towel to dry it off a little bit, and it was cooling and relaxing.  I just didn't see enough improvement in my skin to make me want to splurge to see if a few more would help my skin.  I feel like there are many other great products you can buy and still keep a low budget. 

L'Occitane Body Wash: This smelled of an awesome spicy ginger and was perfect as a wake up body wash.  I just don't know if I love it enough to purchase a full size.  I also have so many body washes, that I'll still need to work through those before adding more in.

So how has your project empties been going?

xoxo,

Emi

Final Product Empties of 2012!

Hi Everyone!
   I hope Christmas found you all really well and that everyone had a chance to enjoy time with friends and family.  This is going to be my last post before my finale post about my project pan, and boy am I excited about that one! Today is just my last minute things that I finished up during the December month.  I always surprise myself about what I end up finishing out, it's never really the stuff I expect to!
Anyways  onto the products!

Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo Pure Clean: So I've heard a lot of people saying that this was so cleansing for their hair, I really think that the "Pure Clean" aspect is more intended to be a part of their environmentally friendly label, not really the way it cleans the hair. I love this brand anyways, so it's something I'll be repurchasing over and over again.

Blondie Violet Volumizing Mousse: So I had this product since I went really blonde with Sun-In when I was about 16.  That's roughly 8 years, and I had purchased it thinking that it would keep it from being brassy.  At that time I didn't know what "brassy" meant, and saw no change in it. I dug this back out this year and finally used it up, I swear it would multiply over night.  I didn't see much volume either, so I think this was just a wishful thinking mousse.

Burberry Brit for Women: Okay, this is my signature scent for most of the year. Starting in September through till mid-April I will use this fragrance and it lasted me a long time too!I was sad to see it finish out, but for Christmas I got two more Burberry perfumes, but I will be repurchasing once I get through a few more scents. 

Asira Shampoo: This was just a travel product that I had when I went down to Atlantic City with my friends.  I didn't see it do anything special for my hair, just cleaned it.

Asira Conditioner: Another travel product, it was decent but I have a lot of other conditioners that keep my hair much softer than this one.

Giovanni Step 3 body lotion: This is a sample packet I got from Fairway Market, I found this lotion to be decent. It had a very sweet scent to it, which wasn't very off putting, but it isn't something I would purchase on a whim.  It's made with antioxidants so it's supposed to be good for your skin but I really didn't notice anything special about it.

Juer Birchbox Pink Lipgloss: This was a specially made mini for Birchbox, but I just didn't see it as anything special.  It had barely any pigment, and the design wasn't the greatest because it was a square shape and the brush couldn't reach to majority of the product.  I finally started to use a longer brush from another gloss but it was a pain to carry them both around.  I was disappointed by it, and won't bother to look into it.

Almary One Coat Dial Up: This was an awesome mascara, and it kept my lashes deep black, curled and didn't make them crunchy.  I had a backup of this one, but I'll use it once I get through my other mascaras. 

ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Black: This was the first liner I got from ELF and this was a miss for me, but only because the felt tip was already damaged.  It left a nice dark line on my lids and was rather long lasting.  As time went on, the liner pen frayed more and became rather unusable.  I know it's just a fluke though, because my other ELF liners are fine. 

Stila Smudge Proof waterproof Liner in Peacock: This was another disappointing product.  It came from my first Birchbox, and came to me already defective, it wouldn't screw back down.  It also seemed to be much drier than others that I have sampled at Sephora.  It would start out as a beautiful deep color but by a few hours, it would turn into a light and bright teal.  It also could crumb on my lids, leaving fallout.  Overall just disappointed.

CVS Eyemakeup Remover: This bottle lasted me a while and didn't sting my eyes. I don't usually hunt out same brands specifically, but this one is something I'll repurchase. 

CVS Sensative Unscented Baby Wipes: I got these because for the last month I was staying at various friend's homes due to a hectic work and school schedule, for a bit I forgot to get any eye makeup remover, so tried these out.  They were cheap and worked well, they got all the makeup off, and hey...if they are good enough for a baby's butt then it was ok for my face.

Asira Oatmeal Almond Soap: This was my only favorite Asira product, because it had actual bits of almond in it so it acted like a great scrub.  It was still gentle and just smelled awesome.

Giovanni Step 1 Cleanser: This was the little packet, and I really didn't notice anything special about this cleanser, I feel like it was just another body wash, and wouldn't spend the money on it.

Giovanni Step 2 Exfoliator: This, unlike the other three parts of the "program", was awesome.  I was expecting a stronger scrub and a little surprised it was a sugar/salt scrub, but still found it just right.  While I don't exfoliate my body often (oops being lazy) I would purchase this for the more summer months. 

Iseries Lens Towellets (60): Technically these aren't beauty related, but since they are for my eyeglasses, I figured they would count because I don't want them looking gross on my face.  These were fine, just something easy to clean up the lenses.

Opti-Free Replenish Contact Solution: This is the best product in the world...said no one about contact solution. lol. This is one of those large bottles you can get as a two pack for about 18 bucks.  It keeps them clean and that's all I care about.

Swan Nail Polish Remover: I buy this one at the Dollar Tree, and for some reason, I love it better than any other drug store polish.  It just seems to get my nails clean and it's cheap.  Since I do my nails so often, polish remover goes pretty fast.  I already have several bottles around my house.

Colgate Luminous Toothpaste: So another toothpaste done, and only several more containers before I get down to a normal amount! lol, I feel like this is another product that keeps having babies and multiplying because I keep finding more and more barely used tubes. Oh well, at least I have clean teeth!

So what does this new total come to??
Lotion/Fragrance/ Hair:53 + 6 =59
Makeup: 25 + 4 =29
Candles/ Scents:6 + 0 =6
Cleansers/Body Wash:32 + 5 = 37
Randoms:21 + 4 = 25

GRAND TOTAL: 156

Stay tuned for an upcoming post about this journey and a look at how much space all these products take up! Have you started a Empties Project?

xoxo
Emi