March/April Empties

I barely touched anything in March, so on decided to combine it with some decent progress in April.

There were definitely a few big wins here.

Shower stuff:

Some Matrix shampoo and conditioner 

Opinion: These fell victim to necessity. My water at home is super soft and all of the things that hotel water is not, so it is hard to form an actually analysis of functionality. Either way, these were decent enough.

Purchase?: These worked for travel. I liked them. More than more travel shampoo/conditioner duos. If I ever run out, then maybe.

Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer

Opinion: Dude. How can this stuff even be real? I am soooo lazy when it comes to applying lotion, so this is a miracle product for me. It did take me a couple of tries to find a scent that wasn't super gross. This one is just a little gross, but I can handle it. I see that they now have a tanning version, and I love me some Jergens fake tan.

Repurchase?: Again and again. Except right now I am trying to use up a Nivea sample.

Face Stuff:

Some more random makeup remover wipes from TJ Maxx
Opinion: They worked!
Repurchase?: I can't resist the makeup wipes at TJ Maxx

Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash
Opinion: I love this. I had to buy a full sized tube after my sister stole my sample sized one last year. It smells nice, is gentle, and left my skin super soft.
Repurchase?: I have skin care ADHD, so probably not. It's not that I don't like it...I just have lots of others to get through before I come back around to anything.

Pacifica Dreamy Youth Day & Night Face Cream
Opinion: This was very very nice. Moisturizing, but not greasy. Also had a very mild pleasingly neutral scent.
Repurchase?: I am up to my eyeballs in moisturizers at the moment, so no.

Chanel Le Lift Firming Anti Wrinkle
Opinion: LUXURY SAMPLE! I am not sure what this was supposed to be. I used it below my eyes.
Purchase?: I am scared to even look up what this costs.

Makeup things:

NARS Bronzer sample in Laguna
Opinion: Bronzer may be the only makeup category I am just not in love with and/or hoard like crazy. HOWEVER, this product was awesome. I got a few uses out of this card and loved it. It was a good color match for me, and it blended out super well.
Purchase?: No way. I will never buy a bronzer. I get too many as it is from subscription boxes. I will say that this is the first NARS product that I have liked, since their lip crayons give me a rash. 

Skyn Iceland Blemish Dots
Opinion: I used this entire pack for a particularly bad pre-period breakout. I am not sure they did anything, BUT! they did stay on my face the entire night while I slept.
Purchase?: I love Skyn Iceland, but these were not worth it to me.

Makeup Forever Step 1 Primer
Opinion: This was a nice, tinted, "slippery" feeling primer. Very comparable to Benefit Prefessional.
Purchase?: Nah, I am already stocked up on other primers. Plus, Makeup Forever products are a little too pricey for me.

NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation
Opinion: NYX can do me no wrong! I gave up on this when it was just a little ring around the pan because I felt like it was going to mess up my brushes trying to get the last out of there.
Repurchase?: Heck yes I will! After I use up my BH Cosmetics version. Or maybe I will just repurchase the BH Cosmetics version. Either way, I liked this a lot and will need something like it again soon.

NYX Matte Finished Setting Spray
Opinion: My baby always and forever.
Repurchase? I always have at least two more bottles on standby.

Empty NARS bronzer and NYX powder:

Miscellaneous:

It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product
Opinion: You know what? Screw It's a 10! I have never liked their products and this was no different. I do not enjoy sticky hair.
Purchase?: Absolutely not.

Reese's Flavored Lip Balm
Opinion: Mmmmmm.....Reese's! I had this as my bedside lipbalm and it made me happy to slather it on before bedtime. 
Repurchase?: Maybe the next time I see it. I have been murdering lip balms at an alarming rate recently.

Ecolip Bee Free Lip Balm
Opinion: I liked the application and smell of this, but I had to give up on it. It somehow made my lips drier and gave me a rash. I was stuck in a dry ass hotel for an entire week with only this balm in my purse, and it was horrific. I kept waking up in the middle of the night with dry lips and this just somehow made them worse. 
Purchase?: Heck no this was awful.

Pogo Lip Balm in some minty flavor
Opinion: Pogo know what is up with natural lip balms. I have been happily using these up.
Purchase?: Maybe when I have used all of them from my Organic Authority box. I think I am on the last one now.

Travel Empties - Malta Edition

I just got back from Malta where I mostly managed to look ~okay~ despite the fact that every hotel I stayed at had the worst lighting ever and it was hot as shit outside. Not that any of that stopped me from attempting to wear makeup or black clothes every day.

I also cut six inches off of my hair before this trip because I did not want to deal with that shit every day. Or any day really.

Anyway, here are a few things I went through:

You know those paper perfume samples that fall out of you Ulta catalog? Don't toss those! I brought my stash along and it was nice to not only have a new scent every day, and to save some space while packing!

I was very disappointed with this Tarte Guard sunscreen sample. I got two small pumps out of it before it died.

The Ulta warming charcoal cleanser was weird. I don't know how or why, but it legitimately got HOT as I squeezed it out of the package and rubbed it on my face. I also got two uses out of this package, and it was warm both times. So that doesn't mean whatever voodoo is in here dies off as soon as it's opened. Strange, but I like charcoal products for my icky oily skin and this was nice to have on hand.

More perfume cards, and a Tarte bronzer/blush card. I got two uses out of the bronzer on this card, and four out of the blush. It doesn't look empty because the card is printed the same colors are the products. I liked the bronzer, and I already own this color of Tarte's blush, Glisten.

The other foil packet was some Elizabeth Arden face serum that was awesome. I slapped on the entire packet before bed one night and woke up with super hydrated skin.

I will be doing another post later on more details of my travel beauty routine and tips.

February 2017 Empties

More progress in February!

Makeup items:

Ulta Demi-Matte Foundation (Ivory)

Opinion: This is my favorite foundation ever! The shade is a perfect match for me, and it is more matte than demi-matte in my opinion. It is quite thick and a little difficult to apply. I find that a Beauty Blender works best. This stuff sticks to my oily face all day.

Repurchase?: I already have. It's nice that Ulta brand items frequently have BOGO sales too.

NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray

Opinion: I blow through this like crazy.

Repurchase?: Again and again. I have two backups right now. I did just buy the E.L.F. version to try though, since it was only $3.00. So far I am not impressed.

Napoleon Perdis Autopilot Pre Foundation Skin Primer

Opinion: This worked well enough. It wasn't my favorite primer ever or anything.

Purchase?: Pass.

Dermalogica Hydrablur Primer

Opinion: This was a pretty standard "slippery" primer for me. It worked well. I liked it more than the Napoleon Perdis one.

Purchase?: Doubtful.

IT Cosmetics CC+ Cream

Opinion: Loved this. I understand the hype around this brand because everything of theirs I have tried is awesome. My skin looked great wearing this and this only. 

Purchase?: I have been very tempted to more than once. It's a little on the pricey side for me. I have two other sample tubes I have been hoarding for the hot summer months when I don't feel like slapping on a full face.

Vincent Longo double ended eyeliner pencil

Opinion: I used up the side of this that I like. It was getting kind of old and the color on the other side just got dry and unusable. It started cracking a little too, so it was time to go.

Repurchase?: I love eyeliners and I have a ton. I am currently using a Sigma eyeliner in a color very close to the one side I used up, so I don't need a new one of these at the moment.

yourMinerals Sweden setting powder

Opinion: I liked this a lot. It was very fine and very translucent. It gave my skin a nice soft but natural looking finish.

Repurchase?: My next setting powder purchase is definitely going to be Tarte, but this one is pretty close.

Skin care:

Aveeno Absolutely Ageless Intensive Renewal Serum

Opinion: This smelled really nice. I kept it in my gym bag to slather on after I showered and it made my face nice and soft.

Purchase?: Not at the moment, but I would definitely consider it in the future. When/if I ever run out of serums.

Algenist Genius Ultimate Anti-Aging Eye Cream

Opinion: This was nice enough and the little jar lasted a while. It kept my undereye area hydrated overnight, which is what I expect from a good eye cream.

Purchase?: Not for the price, ouch.

Lancôme Energie de Vie the Smoothing and Glow Boosting Liquid Care

Opinion: I'm not even 100% sure what this was. I used it as a serum.

Purchase?: Too confusing.

Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask

Opinion: I LOVED this and I see what the Bliss hype is about now. This left my skin so soft and refreshed and it smelled nice too.

Purchase?: This brand is a little spendy for me, but I do see it on Hautelook every now and then. I will pay more attention and look for it now.

Pixi Glow Tonic

Opinion: This is a little sample bottle from the Target advent calendar that I got super cheap after the holidays. I used to go through this like crazy, until I realized that I wasn't actually sure it was doing anything. Also, even though it's not expense, it's not cheap either for the rate that I use toner.

Repurchase?: I'm holding off for now and searching for my HG toner. So far I am really liking The Body Shop's tea tree toner. Next I want to try the Mario Badescu one.

Miscellaneous:

More toothpaste! I keep toothbrushes and toothpaste all over the house. It's a small miracle to me when I finish a tube since I have to use it all by myself. My husband hates the varieties that I use.

Proraso Liquid After Shave Cream

Opinion: I shave my legs very infrequently, and they always burn like crazy afterwards. I got this sample in an Amazon luxury beauty box and I cannot believe how quickly and effectively it makes my legs stop burning!

Purchase?: Already did. This little bottle lasted me forever, so I didn't mind splurging a little on the full size.

Random Perfume Samples

Opinion: I love just about any and all perfumes. I don't have a "signature" scent. I just love wearing perfume and perfume in general. I currently have amassed 60-70 of these little sample vials, so I am making a point to use some up.

That's it for February! March and April will  be a combined post since things were a little slower.

Travel Empties

I just finished up a massive round of business trips! Here is more of my stash that I burned through in February and March. Not everything was captured. I decided to skip shampoo and conditioner sample reviews. I have super soft water at my home. Nothing like the garbage hotel shower water. I can't really do an accurate comparison to my regular shampoo routine, which involves Derm Organic products.

Packets (hits):

To make this short and sweet, I like everything Vichy and I have totally been falling in love with Bare Minerals skin care lately. The Wella hair balm was lovely as well.

Tubes (misses):

While I typically love Pacifica, and this  face wash was nice and gentle, I HATED the smell! It smelled hardcore like bug spray. The makeup remover was freaking awful as well, but I powered through it. I just can't handle adding more oil to my already oily skin. Yuck.