I went the entire month without buying anything UNTIL the day after Christmas. The wonderful Unseen Censer brought to my attention that Yves Rocher was running a mega sale. And I have been wanting the Vanille Noire body products. They were 50% off. I picked those up and a lot of other stuff that I didn’t need.  I forgot how generous Yves Rocher can be. I got a $10 coupon on top of that plus they threw in samples and a full-size face cream!

Towards the end of the month, I bought Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation and ColorStay Moisture Stain in New York Scene. I like the foundation; it’s a repurchase. The stain is OK. In fact, it’s more like a moisturizing lip tint that you apply with a sponge tip applicator. I have many other products like it. I really shouldn’t have bought it.

David bought me a few bar soaps for Christmas. 

Oh, and this month, I knew it was a month where I’d empty less than usual (started on new products). So, I thought I’d do the “traditional” empties post and show the actual empties. You have no idea how difficult this was for me. I felt like a hoarder. This really messed with me, but I survived.

Here’s what I emptied in December:

SKINCARE

Shiseido Perfect Whip Foam – I bought this in Hong Kong because it’s always seemed to have a cult following. Plus, it’s cheap. It has a light “clean” fragrance and it foams to the gods. It’s the foamiest cleanser ever which is good or bad depending on your skin. I found it a bit drying (hello, it’s a foaming cleanser). I used it as a second step of my double cleanse.

• Repurchase? Probably. I liked it for warmer weather.

Epic Blend Hemp Lip Balm in Vanilla – I’ve tried a lot of these and I think this one is my favorite. I like the feel and scent. Review here. 

• Purchase? Maybe. But, right now I’m really into Hurraw!

Marble & Milkweed Simple Cardamom Lip Balm – This stuff smells amazing, just like cardamom. I actually found this in a bottom of a makeup bag stuck in a piece of luggage. I forgot about it. I started to use it as a hand cream (because it was “old”). They now offer it in tube packaging.

• Repurchase? I may. It smells so good.

Aquaphor Healing Ointment (travel size) – This is my favorite product for lips. Nothing else works better for me than this.

• Repurchase? Heck yeah.

Reviva Labs Light Skin Peel – I usually have good luck with Reviva Labs but I didn’t read the ingredients of this before buying. It is a really not something I can recommend. It contains a lot of alcohol. It smells like thyme. It’s not gentle. However, I still used it and I don’t know why. It’s too drying for my skin type.

• Repurchase? No.

Neutrogena Fine Fairness Sheet Mask – Like I’ve said before, this has been one of my favorite masks that I bought in Hong Kong.

• Repurchase? Yes.

Nature Republic Give by Nature Apple Mango Sheet Mask – I’ve tried a lot of sheet masks and these aren’t my favorite. The serum is really tacky. The next day it leaves my skin feeling THIRSTY. The scent is kidd-o mango. The problem is that I bought like 10 of these before trying them. Ugh.

• Repurchase? No.

Laneige Original Essence White Plus Renew (samples x 2) – Honestly, I didn’t use this enough to really have an opinion. It’s super lightweight and provides no moisture. In fact, it left my skin feeling really tight and uncomfortable. Most Laneige skincare has a strong scent, this one wasn’t too bad. It smells good, like green and almost fig-y.

• Purchase? No.

Summary – December had the craziest weather. It was warm and humid. Later it became cold. Temps would swing 30 degrees from day to day. My skin was a mess. This has caused me to not really stick to any products; hence, I had less skincare empties than usual. Plus, I used more cream and mud masks than sheet masks.

 

FRAGRANCE

Demeter Whiskey Tobacco Cologne (mini splash) – In my opinion, this is one of the better offerings from Demeter. It smells like the name implies, a really great pipe tobacco scent. I usually wear it at night before retiring since these cologne concentrations lack longevity. Every day David wakes up and says, “Why do my sheets smell like cigars and whiskey?” And I never answer because I like to keep him guessing.

• Repurchase? I may. Also, this packaging is a mess because of me. I wrapped tape around all the Demeter perfumes and they not only pulled off the labels, but also discolored them. Oh, well.

Blackbird Broken Glass EDP (sample) – I emptied this one because I spent a lot of time trying to wrap my head around it. Full review here.

• Purchase? No. It wasn’t for me.

DSH Perfumes Amouse Bouche EDP (sample) – I had a little moment in November where I wanted to wear gourmands. I finished what was left in this sample. It smells like strawberry jam and croissants. Full review here. 

• Purchase? No.

Summary – It really is amazing how long a sample can last, isn’t it?

BATH/BODY

Thalia Olive Oil Soap – This is one of my favorites from this Turkish line. It smells amazing like a minty, green daphne. The soap isn’t too drying. Luckily, my friend gave me the hook-up so I have a few more bars left.

• Repurchase? Yes.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleansing Bar (travel size, not pictured) – I’ve never liked this product but was given a small bar with a GWP. I thought I’d use it as a hand soap. I now remember why I don’t like it. The scent is generic soap-y. It’s drying. It claims to be gentle and moisturizing and it absolutely isn’t. Any other corporate bar soap on the market is the same or even better.

• Repurchase? No.

LUSH Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb (obvs not pictured) – I’ve never tried this product before. It’s a more lemon-y rose than their other rose-y bath products. I used 1/4 of the sphere at a time and had an abundant amount of bubbles and scent.

• Repurchase? Maybe. I’m still all about Rose Jam.

BONUS – A Lemon & Lavender Cuticle Balm made by my mom – “What scent would you like?” my mom asks. I reply, “It doesn’t matter. Well, wait… anything other than citrus or lavender”. And what did I get? Lemon and lavender. This cuticle balm sums up our relationship rather accurately.

Summary – My shower is filled with numerous shower gels. I am using a variety of scented lotions. This is so unlike me but I admit that I enjoy the selection.

 

HAIR

OGX Tsubaki Blossom Shampoo – As I’ve already mentioned in my October Empties, this is an OK product. I much prefer the tsubaki line from Shiseido. I also realize that I hate the OGX packaging as it is hard to use and inefficient.

• Repurchase? No.

Summary – I have two huge bottles of Korean shampoo and conditioner in my shower right now. It’s going to take me a year to empty those.

MAKEUP

Essence Bloom Me Up! Duo Eye Pencil in 01 Bloomylicious – I think this was a limited edition product. One end is used like Benefit High Brow to “lift” the brow. The other end is a light beige to use on the bottom waterline. This cheap product was better than a lot of department store liners like this. It really did give me a “bright-eyed” look.

• Repurchase? If I could, I would! Now I need to find another one like this for the waterline.

Covergirl Lashblast Super Sizer Mascara in Black – I’ve used this mascara for a couple of months and I’m still trying to form my opinion of it. The formula is really wet, which I don’t mind. It also washes off easily. It lengthens but that’s not what it promises to do! There’s no volume with this one, just length. The brush is oddly shaped, like it tapers in a way that doesn’t benefit anyone. The bristles are short. So, it’s good for shorter lashes or creating a thicker look at the base. HOWEVER, This brush is also really prone to clumping because of this shape. When I apply too much, it flakes. If I’m careful, it’s a good mascara. But, who’s careful pre-coffee? There’s a learning curve with this. Also, the last few weeks (at about 2 months), it really started to flake and clump.

• Repurchase? No. I’ve tried better even at this price range. But oddly, I don’t hate it. I liked it for that first month, after that, it got messy. But, at its price this isn’t that big of a deal.

Summary – Do you have recommendations for a matte, light beige liner?

Total: 19. 12 full-size. 3 deluxe sample/travel size. 4 samples

In 2015, I emptied 304 products! Yes, this includes samples, travel sizes and sheet masks. Actually, December was my “slowest” month. It looks like my average is 25 products per month.

What about you? Which products did you empty in December? Did you buy anything new? Throw anything out? Did you get any beauty or perfume gifts for the holidays?

Happy New Year!

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