What happened to June??? Well, for starters, I had family in ALL month, yes, all month. So my time was spent playing tour guide and host. That’s exhausting. Words to the not-so-wise like myself, establish a “three day” rule and stick with it. It wasn’t a bad month, but as you can imagine, it was an exhausting one.
My sisters love makeup and products just as much as I do. We ended up doing a lot of makeup shopping. I ended up buying those Bath & Body Works Flashback Fragrances, some Kiko Milano makeup, a few Korean eyeshadows, Korean skincare, various greige-ish lipsticks and Japanese sheet masks. The NYC area is a great place for that sort of stuff, so many shops, flagships and hard-to-find elsewhere cosmetics. After this month, I really think I should voluntarily join in on a “no-buy” for a few months.
Here’s what I used up in June:
Skincare
Atomy Evening Care Foam Cleanser – This is a decently foaming cream cleanser with a fresh aroma. It does really well with my Clarisonic brush. It hasn’t been as drying as other foaming cleansers.
- Repurchase? Maybe but I’m rather stocked from my Hong Kong trip earlier this year.
TonyMoly Floria Nutra-Energy Sheet Mask – Out of all the TonyMoly masks that I’ve tried, this has been my favorite. It fits well and it’s moisturizing. My skin looked great the next day.
- Repurchase? Yes. I guess my skin benefits more from the more “grown-up” sheet masks.
TonyMoly I’m Real Tomato Radiance Sheet Mask – I’ve tried quite a few masks from this line. Tomato is a lot like the others in that it is a serum mask with a fresh aroma. I do like it. It’s not the best but it’s cheap and good.
- Repurchase? Sure.
Ziaja Natural Argan Oil Protective Face Cream (deluxe sample, not pictured) – I have a lot of these Ziaja samples and I knew I’d eventually fall in love with one of them. And I think it’s this one. It’s a cream with a lightweight texture and a subtle nutty aroma. I like how it hydrates and layers over serums and under sunscreens.
- Purchase? Yeah.
Ziaja Jasmine Anti-Wrinkle Night Cream (sample, not pictured) – I was really excited to sample this one. Hello? Jasmine! But, it was sort of a disappointment. It’s an OK cream without a jasmine aroma. It has a drugstore-y floral aroma.
- Purchase? No.
La Colline Moisture Boost Cellular Rich Hydration Cream (deluxe sample, not pictured) – It’s a moisturizing cream with a “fresh” aquatic/mineral aroma. It gives my skin a dewy glow.
- Purchase? No.
La Colline SwissEntials CMAGE First Cellular Emulsion (deluxe sample, not pictured) – This is a really nourishing cream that can be worn under moisturizer. I over exfoliated and this made my skin look great.
- Purchase? Shoo, like I can afford this stuff.
Pure Skin by Glo The Cherry Balm – This is an oversized lip balm with a delicious cherry scent/flavor. So retro! It has SPF which is usually something I’m sensitive to in lip products. So either this one is great for me or it’s not a really sunscreen 🙂
- Repurchase? Maybe. I have a ton of lip balms right now though.
Summary – Even in this heat, my skin has decided to be dehydrated an annoying. Why is it so hard to find balance in life?
Fragrance
Votivo Winter Cranberry Candle – I really liked this holiday collection because the scents weren’t overly “holiday”. This scent is like a cosmopolitan cocktail with a hint of evergreen. It’s great year round. Full review.
- Repurchase? No. This one was actually a repurchase and now I’m ready for something new.
Voluspa Goji & Torocco Orange Candle Tin – I was obviously in a berry mood this month. This is a candied orange with a tart berry. Packaging is really pretty. Voluspa always has amazing packaging.
- Repurchase? Probably not.
Summary – I usually don’t burn candles in the summer but I was really craving the fruity stuff this past month.
Bath & Body
Korean Charcoal Body Soap – Every time I’m at H-Mart, I pick up a bar of this exfoliating (AHA) soap. It’s really awesome.
- Repurchase? Yes.
Haus of Gloi Soft Bubbling Scrub in Rose City (not pictured)- You guys already know that I love this formula and this scent. Rose City is a red rose with a lot of earthy, damp patchouli. It’s one of my favorite scents from the line. Review here.
- Repurchase? Yes.
Caress Daily Silk Body Wash – This is one of my favorite drugstore shower gels. I absolutely love it’s aldehydic, powdery floral aroma (which reminds me of a few old school perfumes). It softens my skin plus it leaves it smelling amazing. And I need that in the summer…
- Repurchase? Yes. It’s one of my favorites for summer. Actually, it’s one of my most favorite shower gels of all time.
Summary – My face may be dry but my body hasn’t been. I’m all about the squeaky clean soaps when the weather warms up.
Hair
Naturals by Hask Repairing Masque – With summer drying out my hair, I decided to try a new hair mask. This comes in a packet but it lasted me many washes. It’s rich with a fragrance that is very Victoria’s Secret-ish fruity-floral. I liked it but I don’t think it was as nourishing as I expected. I used it every single time I conditioned.
- Repurchase? Maybe.
Summary – Even with my hair growing longer, it still takes me FOREVER to use up hair products.
Makeup
Paula’s Choice All Bases Covered Foundation in Nude – This foundation has a good texture and gorgeous finish but I find the coverage minimal. It’s more like a tinted moisturizer. I like that is scent-free and non-irritating (recommended for sensitive, dry skin types). However, I had to order online and the PC colors run light. Nude is even too light for me and I had to mix it with a warmer, darker Korean BB cream.
- Repurchase? I don’t think so. If I did repurchase, I’d order a sample. I won’t be repurchasing this shade. Nude is a good shade for pale, warmer complexions. Actually, I’m torn on this one. If I could get a good color for me, I’d repurchase.
Maybelline Volum’ Express The Falsies Big Eyes Waterproof Mascara in Rebel Black – Well, I’ve read some positive reviews about this mascara. I needed one when I went back to visit family in Tennessee and picked this up. It’s sort of awful for me. It didn’t help that I accidently bought waterproof. It’s really, really hard to remove at night. It doesn’t do anything for my lashes other than darken them. It’s like for this to work, you already have amazing lashes. I will say this, it doesn’t flake so I guess it could be much worse.
- Repurchase? No.
L’Oreal Colour Riche Lip Colour in 370 JLo’s Nude – Yeah, I bought this because it had J.Lo’s name on it. It’s a light neutral pink/tan. Actually, it’s a really pretty color that paired well with darker eye makeup. It really does look like the nude that she wears all of the time.
- Repurchase? No. Because I have too many nudes.
Summary – I used up a lipstick! Someone give me a badge!
Total: 17. 13 full-size, 3 deluxe/travel, 1 sample
And most importantly, I know have an empty, guest-free house!
What about you? Which products did you empty in June? Did you buy anything new? Throw anything out?
*Sephora, Beauty.com, Drugstore.com and Paula’s Choice contain affiliate links. I’ve also linked to a few eBay and Amazon stores for the Korean stuff. I have no personally purchased from these, so I can’t say anything about their customer service. I mainly included it to show you the product.
I recently bought a Love and Toast lip balm that is very moisturizing, and smells like strawberry bubble gum. (My local store stopped carrying my favorite Merry Hempsters balms, and I can’t bring myself to pay $6 shipping for a $4 lip balm.) However, I only wear it at night, and here is where I am offering some unsolicited advice: Always wear sunscreen on your lips during the day. In my mid-to-late thirties, I developed several freckles on my upper lip, and while the dermatologist says they are not anything to worry about (and I’m lucky there), they drive me nuts. After I got the first one, I kept forgetting I had it, thinking it was a flake of lip pencil, and trying to scrape it off. The most recent one is right on the edge of my lip and lightish in color, and it looks like something bumped my arm while I was applying lipstick whenever I wear a fairly neutral lip color (which I usually prefer.) Chemical sunscreens give me a rash, so I now wear lip pencil with Badger lip balm (with zinc oxide) over it. I never gave much thought to protecting my lips from the sun when I was young, but wish I had.
Thank you for the unsolicited advice. This is a reminder that I definitely need (and I’m sure others do too!). Chemical sunscreens in lip products give me terrible rashes that take weeks to heal. Oddly enough, I can use chemical sunscreens in face/body products but my lips can’t tolerate them. I actually went out and bought that Badger one today. Living on the East Coast now, I get more sun that I did in Seattle. I need to take precautions now.
A few years ago my mother-in-law developed melanoma on her upper lip. Thankfully, she caught it early on and is fine now. Back then, I was good about using a natural balm with SPF (Burt’s Bees) but I swear, I haven’t used one with SPF in years 🙁 I need to start doing it again.
I used up my lifeline skincare products and repurchased all of them. They are good for mature combination skin. Ulta had a sale on NYX and I went totally crazy. I also like their brightening sheet masks that are sold there with an unassuming name (I’ve bought them three times and can’t remember the name). I’m torn on mascaras. I’ve only found one that is waterproof (which I need for my job) and is easy to remove. It kills me how expensive it is.
They always run out at the same time!
Ulta sale – Saw that and L’Oreal. I’m really pushing my willpower right now.
Sheet masks – I think the ones with the vaguest name have been the best for me so far, lol.
Mascara – Ugh, they’re such a hard purchase for me. They can be so expensive so I tell myself that there has to be a drugstore option that is just as good. The deal is that the drugstore has so many options. And with any mascara, you never know if it is what you want until you wear it for a few days. I like for it to stay put but a lot of waterproof formulas are stubborn as heck to remove, even with a good oil-based remover. I need to just stick to one that is OK, give in, lol.
I am going out right now to buy the Caress – a girl can never have too many shower gels!
That’s my motto!
It’s oddly pretty darn good for what it is. It’s very retro but in a very charming way. The scent itself seems very Old Hollywood glam. Plus, it’s dirt cheap.
I haven’t tried their more “modern” scents but I hear they aren’t too bad. And being that my motto is “never have too many shower gels”, it’s difficult for me to not want to try those too!
I agree!
Also I am on a very strict budget now trying to pay off my credit cards (more than a few perfume purchases) and I can’t spend $60 on shampoo and conditioner anymore. Do you have any recommendations for drugstore haircare? I have dry, frizzy, color treated hair.
Thanks!
Good luck! I’m trying to avoid blogs and stuff right now since I need to save up some money too.
Hmmm…hair products really vary from person to person. I have dry, course and bleached hair. My hair can take heavier formulas. I like Shea Moisture Raw Shea line a lot. If you live close to a Sallys, I also suggest One & Only Argan line.
A lot of people talk about how much they love L’Oreal Total 5 line, but I wasn’t impressed. I mean, I guess it was just fine for the money but it didn’t rock my world.
Thanks Victoria, I appreciate it! My hair likes the heavier stuff too so I will try what you recommended. It’s a start in the right direction anyway 🙂
No problem 🙂
I just remember that I like Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla line but it’s really, really fragrant. My sisters who have really long, dry and color-treated hair like a few of the OGX lines. I tried a couple when I was in TN and they weren’t bad at all. I just can’t remember which ones I used now!
[…] was Ulta Rose Gold Palette and my lips were either Colour Pop Brills or the L’Oreal shade I emptied last month. My sisters are really into color cosmetics as much as I am so we did too much shopping […]
Ah yes, Carol’s Daughter – good stuff! I think it is still at Ulta and Sephora used to carry it years ago. I loved their brown sugar body scrub.
They were bought by L’Oreal and now have more distribution. I *hope* the formula hasn’t changed though with the buy-out.