March 2015: The Empties

 

Bioderma Sensibio H20: I'm going to be doing my empties in order from best to worst this month, and this product makes it to the top of my list. I swear, if there is a better makeup remover/cleanser out there, I haven't found it. It seems to work for all skin types, since when I was oily in the summer and fall, it didn't break me out, and when I was super flaky this winter, it didn't dry me out further. I used to use the Sensibio to remove my makeup only before my actual cleanser, but now I use this as my primary face wash. I can't gush enough about it. All of the issues I've had with other products, whether they be cream, wipes, or liquid like this one, are absent. There is no stinging in the eyes, residue on the skin, or leftover product. All that Bioderma Sensibio H20 makes me feel, is clean. The only deterrent is the price. I've gone through about 4 of the 100ml bottles because at about $6.95 a pop, they don't break the bank, but I figured, if this was going to be my primary face product, I'd better invest the $26 and buy the biggest bottle offered. I'm hoping it will last me a quarter of a year at least! 

Julep Conditioning Nail Polish Remover: This is my #1 go-to nail polish remover. It will honestly take anything off my nails without effort or fuss, even glitter. I used to hate wearing glitter polish, only because it was so difficult to remove. Now? I have no fear and glitter manicures have become my favourite nail look to rock. It doesn't dry out my nails or sting or stink like other brands do, but it does leave my nails feeling a bit greasy. I have to give my hands a good wash and dry before attempting to apply anything else, even Julep's own Oxygen Nail Treatment. It won't adhere properly otherwise. The biggest downfall of the Julep Conditioning Nail Polish Remover is the price. You only get 4oz. for $10USD, and that's if you already have the pump, otherwise it goes up to $14. I always wait until it's available in a kit or Julep decides to discount it drastically. Even this month's Secret Store price of $17.99 for a pump bottle and refill couldn't entice me to repurchase.

Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat: The company's claims of this top coat drying in 5 minutes are true. Not even Seche Vite works are quickly when I've got more than 2 coats on my nails. It's amazing when you want to do your nails, but not sit around and wait for them to dry before you can do things like go to the bathroom. Julep has the cost of this as $18USD, but unlike their polish remover, this top coat is always on sale. I don't think I've paid more than $6 for it. I do have two major issues with this though. The biggest problem that I have with the Freedom Polymer Top Coat is that it chips after about 2 days of wear. I can never keep a manicure for longer. At first, I thought it was just me being rough on my nails, but a few days ago I started using a different Julep top coat and all of a sudden I could get a good 4 days out of a mani. Because I was changing my polish and using the product up every other day, I only noticed the second problem towards the end of this bottle's life. The formula completely changed on me and became a clear sludge. Sure, it's always been a bit goopy, but it applied well, and the brush didn't glue itself to my nails if I took a bit of time to try and smooth it out.

This month has been pretty light on the empties for me, mostly because I've pared down my skincare routine. Also, it's dance competition season and all the free time I have has been spent trying to source the most cost effective necessities like tights, shoes, and costume accessories. I just can't bring myself to pay $24.99 for a plastic garment bag. Who do these people think they are??!!?

February Empties.. The Moisturizing Month

Not only is February the shortest month of the year, but it's usually the coldest here as well. Because of that, the only products I managed to get through were ones that I thought would provide me with some heavy duty moisture.

Kiehl's Superbly Smoothing Argan Hair Pak: Winter plus heat styling have turned my hair into a hot, brittle mess this year. I went on a hunt for the perfect hair mask to combat whatever the heck is happening up there. Unfortunately, most of my hair 'miracle' workers from Memebox turned out to be duds, aside from the ones I went through last month. I was so desperate that I went to Kiehl's and paid the $35 for an 8oz. jar of this stuff. I blame all the positive reviewers at MakeupAlley. Aside from all of the raves on performance, the one downside everyone listed, and I will confirm, is that it stinks. It's not going to make your hair smell nice and pretty like a lot of other argan/coconut based oil treatments. To be honest, I used to wash my hair with apple cider vinegar and condition it with olive oil so, to me, anything beats coming out of the shower smelling like a salad.

enesti Apple & Honey Shea Butter Hand Cream: Memebox Special #53: My Honey Box had some real gems; however, this hand cream wasn't one of them. So what if it smelled spectacular and I wanted to eat my hands every time I put it on? It didn't really do anything else for me. After the smell wore off, it appeared as if the moisturizing effects did as well. To be honest, I considered tossing this hand cream a few times before I had finished it, but the scent kept sucking me back in. Perhaps Julep has spoiled me for all other hand care, because I probably would have loved this had I not tried my Maven products first. I mean, it didn't feel greasy, but it didn't automatically give my hands a healthy look or make them baby soft as soon as it absorbed either. Often Korean drugstore and low-end skincare outperform their much higher priced Western competitors, but in this case, the $5 value given by Memebox for the cream seems pretty accurate.

The Face Shop Lovely Me:Ex BeBe Lip Essence: As I've mentioned before in my November Empties post, this is my holy grail lip product. The only reason I haven't used more of them this winter is because I've been trying to use up the million or so other balms, treatments, glosses, and butters that came in some of my monthly subscriptions. So far, this one has them all beat. I can't get through more than half of something else before returning to my Bebe Lip Essence. If The Face Shop ever discontinued it, I'm convinced my lips would just shrivel up and die.

insobeau Super Yellow Intense Renew Essence: Now that I'm a bit more familiar with the Korean skincare regime, I can confidently say, this product is not an essence in the traditional sense. Most of the essences I've tried have been much thinner. The consistency of the insobeau product is more like a lotion or an emulsion. I'm not complaining. I've never had dry skin, but for some reason, my face decided this winter it would throw me a curve ball. I had to cut out a lot of products, like most of my toners and serums since they dried me out. If I didn't have this 'essence' on hand I would have had to go out and emergency buy even more Western skincare than I did. It still functioned well amid my Bioderma cleansers and toners, while providing sufficient moisture to the greasier parts of my face. While using it I was able to only spot treat my dry patches, so I wouldn't break out the areas that were retaining their moisture. I wish I had a backup because I'm really going to miss it. I can't find it anywhere online. I'm hoping someone is hoarding it and will put it up for trade soon so I can make it through the rest of the season!

Julep Hand and Cuticle Stick: I have a confession to make. I bite my nails. That's not the horrid part. You know that skin around your nails that usually gets dry and hard during the frigid winters because you refuse to wear gloves? I used to bite that too. Notice I said 'used to'. I consider Julep's Hand and Cuticle Stick my little saviour. Not only is it super moisturizing without being greasy, so the skin stays soft and supple, but in the event it does get a little chapped, the balm tastes NASTY. That's incentive not to bite right there. It also makes my hands look less shriveled and worked in after a long day of steering wheel gripping, snow shoveling, and driveway salting (all done without gloves). Thank you, Julep, for you peptide, shea butter, and vitamin infused wonder! Even after all the praise though, I would never pay the $22USD that Julep 'charges' for the product. I've always waited until they put one of their hand care kits on sale to get more bang for my buck. I usually pay about $20 for 5 products versus full price for 1. In desperate times I've also been known to check out every coupon site on the web (retailmenot.com is my fave!), since Julep always seems to have a few out at a time.

Disclaimer: My camera is still on the fritz, so I had to use stock images from manufacturer and retailer websites. Also, some of the links are affiliate links.

December Empties (only a week late!)

HAIR+ Velvet Nutri-Injection: My niece got this in her Memebox #70 Thumb's Up! Bloggers' Picks box a while back. She has no interested in anything Memebox sends her besides cutesy makeup and therefore, it ended up in my stash. Memebox claims the value of this little tube is somewhere around $5. I'm pretty wary about trying new things in my hair because I haven't had much luck in the treatment/leave-in department in a while. This little baby changed all that. I applied the treatment after towel drying and then blasted my hair with a blow-dryer. It felt baby soft, but not weighed down or greasy, even after being subjected to about 10 minutes of hot air on the highest setting. I got about three uses out of the tiny tube, even though Memebox claims it's one time use. My hair is also pretty long, so if I can stretch it that far, this could possibly last someone with shorter hair about 2 weeks. A+ HAIR+.

 HolikaHolika Baby Silky Foot Mask Sheet: Another Memebox item, this time from #77 Foot Therapy. I love foot peeling masks and prefer to use those, so this sat around for a while. I'm not sure if I left it alone for too long, but the essence was almost completely dried up when I actually decided to put my feet inside the mask booties. Because of that, the treatment basically did nothing for my feet. Even if it the product was all there, I feel like I could have gotten a better result by using foot cream, putting on some socks, and then going about my regular business. They're not worth the discomfort of keeping them on, even if the cost is only $3.

Tonymoly Panda's Dream Eye Patch: I used about 8 of these last month. They came in really handy when I was running out of eye cream. There is so much essence in these packages, that even if the eye masks are one time use, the remainder can be stored and used at another time. They also work way better on my fine lines and brightening up my dark circles than any eye cream or treatment I used before them and better than the one I'm currently using. I really need to invest in another economy pack from BeautynetKorea. You get 10 sets for $7, which is a pretty sweet deal. I'm pretty sure they're $2 a pair at Pacific Mall.

SecretKey Color Recipe The PINK Cream: Hands down, this is the best cream for fine lines and wrinkles that Memebox has sent so far. I wouldn't have even known about this beauty if my niece hadn't tossed me her extra Thumb's Up! Bloggers' Picks products. At first, I wasn't really happy with the texture of the cream because it felt like the gel and cream capsules were leaving a sticky film on my face. That did go away after a little bit though, and it ended up plumping up the lines in my forehead, while leaving my face looking matte and fresh. That's no small feat considering I suffer from a constantly shiny t-zone and resting b*tch face (those anger lines are always there!). I've got about 6 or 7 more face creams to use up before I can justify purchasing another tub, but when I do get around to buying it, it won't be from Memebox. They feel that they can charge $34 for this. BeautynetKorea will sell it and ship it to me for $11.

Harvey Prince Hello Body Cream: Ugh. Just thinking about this cream makes me nauseous. I received the sample size in my first Birchbox and I was pretty pleased. It's winter. One can never have enough body/hand cream during Canadian winter. Then I opened it. This cream REEKS. It's supposed to be infused with the 'best selling' Harvey Prince Hello perfume, but they added way way way too much. I wasn't even able to discern whether the product did a good job at moisturizing because as soon as I applied it after my shower, I had to jump back in and wash it off. I have nothing against fragranced creams, but this is more of a cream-style perfume, and the scent was not appealing to me at all.

  

amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo: Obsessed!!! When I got this in my Birchbox I actually jumped for joy, because I had just finished another sample package of this that my hairdresser had given me. I've tried so many different kinds of dry shampoo, and none of them have worked this well for me. Batiste looked like it was stripping the colour from my hair, LUSH No Drought made my scalp itchy, and TRESemme was just all-around caca. I have black hair, and the amika blends well, adds volume, and smells pretty. As soon as I finished this, I bought the full size from the Birchbox website. All of the items they feature in their boxes have free shipping for the month, plus they give you points for product reviews, which can be applied to purchases from their store. I had 200 points, so the 5.3 oz can cost me a total of $6.50 CDN. YAY Birchbox!

November Empties aka The Great Topbox Purge of '14

This month's Topbox was such a disappointment to me that I decided to purge my stash of the remaining products I received. I want to start a fresh beauty routine in 2015, and there is no better way to do that to de-clutter.

Here's what I managed to use in November, from worst to best (in my opinion):

Barefoot Venus Lip Fable in Honey: This is from a Topbox I received ages ago. I was saving it for the winter since I had heard such great things about this product.  What a letdown. Their website lists the retail value as $7.50, but I probably wouldn't pay more than $2 for this product. Why? I find the moisture effects hardly last and it just sits on top of my lips, rather than absorbing like the many other balms I use. The texture is a bit like Vaseline, and to be honest, I prefer the latter for dry lip season.

Redken Extreme Rescue Force Fortifying Treatment: Yet another Topbox sample product, and another that didn't do much for me. This hair mask has actually been discontinued by Redken and so it's hard to predict the actual value, but it works just like any standard drug store conditioner. Also, I wonder whether it was sent out by Topbox before or after it had been discontinued. Just another strike against the subscription in my book. I swapped out my Moroccan Oil Smoothing Conditioner in order to use this up, and while it's not terrible, when something performs slightly less than what I'm used to, I notice right away.

 Skinfood Facial Water Vita-C Cream: Another product I am indifferent to, but surprisingly, this one came from my favourite beauty box, Memebox. My skin is quite picky, and while this one kept my face hydrated as the weather got colder, without causing me to break out, I've received products that are far superior to this from Memebox. I did love the light texture and the morning pick-me-up it provided. Skinfood recommends keeping this cream in the refrigerator, and to anyone who has it in their possession, so do I. The card I received with my Memebox lists the value at $13. This is actually less than most of your run of the mill drugstore brands, which is what I would have to run out and buy if I was in a pinch. The issue is that the cream isn't readily available anywhere nearby and so I'd probably purchase something from Neutrogena before I got my hands on this again.

Bioderma Sebium Purifying Foaming Gel: I really enjoyed this cleanser, which I received in my September 2014 Topbox. It did take me a while to get to it since I was mad at Topbox for sending me three Bioderma products in a row. I was planning on boycotting Bioderma all together, but then my Clarisonic died and their cleanser stopped being as effective. I tried a few other samples I had in my stash and this Bioderma gel outperformed them all. I didn't break out, produce any excess oil on my t-zone, and my skin didn't feel overly tight or stripped of moisture, I got a good two weeks out of the 15ml sample and considering the full size is $20 and 200ml, the value seems to be there. I am really considering buying this again at my local Shoppers Drug Mart if the cleanser I'm using from Memebox doesn't work out.

 

Mizon Magic Peeling Foot: I am a foot peeling mask convert. The whole idea of this product was gross to me, mostly because I think feet are disgusting, but after trying my first one, I am a woman changed. This little sachet saved me from spending $40 on a sub-par pedicure. I admit, it took a lot of patience not to move around too much while the booties were on my feet (for at least an hour and a half), but I got to catch up on Arrow in bed instead of making strained small talk at a salon. I received this in my Foot Therapy Memebox, and while they have a retail value of $11 listed, I managed to pick up a few The Face Shop foot peeling masks on Black Friday for 40% off. I'm set for the whole season!

The Face Ship Lovely Me:Ex BeBe Lip Essence: This is my holy grail lip product. I am absolutely in love. I will probably use about five of them before winter is over. It's not necessarily the hydrating aspect that sucked me in, even though it performs in that department, but it looks so pretty on! This is what I use during the day because it actually makes me look like I'm wearing an lip product and not a balm. It makes my lips look soft and pillowy, and enhances my natural colour. I just cannot gush about my BeBe Lip Essence enough. It's $9 at The Face Shop, but I bought a few during their 20% off sale, and then more of them on Black Friday.

I've got a (Miga)BEE Allergy

 

The one good thing about getting sick is that it forces you to slow down. I've had the My Honey Box from Memebox sitting around my house for a few days now, and I was finally able to play with it. This isn't a new box by any means, so I already knew what to expect when I bought it on a restock at the beginning of the month. I was mostly intrigued by the Edmong Honeybee Water Cream and the Migabee Antipollution RE-Peeling Gel. It wasn't until after I purchased the box and it shipped, that I went back and read the product descriptions for the two more closely, and picked up on a potential problem. The Water Cream was fine, but ...

"MIGABEE Antipollution RE-Peeling: This is a peel-off type of facial pack enriched with natural ingredients renown(ed) for (their) nourishing and brightening effects - honey, bee venom, propolis, (and) royal jelly. It'll work to exfoliate dead skin cells, blackheads, and whiteheads, and to control excess oil and sebum, by maintaining the skin clean and well balanced." (I don't even know how to edit that last fragment to sound like English, sorry.)

Honey, propolis, and royal jelly - I like all of those things. Bee venom, on the other hand, is one of the only allergies that I have not managed to grow out of. Unfortunately, no one on any forum, blog, or Facebook group could tell me whether I would have a reaction to this stuff. They only thing anyone could recommend was to patch test it. My bee sting allergy isn't life threatening, but it causes severe discomfort. I get red and swollen and develop hives. Since I was already feeling kind of gross, I figured today would be the day to risk it and try the stuff out. Not on my face, because I'm groggy, not insane, but on my hand.

Geez, I really wanted this stuff to have an insignificant amount of bee venom. I like to exfoliate dead skin cells and control my oil and sebum. But alas, it was not meant to be. The results of my patch test above tell my sad tale. It was fine upon initial contact with my skin, but after 10 minutes I could see that my hand was noticeably more red than before. After I peeled the dried gel off, my skin was much redder and felt pretty itchy, as well as burned a bit. It took a while before the swelling became apparent, but it came just the same.

So long, Migabee. I wish I could say it's been a pleasure. My swollen hand made me feel otherwise. Luckily, the swelling did subside after about 2 hours. I wish I could give a review on the actual product performance, because so many people adore it and have it on their holy grail skincare list. Unfortunately, all I can say is, anyone with a bee allergy, stay away.

Note: I've included my Memebox affiliate link in this post for anyone interested in checking it out. You can use the code XP1OWK to get $5 off any order of $30 or more. They are having a Black Friday sale tomorrow, but it seems to be only in their US Shop. Boo.

October Empties

For some reason, I don't really start a skincare regime until the fall. It might be because during the summer my skin provides it's own moisture and a washcloth with water is all it takes to feel like my face is clean. But as soon as the weather gets colder, I start reaching for my holy grail skincare products. By the end of the month, I amass quite the collection of empty containers. 

Here's what I've gone through this month:

Biophora Bioactive Solution: I was told by an esthetician, politely of course, that I basically had elephant skin. It is thick and tough and needs regular exfoliation. She recommended this product to me and I've been using it religiously as a toner ever since. I go through a giant bottle every year, and I guess for $50, it's not a bad deal. The main issue is that I can only find it at select spas, but never at beauty supply stores, so it's a mission every time I need to replace it.

 Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil: My first experience with argan oil was with what seemed to be the holy grail of all argan oil products - Josie Maran. I received a mini sample in a 2013 Topbox and have been hooked ever since. I've tried other, cheaper versions, but nothing works as well. My go-to moisturizer in the winter, I use it on everything - face, hair, hands, etc. Anything that lacks moisture gets a dime-sized amount of this. I wish I could say that my skincare routine was all-natural, but this 8-free product makes up for it, right? Unfortunately, it's super expensive, so I buy a mini bottle every few weeks at Sephora, which doesn't hurt my wallet as badly.

skynICELAND Glacial Cleansing Cloths: I received a sample 10-pack of these in my October Ipsy Glam Bag. I've already used them up, and have another 2 full sized packages on order from Amazon. These are the first cleansing cloths that have not irritated my skin in any way. Most of them either dry out my face (YESto) or leave a weird film, causing me to breakout (Neutrogena). I use them at night when I'm too tired to wash my face properly and I can't tell the difference from my usual cleanser in the morning. I do not use them as an eye makeup remover though, since I'm weary of using anything that lathers around my sensitive eyes.

Benefit's the POREfessional: I hate wearing makeup. I'm not quick at applying it on myself and it takes me about an hour before I'm happy with my face. I love anything that I can just slap on in less than 5 minutes. That is why I love the POREfessional. Most people use it as a primer, but it doubles as a light foundation, almost a BB cream, for me. Sometimes I get crazy and mix it with my moisturizer so the coverage is even lighter. I just want something that evens out my skin tone, but doesn't feel heavy on my face like most makeup does. I used to use Benefit's some kind-a gorgeous, but have given it up for this. My tube is empty, but I've got a few mini samples from Topbox and Ipsy to tide me over. I don't need to splurge on a full size at Sephora for at least another week.


I tossed these before I took photos:

Bliss Hot Salt Scrub: I won a tub of this a few years ago at a bridal shower and have been using it faithfully ever since. This scrub has allowed me to perfect the 5 minute shower. It's most effective when you apply it to dry skin, so the only water I waste is when I'm rinsing it off and washing my hair. Aside from the plus of water conservation, it leaves my skin feeling super smooth and I don't feel guilty if I'm in a rush and skip the after-shower body moisturizing step. My Aveeno will be there tomorrow. Another super plus for this scrub is that I can always find it discounted at Winners (Canadian T.J.Maxx), so I've never actually had to dish out the $38.00 for it. I just stock up whenever I find it.

R.I.P Clarisonic PLUS: My Clarisonic PLUS died this month, after almost 3 years of trusty service. I was obsessed with it. I took it everywhere, even though it was bulky, and faithfully changed the brush heads every 3 months. As I mentioned before, washcloths suffice for my face in the summer, but this little miracle machine, along with the Clarisonic Refreshing Gel Cleanser, kept my face clean and clear throughout the other seasons. Even though my skin gets dry in the winter, it's always when I need to exfoliate it the most. I'm torn on repurchasing though. They're quite an investment ($265 CAD), and even though customer service was super helpful because my PLUS was out of warranty, and offered me a 25% coupon through email, I still have yet to receive said coupon after contacting them again.