August Empties 2016

August was a small month! I spent nearly two weeks of it with a mammoth migraine and a chunk of it hospitalised, so it’s not surprising that I wasn’t powering through products. Mostly easy products, samples, travel sizes, or staples.

Target Essentials Cosmetic Pads – These are my favourite cotton rounds. They’re cheap and they’re so soft and gentle. They last forever because there are so many, and I stock up on them whenever I can be bothered to get to a Target. Repurchase? Yes.

Philosophy 3-in-1 Shower Gel in Christmas Cookie – This is from Christmas 2015 (notice the sale sticker), and it smelt incredible. Almost a more subtle version of their Cinnamon shower gel, which I’ve used before. I only use this as a shower gel, but the bottle sucks – it’s nearly impossible to squeeze – and I find it mildly drying. Repurchase? I generally pick up one of the Christmas ones on sale, but they’re so expensive full price.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Squeaky Clean Scrub – I love this scrub and have used it for ages, and I’m so glad they reformulated it last year without microbeads (and the new packaging is nice). It’s gentle, but effective. I don’t use manual exfoliation that regularly, but this is great when I do. Repurchase? Already have.

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara – This was fine, but nothing special. Gave some length, some definition, some volume, but it wasn’t exceptional in any area. Repurchase? Probably not.

The Body Shop Blueberry Body Scrub – Found this sitting around from last year’s limited edition blueberry range! It smelt delicious – exactly like blueberry jam (and it looked like it as well) – and it was pretty intense, thanks to the combination of seeds and crushed nuts. It was almost a bit too abrasive – I prefer my scrubs based on sugar or sat or even just nuts – and I prefer non-gel scrubs, because they can be a little drying and I go through them way too quickly. Repurchase? It’s a nice summer scrub, but I’d probably stick to this scent in the shower gel.

The Body Shop Drops of Youth Cream – This day cream is nowhere near marketed to me, but I love the hell out of it. As in, I finished it up a few days before the end of the month (and my sister has been stealing it), and using other creams up has been genuinely upsetting for me. Somehow the combination of light, but still there, hydration with that lil bit of salicylic acid and aloe vera for soothing is just the dream team for my skin. It sinks in quickly and doesn’t impact how my makeup sits. It’s just a nice cream. It’s not cheap, but I’ve had this since it launched and it lasted for ages until my sister started stealing it (and is now making me buy it for her as well). Repurchase? About to

Paula’s Choice BHA 2% Perfecting Liquid – I really liked this product, and actually bought the full size. I don’t care about the Paula’s Choice brand devotion, but I just need something chemical to help with the dead skin build up around my forehead. This packaging sucks, though. I thought I’d keep it for travel, but it’s useless and it leaks everywhere the second you turn it on its side. Repurchase? I bought the full size.

The Body Shop Calming Aloe Cleanser – I finished using this up just outside the shower when I get back from the Hunter Valley, so at the beginning of this month. It’s just a tiny size of my favourite cleanser, which I’ve used up time and time again. Repurchase? You can’t get the minis anymore, but I always have a backup of the big one ready to go.

Brite Organix Coconut Masque for Coloured Hair – This hair mask was awesome. I’m going to say I’d use it once every two weeks instead of the once a week I did, but it made my hair so soft and lovely. My colour is a little too far along to be salvageable, but I’d definitely try another one of their masks, maybe the one for frizzy hair, or I’d use this again when I get my hair redone. Repurchase? Eventually

Small stuff and samples! What a small amount of stuff. How unsatisfying.

Josie Maran Argan Enlightenment Luminiser – This is all dried out, but I used about half the sachet. It’s way too liquidy for me, and the reflects are too large for me to enjoy it. I much prefer my highlights in powder form. Purchase? No

Macadamia Natural Oil Luxurious Oil Treatment – I hate the smell of this and it didn’t do anything for my hair – I put it in the ends, where’s been bleached and dyed and mistreated badly. I don’t get the hype. Purchase? No

Korres Wild Rose Face and Eye Serum – The scent of this was so strong that I couldn’t stomach it for a second use. It’s okay, because I didn’t think much of it. It didn’t feel particularly nice, made me a bit greasy. Purchase? No

Paula’s Choice Shine Stopper Primer – Um. Not for me. I hated this. It was way too mattifying at first, difficult to apply (a la the Becca mattifying primer, but not to that extreme), not super effective in the long haul, and because my biggest issues are textural, I prefer something with more smoothing benefits. Purchase? No

Fortune Cookie Soap Company Tangle in the Tinsel Lip Scrub – Loved this, favourite lip scrub I’ve ever used. Tasted amazing (had to stop myself just straight up licking it off) –  sweet with a little cola candy taste – and a really nice fine granule that doesn’t scratch the lip. Repurchase? These are basically what I use the vouchers from my Fortune Cookie Soap Boxes on. I’ve got the Cupcake on right now.

Mecca Cosmetica Hydrating Primer – This is fine, I guess. It feels like the Laura Mercier hydrating primer, which I was also totally meh on. I don’t really need a hydrating primer. Purchase? No

Bare Minerals Clay Chameleon Transforming Purifying Cleanser – Because I’ve been using the same cleanser for so long, I sometimes want to try other cleansers. This one was fine, but a bit drying. Didn’t really do much. Didn’t take off my makeup. Purchase? No

Glamglow Thirstymud Mask – This is literally just a moisture mask, except it’s got the patented GlamGlow bullshit pseudoscience to go along with it. It’s moisturising, but it’s boring. Purchase? No

Avene Gentle Milk Cleanser – I used this up in hospital, and it was fine. I was hoping it would be equivalent to my Aloe cleanser, but it’s not as moisturising and it made me feel sticky. Purchase? No

Baimeni Hyaluronic Eye and Face Serum – This was light, and it was hydrating, fast-absorbing, and I really like it. I just got another sample in my Lust Have It bag this month, and I’m looking forward to finishing this up. Purchase? Maybe one day? I have so many serums

The Body Shop Amazonian Acai Energising Radiance Mask – A nice exfoliating gel mask, a good option for lighter exfoliation and it does feel nice and brightening. I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to, just because I felt a little bit red afterwards. Purchase? Not as this stage

The Body Shop Chinese Ginseng and Rice Clarifying Polishing Mask – Now this one, finally, I love! It feels super intensely scrubby, but it’s not harsh and it doesn’t irritate my skin. It’s got that scrubbiness at the same time as feeling nice and cleansing, as a clay mask, and it leaves my skin looking lovely. Purchase? Yes. Tomorrow, when I go into work.

And that’s it! Easy peasy.