January/February Empties: Junkpocalypse 2017, Rubbish Reviews

I’m never going away over the end of a month again.

Actually, this wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. All things considered.

Bath and Body Works Love & Sunshine Shower Gel – I like the B&BW shower gel formula, and this scent is a really nice fruity one with a touch of sunny floral. My one complaint with this is that once you’ve lathered it and it’s been on the skin for a little bit, the smell changes a little? It gets a bit funky and sickly. It isn’t consistent with all of the shower gels – the two others I’ve used recently haven’t had that- but I have had it with their shower gels in the past. Repurchase? Not in this scent, as nice as it was from the bottle.

Foreo Luna Play – 100 uses goes quickly! I wrote about my thoughts at length over here. In short: I enjoyed it, , but it’s absolutely overpriced. I am now using a Model’s Prefer knockoff device from Priceline that I got in the 40% off skincare sale for a bit over $20, and while it isn’t as nicely shaped, it recharges and it does the same job. Repurchase? No

Innisfree Super Volcanic Pure Clay Mask – This was actually one of my favourite clay masks I’ve used recently. It did such a nice job where I was post-travel congested around my nose and because I didn’t need to use much, it lasted quite a while (I got it in my November Bellabox). I’ve got plenty of clay masks to use up, but I would consider buying this. Purchase? I could see it happening!

I can’t remember what this was called but look! I finished a hand sanitiser and didn’t lose it! That’s never happened before. This one also smelled really good. I’ll miss nice Fortune Cookie Soap Company hand sanitisers.

Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Mask – This was a pretty nice hair mask, but it wasn’t anything exceptional? I can’t pick up any major discernible results. Sorry, Briogeo. Purchase? No

Foreo Day Cleanser – This was fine, and it worked nicely with the actual Foreo. It didn’t foam too much, but it still dried me out more than I’ve come to like from a cleanser. It wasn’t  bad, though, as a cleanser for when I needed to have something on hand. Purchase? Oh, absolutely not. What a pain.

Sunday Riley Good Genes – I also wrote about this in that same Bite Sized Five! I really liked it, but I don’t $154 like it. It’s nice and it makes my skin look lovely. I’m currently using The Ordinary’s Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2%, and honestly, that’s giving me my fix. Repurchase? Maybe one day if I’m a millionaire, but otherwise no, and I kind of resent them charging that much.

Nars Pore and Shine Primer – Definitely my favourite of the new primers Nars launched, but by no means anything worth uprooting my routine and switching to. Honestly, I’ve been loving my NYX Angel Veil primer over everything else. Purchase? No – it’s like $50 and it’s not amazing.

CoverFX Custom Enhancer Drops in Moonlight – I got a sample of this because while they look like absolute magic when swatched, I suspected I’d have next to no use for them and I didn’t want to get sucked in. I was right. It’s a glitter bomb, and yet it somehow sheers out to next to nothing? Repurchase? To play with this kind of thing, I’d want it to be unique or affordable – I’d either wait for the beautiful shifty blue/purple shade, or just go for the cheap Australis alternative.

Monomola Eyebrow Tattoo – This came in a Bellabox and dried out almost immediately. Womp Womp. Purchase? No

Benefit Rollerlash Mascara – I actually really liked this mascara mini! I used this when I was travelling, and I took it on the cruise with me. It did really nicely for separation and curl and some really pretty feathering. Not too natural, not too false. It also didn’t go bad super quickly, which was nice for a mascara. I’ve got enough mascaras to last me for the rest of the year (Do I like the Buxom mascara? I don’t know yet! Am I into Tarte’s Light Camera Lashes? Only time will tell!) but I did really like this. That’s actually why I was so utterly irritated by Benefit’s  They’re Real. EUGH. Purchase? Maybe one day? Not any time soon.

Tarte Gifted Mascara – I’d had this open for a little while, but not that long, so when I went and opened it and it less than three months later and it smelled awful, it was a little disconcerting. It wasn’t a great mascara anyway – it flaked quite intensely. Purchase? No

Estee Edit Pore Vanishing Stick – Slippery, but really effective for getting a good foundation application around the nose. I didn’t use it all over my face, because I was kind of grossed out by the concept of smearing the stick around, and also because I don’t need pore filling on my temples. Purchase? Way too expensive for something that is essentially a fancy silicone primer.

Maybelline Full’n’Soft Waterproof Mascara – I used to adore this mascara, and it’s still absolutely serviceable, but it’s no longer the best of the bunch. I’ve definitely used better. I do love how long it goes without getting super gross and foul, though. Repurchase? If I need a cheap mascara in a bind, this is my go-to. I’m blessed with pretty great lashes, thankfully, so I don’t really need anything that fancy.

Rimmel Super Curler 24hr Mascara – Amazing for volume but borderline clumpy, especially as it started to dry out. A good cheap mascara in a pinch, though, perhaps even more so than Full’n’Soft if I was looking for volume over definition. Repurchase? Maybe one day? I have so many mascaras, it’s ridiculous.

Cetaphil Suntivity Sunscreen 50+SPF – I had a bad reaction to this and walked around with a big old rash on my face for a few days on the cruise. I also got sunburnt, because apparently the reaction negated the SPF. Purchase? No, and please get out of my life.

IndeedLabs Nanoblur – Yeah, no. This was a confusing, slippery, weird product that didn’t do it for me. Purchase? No

Kleenex Anti-Bacterial Wipes – These are anti-bacterial! They wipe! Good stuff. Repurchase? Yes.

Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Wipes – I was trying to go without these to finish up my Mac wipes, but I hate those so much. These don’t irritate my skin, blah blah, good stuff. Repurchase? Have done.

Daiso Cotton Puffs – These are fine? I prefer the Target Cosmetic Pads,even though you get more with these because you get two boxes for like $3. I felt like they broke apart really easily. Repurchase? No

Target Cosmetic Pads – My favourite cotton rounds. I keep trying others and then remembering why I use these. Repurchase? Every time.

Brite Pastel Green Dye – I used this to attempt to brighten up the ends of my hair before I completely bleached and re-dyed my hair, and it was surprisingly effective. It took even on parts of my hair that weren’t already blue? Not extremely, but decently. Not as effective as the best thing, which is the full re-bleach. I got my hair bleached and re-dyed back at the beginning of February, and I feel like myself again. Repurchase? If I was home dying, sure.

EyePro Eye Makeup Shields – I rolled my eyes a bit when this came in my January Bellabox, but it was nice to not deal with fallout on a heavy eye makeup day. It was a weirdly rounded shape, though. Purchase? No

Neat 3B Action Cream – Such a boring workhorse product and nothing to do with beauty, but holy shit, I cannot live without a tube of this stuff. I keep one in my bedroom, one in my bathroom, and one in my travel bag. It’s the only thing that helps the chafing  I get on my inner thighs (aka the dreaded “Chub rub”) which has been deadly in this long hot summer. You can also use it for boobs (another chafe zone for me) and anywhere else that tends to rub, but it’s excellent as a preventative and then as a soothing agent. Repurchase? I will literally never stop using this.

And now all the Body Shop stuff! Yikes.

Camomile Cleansing Butter – This is a bit of a cult product and for good reason. It’s non irritating and gentle on the eyes and excellent as a first cleanse to remove makeup.My skin is mostly reactive when it comes to cleansing, so I’m really grateful for this stuff. I haven’t used this to clean sponges, but apparently it’s great for that too. Repurchase? I tend to alternate between this and the liquid form, based on what’s in stock and what my skin is doing. At the moment I’m using the liquid, which is admittedly a little easier, but I find it’s slightly less effective. Very little, but there is something. It is also a touch lighter in liquid form, but I find I go through it quicker (which is not saying much – I take about 9 months to finish a tub?). I’ll keep using it in some form.

Vanilla Chai Shower Gel – Why did I only buy one of these shower gels? I used up a mini in my November/December empties, and now this, my lone full size. It was so beautifully scented and I wanted to use it so liberally but I tried to be a little bit restrained. It was also really nice and hydrating, not too sweet, a little spicy, just lovely. Repurchase? Bring Back Vanilla Chai All Year Round.

Pinita Colada Shower Gel – My two favourite shower gels! I’m so glad this stuck around for a few extra months and I managed to get some extra backups. It’s just the perfect summery shower gel. Not too sweet or too coconutty. Repurchase? Thankfully I have two left.

All in One Face Base 04 – This is a really nice powder. It’s not too matte, which is ideal, but it still stops excessive shininess. I do wish it was slightly better at bringing shine down for touch ups, but it’s still pretty good. It’s not flat at all, which is great. Repurchase? Yes.

Tea Tree Face Mask – I’ve had this for so long, but the tea tree stuff is way too intense for me now. I’m so devoted to the Ginseng and Rice mask that forcing myself to use this up was a pain in the ass anyway. It’s almost too effective at bringing pimples out – I find I tended to wake up with whiteheads all over the place. Repurchase? No

Vanilla Chai Body Butter – Second verse, same as first. As if I need more body butter, though. Repurchase? No

Colour Crush Lipstick in 125 Crazy Sexy Crimson – I finished a lipstick! Who’d have thought? I’m not usually one for cream formulas, but this is a lovely colour and I reach for it all the time. It also suits so many different complexions? I love it so much. I’ve bought a replacement. Repurchase? Have done.

Peppermint Foot Scrub – This is fine and works nicely on my gross retail-worn feet, but I’m really lazy. If I could be bothered to use this consistently it would be much more effective. Repurchase? If I can get it, I’ll take it, but it’s not something I’ll seek out.

Drops of Youth Liquid Peel – I’ve never seen the appeal (heh) of these peeling gels, but now I’ve established that most manual exfoliation is too much for me, I kind of get it. It has a really strong smell that I’m not into, and I don’t like the false idea that these scrubs are peeling off just dead skin (Here’s a great post over at Lab Muffin on that). Still, it’s quite an effective one. I’ve since been feeling the other ones launched, and I prefer the texture of the Drops of Light one, which is much more liquidy and feels lighter. I wish this, the Drops of Light and the Vitamin C ones weren’t all so similar. Purchase? No

Next time? Probably just one month.

Next up in posts, I’ve got a lot of new lipsticks to write about (Smashbox Always On! Winky Lux! I should write about those Sugarpill ones!) and probably a semi-spur of the moment post about the intersections of gender, sexuality and makeup that tends to come around Mardi Gras. I’ve done those before, but they evolve, and it never ceases to be an important topic that I get very easily passionate about. Plus, surely you’ll want to see whatever glittery abomination of makeup I end up in.