Literal Months of Junk – Beauty/Skincare Empties

Please, no judgement.

It’s been a while.

The Body Shop Shower Gels in Vanilla Chai, Virgin Mojito and Olive – I love and am completely spoiled by Body Shop shower gels. Virgin Mojito is my favourite of all time, Olive is my favourite from the main range that has been discontinued, and Vanilla Chai is lovely for a Christmas smell. I have some of the spa ones going at the moment, which I love, but I’ve still got some of these stored away. Repurchase? If I can get any of these at any point, they’re all Hall of Famers for me. Throw in some Vineyard/Fuzzy Peach and Passionfruit and you have my immediate pickups. I will be picking up a few extra bottles of Olive now that they are clearing the remaining stock in the April Clearance, and if any stores have Virgin Mojito, I might have to check in.

The Body Shop Calming Aloe Cleanser – Read any other post about my empties. I have nothing new to say about this. I’m horrendously bored of it, but nothing else works for me. Repurchase? Always

The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil – This is a good cleansing oil, but I am always looking for something new. Something that’s even more effective at getting off waterproof makeup. Repurchase? I’m on the balm version now, which is less messy, and I do think I prefer it.

Becca Pressed Highlighter in Opal – This shattered while I was travelling and I had to repress it with my fingers and use what I could. It wasn’t ideal. It’s a nice highlight, but I wasn’t as wowed by it as I wanted to be, for such a hyped product. It really emphasises texture and I found it hard to have much control over it. Repurchase? No, but I won’t turn down minis that come in sets. I’ll cop to being tempted by the Lilac Geode shade, which had a golden lilac tone to it. Gorgeous.

Tigerlily Coconut & Lime Soap – This was a gift, and it was a soap that lasted ages and smelled nice. Purchase? I don’t really buy bar soap of my own accord – I keep plain, gentle bars of soap on hand for basic washing, but fancy stuff is not really a thing I go for.

Buxom Lash Mascara – I flat out loved this mascara, which I’ve written about before. I cannot find anywhere that sells it in Sydney, and I wouldn’t pay that much for something as generic as mascara, but this was a nice one. Repurchase? If I ever desperately needed mascara and could find this for an affordable price, I might.

The Body Shop Gel Pen Liner – I liked the colour of this liner and the ease of not having to sharpen it, but I finished it up really quickly. I have another of the same colour in a normal pencil format. Repurchase? It’s discontinued and so is on sale at the moment, but it’s not my thing anyway.

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner – This session I finished up both a full size and a mini, both that had been going for quite some time. I wear winged liner most days of my working life, and the small size is great for a makeup bag or for travel. I’ve written about this countless times, but I am yet to find a liner that compares, and I have tried. Repurchase? I still have a few unopened ones, because I get nervous if I don’t have a backup ready to go.

Lush Oaty Creamy Dreamy Shower Cream – I thought “maybe this will be the Lush shower product that doesn’t break me out in an itchy rash or make my skin burn!” but good thing I tried it out as a sample, because the itching was something fierce. I want to love you again Lush, but you make it hard. I did actually really enjoy their jelly face masks, which I’ll have empties of next time. Purchase? No

Another Kat Von D Tattoo liner, this time a mini.

It Cosmetics Hello Lashes Mascara – How did I finish this much mascara? I liked this one a surprising amount. It was quite natural, but it gave curl and definition, which are probably my two biggest factors. It was also especially lovely on the bottom lash, and I would layer it there if I was feeling especially luxuriant. Purchase? I would use this again if I ever acquired it, but I probably would not buy it.

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara – Man, Tarte have had a shitshow of a few months, and deservingly so. Racist memes and a bullshit shade range for two product launches? It’s the response that matters most, and their’s was not good. This was a mascara I’ve written about before, last time I had a sample, and I had the same problems with it this time. It looks beautiful on initial application, but it is flaky as all hell. So far, three tubes of Tarte mascaras, three terrible flaking problems. Purchase? Thumbs down, Tarte.

Banila Co. Water Radiance CC Cream and Dear Hydration Boosting Cream – Ambivalent to the CC cream (as I tend to be towards CC creams, no matter how enchanted by minimalism I become), fell in love with the moisturiser. The texture of this cream was my perfect blend of lightness and heft, water based but still with a definite creaminess to it, and it didn’t leave me feeling parched or oily. Purchase? If I came across this for a reasonable price when needing moisturiser, sure.

It’s Skin Power 10 Formula VE Effector – I’m in love with so many of the emulsions from this range? They gave me about ten sample sachets of this and I won’t include all of them, but I really enjoy the texture of the VE one which is apparently for smoothing. My favourite is definitely the LI one, for sensitive skin, but this is nice to sub in occasionally. Purchase? Maybe once I run out of one of the ones in my current circulation.

The Body Shop Roots of Strength Cream and Serum – I really enjoy the formulation of this range and the textures of it, but it’s very clearly not for my skin type. It’s anti aging stuff made for very dry skin, and it’s also got a very strong ginger/ginseng smell that didn’t irritate my skin but did worry me a little. I do feel confident in talking about it, unlike some other ranges, because it has a sturdy formula to fall back on and some genuinely good ingredients in it, but it’s just not the range for me. Purchase? Not for myself

Smashbox Photo Finish Radiance Primer – Like smearing glitter all over my face. Purchase? No

Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream – This was another cream with a really lovely texture, but I felt like it disappeared into nothing on my skin and I needed to use another moisturiser or a thick oil alongside it. Purchase? Um, this costs like $75. No thanks.

That’s all for now! I guess I’ll see you in about three months when I stop caving under procrastination and want to scream. In the meantime, check out my other more active blog, Sara Watches Stuff, or follow me on Twitter @sarawatchestuff.

November/December Empties (Or: Too Much Junk)

I was away over the end of November and so this stack of garbage built up and my god, there’s a lot. I’m also in a pretty rubbish mood because New Year’s Eve is famously a trash night designed to be filled with disappointment and make me feel inferior, so let’s get this show on the road. Yikes.

Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturising Cream (Skin Cooling Effect) – This big tub lasted for an extraordinarily long time, because it’s mainly a cream I use when my skin is irritated in warmer weather. The cooling effect is quite nice, not too extreme, but definitely noticeable. It’s great when I’m amidst heat rash or other kinds of grossness. Repurchase? Maybe, when I have a few less moisturisers

Lush Bubbly Shower Gel – There’s usually one Christmas shower gel from Lush that I really gravitate towards (RIP Glogg, Hot Toddy, Ponche), but this year I was kind of underwhelmed. I also am starting to find the formula more and more drying? Maybe my skin is getting used to the time off. I bought Bubbly just to get it, and it was way too one-note for me, just straight up citrus. Also, Lush shower gels are…not cheap. I’ll still buy limited editions, but I’d rather they just brought back Glogg. Repurchase? No.

Bath and Body Works Pretty as a Peach Foaming Scrub – Loved the formula of this, am kind of hooked and wish I bought more because I feel like it’s really easy to go through quickly, which was a major downside. It’s also not super intense, and I do feel like I need a bit more sometimes. I wasn’t a huge fan of the scent – the peach was a bit perfumey – but I like the way it foamed and spread and exfoliated. Repurchase? In other scents, if the only Bath and Body Works wasn’t at the airport.

Bath and Body Works Frosted Coconut Snowball Shower Gel – I needed a little shower gel for Hawaii and this was the summeriest Christmas smell I’d ever come across. It’s a really lovely one and I’m definitely a fan. The bottle also lasted for a decent amount of time. Repurchase? If it were available to me in full size easily and I ever needed shower gel, sure.

Herbal Essences Moroccan My Shine Conditioner – I have no comments on this conditioner, which was fine and worked for travel. My hair eats up shampoo and conditioner, it turns out. Repurchase? Not particularly

OGX Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner – These were also fine and worked okay, but I similarly went through them very quickly in Hawaii where I was washing my hair very frequently. On the bright side, these smelt amazing. Repurchase? Maybe for shorter, less swimmy travel stints.

Bath and Body Works True Blue Mini Foot Butter – Needed some foot cream abroad, where my feet were garbage and dry and gross. This worked fine, nothing spectacular. Smelt nice. Repurchase? If it was necessary and the nearest available foot cream

Dermal Heel Balm Platinum – Another mini foot cream. I swear I have normal feet. This was from a subscription, and it was actually pretty good. I preferred this to the B&BW one. Still not a miracle worker for travel torn feet, but good. Purchase? Maybe

Ouai Treatment Masque – From the Sephora Favourites box of hair treatments, because my hair was another thing that took a real beating from sun and sea water and constant washing. This one was pretty nice, not my favourite that I used, but it smelt good and my hair felt soft afterwards. Purchase? No

Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads – My skin just doesn’t like glycolic acid, it seems. This, pixi glow tonic, Paula’s Choice AHA…it’s just a recipe for breakouts, regardless of how consistently I use them. This was the closest we got to decent. Still, not a step I feel like my skin needs. Purchase? No

Bobbi Brown Smoky Eye Mascara – Wasn’t a huge fan of this one. It tended to flake a bit on me after a few hours, and it didn’t do anything of exception to my lashes. Purchase? No

Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer – I was not a fan of the sample of this primer I tried long ago, but my decision to splurge on a travel size to take overseas with me was such a a good move and a different experience. I guess now my skin is less congested and covered in breakouts, I appreciate something that just smoothes the skin and boosts foundation. I don’t need the same leveling from a very siliconey primer that I do when I’m going for a full base and when breakouts are bad. Repurchase? Maybe, but I don’t know if I could bring myself to do the full size!

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper – I’ve said this a million times, but I love this liner more than any other liner I’ve used. The Physician’s Formula one can’t hold a candle, the Stila one flakes right off – until the day someone else has a brush tip this precise with a formula this black and longlasting, I’ll be using this liner. It’s $30 in Australia, which pisses me off, but mine last for months. I picked up a replacement in a Sephora Favourites set in the US. Repurchase? Obviously.

Rimmel Colour Precise White – This liner dried out after one use. Get absolutely wrecked. Repurchase? Go to hell.

Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk Foundation – Such a good lightweight foundation for medium coverage, easy makeup days. So expensive, such a splurge, and really not a neccessity but…Purchase? If you can justify it? Sure. I bought it for $45USD on a fluke and I do not regret it at all.

Mac Pro Longwear Waterproof Foundation – This stuff sucks on my skin. It never sets and feels sticky and gross and looks inorganic and weird. Purchase? No

This Works Deep Sleep Plus Pillow Spray – This stuff was a little too strong, but I like having something soothing to spray on my pillow before I go to sleep, and the scent blend here is definitely soothing. I prefer the original version, which I’m using right now, because it’s less  intense. Repurchase? Not this version

Sunday Riley Good Genes – This stuff doesn’t smell great and logically, it’s not the most amazing based on ingredients, but my skin is really loves it. Purchase? Already have.

Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Wipes – These are the cleansing wipes that I use when I use wipes, and they are good. They don’t hurt and they get stuff off, though I need extra to get off heavy duty eye makeup and I would avoid overusing makeup wipes where possible because they rarely get it all off. Repurchase? Always

Lush Fireside Soap – Where I hated the last Lush Christmas soap I had, this one smells much more my style. Very spicy, wintery, clovey. I love it. I don’t use these soaps for much other than my hands, but my family complain that they don’t lather much. Repurchase? Probably

Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Balm-to-Oil Pre-Shampoo Masque – Really liked how this one from the Sephora set made my hair feel, but it was a pain to use and difficult to saturate my hair with, considering how much hair I have. Purchase? No

Those are just some cotton rounds from rite aid and I didn’t like them at all, one side didn’t absorb any product and the other was “exfoliating” but actually crap.

Daiso Cotton Puff – I liked these but I went through them pretty quickly. You get 180 for about $2.80, though, which is a great price. Repurchase? Sure

CLab &  Co Coffee Scrub with Coconut – I actually really liked this, in spite of the coffee smell – I hate coffee. That said, it made my skin really smooth. It was incredibly messy, though, which was irritating – because it has no real oil base to it or any kind of viscosity, it just falls around everywhere. Purchase? No, but I did enjoy it.

And now, Body Shop stuff. Yeah.

The Body Shop Aloe Vera Calming Cream Cleanser – This is my go to cleanser, and I’ve been using it for years. I go through it quicker now, because my sister has decided that she loves it as well. It’s non irritating, doesn’t dry out my skin (I use it in the shower, even though it’s designed to be used on dry skin), doesn’t sting my eyes. I use a more intense cleanser if I’m following up an oil makeup remover to double cleanse, but this is my everyday go to. Repurchase? Constantly.

The Body Shop Papaya Shower Gel – A really lovely summery smell. Some places still have it in their sale stock, and while it isn’t my favourite Body Shop smell of all time, it’s definitely a great one. Repurchase? If it comes around again as a limited edition, sure.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream (sample) – This stuff is fine, but I just so much prefer the aloe vera creams. They’re much more soothing. My absolute moisturiser is the Drops of Youth moisturiser, weirdly, which I also finished a tub of but forget to take a photo of – much lighter, but still as moisturising and makes my skin look lovely and feel great. Purchase? No

The Body Shop Tea Tree Facial Wash (sample) – This used to be my jam as a young teenager, but it’s way too intense for me now. Just dries me out. It was nostalgic to revisit it, though. Purchase? No

The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation in 024 Hawaiian Macadamia – Man, look at this beat up foundation.  I thought I was developing a form of stockholm syndrome for it when I started to wear it all the time, but it turns out my preferences in foundation have just changed quite a lot in the second half of this year. I really like how natural this is, with medium coverage and a really natural weardown over the day. Repurchase? I already have a new bottle on the go.

The Body Shop Moisture Foundation in 06 – This is too dark except in summer, but it’s also a formula that my skin hates. It looks so good on so many people, but on me or on people who – in my experience applying it – have any kind of combination, flakiness or oiliness to their skin, it picks up on those things and amplifies them. I also find that instead of wearing down naturally, it gets patchy and cakes over the course of the day. Repurchase? No

The Body Shop Calming Aloe Toner – Even this tiny bottle – no longer available – took several holidays and hospital stays to finish up. It’s a good toner, very basic but soothing. Nice after a non-cream cleanser especially. Repurchase? Can’t get this size any more, but I have a bottle on the go and a backup ready. After that I’ve got a Muji generic toner to try out, which is super affordable and in a huge bottle that would enable me to not buy for months. If that works for me, it would be nice.

The Body Shop Vanilla Chai Shower Gel – This smell from Christmas is incredible, and naturally it sold out almost immediately. If you can find any of this in the remains of the boxing day sale stuff, I’d definitely recommend picking it up, because it smells flat out like a vanilla chai latte and I am the whitest girl that ever did live. I did manage to snag a full size of this, which I’m excited to use up later on in the year. Repurchase? Hey Body Shop, listen to the sales statistics, bring back Vanilla Chai.

The Body Shop Super Volume Mascara – My go to work mascara, does the volume and the curl for me. A little clumpier than some others, like the Divide & Lengthen, but I like the volume and I’ve been enjoying layering it with Benefit’s Roller Lash for separation. Repurchase? Have done.

The Body Shop Skinny Felt Tip Liner – Nice for filling in the line and for day to day stuff, but I wish it was a little more flexible and god, I love brush tips for the wing. I’m so spoilt by the Kat Von D tattoo liner. I still use this liner for everyday stuff, but it dries out quite quickly and it could be blacker and easier to work with, despite being better than a lot of the options I’ve tried. Repurchase? Have done.

Alright! Now I’m off to go and wallow in some misery and loneliness and maybe put some more turquoise in my hair so that my laziness induced regrowth looks more like an intentional balyage.

 

Fortune Cookie Soap Box Winter 2016 – Unboxing, Review and Why I’m (Sadly) Unsubscribing

Once upon a time, the Fortune Cookie Soap box was my most anticipated subscription service. It is, for what it’s worth, so beautifully curated, and unboxing it was always such a fun experience. Perhaps at the same time as I stopped being excited by the world of indie cosmetics and started being exhausted by them, the box lost its spark for me.

It’s still a fun box, but my judgement is less clouded by blind enthusiasm now and I am more clear with my pros and cons. I’ll elaborate on those after I’ve spoken about each item in this particular box, so jump to below if you’d like an overall  review on my feelings about the Fortune Cookie Soap Box.

This quarter’s theme is “Through the Wardrobe”, referencing the Chronicles of Narnia, and I would assume specifically The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I have a broad enough knowledge of popular culture to know that, but as per usual most of the references in each of the products fly right over my head.

I can’t recall receiving the $10 voucher I’m supposed to get with each box, but I’ll dig around for it. If I can’t find it, hopefully it comes soon?

“Always Winter” OCD Hand Sanitizer – This is supposed to smell like fir needles, cinnamon, cranberries, apple curls and cedar, and I mostly get apple and cinnamon with a bit of a sourness to it. I usually really like the hand sanitisers, and it’s really convenient to have them around, but this one is packed with literal chunks of glitter. It leaves them all over your hands? It’s bizarre.

“Father Christmas” Whipped Cream – I don’t get any of the suggested snow or juniper, just the vanilla cupcakes and a bunch of unmentioned cinnamon. I don’t love the formula of these, it’s way too thick for me and it leaves me sticky. God, it smells good though. I might take it with me on the plane.

“Sweeties” Fortune Cookie Soap – Turkish delight scented, this is too sweet for me, and these soaps melt really easily so I keep them by the sink.

“Dream of a Dream” Dusting Powder – My grandma was always a fan of dusting powders, but I’ve never been keen on them. I’ll give it a go. Lavender, vanilla and soft musk, but I do definitely pick up the patchouli. Perhaps it will be good between my thighs in summer – I’ve heard a lot of people use dusting powders to aid in preventing chafing.

“Lion’s Breath” Perfume Oil – I do quite like this perfume, but it smells a little strange on my skin. It’s sweet with a blast of fresh woodiness – frost, fir, pomegranate – but there’s something off about it that I just can’t place.

“Hide and Seek” Whipped Soap – Another thing that might come away with me, although I do tend to go through whipped soaps pretty quickly compared to liquids. It smells lovely – the coconut and allspice and chocolate balance out the coffee so that I can enjoy it instead of being overwhelmed by coffee.

“Deep Magic” Shampoo Bar – No matter how much better people claim they are, I just can’t get behind shampoo bars. They’re just a pain to store, and I have so much hair that using them isn’t as economical as it should be. This smells nice and herbal, and I will use it, but it’ll only get a few uses before it gets way too grotty.

“Small Favors” Pedi-Bomb – One of many references I don’t get, I love the smell of this pedi bomb but it’s also a product I will not use because my feet do not get the TLC they deserve. The honey/tobacco blend is really nice and unusual, but it’s not my kind of product.

With this box, there is one product I flat out will not use (the pedi bomb), three I will begrudgingly use for the sake of using (shampoo bar, fortune cookie soap, dusting powder), three products with imperfect formulas but lovely scents (perfume oil, hand sanitiser and whipped cream) and one I’m excited about (whipped soap). It’s the second box in a row that has been, on balance, not great for my personal tastes. If I can get my arse into gear, I will most likely unsubscribe before the next one.

It is not to say that I don’t enjoy the company, or that the box is not great. It’s an expensive box (it costs me around $40AUD per season) and the products inside are sample sized, which would be fine, but a $10 voucher becomes largely useless in the international scale when you can’t use it towards shipping. The actual products the company makes are great – I love the foaming hand soaps, lip scrubs, hand sanitisers and shower steamers – but while the balance in the box tends to vary, you have no control over the kind of products. For instance, I constantly receive bath products, which I have no use for. You tend to also start to get product fatigue – if you don’t like the formula of, say, the whipped creams, there’s only so many times you can receive them and care. But again: always well curated, if you like the theme there’s a lot of care given to it. The scents are simple, but they’re nice, generally. They tend to be love it or leave it.

I’d give this box a 2/10, and my Fortune Cookie Soap experience has been a lot of fun, but it’s time for it to come to an end. Unless they want to send it to me. Hear that, Fortune Cookie Soap? You should do that, instead. Send your boxes to the worst person.