2017 August Empties

Another month, another set of empties.

 Sunscreen:  Yet another trusty bottle of my sunscreen gone.

 Vitamin C serum: I think I won't buy this again because there are cheaper ones out there with more vit C concentration.

 Body scrub: OK. I'll buy again but I can take it or leave it.

 Toners:  Using up my samples.  I'll repurchase the Honey Cera toner and everything in the Moistfull lines because they smell so good!

 Hair creme:  I won't repurchase this because I feel like it doesn't do anything special for me.

 Hand cream:  I'll repurchase this.

 Creams:  I LOVE the Hada Labo gel-cream (the one on the right) it's so rich and dense and makes my skin dewy which is something I need in this weather.  Kiehl's one (in the middle) I can't stand because it smells so godawful.  Normally if I don't like a product I'd grudgingly use it up but I can't stand even this one, and to think of how expensive it is.  I'm glad I didn't have to pay a single penny for it.

 Sheet masks: These are OK but they're not that impressive, plus the sheets were quite difficult to unfold.

Makeup: This MAC concealer was a bit underwhelming, and I won't purchase it again but mainly because I'm trying to phase out non-cruelty free products.

EMPTIES: July 2017

 Not much to say here except for that empties are going at a ...healthy rate.

Sheet Masks

Detangler.  I really want to get this one again!

Hydrating Toner/Lotion.

Hand Cream

Wrinkle Filler

Hair Treatment

Facial Cleanser

Sunscreen

Facial Oil

Eye Cream

Concealer - Will definitely buy this one again. It's so good!

EMPTIES: June 2017

I did exceptionally well with finishing off full-sized products this month and I'm very proud of myself for that! It feels so satisfying to get my money's worth of the products.  I'm looking forward to continuing this trend over the coming months.

Body Scrub:  I guess it's cool but now that I can't buy it here in Sweden, I'll buy something else instead.

Hair Dye:  I love this but I'm not sure where I can buy this in Sweden.  I have two more tubs which I'll use up and will figure out what to do with my hair after that.

Wash-Off Mask:  I'll not repurchase this as the fragrant is too strong. Shame though as I love its performance.

Makeup: It's so sad that my MAC Pro Longwear dried out before I can use it all up but I'm too lazy to salvage it.  Same goes for my Lipnicure.

First Cleanser:  I would purchase the full bottle of this.

Essences:  Out of all of these I only *might* repurchase the Hada Labo Alpha Milk (the red bottle on the left), everything else is just meh.

First Serums:  I'll repurchase The Therapy bottle as I love the scent, really not sure about the Muji one.

Body Lotion:  Out of all of these I will only repurchase the Crabtree & Evelyn one (the one on the far right).

Hand Creams:  The Urtekram one on the left belonged to my boyfriend.  I'm just using it because he doesn't use it; he said that it doesn't do anything for him.  I got to agree, but I'm the type to use things up grudgingly and he's the type to just stop using it.  I'll definitely not repurchase that.  I will however repurchase the Innisfree hand creams when I get the chance, and I'm glad I have more tubes stocked up in different scents.

Sunscreens:  I was so happy to have found a bigger tube of sunscreen but it feels like I still use it at the same rate as the smaller bottles anyway - at one bottle a month. Maybe I am using too much. Anyway, the Aqua Rich which served me so well in hot and humid Singapore (due to its high alcohol content) is really shrivelling my skin up here. Brr! Maybe there's something good to be said about those greasy western sunscreens after all.

Sheet Masks:  I'm actually surprised at how few sheet masks I went through this month.  I haven't been doing it because I was lazy and my skin didn't feel that bad until about a couple of weeks or a week ago when my skin started feeling dry despite my regular routine, and wearing a sleeping mask every night.  Bah to Swedish "summer"!  The cold and windy weather is drying my skin out I think so I'm starting to use this more often again, and I don't think I will repurchase the Aloe masks, because I don't feel like they're that moisturising or hydrating.

EMPTIES: April 2017

A LOT of full sized empties this month! Which is not surprising considered it's been many months since I started to really use full size products.

Face Cream: I vacillated between wanting to repurchase this and not and decided that yes, I will repurchase this, but not soon since I want to try out other face creams first. This is good as a basic face cream.

 Hand Cream: Sure, why not!

Vitamin C: I've noticed that my complexion is a lot more radiant and even, with freckles and PIH faded after using this. I will definitely repurchase this after my current Kiehl's has run out. It's also the fraction of the price of Kiehl's.

 Hair Serum: pretty good. I don't have any complaints. I might repurchase this but I want to try out other brands first.

Foaming Cleanser: I would not repurchase this because the pH is too high.

Makeup: This mascara lasted A LONG TIME. I bought this when I was in Sweden in September and I only finished this in mid-April!? So 7 months! I don't think anyone should be using mascara for this long though.

 Hydrating Toner: Maybe.

 Body Scrub: It's a good basic body scrub. No complaints. This is a repurchase and I will buy again.

 Sheet Masks: My face doesn't seem so dry this month so I haven't been using sheet masks as much. Also I've been using the Lumene gel mask which replaced a lot of the sheet masks.

 Shampoo: Will not repurchase.

 Body Moisturiser: Will definitely not repurchase the Queen Helene Cocoa Butter creme on the right, but maybe for the other two.

 Body Wash: Will not repurchase since the perfume is too strong.

 Hair Mask: Will repurchase this.

Sunscreen: I will repurchase both and in fact have the Biore watery gel stockpiled.

EMPTIES: March 2017

From having a one quick glance over this month's empties I've concluded that stores here give me almost enough samples for me to live on :P

EDIT 10/4/2017 - forgot a few things so I added them on.

Sunscreen.  I think it's time I retire this sunscreen.  I used to use it thinking that the Watery Gel didn't suit my face because it dried me up pretty badly, but it turned out that that wasn't the case; my face was just trying to adjust to the retinoid I put on it. The Watery Gel works just fine now and I'm just going to stick to it and not this.  There's a lot more product for the same price in the Gel.

Facial Oil.  I used it up relatively quickly because I don't like it that much.  It just smelled a bit 'off', so I ended up putting it on my body too to use it up more quickly.

Body Scrub.  It's ok but it's a bit milder than what I'm used to in scrubs.  It's not bad but it didn't really wow me, so would probably not repurchase.

Hair Treatment.  Not much to say. I like the smell. I am not sure if I will buy the full size.

Makeup.  I enjoyed them while they lasted but probably won't buy either again.  Maybelline Fit Me concealer was considered holy grail by many, but it was just meh for me.  It's runny and doesn't provide enough coverage. I am loving their Age Rewind a lot more.

Hair Dye.  Yet another tub gone :D. I repurchased Rubine after this, because to be honest I'm struggling to see a difference. Will come back to this anyway.

Body Cream. I would not buy this, it's way too strongly perfumed and too thin to be really meaningfully moisturising.

Targeted Treatment. I have already bought a second tube because I took photos of myself on the first day of using it and on day 28 and I can tell that the loss of volume on my nasolabial fold and tear trough got shallower.

Essences.  I heard great things about the Benton essence but the samples I used are too small for me to be able to use for long enough to see any difference.  As for the Belif one, I don't know if it was just my eyes or using other products at the same time (like the Sulwhasoo sleeping mask everyday) but I felt like my skin was so glowy while using this.  However, I'm still not sure what it really is supposed to do.

Facial Cleansers.  I haven't used facial wipes in such a long time, but bought this one for travel.  I liked the other cleansers too, but won't repurchase the Innisfree ones because I discovered the importance of pH in cleansers, and through research found out that the pH of these Innisfree cleansers are too high.

Sheet Masks.  Used up fewer sheet masks this month than the previous two months, but still a bit more than I thought I would.  I guess I'd treat myself while I was in Sweden, considering how I used all the Hada Labo sheet masks I had. It does give a bit more of a luxurious feel than the cheaper masks, but I don't think it's enough that I'd pay so much extra for it.

Wash-Off Mask This was nice, and it was really good for my retinoid-dry skin at that time, but I wouldn't buy it on my own.

Face Creams.  I'm in love with the Honey Cera eye cream, and every other creams here did just fine. In fact I have the full size version of the Belif Moisturising Bomb.