There's nothing better then starting off a new year with a freshly cleaned out beauty stash. I'll admit, I had been pretty lazy in the empties department last year. I just held on to everything until a day where I could be bothered (never) so this installment is a biggie. I have always been the kind of person who rarely finishes a product before moving on to the next, but I really made the effort last year to use up what I had before buying more which really motivated me to fully finish the horde of products I've accumulated since I really love treating myself to new products.
Here's what I've used up recently:
Le Tan Fragrance Free Sunscreen Oil SPF 30+
I've still been using this almost every day on my lunch break in the sun. The formulation protects and hydrates the skin to help prevent peeling and dryness, leaving your skin smelling all coconut-ey and delicious (I get told that I smell like a lamington by my co-workers almost every day). It sinks in nicely IF you don't use too much. Honestly, you really only need a little bit; sand/grass tends to stick everywhere if you use even the slightest bit too much. Just bare in mind, that just because it has an SPF doesn't mean you can go ahead and bake all day to achieve a tan as this is essentially a tanning product with SPF, not a sunscreen, as it's so misleadingly named.
Repurchase? Always. I've had trouble finding the unscented offering again, but scented or not, I'm a fan.
No, you are not mistaken. There are in fact two empty tubes of this baby in the photo above. I use this every damn day, so it's not really surprising. The formula is thick enough to cover the under eye area but also smooth enough to blend out nicely, filling in fine lines without settling into them or creasing, while still not accentuating my dry skin and leaving a matte finish. It does a nice job of disguising the purple undertones of my under eyes, but the application, however.. On one hand, I love that it's a wind-up, meaning you can basically get every last drop from the tube, but on the other, I wasn't a huge fan of the sponge nib applicator at first. Although I've gotten used to it now, it's still impossible to clean and is quite large, making it difficult to get the product into the smaller parts of the eye. The shade 'fair' is the lightest shade in the range and is a shade or two lighter than my face for brightening and highlighting purposes.
Repurchase? Yes, Sir.
This baby is a constant use item for me. In fact, I've mentioned this damn concealer about ninety-zillion times on the blog, not including that time I compared it to Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind Concealer (here), so I won't spent too much time repeating myself. What I will say, is that although it does provide relatively nice coverage of dark circles, I tend to use this as an under eye brightener rather than a concealer as the light shade is amazing for brightening and highlighting. It's easy to apply with it's doe foot applicator and creamy formula allows it to spread and blend beautifully, leaving a dewier finish all the while feeling so soft on the skin. The creaminess of the formula means it does not accentuate my dry skin.
Repurchase? Yes!
Zassni Orchard Dew Botanical Face Mist
This was given to me by the Bloggers United AU team during their 2015 Perth Meet in my goodie bag and I've not been able to find it anywhere since. This product, however, was what started my love of facial mists and I'm so glad I discovered it. Soothing, cooling, refreshing, packed with skin goodies - yes, please.
Repurchase? This particular product, no. Other facial mists (hi, Origins Ginzing Energy Boosting Treatment Lotion Mist), yes!
Palmolive Body Polishes - Passionfruit and Strawberry (Minis)
These adorable 45mL bottles were the perfect size for my gym bag. I love how natural Palmolive has gone with their body polish line - each bottle contains real fruit extracts, which equals antioxidants, and gritty seeds, which equal great exfoliators. Being that they are far more gentle than a rough sugar scrub, yet far more effective at exfoliating those cells than a regular gel, these sit perfectly between a sugar scrub and a regular shower gel. They lather up so luxuriously and my skin is left feeling smooth and moisturized. The smell? Ah-mazig! They both smell so good, and the cheerful scent follows me around all day.
Repurchase? Perhaps once my massive shower gel collection has subsided substantially.
The Body Shop Shea Shower Cream (Mini)
I got a mini shea gift pack for my birthday back in October and I'm a huge fan of oh-so-moisturizing shea butter. I love how thick and creamy this is. It doesn't lather as well as a shower gel would, but considering it's a shower cream, you shouldn't expect it to. You do have to use a fair bit if you're using it all over your body, but because it is so very creamy and very moisturizing, it's great as a shaving cream. It is quite hard to get the product out of the bottle once you've used past the half-way mark because it's so thick, but I know the jumbo size comes with a pump, which would be ideal.
Repurchase? Probably not. If I did, it would be to use solely as a shaving cream.
The Body Shop Shea Body Butter (Mini)
Included in the above mentioned gift pack was this mini tub of shea body butter. We've allllll used The Body Shop's body butters, so I won't go crazy with the description. I found this to be super moisturizing, if not a little too oily for my liking. It has a pleasant, clean scent and really worked to remedy my disgustingly dry legs.
Repurchase? Sure, once I've used up my other 99,000 body butters.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel
I love, love, LOVE this gel moisturizer. It's got such a clever formula that continuously releases moisture throughout the day without going too far and leaving the skin looking oily and blegh. It has such a refreshingly light and non-sticky texture that my skin slurps right up. My dry patches have been getting the nourishment they need and my skin looks nothing but supple when I wear it. The scent actually reminds me of jellybeans, which is an added bonus.
Repurchase? Of course.
LUSH Happy Hippy Shower Gel (Mini)
The love I have for this product is mostly based on how heavenly it smells. The fresh citrus-y grapefruit-y scent is a lovely pick me up first thing in the morning. The best part is that it doesn’t smell like dish washing liquid the way many citrus body washes tend to; it's just a natural scent that beats any of the synthetic ones. Period. Aside from the smell, the gel works into a luxuriously thick lather that makes me feel incredibly clean and refreshed afterwards. LUSH claim that you can use this in your hair as well.. I've always been too nervous to use anything other than shampoo as shampoo, but I can imagine it would leave your hair smelling delicious.
Repurchase? Yes! I'm currently using a full-sized bottle, and will continue to repurchase until the day I die.
Elucent's whitening range was also received at the Bloggers United event I attended. The range is designed to even out the skin tone by reducing pigmentation and balancing out the appearance dark spots, freckles, age spots, etc. not 'whiten' the skin, as is misleadingly stated. The range, however, just wasn't for me. I had to throw away about half of the product because they just weren't cooperating with my skin and its needs. I started off really liking the day moisturizer, guys. Like, a lot. It has a heavier consistency which I thought to be more moisturizing than most and it dried slightly tacky, which I used to enjoy because my foundation adhered to the skin nicely. I no longer really needed to use a primer. But then something changed. The thick formula meant my skin felt clogged and oily, and the tackiness made my foundation and powders look... wrong after an hour or so. While I appreciate the fact that this has SPF in it, I just didn't enjoy the congested sensation or the sticky, oily sheen that I was left with.
Repurchase? Unfortunately not.
The night moisturizer was probably the product that I got on the best with of the range.. That's not to say it was great, though. I didn't find it to be the best formulation for my skin; again, it was quite oily and didn't absorb the way I would have liked it to, but it was quite moisturizing, which is what I look for in a night cream.
Repurchase? Nope.
As you can see, I used up the products that I decided not to throw away at around the same time. I found the hand cream to be too thick to be absorbed nicely, leaving me with an oily, sticky feel, which isn't what I want when I deal with paper all day long. I also didn't feel as though it really moisturized my hands the way I would expect a hand cream to. Of these three Elucent products I used daily, none of them 'whitened' or made any noticeable difference to my skin tone or darker spots. I try not to be too negative, I've actually seen other bloggers who attended the event write up rave reviews about this range. It just didn't work for me.
Repurchase? No.
This is my holy grail brow product, guys. It's practically all I use. I was a bit nervous about the colour when I first used this, since Rimmel don't seem to make a blonde offering, but if I use a light hand, mid brown seems to match me perfectly. The application took a little getting used to since I'd only ever used a brow pencil before, but I feel as though I've mastered it now and I've had so many compliments about my eyebrows. I especially love the wax part of the kit - you can get such a defined brow that still manages to look natural, and the slight tackiness also helps to set your brows in place. The powder is lovely, too. It's pigmented and wonderful if you're going for a softer look. I use it to fill in the middle parts after using the wax to outline, but the kit is so versatile you can use it basically any damn way you want.
Repurchase? Yes x100
This would be the pencil I mentioned above. I still use it occasionally on lazier (or rushed) days when I just can't take the time to use the wax in Rimmel's brow kit to outline. The pencil is perfect for quickly drawing on a sharp and precise outline (I prefer Kylie Jenner-esque pointier shape) before filling in the eyebrows. I absolutely love this formulation, and the colour 'blonde' perfectly matches my brows and being a twist up, pencil means no sharpening required. It goes on easily and is almost impossible to look overdone. It lasts a good while and is easily removed at the end of the day.
Repurchase? Yes.
Mascara is one of the things that I reeaaalllyyy need to get to using before I buy more so I stuck to using the older, less impressive formulas over the past few months. This one was nice, but nothing special. It's waterproof and did a nice job of elongating my lashes, but not so much curling them. The brush has so many close together bristles that it was basically impossible to clump and you could layer a thousand times if you wanted to, which was amazing. Basically, it's lovely to use in conjunction with another mascara for the plumping and curling aspect, but not overly fantastic on it's own. Nice for a simple everyday look, nothing too exciting.
Perfume! Perfume is another category in which I desperately need to clear out. I think I've had this particular bottle since my 18th birthday. The scent is lovely; a nice floral, musky (if that even makes sense) sort of smell. The bottle's pretty cool, too in its cute star shape, and even comes with a spiky-ass ring which looks like a weapon to me nowadays, but my younger tomboy self thought it was all the rage.
Repurchase? Probably Not. I'm in to fruitier scents these days.
An old scent that we're all familiar with. I do still have a large bottle of this left, but I used up its baby sister so that's something right? It has a lovely sweet vanilla-ish smell that's instantly recognizable and a cute bottle to boot.
Repurchase? Once I've used up my collection some more, sure.
Yet another product that I finally used up from the Bloggers United AU event. I love how gentle and refreshing this was on the skin. It gently removed the remaining traces of grit and cleanser from my face, preparing my skin for moisturizer. It almost felt thick? Which sounds ridiculous of a toner, but that's the best way I can describe it. This was definitely one of the more moisturizing toners I've ever used.
Repurchase? Probably not. I actually enjoy a harsh astringent (don't judge me).
Phew! You have no idea how good it feels to have finally thrown out this accumulated junk. What products will you be repurchasing this year?
