Happy December!!!!!! It is finally socially acceptable to celebrate Christmas aggressively!! And since it’s the beginning of a new month, I have another empties post with everything I finished last month 🙂 I also have a recap of the month’s no buy which will be at the end of the post!
Here’s everything I finished this month:
- Tony Moly I’m Real Seaweed Mask – I can’t believe this is the ONLY sheet mask I used this month, but it’s true! I have many of these Tony Moly ones that I got in a set, and I like them but like I said last month, they don’t fit my face amazingly well. I’ll use them up but will probably get a different brand next time.
- Elf Illuminating Eye Cream – I bought this a few months ago when I wanted to start using an eye cream to improve the dark circles under my eyes. It has a nice lotion-y texture, but I honestly don’t feel like it did much of anything… I used it all up but I wouldn’t get it again.
- Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder – This one is like a cult favorite item for so many people but I actually hated it at first. It settled strangely into my foundation and looked cakey on top of my concealer. I had to learn to apply it really lightly to my undereyes to finally make it work, and even then it was very messy and honestly just a lot of work. I’m glad I tried it out but I definitely wouldn’t buy it again.
- Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence – A while ago I started gaining interest in Asian skincare routines, and one of the biggest parts of the routine is a good sunscreen. I love this one! It doesn’t have the weird smell of American sunscreens and it doesn’t leave my face all white either. I’m on my second tube already!
- Up & Up Witch Hazel Antiseptic – I’ve been using this as a toner in my PM skincare routine for months now and I do like it. I have another toner I’m using up right now and I may buy this again, but I might try something else first…I’m particularly interested in this rose water toner 🙂
- Ardell Natural Lashes 105 – I got these in an Influenster box a few months back and they actually started my interest in wearing fake lashes regularly! I liked these a lot, they’re a bit more dramatic than the ones I mentioned in my Holiday Makeup post but still pretty natural looking. I wore these I think 4 times before they got too gunked up to reuse anymore haha
- Up & Up Basic Cotton Rounds – These are pretty nice, I used them for a while to apply toner and sometimes makeup remover. I probably wouldn’t get them again just because I tried the Shiseido Facial Cotton on a whim and it’s like ridiculously soft and I don’t think I can go back now lol
- Colgate Optic White Toothpaste – I feel dumb including stuff like this in my empties post haha but I finished it this month so I wanted to!! I’m using another one now but this is nice, I’d buy it again idk
- Batiste Clean & Classic Dry Shampoo – I got this way back in my Walmart Fall beauty box and I do really like it a lot. I have another dry shampoo from Lush that I’m using up but I’d definitely buy this when that one runs out!
- Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge – I’ve gone through so many of these! I love it for applying and blending foundation and I already have a new replacement. Check out how old and beat up this one looks compared to the new one haha. I think I might buy a real Beauty Blender next time this one gets worn out though just to see what all the hype is about!
- NYX HD Finishing Powder – omg it was SO TRAGIC when I ran out of this so early in the month!! This is my FAVORITE powder so of course I ran out of it right away. I’ve been making do with other powders and I’ll probably try to use some of them up before I buy this again. But I know I’ll come back to this one eventually, I always do!
- Up & Up Moisturizing Shave Gel in Strawberry Tangerine – another boring one haha but I used it up so here it is. Shaving cream is something I am not picky about, I basically choose whichever one is the cheapest/has the prettiest packaging. This one was fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Explosive Cosmetics Fluffy Whipped Soap in Birthday Cake – I received this as a birthday gift and it was so nice! It smells super sweet and the scent lingers for a while so I smelled like birthday cake all day haha. I liked to use it when I was having a bad day, it’s a great pick me up!
- NYX Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer – this is my favorite primer!! It’s so smooth and wonderful, I seriously love it so much. I finished this yesterday (!!) and I already have another one on hand ^_^
- Nugg Soothing Shea Butter & Chamomile Face Mask – I got this on a whim at Target one day and I actually regret it because this was so weird lol. It wasn’t really any kind of mask-like texture…it was literally like a lotion. I felt like I was rubbing lotion on my face and then washing it off was about what it feels like to put water on lotion. It was very weird and I wouldn’t get this one again!
- Belif True Cream Aqua Bomb – this came to me in a Sephora box and UGH I completely love it!! It’s such an interesting gel-cream consistency and it feels so nice on my face. I repurchased it as part of a set during the VIB sale. I’ve since found one by Garnier that is pretty similar so I’m not sure if I’d buy this again, but I do really really love it!
- NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Taupe – my old faithful Naked Basics Palette) and I was really pleased with the results! I thought I’d wanna buy a new pencil as soon as the month was over, but I actually think I’ll try to keep making use of what I have for now 🙂
- Too Cool for School Egg Mellow Body Butter – these last two are just samples so they’re lame haha but I’m trying to use up more samples since I have so many of them laying around 😐 This was fine, super moisturizing and smooth! I just got some new lotions so I wouldn’t buy the full size but it was nice!
- GlamGlow Gravity Mud sample – my love
I also have a few things I tossed this month that I wanted to mention briefly:
- Boscia Luminizing Black Mask – I got this as a sample with a Sephora order and O M G I HATED IT!! It’s a peel off mask but I felt like my skin was peeling off!! It hurt so bad and I don’t even have sensitive skin. I threw it away immediately haha. Never again!!
- Derma e Hydrating Day Creme – from Target Beauty Box October. I guess I am a bit picky about moisturizers sometimes…I absolutely hated the smell of this. It was just too strong and overwhelming. AND when I tried to use this under my makeup it pilled up really weirdly and made my skin feel strange. I couldn’t finish it.
- Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer – also from Target October box. I used about 3/4 of this before I had to toss it. Putting lotion on wet skin is just not something that I find nice haha. I would get out of the shower and drip water all over our little bath mat. I didn’t like this at all.
Now, for the No Buy update…. honestly it did not go as well as last time I did one hahaha. I think trying to limit spending in November was honestly a bad idea, because even though I wasn’t buying makeup, I was doing TONS of Christmas shopping, so I still spent a lot! It was also a HORRIBLE idea to do it during Black Friday haha. I ended up only using Black Friday sales to buy gifts for others so I think I still did alright.
The really good thing that came out of the exercise, however, is that I made myself work with different products once I ran out of something. A good example is my brow pencil – I ran out and was annoyed I couldn’t replace it, but I ended up making do with what I had and got pretty much the same result. During the month I also really paid attention to how much stuff I actually have and I think I have a decently curated makeup collection at this point. What I mean to say is, I don’t feel that I NEED more than what I have right now. Which is good!! So while the No Buy may not have necessarily saved me a lot of money, it kinda put things into perspective and made me work more with what I already have. I think I’ll try to keep up at least a LOW buy for a while and see where it gets me. Maybe that will be one of my goals for 2017! 🙂
That’s all for today! I feel like I got a little wordy there haha but I think it was a good month for empties overall. Next time I write one of these it will be 2017 😮 we’ll see how many things I can use up by then!
<3, Kaela
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