Empties #1

One of my favorite type of blog posts to read is empties because I feel like it gives the most honest review of something. We've all had those times where we think we love a product at first and then end up getting over it or even hating it and vice versa. But actually finishing a product says enough in itself, and I trust someone more after they've finished something than their first impression of it. That being said here are my first empties, aka let's take a look at my beauty trash. I've been collecting these for awhile, probably since January so I've got a good amount to share. 

Body

Back row left to right: suave sweet pea and violet body wash, rite aid renewal aloe enriched body lotion; front row: shikai gardenia lotion, nirvae botanicals lotion, than aromatic wood lotion

Suave sweet pea and violet body wash

This was alright, nothing too special. I had just paid rent one month and I wanted the cheapest body wash I could get. I think this was around $2 at Rite aid and it worked well for war it was. 

Pros: it smells literally exactly like the bath and body works sweet pea scent

Cons: It has a very gel-like, hand soap type consistency that doesn't foam up very well

Would I repurchase? Only if I was running low on $ and needed something decent 

Rite Aid renewal aloe enriched body lotion 

This. Is. The. Best. Stuff. Ever. Seriously, drop whatever expensive lotion you're using right now and try this. It is so cheap and it works so well, plus the scent is absolutely amazing.

Pros: everything about this, I'm a huge fan of aloe scents and light lotion that sinks nicely into the skin. If that's your forte too, then you need this in your life. Plus nothing beats the price *tip: try out the rite aid/ CVS/ Target brands if you're on a budget. To check if they'll work as well as the brand they're mimicking check the ingredients, if they're the same the only thing you're getting out of the more expensive one is pretty packaging

Cons: Honestly nothing. If you only use really rich body butter type lotions you probably won't love this, but I prefer lighter lotions especially for Spring/Summer

Would I repurchase? Already have. The bf loves this as much as I do so we've repurchased several times

Shikai Gardenia hand and body lotion

This is another lotion that I loved. I use up a bunch of travel size hand lotions because my hands get so dry at work so I always have a bottle on me to use there. 

Pros: This is extremely creamy and I love gardenia scents, basically any white flower/ light floral scent. Plus it's all natural so this is perfect for anyone who only uses natural products, or is trying to switch over to more natural.

Cons: I didn't find any with this product

Would I repurchase? If the full size was not out of my price range it would be mine right now

Nirvae Botanicals orange and sandalwood body lotion

Yuck. I was happy this was trial sized, and the only reason I stuck with it was because I hate wasting products.

Pros: not many, it worked decently to moisturize the skin

Cons: THE SMELL. It overpowered any pros I could possibly think of.

Would I repurchase? Definitely not

Thann aromatic wood body lotion

This was a really nice lotion but the smell was pretty overpowering for me. To the point of don't bother wearing a perfume, none is gonna smell that over this.

Pros: Really good quality creamy consistency, sunk into the skin nicely

Cons: As I said the smell is just too strong with this, thankfully I liked the aromatic wood smell but I would get sick of it everyday

Would I repurchase? No probably not

Make-up

left to right: pixie flawless beauty primer, naked berry lip balm, cover girl concealer, elf lengthen and define mascara, maybelline the rocket mascara

Pixi flawless beauty primer
Pros: very aluminizing, would be great for dry skin
Cons: too aluminizing to wear all over the face. I had to keep it only on the cheekbone area
Would I repurchase? I actually got a deluxe sample size of this in my March ipsy bag and while I like it I don't think I would actually pay for the full size. It's kind of unnecessary I think

Naked Berry Lip balm
Pros: none
Cons: too greasy, slid off the lips a little and not very moisturizing
Would I repurchase? no

Covergirl Concealer
This product is so old the type of concealer and color had completely rubbed off. I think that it's the clean concealer because that's the one I repurchased and it has similar packaging and results but honestly I'm not sure
Pros: works well for highlighting, lasts all day
Cons: creases a little, I fix this by using my baby skin primer beforehand
Would I repurchase? I already have if it really is the clean concealer

Elf lengthening and defining mascara
Pros: Tis actually surprisingly did give me a lot of volume and length, I was extremely impressed
Cons: Because this wasn't waterproof I had so many problems with tis rubbing off onto my under eye area during the day. I think this could be fixed with the Anastasia waterproof mascara coat thing, but honestly there are much better drugstore mascaras out there
Would I repurchase? No, not worth the hassle

Maybelline the rocket mascara in black
This stuff is so amazing, definitely in the running for holy grail mascara.
Pros: Volumizes, adds length, lasts all day, and doesn't wipe off onto the under eye area at all. This mascara is nothing but amazing.
Cons: None
Would I repurchase? Definitely!

Revlon colorstay mineral Foundation

I cheated with this product and mixed it into my cover girl translucent powder because this was too light and I wanted my translucent powder to have a little bit more color, but that actually worked really well

Pros: lasting power is really good

Cons: this should be labelled a much lighter color than it is, mineral gives it a little bit of a shine

Would I repurchase? Not after finding my rimmel stay matte

Cleansers

left to right: loreal eye makeup remover, garner fructose volume extend dry shampoo, aveeno clear complexion cream cleanser

Loreal eye makeup remover

Pros: None

Cons: this stuff is awful for so many reasons: 1. you need a ton of it to get anything off 2. you have to scrub at your eyes even for non-waterproof mascara 3. it burns the eyes and just generally does not work

Would I repurchase? No but I'm so sad because there was a 2 for 1 deal on this that I got before trying it out so I've still got anther one of these to go unfortunately

Garnier Fructis volume extend dry shampoo

Ho-ly Grail status. No pro con list needed for this because it is all pros. This stuff works so amazingly well. Ive been able to do third, even fourth day hair effortlessly and i haven't been able to do that with any other dry shampoo. Sometimes it even makes second day hair look better than first day. I use it even for adding volume when styling because the volume lift it gives is amazing. And it's so light it doesn't weigh down my hair at all, which is a big problem I have with a lot of other dry shampoos. They might work, but my hair feels so weighed down and full of product that I wanna wash it anyway. Not at all the case with this. The only con is that this does leave a white mark for those ladies with darker hair, but I just massage it in well and brush through it to get rid of that.

Aveeno clear complexion cream cleanser

Pros: once light scent, has micro beads for exfoliating

Cons: did not foam up at all, I like to feel like my cleansers are actually working

Would I repurchase? No, I need something that foams up more, and I think the creaminess of this actually contributed a little to my acne 

Alright that's all for now. I hope this was helpful to anyone looking for some new products to try out. Keep an eye out for my April ipsy unboxing which should be out in a few days! xx