Attempting to curb my HAUL-iday madness - the very first Empties Post

Happy Holidays my lovlies! I was inspired the other day to do an Empties Post (after reading Beauty Reductionista's blog, Rouge Deluxe's, and many others), startled at the rate my beauty stash is growing, I decided a curb on the haul-iday madness (pardon me for the pun). Holiday is a a very good / bad time for good deals, depending on how you see it. Most brands would release value-saving makeup / skincare sets which entices you to buy because the sets are such a bargain. My soul fell weak in front of these holiday deals. That was when I embarked on keeping product empties on a monthly basis, and do a short review of each of them.




In December, I managed to finish the following:

1. Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Shea Butter

This cleanser does not ‘foam’ up much. It really feels like butter on the skin – i.e. not stripping but a bit too gentle so left me wonder whether my skin had been thoroughly cleansed. Similar with Purity Made Simple by Philosophy, non-foaming cleansers and me don’t really get along. Will not repurchase.

2. ORBIS UV Cut Sunscreen on face

This is my 12398^th bottle. It’s supposed to be a sunscreen instead of primer but I use it for the latter purpose. While the formula had been changed earlier on this year, I did not like it as much as the old formula, but I still have bottles of this lying around. I guess I’ll finish the remaining bottle(s) and meanwhile I’m on the hunt for a good tinted primer that is a bit on the runny side. This is still my everyday go-to, though.

3. Philosophy Purity Made Simple cleanser 

Deluxe sized sample. I used it a few years back then but did not feel it’s good enough to warrant a repurchase. All these raves in the blogosphere had me wondering if I should give this a second go. This bottle was gifted to me by a lovely reader of the blog (IHi Lynn J) and lasted for 2-3 weeks. Normally I squeezed the size of a penny onto my Clarisonic Mia. This cleanser – rather liquid consistency, did not foam up as much as Japanese face wash does. I’m not very used to cleansers that produce little foam (doesn’t feel clean enough without foam, just a personal preference lol), and lathering requires more time for this cleanser. I found cleansers like that a bit frustrating as not much foam is produced upon intense rubbing, but I suppose that’s the way it is marketed – gentle on the skin. Will not repurchase.

4. My Beauty Diary Peach Soda Eye & Lip makeup remover

Bought this on a whim because of the peach soda pink packaging. It’s a decent remover, does not sting the eyes and carries no scent. Product comes in quite a generous amount. I use it to remove mascara and eyeliners daily for about 4-5 months, which was rather reasonable as I’m not a regular mascara user. Will I repurchase? Probably not since I’m looking for cheaper alternatives of eye makeup removers. My logic is, if ABC removers do pretty much the same job in removing, I’d pick the cheapest one. However real life proved it otherwise, I picked a similar priced alternative by Kiss Me Heroine Make (the mascara brand) and it comes in a smaller bottle but of similar price. Oh well, LOL. (note: Just started on the Kiss Me Heroine Make one, prefer My Beauty Diary one instead, will repurchase).

5. Kiehl’s Calendula Toner 

Bought this on a whim but loved it so much I used it religiously from day to day. Finished it within 2.5 months and will definitely repurchase. This toner contains calendula extracts and petals in it which helps to soothe skin, repair damages, and heals the skin. I love how quickly absorbed to the skin it is, no tiny bit of sticky gluey feeling like some toners are. My skin simply drinks it up and can’t live without it. Although before I repurchase, I have 2319823 bottles of toners to finish, aw. I’d make sure I repurchase the 500ml bottle as I simply can’t have enough of the goodness of it, or maybe I’ll try the cucumber toner in green (which looks kind of freaky in bottle).

6. Tresemme Shampoo 

Nearly a 1 Litre bottle was used to the last drop after 3-4 months. Will continue to repurchase as its clearly value for money. Cleans and lathers well, did not experience much build-up with this shampoo. No overwhelming scent. Will repurchase.

I hope these short reviews help. This empties post give me the energy to plan on the next empties (sense of accomplishment!), and am already looking forward to the next post XD What products have you emptied lately?