Empties! Products I Used Up in January

Disclaimer: I purchased these.

A whopping 55 items left my collection in January, which is quite the accomplishment.  I'm also doing a replacement only no-buy (low buy?) for makeup/skincare/beauty items, so that I can focus on using up what I own.  Which is a lot.  So let's take a look at some of the standouts (both good and bad) from January.

The Bubble & Bee organic body butters are some of my favorites, and unfortunates these went bad before I could completely finish them.  I got two-thirds through the Orange & Vanilla and three-fourths through the Unscented, but one was smelling off and the other was starting to grow mold.  I finished a Farmhouse Fresh body balm in A La Mode and the Sunflower Honey-Butter, both of which are lovely.  I would repurchase all 4, but considering I have 41 other sample and full size body lotions to get through, it will be a while.

I finished 2 sample sized dry shampoos, with the Detox by drybar being my favorite of the two.  I also finished 4 hand lotions: the limited edition Pure Hemp Herbal Hand and Foot Glaze (okay, not as moisturizing as I'd like), Tokyo Milk Dark Lotion in Excess (again, not moisturizing enough but did enjoy the fragrance), and a full and sample sized Caudalie Hand and Nail cream (nice, would consider purchasing in the future).  I've got 11 more hand creams to get through before I can purchase anything, however.

I finished five sample sized face moisturizers and 4 foil serums/moisturizers.  All were nice and did the job, but none stood out enough for me to want to purchase once I get through the other 36 mainly deluxe sized samples and foils I need to finish up.  I also finished a deluxe sized Ole Henriksen serum.  I prefer other vitamin C serums, although this one is not bad.

I finished one full sized and two deluxe sample sized face primers.  I enjoyed the Coola dawn patrol, but my favorite of the three is Julep's Blank Canvas.  I purchased another prior to my no-buy, but I also have 22 other primers to work my way through.

I also finished full sizes of a Leader's Labotica Bamboo Water Cleansing tissues (nice, would repurchase), a Vitabath shower gel in Vanilla Bourbon (nice, but I got tired of it and was happy to finish it off), a full sized shampoo in Blonde Sexy Hair (a blue shampoo, pretty good), and a full sized TreSemme hair spray (average at best).

I finished off 2 Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume oil samples (Kurukulla: lotus blooms and roses, Lilium Inter Spinas, Hibiscus syriacus, white sandalwood, lily of the valley, apple blossom, and green fig) and another sample called Bollywood or Bust (rose, woody, warm spicy) by Smell Bent, plus am tossing 3 other perfume samples that I do not care for: Narciso Rodriguex for her and Dolce.  I have an obscene number of perfume samples and a more than healthy collection of full sized bottles as well, so I really have no business purchasing any fragrances for a long, long, long time.

I finished two mascaras, Monsieur Big by Lancome and Giorgio Armani's Eyes to Kill.  My favorite of those was Eyes to Kill, but no way am I paying $32 for a mascara.  The Guerlain Maxi Lash sample was dried out, and I did not like the benefit They're Real! mascara so tossed it after a week of use.  I have 31 more mascaras to work through, mostly deluxe sample sizes.

I finished a full sized lipstick, the Surratt Lipslique in Ladybug (full review here).  It was 3.5 years old and I did enjoy it, but at $34 it's overpriced for what it is.  The Laniege Lip Mask is a new favorite, they are as good as everyone says they are and have become a staple item for me.

I also finished a foundation, the Lauren Brooke Creme Foundation in Cool No. 30.  This is the second jar I've finished and I bought another prior to my no-buy, as I knew I did not want to be without it for as long as it will take me to go through my current roster of foundations (which is a whooping 34, BTW).  The finish on this foundation is the smoothest, most natural looking I've experienced, although it's best suited for the colder weather months with my oilier complexion.  Just so nice.

I tried the Milk Makeup Sunshine foundation and hated it.  The coverage is minimal and it never really dried down.  I tried using powder to help with that, and that just resulted in a cakey mess.  Just so bad.

I doubt I'll go through as many items every month, but I do think that not bring in new items is helping out and it feels great to have worked through these.