Empties! Products I Used Up in February

February was another good month for using up products and moving them out of my over stocked collection of skin and body care items.  Let's take a closer look at what I managed to finish up!

I finished two full sized scrubs - one for the body and one for the face.  The Ulta Beauty Brightening Vitamin C Body Scrub was nice but nothing something I feel inclined to repurchase.  The sugar in the scrub is small granule but still managed to give a nice exfoliation.  It suds up so works as a cleanser as well.  The citrus scent was pleasant and while I have no complaints about the product, it just was not a standout for me.  

The Farmhouse Fresh One Fine Day Shea Sugar Flawless Face Polish (see full review here), OTOH, is a favorite.  Love this stuff, and I believe this is the 3rd jar I've finished off.  I will repurchase once I finish up all of my facial scrubs, as it is my favorite to date.  

The Le Metier de Beaute Peau Vierge Tinted Luminizer in Shade 2 was another favorite, and this is the second full sized bottle that I've used up.  It's quite pricey at $125, which is more than I would ever pay.  I received mine as part of the the now discontinued VIP monthly subscription program, which allowed me access to LMdB products as a greatly reduced price.  Plus, I'm not quite sure of the status of LMdB these days, as I believe they are in bankruptcy proceedings.  

Another company that is experiencing lots of problems is Julep, which was acquired by another company about two years ago.  That company consequently went bankrupt and has sold off Julep AS Beauty (you can read more about that here).  Not quite sure what the future holds for Julep now, but it seems the Julep items as Ulta are currently 50% off, which indicates to me they are clearing out their inventory.  Maven subscription members also had a rude awakening on February 15th in the form of an email informing us that the monthly Maven subscription service was ending immediately.  Furthermore, all Jules points (points earned each month from the subscription that could be used towards adding products to your box at no cost) would not be honored going forward.  

I think that pissed people off more than the subscription cancellation, as no advanced notice was given so that people could spend their points.  Fortunately, I was never one to save up my points for months on end, and I had a feeling the end of the subscription was coming given the problems the company was facing.  I also had the foresight to get some of my favorite items prior to the beginning of my no buy - the Boost Your Radiance Reparative  Rosehip Seed Facial Oil and the Mattifying Face Primer.  So, I have another Rosehip Seed Oil ($36 for 1 oz.) waiting in the wings.  

I also finished another Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, which I continue to adore.  I'm going through a jar a month at this rate, although these are smaller than the usual sized lip sleeping masks as they were part of a gift set with different flavors.  

The Farmacy Honey Potion Renewing Antioxidant Hydration Mask in the trial size gave me about 3-4 uses, and I enjoyed the slightly warming sensation, creamy texture, and overall experience.  I have a plethora of face masks to go through so no plans to repurchase, but I did enjoy this.

I finally finished the Tokyo Milk Bon Bon Shea Butter in Kabuki 09 ($22 for 2.3 oz), which I've had for several years.  I enjoyed the fragrance (Sugared Grapefruit, Lychee & Sweet Jasmine), although I don't find this to be moisturizing enough for my taste, so consequently would not repurchase.  I do think the packaging/presentation is lovely though.

I used up two No. 4 hair products: a foil packet of conditioner and the Super Comb Prep & Protect spray.  I love the scent of the No. 4 products and have generally enjoyed all of the products I've tried.  I believe I received these when I subscribed to Birchbox, which was quite a while ago.  So, I'm glad to move them on out to make way for the overflowing supply of foils/travel sized hair products that I've received as GWP's and in subscription boxes over the years.

I finished another travel sized dry shampoo from Klorane, as well as a K-beauty mud mask pod and fresh Soy Face Cleanser.  All were nice but not standouts for me, although if the Klorane dry shampoo was on sale I would consider it when it's time to repurchase dry shampoo.  

 Something I may very well repurchase in the future is the Benton Fermentation Eye Cream ($27), which I enjoyed enough to cut open the container in order to scrap out what wouldn't squeeze out of the tube.  Which was quite a lot - perhaps another month's worth of product, which I depotted into a jar..

The Nubian body wash in Patchouli & Buriti ($13)was something I picked up when Ulta carried it a few years back, and I just managed to finish it up right as it was hitting it's expiration date.  I enjoyed the rather spicy/woodsy fragrance, which I found unique for a body wash.  I had also bought the body lotion, but it went off rather quickly and got tossed a while ago.

I also finished the Origins' Ginger Body Gloss ($26 for 3.4 oz), which is a fragrance I really enjoy.  Unfortunately, I do not find most of the Ginger products to be long lasting scent wise, so no plans to repurchase in the future.

Overall I'm pleased with the rate of products I've used up this far in 2019, as it is slowly making a dent in the excess of products I've managed to accrue.