Empties! Products I Used Up in July

July was another good month for empties, at least when it comes to skin and body care items.  I also had to throw out a few items that I either did not like or had gone bad, so let's get started!

I went through 6 sheet masks, and my favorite of this bunch is the Snail Bee High Content Mask Pack. I've been using the South Korean Benton Snail Bee line of products this summer as my daytime skincare, so be expecting a review on this soon. These masks are soaked in snail mucin and bee venom extract, both of which my skin seems to love. The essence is not too heavy (some mask leave a film on my skin, which I cannot stand), and indeed this line is supposed to be good for oily and acne prone skin. I can see more of these in my future

I've also enjoyed the Prelab Skin Energy Masks, which are a 100% natural plant fiber mask highly saturated with essence. The White Energy mask contains Glutathione, Niacinamide, and Deep Sea Water. Glutathione is an antioxidant that not only fights free radicals but also helps regenerate the unstable molecules generated from other antioxidants (C and E).  Niacinamide helps with skin brightening (among other things). Sea Water is supposed to be loaded with magnesium, which helps skin retain moisture while also improve acne and dermatitis. Mediheal's Dress Code Violet is another sheet mask I could see revisiting in the future, plus you've got the whole 'night at a masked ball' thing going on while you are wearing it, which is kind of fun. Not to minimize the ingredients, which features several berry oils/extracts to brighten your face while soothing stressed skin.

The deluxe sample sized Citrus Kombucha Cleansing Gel is something I can myself purchasing a full size of, as I really liked the whole experience of scent plus clean but not stripped skin it gave me. I'm liking Andalou Naturals in general for good natural ingredient based skin care.

Another Benton product that bit the dust this month was the Honest TT Mist, which I used as a makeup setting spray.  It's a skin toner, but with it's 85% Tea Tree Leaf water and extracts plus aloe leaf juice, glycerin, and sodium hyaluronate, I figured it would work well setting my make up.  Which it does, plus the spray nozzle delivers a nice soft mist over the skin.  In fact, I was hoping to use the container for a DIY makeup mist I created, but I could not get the cap off to save my life. I'd repurchase except I'm enjoying making my own mists, more on that in the future.

Eminence Organics is a brand I've long loved for the leave on facial masks, and the Stone Crop Masque is a great one for summer time use.  This one is long past it's prime so it was time to toss even though there was enough for another use. You can read a full review of it here.

Honeysuckle Blood Orange Custard has been a favorite hot weather body cream for several years now, and I finally finished it up (full review here).  I've got a strawberries and cream version waiting to be opened, but I would definitely repurchase this in the future for both it's scent and body moisturizing abilities.

I also enjoyed the Grapefruit Detox Shine Repair shampoo and conditioner duo I received from Birchbox.  I have to use some type of clarifier on my hair every few months, and this one did a nice job without being overly harsh.

Now for something I was sad to see had turned bad on me.  I really like Julep's Facial Milk but apparently it's shelf life is not long enough for someone who has way to many product options to chose from. I received mine in November of 2015, so it's not even 9 months old - too soon to go bad IMO. I've bought 2 of these for my mother, who uses them up pronto, but if you can't, buyer beware. As you can see from the line drawn above, I had barely used up a quarter of mine. No bueno.

The Prelab Toning Peeling Taps are unique little things are far as their delivery system is concerned. They come in a container of 15 for about $20, which doesn't make them exactly economical for what is essentially a concentrated essence that is supposed to both exfoliate and moisturize the skin. To release the essence you have to squeeze the tab quite firmly for the gel to saturate the plush round part, and then you apply to the face.  Enough essence is in the taps to apply to the entire face (which I do), or you can concentrate on areas that need it the most.  It's a fun product but not one I can see using regularly due to it's cost. Also, because I use them so infrequently, I can't really tell how effective they are.

Well, I finally made it through this discontinued Eden Eyeshadow Potion by Urban Decay.  I actually quite liked it and the newer versions do not work as well for me, so I've moved on to other eye primers. I'm still looking for a holy grail, however, which UD used to be for me.

I tossed two texturing sprays from Oribe and Parlour, as I really don't like them in general.  The fragrance on both is too strong and I'm just not a fan of how they make my hair feel.  I frequently have to attend meetings in hospitals and they have a no scented personal items policy, and I'd put a skull and crossbones next to these based on fragrance. Also tossed was a Laura Mercier face primer that had gone bad. Good thing I'm in the process of culling my collection, as I hope to avoid products going bad due to lack of use in the future as much as possible!