Empties! Products I Used up in February

The azaleas are coming into their glory in Mobile and this past weekend's weather was sublime, which gave me ample opportunity to take pictures of the products I finished off in February. There are some standouts and one disappointment, so let's get started!

• Garnier Fructis Style Full & Plush Volume Hairspray: I'm a drugstore hairspray kind of girl, and this one did a good job. I've already repurchased two more.
• Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Cleansing Oil: I was so excited about this drugstore cleansing oil with it's drugstore price ($10). It came highly recommended by Musings of a Muse, but sadly I didn't care for it. Despite an impressive ingredient list, this just did not do a good job of removing all of my makeup. I dual cleanse as a matter of course, but I like a cleansing oil that does a great job of removing makeup and rinses off without leaving any traces of the cleansing oil behind. I'm guessing those with dryer complexions may appreciate this more, but I'm back to my holy grail oil cleanser now- DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil. I love that stuff, just wish it wasn't so expensive.
• Pixi Glow Tonic: I liked this cult classic toner with it's 5% glycolic acid, but I'm not sure it did anything beyond what many other toner's I've tried do. Which is namely to remove any last traces of makeup and adjust skin's pH balance for topicals such as AHA's/BHA's/Vitamin C.  The 5% glycolic acid isn't really enough to make a real difference on my skin as far as exfoliation is concerned. Given the Pixi Tonic is $15 for 3.4 oz, I think I'll stick with my Dickinson's Witch Hazel or the CosRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Skin Treatment.

• Algenist Advanced Anti-Aging Reparing Oil deluxe sample: I received this
  
  in the Sephora's Favorites Skinbender set that was on sale around Christmas. A bit of a mini-rant: several of the products were expired! The top of the dropper on the oil tore off on the 2nd or 3rd use, so no telling how long this stuff has been sitting around. But you know what? I really, really liked this oil. Algenist is impressing me with the few items I've been able to test for an extended period of time (I'm currently using their Vitamin C serum, and it looks like love). Too bad they are soooo expensive. One ounce of this oil will set you back $82, and I just can't see myself doing that. Too bad, because I really liked it.  
• Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair deluxe sample: I not sure what effect the Advanced Night Repair has on my skin. This is my 2nd deluxe sample that I've been using fairly consistently, and I've got one more to go, which will equal a full sized bottle. Maybe my impression will be more formed then. 
• Beauty Protector Protect & Blonde Toning Shampoo deluxe sample: I so remember using a purple toning shampoo from Aussie (I think) when I was in college and had bleached my hair blonde. BLEACHED. This one smells good and works well, but I'm not paying $23 for shampoo. 
• Clarin's Radiance Plus Golden Glow Booster: This was my 3rd bottle, and I've already got the 4th in rotation. Holy grail facial self-tanner for me, people, holy grail.
• Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Defense Lotion deluxe sample: This is from a Sephora Favorites sunscreen kit, and I typically wore it on weekends when I was working in the yard or walking the dogs. It's not one I would want to wear under makeup, but it's fine on bare skin. I would not purchase but I'll use any samples that come my way.

• Pure Fiji Dilo Rescue Body Gel: Pure Fiji is a luxury brand that makes some seriously nice body lotions, butters and sugar scrubs. This one is probably going on 5 years old but smelled and worked great until the very end. It's pricey at $38 but I would repurchase. If I wasn't swimming in body butters.
• Bonita Tropical Scented Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover Pads with cuticle oil: I found this at my Rite Aid and picked up the Tropical scented one to try. I liked it enough that I bought the other 3 scents the next time I went in Rite Aid (which is several times a week, as it's on my way home from work). You do have to rub these fairly vigorously, but they do remove polish and do not damage my nails. They remind me of the Josie Maran Bare Naked Nail Wipes, but are less than $2.

•  Yogi Cinnamon Vanilla Healthy Skin: why is an herbal tea in my February empties? Well, it claims to do good things for your skin, so I thought I'd include it. I'm not sure it did anything special for my skin that drinking water could not do, but I liked the taste and would repurchase. 

• Pacifica Enzymatic Exfoliating Wipes: I like these, and would repurchase. I've still got one or two of the other packs from the travel set left, but with summer coming, I'll need more. SUMMER IS COMING. 
• Coola SPF50 in Fresh Mango deluxe sample: I've acquired several of these sunscreens, and they all expire in May. So, I've designated them as my work in the yard/walk the dogs weekend wear sunscreen. I like it, although the fragrance is a little strong.
• boscia Luminizing Black Mask foil sample: I like that it's black and it peeled off fairly well, but I'm sure I could tell much of a difference in my skin. I have no plan to purhase.
• DHC Coenzyme Q10 Quick Gel Brightening Moisture: I've received several of the Coenzyme Q10 product samples form DHC over the years, and the moisturizing gel is my favorite. Gels work well with my oily skin, especially during the summer. I would considering purchasing during a good sale.
• Andalou Naturals Acai & White Tea Oil-Free Moisturizer: I like most of the things I've tried from Andalou Naturals. This sample wasn't enough to form an opinion, but my general impression was positive.
• The little vial is not a perfume, but a room spray that smelled like baby powder. I don't like the scent of baby powder, but it was realistic and did scent the room. For better or worse.

• Supergoop CC Cream: This was part of my Pan 17 in 2017 project, so I'm excited to have knocked one off! I like this quite a bit and would consider repurchasing down the road. I squeezed as much as I could out of the bottle and then cut it open. It's surprising how much remains inside - there is probably enough in here for another 10 uses. But, I tossed it, as I'm ready to move on and it expired in February.

• Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation Facial Moisturizer deluxe sample: This was another item from the Sephora Skinbender set, and I liked it! I had zero expectations going in, and it left a positive impression. It makes me want to explore more products from the brand, but I'm on a low buy because I have way too much product to get through as it is.
• Murad Intensive-C Radiance Peel deluxe sample: This left no impression on me, which means I probably could not tell that it did anything for me skin. I don't know if I have more samples laying around or not, but I'd like to try it again just to see.

I've been slacking off on my sheet masking. I don't like wearing wet things on my face when it's cold. Now that it's getting warmer, I'll step it up, as God knows I've got a plethora of sheet masks to get through. I continue to remain a fan of the inexpensive Bon Vivant masks from Memebox ($1-$2, depending on sales), and the Chamomile and Tea Tree stood out for me (the two blue ones).  

Going forward my monthly empties posts should be shorter, since I'll be posting on the samples I've used up for the #365 Days of Samples series each week. So, more samples will be used but posts will be shorter.  Win/win :-)