Tuesday, February 7, 2017

That's a Wrap: January 2017 Empties

Another month over and it's time for another empties blog post! This is coming a little later than I had hoped, but with getting back to town the beginning of the month after some travel delays, it's taken a few extra days for me to catch up with my normal routine. I have an assortment of products I finished up in January and share my thoughts about; let's jump on in!


Here's the obligatory group shot of all my empties. Usually when I write these posts, I always seem to think I have nothing yet for the current month and yet by the end, I still have a handful of items to share. Right now I have zero empties for February, but we'll see if that changes in the next few weeks. This is what I finished up in January.

Scent: You're One in a Melon

I wish it were possible to turn back the clock if only so I could use this delicious macaroon bath bomb a second time! These bath bombs are da bomb, and I'm definitely going to be picking up more when I've worked a little more through my stash of bath products. The scent was scrumptious, and my skin felt so soft when I got out of the bath.


I have a secret: my non-swatch hand, or "Cindy" (for Cinderella) hand as many in the polish community refer to it, is not in the greatest shape. It's always the hand that seems to take the brunt of the cuts and broken nails, and I admit I'm a little ashamed of it. I bought OPI's Nail Envy to see if it would strengthen my nails enough to withstand my abuse, but after finishing up this bottle, I'm not sure there is hope for poor Cindy. My nails are still short and *gasp* a bit uneven due to breaks. I just don't think this is up to snuff when it comes to wrangling my active tykes and I need to invest in something more substantial. If you've had great results with this, I'd love to hear otherwise!

Scent: Passionfruit Kiss

I admit it, I have a love/hate relationship with Bath & Body Works. I enjoy a lot of the scents, but in the end, the products are a little lacking in quality. I love the lather of the shower gel and basking in the scent, but it leaves my skin a little drier than I would like from my bath products. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a total sucker for their awesome deals and will likely pick more up to add to my stash, but these really aren't worth the full asking price. I actually picked these up before I got pregnant with my second child, and I couldn't use these while pregnant or quite some time afterwards. I found the smell too strong and they irritated my ultra-sensitive hormonal skin. I've since been able to use and finish these (obviously), but I'm not really liking the scent much like I did when I purchased these. I wasn't really anticipating a change in scent preference after pregnancy, so that was an interesting surprise.


I actually held on to one of these to add to my empties post! As I'm sure you can imagine, I use A LOT of cotton pads with polish removal, and I picked up a large pack of these from Costco awhile back. Of course I think I found four of them in various stages of use while reorganizing my swatch room. I prefer these over cotton balls and will have to be picking up another set from Costco in the not-too-far future.


While it isn't exactly "empty", it has been two months since I opened this mascara and it's time to toss it. I reviewed the Bellimisa mascara on my blog here, and I'm very likely to sign up for their subscription plan when I work through my mountain of mascaras. This is one of the better mascaras I've used in a long time, and I am really sad to see it go, but keeping my eyes healthy and avoiding infections is higher on my list of priorities. At least most of the mascaras I have left are smaller sample sizes so I should use them up quickly and get back to my beloved Bellimisa soon, right? Silver lining?

Scent: Pina Colada

I've found that when it comes to bath products, indie brands seem to do it best. Soak It! is a Canadian-based brand, but don't let the extra time or cost in shipping deter you from trying this brand. I've used many products from the brand, and while most are fantastic, this one was a little bit of a letdown. The bubble bar just crumbled up but stayed in chunks in spite of my trying to break them up more. The bubbles were almost nonexistent no matter how much I tried to swish them up, but I loved the smell. I'm not sure that I'd pick another bubble bar up from the brand without there being reformulation, but I still love them for their other products. The shop is temporarily closed right now due to some health issues the owner is having, but send some healthy vibes her way and sign up to be notified with the shop reopens.


Oh, towelettes, I see we meet again! The holiday season in particular had me coming and going like crazy, and I used these at a faster rate than I normally do. It always seems to come in spurts, doesn't it? While these aren't my favorite product to clean my face, they work quickly to remove my makeup when I am exhausted and just want to pass out for the night. If nothing else, I am diligent about making sure to never go to bed wearing makeup, and having these on hand makes that so much easier! If you aren't familiar with the brand, these came from Coscto and I've got a few more packs to go through yet. I haven't really decided if I want to commit to another box when it comes to replacing them, so if you have good facial towelette suggestions, let me know!

Scent: Vanilla & Peppermint

I know, I know, another cuticle oil. I seem to have addiction tendencies when it comes to cuticle oil, but it keeps my nails looking fantastic. Well, on my swatch hand anyway. My poor, poor Cindy..... Anyway, this is part of my cuticle oil stash I found cleaning up my work space, and I opted to save it for use around the holidays due to the scent. I really love the look of the Glisten & Glow rollerball containers, and I enjoy the formulas as well. Now if only I can convince Jill to sell her cuticle oils in refill sizes..... I'm not a big fan of either vanilla or peppermint in general, but I do like them combined around the holidays.

Because I can't resist- And that's a wrap! This concludes my post of my January empties post! Coming up on the blog very soon is a giveaway so be sure to follow me on social media for an announcement on when that starts.

Have you used any of these products? Are there any you like or loathe? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful evening!
XO!

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13 comments

  1. I like the Bellemisa mascara. It gives me glamazon lashes. :D

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  2. I love empties posts! The Vanilla & Peppermint oil sounds lovely :)

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  3. Well done emptying all of these pretties!

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  4. I want one of those bath bombs!

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  5. I didn't know about the non-swatch hand being called Cinderella! Is it because that's the hand that isn't taken to the ball and needs a fairy godmother?

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    1. It's the hand that does all the work and gets none of the credit.

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  6. Yay empties! I rather liked the Hawaii scents from B&BW, but largely because I'm still on my Hawaiian vacation buzz.

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  7. I totally agree about B&BW shower gels - I am a sucker for the deals. I always have to soak up the lotion after using. The G&G cuticle oil scent sounds amazing!

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  8. A great collection of empties! I need to get back into cuticle oils because my nails are starting to look shabby...

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  9. I feel the same about B&BW products. I used to buy them all of the time, but it's really just not worth it. I stopped buying from them a couple of years ago. Great stash of empties!

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  10. I go through cotton rounds like my life depends on it! And I also just finished a Glisten and Glow cuticle oil!

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  11. I like the Bellimisa mascara a lot but it's in my empties now too. If I get through my stash I'll buy it again.

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  12. i'd like to try more bath and body works stuff. too bad we don't have it in europe!

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