January, February and March 2015 Empties

I was - I'll say diligent - about making sure all of my 2014 empties posts went up before starting 2015 (what diligent means is my tiny bit of OCD kicked into gear and I just couldn't do empties posts out of order - the horror!). Anyway, I've very pleased with what I've finished so far in 2015. I've made a big effort to use up body care products. Well, to be honest, I want to finish everything that could technically expire. I had to throw away some things when I was cleaning our closets and all I saw was money washing down the drain. It stung. But just to make things clear, I am not jumping on the bandwagon of people who are buying nothing, getting rid of many of their possessions - even things they like, etc (I'm selling some clothes that no longer fit or aren't to my tastes and some makeup that I don't use or something I've had for way longer than I should without even trying which definitely suggests it would be better suited in another person's collection but I'm not making myself get rid of "x" many eyeshadows or telling myself I can't have more than 2 taupes (madness!) or condensing my makeup collection to something that fits in a small makeup bag). My husband collects board games. I collect makeup. We aren't starving, we live in a house that could be cleaner but wouldn't show up on hoarders. End of story. Ok, getting off my high horse now and onto the empties!

• Mor Italian Blood Orange Body Butter - This was scented beautifully but took forever to use up as it was quite thick and until I used the method of "heating your body butter", it was just too arduous to apply. It was like my skin needed it, but it couldn't consume it. Then I warmed it up and bam! sunk in like a dream and actually did what it was supposed to do and ... used all 5.1 ounces of this up!
• The Body Shop Cranberry Joy Body Butter - Another body butter that I destroyed after using the water bath method. This was nice, but I was starting to get tired of the scent and so was my husband so I was happy to move onto other things after finishing the mammoth 6.7oz tub.

• Bath & Body Works Sweet Pea Shower Gel 3oz - Sweet Pea took me back. I think I got this in a Beauty Army box or maybe it was a freebie at some point but back in the 90s this scent was all the rage. It's nice and sweet but easy to tire of.
• CO Bigelow Almond Superb Body Cleanser 2floz - This smelled/smells amazing. It's a sweet true almond scent. Not almond flower, not really marzipan. You can smell the nut and then you can smell a sweet vanilla on top. It was lovely.

• The Body Shop Ginger Scalp Care Shampoo - If you've been with me for any length of time, then you've seen plenty of these in empties posts. I really enjoy this shampoo as it smells much better than most effective dandruff shampoos on the market (a slightly spicy ginger ale) and it's actually effective. The only issue I have is it has to be switched up every few washes as my scalp seems to get used to it and then it doesn't work as well.
• Organix Hydrating Macadamia Oil Intensive Moisture Mask - I used this as my regular conditioner as my hair is quite dry (I use all moisture masks like that). This was ok. It smelled good. It did a decent job, but it has quite a number of silicones and I try to stay away from those. I am nearly sure I have another one of these. CVS put these on sale practically ever week in preparation for the brand's re-launch/rename.

Anyone want to ensure I win the lottery so I can douse myself in these oils everyday? These are wonderful body oils, but since my skin is dry, it drank these babies up. Granted, they are minis, but still. I can imagine this could be an expensive habit.

• African Botanics Marula Firming Botanical Body Oil (.57oz) - Didn't find it firming, but honestly, should we really expect things we place on top of the skin firm layers much deeper? I don't. Smelled delicious, sunk in quickly but was very effective in keeping my dry legs less dry. Would totally repurchase. 
• Caudalie Divine Oil (.5oz) - Caudalie indicates you can use this on body, face and hair but I used this on my legs. Pretty much the same comments as the African Botanics. Thoroughly enjoyed this one and was sad to see my little bottle get empty so quickly.
• Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Use Dry Oil (.33floz) - I know this is a classic. I enjoyed it like the others, but wasn't quite so jived with the scent, though it was just as effective.

Soap! So a little story. I noticed that the soap in my husband's bathroom was running low as was the soap in the basement (his mancave more or less) but there were two soap bottles at each location and it seemed he had abandoned the nearly finished ones in favor of new ones. Oh men! So I took the near empty ones to my bathroom to use them up so they wouldn't clutter his counterspace and so they wouldn't just sit there gathering dust.

• CVS Mandarin Citrus Anti Bacterial Foaming Hand Soap (7.5floz) - I doubt I paid much for this if anything. Smelled citrusy, was effective. Basically, cheap and fine. 
• Essence of Beauty Lemon Twist Hand Soap (12floz) - This was a gel and took forever to finish. I know as I am occasionally allowed in the cave (just kidding, I'm downstairs all the time). Anyway, I got this super cheap when they were about to change the packaging on Essence of Beauty Products. Smelled lemony but not too pledge-like and was effective. 
• Mor Hand and Body Wash in Basil and Grape (11.8floz) - After the blood orange scent, I think the Basil and Grape scent is my absolute favorite from Mor. The reason I started using this was my lotion's pump in the same scent had broken and I needed to replace it. I e-mailed Mor but they were unresponsive so I decided to take matters into my own hands (literally). I had originally thought I was going to use this as a shower gel, but due to massive amounts of shower gel I was trying to work through, I noticed this was a hand and body wash, so it became my daily soap. No anti-bacterial properties and as it was meant for body as well, it was not quite as drying as other hand soaps I've used in the past. Sad to see it's gone as Mor is no longer sold in the US to my knowledge, but I do have another hand cream in the scent. I actually wound up giving the broken bottle to a colleague of mine who sniffed it every time she walked by. She didn't even care the pump broke!

• L'Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream (.3oz) - This is actually the hand lotion my husband prefers but in another edition of men, he had used maybe 85% of it before deeming it finished, but there was still enough for me to use it for a week (I have since bought him the magic key, even though it is $10 for a piece of metal, it really helps make sure you finish the metal tubes of these without puncturing them and causing a lot of mess and waste). This isn't my favorite hand cream as the scent doesn't do it for me, but it is rather effective.
• Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream (1floz) - This is my absolute favorite hand cream. I made sure I got every last drop in this tube out! 
• butter London Powder Room Nail Polish Remover - Ugh! I found another one. This smells like baby powder mixed with acetone, though it says it's acetone free. I hate this nail polish remover. Not to say it isn't effective, but the scent is just vile. Seriously. They need to stop putting this in sets and kits. No one should have to use this stuff.  

• Maybelline Lash Discovery - This Lash Discovery was a true unexpected discovery. I had forgotten mascara on a trip and my husband and I popped into a local grocery store. I picked the cheapest waterproof mascara they had where the brush wasn't massive and a love affair began. I literally got to the point of trying to pump the wand in the tube and wiggle it around to get more product! My only complaint is why was this something ridiculously cheap like $4.50 in Georgia and when I look for it in Maryland it's nearly $10. Not cool, Maybelline!
• Makeupever Sense'Eyes Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser - Holy grail, holy grail, holy grail. Seriously, skip the Bioderma and all the hype and use this. I have been using it for years and nothing, really nothing compares.

• First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream - I know many people use this cream on their hands, but I use this on my face under makeup, and not just this cream, I add a generous helping of whatever oil of the moment I'm on. (I know some of you will be jealous, but oily skin prevents wrinkles!) My foundation lasts all day with the repair cream + oil combo. Anyway, this was so good that I cut open the tube to ensure I got every last bit of product out. While I like how hygienic tubes are, they do waste a lot of product if you don't destroy the container, and some packaging just isn't suited to that. Already repurchased.
• L'Occitane Amande Shower Oil - I used this for shaving as many do. It's nice and I certainly wouldn't say no to it free or significantly discounted, but I don't think I'd repurchase.
• Sure or unsure?

Some foil packets: La Fresh Makeup Remover Wipe, La Fresh Instant Body Soother, Glamglow Supermud Clearing Treatment, 2 Nivea In-Shower Body Lotions, Pangea Organics Balancing Oil

Now you could really tell I was missing blogging when this happened. Exhibit A: Writing notes on the back of finished products with my brief impressions. Apparently, when I used these in NYC, I found the Tocca Cleopatra Grapefruit Cucumber Body Cream "Yum" on January 12th (uneaten) and wrote quite a bit on the Hada Labo Ultimate Anti-Aging Facial Mask which I recently repurchased during the 20% off sale (the 4 pack). I can't really make out my notes, since the sharpie turned purple and smudgy (likely from all the oils I used up), but I did the mask on January 10th and I remember loving it and noting (thankfully un-smudged) "lots of extra serum if you squeeze". Well, don't mind if I do.

I also decided not to share my ""last empty"", a broken hair elastic that literally lasted for years. But I know how the internet tends to feel about hair. Thank goodness they don't live with me, I shed everywhere so I wouldn't want to subject those people to a few stray strands.

What have you finished recently?

Maybe I'll have a decent amount going forward that I can do these every month so they don't get massive.