October Empties (2013) (and August and September)

So I'll admit, I've been lacking in the empties department. At the beginning of September I was hospitalized so that accounts for the lack of posting and in the beginning of October I was on vacation. Excuses aside, I haven't finished a lot of stuff, though I am nearing the end of several products. Maybe these will make an appearance in the future November Empties post? Anyway, onward.

Without a fail, I definitely use up face wipes. Here we have the 60-wipe cucumber pack from Epielle, a 30 pack green tea pack from Epielle and various sample sizes (psst the Green Tea smells exactly like Elizabeth Arden's and even though it's fragranced, it doesn't burn my eyes). The La Fresh wipes came in an ipsy bag I think - they were decent enough but I don't think I'd purchase. Yes to Cucumbers is not my favorite but it was a free sample and convenient on our cruise. And the Kaia ones are nice but are super expensive.

The Wen Cleansing Conditioners are great for travel as you can lock the pump after opening. The only fail is the tube doesn't reach the bottom of the bottle so it takes herculean efforts to get the final drops of product out. Philosophy Snow Angel was a decent shower gel and I truly enjoy the Philosophy gels over some other brands. I wouldn't repurchase this particular scent but it reminds me of an old one from Bath & Body Works. The Joico K-Pak Revitaluxe was nice but not nice enough to repurchase given the price and the amount of product it takes for all my hair.

Woo! One lone makeup product. This actually got to the point of empty that I had trouble getting the product onto the wand so it was truly done. Maybelline Define-A-Lash Waterproof is a great mascara. It is very lengthening and holds a curl and the "brush" is thin enough so that it doesn't cause much spotting on my upper lid. Definite repurchase with a sale and when I get through some other mascaras.

The two Caldrea lotion samples came in a Birchbox. They were quite nice and light and perfect for the cruise but I don't think I'd repurchase either scent. Also, I am horrible with remembering to apply body lotion even when I need it. The Jack Black Double-Duty Face Moisturizer was really quite nice and I could see using this even though it is a product geared towards men. Light yet moisturizer, not uber scented. Quite nice, actually!

So that was a rather paltry round up of empties given the time frame. What have you used up recently?

Review: Kaia 100% Biodegradable Bamboo Facial Cleansing Cloths

I was recently sent a couple individually wrapped packets of the Kaia 100% Biodegradable Bamboo Facial Cleansing Cloths to review as part of the Bloom Ambassadors program. I'm a big fan of cleansing wipes and have a few go-to brands ranging in price points. These wipes are by far the most expensive wipes I have come across as a package of 30 wipes clocks in at $17.99 on Bloom's website.

Still, even with the high price, I was curious to see how they performed. The makeup that was removed with the wipe included Smashbox BB Cream, Physicians Formula Healthy Wear Powder and Rimmel Lash Accelerator mascara. Even though the mascara isn't a waterproof version, it sticks around and I was wearing several coats. I was actually happy by how much makeup the wipe removed. It is super soft, as promised and is well-saturated with remover. The only issue that I had with the wipe is it did cause my eyes to water a tad which I'll attribute to the various citrus-based ingredients, though they did make the wipes smell lovely (pink grapefruit).

After I used the wipe, I used a couple of extra products to see what remnants of makeup had been left behind.

I used 1 Q-tip dipped in my old faithful Makeup Forever Sens'eyes to see what remained of the mascara. The ends didn't stay clear but they aren't super black either.

Next I used the Yves Rocher Cleansing Water to see how the wipe battled my foundation. You can see that the cotton pad has a bit of a beige hue; still, the wipe did get the majority of my foundation off.

In my opinion, these are good wipes but at a pretty ridiculous price point. They are 100% biodegradable, Dermatologist Tested, Natural and Organic, not tested on animals, Paraben Free and Sulfate Free so if those are major issues for you and you haven't been able to find suitable wipes, you might give these a try. For me? I'm quite happy with the Salma Hayek Nuance ones for a "pricey" treat and my usual Epielle wipes on a day-to-day basis. However, if Bloom offers the individual packets as a free sample on an order I'd pick them up for traveling.

Essential Oils: Grapefruit Oil, Lemon Oil, Lime Oil, Bergamont, Mandarin Oil, Orange Oil, Spearmint Oil, Tangerine Oil Ingredients: Water/Agua, Acacia Gum, Xantham gum, Canadian organic honey , Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Cetyl Alcohol, Sunflower Seed Oil, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Panthenol, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Benzoic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Benzethonium Chloride

Disclosure: I received these for free to review. I also used my Bloom referral link.