Empties

It's been a super long time since I last did an Empties post but I swore there would be a few makeup items in it and as usual, things take a lot longer to finish than they may appear (for example that ELF TM seemed to last forever even with daily use and it's tiny). As always, I include kind of mini final reviews of the products and I'll link if I've reviewed them in the past. I have received some questions regarding my attempts to use up my stash so I thought I would answer them.

Are you doing a Project 'X' Pan?
No, limiting myself on makeup purchases doesn't work for me as I will just go and spend money on something else (or eat too much). Thankfully, I have the means to splurge occasionally on myself and it makes me happy. I don't have makeup related debt (just some student loans and a mortgage - I recently paid off my car, yay!) so I don't feel guilty about my makeup purchases. My husband buys video games and comics so it's nice to have my own girly vice.

Then why the tracking?
I have this fear that the makeup that I have will go bad and I will have wasted money on products I couldn't enjoy or use (I already have a problem with not using things that are "pretty"). This is my attempt in making sure that my makeup gets loved and finished (and it feels awesome to see what I've used and finished for some reason)! This is also why I love having giveaways and/or blog sales. I've been into makeup since the late 90s so even with limited purchases, I still have enough for quite awhile (obviously I throw away anything expired)!

Anyway, enough rambling, the evidence:

* Fruitopia No More Flakes 2-1 dandruff shampoo + conditioner: I've mentioned I suffer from some scalp issues and this was on sale at CVS and smelled good so I tried it. It seemed to work pretty well and definitely smells better than the tea tree oil equivalents. I'd repurchase when it's on sale.
* The Body Shop Ginger Scalp Care: One of my Holy Grails. Smells like ginger ale and works for the flakies/dermatitis. I have no idea what number bottle this is, but I've been using this for several years. This was in my 2010 Favorites and in several hauls last year. Will continue to repurchase.
* Urban Therapy Twisted Sista De Frizz Conditioner: I reviewed this for Beauty Debutante and this was my favorite of the products I received from the Twisted Sista line. It's super cheap and works pretty well. The tube went pretty quickly on my long hair but now that it's short, I bet it would last a bit longer. I haven't seen this in any stores but if I did, I'd (re)purchase.
* Darphin Conditioning Care with jojoba: I have no idea how I got a hold of this product but it's pretty nice, very thick and super moisturizing. I'm not even sure if Darphin still makes this. The only thing that put me off was the slightly floral scent. I'm not sure I'd repurchase. I bet it's really pricey.

* Essence of Beauty Eye Makeup Remover Non-Oily: Love these. These take off the most waterproof of eye makeup and they don't sting. Pretty inexpensive at CVS - though I haven't seen them in stores for ages they were available online last I checked.
* Clinique Take The Day Off For Lids Lashes & Lips: Awesome stuff that doesn't sting. Only negative is the price and the need to use a Q tip (what can I say? I'm super mega lazy and near blind without specs or contacts). I request these if I buy at the counter or as extras in swaps. I love the portable size as well, less mess if you accidentally knock it over and spill the whole bottle.
* Missha Super Aqua Cleansing Tissue: These were ok till they dried out and didn't remove any makeup without the assistance of another makeup remover. Did decently well with eye makeup when the cloths were actually saturated. These are on clearance for $6 on the Missha website if you want to see for yourself but I'd go with a drugstore version if I were you.

(Holy Skincare!)
* Avene Thermal Spring Water: Lovely as a refresher, a bit over priced but nice to have around. Really awesome in the summer as the water stays cool without refrigeration.
* Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion: After I received this for review, I quickly fell in love and so did practically everyone I had try it. My husband stole the bottle for about a week and then I bought him his own. My mother in law loves it since she works outside a lot and needs to wash her hands often. She loves that it sinks in quickly. DH has reserved my back up bottle for his own use at work. He's even gotten his boss hooked on this stuff. It's pricey but lasts forever. It works on soothing the skin (eczema, razor burn, etc) as well as keeping the skin hydrated but never greasy due to over washing. It does have silicones so if you are sensitive to them I wouldn't recommend it, but if your skin doesn't mind them this stuff is awesome. Since my review, I've bought 6 bottles for our house and friends and family. 
* Cellnique B-Liv line: After my review, I started liking this line a little more, specifically the Submerge Me Lotion and the Shrink & Tighten Complex. I still don't think the Off With Those Heads did much of anything for me. However, the price still puts me off. I did notice a difference when I stopped using the routine, however my skin seems to like many different lines (H2O being one of them). I may (re)purchase the two items I liked in the future but I'm drawn to easier and cheaper lines that I can buy in person.
* H20 Sea Pure Deep Moisture Cream: Is anyone surprised that I've used this up? I love this stuff though it's just as well that I've run out since my skin is freaking out after the threading I received this past week (I'm broken out in little bumps everywhere she threaded). For now, I'm using some more harsh skincare to hopefully get rid of the bumps but I will be so ready for this when my replacement comes in the mail...

* OPI Expert Touch Nail Polish Remover: Doesn't smell horrible, works pretty well, slightly pricey but will probably repurchase. This 4oz bottle was $6. In my opinion, it's worth it to pay a little more than cheap acetone at the drugstore to not deal with a horrible stench and something that dries out your nails and cuticles especially in the cooler months!

* Maybelline Lash Stiletto Voluptuous Waterproof: LOVE! Probably my favorite mascara of 2010.
* Bourjois Pump Up The Volume Waterproof in Brown: It was ok. I prefer the Maybelline and in general black mascaras. It also smudged when I teared.
* Cover Girl Lash Exact: Again, not as good at the Maybelline and blue. In the review, I said I would repurchase but next time I'll try the black version!
* The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Lip Care Stick: I really love The Body Shop, if you can't already tell and I'm a big fan of most of their lip balms (other than the vitamin C orange one that tastes funny). This I've already repurchased. Super creamy and great for fall and winter and smells delicious.
* MAC Plush Glass in Posh It Up: I dislike MAC lipglosses but continue to buy them for their color selection and the hype. I will try to use up more MAC lip products in 2011 and then will trade them in for something other than a lipglass! A guess that would be a New Years resolution?
* ELF Tinted Moisturizer (regular $1 line) in Ivory: I've reviewed and featured/worn this countless times in 2010 and really like it. I will repurchase for sure but not until I've used up a few more tinted moisturizers in my stash. I love the price of this and the coverage is actually pretty good. After months of using it, I finally got used to the orange soda scent. For $1 it's definitely worth trying if you like tinted moisturizers. A plus, it comes in a shade that matches fair skin!


Wow, this post was epically long. Hope it was helpful at the very least. Have you used anything up recently?

Product Rave

I know sometimes you don't realize you love a product so much until you've used it up, go searching for it and can't find it anymore and then take to swagbucks hoping you will be able to find and order it. In my case this was using up a pack of the Essence of Beauty Eye Make-Up Remover Pads Non-Oily. These things are awesome and I ran out, looked through my local CVS and could not find them anyway and promptly freaked out. These do a great job of removing eye makeup and even the most waterproof mascaras. And at $5.99 for 80 pads, it doesn't exactly break the bank. Well thankfully, they are still available for purchase on the CVS website though the site doesn't have a 'page' for the product so I hope they aren't discontinuing them! Either way, if you've been looking for a gentle makeup removing product that doesn't irritate sensitive eyes but takes off the most waterproof of mascaras, I'd give these a shot. You bet I'll be ordering a few bottles? jars? containers? of this myself as I do not want to run out again!

Disclosure: This includes a referral link to Swagbucks which is awesome btw. =)

How To: Brush Cleaning/Cleansers

One of the most important things you can do if you use makeup brushes it to keep your brushes clean and wash them on a regular basis. This prevents bacteria and product from building up on your brushes and helps prevent any break outs that may occur.

There are a myriad of brush cleansers out there: cheap, expensive and everything in between. As I've tested a fair bit of them, I thought I'd share my thoughts.

I always always spot clean anything that has a cream or liquid product on it after each use and the majority of the time when I even use a brush with powders. Even if the brush did not get wet or get oil from your skin on it (which is most likely did), a brush that already has even a minuscule amount of product on it may distort another color that you are applying and at 6 or so in the morning, the last thing I want to do is take all my makeup off and have to reapply forgetting that I applied my blush with my powder brush the night before (red face? No thank you!).

As far as how I clean the brushes with the cleansers I have, this is what I have always done. Squirt the brush cleaner on a paper towel (I actually prefer the slightly rougher cheaper ones in this case) and gently sweep the brush back and forth on the towel, changing locations has necessary to get all the product off. Some brush cleaners suggest spraying directly on the brush head, but you have to be very careful with this as if you get any liquid in the ferrule it can ruin the glue and make your brush lose hairs or even fall apart. 

Here are a few cleansers that I've used and my thoughts on them:

Up front is Brush Off - this is by far my favorite cleanser but it's slightly hard to find and a bit pricey. I used to be able to find it at ULTA but I don't see it on their website at the moment though you may be able to find it in store. However, you can still order directly off their website. My current bottle is 4oz and retails for $13.50. They also sell a large refill bottle of 16oz for $32.

My second favorite is the MAC Brush Cleanser. My main problem with this product is that it doesn't come in a spray bottle (pouring it out would lose a lot of product in my opinion). I have decanted it into a spay bottle of a brush cleanser I didn't care for. The MAC comes in a 7.9oz bottle and retails for $11 - a pretty great price really.

The Clinique cleanser is very similar to the MAC brush cleanser except it has a slightly stronger smell (they are even both pink!). The Clinique comes in it's own spray bottle with a nice silver accent. The MAC cleanser is a bit more utilitarian and this seems more aimed at the retail market. Either way, The Clinique version comes in an 8oz bottle and retails for $13 but I often find it at the CCO (Cosmetic Company Outlet) for a little under $9.

The Paula Dorf cleanser, called Brush-Out is another one I've tried. This is advertised as a gentle and conditioning spray and I'll agree with that however I don't feel it really works with heavy duty products and it has a weird bubbly almost fizzy consistency. Not a bad cleanser but not a great one either. Brush Out comes in a 4oz spray bottle and retails for $15.00


The ELF Daily Brush Cleaner is a fairly new addition to the Studio line. It comes in a translucent squared black bottle and holds 8.5oz and is by far one of the cheapest cleansers at only $3.00. While I find this does a decent job of cleaning, my only qualm with it is the scent, which comes across as an overly strong fruity floral. This is much stronger than even the Clinique cleanser. It really smells like a room freshener. Not very pleasant.

And the very last brush cleaner and the one I've spilled out since I found it awful, is from the Essence of Beauty line from CVS. I actually found this on clearance for $1.75 (surprise surprise) and decided to give it a shot. It comes in a fairly standard round bottle and hold 2.7oz (which is pretty paltry). It's since been packaged and reformulated so I may give it another shot (it is not 4.2oz and retails for $5.99 and has a completely different ingredient list).

Price per ounce:
ELF $0.353
MAC $1.39
Essence of Beauty (new) $1.426
Clinique $1.625
Brush Off $3.375/$2
Paula Dorf $3.75

The definite winner for price and quality of the product here is the MAC and a plus you have the Back2MAC program in place.
***
Edited: Just wanted to note that I do deep clean my brushes with brush or baby shampoo but since I don't get to do this as often as I'd like, these spot cleaning products are super useful in making sure my brushes are clean in between deep cleanings!