November '21 Empties
Face Empties
Everyday Humans Resting Beach Face SPF 30
Price: $24 for 1.7oz
The Everyday Humans Everyday SPF is a chemical based sunscreen, which is a formula I tend to reach for more due to its ease. It’s formulated for combo (normal-oily skin) like mine and I think the formulation was spot on. It’s formulated with Hyaluronic Acid, spinach leafs, kopara extract (blue light protection) and green tea extract. The combination of ingridents gives Everyday SPF an earthy scent that I enjoyed. The sunscreen itself worked well for my skin for both the summer and winter climates. Overall, I would love to see this sunscreen in a higher strength of spf coverage – like SPF 40. I really appreciated the pump packing and it makes the sunscreen easier to dispense. This sunscreen is definitely one I would consider repurchasing in the future.
Indeed Labs – Watermelon Melting Balm
Price: $24.99 for 3.4oz
I really thought and wanted this cleansing balm to smell like watermelon, but it didn’t. The Watermelon Melting Balm is an oil-based cleansing balm that helps to melt down makeup, sunscreen and impurities on the skin. It’s formulated with Watermelon and hemp seed oils. I do think it lives up to claims to be deeply moisturizing, but it wasn’t a favorite of mine for removing heavy make-up. This is the reason I kept this in my shower and used it on lighter make-up days.
Ole Henriksen Bakuchiol Eye Gel Cream
Price: $49 for 0.5oz
The Bakuchiol eye gel cream is a plant-based retinol alternative cream that aims to blur the under-eye area while targeting fine lines and dark circles. As with most eye creams, I really don’t notice much of a difference in terms of brightening – especially since I don’t suffer from super dark under eyes. I tried bakuchiol in the past as an overall serum for my face and I wasn’t fond of it. But in an eye cream I do think its gentle enough for the area and provides some help.
Tatcha The Rice Wash Skin-Softening Cleanser
Price: $35 for 4oz
The Tatcha Rice Wash is described as a cream cleanser that can be used daily to gently wash away impurities. The texture itself feels like a thicker creamer. From my understanding the Rice Wash is almost like a mixture of Tatcha’s Rice Polish Enzyme Powder, but made into a thicker cleanser form. If you’re not familiar with the Rice Powder Enzyme, it’s a powder that is meant to be mixed with water to cleanse and lightly exfoliate.
I enjoyed using this cleanser for both my morning and night routines. It was pretty much my go to when I wanted to use a deep cleanser, but I wanted something that was not too abrasive. I do think the price is on the steeper end for a cleanser. I’m more drawn to the Rice Enyzme Powder and I love that it comes in a mini size, which lasts a decent amount of time.
Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask (OG formula)
Price: $48 for 2.25oz
Previously reviewed Here
Price: $28 for 5oz
Fenty Fat Water Pore-Refining Toner Serum with Niacinamide, Cherry and Witch Hazel. It’s described as a two in one toner serum that helps to improve the look of dark spots, smooths the skin and helps to reduce shine. For the most part, I feel like this is spot on. Hands down, this is my favorite product from the Fenty Skincare line! I used this toner as a toner-essence in one. I found it to be hydrating and it genuinely left my skin looking and feeling toned. This was my go to toner during the summer months and with it being a two in one, it really helped to speed up my routine and allowed me to use less products in my routine.
Price: $30
Previously reviewed Here
Bodycare & Perfume Empties
First Aid Beauty Sculpting Body Lotion
Price: $34 for 6oz
The First Aid Beauty Sculpting Body Lotion is a firming and hydrating body lotion that claims to visibly tone and improve the appearance of the skin by smoothing and lifting. It’s formulated with peptides, caffeine and glycerin. I can’t attest to the firming, but I will say this was very moisturizing. The texture is very thin and a little bit of product went a long way. This definitely contributed it to lasting a decent amount of time. Even though I liked the moisturizing effects, this is not a lotion I would repurchase due to the hefty price tag and not really seeing any smoothing/sculpting effects.
Price: $78 for 0.3oz
I was gifted a few of the travel size Byredo perfumes. I’m trying to make my way through my travel perfumes, so here we are. I think the name of the perfume Blanche, meaning white, matches the scent. The Blanche scent smells like a clean neutral laundry detergent. As someone who loves and appreciates complex scents, this one is not for me. I enjoyed the scent and I see where in it could fit into my routine along with others. I typically wore this when I wanted a light scent and I knew I would be in very close proximity to others- like traveling on a plane and similar settings like that. If you’re into softer scents or you work in a setting like healthcare, this would be a great scent. It smells clean with a slight flare.
KEY NOTES:
- Top notes: white rose, pink pepper, aldehyde
- Middle notes: violet, neroli, peony
- Base notes: blonde woods, sandalwood, musk
Vaseline Intensive Care Spray Moisturizer
Price: $6.49
I’ve heard of many people that dislike the whole process of applying and rubbing in lotion. If you’re one of those people, then this is definitely for you. I purchased this months ago when I was in search of the Flamingo Light Hydrating Spray Lotion. The Vaseline Intensive Care Spray Lotion was a lot less in price and performed very well. This was my go to at night when I didn’t want to sit and rub in lotion and to use during the summer months when I wanted something that felt light on my skin. The lotion is dispensed by spraying it directly on to the skin. The directions say you don’t need to rub it in, but I still think you need to, but it takes a lot less effort. Being that the formula worked well and it is on the lighter side, it is a product that I’ll revisit, but during the summer months.
Jo Malone Peony and Blush Suede Mini Perfume
Mini Size was from Sephora Birthday Rouge Birthday Members
This has to be one of Jo Malone’s most popular scents. After smelling it for the first time, I easily understood why. Peony and Blush Suede is in the floral family and it has a very fresh but slightly sweet scent to it. With many of the Jo Malone scents I find the last powering to be short lived, but this one lasted several hours on my skin before completely disappeared.
Key Notes: Red Apple, Peony, Suede
Price: $20
I purchased this hand cream when it launched over a year ago and it was one of my favorite hand creams until it started developing cracks in the tube packaging. This started when the lotion was about 75% finished. At that point I had to keep it at home because the lotion was leaking from the cracks and spilling out in my handbags. Other than this, the lotion moisturized well, didn’t leave behind a greasy film on the hands and its unscented.
Candle Empties
Nest Autumn Plum Candle (1 wick)
Price: $59 for 8.1 oz
The Autumn Plum scent is described as a wild plum with cinnamon wrapped in the warmth of patchouli leaf and cashmere wood. I love the deep purple shade of the candle vessel and the purple wax. The Nest candles burn beautifully and their fall and winter scents are thee best! Even their one wick candles are super fragrant and the scent lingers even after the candle is blown out. If you have the opportunity to try out the Nest scents, I would highly recommend them! I tend to find them on sale at larger retailers like Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom Rack.
Price: $15 for 3 wick candle
I loved this Target Pumpkin Spice candle. I have a thing for wood wick candles especially when it comes to fall and winter scents. This was actually a 3-wood wick candle, which I think is pretty hard to come by. I feel like the standard for most wood wick candles are only one wick. With more wicks, I knew the crackling sound would be louder and the scent would be more intense. I also purchased this candle with the intention of recycling the wooden candle vessel after its burned.
It looks like Target no longer sells, this one, but you may want to try this one Here.
Makeup & Misc. Empties
Sold in Mini Set
Previous Review Here
Price: $11.49
The Maybelline Sky High Mascara is a volumizing and lengthening mascara. One thing that I typically go for when it comes to mascaras are wands that have plastic teeth like combs. The formula is described as being lightweight and doesn’t flake or smudge. I think it lives up to this description. I tried using this mascara by itself and together with other mascaras. I’ve come to the conclusion that I do not like it by itself. There’s something about the wand that I find to be really flimsy. I think this contributes to the application process. However, I do like this mascara as a second mascara to help comb out and add length to other formulas. I also noticed that the formula has been released in a waterproof version and a darker black shade and I’m pretty sure I’ll pick up the darker black shade in the future. This is a nice drug store option, but not my top pick at the moment.
Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lashes
Price: $15 for mini size
The Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lashes is another mascara that has the plastic teeth like wand. This is described as volumizing and lengthening mascara. I do agree that it helps to lift and comb. But I think it lacks on the lengthening claim and this is likely due to how short the length of the comb is on the wand. I don’t like this for my top lashes, but the shorter comb makes it perfect for bottom lashes! If you’re into using mascara on your bottom lashes, this is definitely one to check out.