December ‘21 Empties
Another month and another set of empty products to share. Last month I had the chance to try and finish two body scrubs from First Aid Beauty and Peach & Lily, both tailored to help with KP (Keratosis Pilaris). If you’re interested in seeing which one worked out the best for me, scroll to the body care empties section.
Face Care Empties
Josie Maran Pineapple Enzyme Cleanser
Price: $28 for 5oz
The Josie Maran Pineapple Enzyme Cleanser is targeted for all skin types and said it can be used daily. The cleanser is formulated with active pineapple enzymes. Based on the name and title, I assumed the cleanser was going to smell like pineapples, but it did not. The enzyme cleanser has a gel like texture. These types of textures are often associated with being drying and stripping to the skin, but I’m happy to say this was nether.
I have combination (normal to oily) skin and I really enjoyed using this cleanser in both my morning and night skincare routines. I found that it was one of my go to as a second cleansers. Overall, I really enjoyed using this cleanser and could definitely see myself repurchasing this in the future.
Bliss Rose Gold Gentle Foaming Cleanser
Price: $13 for 6.4oz
The Bliss Rose Gold Gentle Cleanser is formulated with rose water, colloidal gold and willow bark extract. The Rose Gold Cleanser is said to be a gentle cleanser that removes makeup, dirt and excess oil. As someone with normal to oily skin, I actually found this cleanser to be a little too drying for my skin to use daily. I do think it lived up to its claim of removing makeup and excess dirt, I enjoyed the creamy texture and the pump packaging. But ultimately, I don’t think this cleanser was a good fit for my skin.
Tatcha -The Dewy Serum Resurfacing and Plumping Treatment
Price: $88 for 1oz
The Tatcha Dewy Serum is formulated with Lactic Acid and Hyaluronic Acid. This combination helps to resurface and plump the skin. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this serum, but I alway knew lactic acid to be one of the more gentle acids. I found the serum to hydrate well, provide plumping effects and left my skin looking and feeling smooth. I can’t say I saw much of a difference in terms of the incorporation of the Lactic Acid and from my understanding it only contains about 5%. I really enjoyed how gentle this serum was on my skin and the hydrating factors.
Glow Recipe Avocado Ceramide Redness Relief Serum
Price: $42 for 1oz
The Avocado Ceramide Serum is formulated with Avocado Butter and Extract, Ceramides, Allantoin and its targeted for barrier and redness relief. Being that I don’t have any issues with redness, my review is based on the barrier support aspect. I found this serum to be super moisturizing. I initially started using it when my skin barrier was doing great, but at one point my skin was super sensitized and I don’t think the Avocado serum provided much relief. That’s extremely disappointing for a serum at this price point. Even though it didn’t do much for barrier support, I do think it provided great moisturizing benefits.
Volition Beauty Yaupon Tea Glow Moisturizer
Price: $39 for 2oz
Previous Review: Volition Instagram Post
Previous Review: Favorite Moisturizers for Combo Skin Blog Post
I love how light weight and moisturizing this moisturizer was. The consistency is almost like a light pudding, but when rubbed into the skin it feels like a water cream and absorbs into the skin beautifully.
Fenty Skin Instant Reset Brightening Overnight Recovery Gel-Cream with Niacinamide
Price: $40 for 1oz
The Fenty Skin Gel-Cream had such a lovely rich texture that absorbs into the skin beautifully. The cream has the traditional Fenty Skin scent, which I actually really like. Unfortunately, I really didn’t get a chance to really try out the cream on my face. Towards the end of the expiration I decided to finish it up on my body. When using it on my body it kept my skin super moisturized for long periods of time!
Tatcha Water Cream (mini)
Price: $20 for 0.34 oz.
One of my favorite light weight moisturizers and I’ve reviewed it many times. It’s safe to say that I will never be over this one. This is a great option for all skin types – especially those with combination and oily skin types. (previous review post: Moisturizers for Combo Skin )
Body and Hair Care Empties
Mielle Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Oil
Price: $10.99 for 2oz
I initially heard about this regrowth hair oil from TikTok. Prior to hearing about it I wasn’t aware of the properties of rosemary when it comes to scalp health. I used the oil here and there, which I don’t think did much for my scalp and hair regrowth. I recently saw a review on the hair oil stating that it should be used consistently like 3-4x a week by massaging into the scalp and using the remainder on the ends of the hair. I didn’t start doing this to end of this bottle. Being that I didn’t start off using it consistently, it hard to say if this bottle did much for me. I had the chance to several bottles during their Black Friday Sale, so I plan on reporting back once I finish my second bottle.
Overall, I think the oil is on the lighter side. When using it in my natural curly hair I can easily use it several times a week without my hair feeling oily or type of build up. Using the oil on my hair when it’s straighten I noticed that if I used to much my hair would sometimes feel weighed down.
Peach & Lily KP Bump Boss Microderm Body Scrub
Price: $28 for 8.11oz
10% AHA (7% glycolic acid + 3% lactic acid)
The Peach & Lily KP Scrub was recently launched and its purpose is to help exfoliate the skin through the usage of AHA, PHA, Hyaluronic Acid, Cica and Barley.
The initial thing I noticed about the scrub was the texture and it being very smooth and not grainy compared to other body scrubs that I’ve tried. At first dispensing it was okay, but by the time I got to being about halfway empty with the tube it became hard for the product to be dispensed. I tried to fix this by adding a little water into the tube and this did help to break up the scrub and made it a little easier to dispense. Throughout my time using it I found it very gentle and it didn’t do much in terms of exfoliation. As for KP, I don’t think it did much for me to help improve my KP condition.
Being that I’ve tried the First Aid Beauty KP Eraser, it gave me a basis of a scrub specifically for KP. When comparing the two, I found the First Aid Beauty Scrub to be more effective with physical exfoliation through the usage of pumice stones and from the overall elements of the chemical ecfoilating ingredients. Both scrubs are roughly the same price and with similar ingredients. Perhaps the Peach & Lily scrub would be a better fit for someone who has very sensitive skin, but I know for certain that I’ll continue to use and purchase the First Aid Beauty Scrub.
First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Scrub
Price: $30 for 8oz
Exfoliation: 10% AHA (Chemical) and Physical through the usage Pumice Buffing Beads.
I can’t say how many tubes of the KP Eraser Scrub that I’ve gone through over the years, but I have to say it’s one of my favorite body scrubs to help with Keratosis Pilaris. I honestly think this scrub was a better fit for over the Peach & Lily Scrub. Previous Review: KP Routine Body Care Routine
Byredo Bal D’Afrique Fragrance
Price: $78 travel size
This along with a few other Byredo scents were gifted to be by a friend in travel sizes. I know Bal D’Afrique is one of the most popular scents from Byrdeo. In my opinion, Bal D’Afrique is very feminine sophisticated scent. The notes of vetiver black amber is pretty prevalent, which I like. For the most part I do enjoy the Bal D’Afrique scent, but it’s not one I enjoy enough to purchase.
- Top notes: bergamot, lemon, neroli, African marigold, bucchu
- Middle notes: violet, jasmine petals, cyclamen
- Base notes: black amber, musk, vetiver, Moroccan cedarwood
Palmer’s Skin Success Fade Milk
Price: $10 for 8.5oz
The Palmer’s Skin Success Fade Milk is formulated with Vitamin C and Retinol. The milk lotion has the original Palmer’s Coco Butter scent. I really enjoyed the lotion and I think it’s well worth the price. I do think it helped to keep my skin moisturized and helped to gradually fade dark spots on body.