Empties and Chuckers August 2013

The charger for my laptop died this week and I am currently using Noodles' old school laptop, which is about the size of a matchbox and has a teeny tiny keyboard that my stubby Simpsons fingers are really struggling with. It is also mega slow and has hardly any useful software on it, so I feel like I'm back in 1998.

I don't know why this picture is sideways. I rotated it and saved it on the ancient Paint but it didn't seem to work for some reason. 

Empties:

Palmolive Naturals Ultra Moisture Milk & Shea Butter Shower Milk
This is a staple - it's pretty much in every second empties post. Definite repurchase.

Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Hydrating Lotion
This is not a particularly interesting body lotion - there's no WOW scent or anything. It does a great job though, and both Noodles and I use it regularly. Definite repurchase.

L'Oreal Revitalift Laser X3
Despite being in a jar, I love this moisturiser. It's rich enough to make me think my wrinkles are going away (they're not really), but light enough that I can use it during the day under makeup. I have some other things to use up first but this will be a definite repurchase. Might wait for a sale though- paying $45ish for a drugstore moisturiser makes me wince.

Chuckers:

MorroccanOil Intense Hydrating Mask
This has been in my shower for a couple of years and I noticed the other day that it was about 6 months past its use by date, so ewwww out it goes. It still smelled and looked okay, but considering long it's been around and it's still about 1/3 full, obviously we are not getting much use out of it. I wouldn't repurchase it - it's okay but nothing amazing.

Nivea In-Shower Rich Body Lotion for very dry skin
I cannot say enough about how much I absolutely hate this stuff. It's greasy, it leaves a gross filmy feel on the skin, it STINKS - it smells like diesel. It's no less cumbersome than putting lotion on after a shower. It's disgusting and stupid and pointless and I don't think I have ever hated anything as much as I hate this shit. I will never, ever repurchase this.

I had a pencil clear out because I found a pencil I don't ever remember even buying and that clued me in that maybe I had too many, which is crazy because I don't even use liners that often.

Out because they're too hard:
Mirenesse Magic Point Eye Highlighter Duet
Lime Lily Waterproof Eye Pencil in Jet
Essence Kajal Pencil in #19 All I Want

Out because they're old:
Milani Easybrow in Natural Taupe

Out because they are crap:
ELF Lip Definer and Shaper in Nude
ELF Eyebrow Lifter and Filler in Ash

Out because they are a colour I'd never wear:
Mirenesse Tight Liner Hydra Gel Eye Liner in Saphire (sic) Blue

Rocktober Empties and Chuckers

Apologies for the blurry picture - I really must get 'my' camera back from Ben one of these days.

I haven't done an empties post for a while, and not because I haven't had any - I've actually been ploughing through stuff. I just couldn't be arsed, to be honest. 

EMPTIES

Silk Naturals Oatmeal Serum, Super Serum, Apricot Cleansing Oil x 2, AHA Toner

These have been floating around for a while and all were almost used up but still a bit leftover, so I made the effort to finish them all and get them out of the cupboard. I really like Silk Naturals skin care products, and I used them faithfully for quite a few months, but no matter how much I like something I just get bored with it after a while and I want to go off and try something else. I'd definitely repurchase any or all of these in the future though, when I'm done sowing my skin care oats. 

Palmer's Gentle Daily Cleanser

I bought several Palmer's face care products a while ago when they were 30% off in a supermarket, and I HATED them. They're really thick, but not at all moisturising, which is very strange. The others were moisturisers, and I detested them so much I just threw them out. This one I threw in the shower to use in the mornings. It was really thick and hard to get out of the packaging, but the product itself wasn't too bad - a nice, creamy, semi-lathering cleanser that didn't dry out my face. I wouldn't buy it again though. 

Nivea Soft Hand Cream

Meh. As usual I bought a cheap hand cream on the fly and it didn't do much of anything. I'll probably buy it again some time just because that's what I seem to do. 

Maybelline Express Care Eye Makeup Remover

This is a staple - it's cheap and it does the job. I haven't replaced it as yet because I wanted to try a Garnier one that was on special (it's crap), but I'll definitely go back to this when the Garnier is done. 

Elixia Night Renew Complex

Worst. Packaging. Ever. This has a pump thing on top of a jar, so you have to press it down and the product comes out of a hole in the top and just sort of sits there - you have to swipe it off with your finger or a brush or a spatula. It's unbelievably stupid and all sorts of unhygienic. The product itself is nothing special, and certainly not worth the hefty price tag. I would not repurchase it. 

Lancome Genifique Youth Activivating Concentrate

This was a trial size that came in a set of serums from Adore Beauty. I've used this serum before and I find it pretty meh. According to Paula Begoun, it's almost identical to one of the L'Oreal ones - Youth Code, maybe? Same company, so that makes sense. Anyway, not worth the price tag and I would not buy a full size.

CHUCKERS

L'Oreal VolumeMillion Lashes Mascara

L'Oreal mascaras always smudge on me, which is annoying enough, but this one also had a rubber brush, and I was continually poking myself in the eye with it. The formula was wet and made my lashes clumpy, so I had to always comb through with a lash comb after. In short, I hated it. I lasted about a month and couldn't stand it any longer. 

Essence Clear Brow Gel

This is looking really gungy so it's going. It was cheap - maybe $3 - and I bought it along with a handful of other Essence things when they first made an appearance in Target just to see what the brand was like. I wasn't really impressed with any of it, and this was the only thing I've really used regularly. It doesn't do much - you could do a better job with a bit of hair spray on a spoolie, which I'll be going back to doing now. I just used it for the sake of using it, really. Definitely not a repurchase. 

ELF Eyelash Curler

A lot of people rave about this, and for the price it's a bargain ($1.25US from Nonpareil), but I didn't find it anything special. The little black thing died and I can't remember if it came with any spares, and if it did I don't know where they are, so I'm chucking it. I wouldn't bother repurchasing this.

Everyday Minerals Flat Top Brush

The handle broke off and the brush started to shed dramatically, so I think the glue has died. I'm a bit sad about this, as I love my EDM face brushes. I considered buying another one immediately as I use this several times a week with my MAC MSF Natural, but I have one of those Crown Flat Bronzer brushes that does the same thing, so I resisted. I might buy another one one of these days.

March Empties and Chuckers

It hasn't been a good month for me. I've not been well for quite a bit of it, work is still awkward and annoying after the pre-Christmas drama, work and health stress seems to have made my hair start falling out again and it's thinning quite alarmingly, various people are pissing me off for various reasons, and blogging is getting on my last nerves for reasons I don't really want to go into because I can't say it without sounding like a bitch. But Natalie can. Anyway, the short version of that is that I haven't been wearing much makeup or using many products, so I don't have much in the way of empties this month.

Al'chemy Unscented Very Gentle Shampoo: I really like this, it's light and doesn't build up in my hair like a lot of shampoos do. I already have another one on the go, as I stocked up a few weeks ago from my favourite hippie go-to store, Echolife.

Avène Thermal Spring Water: I've had this floating around in my bag for about 6 months, and though it's nice to spray on oneself in a hot, crappily air-conditioned office, let's be real. It's a can of water. WATER. I think I paid about $8 for it. That works out to be $160 a litre. FOR WATER.

Gaia Bodycare Lavender & Frankincense Body Wash: I don't love the smell, but this has a really nice skin-softening effect, which is perfect for me because I'm too lazy to use body lotion more than about 8 days of the year. I have already repurchased one in the other fragrance they have - Jasmine and something. Again, don't love the fragrance - there's a vague hint of tobacco in it that's kind of weird.

Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser: This would be one of those 'luxe' samples that came in one of those stupid monthly boxes (I don't think that word means what they think it means). I used it on my feet at night, and I have nothing more to say about it lest I get into yet another rant about stupid monthly boxes. I would not repurchase.

Silk Naturals Firming Moisturiser: I didn't like this much at first, but eventually came around to it. I found I liked it more when I mixed it with a few drops of Echolife's Rosehip Oil. I'm not sure whether I would repurchase; I think I'd probably go for their Intensive Moisturiser instead.

Perfumatory Body Cream in Vixen: The last of my Perfumatory products, I eked this one out because it was my favourite of their scents. I wish I'd bought an enormous jar or seven of this - loved it. I've bitched before about their lacklustre customer service, but I'd definitely go back for this - the quality of the body products is excellent. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have this fragrance anymore.

Only two chuckers this month, and one not even mine. This NP Set lip gloss palette came free with one of Noodles' teenybopper chick mags and it looks pretty, but the colours have pretty much no pigmentation. It also stinks - a hideous plasticky cheap smell, like candles from The Reject Shop.

And sadly, my Benefit Creaseless Cream in Get Figgy is for the bin. This was one of the ones I bought from Strawberrynet and it was way marked down - maybe $10, I think. Caveat emptor - obviously it was really old. I've bought others from there without problems, but they were more expensive so they obviously weren't such old stock. I decided to finally turf it after getting the ELF Cream Eyeshadow in Eggplant, which is a pretty good dupe for this one.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Glossybox has learned very quickly how to get good publicity in the Australian beauty blogging community without actually being worthy of it: give out free stuff. Generally, the positive reviews I've read and seen on YouTube have been from people who have received a free box. Those who paid for it often tell a different story. Not true in all cases, but there's a definite pattern there and it seems to be the modus operandi for businesses trying to get a name for themselves in the beauty world these days. Never mind actually being good at what you do - throw a couple of parties and ply some chicks with champagne and macarons, give them a bag of goodies and sit back and watch the accolades roll in.

After getting the Lust Have It box a couple of times I realised that these monthly box things are essentially junk, so I cancelled it. Seeing everyone's monthly reviews of various boxes hasn't swayed my opinion, so why did I sign up for Glossybox? And more importantly, why did I sign up for Glossybox while watching a video where jodik76 slammed them for their craptacular customer service. What can I say? I'm impulsive. Actually, I looked at their brand list, and it looked pretty impressive. I should have known that it would be less Bobbi Brown, Clinique and Shu Uemura and more Mirenesse and Nivea. Foolish me.

The Good

Value wise, this is a major score - a 30ml bottle of Advanced Night Repair retails here for $105. (Unfortunately, this is the only Estee Lauder serum I don't particularly like, but that's not Glossybox's fault - I fit the profile as someone who would be perfect for this. I can probably swap it with someone for something I'd use). The alternate of this product was a Kosmea Daily Facial Exfoliant. The full size is $39.95 - not exactly a comparable product. And I don't believe that the one sent out was a full size. If I were on the receiving end of that and my mates all got the ANR, I think I'd be a bit pissed off. If they're going to alternate products to 'personalise' the boxes (really? what about me made you think I'd wear blue eyeliner on my tightliner?), they should be of roughly equivalent value. It would have been better to send ANR to old farts like me, and perhaps the Estee Lauder pore-minimising serum or the illuminating one to the younger subscribers.

The Bad

And here we have the TVSN clearance bin. There is no escaping Mirenesse - their tentacles are everywhere. I hate their stuff - it's overpriced junk. And I wasn't even aware Sheer Cover was still around. I thought that had died off 10 years ago when mineral makeup companies exploded on to the scene. A lip gloss in a pot (bleh), and a moisturiser that looks oddly like calamine lotion. As for the Nivea body lotion, seriously? I could buy a bottle of that at my local supermarket for about $5. Not exactly what I'd expect from a box business that throws around words like 'luxury' and 'innovative'.

The Ugly

Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of monthly cosmetic boxes, one thing that definitely does not come to mind is fake tattoos. Perhaps those Chanel ones that were around a couple of years ago for about 5 minutes until everyone got over the cuteness factor and realised how silly they were, but these? I saw them in Angela's review before I had even received my box, and though I was unimpressed with the other stuff, this was enough to make me cancel my subscription immediately. (Oh, and can I tell you how painful it is to leave this mob? They make you click box after box and respond to email confirmations and then click more boxes going are you sure you want to leave? Are you sure? This is what you're missing! Look at more of what you're missing? Are you sure? OH MY GOD GET AWAY FROM ME!)

There's a gap in those tattoos because Noodles decided to channel her inner bogan and get into the Oz Day spirit. And before everyone gets up in arms, it's not that I object to tattoos in general - I have two myself - but come on. If I wanted to shop at The Reject Shop, I'd shop at The Reject Shop. This garbage does not belong in a supposedly classy beauty box.

I don't even want to talk about the vouchers. VOUCHERS ARE NOT SAMPLES.

I'm not overly bothered that I spent $15 on this pile of crap. I've spent $15 on piles of crap many times before. It's the cost of a magazine and a coffee. I should have bought the magazine and the coffee. My final thought is that Glossybox should put less effort into arse-kissing bloggers and more effort into putting together thoughtful, good quality, comparable boxes and working on their customer service (I haven't had any issues, but I've heard a lot of horror stories).

And that's me done with the monthly box fad. Next!