September Empties and Chuckers

EMPTIES

L'Oreal Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil
I've already raved about this. Love it, have another bottle on the go already and I think it might be a holy grail makeup remover. I wonder if they will ever bring it out here?

Cutex Nourishing Nail Polish Remover
It's a nail polish remover. Does what it's meant to do and I'm sure I'll buy it again many more times.

Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Purely Natural Refreshing Toner
I didn't love this. I'm a fan of Paula's products and especially a fan of her toners, but this one has a weird gel-like consistency that made it annoying to apply. I wouldn't buy it again, but I have a couple of her other ones on the go.

Maybelline City Rescue Total Clean Express Eye & Lip Makeup Remover
I don't like the new formula of this stuff - I preferred the old blue one. However, it's handy for when I accidentally buy waterproof mascara (which I did recently), because my usual favourite eye makeup remover doesn't cut it in that department. I have another one in the cupboard for such occasions.

Face of Australia Face Base Primer
My holy grail primer. I have a couple of things to use up first (including the version of this with SPF) but then I will definitely be buying another one. No matter what other primers I try I always come back to this.

CHUCKERS

Nude by Nature Soft Focus Illuminator
As with most of this month's chuckers, this is going because a) it's a couple of years old, and b) I never use it. I'm not even entirely sure what it's supposed to be for. And it smells weird.

Maybelline Fit Me Foundations #220 and #120
God, I hate these. I was given the #220, which was too dark, so I bought the #120 during a Priceline sale to see if mixing the two would help. Colour-wise it did, but then I realised I hated the formula. I have tried on and off over the last couple of years to make this stuff work, but life's too short and I have other foundations I actually enjoy using so I'm binning these.

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Rosy Nude
I bought this online before this range of lipsticks was released here, so it's quite old, and it was not the colour I was expecting. I've always found it a bit too much on the brown side, and I've rarely used it.

NYX Round Lipsticks in various shades
I've had these for years, and I don't think I've worn a single one of them in the last 12 months. They still look okay and smell okay, but given their age and the fact that they are about $2 each, I think I can safely give them up. I tend to buy lipsticks in similar shades anyway, so I'm sure I would have dupes of most of these.

OPI Nail Lacquer in Chic From Ears to Tail
Right. So. I'm just going to come out and say OPI is one of the most over-rated beauty brands there is. Their formulas are inconsistent, they are way over-priced (here in Australia, anyway), and they are responsible for this ridiculously annoying punny naming trend. This nail polish in particular is shit. It's streaky and uneven and no matter how many coats I apply it never smooths out. I did not pay for this, and I'm glad I didn't - I would never spend another cent on OPI.

OPI Start to Finish Base & Top Coat
I did pay for this - two in fact, because Noodles has one. The lid is jammed on and I've tried everything I can to remove it (don't give me tips - I've tried them all and I'm over it). Out it goes, and goodbye to you and your shitty products, OPI.

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Very Black
Every few years I buy this, and I always regret it. But you know how it always comes up in 'best of' and 'model's favourite' lists and beauty editor must have articles and whatever? So I think, "Huh - what did I not like about it? Maybe I misjudged it". Then I buy one and try it and think, 'Nope, this is shit. What was I thinking? And why does everyone go on about how great this is? Is it some kind of conspiracy?". Then I keep it around for a few months and throw it out eventually. I want to say I won't buy this again, but in two or three years, I'll be reading a magazine...

Blueberry Muffin lip balm
This is just old - it's from some Etsy shop, and it's not a great formula, and it's been sitting around for a couple of years so I'm throwing it out.

elf Shimmering Facial Whip in Toasted
The formula of this is weirdly separated, and it was like that when I got it. I've tried shaking it up madly but it's never quite right, and it's just a little cheap thing so I don't care about it. I wouldn't buy these again - there are much nicer drugstore brand highlighters out there. This one is kind of '80s shiny'.

Empties and Chuckers

These are not really July empties and chuckers, as I'm sure it's been a couple of months since I last did one of these posts, and I don't tend to use up all that much stuff within a month. But let's just get on, shall we?

EMPTIES

Couleur Caramel Short Eyelashes Mascara in Black
This was a Christmas gift from the ever thoughtful Sabine of Echolife, who very kindly sent one for me and one for Noodles. Noodles is a one-at-a-timer with mascara and ploughed through hers within a couple of months. I try to be a one-at-a-timer, but in the past few months I also acquired various mascaras from clearance bins and online sales, so it's taken me a while to get through this. I find it adds a lot of length and volume, but the formula is quite wet and never feels completely dry on the lashes. This is great for not getting the crispies, but not so great for someone like me who has a tendency to rub my eyes. That's the only reason I wouldn't repurchase it, because otherwise I found it to be a lovely mascara.

Al'chemy Avocado & Calendula Conditioner for dry and long hair
You've seen me talk about Al'chemy shampoo and conditioner before. I like them. I will probably repurchase this at some point when I've worked my way through all the other shampoos and conditioners in the house. I'm being strong and using what I have. Go me!

Maybelline Express Care Eye & Lip Makeup Remover
This has recently been repackaged and I swear they have reformulated it as well because this stuff was ace, and the new version is shite. I'm slightly disappointed as it was a staple in my bathroom for a long time, but luckily I now have L'Oreal Skin Perfection Micellar, so you can suck it, Maybelline.

Garnier Hand Intensive 7 Days Protecting Hand Cream Aloe Vera
Eh. It's a cheap hand cream. Slightly better than a most cheap hand creams, but still a cheap hand cream. On my hands it didn't do a lot. I actually sometimes use the body lotion version of this stuff on my hands and it works a lot better. I doubt I'd repurchase it.

Michael Todd True Organics Pearl and Silk Facial Mask
Remember when Michael Todd was a makeup brand that no one other than scroungy beauty vloggers who got everything for nowt ever talked about? When did they become a skin care company? Anyway, this was okay - I can't really remember anything about it so I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy a full size.

Paula's Choice Resist Optimal Results Hydrating Cleanser x 2
I love Paula's Choice products, with the exception of most of the moisturisers - not so jazzed with those. This is a lovely cleanser that doesn't make my skin feel tight afterwards. It's on my wishlist, but I have a ton of cleansers on the go at the moment (including a couple of other Paula's Choice ones), so although I probably will get a full size, it won't be for a while.

Paula's Choice Weekly Resurfacing Treatment 10% AHA x 2
I got a couple of samples of this to try after my friend Jade raved about it on Twitter and her blog. I nearly lost all of the first sample I opened because I expected it to be a creamy lotion and it's actually a liquid, like a toner. However, crisis averted and I saved enough of it to get on my face. This stuff is freakin' AMAZING. It makes my skin feel ridiculously smooth and soft the next morning (I put it on and left it overnight), and I am sure it toned down redness as well. I've just ordered a full bottle while Paula's Choice has a 50% off sale going.

Poison Apple Potions Body Butter sample in Garden of Graves
This is a pretty funereal floral with a touch of dirt - I do like those kinds of scents but I already have at least a couple of them in perfumes. I'd buy this in a perfume (though it's discontinued so I think I've missed my chance), but I'm not in love with PAP's body butter formula - I find it doesn't absorb that easily.

Love by Kilian Don't Be Shy perfume sample
This is a gorgeous, sweet gourmand fragrance that reminds me of a more grown up MOR Marshmallow. It was sent to me by Su ages ago but went astray in my perfume drawer (not hard) and I forgot about it until it turned up while I was looking for something else. I loved this so much that I wore it for several days in a row and used it up. Now I want more but I think it's discontinued. SAD FACE.

Solstice Scents Quiet Night perfume sample
I reviewed this a while back on my perfume blog, and although I don't wear it as a daytime scent, I love it at night because I think it helps me stay asleep longer. I just got a full size last week so that's already a repurchase.

CHUCKERS

Benefit The POREfessional 
I have had this primer for at least a couple of years and I bought in on Strawberrynet so who knows how old it is. It still smells and feels okay but I was sent another one a couple of months ago for review, so I decided to just chuck this one.

B Collections by Bloom Prep and Prime Primer
I got this free when I spent a certain amount at one of those discount perfume and cosmetic shops. I never even opened it, and the expiry date is July 2013 so out it goes.

Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation in Light Vanilla
Jacquie bought this and hated it, so she gave it to me to try. I hate it too - it goes into every pore so I look like I have tiny white dots all over my face. I find that happens to me a lot with Bourjois foundations - I've never found one I liked much.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream in Light 
Erg, why on earth have I been holding on to this for so long? It was given to me so it's not even like I lose money for tossing it. I have hated it since day one, but for some reason I keep trying periodically to make it work. I give up now. It's going in the bin. And good riddance.

Poison Apple Potions Body Butter sample in Red Queen's Rage
As I said above, I'm not jazzed with the formula of these, and I really don't like the smell of this one. It's like a rose that's had pepper poured all over it. I have used most of it so I don't feel bad about turfing the wee bit that's left.

Benefit Erase Paste
This is another thing that's just been around for too long - at least two years, maybe longer. There's not much left because I really did like it for a long time, but I've since moved on to other concealers and I just never come back to this so it's going.

Pixi Eye Bright Kit #1 and #2
These are little concealer/highlighter quads that I never really did get much use out of. The formula of the product was too sheer and greasy - they didn't give any coverage and the highlighter colours just faded away really quickly. They're a bit useless and they're out.

May Empties - only three weeks late

Beauty Without Cruelty Vitamin C Facial Cleanser
This is just a foaming facial cleanser I got from iHerb to use in the shower in the mornings. It doesn't do anything exciting, but unlike a lot of foaming cleansers it doesn't dry my skin out or make it feel tight, so I quite like it. And it's cheap. I'd probably buy it again if I were in need of a cleanser and doing an iHerb shop.

Sunsilk Addictive Brilliant Shine Shampoo and Conditioner
I am currently working my way through all the half used hair products in the house and these are two of them. I buy Sunsilk for Lily because she really likes it, but I don't use it all that often myself. It's okay for a supermarket shampoo but nothing special. I'll probably get it again for Lil if she still wants it when we've used everything else.

Palmolive Aromatherapy Shower Gel Anti-Stress
Didn't think much of this - I like the moisturising kind of body washes because I'm lazy. This one was a bit drying and I probably wouldn't buy it again.

Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Post-Treatment Regenerating Moisturiser
This came in a duo with a scrub, and it's nothing special. It wasn't overly moisturising and I wouldn't bother with it again.

MAC Brush Cleanser
Good stuff, but I'm thinking of trying out some of the cheaper ones to see what they are like. I go through this really quickly because I'm a bit fussy about cleaning my brushes.

Beauty Without Cruelty Balancing Facial Toner
Bog standard toner - doesn't do anything special but I do like a toner and this one was cheap. Again, if I needed a toner and I was doing an iHerb haul I'd probably buy this again.

Al'chemy Ginkgo & Jojoba Intensive Moisture Vitamin Masque
Part of a birthday gift from Sabine at Echolife last year - I really liked this. Because my hair is so thin - and thinning - most hair masks are too heavy for it, but this one was light and fresh and didn't weigh my hair down. I used it about once a fortnight as my hair doesn't need any more than that. I'd buy it again for sure.

John Plunkett Essentials Anti-Ageing Multi-Vitamin Moisturiser
Very thick, reminded me of those old school kind of moisturisers like Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream. It didn't make my skin feel especially moisturised though. I wouldn't buy it again.

Lancome Advanced Genefique Youth Activating Concentrate
I feel that there's more than a whiff of the emperor's new clothes about Lancome. People rave about their skincare but I've been unimpressed with everything I've tried. I was sent this to try and I'm glad I didn't pay for it - it was a nice enough serum but it did pretty much nothing.

Pantene Clinicare Fullness-charge Revitalising Conditioner
How on earth do they come up with these names? Another one I was just using up - I think it came in a travel set free with a magazine. Meh. It's a conditioner. It doesn't do anything exciting and I doubt I'd buy it.

Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Purely Natural Toner, Cleanser, Moisturiser samples
I used to be all over Paula's Choice skincare a few years ago but then I moved on to natural stuff and got into Silk Naturals and using Echolife Rosehip Oil and whatnot. However, lately people have been raving about PC products again and I did like them a lot so I decided to get a few things when I'd run down enough existing products. I wanted to try the Earth Sourced range because Paula is famously dismissive of natural skincare and hates many plant-based ingredients, claiming they are little more than irritants. Reading the ingredient list, nothing sounds 'natural' in the sense that I understand it, but nonetheless, these are really nice products. I bought a few full size things as well as samples, but I think next time I'm going to go for the full sizes of these ones.

Ava Luxe Love's True Bluish Light
This is a perfume sample that Su sent me ages ago and I loved it so much I've been stingily ekeing it out forever. I finally got down to the very last drops and there's nothing more there so I think I am going to have to splash out on a full size. It's a gorgeous warm, creamy vanilla musk - nothing really unique, but a beautiful example of a very simple blend. Love it, love it, love it.