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.

Solstice Scents - a little rave

Today I want to give a shout out to an indie company I am loving more and more with each order, Solstice Scents. Although I'm a pretty seasoned indie perfume purchaser, I came late to this brand, and I don't know why. I bought a sample pack way back in September 2011, probably after reading someone rave about them on a perfume forum. I tried them, liked them, but then put them away and pretty much forgot about them. It wasn't until December 2012 when I read a post on Michelle's blog about some that she had tried out that I decided to wade back in. And honestly, I don't know what took me so long to get with the program!

I have 4 full size perfume oils, a full size premium perfume oil, 3 Burnishing Glace Mists, a Creamy Whipped Soap and multiple samples (not pictured).

Perfume Oils
Lace Draped Spectre -  incredible creamy, peppery carnation scent that reminds me of my mum's flower garden when I was growing up. I reviewed it here.
Old Cedar Magus - masculine smokey, woody vanilla. Om nom nom. I reviewed it here.
Violet Mallow - I bought this one unsniffed because it's a limited edition and I'm still not 100% I like it. It's heavy on the violet at first but the dry down is a chocolate vanilla gourmand. I talked about it briefly here.
Cenobite - One of my favourite vanillas ever. Not sure if it's number one but it's definitely in the top 3. A super rich, grown up, boozy vanilla. I can't get enough of it. I imagine Ina Garten's kitchen smells like this. And probably Ina herself.
Rose Mallow Cream - This is a smaller premium perfume (5ml, the others are 10ml), and another limited edition I bought unsniffed (I believe both this and Violet Mallow have since been made permanent). Reminds me a lot of MOR Marshmallow but less sickly sweet. I reviewed it here.

Creamy Whipped Soap
I'm not a fan of jars of soap because I don't have a shelf in my shower and it's just annoyingly awkward trying to unscrew lids off things and get product out without it all getting wet and ruined. The only reason I bought this was because Jessica gave me a gift voucher for my birthday and I wanted to try something different along with my regular perfume purchase. I'm glad I did because it's totally worth the palaver. You just scoop out a bit - maybe a tad smaller than an egg, smear it on your shower pouf, and it lathers up like a DREAM. I can't speak for any of the others but the scent I have is Cenobite and it fills the entire bathroom while I'm using it. Rich, creamy vanilla goodness. It does linger ever so slightly on the skin after, but not really enough to make an impact on its own. This soap is also beautifully moisturising. I definitely want more of these.

Burnishing Glace Mists
This is a sort of oil, sort of body mist that dries pretty much immediately on skin and lasts FOREVER. It can also be used as a bath oil but I don't have a bath, so I can't speak for its efficacy there. I have three of these - Lace Draped Spectre, Cenobite, and also Nightgown, which is probably my favourite Solstice Scents fragrance. It's a gorgeous creamy white floral, ultra-feminine and silky. I reviewed the perfume oil version here.

As I was typing this I remembered a couple of things I'd forgotten to include in the photograph (I threw some of the samples in too just because).

Body Ganache
I have this body butter - and it is definitely a butter rather than a lotion - in Ghost, which is not currently listed as in stock. It's their fragrance free version, though not technically completely fragrance free as the cocoa butter in it makes it smell a bit chocolatey. That fades fairly quickly, though. I bought this because I wanted an unscented body moisturiser that wouldn't clash with perfumes. It's very rich and thick and moisturises well, though it can take some time to absorb.

Gardenia Enfleurage
These are teeny samples (.25ml) of a perfume made by this awesome and laborious process. I bought one, and then a week later before I'd even sniffed it ordered two more. I love white floral, I love gardenia, and the thought of having a true gardenia perfume just excited me beyond reason. Needless to say it was very much limited edition (and expensive), but they are currently in the process of making another batch for the next year so it will be back eventually. This stuff is so precious to me I have not even tested it on skin yet! I am waiting for just the right moment. I've sniffed it in the vial though, and it's heavenly. 

So, the facts:

• International shipping is very reasonable, and Angela refunds excess shipping charges. I think the most I've paid is $14.90 and that was the order that included the whipped soap. 
• Delivery is really fast - every one of my orders has been shipped the day after I ordered (sometimes several hours after), and I get them within two weeks. They're always well packed with lots of padding to protect them. 
• You can get a free sample of your choice with every order. I love that you can pick your own instead of getting something random. I know that's fun at times, and there have been perfumes I've discovered through freebies that I would never have thought to buy myself, but it's nice just to be able to grab a little something something that you think you might like without paying. 
• These scents tend to be quite strong, so probably not for the people who want something delicate and barely there. The Glace Mists are, in my experience, even stronger than the perfumes. I bought them with the idea of layering, but they don't even really need to be layered - they more than stand up on their own. 
• Prices are very reasonable - they vary by a few dollars depending on which ingredients are used, but the 10ml perfumes for example are between $9 and about $16US, which is really good for the quality.

If you like indie perfumes and bath products this is definitely a shop worth checking out. My reviews of other perfumes from Solstice Scents can all be found here.

Things from foreigners!

Yesterday I came home to an awesome package on the doorstep - some smells from one of my new perfume friends Rachel, whose blog Brighest Star Of All I have been loving of late. She knew that I had never tried One Hand Washes The Other, even though I've had various social media interactions with the owner Becca and she's lovely, and everyone who has tried her stuff raves about it. It was just one of those stores I never got around to trying, but I really wanted to. So along with some random scents she sent a bunch of OHWTO and I've only sniffed them, but even based on that I am HOOKED. As soon as my No Buy is over I'm going cray on this shop's site.

And can I just say how awesome it is to have friends all over the world who share one's interests and are also kind enough to send some of their stash to play with? I'm so chuffed with all of this, and especially pleased to get some solid perfumes as my experience with those is limited. Thanks, Rachel! <3