May Empties | 2018

Hey everyone! It's time to have a look through all my trash and have a closer look on some products that I used up in the month of May!

Face

Elizabeth Grant Collagen Re-Inforce 24 HR Firming Eye Crème (30 ml) - I have been using her face products and specifically, eye creams for years now. Unfortunately, I have not seen much of a difference under my eyes. I would say pass on this product and you would be saving yourself $50. 

Hair

Taya Hair Strong Anti-Breakage Mask (118 ml) - This is made with Brazilian Black Clay and Pure Bamboo Fibres. It smells great, it’s easy to apply and I like that it comes in a tub. This is the smaller out of the two jars that I have and I actually featured this in my TSC Warehouse Sale Haul. If you want to read more, check out my Taya Hair Masks Review post. It does a good job and although it’s not one of my favourite hair masks, I still enjoyed using it.  

L’Oréal Hair Expertise Extraordinary Oil Penetrating Oil (100 ml) - I actually have the old packaging and they have come out with newer packaging. This line has been around for a while now and I also like the shampoo as well as the conditioner. This oil was nice to use and lasted me quite some time. If you’re wondering, I did pick it up from the L’Oréal Warehouse Sale and I have a blog post on it. 

Body/Hands

Gold Bond Skin Therapy Moisturizing Cream (160 g) - I first received a sample of this cream at a convention in one of the goodie bags and couldn't believe how nourishing it was on my hands! Laugh at me all you want but I honestly thought this was for older people especially after seeing the commercials on television. This does not irritate my psoriasis on my hands and I have recommended it to countless people. This tube is huge, lasted me a long time and it is very affordable. I am going to repurchase this next fall/winter and it has 7 intensive moisturizers in this formula. This is probably my favourite hand cream as it is effective and helps my hands when they need it the most! 

Bath & Body Works

Sea You Soon Sheet Mask (20 g/0.7 oz) - I did not care for the scent and the sheet mask was just alright in my opinion. There was no cooling effect and there was a lot of excess mask underneath my chin. This particular mask contained sea minerals and hyaluronic acid. I do like the packaging and it’s small enough to take with you when you go traveling which I love. I left it on for 15 minutes and then massaged the remaining product into my face. If you’re wondering, this is made in Korea.

Keep It Fruity Sheet Mask (20 g/0.7 oz) -It had a weird scent to it that I can’t seem to describe or compare it to anything and the texture was gooey. Overall, it didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to my skin and I wouldn’t repurchase it again as it was just a basic sheet mask. I do have an entire blog post where I am Testing All The Bath & Body Works Sheet Masks.

Totally Tea-Riffic Sheet Mask (20 g/0.7 oz) - This felt almost gooey and it did smell a little like tea tree oil. It did have a odd scent to it though. There is liquorice root extract and tea tree oil inside the formula. It was just alright in my honest opinion. I don't think they carry any of these sheet masks anymore.

Cool As A Cucumber Sheet Mask (20 g/0.7 oz) - This had a cooling effect and so far, it’s my favourite one that I have tried. There are cucumber and aloe extracts inside the formula. I also really liked the packaging but I may be biased because green is my favourite colour! 

If You Shea So Sheet Mask (20 g/0.7 oz) - This mask felt thicker than the rest and the essence was literally dripping from the mask. I didn’t care for the scent and I wasn’t super impressed with this sheet mask. Check out my post where I’m Testing Out 3 Shea Butter Sheet Masks. 

Nourishing Hand Soap with Pumpkin Butter in Spiced Apple Bourbon (236 ml) - This smells great and it is very moisturizing on the skin as it has pumpkin butter. The packaging is very sleek and it looks great on the bathroom counter. 

Creamy Luxe Hand Soap in Warm Vanilla Sugar (236 ml) - This is one of the classic scents from Bath & Body Works that I have used in different forms over the years. This is such a nice vanilla scent that even guys have made comments regarding the scent when I have worn this in the past. The description reads: rich, creamy vanilla sprinkled with sparkling sugar. 

Gentle Foaming Hand Soap with Coconut Oil in White Cherry & Thyme (259 ml) - This scent includes notes of: sweet cherries, crisp eucalyptus and fresh thyme. I smell more cherry than anything and although it was nice to use, it isn’t amongst my favourite hand soaps. 

Car Fragrance Refill in Peppermint (6 ml) - This is a nice scent but I’m not sure about how I like having in my car just yet. It’s definitely clean and fresh though. It would be best to have this scent around the holidays but I happened to have it on hand and really wanted to test it out in my car. It isn’t my favourite scent to have in the car but it isn’t a bad one as it really comes down to personal preference.

Miscellaneous

Equate Baby Shampoo (592 ml) - There’s no surprise that I went through another one of these as I usually have these on hand to wash my makeup brushes. This works just as well as the Johnson’s Baby Shampoo and I’m already on my new bottle! You get the exact same amount of product for $2 less.

Promo/Samples - Makeup

NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna - I received this with my order as one of the 3 free samples from Sephora when you place your order online. I have actually never tried Laguna before which is crazy! It is described as a brown with golden shimmer and it looked really nice on my skin. The full size retails for $50 for 8 grams of product which is less than my Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer that has 10 grams of product (I have the old packaging,) and my PÜR Mineral Glow Bronzer that has 12 grams of product. It’s nice to use but I wouldn’t splurge on it just yet. It also comes in the shade Casino that is described as a dark brown with golden shimmer.  

Face

Tata Harper Clarifying Mask (3 ml) - This came as a free sample with my Sephora order and this dried on the face very quickly. It is a shade of green and it does have a scent to it that you can notice as you are applying on the mask. It’s described as an eucalyptus dives essential oil that provides an herbal, medicinal scent. It is a wash off mask and after you leave it on for 15-20 minutes, you will want to wash it off with warm water while massaging the skin to help exfoliate all the dead skin cells away. I didn’t mind the scent and if you did touch your face, it felt sticky so avoid placing your hands near your face while the mask in on. Overall, this is a great mask and it’s also a 2-in-1 because you get to use it as a mask as well as it doubles as an exfoliator. If you’re willing to splurge then this is a great product to add into your skincare routine and it contains excellent ingredients.

All skin types (even sensitive,) can use this product and it is supposed to help with: redness, blemishes and oiliness. The mask does contain an AHA and there is a warning that it may increase your skin’s sensitivity to the sun and advises you to use sunscreen for one week afterwards along with a few other things. It is also 100% free from: GMO, toxins, fillers, artificial colours, artificial fragrances and synthetic chemicals. It’s cruelty-free, vegetarian and it’s not been tested on animals. This is a pricey product as 30 ml/1 oz of product will run you $85 on the Sephora website and this product is made in Vermont.

Update: It now retails for $90 on the Sephora website.

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intense Exfoliator (2 ml) - Once you tear it open, the product is green and as you massage it into your face, it turns to be a light green then it showed up white on my skin. You want to apply it to clean, wet skin and then massage it in circular motions for 30 seconds. Make sure to not leave it on for 2 minutes and you can then rinse it off. Make sure to pay your skin dry and your face may be a little red and it did tingle my skin which is normal apparently. My skin was a little red but I really enjoyed using it as my face really smooth and soft after use! I thought this was a really interesting product and it claims to be for all skin types. It does have a scent to it that I didn’t mind and definitely avoid getting this too close to your eye area because it will irritate your eyes! This is a product that I would consider purchasing and it comes in the 15 ml, 60 ml or 150 ml. 

Marcelle 3-In-1 Micellar Solution (50 ml) - I’m pretty sure that my Grandma got this as a gift with purchase because she ended up passing it along to me. This is: paraben free, perfume free, oil free, alcohol free, non comedogenic, hypoallergenic and it claims to be sensitive on both the eyes as well as the skin. I did not use this to remove my makeup but I did use this in place of a toner at night to help ensure that every bit of makeup was removed off my face. This lasted me a decent amount of time and it’s made in Canada. Not totally sold on this micellar water and I still do prefer the Bioderma over this one. I do have an entire dedicated comparison blog post on the two that you can check out. Also, it is no longer sold on the Beauty Boutique like it used to be and it’s currently on sale on the Marcelle website so who knows if they have plans to discontinue this product. 

Lancôme Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate (8 ml) - This was meant to be a 7 day trial but I actually ended up mixing it in with my other facial oil so it lasted me a lot longer than that. This apparently has a high concentration of probiotic fractions and it’s their number one serum. It claims to be for all: women, ages and skin types. I enjoyed using it but it does come with a hefty price tag and I would have to use it for a longer period of time to really make up my mind about this serum.

Body

Le Petit Marseillais Extra Gentle Body Wash in Mandarin & Lime (10 ml x 2) - I received two of these samples free to try from Influenster and it lathered well in the shower - there were plenty of suds. It smelled great as it was fresh and clean smelling. It wasn’t overpowering and I really enjoyed using this product! 

Nivea Firming Q10 Plus Body Lotion (473 ml/16 fl.oz) - I did receive this free from Chick Advisor for testing purposes and I have been a fan of Nivea along with several of my family members for quite some time. This is a great every day body lotion, it absorbs quickly into the skin and there is a very faint scent. This is for normal skin and it did not irritate my psoriasis at all. I have an entire review on my blog including two other products within the range. 

Palmer’s Coconut Oil Body Lotion (5 ml) - This actually came free with a magazine and I already like the brand as I have gone through countless of the Palmer’s Swivel Sticks in the past. I even have a dedicated review on the product that you can check out because it’s that good! It is on the thick side and smells just like coconut. I love how quickly it absorbs into the skin and it does not feel sticky afterwards. My skin felt very soft and the scent lingered throughout the day. I would definitely purchase a bottle of this in the future and I don’t think this formula is too thick for Spring either. 

Hair

Garnier Whole Blends Oat Delicacy Gentle Shampoo & Gentle Conditioner (10 ml x 2) -This is a new scent that was sent out to me and it smells great in the shower! If you follow my blog, you will already know that I’m a big fan of the Whole Blends line in general and I’m pretty sure that I even seen it advertised at a conference. This claims to be: gentle on a sensitive scalp, paraben free, made with natural extracts (oat milk & rice cream,) and the first ingredient is water on both hair care products. I did enjoy using it and it did not irritate my scalp.

Living Proof Restore Shampoo & Restore Conditioner (10 ml each) - The duo did have a strong scent to it but it wasn’t too strong that you couldn’t use the products. They are both colour safe and silicone-free. The Restore Shampoo is targeted for those with dry or damaged hair. The Restore Conditioner help to increase hair’s resistance to breakage up to nine times and will help prevent any more damage. I’ve only used it once and it was nice to use but one bottle of shampoo will run you $38 for 236 ml of product which is a bit up there. I just bought a litre bottle of shampoo that I have to get through but this wouldn’t be first in line to buy on my list after the big bottle run out. The first ingredient in both items is water and it’s made in the USA.

Until next time,

STAY CLASSY

Berrz

FTC: This blog post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own. All prices are in CAD unless stated otherwise. Items under promo/samples were gifted to me and I did not pay for them. Some links are affiliate. 

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