January Used It!

In January, I finished off eight products; two minis and six full-size items.

Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum*
Buy again? Maybe. I have no idea if it helps with breakage or not, but I did like the way a little made my hair feel. This is definitely a less is more type product - too much will make your hair look stringy.

Sally Hansen Real Nail Polish Strips - Teal with it*
Buy again? Probably not. They're on the expensive side and take too long to apply.

Lumene Sensitive Touch wipes mini pack
Buy again? No. I just bought them because I wanted something and I was on a trip. They're fine, but I don't want to buy anything that's just fine.

Nuance wipes*
Buy again? Probably not - they were this strange rectangular shape - more oblong than I usually like in a wipe, and they had more texture than I prefer.

ELF Studio Complexion Perfection*
Buy again? Probably not. This has its uses - it will lighten the appearance of a too-dark foundation, but it's hard to travel with and you don't get as much as you'd expect - the layer of powder is pretty shallow. It did work fine, but it wasn't awesome.

Silk Naturals Ginny liquid lip gloss*
Nice color, nice formula, but I really don't like wand-style, especially when there are so many natural ingredients. I worry it will go bad, which is why I made the effort to use this one up.

Garden of Wisdom Sulfur Clearing Mask*
I think things with sulfur might help clear teeny pre-zits, but I haven't found that it takes care of the monsters I really want gone.

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Conditioner 3oz size
This is probably one of the two conditioners I've repeatedly bought over the past couple years. It's cheap, works fairly well, and is widely available. I don't love it, but it's convenient and functional enough that it's what I buy when my favorite's hard to come by. (My favorite is Kiss My Face Whenever conditioner - green tea and lime - smells like dessert but not so sweet it's sickly.)

November 2011 Used It!

I used up 14 things in November, 11 of them full size. Let me talk about a couple winners:

1. Silk Naturals Apricot Cleansing Oil. If you love the concept of the oil cleansing method but hate the idea of having to painstakingly steam oil and crud off your face, you probably should try this. Unlike most cleansing oils, this one has a rinsing aid added to it that allows it to rinse off with water.

This stuff is GREAT for getting off makeup, even eye makeup, without stripping your skin. I usually use it before using another cleanser, just because I like to make sure all the gunk from the day is off. The only reason I'm not buying a replacement is because I bought some of the emulsifier they use and am now making my own cleansing oils.

2. Desert Essence Daily Essential Moisturizer. I liked this a lot, for summer. I found that it moisturized my face and got rid of the post-cleansing "tight" feeling and did not break me out, make me an oil slick, or smell weird. Winner! I also like that it has actual moisturizing ingredients. I did not like the packaging - a jar, and also did not love how it seemed to almost leave me feeling still too dry after it started getting cold out. But I would recommend this to anyone looking for a basic, inexpensive night cream. It also makes a fantastic base for evening makeup, but don't use it during the day because there's no SPF.

Here's the complete list:

Garnier Nutrisse 3-way daily cleanser*
CVS brand non-acetone nail polish remover*
Crazy Rumors Mocha lip balm*
Silk Naturals Apricot Cleansing Oil*
Aromaleigh Glissade foundation 2W2L*
Neutrogena Sheer Liquid sunblock - spf 55*
Yes to Tomatoes Daily Clarifying facial cleanser*
Oily face serum sample
Fresh black tea age-delay face serum samples
Korres white tea cleanser sample
Korres yogurt aftersun lotion*
Garden of Wisdom Magic Lockes leave-in*
Ecotools Heel Cream*
Desert Essence Daily Essential Moisturizer*