July Used It!

I can't believe it's August already! Where I live, back to school is Monday (I grew up going back the first Wednesday after Labor Day). It's also been really hot for weeks. So I'm having some serious cognitive dissonance here.

What did I use up in July? Any winners? Losers? Let's see!


365 Fragrance Free Body Lotion*  - not pictured. This was the 32 oz size, and hard to use up!
Buy again? No way. It doesn't absorb well. I used it up primarily as shaving cream, and I have other things I find more effective.

Caudalie Eye Cream sample 
Buy again? No. I mostly rely on samples for eye creams because I haven't found any that really make a significant difference. This one was nice, though. And I liked that it came in a tube instead of a packet.

CVS Biodegradable Nail Polish Remover*
Do not buy this. The idea of a non-acetone, more environmentally friendly product to remove nail polish is very appealing. However; in order to remove a manicure, I need to use a new cotton pad every other nail, put fresh remover on the pad after every nail, and practically scrub at my polish to get it off. That's five cotton pads, ten douses of remover, and way more time than I'd like to spend removing my polish. In contrast, I used the butter LONDON remover recently and used three pads and five douses - and was done sooner.

First Aid Beauty eye cream sample
Buy again? No, for same reasons as stated above.

Garnier shampoo and conditioner samples (3 packets total)
Buy again? No. These were all freebies, and I didn't find anything great about any of them. The color treated hair ones were fine, and the "pure" one was also merely fine. That one was billed as a 2-in-1and as being "silicone free." Well, it didn't seem to condition, and had dimethicone in it. Last I checked, dimethicone was a silicone. Liars.

Hugo Naturals Vanilla Orange body wash*
Smells delicious, dries out my skin. 'Nuff said.

Inglot Face Primer Sample
I have to say, I haven't really noticed any significant difference between all the siliconey primers I've tried. But I like samples!

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Gel sample
Buy again? No, and its biggest drawback is the somewhat flowery scent. You might like that, but it reminds me of my seasonal allergies.

LaVanila The Healthy Sun Block - Body*

Milani Total Lash Cover mascara*
I did not so much use this up as give up on it. It was difficult to apply, even after I chopped off the extraneous end of the brush. It flaked onto my undereye area and gave me even darker dark circles. I have very little good to say about this product, which is sad because I wanted to like it. Alas, mascara is a very tricky beast. 


Organix Macadamia Dry Styling Oil*
I'm really undecided on this. Like really undecided. I like it better than a lot of siliconey serums I've tried, and it has the advantage of "disappearing" into dry hair more than others. After I run out of the other leave-ins I have, I'm trying out mineral oil, because I hear a drop or two of it on wet hair works absolute magic.

Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion PM .4 oz. "sample."
This is a large sample. I liked the way it felt on my face. I keep hearing good things about retinol. I like a lot of things about this product. I do not like its $65 price tag. Maybe I will buy this when I am older and richer. Or maybe I'll find another retinol product that doesn't take several hours of work to buy.

Philosophy On a Clear Day spot treatment*
More and more, I'm thinking that spot treatments in general are just not for me, because of the "underground" way my worst zits happen. Moisturizing and exfoliating the heck out of them has been working better for me. Not a knock on this product in particular, just the entire category.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple sample (not shown)
I may buy this again as a "splurge," but I'm not convinced that it's significantly better than other, less expensive cleansers. So while my budget is limited, I'll continue to spend my skincare dollars on treatments instead.

Revlon PhotoReady Compact Foundation*
I got this at the CVS clearance sale. It looks great in photos, but I really didn't like putting it on - the "liquefying screen" is really gimmicky, and putting enough pressure on the screen to get the product to squeeze out forces it to the edge, where it becomes unusable. This experiment will probably not going to be repeated by me.

Simple eye makeup remover*
This does get makeup off relatively easily. It's the biggest winner this month.

Tresemme Split Remedy Shampoo and Conditioner samples
Sadly, there is only one remedy for split ends, and it involves sharp scissors you never, ever use for anything else. But I got these for free, so why not? They were worth ever so slightly more than I paid for them.

July Summary:
Winner - Simple eye make up remover (and even here, I'm not totally in love. Bummer of a month!)
Possible winners in an imaginary universe wherein I have more money - Philosophy Purity Made Simple, Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion PM
Losers - CVS Biodegradable Nail Polish "Remover," Milani

Products used up: 20
Full size products used up: 8

Better late than never, February's Used it!

Look! I took a picture!

*Alba Botanica Hawaiian sunblock - spf 45 Buy again? No. I'm not happy with the UVA protection - it looks like it doesn't get all the waves.

*The Body Shop Wild Cherry Body Butter Buy again? No. It smells kind of fake and only moisturizes so-so.

*ELF nail polish remover pads Buy again? I have - it's cheap, portable, works, and fairly easily available. The only downside is that it seems to leave my fingertips a bit sticky, so I have to wash my hands.

*Garnier Nutrisse Anti-Dark Circle Rollerball Buy again? Not a chance. I didn't so much use this up as throw it out in disgust. It looks nice for the first hour or so, then creases. Who needs it? I don't.

*Physicians Formula Brow Definer Buy again? Nope. Formula is slightly too waxy for my taste.

*Silk Naturals Awesome Sauce Buy again? I did! I like it. I'm not sure if it's magic or not, but I like it and it seems to help a little.

*Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara Buy again? Maybe. I like the stuff, I really do. It looks great, makes a good natural but impressively so look, but it's expensive and dries out too soon. This stuff dried out before I wanted it to.

*Wet'N'Wild Rocking Rubies nail polish Buy again? Oh hell no. While pretty, I found that this had the tendency to flake off within a day or two. When I found a thumbnail-shaped flake in my snack bowl, that was the disgust point. I tried lots of top coats, base coats, etc - flake city!

*Evil Shades Gossamer Blush sample Buy again? Complicated question - I like the brand's blushes, but this color was too cool for me.

*Tarte Amazonian Clay powder sample Buy again? Nope. Too expensive for what it is. Glad this was a trial size - it works, but so does anything with that much silica.
 
*Too Faced Shadow Insurance Lemon Drop sample Buy again? Nope. If my primer's gonna be tinted, it had better double as a cream shadow. This doesn't. Also, it makes my eyelids gray. So there we go! 8 full sizes, 3 samples demolished in February

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*

September 11 used it!

September '11 Used It!
In September, I used up six full-size products and five sample sizes.

- SN Devoted cream blush*
Not bad - though the formula's recently been reworked to exclude the cyclopentasiloxane Karen used to use. I found it easiest to use with a duo-fiber brush: then it was fine over powder foundation.

- Garnier Nutrisse Moisture Rescue Gel Cream*
I used up some of this in my frankenlotion, and used the rest of it on my face as a moisturizer. It's ok, but I don't think I'd buy it again. I've tried other water-based serums that I liked much better.

- Sally Hansen (Carmindy line) luminizing face primer*
Don't waste your time. Even if you really want to look like a vampire from Twilight, there are cheaper ways to do that. It didn't even really help my makeup stay on. Instead of "Luminizing," it should say "contains chunks of glitter."

- Silk Naturals Oatmeal Serum*
I liked this better than the Green Tea and Aloe, but if I use their Awesome Sauce, there's not really a need to keep it around.

- Nuance Salma Hayek Volumizing Conditioner*
Worked fine, smelled a little "ripe" for my tastes.

- Garnier Fructis Intense Cleanse anti-dandruff shampoo*
Just slightly too harsh for me. I did enjoy the little scrubby beads in it, though.

- Aromaleigh seafoam pure matte eyeshadow sample
Nice pale blue.

- TanTowel (one)
First time I'd ever tried a self-tanner. My legs glowed for a couple days, but I was glad when it wore off because I didn't apply it super evenly, and it was nice to be the same color all over again. I think I'm fine with being super white and don't want to spend the time to look darker.

- Urban Decay makeup remover sample decant (new kind)
Does not smell as good as the old kind.

- Sample baggie Meow Pink Inc. Blush - Cashmere
I want a full size of this pretty badly - it's beautiful. Subtle, but leaves me glowy. Hard to overdo.

- Boots Naturals makeup remover sample decant
Fine. Nothing special.

used it! (skincare, conditioner)

*Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Conditioner. This is either the third or fourth of these that I've gone through. It seems to be my go-to drugstore conditioner. Cheap and works - who can complain?

*100% Pure foaming cucumber face wash. I got this in a swap, and it was nice and gentle for morning, but not nearly strong enough to get makeup off.

*Supergoop everyday spf 30 sample. This came in the Sephora Suncare kit. It was ok. Nothing special. It had some strange white chunks in it that I didn't like.

*Supergoop sunblock swipe. This is also from the Sephora Suncare kit. It was also ok, nothing special, and kind of annoying to use because I had to go into the packet to squeeze/scrape out the rest of the product so I could actually get both arms. Just the liquid by itself would be better.

(Since Sept. 2, 2010)
180 items gone
65 full size items gone

used it! (mostly samples, ergh)

SN Cosmic blush baggie sample - bright, cool pink - Too bright and cool for me, but an excellent texture!

Brazen Cosmetics Courtesan sample (warm, dark bubblegum pink, shiny) - I did like this, but I'm not sure it's the sort of color I HAVE to have, because I already have some more pinks I like - this did also make a nice blush (duo-fiber brush, of course) as well, so it's multi-purpose.

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition shampoo sample - About the only shampoo I've ever tried that actually works better lathered twice, which leads me to believe that it's not quite strong enough - I think the first wash gets off the dirt, and the second wash reduces the buildup from the shampoo itself? I might buy it in a pinch, but it's not my favorite ever.

Garnier Nutrisse Skin Renew Anti-Sun Damage SPF 28 - This was my second bottle of this. There are things that drive me NUTS about it - mostly how the last 20% of the product stays stuck in the bottle (I had to use a tiny spatula to get that last bit into a jar where I could use it), and I'm not overly fond of its pine-sol aroma, but it has the right amount of sun protection for the late spring months when I'm starting to be outside without clothes covering all of me all the time. And, since it's frequently on sale, and Garnier keeps having coupons on their skincare, I will probably keep buying it every March or April. At 2.5 ounces, it's big enough to use on my neck, chest, and arms and lasts the couple months I need it to before I ratchet up the sun protection. I haven't burned yet, but I have been out for several hours at a time in short sleeves.

ES project pan - 8 gone - 5/8
Lip project pan - 5 gone - 1/5

134 items gone
47 full size items gone