I know my last empties post was only likeeee…one month ago but YOU GUYS I’ve been working hard to go through my beauty stash and actually use up my products so that I’m not just hoarding them all. This post is a mix of empties as well as some products that I just needed to toss because they are too old; I will admit that most of the ones being tossed I’ve kept more so for nostalgic purposes (looking at you MAC lippies). Did you know that most beauty products do have a “best before” date on them? If you look on the back or bottom you will see what looks like a little jar and it will show “3m” “6m” “12m” etc…this is how many months the product has until it’s no longer considered ideal to use.

Decluttering aka Tossing

MAC Cosmetics Lipsticks (in the shades High Tea, Viva Glam V, Viva Glam Nicki, Creme Cup, and Blankety) – So when I was in high school, MAC was a big thing. Their lipsticks were probably the very first “high end” beauty products that I ever purchased and I was so obsessed with the sleek, black packaging and the wide range of colours and formulas. These five lipsticks have all been well loved and used, but I haven’t worn any of them in years and they are most definitely past their “best before” date. I personally haven’t purchased anything from MAC in years, I feel like they could stand to do some updating to their overall branding and marketing, but that’s just me. The one thing I have repurchased is their lipstick in “Blankety” because it’s just such a good nude, but I likely won’t be purchasing anything else any time soon.

Herbivore Lapis Facial Oil – Okay so I have raved about this oil over the years and will still continue to do so, it does an amazing job at clarifying and balancing the skin while also hydrating – it truly is an amazing product. However, it carries a hefty price tag and I just poured a little less than half the bottle down the sink sooo if I repurchase in the future (which I likely will) I will be getting the travel size because you really use so little of it at a time that the full size (for me) was just too much. Being that it is made with clean, natural ingredients it’s shelf life isn’t long (they say around 12 months if stored out of the sun) and for me that just wasn’t enough time to finish the bottle – still highly recommend this oil though!! You can read more about this oil here My Current Skincare Favourites and here Sephora VIB Sale.

Real Techniques Beauty Sponge – If you love your Beauty Blender but don’t love the price tag, the Real Techniques sponge is an amazing dupe for way less than half the price. This edition however (half pink half orange) was the weirdest thing…it just never gets soft when dampened and does not work well whatsoever. I will definitely be grabbing one of the regular (all orange) ones some time soon though, it works really well and I almost prefer it to the Beauty Blender.

Benefit Cosmetics Boi-ing Industrial Strength Concealer – So this is another product from my stash that is embarrassingly old; I haven’t used it in years but I do love the formula so I’m not sure why I haven’t tossed and replaced it before now. Benefit has reformulated/repackaged their concealers within the last few years so I’m not sure if this specific formula still exists. I really did love this concealer though, it did such a great job at covering everything without looking cakey or thick; I will have to check into their new formulas to see if there’s anything similar!

Eminence Organics Couperose-C Serum – This was one of the first products I tried from Eminence and it was recommended by a salesperson on the site that I ordered it from after I explained my skin type (sensitive, prone to redness, dry cheeks, monthly breakouts). I did use and enjoy most of this serum but I eventually introduced new products to my routine and just kind of forgot about this one. I believe this serum has been discontinued so that’s that!

Empties

Lush Sleepy Hand and Body Lotion – I went through a phase where I bought everything from Lush – skincare, body care, hair care, you name it. While I do still love their products, I actually haven’t bought anything from there in quite awhile. This lotion is something that I will continue to repurchase because it smells unreal; it’s like lavender-vanilla-sleepy-goodness…just absolute dreamy perfection in a jar. If you can’t tell, I really love it.

Tiber River Naturals Citrus Got Real Shower Shake – I have talked about the TR shower shakes a few times before and I definitely recommend them. The ingredients include loofah to exfoliate and oat flour to moisturize and they really do exactly that – plus – they all smell amazing. I have already repurchased in my favourite scent – Coco Cabana.

Eminence Organics Clear Skin Probiotic Cleanser – I absolutely loved this cleanser and will definitely purchase the full size in the future. It does an amazing job at cleansing the skin and clearing up breakouts without causing dryness or tightness; it also has this wonderfully cooling sensation that feels so good.

Kevin Murphy Young.Hands Hand Creme – I have no idea if this stuff exists anymore but it is hands down (see what I did there) the best hand cream I’ve ever used. I realize I did show and talk about this in a previous empties post but I later realized I could still squeeze a few more uses out of it sooo now it is truly empty and I am very sad. It smells like all my favourite Kevin Murphy hair products and is so moisturizing…it’s the only hand cream I’ve used that deeply hydrates without leaving my hands feeling greasy. I love this stuff so much and need to somehow find more of it ASAP.

Grounded Sage Cucumber Refresh Antioxidant Moisturizer – First of all, Grounded Sage is the most amazing Canadian clean beauty company; Jamie (founder) is so wonderful and helpful. Grounded Sage also donates 100% of the earnings from specific products to Lily’s Place Animal Sanctuary which rescues all types of furry and feathered friends (they also donate/support various other animal charities/rescues). ANYWAY so this moisturizer was kindly gifted to me but my review will be honest – I truly enjoyed this product. It has little to no scent and did such a great job at hydrating and balancing my skin without feeling heavy, it also cleared up a lot of the redness in my cheeks that I have been struggling with forever. This moisturizer actually really reminds me texture-wise and performance-wise of the Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer and it’s less than half the price of DE’s! I would definitely purchase this for myself in the future (after I work through all my other hoarded products).

Grounded Sage Wild Basil & Cucumber Oil Cleanser – See above to read about how lovely this company is 🙂 This was also kindly gifted to me by Jamie but again, my reviews will always be honest. I used this pretty much every night as a first-cleanse to remove my makeup before cleansing my face. I found that it did a good job of removing my makeup and didn’t leave a film on my face after it was removed; it also has little to no scent so would be good for anyone scent-sensitive. I wouldn’t say this one was better than other oil cleansers I have used, but definitely comparable and worth trying. As we head into winter and cold weather (gross) I prefer to use a cleansing balm as they’re a little heavier and add more hydration back into my skin.

Essence Lash & Brow Gel Mascara – I’ve raved about this stuff before so I won’t go too into detail…basically it’s cheap AF, works great, and you definitely need it in your life. This was probably my 5th or 6th one over the years and I have already repurchased another one!

Essence Superlast 24h Eyebrow Pomade Pencil Waterproof (shade 10 Blonde) – I can’t speak to whether or not this is waterproof, but again it is beyond affordable and is a great quality product. The colour is absolutely perfect for me; it is actually so difficult to find a drugstore brow pencil that matches cool-toned blonde hair…they are all warm toned!! This one is cool toned and matches me so well. I actually purchased two of these when I saw them at Shoppers Drug Mart because Essence likes to do this thing where they release new products every minute so nothing ever seems to stick around for very long – it’s actually highly annoying BUT I love their products so I will continue to purchase (and hoard) them.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (shade 10 fair) – I have purchased numerous tubes of this concealer over the years and always really like it. It’s affordable, blends out well, and they have a decent colour selection. Makeup gurus actually claim this concealer is a good dupe for the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, but I have never used the Nars one so I have no idea about that! When I grabbed this at Shoppers it was on clearance which makes me think that Maybelline may be discontinuing it…but I’m really not sure. I have now bought an ELF concealer that I absolutely hate so I am on the hunt for something else…I would love to try a clean/non-toxic concealer just not sure which one! Any suggestions??

Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm – I have had a few deluxe sized samples of this cleanser from Sephora (which is what this was) and I really enjoy it! It does an amazing job of removing makeup while adding moisture back into your skin but still somehow feels light?? It’s really a great cleansing balm and it’s no wonder people everywhere are so obsessed with it…I think I may have to snag myself a full size one of these days!

Herbivore Rose Hibiscus Coconut Water Hydrating Face Mist – This was another mini that I had a few of in my collection and I have to say I really enjoyed this stuff. It’s hydrating but light on the skin and I loved the smell despite not typically liking rose scents. Since I’ve discovered my Cocokind Rosewater Toner I’m not sure if I would purchase a full size of this one, but you never know!

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Well that’s it for today guys, I hope that you enjoyed this post and were able to take something useful from it.

I know I have kind of taken a step back from blogging for the past little while, but I truly do love it and I hope that my passion comes through as you read my posts. I need to figure out a way to find some balance between the blogging and Instagram worlds because right now I find it to be mysterious and overwhelming.

Thank you for taking the time to come here and read my post today loves, it means so much to me!

Until next time,

✨Britt