Winter Beauty Empties

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Happy First day of Spring everyone! That’s right, look at the bright side (or out the bright window) during this trying time. To celebrate, I’m sharing all my winter beauty empties and their reviews so we all can up our beauty game in the new season!

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got about 100 bottles, bags and containers filled with beauty products in your bathroom. This winter, I decided what was the point in having all these things if I was never going to use them?! So I set out on a mission to finish products I had and decide how I liked them to see which were my faves. Here are their stories (LOL).

Beauty

Dermalogica Pre-Cleansing Oil

I used a sample that I had of this one, and although it worked okay and my skin felt nice afterwards, there was nothing special I can say about it. For that reason, I won’t be repurchasing.

Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser

I had purchased this a while ago and didn’t get around to using it full time. I didn’t finish the full bottle, but I did have a sample, so that’s the one I finished here. Honestly, I never saw the benefits of a cleanser and still can’t say that I visually see a huge difference in my skin from using them. I do see a difference in how my skin feels though. When I cleanse in the morning, my skin feels fresh and ready for moisturizer! This cleanser in particular feels SO lovely on your skin because it’s almost soft… if that even is a thing?! It’s also not terribly expensive, but make sure you don’t use a lot every day because it goes FAST.

I would repurchase this one as it’s one of my favourite cleansers out of the ones I’ve tried so far. Obviously, I have a big bottle to use right now, so stocking up might come a little later.

Sephora Collection Exfoliating Cleansing Cream

Samples galore over here! This was a cleanser but to me it was more of a scrub. There was no cleansing about it, it was a straight exfoliator. I don’t have anything particularly bad to say, but nothing particularly good either. I prefer the scrub I have from Summer Fridays that acts as a mask as well. This one won’t be in my Sephora cart any time soon.

Glossier Rich Priming Moisturizer – Repurchased

I snagged this from the Glossier pop up shop last year when I was in New York City (hello NYC travel guide!) and it’s been a favourite of mine ever since. I love how well it keeps makeup on because it has built in primer. Some people really hate the smell, but I actually like it! To each their own I guess!

I will be rebuying this face cream as soon as I am through a few of my other tubes of morning moisturizer!

Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask – Repurchased

This is a FOREVER FAVOURITE! I’ve gone through probably 4 tubes at this point and have continually repurchased. It soaks into the skin beautifully both as a mask at night or as a moisturizer in the morning. For a while, I used it only at night, but recently started using it as a daily moisturizer again. My life has been changed once again. Bonus, not only is this on the Clean list at Sephora, but Summer Fridays also has a recycling program where you can send old bottles to them for recycling and you get a free one. WIN WIN!

Fresh Deep Hydration Cream – Repurchased

Another sample that turned me into a product LOVER. And another product that was more expensive than I was hoping… but I guess skincare is expensive! I love the way this face cream feels as it’s being applied and afterwards. It’s pretty thick so it’s perfect for the winter time when my skin is craving some moisture. Plus, it smells like a rose garden which I AM HERE FOR! Oh my goodness, if you like flowers, this scent will blow your mind.

One thing I didn’t love about this: if you try and put makeup on before it is fully dry, the cream kind of separates from the skin and rolls, if that makes any sense. It might be better for a night time skincare routine.

Josie Maran Argan Oil

I started using oils in my skincare routine 2 years ago. I liked what it did to my skin but not so much what it did to my hair (SO greasy). This one was the same. I like what it did to my skin, not so much my hair. I can’t say it did anything different than the Argan oil I bought from the organic grocery store in town. Won’t buying this one.

Makeup

Becca Highlighter in Vanilla Quartz

I love the colour of this highlighter and how luminous it looks on the skin. The reason I don’t recommend, is that I never find it lasts! I’ll put it on before work and by lunch it’s toast, even when my blush and bronzer has stayed put. I’m trying new highlighters now that this one’s finished.

Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix

This really didn’t do much for me. The Urban Decay spray works much better in my opinion. Plus, I absolutely HATE it when you can’t get the last bit of product from a container, and this one was my worst nightmare. The last 1/10th of the bottle would NOT spray without huge beads of liquid. I basically had to throw the rest out which is a huge bummer. Definitely won’t be repurchasing.

Hair

Garnier Sleak & Shine Shampoo & Conditioner

I love the smell of this shampoo and conditioner! I’ve been using this for a while now because I had a few bottles stocked up from collaborations I did with Garnier.

The only reason I won’t be repurchasing these ones, is that I’m going to opt for package-less shampoo and conditioner instead. I tried some from Lush on my trip to Australia this past summer and I found they worked just as well, if not better than my normal shampoo. So that being said, why not opt for package-less when I can?!

Related: A few ways to go more green this year

Herbal Essences Bio: Renew White Charcoal Shampoo & Conditioner

I tried this one from a sample I had and won’t be buying the full one. I really hated the scent and didn’t find it to do anything particularly amazing for my hair.

Body

Brazilian Bum Bum Cream – Repurchased

I will be the first to admit that I usually only put on body cream when it’s too late. I just hate the sticky feeling that I always got from the creams I’ve used in the past. In a recent Sephora order, I got a sample of the Brazilian Bum Bum Cream and in my effort to use my never-ending drawers of samples, tried this one out.

Life changing. I put it on my legs and within 5 minutes it was all dried and smelled amazing. Obviously, I went onto Sephora asap only to find out just how pricey this actually is. I repurchased anyways and I’ll see if it’s worth the price for me as I work my way through the bottle.

L’Occitane Cherry Blossom Hand Cream

I liked this one originally because the tube was pretty and I liked the cherry blossom scent. I can say after finishing the tube that it’s nothing special. Probably not worth it with how expensive it is. I will say though that I really liked the size of the tube because it’s perfect to throw in your bag and go. Would I use it again if there was a sale on them? Yes. Would I go out of my way to purchase this EXACT hand cream again? No.

EOS Hand Cream

I hate the container of this one; it’s just like the EOS lip balms, way too big and obnoxious for an on the go beauty product. I was pleasantly surprised with the hand cream though. It seems to absorb quickly and actually makes your hands softer.

All these winter beauty empties and I’m over here wondering how I ever stored so many products for so long before using them!

To battle the social distancing blues, Sephora is offering free shipping on all orders with the code FREESHIP. If that doesn’t kick your skincare game up a notch, I don’t know what will.

Have you tried any products this year that you’ve incorporated into your routine? I’d love to try them out and include them in my next ’empties’ post!

xx Victoria