Let me start this post by admitting that this month was, well, somewhat of a fail. Just in terms of money spent, I mean––how much of a fail could a month that gives us baby watermelon really be? But, yeah. Mint is pretty angry with me. I had hoped to keep it under $100, and I did not. Not even close. And that's not counting the stuff I bought with birthday funds! Sighhhh. It's so much stuff, and I did such a crappy job of keeping track of/photographing everything that I'm not even going to talk about acquisitions. It's also rather shameful. I was doing so well! Sighhhhhhhhh. Anything worth noting will be reviewed/discussed in other posts! I did pretty okay with empties this month, though, so here those are:
Clockwise from top left:
Pacifica California Star Jasmine body wash. This lasted me a really long time! I adore the smell and how delightfully foamy it was. I picked up the Waikiki Pikake version with my birthday discount, but I don't like it nearly as well––it's runnier, the scent isn't as appealing, and I'm going to use it up a lot faster both because I find I need more product, and because I want it empty so I can rebuy this one!
8 oz containers of acetone and pure acetone nail polish remover from Sally's. I like this kind, because the acetone (not 100%; in store it's pink) one smells nice and works well, and 100% acetone is my go-to tool for cleaning up cuticles. These smaller bottles are nice for travel, but they're not as good a deal as the 16 oz ones, so that's what I tend to buy instead. The 32 oz ones have an enormous opening that is far too large for my cotton balls, so I don't like buying those, either.
Secret pH balanced deodorant/antiperspirant in Spring Breeze. Worked pretty well, didn't mind the smell, would consider rebuying.
Bioré Deep Cleansing Ultra Pore Strips. The boy finished off the last of these. It was wonderfully disgusting.
Ojon Damage Reverse Restorative Hair Treatment Plus sample. This stuff is weird. It comes out as a gooey paste that turns into oil with weird little clumps (protein? oil chunks? I don't have any idea) as it warms between your hands. I used the entire sample in one go, leaving it in for 20 minutes before taking a shower and shampooing/conditioning as usual. Left my hair very oily, unsurprisingly. I imagine it would work better (or at least, work in a positive way) for people who have very dry, not curly, not fine, hair.
Meow Cosmetics Sleek Siamese Concealer sample baggie. I actually remembered to keep this when I finished it! There's still a bit of dust at the bottom, but my concealer brush stopped picking any of it up and I decided it just wasn't worth the hassle. I like Meow's concealer formula a lot, especially over liquid foundation, but I've shifted over to Frisky Siamese, the next shade down (2 instead of 1) for the summer since it's a better match for my skin. But sample baggies are so handy! They last me 3+ weeks with extensive daily use, and someone whose skin does not always look like a disaster zone could get 1-2 months from it, easy.
Clean & Clear Oil Blotting Sheets. Took me about...9 months to finish off this pack. Maybe a year, actually. Now I have my great primer and powder combo and pretty much never need these! Handy for blotting lipstick, though.
Prestige Brow Gel. Rebought this, using the old brush to tidy my brows pre-powdering. Works fine, good price.
Revlon ColorStay Combination/Oily Ivory 110. I finished a foundation! You guys, I finished a foundation! And promptly rebought it. I rarely wear this on its own, but I love mixing it with MAC Matchmaster (which is also almost empty, and will probably be in the September empties post!) and wearing it over Cover FX primer. My only peeve with it is that it doesn't have a pump top, but I'm considering buying one for it (or possibly using the old Matchmaster one once that runs out). Good stuff.
I also finished my bar of Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia soap! And picked up a new one of Spanish Amber, which was a new addition at the UO bookstore and smells very yummy (though not particularly of amber). Seems like these bars last me about 2.5 months with multiple-times-daily use. Not too shabby! Also, they all smell great for the entire time!
I also threw out a couple things, by which I mean literally 2 things. There will be more of these next month, since I'll want to do more extensive "fall cleaning" (so much more important than spring cleaning, for those of us still on an academic schedule) before school starts again.
Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum. I stopped using this several months ago because it stopped working, and should have thrown it out shortly thereafter. The squeeze top seems to leak, which is extremely weird. I liked it while it worked! Then it stopped and I got sad.
Milani HD Advanced Lip Color in Modern Mauve. This lasts about 20 minutes on me before it's completely gone, and I just got tired of it taking up space in my lippie holder. BEGONE.
As far as favorites go, I haven't really had any this month. I've tried to use pretty much everything in my stash, which hasn't left a whole lot of time for favorites to develop!
Rules for September
I'll be visiting New York, and school will be starting up again, so I feel I should give myself a little leeway. In New York, I plan to visit the Burberry, Armani, and Le Métier counters, but will hopefully manage to refrain from purchasing anything! I actually think I'll spend most of my shopping time there sniffing perfumes, and I am extremely unlikely to purchase anything, as $100+ purchases are still painfully expensive for me. There are also a number of things that I'll need to rebuy; I'm almost out of MAC Matchmaster, my beloved Eyes to Kill seems to be drying out/running low, and my Tarte lash curler has just about had it. I'm hoping to hold off on the mascara and make do with some samples I have, but Matchmaster and a lash curler will need to happen (okay, I use "need" loosely, obviously). I'm considering picking up the Shu Uemura curler since they're having 10% off with free shipping through September––has anyone used it? What did you think?
So, my rules for this month are:
No more than 1 perfume order
No more than 2 non-essential makeup items
No more than 3 nail polishes
Spend less than $120 total.
And, go through my stash and clear out anything that hasn't been used in 2 or more months, unless I can reasonably expect to wear it more in fall/winter.
Fingers crossed that September goes better than August! And that I actually remember to photograph stuff as I acquire it so I don't have to run around trying to remember what I bought when. Absent minded professor, indeed...
How did your August go? Did you use up anything super exciting?
Pacifica California Star Jasmine body wash. This lasted me a really long time! I adore the smell and how delightfully foamy it was. I picked up the Waikiki Pikake version with my birthday discount, but I don't like it nearly as well––it's runnier, the scent isn't as appealing, and I'm going to use it up a lot faster both because I find I need more product, and because I want it empty so I can rebuy this one!
8 oz containers of acetone and pure acetone nail polish remover from Sally's. I like this kind, because the acetone (not 100%; in store it's pink) one smells nice and works well, and 100% acetone is my go-to tool for cleaning up cuticles. These smaller bottles are nice for travel, but they're not as good a deal as the 16 oz ones, so that's what I tend to buy instead. The 32 oz ones have an enormous opening that is far too large for my cotton balls, so I don't like buying those, either.
Secret pH balanced deodorant/antiperspirant in Spring Breeze. Worked pretty well, didn't mind the smell, would consider rebuying.
Bioré Deep Cleansing Ultra Pore Strips. The boy finished off the last of these. It was wonderfully disgusting.
Ojon Damage Reverse Restorative Hair Treatment Plus sample. This stuff is weird. It comes out as a gooey paste that turns into oil with weird little clumps (protein? oil chunks? I don't have any idea) as it warms between your hands. I used the entire sample in one go, leaving it in for 20 minutes before taking a shower and shampooing/conditioning as usual. Left my hair very oily, unsurprisingly. I imagine it would work better (or at least, work in a positive way) for people who have very dry, not curly, not fine, hair.
Meow Cosmetics Sleek Siamese Concealer sample baggie. I actually remembered to keep this when I finished it! There's still a bit of dust at the bottom, but my concealer brush stopped picking any of it up and I decided it just wasn't worth the hassle. I like Meow's concealer formula a lot, especially over liquid foundation, but I've shifted over to Frisky Siamese, the next shade down (2 instead of 1) for the summer since it's a better match for my skin. But sample baggies are so handy! They last me 3+ weeks with extensive daily use, and someone whose skin does not always look like a disaster zone could get 1-2 months from it, easy.
Clean & Clear Oil Blotting Sheets. Took me about...9 months to finish off this pack. Maybe a year, actually. Now I have my great primer and powder combo and pretty much never need these! Handy for blotting lipstick, though.
Prestige Brow Gel. Rebought this, using the old brush to tidy my brows pre-powdering. Works fine, good price.
Revlon ColorStay Combination/Oily Ivory 110. I finished a foundation! You guys, I finished a foundation! And promptly rebought it. I rarely wear this on its own, but I love mixing it with MAC Matchmaster (which is also almost empty, and will probably be in the September empties post!) and wearing it over Cover FX primer. My only peeve with it is that it doesn't have a pump top, but I'm considering buying one for it (or possibly using the old Matchmaster one once that runs out). Good stuff.
I also finished my bar of Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia soap! And picked up a new one of Spanish Amber, which was a new addition at the UO bookstore and smells very yummy (though not particularly of amber). Seems like these bars last me about 2.5 months with multiple-times-daily use. Not too shabby! Also, they all smell great for the entire time!
I also threw out a couple things, by which I mean literally 2 things. There will be more of these next month, since I'll want to do more extensive "fall cleaning" (so much more important than spring cleaning, for those of us still on an academic schedule) before school starts again.
Milani HD Advanced Lip Color in Modern Mauve. This lasts about 20 minutes on me before it's completely gone, and I just got tired of it taking up space in my lippie holder. BEGONE.
As far as favorites go, I haven't really had any this month. I've tried to use pretty much everything in my stash, which hasn't left a whole lot of time for favorites to develop!
Rules for September
I'll be visiting New York, and school will be starting up again, so I feel I should give myself a little leeway. In New York, I plan to visit the Burberry, Armani, and Le Métier counters, but will hopefully manage to refrain from purchasing anything! I actually think I'll spend most of my shopping time there sniffing perfumes, and I am extremely unlikely to purchase anything, as $100+ purchases are still painfully expensive for me. There are also a number of things that I'll need to rebuy; I'm almost out of MAC Matchmaster, my beloved Eyes to Kill seems to be drying out/running low, and my Tarte lash curler has just about had it. I'm hoping to hold off on the mascara and make do with some samples I have, but Matchmaster and a lash curler will need to happen (okay, I use "need" loosely, obviously). I'm considering picking up the Shu Uemura curler since they're having 10% off with free shipping through September––has anyone used it? What did you think?
So, my rules for this month are:
No more than 1 perfume order
No more than 2 non-essential makeup items
No more than 3 nail polishes
Spend less than $120 total.
And, go through my stash and clear out anything that hasn't been used in 2 or more months, unless I can reasonably expect to wear it more in fall/winter.
Fingers crossed that September goes better than August! And that I actually remember to photograph stuff as I acquire it so I don't have to run around trying to remember what I bought when. Absent minded professor, indeed...
How did your August go? Did you use up anything super exciting?
