Empties and Stuff

I have a huge backlog of products I need to talk to you about, but I'm a little overwhelmed and don't know where to start, so instead, I'm opening with an empties post! Though it's more accurately an "empties and stuff I didn't like enough to put up with" post. Also, I just realized there were a couple other sample packets I finished and didn't photograph. WHOOPS.

But anyways! Here is a real post! About beauty! With pictures! Aaaaah, it's good to be back.

Skincare Samples

Clockwise from top left:
Biotherm Skinergetic High Recovery Moisturizer: The lovely Liz sent this to me, and I used it when my skin was being dry and grouchy*. Didn't break me out, was nicely moisturizing, not too thick, nothing remarkable.
Eve Lom Moisture Mask: I've already written about how much I liked this. While the packet is empty, I still have some mask left in a jar which I will happily use until it's gone.
Eve Lom Cleanser: This packet's not actually empty, because I decided it was too much effort to try and wash my face the Eve Lom way so I didn't bother finishing it.
Eve Lom Intense Hydration Serum: Nope nope nope. It's almost empty, because the packet was really small, but I didn't bother to use up the last little bit because I so disliked it.
L'Occitane Ultra Rich Face Scrub: Another Liz gift! I really liked this and found it to be just what it claimed, a richly moisturizing face scrub. Excellent for dry skin.
Montagne Jeunesse Dead Sea Mud Pac mask: Got this and another MJ mask for 2/$3 at Walgreens. It was fine, though the packet contained way more than 1 use's worth, but as it was a tear-open foil thingy, I couldn't use it more than the one time. Probably wouldn't buy again, but I guess it was fun to try.
*My skin has become dry and grouchy and absolutely horrible these past couple weeks, due to the perfect storm of bad skin influences––changing birth control, stress of finals, the fact that I touch my face a lot when I'm stressed, trying out a new foundation––and I've been desperately seeking ways to fix the rash, dry skin, zits, and cystic acne that's been plaguing me. YES ALL AT ONCE. Ugh. I'll have a post about that at some point, assuming I ever figure out what the heck fixes it.

September Empties and Discards

I didn't do a great job of taking pictures of purchases this month (again; I hope this doesn't become an ongoing problem...), but my empties are so numerous that it's probably for the best not to have more to write about! I went through my makeup stash and gathered up all the stuff I don't use/want, as well as all that had gone bad, so there's a number of things from that. I also finally got around to ridding myself of all the nail treatments/base/top coats that are too old or didn't work––I'd been holding on to them with the intention of someday doing a round-up post, but it looks like that's not gonna happen so I'll just give quick notes here, which will accomplish the same task without the added (self-)expectation of being super thorough. I still need to go through my polish stash, and I'm in the process of sorting through and labeling all my perfume samples, so I'm sure there will be more for the discards pile come the end of October, but for now, here's the sitch:

The Empties

I finished MAC Matchmaster! Though there's still a little left at the bottom, but the pump won't get it and it's too much effort for me to try to pour it out (I'm a terrible reductionista, I know!). I haven't rebought it yet, though I might––I'm currently considering Kat von D Tattoo Lock-It Foundation after reading a few reviews from people with skin similar to mine who praised its longevity, pale skin options, and oil control, but I'm holding off on that until my current combo of Revlon Colorstay liquid (mixed with primer, all over) and Revlon Colorstay whipped creme (applied with buffing brush on spots that need more coverage) runs out.
The empty MUAC French Green Clay mask sample. Shan't be buying again (for why, see here).
I also finished my tube of Herbal Essences Totally Twisted conditioner; the boy bought me a huge one back east that I brought home with me (Jet Blue has free checked bags, y'all!) and I also saw Suave Captivating Curls conditioner at Fred Meyer, which I snatched up as well––don't know how long it will remain on shelves!
Finally got done with this Body Shop Mango body butter, yay! I used it as hand cream at night and a couple times on my legs. Very mango-y and rich; too moisturizing for my body, but it worked really nicely on my hands. I would happily use it again, but I won't be rebuying because I have a bajillion and a half body butters and hand creams left to use.
I received some sample packets of Eve Lom products when I went to Barneys with L, including this Rescue Mask. I'll have a full review up at some point (I plan to review all the Eve Lom stuff together, and I haven't used half of them yet, so it'll probs be awhile), but for now, let me say: I really, really liked it, and depending on how my skin goes, I may consider forking over the $50 for a tube.
I love the Meow concealer (in Frisky Siamese, this time) samples for being portable, generous, and effective. They give me great coverage, though I noticed that it may be a little grey for my current skintone, weird. I get pretty comparable coverage from the Colorstay combo described above, augmented with NYX HD Concealer (review to come, eventually), so I don't feel the need to order more samples, but I'm sure I will again someday.
And lastly, my beloved Armani Eyes to Kill mascara. It lasted me a good 4 months of daily (sometimes twice-daily) use, and I managed to drag it out for another month after that, though it started flaking towards the end there. I adore this mascara, as regular readers know, but for $30, it's a major purchase. For now, I've found a mascara that's almost as good for 1/5 the price, so I'll be sticking with that (and my numerous mascara samples) for the time being.

The Full-Size Rejects

All the items above were not thrown out, but rather stuck into my giveaway drawer to foist off on friends.
I decided I was tired of WNW Petal Pusher taking up space on my vanity and offering so little in return, so away it went!
The Sally Girl eyeshadow was okayish, though quite sheer, and with my Inglot, I don't really need a blurple anymore.
And, these two Tarte LipSurgence pencils. The hot pink one barely got used, because I didn't find the color flattering, and while the coral one looked nice, I have more moisturizing, less gritty alternatives now, so adieu.

The Sample Rejects

Now, the Make Up For Ever HD primer is not really a reject, per se; it did help keep my oiliness at bay, but it wasn't nearly as effective as my Cover FX Clearprep FX, so I figured there was no point in finishing it.
The Benefit Porefessional, however, is a true reject, as I tried it and found it broke me out (surprise!). But it's a hefty little sample tube, so it's going in the give-away drawer. (Pretend that the perfume vial up there is Porefessional, because I was too lazy to rephotograph with the right products. Bad blogger, I know.)
The tiny button sample of Perfekt Lip Perfection Gel in Melrose was so cutely packaged, but such a fail in product. The color made me look dead (too nude, not enough rose––so much for all the shades being "universally flattering"), and the texture was quite slimy and definitely not moisturizing. Toodle-oo!

The Nail Treatments

These are some of the many, many nail treatments/base coats/top coats I've tried over the past year. From left to right:
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails treatment, which does help strengthen nails, but does not extend the wear of polish. One of the few that worked, just not well enough.
Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle, which I have a newer bottle of since this one got too thick. I find it helps my nails grow faster, but they don't grow stronger, so it's not a great solution. It does get along really well with Zoya polishes, though!
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, which I've also rebought. This is a thick fast-dry top coat, much like Seche, but unlike Seche, it doesn't smell terrible or cause shrinkage. It doesn't dry super fast, but my nails are pretty much functional after 10 minutes.
Nailtiques Formula 2 Plus, which is the most effective nail strengthener I've used. I rebought it at the beginning of the month (my nails stayed good for a couple months, but they've not been so happy lately), brought it back east with me because travel is always terrible on my nails, and apparently lost it somewhere in New York. I forked over the $10 for a new bottle again, though I wasn't happy about it! But seriously, this stuff is great, and the tiny 0.25 oz bottle lasts 3+ months with bi-daily use. I found it got thick before it got empty, so I definitely recommend getting the little bottle.
The infamous Seche Vite, which I found to be extremely fast-drying but stinky and it always, always caused shrinkage, even when I applied it on extremely wet polish. Lots of people love it, though.
Seche Rebuild strengthener/base coat, because I saw a review of it on KarlaSugar. It was fine, but nothing remarkable, and it didn't make much difference in the condition of my nails. My nails are a complete disaster, though, so keep that in mind when reading any of these!
Orly Nailtrition. Found a tiny adorable bottle of this at Sally's on clearance, so decided to pick it up. Another one that didn't make much difference in my nails, though that may be due in part to the fact that I didn't use it as religiously as I should have. I liked the light shimmery pink, at least for the first couple days, but I didn't like that you're supposed to reapply every day for a week before removing, because a) I'm terrible at doing things on a daily basis, and b) it started to look really pink and frosty after too many layers.
INM Out the Door, which is a thin fast-dry polish, better for non-glitters/anything that has texture. I actually really liked it and found it to be very fast-drying, but it didn't help my polish last any too long. Even so, I would rebuy.
Color Club clear polish which came with one of the sets I got. It's a clear polish. I have no need for clear polish. I think I used this as top coat on my nail sticks, but really have no further need for it.
Brucci Miracle Nail Hardener, which was meh. Didn't seem to make much of a difference in my nails, nor did it extend the wear of my polish, so I didn't use much!
I'm currently using the Sally Hansens (Nailgrowth and Insta-Dri) and a-england The Knight and The Shield, which I'm not terribly thrilled with––I may write a post about it, or it may just wait until I use them up and ramble about them in an empties post. I plan to try Zoya's soon, but if you have any other suggestions for HG base and top coats, let me know! I'm willing to try pretty much anything. Also, does anyone know how to get rid of unwanted polishes? I know I'm not supposed to throw them away because they'll kill everything ever, so right now they're just chilling out in a box.

The Perfume Rejects

Guerlain Le Petite Robe Noire is perhaps the most disappointing perfume I have ever smelled. I adore Guerlain perfumes––Mitsouko, Jicky, Shalimar, Samsara, Habit Rouge, Derby...––and refuse to believe that this piece of overly sweet, synthetic berry, shrill and cheap disaster could possibly come from the same house. Bear in mind that perfumes tend to pull really sweet on me, and that I loathe "berry" in my perfumes, but I honestly cannot recommend this to anyone. It was a scrubber on me, particularly insulting coming from such a good house.
Coach Poppy Flower and Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy, which are both generic synthetic fruity florals. That's pretty much all I can say on them.

FREE PERFUME
ETA: Perfume's been taken!

And, if you've managed to make it all the way down here, Armani Code pour femme. This is a half-full 1.7 oz bottle that I would like to get rid of. The scent is nice; not particularly remarkable or excellent, but wearable and long-lasting, but it reminds me of a time I would rather not remember (senior fall at Swat, urgh), and I just can't wear it. If you want it, it's yours, just leave a comment or send me an email (beyondjustbeauty at gmail dot com), the cost is shipping––and I'll send it the cheap way, no worries.

So I don't think I did too shabby this month! Still have a fair amount of fall cleaning to do in my nail polish and perfume samples, but my makeup stash at least is looking pretty good. As far as my guidelines for September went, I didn't quite manage to meet them (darn), but I was really close! I picked up 5 nail polishes, but only paid for 4 (haha, that makes it sound like I stole one––much more mundane, though, I just used a coupon code). I got 1 non-essential beauty item, a lip gloss (review to come), though I suppose you could argue that the Real Techniques brush sets I picked up aren't essential (which would be pretty true). I was at my $120 budget until Surrender to Chance had 20% off everything, which I used to pick up a few samples of things I smelled in New York (and which also put me over the 1 perfume order by 1). So I ended up $25 over, but I'll hopefully do better next month, because: I have a list, and I'm sticking to it. My collection at this point is really nicely rounded, in my opinion, and I no longer feel much of a need to buy new products and try stuff out, particularly from the drugstore. I do have things I would like to add, but it's very much a curated list:
––A pink blush. There will be a Currently Coveting describing this further, and I hope you all can help me!
––A lilac blush, but I'm making do with CARGO Tonga for the time being.
––Numerous liquid lipsticks/lip glosses, but I'm restricting myself to no more than 1 a month. I'm leaning towards YSL Glossy Stain in 4 Mauve Pigmente for October, since I have no vampy lipsticks (shameful!), but that could change depending on the Armani and Burberry options, and whether I can find a shade I love in Hourglass or MUFE's versions (so many choices).

For October, my usual $120 limit applies, and I'm going to try to limit myself to 1 indie perfume order (Sonoma Scent or Tauer) and 1 Aedes order (though, at a mere $15 for 7 samples, I have a terribly hard time not ordering from there every day). School will be picking up soon, and I won't have time to do my usual product stalking, which hopefully will cut down on the lemmings!

Oy, these posts always end up being opuses (opi?). I'm all talked-out at this point, so tell me: how did your September go? And do you want that bottle of perfume?

August Empties

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.

July Favorites, Acquisitions, and Empties

Alright, so, technically it's no longer July, but just barely! so I'll count it as a win. Like last month, I'll try to keep this brief, Tweet-style (though there are some places where I just can't help myself from rambling!).

Empties

Matrix Biolage Hydratherapie Conditioner: Gift from Nana a few months ago when I ran out of conditioner. Had to use a lot, but my hair did like it–never weighted down.
Shiseido Ultimate Cleansing Oil: Finally ran out of it! Bought a replacement bottle stat (see below). Lasted 6 months with 1-2x/day usage. Extremely effective. Well worth the $25!
Suave Captivating Curls Mousse and Conditioner, Color Protection Shampoo: Finished all 3 of my haircare staples! Repurchased the mousse, couldn't find the conditioner anywhere so bought a different one (see below), ran out of shampoo on the last day of the month so new shampoo will be featured in August's post.
Jack Black Black Tea & Blackberry SPF 25 Lip Balm: OMG YOU GUYS I FINALLY FINISHED IT! I generally love the Jack Black balms (though the recent information that they have not been disclosing all the ingredients was very disheartening––part of why I liked them was because I thought they were petroleum and lanolin-free [not because I'm sensitive to either, just because it seemed better for the environment], but I do find it to be very effective for me, so I will certainly use up the ones I have left), but I did not like the smell of this one. Reminded me of dirt! But damnit, I was not going to let it go to waste, so I wore it before going to sleep (both at night and before naps) and the stupid thing still lasted more than 7 months. You definitely get your money's worth! Now I can switch to my favorite scent, Grapefruit & Ginger. 7 months of bliss comin' on up!

June Favorites, Acquisitions, and Empties

Well, this is a few days late, but considering how frighteningly busy I've been, I'm just glad I got it done before, say, August. More posts to come!


I'm going to try to keep my comments under 140 characters, so it doesn't end up being so horribly long. Minus the product names, of course. Items marked with a * were used until empty, and those marked with ** were thrown out due to inadequate performance.

Grocery Outlet and Fred Meyer:
Epielle Cucumber Cleansing Cloths: Not very moist, bit of film left behind. Try normal kind next time instead. Two cloths remove bulk of my makeup, though I always wash after.
Sally Hansen Nail Prisms: Backup of Mandarin Garnet, great new-to-me Golden Tourmaline. Saving the rest to give away.
Biotin: $2.50 for 60! Though only 1000 mg, not 5000. Not sure if it's made a difference yet, but I'll update in a month.
Essence Nail Art Cracking Top Coat Black: Bought to use in nail polish jewelry. Works like a charm!

May Favorites, Acquisitions, and Empties (Or: Amy's Wordiness on Steroids)

Ok, guys, this post is massive. It's so far past tl;dr, it can't even see it on the horizon. Consider yourselves warned.

Favorites:
This month, I've been loving mixing Revlon Colorstay Ivory 110 with MAC Matchmaster 1. The combination is a perfect match for my skin, and it means the best of both worlds: the slip and ease of the Revlon, and the pigmentation and oil control of the MAC. Very pleased!

I've also been wearing eyeshadow 4 or 5 days a week (up from 1 or 2 in the past, ha!) because I get bored waiting for my sunscreen to absorb. My go-to look is TFSI with Too Faced Silk Teddy on my lid, LMdB Corinthian in the crease and outer V, and Too Faced Heaven above my crease to blend. Easy, elegant, and lasts all day!

I've also really been loving playing around with all my perfumes. Mitsouko is still my #1 love, but FM Carnal Flower and By Kilian Beyond Love are great for warmer weather (I love my tuberose, yum). Some of the other wins: L'Artisan Thé pour un Eté (jasmine tea!), FM En Passant (lovely lilac), Samsara (great day-to-night scent), Dior Diorella (weird, delightful chypre), and Jicky (ultimate comfort scent). I've taken to wearing one scent down my shirt (scandalous!) and a different one on my left forearm, so that I catch whiffs of them both over the course of the day. I do have to be sure to wear scents that don't clash, and sometimes I spray the same one both places, especially when I'm "testing" it (for my own edification with regards to how much I like it), but it's a system that's working well!

April Favorites, Empties, and a Change of Course

I didn't do a Monthly Favorites post last month, since I didn't feel like I really had anything of interest to share, and I'd only used up one product. April fared slightly better in both regards!

You probably know by now that I'm a bit OCD (if not, see my polish and perfume spreadsheets), and I've been loving perfume lately. Most recently, it was polish (obviously), and before that, makeup in general. For a few years, it was cross stitching that I spent my time and energy doing, and I know I will go back to that eventually, but for the time being, I'm enjoying reading about all the wonderful perfumes there are!

My perfume collection, such as it is. Lots of sample vials! I'm going to need a new system soon.

February Favorites

Happy February 29! What better way to commemorate it than with another monthly favorite post? (There's also a lot of beauty sales going on, if you've still got room in your monthly budget! I, naturally, do not.) I didn't do one for January because there wasn't anything significantly different from December's list, but I've found myself reaching for other things this month (with the exception of Cabana Boy, which is on both lists!) so I thought it appropriate to post a new one.

I've been using Revlon ColorStay frequently since I got it, and I'm still loving it, especially over primer. The color match is great, it offers good coverage, and it doesn't reek! Yay! And, since my skin's been having some issues (check back for Skincare Saturday this week!), I've been very glad to have theBalm TimeBalm concealer on my side. I like applying it with my Ecotools concealer brush and topping it with Kryolan––keeps me covered all day!

December Favorites

Many blogs are doing a "best of 2011" post, but since I only started my bloggle this year, and am (comparatively) reserved in my purchases, I don't feel at all qualified to do one of my own. However, monthly favorites/empties posts are also popular, and I figured I should maybe start doing that, and what better time than now? Unlike Tip Tuesday or Recommendation Thursday, it doesn't require too much research on my part, but will hopefully still be fun and interesting for you all! I'm also hoping that the fact that it's only once a month means I'll be able to actually consistently post it (unlike my "weekly" features...). So, without further ado, here's what I've been loving in December!

MAC Matchmaster 1, Kryolan Anti-Shine Powder

MAC Matchmaster 1, Kryolan Anti-Shine Powder

I use these almost every day (occasionally I'll wear another foundation from one of my samples, but I always set it with Kryolan!). Yes, foundation and powder are boring "favorites", but as one of the only real staples in my collection, I felt I had to give them the attention they deserve!