February 2013 Empties

I love watching empties videos on YouTube. Partly it's because I'm nosy, but also because I love hearing what the reviewer thought of each of the products after using it for that long and whether they will buy it again.

I'm very fickle and have no self-control, so I'm constantly flipping back and forth between different products and almost never actually finish anything. You might notice that some of these "empties" aren't entirely empty - that's because I started using them, moved on, and forgot to go back and finish them before they expired. So I guess that's kind of cheating, but they're getting tossed along with the empties and I figure there's a reason I didn't go back to them, so you might still find the feedback useful.

Here goes!

1. Vichy Essentielles Facial Emulsion

This was a nice, light moisturizer that I used a lot last summer. I don't think it's entirely empty, but it has expired and I don't like using expired product on my face!

2. Marcelle Essentials Clay Mask

Marcelle is an unsung gem of a drugstore brand available in Canada. It's one of the two major ones (the other is a brand called Quo, available at Shopper's Drug Mart) that no one has heard of outside of the country, but that are pretty darn awesome for the price! I love that the majority of their products are unscented, hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. Their makeup is hit or miss, but the skincare is great for sensitive skin and works really well. This mask is pretty much just your basic mask - toss it on, leave it for a little while, remove with a face cloth. I honestly couldn't really tell if it did anything or not, but the texture was lovely and it was gentle enough for my sensitive skin.

3. Marcelle Oil-Free Multi-Defense Moisturizer

Before Embryolisse, this was my daily face cream. I may switch back in the summer. It's a very liquidy lotion that doesn't have a scent and is incredibly light on the skin. I like it in the summer because it has SPF 15, is soothing if I have gotten more sun than I should and is great if my skin is feeling a bit more on the oily side. It absorbs very quickly, so it's great to use under makeup.

4. Alba Pineapple Enzyme Facial Cleanser

Just alright. Smells great, perhaps a little drying on the skin. Confession time: I got so sick of having this bottle hanging around that I used up the last third of it as hand soap. Yeah, I have that many face washes hanging about in the bathroom. Feel free to start judging now.

5. Juice Beauty Green Apple Mineral Antioxidant Moisturizer

This one expired too, sadly. I loved it, but it's the curse of the natural beauty product - it expires too quickly. And this was a HUGE bottle. This one hurt to throw out, though, I'm not gonna lie! The smell was gorgeous - light and citrusy. It did a great job of moisturizing - not too heavy, not too light - and was great for sensitive skin. If it weren't so darn expensive, I'd definitely repurchase.

6. Juice Beauty Green Apple SPF 15 Moisturizer

This I actually used up and it was delicious. I love this stuff - smells good, feels lovely on the skin. And of course, the SPF is excellent to have in a face cream! A bit pricey, though, and it expires quickly. I'd consider re-purchasing if it was ever on special.

7. Vichy Essentielles Facial Cleanser

This goes with #1, obvs. This was pretty "meh." Not excellent, but okay. Did the job. Got me clean. Not worth the money, though.

8. Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash

I've been using this line since I was a teenager with oily skin. I like that even though my skin has matured (even if my personality hasn't) it's still gentle enough to use when my skin's having a good 'ole teenaged tantrum. The smell is intense, so you have to be okay with tea tree - but once you get used to it it's actually quite nice. Love it.

9. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

I've gone through a bunch of these, because until I discovered the wonder that is First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream, I used it as hand cream. I also used it as night-time face cream in colder months until switching to my French pharmacie products. It's still great, and I still have a bottle of it in my bathroom. I'm sure I'll always have some of this kicking around.

10. Bioré Purify Daily Scrub

I have used up a few tubes of this - the smell is lovely, I like the round beads because they're not too abrasive on my skin and the formula of the cleanser itself left my skin nicely refreshed. I'd recommend this if you're looking for a budget physical exfoliator.

11. Bioré SkinPreservation Even Smoother Microderm Exfoliator

This is another great one. I don't like the smell as much, but the texture is amazing. It has very fine, very dense exfoliators so you feel like it really gets into your skin and takes off all the dead skin cells. I would only use it a couple of times a week because it is quite an intense exfoliation, but I think it does a great job - particularly considering that it's a drugstore brand. I've gone through a few tubes of this as well.

12. Makeup Forever Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector

I love this stuff. I have light patches in my brows where I've lost pigment, so I use a tiny bit of this on a spoolie and work it through my brows and it colours the individual hairs rather than the skin so it looks totally natural. This is in shade #3, which matches my natural brow colour perfectly. It lasts all day long and I love that it's waterproof so I don't have to worry about it smudging. I've had this one tube for over a year now - maybe even a year and a half - and I could probably get even more out of it. Great stuff. 

Phew! That's it for empties this time around. I'll do another post whenever I feel like I've amassed enough empties to warrant it, but since it takes me forever to finish things it probably won't be monthly - maybe every couple of months.

Hope you guys found that helpful! Have you used any of these products? What were your impressions? What products have you used up lately, and what did you think of them? Share in the comments!