Product Empties March 2016 | Skincare Empties

 My trash is getting full!!! Time to bust out another products empties. I noticed that a lot of my product empties was skincare this past month...which means it's been a very expensive month of repurchasing new skincare items. I feel like the old I get the more and more I want to invest in my skin and keep it healthy and glowing.

Fist up is a shampoo from Sephora, this is the Texas Tea shampoo and conditioner. This is advertised as a voluminous product but I found it really weighted down my hair. As you can see I didn't even use the product up fully, there is still a little left in the bottom. I couldn't wait to get rid of this shampoo and move onto something new.

Next up is a drugstore body oil, this one is Neutrogena Body Oil. I really enjoy putting body oils in my bath and this is one that I've gone through many, many bottles of. It has a great smell and the price is very reasonable. Right now I haven't repurchased another one because I'm using up my Palmer's Moisturizing Body Oil.

This is by far my favorite eye cream I've tried so far. This is the Shiseido Wrinkle Resist 24, it is a pretty thick cream but it's gotten rid of all my fine lines and wrinkles I was starting to get under my eyes. I use this twice a day and in pretty generous portions. It's on the pricey side but definitely worth the money. I've already repurchased another one.

Before I discovered the Shiseido eye cream I was using the Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Eye Cream. This is also a good eye cream but it is a little more light weight. Great if you're in your early 20's. I haven't repurchased this product since discovering the Shiseido eye cream.

Another Shiseido product, this is the Shiseido Wrinkle Resist 24 Night Cream. This is a very moisturizing night cream and I've gone through 2 of these. However, I wont be repurchasing this because I've been testing out some new night oils that I like a lot better for my dry skin.

Speaking of oils, this is the CoverFX Customer Infusion Drops. This is a great face oil to either mix into your moisturizing or foundation. I typically like to add this to my moisturizer during the day when my skin is feeling extra dry. It's a great oil and I will have one in my daily routine I'm trying to use up.

It's been a long time since I've had Estee Lauder skincare products in my routine. When I started to invest into my skincare everything used to be Estee Lauder. Then I branched out and found that there were other amazing products beside Estee Lauder and I really haven't gone back to this brand. I deiced to give one of their eye makeup removers a shot but to be honest I was really disappointed with it. First off this doesn't remove mascara very well and I found it didn't last very long. I have since moved onto something else.

This product has shown up in several empties posts. This is my favorite deodorant and I've been wearing it for years. I work out A LOT so having a good deodorant is very important to me. I can't even count how may of these I've gone through. I've already repurchased a replacement.

On a whim I decided to try some Sephora skincare products. Sephora skincare products are very reasonably priced and surprising work great! I switched my day time moisturizer to the Sephora Instant Moisturizer and I honestly don't want to try anything else. This is great for really dry skin and makeup goes over top of this moisturizing effortlessly. I've already bought a replacement for my skincare routine.

Another Sephora skincare product and another love of mine. This is the Sephora Mud Mask Purifying & Mattifying, I use this either as a spot treatment or as a full on mask.  This product isn't acually empty there is still some left but it's dried up so I've bought a new one to replace it. This mask is so affordable and I've had it almost a year! Great value for your dollar and works amazing. My skin has been so clear since I gave up using drugstore masks and switched to this one.

You may have seen this product in a previous empties post as well. This is the Neostrata Lash Enhancer Serum, another great product but very expensive. This makes your lashes look thicker and longer but it's also a product you have to continually use or you'll loose the thickness and volume.

Finally I used up all my Shiseido Wrinkle Resist 24 Eye Masks. This is the very first eye mask I've ever tried and loved them! You get 12 eye masks in this set which I though was very reasonable and I've already repurchased another pack. I found that this really moisturized and smoothed out my under eyes. I typically use them when I'm doing a face mask so about once a week I would use these. 

That's it for my empties. What products did you use up this month?

Product Empties January 2016 | Products I've Used Up | Ms Pam Blam

I'm getting rid of my beauty trash! Over the past few months I have been moving in my new house and getting settled in. I've put myself on a banned from buying any more beauty products until I use up what I have...I felt that while I was packing I had too much stuff!

Here is what I will be tossing away:

It's a 10 Miracle Leave in Plus Keratin - this is a must have for me. I've found that my hair doesn't like a lot of product in it...the less the better. This is one of the products I use when I get out of the shower...and on my lazy days I will just spray this in and go. It leaves my hair very soft and tangle free! This is on the pricey side especially for being a drugstore purchase (I get mine at Wal Mart) but it's really worth the money.

Caudalie Moisturizing Toner - best toner I've tried so far! I've already repurchased this...and my new one came with a pump which is way better than this packaging. I find the pump lets me control how much product I'm using so hopefully it will last longer. It leaves my skin feeling moisturized and hydrated (which is great for my dry skin)

Caudalie Beauty Elixir - another Caudalie product and another love of mine. I use this product mainly in the summer time to refresh my makeup when it's hot outside. I have repurchased it but it's not currently in my everyday makeup...but I will be pulling it out again in the summertime

Fresh Sugar Nourishing Lip Balm Advanced Therapy - this is a very expensive lip balm! It did work really well but because of the high price tag I'm experimenting with cheaper options and I don't think I will be repurchasing

Ponds Cold Cream Cleanser - technically this isn't an empty or product I've used up but I'm throwing it away anyway. Please don't buy this it's AWFUL! First off the smell is very perfumery and smells like old lady. It was really thick and hard to rub onto my face to remove my makeup. There are so many better cleansers out there I would take a pass on this one.

Dermablend Long Wear Makeup Remover - this stuff was great but hard to get my hands on. This really did remove all of my makeup - even waterproof. The only downside is I couldn't find this anywhere so I bought it on Amazon for A LOT. I haven't repurchased because I don't want to spend that kind of money again but if you can find it locally then I would pick it up.

Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover - this is okay if you've on a budget. It's better than any drugstore eye makeup remover I've tried but I found I did have to rub a lot to get everything off. I don't particularly like to rub my eyes too much as they are very sensitive. I won't be repurchasing accuse I found a different eye makeup remover that I'm loving much better. 

Ardel Accent 301 - not much to say about these lashes...THEY ARE THE BEST! I've wore them to much, there were my go to lashes for my wedding day. They are just half lashes so very easy to apply and look pretty natural if applied correctly.

LashGrip Glue - this is great glue. It sticks and holds in place all day - I prefer this over the Duo glue.

Ardel Natural Demi Wispies - Sorry about the picture...I didn't realize the flash covered up the lash name - but these are the demi wispies. I find the wispies a little too long so I prefer the demi ones. These are great natural looking lashes. They look like my lashes only longer and fuller.

L'oreal Colour Riche Nails - I'm not big on fake nails but after our move I just can't get my nails to grow out - too much handling boxes and moving furniture around. These nails don't stick at all so I would suggest getting some nail glue to stick them on. They only lasted for about 3 days, after that I felt they were just in the way and I ripped them off. I probably will only keep these for special occasions.

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray - I don't know why I didn't include this into my 2015 favorites because it SHOULD HAVE BEEN! I use this everyday. It's the best makeup setting spray I have ever used.

Rapid Lash Eyelash Enhancing Serum - I was really disappointed with this serum. I've used a lot of other lash serums in the past and this one didn't seem to do anything. I wont be repurchasing. 

Did you make it to the end!?!?! Way to go! That seemed like a long list. I love finishing up products - it gives me an odd sense of accomplishment when you complete go through a product. 

If you've tried any of these products I would love to know in the comments below what your thoughts were...please share!

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Current Skin Care Routine

 Welcome back to my blog!!!

Today I'll be sharing my current skincare routine. Normally these products are scattered all over my house and I had to round them all up to get pictures....I learned today that I use A LOT of skin care products. But I must say my skin is in AMAZING condition.

I have extremely dry skin all year round. If you also have dry skin I would recommend checking some of these out.

Here we go - lets walk through what I do everyday for my skin care routine.

 First off in the morning I wash my face. I use the Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Extra Creamy Cleansing Foam. This is a great cleanser, it gets my skin clean without drying it out. I follow up with the Caudalie Moisturizing Toner. 

 Then I move onto moisturizing. Right now I'm using the Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Eye Cream. There is nothing special about this cream and honestly I'm just trying to use up the rest so I can move onto something different. I don't find this does anything and it's not really that moisturizing if you have dry skin. Next I mix the Sephora Instant Moisturizer & Cover Fx Custom Infusion drops - hydration. This is an amazing combination! My skin LOVES oil so much, this hydrates my skin really well. I let it sit and soak in for about 10min before I start putting on any makeup....especially because I'm using oil I want to make sure it's absorbed before I start my foundation routine. 

I was really shocked at how much I loved the Sephora product - normally I stick to well known name brands. This is probably one of the more affordable products I use in my skincare routine so I will defiantly be keeping it in the mix. 

 At the end of the day I take off all my makeup and then cleanse my skin. I use the same products as the morning expect I use the Shisedo cleaner with my clarisonic for an extra clean to make sure all my makeup is off my face.

Then I use a VERY expensive product - I really didn't want to like this product because it was so expensive but it has been amazing for my skin. It's the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil. My skin really loves this stuff....again it's another oil and my skin really loves oil. I let this sit for about 10min before putting my Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Night Cream along with the Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream and that's it!!

These are just some extra products, I defiantly don't use these everyday only 2-3 times a week. Let's face it most of use are busy and just don't always have time for extra treatments. But when I do this is what I use, first off is the Caudalie Moisturizing Mask. I wish I could use this everyday because my skin LOVES it. This puts a lot of moisture back into my skin, now that we're going into the winter season I'll probably use this 3 times a week. Another mask I have is the Sephora Mud Mask Purifying & Mattifying - this is a great & affordable mask. I only use this for blemishes, it really clears anything up instantly! Last I have the Caudalie Deep Cleansing Exfoliator, this is something I use in the shower whenever I was to give my face a quick scrub. It's not too harsh of an exfoliator but it gets the job done!

The great thing about all these products is even though most of them are very pricey they have all lasted me a long time & they all work amazing for my skin. So in my opinion I think it's worth the price point!

Let me know if you've used any of these products in the comments below. I would love to hear what you thought about them. 

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you have a fantastic week ahead! 

 

Product Empties September 2015

Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Smooth Shave Gel with Soy Extracts - This was an OK shaving gel but the bottom of the container rusted and left a ring in my tub which I was not impressed with. I don't think I will repurchase this for that reason

Lancome Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover - This was a great eye makeup removed. I got these tiny samples from Sephora by redeeming some of my points. I am trying a new eye makeup removed but I don't know if it works as good as this one

Fresh Rose Hydrating Eye Gel Cream - This was my favorite eye cream...that is until I tried the Fresh lotus eye cream. This one is a very light weight eye cream and I wanted something a little bit richer. This really was a great cream and I did enjoy it while it lasted but I wont repurchase, I'll be sticking with the lotus cream (I've already gone through 2 jars)

Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream With Super 7 Complex - I've gone through 4 jars of this cream...it's amazing. I have VERY dry skin so I do mix this with a beauty oil and my skin just drinks in the moisture. Highly recommend this face cream!

Cover FX Natural Finish Oil Free Foundation - I know a lot of people love this foundation but it just wasn't my thing. I found this sat on top of my skin and looked like I was wearing makeup, I prefer something more natural looking. I wont be repurchasing this

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Eye Cream - I thought I could cheap out on my skin care and just pick something up from the drugstore....but I really didn't like this eye cream. It was greasy and just sat under my eyes. I had to wipe this off with a tissue before applying my makeup

NeoStrata Intense Anti-Aging Eye Cream Fruit Stem Cells - I got this little baby sample with the purchase of my Neostrata eye lash serum, this was an ok eye cream. I was using it as a night time cream because it was a little greasy. I didn't end up repurchasing it

Josie Maran 100 percent Pure Argan Oil - this is a great oil! I used it for a couple different things (mixing with foundation, on the ends of my hair, on my face, ect) This is such a versatile product the things you can do with this oil is endless and I think therefore makes it worth every penny!

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - I know a lot of people love this mascara but it just wasn't for me. This was a little baby sample from Sephora, I used it up but I won't be repurchasing the full size. I didn't find anything amazing or spectacular about the formula or brush...it just seemed like a regular mascara so I'll save my money  

 

June 2015 Favorites

June has been a very excited and busy month for me!! I'm less than 2 weeks away from my wedding which means I've been very busy preparing and trying out beauty products to finalize my makeup look (which I will be doing myself). During this time I have discovered new favorites and pulled out some oldies as well. Here are my June favorites:

Josie Margan Argan Oil Hair Serum - I've got this back in April and it looks like I've barley used ANY of this product. I was just using the regular Josie Margan argan oil for my hair but I deiced when I ran out to try something new. I use this when I get out of the shower on damp hair and after I style to give me a smooth polished look. It great! My hair feels so soft and conditioned every time i use this. Also I dye my hair myself at home and if you mix 10 drops of this stuff in with your hair dye you can actually treat you hair while your dying it!! I've noticed a big chance, my hair used to feel very dried out for about a week after I dyed my hair, but not anymore. After I dye my hair is sooo soft it feels like I just did a hair mask.

Lancome Hydra Intense Hydrating Gel Mask - I've really gotten into masks lately and this is just one that I'm loving. I use this in the shower, its a gel mask that just makes your skin feel hydrated. I have really dry skin so anything that helps hydrate it is a plus in my book.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir - I've heard of this prodcut a few times on YouTube but have never tried it. I was shopping at Sephora when this cause my eye is the isle of doom (the checkout isle that has all the mini samples). I decided to give it a try but wasn't sure even what to do with it, I actually had to look up online when I got home. I found something that said to spray this overtop of your foundation before powder to give you a flawless look. Normally that would seem CRAZY to me! I would never thing of pulling a liquid on my skin before powder...but I have to say it works! It locks in the foundation before doing powder and makes you skin look glowing and radiant. I also felt that it lasted a lot longer than if I were to just do powder. Big thumbs up in my eyes and something I am looking forward to using on my wedding day to help my makeup last all day and into the night.

Fresh Rose Rose Face Mask - This is just a baby sample size that I got at Sephora for redeeming 100 points. I really wanted to try this mask for a  long time now and I must say this is another good one. I put this one 10min before I get in the shower and then wash it off. My skin feels amazing after and I've noticed that when I consistently use masks my makeup application goes on a lot smoother.

Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder + BeautyBlender - This might seem like an odd combination but this will make you skin look flawless!!! I saw Kandee Johnson on YouTube do this trick and I now do this everyday. This is the mini powder ( I don't use a lot so I decided not to purchase the big size) the small travel size comes with a puff....which I don't use. I've also tried a bunch of different powder brushes with this powder but nothing does the job like the BeautyBlender. Get your BeuatyBlender wet and tap some of the powder into the lid. Then take your damp BeautyBlender and pick up some of the product in the lid and apply it to your face in a patting motion. Your makeup will last all day, it wont look caskey and it will look flawless!! This is another thumbs up and something that I will be using on my wedding day.

That's it for my favorites this month. What have your favorites been?

May 2015 Favorites

Nume Signature Hair Dryer - I've had this Nume dryer for almost 2 years. This was my first high end dryer that I've purchased, normally I just used a dryer from the drug store and refused to spend more than $20. I noticed that my hair was really getting dried out and damaged using the drug store dryers. When I switched to this one I noticed my hair was super soft and silk after blow drying my hair which NEVER happened before. I highly recommend this when I hear someone say their hair feels really dry and damaged. I purchased my hair dryer directly though the Nume site http://numeproducts.com/signature-ionic-dryer-all

Diorskin Star Foundation - I have been looking for a holy grail foundation. I've tried A LOT of foundations lately and I felt I was still constantly on the hunt. I reached out on Facebook and asked for some recommendations, I had a lot of different recommendations for foundations....after going out and spend quit a bit of money on different recommendations....this one really stood out to me. The color match is perfect which for me is really difficult, I have the color 010. The coverage is amazing and very buildable. The foundation is easily bendable and leaves an amazing finish. I've been using this for almost three weeks STRAIGHT! Next week I plan on posting an entire review just on this foundation....it might just be my first HOLY GAIN FOUNDATION. If you're interested in seeing a full review please check back next Makeup Monday. This wasn't available at my locale Sephora so I picked it up at Shoppers...sorry I don't have a link but I've also seen it at The Bay. 

Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream With Super 7 Complex & Fresh Seaberry Skin Nutrition Booster - These next two favorites really go together. I have EXTREMELY dry skin, I have a tough time with foundations looking cakey on me because my skin is sooo dry. I bought the Fresh face creme back in January and it has last me a long time! This container maybe has 1 or 2 more uses out of it and then I need a new one (which I've already bought last week and I have it ready to go when I run out!). This cream is truly amazing but I find that sometimes my skin and still be a little on the dry side. I went last week to Sephora to repurchase this creme and ended up running into a Fresh rep at Sephora. He recommend picking up the Fresh Seaberry oil and mixing it into the face cream.....THIS IS SERIOUSLY A GAME CHANGER. My skin feels so hydrated and my foundation has never looked better! If you have extremely dry skin I highly recommend this combo. The face oil is on the pricey side but all you need is 1 drop per day. Both of these can be purchased at Sephora

21 Day Fix EXTREME - My workout for the month of May has been the 21 Day Fix EXTREME. I am in crunch time now for my wedding so I've been doing an advanced workout to get me ready for my wedding dress. I am seriously in love with the workout....it's tough but I've noticed a HUGE difference in my abs and arms. I'm still so concerned with my wedding dress because I've never been a fan of my arms. But slowly but surly my chicken wing arms are getting lean and toned up! These workouts have been amazing and I have been coaching a fitness group throughout the month of May doing this program, I have some great participates in my group for the month of May that have just been amazing to work with during this time. These programs can be purchased through the Beachbody website www.beachbodycoach.com/mspamblam

What have some of your monthly favorites?