October Empties

It's not every month I do an empties post...but when I do, I include a crap load of mascaras!


I'm honestly terrible at finishing products. Even my favorite makeup items get rotated out of my daily routine often so that each product I own gets used at least a little bit. This is a good way to use my collection, but not great for actually using up makeup. It's my dream to one day finish a lipstick!

Over the past few months I've been giving away a lot of my makeup that I don't enjoy using, especially eyeshadow palettes. I won't have them listed here as I gave them all to my mom and my sister, but I have gotten rid of more than is listed here! Let's start with the mascaras, which are all past their use-by date and needed to be decluttered.

Clinique High-Impact Mascara (sample size)
My aunt often gets free samples when she orders skincare from Clinique and she gifts them to me, which is how I got this mascara! I like small sizes for when I'm traveling and this one does the job. I particularly like it with my bottom lashes and it volumizes without clumping. I don't think I'd purchase a full size as I know of drugstore ones that do the same thing, but I'll happily take another sample of this. *Replaced with a newer sample of the same mascara

Smashbox X-Rated Mascara (sample size)
This was a sample I got from Ipsy and it's the only Smashbox product I've tried. Sadly I wasn't too impressed with this. Some people love and can pull off the clumpy-lash look, but that is not me! I used this up but I won't be purchasing the full size. *Replaced with a sample of Too Faced Better Than Sex

Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Mascara
This is by far my favorite drugstore mascara. While some Maybelline mascaras take a bit of drying out to work the way I want them to (ahem Lash Sensational ahem) this one is great right off the shelf. It gives a lot of natural-looking length and volume without clumping and I can see myself continuing to repurchase it, especially with a $5 price tag! *Repurchased

Mary Kay Lash Love Mascara in I <3 Plum
A different aunt of mine sells Mary Kay makeup and gave me a bundle of Mary Kay makeup last Christmas, including this purple mascara. I got the same one in black as well, but I used it more often so I decluttered it in my last empties post. I really like the wand on this, the bristles reach every lash and give them definition and length. The plum shade doesn't do much for me however, I have dark lashes naturally so you can't see the color at all on me. *Replaced with Covergirl Lashblast

Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara
I originally bought this because I heard it was a dupe for the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara, but now that I've tried both I don't think it's a dupe at all. The wand shape is a similar hourglass shape but Too Faced's bristles aren't as close together so it's better at coating the lashes in my opinion. The formula is also drier and it's more prone to clumping. It's not a bad mascara by any means and I know of a few people who like it, but it's not for me. *Didn't repurchase or replace because I have far too many mascaras open already

Now that the mascaras are discussed we can move onto the bulk of my finished products!

Curel Daily Moisture Lotion
I bought this ages ago and finally finished it. It's a thicker moisturizer for the face or a thin lotion for the body and can be used either way. I like it in the colder months for the face as it gives a lot of hydration and my skin dries out in the winter. In the summer I didn't use it as much, but I finished it up by using it on the body! I may repurchase this at some point but I'm going to try and finish some other lotions and moisturizers first.

Simple Micellar Cleansing Water Sample*
I received this in the Flawless Influenster box recently and was very excited to try it. I've only used one other Micellar water and it hadn't worked out for me, so I wanted to give a different brand a go. This one didn't really work for me either. I put it on a paper towel and tried to take my makeup off with it, but almost nothing came off. Maybe I'm supposed to use a cotton pad or a towel or something, please let me know if I'm doing something wrong! I want to like Micellar waters but they just do nothing for me so far.

Blistex Medicated Lip Balm Original
My family has always used this lip balm so I'm always stealing tubes from my mom's drawer. I always put this on before I go to sleep, which is probably why I run out of it so quickly! It's medicated so I like it better than other lip balms that are just hydrating. This one seems to sink into the lips and actually heal them. I decided to give Carmex a try because I couldn't find any new tubes of this in my mom's drawer!

Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair Deep Conditioning Mask Sample
I got this in a recent Ipsy bag and I've been using it once a week since. I got about 3 or 4 uses out of it and I think it did make my hair feel softer, at least for a few days after using it. It has a subtle scent to it. This has given me a love of doing hair masks on Sundays so I bought a full-size Origins one!

Hello Lovely Body Gel in Vintage Berries--No longer available
My friend got my this last February for my birthday and I started using it this summer. The texture of this shower gel is really cool, it's like Jell-O rather than soap. It lathers nicely and has a strong berry smell. I would try another body gel from this brand but I might get a different scent next time! The packaging is also lovely. *Replaced with Bath and Body Works shower gel in Warm Vanilla Sugar.

I always love doing these posts and hopefully I'll have another one for you next month! Have you finished any products recently?

Xx Katie