The One with the August 2017 Empties

Where oh where did the summer go?! Can you believe it’s already September 1st? I certainly can’t. I feel like a lot of us are shocked with how fast the summer went. It’s already back to school time for many. For my son, it’s this Tuesday! Grade one, here he comes!

And with a new month comes a box full of empties! I did another solid job in August finishing off many products! Let’s get straight into it and see what I finished!

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster
This is a serum that I had had quite a few samples of and keep wanting more of. I think it’s the smell more than anything that has me hooked on this product. It smells like oranges and it’s just wonderful. I feel like it brightens my skin and I know Vitamin C is good for your skin!
Repurchase? It’s a high price point so maybe (if I don’t keep getting deluxe samples).

Ole Henriksen Ultimate Lift Firming Serum
I don’t know if I really noticed a difference in my skin after using this. It’s an anti-aging product so it is hard to see drastic results but usually you can see your skin looking a tad plumper or firmer. I just didn’t with this.
Repurchase? I think it’s been discontinued but even if it weren’t, no.

Skin Chemists 24 Hour Aqua Repair Facial Serum
I absolutely loved this! It was ultra hydrating and it was perfect under makeup. The consistency was a lot thicker than most serums I have used and it leaves your skin a bit tacky while it is drying but it does dry down. A little went a long way also!
Repurchase? I would love to but it is really expensive so probably not.

Avène Hydrance Optimale Hydrating Serum
I enjoy this serum and it works well under makeup but I wouldn’t say it’s super hydrating like the last one. It’s much lighter. Sometimes with serums, it’s hard to tell if they are working right away. Because they penetrate the skin much deeper than a moisturizer, a lot of times you won’t notice an immediate difference on the surface.
Repurchase? Maybe. If I got it on sale, I would love to see how it improves my skin over time (this sample is only 5 ml).

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Age Defying Exfoliator
I can’t put my finger on what this smells like but it’s such a familiar scent. It’s kind of citrus-y but kind of chemical-y at the same time. It’s weird. But I did really like this exfoliator! Who knows if it defied aging skin but I liked how well it exfoliated my skin. It’s not super rough but I did find it to be rougher than most exfoliators I’ve tried. Some people may not enjoy that.
Repurchase? No because I have a full size already from FabFitFun!

Avène Mousse Nettoyante Cleansing Foam
This is a delightful foaming cleanser! It has that signature fresh Avène scent that I love! This isn’t a cleanser to use if you are trying to remove makeup but it’s excellent for in the morning when you just want a nice light cleanse!
Repurchase? Yes!

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Deep Dive Cleansing Gel
I expected to love this but my opinion is quite the opposite. First of all, the scent is kind of weird but it’s not the worst I’ve ever smelled. I could definitely look past that if I enjoyed the cleanser itself. But I didn’t. I thought this was going to be hydrating but it actually left my skin feeling really tight after washing. I hate when cleansers do that!
Repurchase? No!

Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré
This is a great moisturizer! It’s a milky texture that leaves my skin feeling super soft and looking supple. I found this to be very hydrating and it worked amazing under makeup! I was unsure about it at first because I thought it might cause my skin to breakout but it didn’t!
Repurchase? Possibly. I think it’s reasonably priced.

Miracle 10 AHA Cream
I didn’t want to like this moisturizer because I wasn’t a big fan of the smell! This is my second sample of it and I have to say, I like it a lot! It makes my skin look amazing when I wake up! It looks so radiant and glow-y. It gently exfoliates the skin using Alpha Hydroxy Acid. I’ve only used it before bed so I haven’t tried it under makeup.
Repurchase? No, only because it’s so expensive.

Origins High Potency Night-a-Mins Mineral Enriched Renewal Cream
This cream is specially scented to make you feel sleepy! For me, it didn’t work, but it’s worth looking into if you are interested in something like that. I did like using this cream at first because my skin looked amazing in the morning. It’s very hydrating and rich. But because of how thick it is, I think it was breaking my skin out.
Repurchase? No.

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Drink of H2O Hydrating Boost Moisturizer
Anyone else getting into gel moisturizers lately? They are so perfect for people who have combination-oily skin! I have an oily T-zone but my skin is always feeling tight if I don’t use the right moisturizers. This moisturizer really provides enough hydration without causing my skin to look greasy! The only downside I have found is that it pills under silicone based primers. That is a bummer because I love this!
Repurchase? I would like to but I’m going to search and see if I can find a different gel moisturizer that doesn’t pill for me.

Origins GinZing Energy Boosting Moisturizer
This is another gel moisturizer where I had the same problems as the Tarte. It’s amazing on it’s own if you are going fresh faced but as soon as you use it under silicone-based primer, it pills! The one up this moisturizer has on the Tarte is that it gives your skin a wakeup call! It’s perfect for the morning when your skin is feeling dull and tired. After using this, my skin looks so much brighter and awake!
Repurchase? Yes, for no-makeup days!

The Body Shop Seaweed Oil-Balancing Toner
I was inspired to give this a try thanks to Adryana! That’s the beauty of blogs and word of mouth! This has turned out to be one of my favourite toners! I love the fresh scent (and no, it doesn’t smell like seaweed!) and how it really does help control my oil! I especially noticed the difference when using a different toner.
Repurchase? Absolutely!

Garnier SkinActive Makeup Removing Micellar Wipes
I purchased these when the store was out of my regular Simple micellar wipes. I had no idea how hard it would be to find micellar water in wipe form other than these two brands. I saw nothing else! So I decided to give these a go. They did the job for me and removed my makeup well. The only reason I would still prefer the Simple is that these ones are little bit dryer and have a slight scent that I don’t enjoy. Otherwise, they work great!
Repurchase? Yes, if Simple is out of stock again. XD

Cotton 100% Cotton Cotton Pads
Ok, the name of these make me laugh because how many times can you write cotton on the package? XD I’m not even positive if Cotton is the brand name or what. I simply needed cotton pads and these were the only ones available at No Frills. I didn’t want to make a separate trip somewhere else so I grabbed a bag. They were only $1 so I figured I would give them a try. It turns out they are pretty awesome! While they are on the thinner side, they don’t break apart at all!
Repurchase? Yes!

Stemulation Daily Micro Derm Scrub Face and Body
I had really good results using this scrub! My skin looked much brighter and felt much smoother after using. I used this on both my face and body and really enjoyed it. It has such a nice citrus scent, also!
Repurchase? Probably not because I have so many scrubs in my closet and this one is a little pricey.

Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil Leave-In Treatment
This took me forever to get through so I feel very happy that it’s done and I can move on to new hair oils to try! I feel like this did a well enough job at adding shine, leaving my hair smooth, etc. but it wasn’t a miracle worker (I have super frizzy hair). I don’t think I’d ever buy a big bottle of hair oil or serum because I get sick of using the same thing over and over.
Repurchase? No.

Bain de Terre Argan Oil & Passion Flower Colour Therapy Styling Oil
I really liked this oil because of how amazing it smells! I also thought it did a great job of smoothing my frizz and adding shine. It’s also supposed to protect colour treated hair, which I have. This took me about a year to use up! I didn’t reach for it too often because it doesn’t have any heat protecting properties.
Repurchase? No because I prefer my hair products to have heat protection.

Batiste Instant Hair Refresh Dry Shampoo
I swear this is in my empties almost every month! XD That is a testament right there to how much I love it! Particularly this “coconut & exotic tropical” scent! I haven’t found a dry shampoo that works better than this one.
Repurchase? 100%!

Secret Clinical Smooth Solid with Olay Antiperspirant/Deodorant
This is my favourite deodorant for the summer time! It prevents smell and sweat! I found these at the dollar store for $4 instead of the regular $8 so I was quite happy about that.
Repurchase? I already have some backups!

Jelly Pong Pong Lychee Softening Shower & Bath Gel
I always love the packaging from Jelly Pong Pong! So cute! This shower gel was nice but I felt like I needed to use a lot in order for it to be enough for my whole body. The scent is deliciously citrus-y which I can’t get enough of, clearly. It didn’t dry out my skin or anything.
Repurchase? No.

The Body Shop Strawberry Shower Gel
If you’ve ever smelled The Body Shop’s shower gels, you’ll know just how scrumptious they are! This one had a delightful strawberry scent that filled the whole bathroom, even after I was done taking my shower. I liked this shower gel because it didn’t dry out my skin but I kind of had the same problem as the Jelly Pong Pong where I felt like I had to use a lot of product for the whole body. The difference is these are much cheaper for more product!
Repurchase? I have backups of other scents already (and I’m not experiencing the same problem with my Satsuma scent).

Sephora Coconut Lip Balm
This was one of those classic “I need to spend a few extra dollars to get free shipping on Sephora.com” purchases. I was curious about these anyway and there are many different flavours but I chose the coconut, of course. It smells amazing! I was surprised at how nice the packaging was because I expected it to be flimsy. I just didn’t find it to be ultra hydrating for my lips.
Repurchase? No.

Shiseido Ultimune Eye Power Infusing Eye Concentrate
I really liked this sample. I got maybe 5 or 6 uses out of it which was nice! I liked how well it absorbed into my skin. It’s hard to say if it worked against wrinkles but I did feel like it helped with dark circles and also hydration.
Repurchase? I would love to but it’s super expensive.

The Body Shop Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturizer
There was only enough in here for one use so I didn’t get a great feel for it but it was nice as far as I can tell! It made my skin soft and hydrated and definitely look more glow-y.
Repurchase? I would consider it!

Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm
This was such a strange product! I’ve never used anything like it. It is a black sticky balm that you use to cleanse your face. It can remove makeup too but I never tested that. I kind of liked this but the full size is $135… no thanks!
Repurchase? No!

Briogeo Rosarco Repair Shampoo
This shampoo did my hair absolutely zero favours. I had a hard time getting it to lather and it didn’t leave my hair feeling particularly clean. My hair also felt super dry after using it!
Repurchase? No!

Nivea Essential Lip Balm
My number one favourite lip balm of all time! My holy grail! While I love testing out new lip balms, I will always go back to this one. It’s perfect for me. It lasts a long time on the lips, keeps them moisturized and best of all – doesn’t give me a rash, which many lip balms do!
Repurchase? Always!

Loverecipe AcaiBerry Mask
The packaging on this is super cute! I really enjoyed using this sheet mask. As far as I can remember, it fit pretty well. My skin was left feeling hydrated, softened and radiant.
Repurchase? If it were easy to get a hold of, yes.

111Skin Bio Cellulose Facial Treatment Mask
This is one of those most luxurious sheet masks I have ever tried! It is sooo nice! For one, instead of the usual flimsy material, this was almost gel-like. Because of the gel material, it provided a cooling effect while using, which felt soothing. This mask provided a lot of hydration and made my skin feel and look soft and radiant. It also lasted a very long time on my skin!
Repurchase? No because of the price point, unfortunately.

Secret Key Nature Recipe Tea Tree Sheet Mask
This was the perfect mask to use during a breakout! I didn’t really find this to smell much of tea tree so I don’t think it’s too high on the ingredient list. I did find it to be very soothing for my pimples though and helped with redness. It was kind of weird though because my mask was all bunched up in the package. Also, the shape of the mask was not a good fit for me. The nose part only covered half of my nose and there were some weird eye flap things! I ended up cutting off the eye flaps and placing them over the uncovered parts of my nose! XD
Repurchase? Probably not because of the weird shape.

The Face Shop The Solution Wrinkle Care Face Mask
I obviously didn’t see any drastic changes in my fine lines but I always feel like they are nicely blurred after using a sheet mask. This mask had a nice fit and left my skin feeling very hydrated.
Repurchase? Yes!

Okay, that’s it for my August empties! I hope you enjoyed reading and that my input was helpful. Let me know if you’ve tried any of these products in the comments below! I would also love to read your empties so link me up!

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