November Empties!

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are ready for finals! I know I am not ready at all and am very nervous about the coming weeks!

 Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes These were okay. They weren't textured, so sometimes I felt like I was just rubbing a cold cloth on my face, smearing the makeup and not actually getting any of the it off. They were alright, though, so if they were on sale for a really great price, I might buy them again.
Secret Scent Expressions Cherry Mischief This deodorant was surprisingly cherry-like. It was more of the candy cherry, not real cherry, but I expected that. The scent lasted all day, but it wasn't strong enough to bother me/overwhelm any perfume I happened to be wearing. This kept my armpits dry for the most part and when they did get a bit moist, it smelled like cherries. I'm still not sure if I liked my armpits smelling like fruit, but it was preferable over BO. Because the gel was alcohol based, it did sting just a bit if I applied to freshly shaven armpits, but not nearly as bad as the gel deodorant I had in high school. I would definitely purchase this again.
The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Body Scrub This smelled really delicate. It wasn't the sour lemon or Pine-Sol lemon, but a light, fresh, one might say sweet lemon. It did a pretty good job of keeping my feet soft, but the shea butter scrub I used last month was a bit more moisturizing. I would repurchase though, especially in the summer when the weather matches the scent a bit better.
Clean&Clear Morning Burst Oil Absorbing Sheets I have had these for at least 4 years, and I haven't seen this particular variety in stores for quite a while (I've only seen the plain blue-packaged ones), so I'm not even sure if these are available anymore. I really like these blotting sheets though, because the core is a plasticy and not paper, and therefore harder to rip. When I first got them, they had a nice scent (a citrus-y one, I believe, that matched the Shine Control Morning Burst Cleanser), but over the course of four years, they lost their scent. I would definitely repurchase these, as I prefer them over the Earth Therapeutics and the Boscia ones I had/have, plus they are cheaper and come in a slimmer package.
Benefit The POREfessional This was an okay primer. It is a little less "slippery" than Smashbox Photo Finish, which I like because it didn't make it feel like my makeup was just sliding all over my face all day. I didn't really see anything different about my pores, but I don't really have a problem with my pores so I can't say that I looked very hard. I like Too Faced's Primed and Poreless a little more because, in my opinion, the packaging is easier to control, but the product itself is about the same.
Aquolina Pink Sugar sample I love the way this smells. It is very sweet and candy like, and in some ways not a very mature perfume. I wouldn't wear this to a professional setting because it reminds me too much of cotton candy, and cotton candy makes me too giggly, but otherwise I would wear this every day. Too bad it was only a sample.
Yankee Candle Sweet Strawberry As a disclaimer, this candle had gotten all melty/messed up in the mail, as my boyfriend sent this and a vanilla candle to me in the middle of July. That may have had some effect on the smell/burning tendencies. The scent was not as light and sweet as I would have liked, but it was still quite nice. The jar annoyed me, because it is narrower at the top and you can't use a match to light after it gets about a quarter of the way down. It was also very bubbly from what being melted in the summer sun. I'm very happy to say that there was barely any wax left in it when it burned itself out though, much less than the mini candles from Bath and Body Works (which they no longer sell). I want to try a non-melted one before I decide which candle brand is better, though, since my BBW ones are they way they are supposed to be and not all melted all over.

 Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel When I first got this, I loved it soooooo much. It was one of my first higher-end beauty items, and for a while it was exactly what my skin needed. Recently, though, it hasn't been enough for my skin, so I'm glad I finally finished it. As you can see in the picture, it did not end well. I got to the point where the pump wasn't pumping anymore, and there was still half an inch of gel in that container! I had never really thought about how thick that plastic was until I tried to get it open and realized my scissors were not going to do the trick. It took my boyfriend, a knife and 20 minutes to get that baby open. It was not fun.

 BBW Pomegranate Citrus Facial Scrub I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I bought this (on clearance, no less) for $5. I had assumed it would be about the size of the Olay scrub I had previously, but of course it wasn't because hello, it's BBW. It wasn't that fantastic of a scrub and I'm pretty sure it contributed to a few blemishes that wouldn't have been there otherwise. I much prefer the scrub I have now from Olay and will stay away from Bath and Body Works brand scrubs in the future.
Partylite Hocus Pocus tea candles x6 I love love love these candles. They burn cleanly and have a pretty amazing throw. They also burn themselves out when only about a drop of wax left in them. I definitely recommend these candles, they are my favorite so far.
L'Occitane Smoothing Gloss sample I had assumed this would be a liquidy product, but it was quite squishy. It smelled a little funny to me, and it just made my hair tangle really easily. I can definitely see how this would be good for shorter hair, but as my shoulder-length hair continues to grow the tangling would annoy the crap out of me.
BBW Bat Bite Apple PocketBac yup. I really don't like the apple scented sanitizer. I'm glad I'm chipping away at my collection, especially since I just rediscovered HandiBacs.
Nivea Touch of Happiness Body Wash This took forever to get through, and although I really like the scent, but it wasn't the most moisturizing thing ever. I really wish I hadn't bought a ton of body washes/soaps/shower creams so I could just buy the Olay Quench I reallllllllly like. Or the Body Shop kind.

BBW Japanese Cherry Blossom Triple Moisture Cream I really wish I had known about TMC a long time ago. It works SOOO much better than BBW's regular lotion and it comes in a tube I can easily cut open and scrape out. It is more moisturizing than the normal lotion and just a little bit thinner, consistency-wise, than body butter. I will definitely repurchase next time they have their Hello Yellow sale.
Herbal Essences None of Your Frizziness Leave-in Conditioner I love this stuff. It kept my hair from fluffing up when it air dries (which is every day...) and it smelled quite nice. I would repurchase if I didn't have a million other hair products.
Partylite Halloween Night tealights x6 Same as above. I love these!
Prada perfume I don't know what it is, but this smells like rich old lady to me. I can't identify what the particular note is, but it is in this perfume and I don't like smelling like rich person :(
also, I know there are two perfume samples in this picture, but I'm not sure what the other one was...

 Bath and Body Works Wild Honeysuckle Triple Moisture As you know, I love this way more than the normal BBW lotion. This particular scent is online only, and I ordered the body wash, triple moisture cream and body spray because I just couldn't resist the honeysuckle scent!!! It wasn't as good as actual honeysuckle, but it is pretty close.

Pantene Breakage to Strength Conditioner This is really good. Like, really, really good. It smells great and smells like shampoo :) It makes my hair super soft and shiny. I will be repurchasing when I need conditioner.
Satin Care Sensitive Skin shaving gel Meh. It's whatever. I much prefer the Target version of Skintimate, so I won't be repurchasing.
Secret Soothing Effects-Invigorating Rain This didn't help the wetness, so I just put this on before bed to condition my skin for shaving. I wouldn't repurchase.
BBW PocketBac Rockin' Cotton Smells okay.
BBW Coconut Passionfruit Body Wash This smelled like summer but the scent doesn't stay, which I expected.

Not pictured:
Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar body spray om nom nom. I love this scent! It is also one of my boyfriend's favorites, so I will be repurchasing as soon as I work through what I already have.
Yankee Candle Vanilla Satin candle Yup. It was melty like the strawberry one. I still want to try a non-destroyed Yankee Candle.
Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Triple Action Toner This didn't work any better or any worse than any other toner I've used. It also might have had a part in making my skin SUPER red some days. I prefer the smell of the Olay or Biore ones, though, so I don't think I'll be repurchasing this one.

Why you should always cut open lotion.

 This is the standard tube for the Triple Moisture Body Cream from Bath and Body Works. It is about 1000x better than their standard body lotion. I got this in Massachusetts during their Hello Yellow Sale in July. It cost me about three dollars! I finally "used it all up" the last week, but the plastic is so hard I couldn't squeeze it to get the last bits out. So, not wanting to waste perfectly awesome body cream, I took my scissors to the tube.

This is what I scraped out. That's an old Body Shop body butter tub. I filled it at least 1/4 of the way, and the lotion in there lasted me at least five more days. Imagine all of the lotion I have been throwing away by not doing this! It is a shame that it isn't easier to cut open other packages...I'm looking at you, Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel.

Just wanted to let you guys know how much is hidden in "empty" packages sometimes!

October Empties!

B&BW Coconut Passionfruit Lotion: I love the scent of this. For the first few days I wore it, I kept smelling that wonderful coconut/summer smell of sunscreen and I could not for the life of me figure out what it was...then I realized it was this lotion. The scent lasts a while, too. It isn't overpowering, but it is very nice.
Pangea Organics Nigerian Ginger Facial Lotion: This, like the Pangea Organics cleanser I used up last month, made my face super red for a while after using it. It also made my face oiler than normal. Would not repurchase.
Slatkin&Co. Energy Orange Ginger Mini Candle This smelled good to me but according to my male housemate, it "smells weird." I wouldn't repurchase this scent.
Smacker Dr. Pepper Lip Balm Typical Smackers product. Smelled awesome. Would not repurchase because it didn't moisturize like I like/need.
B&BW Unscented PocketBac Yup...Finished another one of these babies.
212 Perfume sample I actually finished this last month, but the little vial got lost under some towels. It smelled pretty good, but I wouldn't repurchase.
Olay Cream Scrub This didn't really do anything for me. I like my scrubs to be gritty, and this one wasn't. Will not repurchase.

The Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter This smelled delicious, very much like real strawberries. It didn't sting when I put it on freshly shaved legs, and it kept my legs soft all day. Also, the labels peel off cleanly, which is great if you want to wash and reuse the container for something else.
WEI Tibetan Chysanthemum Correcting Eye Treatment Pads: These felt nice when applied and didn't sting when it got in my eye, but I didn't notice any effects past just feeling nice. Would not repurchase.
L'Occitane Precious Cream (sample packet) This was a very nice moisturizer. Non-greasy and didn't make my skin oily but left it soft and smooth. I would buy this again if I weren't so cheap...
Versus Versace fragrance sample This smelled very much like "rich person" to me. Classy, but a little too intense sometimes.
Satin Care Sensitive Skin Shave Gel This worked pretty well, but the pump towards the end annoyed me. It isn't empty, but it takes longer and longer and longer to get the correct amount out of the container. My mom got me a multipack of this, so I have three more, but I will not be repurchasing if it slows down like that on the others.
ELF Shine Eraser These absorbed some oil, but I also had problems taking only one sheet out, instead of 2 or 3. They also tore easily, so I will not be repurchasing these. For a dollar, they were a good deal, though.

The Body Shop Shea Body Scrub This was a very moisturizing scrub and it smelled really nice. It also had very big scrubby chunks, so if you don't like really rough exfoliation, this might not be for you. I mainly used this on my feet, so it was perfect.
B&BW Be Enchanted Lotion This smelled okay and worked like all other Bath and Body Works lotions.
B&BW Black Candy Apple Lotion I couldn't tell if this smelled really good or really bad. It worked as well as all other Bath and Body Works Lotions
Ahava dermud Foot Cream These did not live up to my expectations. I've used Ahava mineral hand cream and Ahava mineral body lotion and loved both...this, not so much. It didn't make my feet softer pretty much at all. I would not repurchase this, as The Body Shop's body butters work about 879458965734 times better.
Exuviance Face Mask This was super fun to peel off, but I found my skin didn't look/feel differently afterwards. Would not repurchase.
Slatikin & Co Cranberry Woods mini candle This reminded me a lot of my mom, who likes this color and the cranberry-y scents. It had a pretty lame throw, though. I would repurchase a bigger size.
B&BW Island Nectar PocketBac This is one of my favorite scents. It is so sweet and juicy! I'm pretty sure it is discontinued, though! Oh well. I'll find something else :)

Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Shampoo This made my hair soft, but not exceptionally so.
Slatkin & Co. Hot Chocolate Candle This smelled amazing! My whole room smelled like chocolate when I burned it. om nom nom
Redken Shine Flash Glistening Mist This smelled TERRIBLE. I don't know if it was just my bottle or what, but the scent alone was enough to convince me that I should never buy Redken hairspray, ever. It did leave my hair shiny, though.
Clinique All About Eyes sample This lasted FOREVER. If I hadn't cut it open, I'm pretty sure it would have lasted until I graduated college...It was ok. The rollerball applicator does feel quite nice on tired eyes, but I much prefer a tub.
L'Occitane Precious Eye Balm Yup. It felt nice. There really wasn't enough to comment more than that.
Strivectin-SD This smelled like peppermint and tingled just a bit. It was very nice, but there wasn't enough to see if it worked or not.
Adora perfume sample This smelled awful to me. I like light, girly, fresh scents. This was heavy and masculine. blech.
Bright Crystal Versace perfume sample This smelled alright.
Too Faced Primed & Poreless This made my skin feel satiny (which I like) but I'm not sure it helped my makeup stay on.

B&BW Vampire Blood Plum PocketBac Yup. Smelled quite delicious.
Escada Taj Sunset sample This had the nice, fruity scent I love. This was definitely a good sample.
OPI AvoJuice Raspberry Violet This smelled AMAZING and moisturized pretty well. It soaked in very quickly, but I need a little more oomph in my hand cream, so I will be looking for something else after I finish up the other bottles that came in this set.
Nuance Smooth and Shine Shampoo This did actually make my hair quite shiny, but not shiny enough to justify buying a full size bottle.
Slatkin & Co. Salty Caramel This one made me a bit nauseous sometimes because the smell was so strong. One thing I don't like about these candles is how much wax is left when they burn themselves out. My PartyLite candles burn out only when there is maybe a drop of wax left in the candle. These ones, however, clearly have a quarter inch of wax left. And yeah, I could put it in a tart warmer, but guess what? I don't have a tart warmer, and I'm not going to buy one to put the leftover wax in.