But will I repurchase them?
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Everyone loves a good makeup haul, but there’s just something special about an empties post. You’ve finished up the whole product, and hopefully have a solid opinion and a definitive yes or no in mind. Empties posts are one of my favorites, so I wanted to include a few bits I’ve used up.
Over the past few months, I’ve forced myself to use what I have instead of always focusing on the new products swiftly coming to the market. So often we get caught up in the newness that we forget our tried and true, or toss them in a drawer long before we’ve made up our minds about them. Ok, ok, being unemployed had played a tremendous factor into me using up a multitude of products, but the principal remains. (;
Today I wanted to chat about a few beauty bits I’ve almost finished and whether or not I’ll purchase them again.
Algenist REVEAL Concentrated Luminizing Drops in ‘Pearl’
I initially got this sample in a beauty subscription box, and at the time it didn’t intrigue me in the slightest. I swatched it, and it was pretty. But I didn’t have any real plans of using it. However, when I recently ran out of my Becca Backlight Priming Filter, I though mixing it in with a moisturizer would give me the same effect. And it did!
On no makeup days, I will mix a few drops of this in with my moisturizer and that’s my face. It gives the most beautiful, healthy glow and wakes my skin up sans makeup. When I do opt for makeup and still want a dewy finish, I’ll mix a couple of drops in with my foundation. It gives the same effect, really.
Unlike the Backlight Priming Filter, it doesn’t give me primer power for makeup, just the glow. But I honestly haven’t minded at all. The formula feels nice and smooth against the skin, and it smells expensive. That’s the only way I know how to describe it. There are 3 shades–a champagne, pink, and my shade, pearl. I will stick with the pearl the next time I purchase this, because it suits my skin the best.
Will I buy it again?
It’s already in my Sephora cart.
Benefit Gimme Brow
By now, I’m sure none of you are a stranger to Benefit’s Gimme Brow. It’s a tinted brow gel that contains small fibers to keep your brows in place as well as make them look fuller and darker. Mine is well loved, as you can tell by the faded letters.
I really like this stuff, and this is probably the 4th or 5th I’ve purchased. Generally I never run out of it–I purchase it before I get the chance to be without. My brows are pretty well defined and thick on their own, so I don’t usually find the need to fill in and shape with pencils and pomades. Sometimes I do, when I want a really natural and perfectly precise looking gel. But on an everyday basis, I can swipe this through my brows and be done with it. I find it hold my brows in place okay. If I want extra hold, I’ll go in with the ABH or Julep brow gel.
Will I buy it again?
Actually, I’m going to wait to purchase this one. I know, I know, I just said I’m never without it. But I really want to try the Make Me Brow from Essence. It’s essentially the same product for a fraction of the cost. If I like it, who knows, I may have a new favorite. But if now, you can bet I’ll be stopping by Ulta to pick up my old friend.
My shade: 3
Dior Hydra Life Glow Better Fresh Jelly Mask
As I was perusing a Dior counter, the gal was talking to me about the new Hydra Life line from Dior (at the time it was new) and showed me this product. She used a little on my hand, and boy was it great. I didn’t purchase it at the time, but eventually I cracked and bought the mask. I’m so happy I did.
The gist of this mask is it’ll leave you with glowing skin that is smoother, clear, and glowing. I think it does just that. It’s a gel-like consistency containing citrus fruit extracts and has apricot kernel particles suspended in it, offering you a light chemical peel and gentle physical scrub, respectively.
Apply this to your skin, leave on for 3 minutes, and rinse off with warm water. I love that it only takes 3 minutes, which makes it perfect to use in the mornings when my skin needs a pick me up. I’m left with soft and immediately brighter skin. It also smells amazing. Remember how I said the Algenist radiance drops smelled expensive? This smells like that, too! It’s lovely, and I really enjoy the experience every time I use this mask.
Will I buy it again?
100%
Glow Recipe Watermelon Pink Juice Moisturizer
My skincare routine is currently under construction, so I’m trying to use up a lot of products I have to make room for some new stuff I want to try. There’s maybe 3 days left in this bottle.
I fell in love with the Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask from Glow Recipe. While it can be used as a wash off mask, I like to put it on before bed and let it really sink in while I sleep. When I wake up in the morning, my skin looks plump and is really soft. It also smells freaking great, like watermelon Jolly Ranchers. So when I saw the same kind of thing in moisturizer form, I was all over it.
Like the mask, it bottle is beautiful, and it looked so great on my bathroom shelf. It had the same smell, and honestly the same consistency. This is what I used as my daytime moisturizer throughout the summer, and I liked it. It’s lightweight and feels cooling on the skin. I actually like to keep this in the fridge and applied it on sun burns during the summer.
Since it’s oil free, it kept my skin in check throughout the day. And it’s full of hyaluronic acid, so it kept my skin immensely hydrated, which I appreciated. But I won’t lie, I’m kind of happy to be finishing it up. It’s not that I didn’t like it; I’m just finding my skin needing more moisture. It was alright during the summer when it was hot and humid, and I didn’t want anything too heavy on my face. The watermelon ingredients and gel emulsion formula made it cooling and soothing on the skin, but I just wasn’t left with enough moisture, even though I love the glow it gave my skin.
Will I buy it again?
Maybe, but I don’t plan on it right now.
Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Stick Foundation
At the time of it’s release, I got sent this foundation from Influenster, and I was over the moon. I loved the original HD foundation and was really excited to give the stick version a go. This was actually the very fist stick type of product I ever tried. It’s good, guys.
Upon my first application of this, I hated it. I applied it with a Beauty Blender, which was my tool of choice at the time, and I just felt like it looked awful! But after I found my Goldie Locks application technique (with a dense foundation brush like this one), I found myself reaching for this exclusively for a hot minute.
I find stick foundations to be amazingly easy to apply and great for travel. I’d say the finish of this foundation is a satin or natural matte. It isn’t overly glowy, but it’s not bone matte either. Compared to other foundations, this dries down and doesn’t stay tacky and wet, so if you’re a dry skin gal, there’s no real need to set with powder. I do, though.
I will say, there are a few cons, but ultimately they don’t sway my opinion too much. In the nature of glowy and dewy products, large pores and imperfections are accentuated. But it’s nothing your favorite primer can’t fix. Also, I get dry patches from time to time on my cheeks, and I did notice this clung to them a bit. Making sure your skin is thoroughly moisturized before application generally does the trick, but not always.
Regardless of the cons, when my skin was clear, this foundation is stunning! It looks like my skin is airbrushed every time I wear it, and I always get compliments on my makeup.
Will I buy it again?
YES but not right now. I have a ton of foundations, and I just can’t bring myself to purchase another at this moment in time. Also, while I love this foundation, I think I like the Hourglass Vanish Stick just a little bit more. However, that could be swayed by the color. Influenster sent me shade Y225, which is a little too dark. So if I buy it again, I’ll definitely purchase one shade lighter.
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