April Empties

I was able to use up my Nexxus Pro-Mend Split End Mender and I would not repurchase this. I didn’t notice a difference in my hair at all. I’d rather use something that helps with strength and detangling. My hair gets knots easily, because of how long it is getting. When my hair was at my collar bone, it was very rare to get a single knot in it. I am tempted to do a big chop at the end of the summer to start my hair afresh without all the bleach damage. I also know that my natural hair is light enough to use the brand SPLAT on it for fun colors. I know that purple works specifically on it, because I did that back in 2013 and it was fairly easy to use.

I am decluttering my Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in 45 Orchid Hush. I actually hit major pan and had intentions on using it up. The formula has changed however and it is super crumbly. I don’t enjoy it anymore, so I am throwing it out. This is the oldest bit of makeup out of my collection and I feel like I got my money’s worth. It just would have been nice to have used it up. I am not a fan of cream blushes in general. I’d rather use powder on my oily skin, but I did enjoy the just bitten color it gave my cheeks. Now, I can move onto the cream blush stain in my project pan.

I finished up my sample of the MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite. I really enjoyed this luminous primer and I would purchase this once I am out of my current primer and run out of liquid highlighters to mix in with my lotion that give me the same effect. It does the perfect job of primer the skin, giving me moisture, and a glow that does not emphasize texture or bother my oily skin. It just gives me a nice lit from within glow that I am all about. I am a matte girl through and through, but there is just something about healthy glowy skin (NOT DEWY) that has been calling to my lately. It looks more youthful than a matte look. I’ve been reserving my matte look for long work days in the office and special occasions where I want my makeup to last. Otherwise, I have been rocking a healthy glow instead of a matte complexion.

I also had another sample that I used up of the Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover. I really enjoyed this bi-layer makeup remover that I used on my entire face. I would get another sample as a point perk, because it was really nice. If Sephora was cruelty free, I would purchase a full bottle for them too. I highly recommend it for removing all types of makeup efficiently.

Martin bought me this to makeup for me having to go coffee free for a few days and then, his Keurig was broken so I couldn’t even use it! LOL. We got a used Keurig from my mom, so we did manage to use up this Starbucks Breakfast Blend in Medium Roast. I really enjoyed the simplicity of popping in a cup and having a good cup of coffee and the fact that someone else thought of me. I have been eyeing their specialty packs on Amazon like the caramel and the mocha coffees. Seriously considering buying a Nepresso machine and keeping it in our room.

Used up another deodorant because you know, priorities. I still love this brand of deodorant, but I am currently using Secret. I went back to a full strength aluminum deodorant, but I will be going back to this one. It was just sold out at Walmart when I needed deodorant.

Last but not least, I was able to use up my MAC Cleanse Off Oil. It is just a baby sample, but another item out leaves room in my collection. May is my birthday month, so I have a ton of items coming into my collection this month from makeup to skincare. So, even tiny samples I am happy to be out of my collection. I really love cleanse off oils and balms. Once I finish off my full sized cleanser, I will replace it with an oil or a balm. I am more partial to a balm personally, because I feel like it gives my skin an added boost of moisture.

I was able to move out 7 items out of my collection, abide one was a declutter but I had MOSTLY used that one up as well before the texture changed. I writing this post on May 2nd and I feel like I will have maybe ten empties this month. I am mostly working on full sized items, but I do have a few samples and items that already have progress in them. I am trying to work through all of my opened products this year. I will only open a new product if I don’t have something like that opened. Next year, I plan on doing another inventory count and sticking with it. I just had/have so much going on this year that it just fell behind.

With Love,

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January Beauty Bag

These are all the items that I am using in the month of January. I am hoping to use up some of these items, but I want to see progress on everything this month and every month. If I don’t use it, I declutter it. If I don’t like it, I declutter it. I have a serum, a primer, a blush, an eye shadow trio, an eye liner and a perfume. Oh, and a lipstick! I really am enjoying the blush and I have already popped the stopper out of the liquid lipstick. I will let you know if I use up anything, hit pan, or declutter in my February bag post. The liquid lipstick is a my lips but better color and is so easy to wear. It fades naturally and doesn’t look awkward at all.

With Love,

Six Before Summer Finale

So, this project was a half fail. I only managed to use up half of the products in this challenge. I am still proud of myself though, since the last project was a total fail. I have already started my 14 Before Fall Challenge and I have already used up 1 item, so I feel like I might have a blooming success in my hands. Anyways, here is my progress on these products since the beginning of the challenge.

Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo

The progress pictures are above. As you can see, this is taking me FOREVER to use up as a deodorant. I will continue to use this up, but I am going to take a little break from it and use traditional deodorant for the summer. I sweat more in the summer. This will be more suitable for Fall/Winter and maybe, I will manage to use it up then.

DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossoms Eau De Perfume Spray

I made a lot of progress with this perfume and I look forward to finishing it up next Spring. I would guess that there is two weeks to one month of use left in this perfume bottle. I really enjoy the scent, but I will not be repurchasing this particular scent. I will be buying the original Be Delicious perfume, because I think that it smells perfect for Spring/Summer. It’s a dual season scent. This was two-thirds full when I started and now I have about a quarter of the perfume left.

Eyetini Shadow Tint EC007 Violette

I didn’t use this product enough between the last update and the finale to update the progress mark on this one. I will be taking a break from this eye shadow. Maybe, I will take it back out in the Fall and try to use the rest of it up. I am about half way through the tube and I will remove the stopper to use every last bit of it up when I get there. I do like the shade, even though I like to tone it down with a bit of powder eye shadow on top.

Wen Sweet Almond Mint Volumizing Treatment Spray

I am finally almost done with this one! I am very happy with my progress on this product especially. I am going to put it away to focus on two other hair products that I want to try out/use up. I will still use it occasionally, but I probably won’t aim to use it up again until Fall. I need a break from these products and then, I can come back to them in a fresh new season. I find that I can get sick of a product, if I put them in back-to-back project pans. I am very happy that this will be gone by the end of the year.

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush 45 Orchid Hush

I used quite a bit of this blush, but did not manage to hit pan on this. I will bring this back out for the Winter into Spring project pan. It will look very good on the cheeks during that time. I wore down the dome shape of the product and with another project pan, I can see using up about half of the product that is left in the pan. I might put it in my Fall to Winter project pan….we will see. I want to use up some other cheek products that I have laying around.

3 Finished Products

These three masks are what I managed to use up during this project pan. I still have one more mask that I want to use up before opening up my Loreal mask that I got from my birthday, but once that one is done, I will be opening up that bad boy. I might open it up sooner if I manage to use up some more skin care products to make room for it.

If you project pan, I would love to follow you. Please comment on this post, so I can follow you and keep tabs on your progress. Reading others posts, help me to feel motivated for my project.

With Love,

$200 Before 2018 Update #2

It is that time again. Another month has passed and I have gone through a few products. I’ve been trying to be better at finishing more stuff up and I put a few beauty things in my 14 Before Fall project pan. After this post, I’m going to do my makeup today. It is supposed to be scattered showers and thunderstorms. No chance of swimming in the pool today. Sunday is looking like a better day, so I will probably end up wiping any makeup away before I go into the pool tomorrow afternoon.

To recap, I was able to use up a total of 3 products out of 20, totaling $27.40 out of $200. The following items are everything that I have used up in May. June’s update will be coming soon, since I didn’t manage to put up this update until July 1st.

This is what I managed to use up in May at a glance. I know it isn’t as many things, but I promised myself that I would do better in June. Now, I’m promising myself that I’ll do better in July. I want to make a big dent on my samples, but even those take time to use up. I’m concentrating more on enjoying my products than using them up as quickly as possible. As long as I have more than one makeup empty a month, I’m happy.

Foundation Sample = $1

I really enjoyed this foundation sample and I am thinking about buying this foundation. It was a perfect color match for me and made my skin look perfected. I need to remember this next time I am in the market for buying a foundation. Probably by the end of the summer to be honest.

Perfume Sample = $1

I wasn’t a fan of this rather manly scent. It is Versace Eros Eau De Toilette spray. I would not buy the full size. It is not the scent for me, but happy to have it out of the way.

CoverGirl Clean Professional Loose Powder 105 Translucent Fair = $5.84

I wrote a review on this that is already up on the blog, but I really liked this powder. I would repurchase in an actually shade instead of translucent.

Nicole By OPI Roughles NI 453 On What Grounds? around $8

I loved this polish when I had it and now, I have moved onto the pink version of this. I haven’t painted my nails in forever. I never seem to have much time to do them. I will be doing them this weekend though. I also will be doing my toes. I’m almost done with the pink as well. I prefer the blue though and I’m sad that it’s gone. I’m done to 48 polishes with this one and hopefully, by the next update it will be down to 47.

Two Lip Products = $22 + $5 = $27

The Stila Lip Glaze in Sparkling Grape is $22. I cannot believe that I spent $22 on a lip gloss! Then again, I want to spend $32 on a lip oil from YSL. It is what it is and I didn’t really like either of these products. The lip stick was nice but not my color. The lip gloss was too sticky for my liking. I’m glad to have both of these items out of my collection.

Well, in the Month of May I got through 3 products and the grand total is $42.84. So, combining the previous numbers with this month’s numbers, I have gone through 6 out of 20 items and used up $70.24 out of $200. I am almost half way through both of my goals! This is super exciting! I might actually be able to finish this challenge before the end of the year. At the end of the year, I will be comparing how much makeup I used up compared to how much makeup I bought that year. As long as I have more going out than coming in, I will be happy. I might even do this challenge again next year!

With Love ❤

6 Before Summer Update #1

I am happy to report that I finished 1 of the original six and I finished the replacement that I added in as well. So far, I have finished two products out of the project. I am 1/3 done with my project. I just have to finish four more or reach the end date to call it quits. I finished off two face masks in my project. I replaced them with a sheet mask that I haven’t used yet. I find it hard to use up a sheet mask, but I have many and I need to use them up. I cannot wait to show you my progress!

I finished off the Lush Cup O’ Coffee scrub and The Body Shop Tea Tree Face mask. I have replaced them with the Tony Moley I’m Real Red Wine Sheet Mask. I’m hoping to use this up this weekend at some point and if I do, I’m going to replace it with another sheet mask. After that, I’ll probably throw in my Proactive sulfur mask. I’m happy to be moving through my masks, since I got three new ones for my birthday!

I have so much progress with my Wen Sweet Almond Mint Volumizing Treatment Spray. I just use it like hair spray. It doesn’t do much for my hair and I don’t care for the crunchy, flaky mess the day after I use this. I’ll be happy when I finish this up for sure. Then I can move onto my mouse from either Tresseme or Big Sexy Hair.

I didn’t use it for the first two weeks, because I forgot to. I’ve been using it everyday since. The progress is slow going as a deodorant. This powder fluffs up a lot when you use it. I really had to work to settle the product for a good measuring picture. I like to use a couple of shakefulls underneath my arm pits before I go in with an aluminum deodorant. I use this on its own when I’m at home, but if I’m going to work or out, I layer them up. I’m trying to use this up, because I didn’t like it in my hair. I think it does a better job as a deodorant. I also use this on my sweaty feet to dry them up and I’m enjoying it for that way as well. Maybe, I can get through it faster this summer.

I think we are all surprised about this progress and I wanted to show the “window” to prove it. This is 4 grams of eye shadow that I only use on the weekends, but I am moving pretty fast through this. I’m thinking creams are just easier to use up than powders. I’m about half way through this tube. Not sure I can really use up all of it by then end of this project, but I think I’ll have most of it used up by then. I’m not into metallic purple, so I put a layer of nude powder eye shadow on top of this and it softens the look. I’ve been enjoying using this and making it into a more neutral eye look.

The right is my progress. I’m a little less than half way through the perfume. I am moving to an easier way to view how much I have left in the container, because I think it’s easier to see. I used this perfume every single day and I love it a lot. I’ll be sad when it’s done, but I want the original Be Delicious perfume. This is a great Spring scent that I will be putting away for next year if I don’t finish it before the finale.

As you can see, I have worn down the dome shape to the product. This is almost 6 grams of blush, so I don’t think I’ll be finishing it. I enjoy using it during the work week for a nice glow, but it isn’t my favorite. It tends to be blotchy and not easy to blend out evenly no matter what I use whether a brush or sponge. I’ll be happy when it’s gone and I won’t be repurchasing. I like the color enough to use it, but the formula is splotchy.

That’s it for my update. Hopefully, I’ll be able to use up four more products to call this project a success. I have high hopes for this one!

With Love ❤

What D Got Me For Christmas

I am so happy to be sharing with all of you the goodies that D got me for Christmas this year. We just traded our gifts in Feb and I am just getting around to posting all of the new goodies that I got. I haven’t touched any of these things yet, because I was waiting to have time to put up this post. As soon as I am done, I am putting on my new MAC lipglass, because I feel like having a purple lip today. I’m feeling dramatic. One a side note, don’t be alarmed, but I deleted a lot of old photos from my blog. I had reached my 3.0 GB limit and now, I’m back down to 1.4 GB or roughly 40% of usage. Now, I have room to grow again!

Russell Stover Assorted Chocolates

I couldn’t wait on these. I took a photo of an empty box. They were delicious!

Assorted Samples

I love trying out new stuff, so samples are right up my alley. I’m in the market for a new foundation, so hopefully, one of these items work out for me. I only have two summer BB creams right now and they are too dark for my Winter skin color.

Mystic Tan Self Tanner

I’ve never tried a self tanner before, besides the Sally Hansen legs. I’m curious to see how this works. I’m going to try this during the summer months, once I get a tiny bit of tan going on to even it out. I have an in ground pool now, so I’ll be spending a lot of time outside in my bathing suit. It would be awkward to self tan now, when my skin gets no exposure to sunlight whatsoever and I haven’t been on vacation.

VersaSpa Face Moisturizing Gradual Tanner

Since this has gradual in the name, I might give it a shot now to give my skin a healthy glow. I don’t want to look tan, but sunkissed. I love using bronzer for a sunkissed look, if this gives me that, I can skip bronzer in the morning. Anything to cut out a morning step I love. I’ll give this a shot and will report back with my thoughts on it in an empties video.

Forever By Judy Blume

I loved Judy Blume books growing up and this will be my first time reading one of her adult books. I’m really looking forward to reading this one by the pool or whenever I can find time to actually read. It’s been hard with working full time, taking a class, blogging, and most importantly, taking care of my son and keeping house. I just never seem to find the time. I want to try to read two books a month again. I am like three to four books behind this year, but I am going to try to catch up and make an effort. I will definitely read this one this year.

Sarah Dessen Saint Anything

Let me start of by saying that I have a love, hate relationship with Sarah Dessen books. I love them, because I get wrapped up in her story telling. I hate them, because they tend to follow the same plot line in every book. I love the predictability, but hate it at the same time. If I want a sweet, sad story, I’ll read one of her books and I know it’ll end happily. I look forward to reading this book, when I need a little pick me up. I’m happy to own another one of her books. I tend to reread her books a lot.

Hard Candy Nail Color in Sky 1123

I have been DYING for a Hard Candy nail polish. I remember when they used to be a high end product and carried in places like Sephora. Now Soap & Glory can be found at CVS? I need to get my hands on that next. Anyways, I love this shade. It has a cool duo chrome quality to it and I cannot wait to paint this onto my nails. I already picked out my nail color for  this week, so maybe, I’ll wear this next weekend.

Shoot For The Stars Starry Night Bath Bomb

I love Lush and I think it is obvious. I’m excited to have another bath bomb to try out and it smells very calming. It will be perfect on a night after I put Dean to bed to relax in a hot bath. Something, I rarely get to enjoy these days.

Lush Shooting Stars Night In! Soap

D thinks that this smells lemony and I think it smells more on the lavender side. Either way, this seems like it is going to be a creamy soap, which is the type of soap that I enjoy the most. The lavender is faint in this, so I do enjoy the scent. I’m trying to use up my shower jelly right now, so I’m going to hold off on using this one. As soon as I use up the jelly, I will be using this. Or if I get sick of that scent and need a change. But honestly, who gets sick of The Comforter scent? It is also covered in glitter. My fate is sealed.

MAC In Extreme Dimension #D Black Lash Mascara

Not much to say about this, since I have to wait to finish my Benefit Roller Lash Deluxe Sample before I can try this one out. I’m excited to have a mini sample though. You can never have too many tubes of mascara. I never seem to buy any because I always get them in subscription boxes. I think I’m down to five now. I’m up to  with this bad boy.

Ulta Tinted Lip Balm in Lollipop

This is such a pretty sheer pink. I have the swatches at the bottom of the page and this color is the top swatch on the right large picture. I can see this being very flattering on the lips, since it is sheer and won’t compete with your natural pigmentation. I love easy balms to throw on at work that I don’t have to worry about. This will be used at work, once I get through an office friendly gloss that I’m working on from B&BW.

PBJ Smoothie Stick Creamy Lip Crayon in Raisin the Roof

I can see using this one at work as well. I love that this is more on the purple/mauve side of the spectrum and it will par perfectly under the MAC Lipglass that D gave me as well. This color is more on the matte side, which I enjoy a matte lip as much as the next girl. I know I won’t be disappointed with this color and I might have to repurchase it when I use it up.

MAC Trolls Collection Lipglass in Glitter Grunge

I love the cute packaging that MAC always come up with. This glitter purple is pretty pigmented as well, which I love. I’m not a fan of dark colors, but if it’s purple with glitter, I am all over that. I’m all about that life. It’s the bottom swatch and it is gorgeous! I am so happy to own this color. I don’t want to use it up anytime soon, because the packaging is so cute! I really wanted to get some of the SELENA collection, but it was always sold out and I only really wanted one of the powders anyways.

That is what I got for Christmas from D. I am so lucky to have a best friend like her!

With Love,

September Empties

Heya Aspiring Gurus!

I hope you all have been enjoying the beginning of Octoberfest. Today is my dad’s birthday, so we will be celebrating later with cake. He hasn’t decided if he wants cheese cake or ice cream cake. I’m hoping for ice cream, but we will see. September was a month full of empties for me, from samples to a few full sized products. I finished 8 samples and 8 full sized products. It is a mix of everything, so here we go.

Cafe Bustelo Estilo Espresso Espresso Style, 1 Kcup

Dunkin’ Donuts French Vanilla, 1 Kcup

The Original Donut Shop Coffee, 1 Kcup

Green Mountain Coffee Breakfast Blend, 1 Kcup

Maybelline New York Dream Nude Airfoam With SPF 16 in 240 Natural Beige, 1.6 oz

Dentyne Ice in Peppermint, 60 ct

L’Oreal Paris Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream in Light, 1 fl oz

Amika Nourishing Mask, 0.7 fl oz

Too Faced Starry-Eyed Liquid Eyeliner in Super Freak, 0.14 oz

Bath Fizzer

OleHenriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster, 0.5 fl oz

Spring Valley Prenatal Adult Gummy Multivitamin, 90 ct

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser, sample

Dr. Jart + Premium BB SPF 45, 0.2 fl oz

Clearasil Daily Clear Refreshing Superfruit Pads, 90 ct

Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser, 6.77 fl oz

Well, that is everything that I finished last month. Here is to another month full of empties. I already finished two full sized products, so it is already looking up to me.

With Love,

If The Foundation Fits…

For Maybelline New York Fit Me! Foundation in 210 SPF 18

What it is: A foundation that perfectly matches your skin tone.

Key Ingredients: water, methylparaben, glycerin, proplyparaben, fragrance, ethylparaben, isobutylparaben, butylparaben

How it feels/smells/looks: The foundation smells sickly and not pleasant at all (granted, it is two years old, but it smelled the same way when I bought it). Thankfully, the smell goes away after an hour of wear. It feels nice going on the skin and is very blendable. It looks great at first, then you start to look a bit orange from oxidization.

Why I like it: It was nice last summer, when  I bought it and afterward it never worked for me. Maybe, it is because I am not as tan as last year. Now, I find it orange and patchy. Now that I see all the parabens, I am going to chuck it and not worry about it not actually being empty. I tried making it work by cutting it down with lotion, but the combo was making me greasy as heck. I want to purchase a different type of foundation next time. Maybe a mousse formula?

With Love,

Dream BB?

For Maybelline New York Dream Pure BB in Light/Medium Sheer Tint

What it is: A sheer tint that clears acne with 2% salicylic acid, conceals imperfections, minimizes the look of pores, reduces the appearance of redness, adjusts to skin tones, hydrates and smooths, enhances and clarifies, and has no oil and a lightweight feel.

Key Ingredients: salicylic acid, water, glycerin, titanium dioxide, and iron oxides

How it feels/smells/looks: It smells like an acne medication. It feels lightweight on the skin, if a bit sticky. It can come off looking orange, so only use a little bit at a time and blend, blend, blend.

Why I like it: For being called a sheer tint, it surprisingly has more coverage than other BB creams I have tried before. The only “claim” that I didn’t see was “enhances and clarifies”. I didn’t think that this did that as a “benefit” by itself. Looking clearer and concealing did it all on its own. I think the 8-in-1 is a gimmick to be honest. I liked this product, but I would not buy it again. I want something with less coverage than a foundation but more than a BB cream.

With Love,

Empties: The December Edit

Heya Aspiring Gurus!

It is that time again! I cannot believe that 2014 is gone and it is now 2015! I am super excited about all of the firsts that come along with the new year. I am also changing up my life and my self for the new year. I am…..wait for it……going BLONDE! That’s right, gurus! I am going from my dishwater/dark blonde hair to a medium blonde. I might get a haircut, too. Right now, my hair touches my belt and I haven’t had long hair like this since hair school. I might layer it or something. It depends upon how my consultation goes with my hairdresser. We are going to be deciding on the exact color and cut. I don’t know how much it will cost me, but I am expecting a cut and color to range from 70 to 100 USD from my hair dresser. He usually charges me 35 for a haircut and 50 for all over highlights. If I get both, he’ll probably give me a discount deal. I leave him a good tip, so if he can get me in fast and give me a deal, he could easily pocket a 30 USD tip. He owns his own chair, so he could give free haircuts and the salon couldn’t do anything. I’ve been with him since I was twelve, so I’ve known him for almost eleven years. I’m not bragging or anything. Salon’s range in price everywhere you go. I go to a bigger city to my stylist, but he still charges me a small time price. Well, onto my empties for the last month of 2014.

Pilot Frixion Clicker 07 Erasable in Blue

MJCARE Sea Weed Essence Mask, 1 ct

MJCARE Aloe Essence Mask, 1 ct

MJCARE Collagen Essence Mask, 1 ct

Neutrogena All-In-One Acne Control Daily Scrub, 4.2 fl oz

Gillette Quattro Scented Handle Razors, 1 ct

Veet Suprem’ Essence Hair Removal Gel Cream, 6.78 fl oz

Maybelline Dream Pure BB 2% Salicyclic Acid Acne Treatment in Light/Medium, foil packet (2 uses)

That is it for now, ladies! What were your empties for December? I look forward to reading your empties posts! I love knowing what other people are using and what they thought of them. Since every empty product gets its own review, I do not include reviews on my empties posts. Have a Happy Friday, everyone!

With Love,

Selena Hannah xoxoxi