This week I'm tackling February's pile of garbage! Looking back at it now, it's a tiny pile and I suddenly find this entire endeavor disheartening. February was not makeup heavy but the items were pretty across the board. As usual, skincare seems to take up the bulk of my empties. I probably should lead off with a disclaimer that I do not generally tend to follow expiration recommendations for beauty products and I go off of performance instead. I also realize this should not apply to chemical dependent items like sunscreen or certain types of serums.
Skincare
I bought the Skin Food Black Sugar Mask oh... I think in August 2017. loved this mask initially, I loved how well it scrubbed, I loved the scent, I enjoyed the texture. The longer I used it and the more I encountered different types of masks, the less I enjoyed this particular one. The sugar is particularly harsh; it's akin to using St. Ive's Apricot Scrub (which I also loved very dearly in the past but I've sense changed my mind on). I have experienced scrubs with milder materials of a finer grade like calcium carbonate and I find myself preferring that finer grit now. The other con to this face scrub is it left my face feeling coated and a bit oily after washing it off. I began using it in the shower only because that seemed to be the easiest way to wash it off with as little residue as possible without making much of a mess. The one bonus of using sugar as a physical exfoliant is that it dissolves quickly in warm water.
I ate through Dr. Lili Fan's Probiotic Eye Repair Cream way faster than I expected to. I believe this was a bonus item I grabbed from Ipsy using referral points. I was not excited about the packaging: I hate jar packaging because I'm always concerned about what bacteria I'm transferring into the jar. I was even less enthused about the packaging here because this was an eye product. On occasion I would accidentally over-apply this eye cream and my eyes would burn. Well, burn is not the right word but I want to say the feeling was closer to the sensation of having Icy Hot rubbed on my back, but without the Icy. I was torn between wanting to feel my skincare do something and wanting the fiery tingle to cease. I'm pretty glad to have this out of my box.
I once mentioned I did not care for the Tarte Quench Hydrating Primer. Fortunately the sample (originally reviewed here) was tiny so it didn't last long. It was not an effective primer at all. It didn't fill pores, it wasn't an effective hydrator, it didn't mattify, it didn't help makeup last longer on my face but that's not something I use primers for anyway. Basically I would look at this tiny tube every morning and ask "But what do you do?!" I started using it primarily as a very light gel moisturizer on days where did not need the extra moisture. I suppose that worked but this product certainly isn't worth the price tag of $32.
On the other hand, I loved Avène Cleanance Expert Lotion. This was a very lightweight moisturizer that was great for the winter months. It provided the perfect amount of moisture without leaving my face feeling weighed down or coated and filmy. I also absolute love the Avène scent.
I was sad to finish off my Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx Peeling Gel but I had to make myself let go of it because I found I was horading products I love for absolutely no reason. I have tried other peeling gels but this one stands out because of the mild grit in the exfoliant that I can feel upon application. I still suspect the gommage is a bit of a gimmick but the ingredients are great with tons of fruit enzymes at the top of the list and calcium chloride makes an appearance once again as an exfoliant.
I gushed about these Found Fruit AHA Peel Pads in the past, but the gushing was more of a "Hey, can I actually find these in stores?" I compared them to the Dr. Dennis Gross pads which are highly recommended by YouTube MUA Wayne Goss and they have many of the same key ingredients, just in a completely different order. I cannot judge the efficacy of the product since it was only 2 pads but I would love to buy the full sized product so I can see how well it works. These will be in their own post one day once I step up and actually buy them.
Masqueology Under Eye Gold Gel Masks were a little fun. They would have been more fun if I did not already have an eye mask like this in bulk from the company Elizavecca through 0.8Liter. I like that these came 4 in a pack. I'm just eagerly awaiting the day that I can enjoy stuff like this without having my kid swipe them off of my face during a nursing session.
Makeup
I have hooded eyes so I'm never much of a fan of liquid eyeliner, but I did quite enjoy the Clinique Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen (originally reviewed here). This eyeliner is moderately black and has a brush tip which automatically pushed it into my rarely occupied "liked eyeliners" category. The ink would settle into my lines a bit but the precision of the tip and ease of application was amazing. It still has quite a bit of ink in it but it started to skip and the black is more of a deep cocoa brown now so I had to retire it.
The other makeup related item is my Jersey Shore Cosmetics Mongongo Lip Conditioner in Mandarin Green Orange and Ginger. Man, I was sad to let this one go. I was also an idiot and had this sitting in my pocket along with a hand warmer at work during the cold months so I was short a few additional applications. I love it but I wouldn't pay $10 for another one.
Hair Care
I had 3 hair empties in February. That much I was able to keep track of at least. The first February empty really shouldn't count. I got a 5 mL hair spray/styler/something from Birchbox and it was too small to review and really wasn't worth mentioning.
I flew through a Moroccanoil Protect & Prevent Spray for color treated hair on my firstborn. I cannot provide a full review as she does not have color treated hair and the product really was not memorable in any way. It smelled nice, it didn't change anything about her hair or how I approached styling it.
The final hair product for February was the Oribe Mystify Restyling Spray. I did not care for this. It smelled amazing but it's just a sticky, non aerosolized hair spray and I find that sticky texture maddening. I tried using this on #1's hair but it was so sticky that I ended up washing it out. In retrospect, I could have passed on the hair empties for this post.
Body
I only had two empties for body. Sadly, the only thing I can imply from that is that I'm a filthy human being.
This can of Dove Dry Spray Invisible Deodorant just would not die! I forgot when I acquired it but I know I got it in a Target Beauty Box. I used it pretty religiously too but it still took months to use up. It worked, I didn't offend with this spray. I did notice that it would end up as small white clumps by the end of the day which would sometimes transfer to my clothing if I was classless for the day and tried to sneak an armpit scratch behind the scenes. I dislike spray deodorants though. Maybe it's my OCD, maybe it's me just being neurotic but I hate the idea of inhaling random shit. This includes aerosolized deodorant, cooking scents like bacon or oil fumes, concert bonfires and car exhaust/smoke of any sort. I become more steadfast in that opinion as I get older as well. So I suppose long story short, this was a decent deodorant but I don't like inhaling random shit.
I have created a name for myself at work by being the lotion lady. I always have at least 2 different types of lotion on me and they typically smell pretty appealing. February's stink of choice was Clementine Ultra Nourishing Hand Cream by Delectable by Cake Beauty (thanks, Canada)! It has the perfect level of moisture and hydration where it doesn't apply watery and doesn't leave a greasy coat that prevents you from opening door knobs. It also smells pretty amazing so that's a definite bonus. I don't know if I've been let down by this brand yet, either in scent or formula. Fortunately I have a ton of deluxe sized products to go through in the next couple of months a la Ipsy.
The most important takeaway from February is I love being the lotion lady. It's the small things, really. At least I smelled great.
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