October 2013 Empties

Time again to take pics of a month's worth of trash like a crazy hoarder! Loves it! hahaha

Each month I save up things that the fam and I have completely used up and finished. We have tons of new and partially used goodies around our home and I started this project to motivate me to try some new things. It's so easy to just reach for the same thing again and again, you know?? It's actually been really fun and I hope you enjoy this monthly peek "behind the scenes," too! 

I include bath and body products - except things that are obviously too TMI! haha! - and some household things that I feel strongly enough about to share! Let's see what we got into in October!! 

1. Victoria's Secret Lotion in My Desire - this stuff is horrible and the fact that the bottle is empty tells me two things (1) I truly am a lotion-aholic and will use just about anything (2) I have REAL issues with waste/throwing stuff away! This stuff is runny, completely non-moisturizing, and probably sold solely to add fragrance to the body but the fragrance is artificially floral and horrible. Not a fan, can you tell??? LOL

2. Desert Essence Organics Spicy Citrus Lotion - ok... Honestly, I bought this stuff on clearance at TJ Maxx forEVER ago, so it should have been no surprise when I went to use it and it was a runny, smelly awful mess. Seriously, I was so gross out about how it smelled that I put some tanner over it because even self tanner smelled better than this!!! LOL

3. Flowerbomb Bomblicious Body Cream, full size and travel size - oh Flowerbomb.... This has been my hands down fave fragrance for years. Loved keeping this on my nightstand to put on my hands at night - kept my bed and bedroom smelling like Flowerbomb all the time!! :)

4. MOR Snow Gardenia Hand Cream - I received this in my August Blush Beauty box and it was WONDERFUL. I love the chic black and gold packaging and the smell is heavenly. It worked perfectly on my dry upper arms, which scented lotions rarely do. Love.

5. Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme - there was a time when this stuff came in a metal (?) squeeze tube and it was basically a miracle product. No matter how dry and sad my heels were, one application of this under a pair of socks and they were almost perfect the next morning. Somewhere along the way it has lost something.... Still love that it's 99.40% natural, but I'm sad that it's not good enough to rebuy at this point.

6. The Body Shop Mango Body Butter - loved this little size to keep in my purse. Body Shop body butters are wonderful!


7. Woodwick Candle - omg.... I am including this candle because it has driven hubs and I absolutely nuts and we seriously did a happy dance when it finally died!!!! It is supposed to sound like a crackling fire but the noise seriously made us double take a million times thinking we had left something boiling/cooking/burning in the kitchen. It smelled nice but never again!!!

8. Soap & Glory Look Better NAKED Body Butter - I'm serious about my body butter. Bliss makes my favorite, The Body Shop is second place. This stuff smelled floral and great but wasn't nearly as thick and uber moisturizing as I want a body butter to be

9. Bath & Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle - boo! These are another thing that seem to have decreased in quality. B&BW candles used to scent my whole house when burning, this one barely - BARELY - scented the room where it was lit. Unimpressed and won't be buying more for a while. It'd the end of an era!!

10. Olay 4-in-1 Daily Facial Cloths - I received these in my Martha stewart Glossybox and was happy to have them! They are perfect to pack when traveling - they are completely dry until you're ready to use them. They foam up nicely with water and they have a great waffle texture that seems to really scrub. A+! Love products that streamline packing and make regular routine easier!!

11. Dickinson's Witch Hazel Towelettes - I received these way back in my Allure summer must haves box and still have a few around! Love wet wipes for a million things, including cleaning dirty flip flop feet!

12. Hydroxatone Revitalizing Microdermabrasion - I received this in my July Blush Beauty box and was determined to use it with an open mind. My skin is not overly sensitive, but it tends to do better when kind of left alone, and that was true after this product. I followed the directions and used it every other day for a week and then took a week off to give my skin a rest. At the end of the rest week I still had some spots of irritation and, seriously, I didn't scrub aggressively or anything when I used this. I love the idea of deep cleaning but so far all of the more serious scrubs like this that I've used have just been too much for my skin.

13. Bliss The Youth as we Know It Serum - idk that I saw much difference from this serum but I love the fact that committing to using it got me into the habit of using a serum before moisturizing! I figure any extra dose of vitamins and goodies is great for my skin right now as we head into the holiday craziness and what's supposed to be a super harsh winter (boo)!

14. Em by Michelle Phan The Life Palette - this was a bonus item in my September Ipsy bag and I was excited to use it! These Em kits are geared towards occasions and this one was Career Life look 3 Out to Lunch. The colors seem super high quality and highly pigmented. I was so surprised by the multiple uses I got off of this card! The blush was too orange for me and the eyeshadows too dark for what I like to wear for daytime, but I liked it overall and will look for some of her other products!

15. Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Sample Sheet - this is the first sample I received after requesting several from the Target freebie page and... Well... There just wasn't much to it. I like the shine free concept, especially in light of all the super greasy CC and BB creams I've tried lately, but I was disappointed in the sample format, just a tiny spot of sample on peel back paper. Definitely not enough to get a true feel for the product.

16. Lady Speed Stick and Dove deodorants - ugh, including because they are horrible. Do these kinds of products actually work for anyone??? Maybe I'm just sweatier/stinkier than most! LOL!

17. Old Spice Fiji Anti-Perspirant and Deodorant - continues to be borderline tmi, continue to include it because it's the best ever - for him AND me! ;)

18. Disney Gummies vitamins - Kroger keeps giving me vitamins, so I keep taking them! The kids love Perry the platypus! LOL

19. Guest room excess - 
- Portico conditioner - thin and runny and nothing special
- Etro bath foam and Zenology Body Wash - fancy products, they had no respect and used them to shampoo barbie mermaids! LOL!
- h2O Disney shampoo and conditioner - love having these little bits of Disney to use once we're back at home!
- various play makeup and perfume. Thanks so all of mom's subscription boxes, their play makeup is getting classier by the day! ;)
- Little tube of bubble gum Crest toothpaste - they love this stuff!

20. Clinique Men's Face Wash - the hubs used it and.... He's a man. I ask his opinion on something and he shrugs and goes, "good."

21. Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer - I've been a devoted Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer fan for years. I prefer the regular formula, and bought this oil-free formula by mistake, but it's fine, too, and lightyears ahead of most BB/CC/DD creams I've tried.

22. Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara - I'm serious about lashes, and have tried everything, and Maybelline mascaras remain my favorite!!

23. Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream in Natural Glow - Received in the June PopSugar box, this color is really, really light - as in I felt like I was smearing the color white on my face. Once it settles, it's not quite THAT white, but it's still too light for my skin tone. Like the darker tube I used up in September, this tube was also greasy/oilier than I like my face to look

24. EOS Shave Cream - terrible. TERRIBLE. I got this for free after rebate at Walgreens and it's horrible. It is so thick and goopy, it basically ruins a razor the first time you use it. Awful.

(listed below clockwise from top left)

25. Colgate toothpaste foil packs - I've never seen these little travel packs for sale? have you? We got them in a hotel, I think, but they are perfect for overnight guests!

26. Kiehl's Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion - ok, the stuff is not a  lotion consistency.  It's runny and I used it on a cotton ball like any other astringent. The stuff smells VERY antiseptic and minty, seriously, like putting mouthwash on your face. Seemed to work ok but couldnt get past the mediciney smell.

27. Ursa Major Essential Face Wipes - these came in the October Birchbox Man box and I knew hubs would love them! He always washes his face firt thing when he gets home from work and these were gone in a snap!

28. Vichy ProEVEN Daily Dark Spot Corrector - ugh, these little foil pouches. Occasionally there's enough to get a real feel for a product. usually, like this one, there's not. I used this on a couple of breakouts and was left with zero impression that it sped up the healing process but who knows.

29. Alchimie Forever Rejuvenating Eye Balm - this little foil pack lasted a long time and was decent! It is a little more runny than I like for an eye cream, more in the direction of a serum, but it seemed nice and refreshing under my eyes in the early morning!

30. Vichy Liftactiv Eye Cream - Again, it's so hard to get a real feel for a product from a foil pack but I probably won't buy this one simply because the cream is thick and requires some manipulation to get it to soak in. I definitely like a rich eye cream but I want to touch the delicate eye area as little as possible.

31. Viva la Juicy perfume, regular and travel size - love Juicy Couture. Those stores are seriously one of my happy places and this stuff smells JUST LIKE the stores do inside! Unfortunately, the scent doesn't seem to last very long (at all) but it made me happy every single time I sprayed it, so it's a win!

32. Kroger Nail Polish Remover - three girls and all painting all nails on the regular, we got through lots of remover. I'm sure there's some reason we shouldn't use cheapy kinds like this, but I usually just grab a bottle whenever we need one wherever we happen to be!

33. Lipocils Expert Eyelash Treatment - I received this is my October Blush Beauty box and was excited to get it! I'm serious about lashes and have been wanting to try a serum like this. I thought from the bottle that it was going to be a nice, generous sample. It definitely had very little product in it, though, so it was gone in less than a week, not enough time to really get a feel for it. It did leave my eyes kind of itchy a couple of times, so I wouldn't rebuy. Does anyone have an eyelash treatment like this that they love??

34. Fusion Beauty Illumifill Eye roller - finally used the last of my rollerballs. I've yet to find one I love but am on the lookout for the one from Simple, I hear great things about it!

35. Julep Strawberry Mint Lip Balm - this was a bonus item in my Julep Miami Mystery box and it was awesome. Super smooth and soft lip balm and the scent is truly addicting. I try to wear products with SPF during the day so this got used up at night and when indoors. Would buy again in a heartbeat, but I think its discontinued!

36. Airbrush Eye Cream - I received this generous sample twice before in my Blush Mystery boxes and I had really come to love it. I was on the verge of ordering a full size when I received this sample so I was pumped to have it. For some reason, this one was different, though. Super thick and almost hard consistency, burned my eyes.... Idk what the difference is but I was sad it didn't work out (but glad it saved me from spending on full size!).

37. Nail file and toe separators eaten by the schnauzer - RIP toe separators and everything else the dog has chewed up this month! :-/

38. Kitsch Hair Ties - ok, we've been into these for long enough that some are getting twisted up and worn out. Soon it will be time to DIY some more - read my super easy DIY for these!

39. Crest Toothpaste - still borderline tmi, still including it to tell the secrets of a dentist's family! LOL! Just about done with the Crest around here and going to try something new for a while!

What do you think?? Do you see anything you love on this list?? I'm so nosy by nature and I'd LOVE to see your empties for October! I'd like to start a monthly linkup for this, if anyone else wants to play along let me know! Grab a bag and start saving them up! You might just be surprised at how much - or how little - you actually consume!!