Hi everyone! Oh how I’ve missed you!!! I hope you have all been well! I know it has been quite some time since I’ve posted, so I’m really happy to be here for a new post and tell you what is going on with me and why I haven’t been posting. I am also sharing a fresh new batch of empty products I’ve used up in the last month or so and whether or not I would repurchase them! So here we go!
First things first. Where have I been? If you follow me on Instagram, you may have caught in my stories that I am working on something. I know it’ really annoying when people are working on a project and they’re like “oh I’m working on something but sorry I can’t talk about it”, but I totally have to be that person now. I’m sorry!!!! While I wish I could share more, I can share a couple things. It is something I am creating that will launch in October that I think (and hope) you guys will love. I have been working on it day and night for months because I really want it to be perfect from the packaging, to the branding, to the ingredients, and most importantly, to the actual product and itself. I am incredibly passionate about it and believe it is something that will really help people. I am also having a lot of fun figuring out how to create it.
With any new business and product, there are a lot of things that need to happen. A product needs to be manufactured, packaged, distributed, marketed, branded, and beyond. A business needs to have a financial plan, business plan, hiring plan, employees, a website, customer service, insurance, logistics, etc etc. There are SO many things to do between having an idea and having an actual product in hand. So that’s where I am right now. In the thick of all of that “stuff”. But, I love it. I’ve been here before, and I love the feeling of creating something I am so beyond passionate and fired up about. I am bursting at the seams with excitement to share it with you guys when it’s ready!
That said, I have been busy, and on top of that, I am planning our September wedding in Italy! With a destination wedding, there are a lot of moving parts and details to nail down. But, it’s all coming together beautifully and I can honestly say I haven’t really been stressed about it. I am loving every second of the process and just so beyond excited to marry my best friend with all of the people I love surrounding us. I promised myself from the beginning I wasn’t going to let wedding planning be a stressful thing for me, and I keep coming back to the notion that it’s really just a big party in one of my favorite places on earth with my family and friends! The bridezilla thing just isn’t me or how I want this process to go. It’s the most special time of my life and this is supposed to be fun.
SO, I know that was a lot of information for ya, but I felt it was necessary and only right to tell you guys what is going on in my life and why my time to sit down and blog has been minimal. If you don’t follow me on Instagram, please head over there if you want more real time updates, outfits I’m wearing, make up I’m using, and what I’m up to in general. I post there a lot more frequently and I want to be connected with you guys even if I’m not able to write a blog post.
Now that you’re all filled in, let’s get into my empties!
I have been a big fan of the Beauty Blender cleanser solid for travelling because it is compact, not a messy liquid I have to pack, and really does get all of the makeup and buildup out of whatever beauty sponge I am using. I also love that you can wash brushes with it too, but the best part is the silicone textured pad that comes inside to scrub your tools on once they are soapy to ensure all of the residue is cleaned out. I picked this up because Sephora was out of my usual Beauty Blender version, and I love this so much more! It smells really amazing, and has argan oil so I notice it actually makes my brushes way softer and keeps my beauty sponge from deteriorating prematurely. It’s also $2 cheaper, so I’ve already repurchased 3 backups because I don’t see myself going back to the Beauty Blender brand.
Sunday Riley Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream
You guys know from my last empties that I am a massive fan of the Sunday Riley Good Genes serum, so I wanted to try more from the line. As the name suggests, it’s a very lightweight water gel, but sometimes those lightweight gel-creams don’t give me enough moisture. This is completely different – it works like a heavy cream in terms of hydration, but feels so light and sinks right in so I can use it in the morning before applying makeup without worrying about it being too greasy. It also didn’t break me out, got rid of all of my dry patches, and I generally just really enjoyed using it. I will definitely repurchase this!
Dior Hydra Life Pro- Youth Silk Crème
This cream was a splurge at $60, so I was determined to use it up and get my money’s worth, but will not be repurchasing it. A couple things disappointed me about this. First of all, the glass jar weights about 10lbs. It is so so heavy, there is no way you want to travel with this. Secondly, this is definitely not a cream you want to use in the morning because it does not sink in quickly at all. You look like a greased chicken for a good hour after applying it. Lastly, the scent. I always expect a perfume-y scent when buying luxury skincare from brands like Chanel, Dior, etc. because they for some reason think we want our beauty products (makeup included) to spell like a bottle of their perfume. HOWEVER, this scent was so so strong and overpowering, there is no way that much fragrance can be good for your skin. There are so many less expensive creams I love more.
Benefit Hello Flawless! Powder Foundation
This is my 3rd one of these guys and I have already repurchased it. It is by far my favorite foundation powder! I use a foundation powder to set my makeup on days when I am wearing a lighter coverage foundation and want some extra coverage and staying power. I also always set my makeup with a foundation powder instead of a translucent powder anytime I have an event or know I am going to be photographed because translucent powder can have a lot of flashback and leave a white cast in photos. A lot of foundation powders tend to look really heavy and cakey, especially over liquid foundation, but this is just so finely milled and light on the skin. It can be built up from sheer to full coverage and doesn’t cake up in the slightest no matter how much I apply. You literally can’t F this powder up, it just always looks smooth, velvety, and natural on the skin. I am a big fan! (And in case you’re wondering, my shade is Beige!)
I’m going to be honest, this scrub sucks. It should not even be called a scrub. I love a good lip scrub because I wear a lot of liquid lipsticks and they really accentuate any tiny little piece of dead skin or dryness on the lips. I also love using them to help get my liquid lipsticks completely off at the end of the day. The problem with this “scrub” is that it is in a very thick, oily base that glides too easily over our lips so the tiny amount of sugar particles in it don’t even have any abrasion with your lips. They just glide right over them along with the gloppy, oily base. There is also not nearly enough sugar in here! I was so so disappointed with this, definitely not a repurchase. It did nothing.
Dolce & Gabbana Eyebrow Pencil
I wouldn’t normally spend this much on an eyebrow pencil, but I was desperate travelling and needed one. I bought this in Spain and there was no Anastasia, Benefit, etc. This was the only eyebrow pencil in sight, so I got it, and I am so sad it’s over! This makes doing your eyebrows so fast and easy, partly due to the creamy formula that isn’t as dry as most pencils, and partly due to the shape that really lets you define with one swipe. I really want to repurchase it, but haven’t yet because it is $45 and my Anastasia Brow Wiz that I was using before is only $22 so I’m like…uhhh…I don’t know!!! For an eyebrow pencil, that’s expensive, but if you’re looking to splurge on a great one, this is a perfect choice! My shade is Soft Brown 1!
Tatcha Radiant Deep Brightening Serum
Full disclosure – this was sent to me, I did not purchase it. Whenever something is sent to me, I am excited to try it, but If I don’t like it after a couple uses, I give it to friends and family who will enjoy it more than me. After one night of using this, I knew I was in love. I used it for about 3 months until every last drop was gone, and I have never seen my skin more clear in tone or soft. I was completely impressed this product. I found out Sephora doesn’t carry it, so I went on Tatcha. to repurchase it, and was shocked to see that it cost $185!!!!!! ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIVE DOLLARS! I was like…great…you effed me up Tatcha. I am now addicted, my skin loves this stuff, I see actual real results when I use it…what am I supposed to do now? So, I did repurchase it, even though it hurt a little inside. The thing for me is, I am willing to splurge on skincare if it actually works because to me, your skin is the best beauty investment you can make. This serum is like nothing else I’ve ever used and it makes my skin look better than it ever has, so in the end, it’s worth it to me. If you are a skincare junkie and love splurging on beautiful products, this is a fabulous one.
I always use primers before applying makeup, and I have learned I really don’t like silicone-y ones. My issue with those is that they ball up into little clumps when you start blending or rubbing too much and that really bugs me. I was looking for a hydrating primer that doesn’t leave that slick, filmy residue on top of the skin and thought I’d give this one a try. This feels less like a primer and more like a moisturizer, which I love! It really makes my skin hydrated and luminous, and I notice it keeps my makeup looking really fresh throughout the day, as if I just applied it. My foundation doesn’t look cakey or dried out or clumpy around my nose or chin areas (this is where my makeup usually breaks up first) when I wear this. I have already repurchased this and I highly recommend it, especially going into summer because it has a refreshing coconut scent!
Leahlani Bohemian Ruby Balancing Toner
This is a really beautiful facial mist that I picked up while travelling and I really really enjoyed it. I didn’t use it as a “toner” as much as a skin mist and to set my makeup. I loved the scent, and there is a small rose quartz in the bottom you shake up to activate the toner. There are really pure, wonderful ingredients in here like aloe, Hawaiian sea salt, witch hazel, and flower oils that make this a really lovely product to mist throughout the day. I have not repurchased it and likely will not because I wouldn’t say it was mind blowing. It was really nice to have and use while it lasted, but there are a lot of mists that do more for my skin in terms of hydration and makeup setting.
First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads
These are meant to be used as a toner, and I really loved them! After cleansing your face, you just swipe it over and I really enjoyed how easy and fast they are to use. They have glycolic and lactic acids in them so they are exfoliating, but I did find that using them twice a day or too many days in a row left my face a little sensitive and they stung a bit. That said, there is a mini version I just repurchased for travelling because it’s really nice not to have to take a liquid toner, and I may repurchase the full size in the future. For now I am using a more gentle toner to see if I like that better.
Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Linen
I have gone through many of these and it remains my favorite eye primer, 4 years and counting! I love that it actually conceals the eyelid and covers up any veins or discoloration, while also making your eye makeup bulletproof for the day. When I use this, there is no eyeshadow creasing, no smudging, etc. It is even waterproof so I just automatically use it every single day before applying eye makeup and it does an amazing job. I use the shade Linen because it is the most brightening on my skintone and I just repurchased it.
I rarely make it through an entire lipstick, so the fact that I did, you already know this was a repurchase. I don’t know what came over me, but I was really wanting a pale pinky nude lipstick with some shimmer/frost to it to layer over deeper matte nudes or pop at the center of the lip to make them look bigger and poutier. I’m not usually into frosty or shimmery finishes on the lips, but I dunno…I was feeling it. I went to Nordstrom and looked at a few counters, but didn’t find anything quite right until hitting MAC and swatching this shade, Pretty Please. It is a neutral pinky nude that goes with EVERYTHING, and I primarily use it to layer over nudes to give them a little sheen and extra dimension. The frost is subtle, but it just gives a beautiful finish to flat matte lipsticks underneath. The finish is also slightly glossy, so I don’t have to use a gloss when I layer this over mattes. It’s just such a great all purpose lipstick to have for layering or just swiping all over or a pale daytime lip. I love it and I am very happy I branched out and tried something different than I would normally go for – I have discovered a lot of favorites that way!
Anastasia Darkside Waterproof Gel Liner
You guys know I love my black eyeliner, and I am always looking for long wearing, deep, dark versions that I can put on and not worry about the rest of the night. I was specifically looking for one that would stay on my waterline. The description of this liner sounded perfect – dark, waterproof, gel. It also says online that it “won’t fade, crease, or smudge, leaving smooth, precise, liquid-like lines”. Well, my experience was not that. For a liner, it was fine. It did the job, whatever. But it definitely wasn’t the blackest black, didn’t look liquid, didn’t stay put, and definitely isn’t waterproof. It didn’t stay for more than 20 minutes on my waterline and was comparable to a regular drugstore eyeliner. For $18, I will not be repurchasing this.
OK, so that was one long post, but I hope you guys enjoyed it and please share your current faves/empties in the comments below! And just feel free to say hi since I’ve really missed you!
XXO
