Tag Archives: Bath and Body Works

Empties Roundup: December 2016

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Hey hey, reader! We have one last thing to cap off 2016, albeit a bit late: it’s the Empties Roundup for December! It’s a quick one this month, so let’s get started.

Hotel Soaps from Paya and Bath and Body Works

Confession: I steal the toiletries from hotels. I know it’s kind of chintzy, but they always come in handy. Sometimes I end up in a hotel that doesn’t supply it for me, and what then? Good thing I had those 400 tiny bottles of shampoo in my suitcase, right? Soap’s not a practical one to carry around, so I decided to use them up in my shower at home. The Paya one is from a hotel in Hawaii, and the Bath and Body Works ones are from a Best Western. Did you guys know B&BW do the toiletries for Best Western? I had no idea. There was actually a fourth soap that I didn’t get finished in time, you’ll see it at the end of this month most likely.

Hickory Ridge Organics Shower Butter in Balinese Coffee

I used this as a solid exfoliating body scrub, and it was delightful. It didn’t last long, maybe five uses at most, but I loved it every time. The bottom layer was made mostly of the solid coffee bits, which made it a bit rough at first, but as I kept using it, it got gentler and more creamy. The coffee bits were hard to wash off sometimes, especially early on in the bar. It was so nice though, incredibly moisturizing and left a nice creamy sheen on my skin. I can’t wait to rebuy this.

Batiste Dry Shampoo, Original Scent, mini size

I bought a lot of these to take on vacation when I went to Hawaii, and this is the last of them. This wasn’t my favorite dry shampoo; it was easy to overdo and left a white residue. Wasn’t bad for travelling, though.

Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash, mini size

I got this in an Origins 500-point reward from Sephora. I had it in my travel bag with the rest of my stuff, but I ended up taking it out when I ran out of my full-size cleanser and I didn’t have a backup. I rather liked it. It left my skin feeling clean, though a little dry and stripped. I know this is a turn-off for a lot of people, but when my face feels oily and dirty one hundred percent of the time, I welcome a bit of drying cleanser. I’m thinking about buying a full size of this.

Shea Moisture Hand and Body Scrub in Lavender and Wild Orchid

Yep, this again! This is my favorite scrub in one of my favorite scents. Get used to seeing these.

And that’s it, the last Empties Roundup for 2016! Did you notice it’s mostly travel-size products? I hope to travel more in 2017 and work on my pile of stolen hotel toiletries. I’ve already got a couple ready to go for January’s roundup.

What did you finish up this December?

I bought these products myself.
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Empties Roundup: November 2016

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Guess what, reader? It’s finally time for the Empties Roundup for November 2016! I don’t know about you guys, but November was a rough month for me. I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, I wrote a novel for National Novel Writing Month, and between those two things a lot of my other responsibilities were neglected. I even neglected my poor blog, and I’m still catching up. Better late than never. Enjoy the empties!

JP Orange Spice Hand Soap

This is what you get when you send Boyfriend out for hand soap. Like you kind of expect him to get something nice, because by now he should know what you like. Instead, he spends the least amount of money possible. This soap smelled all right at least, but it took a lot of product to finally come to a lather — how else am I supposed to know my hands got clean otherwise? I replaced this with some L’Occitane soaps I found in a thrift store. Yeah, you read that right: thrift store soap is better than this.

Orly French Tip Guides

Ahh, the original nail vinyls. I can’t live without these, and I bought another box as soon as I emptied the last one. These are super helpful for French tips and half-moon manis and I will always rebuy them.

Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Super Hydrating Hand Cream

I love Pacifica products, and the blood orange scent could be my favorite. Well, besides all the others. I love everything they make! I actually got this from the Target clearance bin. It did moisturize my hands a lot, but they would occasionally still feel dried out after dishwashing, so I went through it pretty quickly. I’ve moved onto another Pacifica lotion, this one in the Indian Coconut Nectar scent.

Bath and Body Works Shower Gels in Maui and Oahu

I’ve done it, I’ve finally finished up my B&BW shower gels. I may have a few others stashed away somewhere, but these ones are finally gone. I don’t think either of them were too full; Oahu was a good half full, even fuller before I used it to wash makeup brushes a couple times. Maui was mostly done and I think I only got a couple uses from it. I haven’t repurchased any other shower gels; I’m going to see if I can put a dent in my soap collection.

Briogeo Blossom and Bloom Voluminizing Blow-Dry Spray (mini size)

I got this in an ipsy bag forever ago, but I only just started blow-drying and heat-styling my hair, so I’d only gotten around to using it this November. I think I used this up at the beginning of the month, and I really miss it. The scent was lovely, and it left a nice softness and shine on my hair. I bought Not Your Mother’s blow-dry spray when this ran out, and I like that one too, but I’d rebuy this in a second if I saw it on a shelf.

Hickory Ridge Organics Dead Sea Salt Scrubs in Coconut, Spearmint Eucalyptus, and Mango

So of all these products, these are the ones I’m most excited to talk about. These are local-ish products, made in St. Augustine, Florida, which is just a half-hour drive from where I live. Boyfriend and I went to St. Augustine for my birthday this year, and while we were wandering, I found the HRO shop and got a little crazy. I liked these scrubs a lot; the scents were really strong and the oils were plentiful and very moisturizing. My one gripe is that the salt pieces were kind of large and rounded off. I like a scrub with gritty, abrasive bits, and this one was a bit too gentle. Also the labels are not waterproof. That said, I hope to buy more of these on my next trip there. For now, I’m back to the Shea Moisture scrubs.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NW10

I’m pretty proud of this one, too, because this is like three years coming. I loved this foundation, and I’m proud to have used up the whole thing. I don’t know if you can see the fill line; it’s not really a fill line, just the foundation on the very bottom of the bottle that the pump couldn’t get to, and it’s just enough that it just coats the walls of the bottle instead of trickling out if I turned the bottle upside-down. I’m a little sad to see it go. I decided to try NARS’s All Day Luminous foundation when this ran out, and even though I like it enough, I wish I’d just repurchased this one. Side note: I just panned the powder I bought with this foundation.

Castelbel Jasmine and Hyacinth Soap Bar

This was a huge bar of soap, so huge and so egg-shaped that it was really awkward to hold and use in the shower for a long time. Recently I dropped the last little sliver on the shower floor and it broke into a dozen soapy little pieces. I got an oatmeal soap from Trader Joe’s (another Boyfriend pick) out of the drawer.

And there it is, nine days late, the Empties Roundup for November 2016! Have you used any of these products? What did you use up? Let me know in the comments!

I bought these products myself.
Except for the ones Boyfriend bought himself.

Empties Roundup: September 2016

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It’s the end of the month, and you know what that means: Empties Roundup! It’s the end of September, and I’ve got a lot of stuff to share. Let’s get started!

La Lavande French Triple-Milled Soap in Gardenia

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So obviously this wrapper has been empty a long time, you can’t really use a bar of soap without wrapping it. But yes, I did hang onto this wrapper longer than I want to admit just to photograph it and then write about it. It was really nice soap; it lathered well, had a strong gardenia fragrance, and didn’t dry me out. It took me a couple months, probably, to use the whole thing. I replaced it with another soap bar from my shamefully large soap hoard.

L’Occitane en Provence Shea Butter Hand Cream, 30ml tube

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I love this stuff. I love L’Occitane. This was the last tube from a L’Occitane hand cream sampler from Sephora and I’m so sad they’re all gone now. They all made my hands feel so soft and moisturized, and they were the perfect handbag size. My new handbag lotion is Pacifica’s Tuscan Blood Orange because it was on sale at Target.

Model City Cuticle Oil in Cactus Flower

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I’d been using this for so long there’s practically no label left. Believe it or not, I bought three of these bottles and this is the last one. It lasted forever! It did a fanastic job of moisturizing and smelled wonderful. I’m now using an oil from Smokey Mountain Lacquers from my expanding cuticle oil stash.

CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion

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Here’s another product I use on the regular. I know it’s for dry skin, and as such, it makes me feel a bit oily after a while. It doesn’t break me out, so I just deal with it. I’ve decided to try a new one though, Cetaphil’s daytime moisturizer lotion. I’ll probably come back to it if the new one doesn’t work out.

Revlon’s Photoready Powder in Translucent

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Project Pan has its first casualty! This was actually most of the way used-up when I started the project, so I don’t think it counts, but it is nice to use up something. I’m actually undecided on whether I’d buy this again. I really liked it over BB cream; it helped smooth out imperfections that weren’t 100% covered, and made me look more done-up than I was. On the other hand, it wasn’t a setting powder, which was really what I wanted. It didn’t make me feel finished, it felt pretty creamy a long time after applying. For now, I’m using another powder from my stash, Benefit’s The Pore-fessional Agent Zero Shine.

Bath and Body Works’s Butterfly Flower Shower Gel

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Another month, another empty shower gel. I forgot how nice this fragrance was! It’s pretty strong in the shower, but after drying off, it’s really subtle. Of course, lotion in the same scent helps with a fragrance’s staying power, but sometimes I don’t want to smell like a perfumery. Also I’d used up the lotion months ago.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day hand soap in Peony

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I’m so glad I finally tried these! I was complaining to a friend about how hard it is to find a good hand soap. Antibacterial ones break my hands out so bad, and they’re bad for you in general, so I spent a lot of time looking for The Soap. A friend recommended I try this brand out and when I saw this at Target, I scooped it up. I’ve since replaced it with another Mrs. Meyer’s soap, this time in Geranium.

Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Intensive Hydration Hair Masque

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I love Shea Moisture products, and their hair masques and deep conditioners are products I always rebuy. I probably use them more than I do actual conditioner. This one made my hair feel very soft and easy to detangle. It also smells lovely! I loved it, but as I like to try new things, I’ve replaced it with Carol’s Daughter’s Sacred Tiare restoring hair mask.

Lubriderm Advance Therapy Lotion

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This is my favorite lotion. It moisturizes, it smooths unhappy skin immediately, and it doesn’t have any fragrance. The fact that it’s fragrance-free is probably my favorite, because I can use it with any bath product. I hate it when fragrances compete! I have three bathrooms in my house and there’s a bottle of this in each one. That’s kind of a lie, because I haven’t replaced it right away. I bought a JĀSÖN lotion this time because it was on sale at Target.

MAC Prep + Prime Skin Primer

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Another Project Pan casualty that doesn’t quite count, because it was basically empty when I pulled it out. I didn’t expect to have to replace this AND the Revlon powder at the same time, but here we are. I’ve been thinking of trying another foundation — maybe NARS or Kat von D — and so I don’t want to buy another primer until I’ve decided on a foundation. For now, I’m using a backup Smashbox sample I’ve had bumming around, but I’ve already had to cut the tube open, so I’m kind of running out of time. It’s also the last empty I need for a Back 2 MAC lipstick, so I’m not too sad about it.

And there you have it, nine products that have gone to the big beauty counter in the sky. I wonder if I’ll ever have an Empties Roundup this large again. What did you use up this month?

I bought all these products myself.

Empties Roundup: August 2016

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Hello, reader! This is the Empties Roundup for August 2016! I’m proud of what I used up this month. Let me also begin by saying I love how many of you commented on last month’s post, and especially about how I cut the tubes open. Doesn’t everyone do this? I just loved that it was a common sentiment from so many people.

Dr. Jart+ Premium BB Cream (Mini)

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I’m a huge fan of BB Creams in the summer; I love to let my hard-earned freckles show. From this one, I got pretty good, though light, coverage; this stuff covered my redness without also covering up the good stuff. It took me most of the summer to use up this tube; I’ll be using Dr. Jart+ Black Label Detox BB for the rest of it, and in the fall I’ll be going back to my regular foundation.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero (Mini)

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I’ll be honest, I’m only chucking this because it stopped turning in the sharpener. I love to use a pencil all the way down to the end! This eyeliner is my absolute favorite and since the mini Zero pencil is a popular free sample, I have a handful of them in my makeup stash at any given moment. I’ve already started working on the next one.

Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Moisturizing Shampoo

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When I bought this shampoo, I bought it because it was so summery-looking. I actually bought the whole collection; in addition to the conditioner, there’s also a sea salt texturizing spray and a curl cream. It’s just what I needed to keep my hair looking like summer. I’ve already bought another one.

Bath & Body Works Kauai Lei Flower Shower Gel

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Ahh, Kauai, my favorite Hawaiian island. I actually finished the lotion for this months ago, and still had well over half of the shower gel left. I decided that instead of going out and buying another product, I was just going to use up stuff I already have. It’s really the story of my bathroom cabinets, it’s nothing but half-used lotions and gels that don’t go together. I washed makeup brushes with this stuff a few times before I put it back in the shower.

And that’s it! I’m really close to finishing up some more stuff, so September’s post should be really good! What did you empty out this month?

I bought these products myself.

Empties Roundup: July 2016

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Welcome back! It’s a little late, but here’s the Empties Roundup for July 2016! I don’t think it’s as impressive as last month’s post, but I’m excited anyway. Let’s get started!

Toni & Guy Cleanse Dry Shampoo

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So I am super lazy and I hate washing my hair. Even though I love the way it looks after I wash it — my curls and waves are never as happy as they are after a good shampoo — I put off washing as long as I can stand it because I hate doing it. suffice it to say, I use a lot of this stuff. This is my first time with this particular product, but I really liked it. It didn’t leave a lot of white powdery residue like a lot of dry shampoos do, and it was pretty affordable. It didn’t absorb oil as much as I would have liked it to, but I’d buy it again. It’s not the worst I’ve ever used.

Bath and Body Works Waikiki Shower Gel and Lotion

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I ran out of these at about the same time, and that never happens for me. Why do Bath and Body Works make their shower gel bottles so large but the lotions so small? Usually I run out of the lotion when the shower gel is still half full. Complaint aside, this scent was really nice. It’s fruity, floral, and tropical, the way you’d expect a Hawaiian-inspired scent to smell.

(Seed) Grapeseed Enriched Healthy Hand Cream

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I actually won this in a giveaway from Polish Galore! It actually was a really nice hand cream. It was fragrance-free and formulated without parabens, phthlates, petrochemicals, and common allergens, and is cruelty-free. The product is quality, but even the effort they make to keep bad ingredients out makes me want to get another tube. It’s very moisturizing, but still a bit light; I’ll still need something heavier after I’m done washing dishes.

Lancôme La Base Pro Primer (Sample)

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This is my favorite primer in the history of makeup primers. A Lancôme rep sold me on it years ago when I was foundation shopping. I ended up returning the foundation — it oxidized like mad and made me look like a Simpson — but the primer was definitely a win. This was a sample I had sitting around in a cosmetic bag, and I used it just to use it up. I don’t know if I’ll repurchase this right away — I’ve got another one I want to use up first — and honestly I’ll probably buy Smashbox Photo Finish when I’m out of that, because it’s a bit of a better value. However, my heart will always belong to La Base Pro.

I’ve got a lot of things that may make their way into August’s roundup! I’ve got a tube of BB cream that feels a little light, a lip gloss pot I’ve been working on for ages, and I finally hit pan on my Dallas bronzer! It feels so good to empty a product, and writing these roundup posts — as well as reading so many others — makes me want to keep doing it.

That’s July’s Empties Roundup! What did you finish up this month?

I bought these products myself.