January Empties | #33

Starting the new year off right - by getting rid of things! I really want to make a conscious effort in 2017 to pare down my stash of beauty things to just my favorite, most used items and not keep a massive backstock. So often I see a great deal and feel like I have to get something because the price is right, even when I have no need for it. Moving forward, I'm going to be more conscious of how many items I keep on hand. 

With that said... here's what I've used up in January...

• Batiste Dry Shampoo in Floral Essences (would repurchase) - Batiste is hands down my favorite dry shampoo. It works great for soaking up oil and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Anything that saves me from having to wash my hair multiple days a week earns a repurchase in my book!

• Hask Mint Almond Oil Conditioner (would repurchase) - This is a nice conditioner. It has a nice mint scent and I think this line actually did help spur some new hair growth. See full review here. 

• It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin (would not repurchase) - This was fine. I sprayed it in my hair after I showered and used it to detangle my hair, which it did. I just prefer a keratin-free leave-in treatment - I don't want to develop breakage from overuse. 

• ARK Age Protect Skin Vitality Moisturizer (would repurchase) - This is a really nice moisturizer. It's light yet moisturizing, but also leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth. It didn't break me out either. My husband used it and liked it, too. See full review here. 

• Up & Up Eye Makeup Remover Liquid (would repurchase) - The Target brand eye makeup remover is the bomb. It competes with any name brand version, such as Neutrogena, out there. 

• Collective Wellbeing Honey Buff Gentle Exfoliator (would not repurchase) - This scrub was like a majorly watered down St. Ives. It ran everywhere when you tried to use it, which drove me crazy. So much was wasted because it ran all over. For that reason, I wouldn't buy this again. 

• CeraVe Eye Repair Cream (would repurchase) - This was a really nice eye cream. It's not too greasy but provides a good amount of hydration.

• Nooni Snowflake Cleanser (would repurchase) - I liked this little sample. Cleansing balms are my favorite way to remove makeup. See full review here. 

• Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in ZZ (would repurchase) - I loved this mauve lipstick sample so much that I bought a full size. It's creamy and hydrating on the lips and the color lasts for hours. This formula is one of my favorites. Definitely want to try more Vice lipsticks.

• Benefit Bad Gal Lash (would repurchase) - This was an OK mascara. Nothing overly special. It took a little bit of building to get the amount of volume I wanted, but overall it was good. I probably wouldn't spend much money on the full size though, because drugstore mascaras are good enough for me.

• Jack Black lip balm in Asian Pear & White Tea (would not repurchase) - I love Jack Black lip balms but I did not enjoy this scent. 

• Essence I Heart Extreme Mascara (would repurchase) - This is an awesome drugstore mascara. I love the short-bristled plastic brush - it makes it easy to coat your lashes and get up to the water line easily. This is super cheap and won't cost you more than $5! This isn't my first tube of this mascara and it won't be my last.

• Maybelline Stay Fit concelear (would not repurchase) - There's SO much hype around this concealer. People rant and rave all about this, but it does not work for me. It creases like mad and makes me look like I'm 50. Noooo thank you. 

• Blistex lip balm (would repurchase) - I like Blistex. It feels cooling and comfortable on the lips. Yeah, I'll buy it again.

• L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur (would not purchase) - This was fine, but it's very synthetic and fake. I don't know if my sample was old, but it was thick and hard to smear around. My skin looked smooth, but there are other smoothing primers I like more than this one. 

• Shiseido Ultimune Eye Power Infusing Concentrate (would purchase) - This was an interesting product that's supposed to be a boost to anything you put on top of it. It smelled really nice and felt good on my skin. I'm sure it's expensive, but I'd be interested to see how my skin adjusts to using more than just a sample of this.

• Liquid BlenderCleanser (would not purchase) - Meh... not worth buying this cleanser made specifically for the beauty blender. It's really nothing special. Dr. Bronner's is my go-to, it's cheaper, and it does a better job. 

• Arbonne Cellular Renewal Masque (would purchase) - This mask was really nice. It felt kind of like lotion, but my skin felt refreshed after using it. I don't purchase pyramid-scheme products, but if I happened upon this randomly, I'd think about purchasing it.

• Keys Eye Butter (would not purchase) - Holy cow, the smell of this stuff was enough to make me throw out this sample. The ingredients are amazing and natural, but I think it's the rosemary oil mixing with something else that is just pungent and unsavory to sniff. Aside from that, it's a nice thick cream that adds moisture to the delicate undereye area, but beware of the scent!!

• 100% Pure Green Apple Nourishing Body Cream (would purchase) - A nice hand cream that smells just like green apples. Good if you like products that lean more natural.

• Jason Cranberry Pure Natural Hand Soap (would repurchase) - I loved this hand soap. It had an amazing light cranberry scent and the ingredients are A+. This big bottle lasted a long time, too. 

• Everyday Shea Peppermint Tingle Hand Soap (would repurchase) - Another natural hand soap, with a light minty smell. Cute packaging as well. 

• Babyganics Face, Hand & Baby Wipes (would repurchase) - I love Babyganics wipes to remove swatches, but not so much for baby wipes. They don't smell like anything and have minimal ingredients. These are my go-to for cleaning up my beauty area and giving everything a good wipe-down. 

• Elizabeth & James Nirvana Black (would repurchase) - Love this perfume and have it in a full size. Just had to use up this mini. See full review here.

• Oscar de la Renta Something Blue (would not purchase) - I do not like this scent. It's very heavily floral and citrusy, the complete opposite of what I like to wear.

• Estee Lauder Modern Muse (would not repurchase) - I like Modern Muse, but not enough to want a full size. It's floral but has undertones of patchouli, woods and musk. I prefer the Modern Muse Rouge and would buy that before the original. 

• B&BW Red Velvet Cheer candle (would not repurchase) - This was from last year's holiday collection. If you like gourmand scents, you'd like this. Unfortunately it didn't have much throw so it was more for the aesthetic than anything.

• B&BW Winter candle (would repurchase) - This is a classic B&BW holiday scent that I really love, comprised of the smells of pine, woods and mandarin.

• Yankee Candle Golden Sands candle (would repurchase) - This smells so nice. It reminds me of Flowerbomb or some comparable perfume. Had a nice scent throw. 

• Yankee Candle Mountain Lodge candle (would repurchase) - A fresh scent, kind of manly. Had a good throw as well.

• Better Homes Scarlet Amaryllis Flowers melts (would repurchase) - This smelled kind of fruity to me in a weird way. It was a strong scent that filled my whole house. Not my favorite, but not bad.

What did you use up this month? Let me know!