June Empties!

Hi, everyone! So this Empties post is a full 2 weeks late, but better than never, I say! Last month I wrote my first-ever empties post, so I'm eager to bring you the second installment in the series.

I was convinced that I'd barely finished anything up during June, but when I dumped out my empties bag at the end of the month, I was pleasantly surprised. Not a bad collection!

So here's an overview of all of the goodies I polished off during June. Enjoy!

Tealish Creamy Caramel Oolong Tea: Although this isn't a cosmetics empty, I've been including my completed loose leaf teas in my empties posts because I'm a tea fiend as well! It's always a fun experience going to the tea shop to pick out some new flavours, so I've been making a concerted effort to finish some up! Tealish is my favourite tea shop in Toronto and Creamy Caramel was such a sweet wake-me-up in the mornings. It's a rich, yet gentle black tea with marigold flowers dispersed throughout to make it look extra beautiful!

Lush BB Seaweed Fresh Face Mask: I finished this lovely mask up in early June and I am eager to grab another. I was super skeptical about this because Lush's Fresh Face Masks, however fun to use, had really broken me out badly in the past. Luckily, BB Seaweed did wonders for my sensitive, oily skin! It left my skin calm and even after every use, and I got about 6 full uses from the tiny pot. Click here to see a full review!

Chantecaille Vital Essence with Arbutin: This is by far the most expensive skin care item I've ever purchased. I got to test it out at a very luxurious facial event at the Chantecaille counter in Holt Renfrew last fall and fell in love with the light, calming texture. Meant to deeply hydrate and brighten the skin, this did a great job under makeup each morning. It moisturized with no greasy residue and calmed down the redness in my skin. But did it brighten? In that regard, I didn't notice a difference. Because of that, I'm definitely on the hunt for a more affordable, light-weight brightening serum. To see Vital Essence mingled in with my home for the holidays makeup and skin care picks, see here!

Revlon ColourStay Liquid Foundation in Buff: This is my all-time favourite, go-to, holy grail foundation, so it's not surprising that I finished off a bottle. I won't say too much, as I gush about this frequently, but this really is the best foundation for my combination/oily skin. It has buildable coverage without looking cakey and really lasts all day! To see how it stacked up against another popular (and more expensive) long-wear foundation, click here!

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream Shade #23: I've tried a good handful of BB creams over the past few years and I have strong preference for the original Korean formulas. I find they have the best coverage and higher levels of SPF than their North American counterparts. Missha Perfect Cover has by far been my favourite, to the extent that I've finished up and re-purchased tubes of it. Shade #21 is closest to my skin tone, but can be a bit light during the warmer months. I like to get smaller tubes of #23 (the next darkest shade) to mix in with #21 when I have a tan, which creates the ideal shade! To see a full review of Perfect Cover, click here!

Revlon ColourStay Liquid Eye Pen in Blackest Black: This is another one I won't ramble on about here, as I've raved about it countless times on the blog. To me, this is the perfect black liquid liner. Easy-to-use felt-tipped pen, super pigmented, and long-wearing. Can't go wrong! I've already purchased a replacement (and probably have another backup laying around somewhere too). To see the Liquid Eye Pen hard at work, click here!

B. Kamins Acne Wash: This has been my go-to nighttime cleanser for the past year or so, and probably the third bottle I've been through. It does an incredible job at removing left-over traces of makeup after my oil cleanser and, most importantly, keeping my skin smooth and clear without any irritation or dryness. A total winner in my books and a complete godsend for my acne-prone sensitive skin. Have already re-purchased a replacement. Can't be without it! To peek at it in my summertime shower, see here!

B. Kamins Vegetable Cleanser*: B. Kamins was kind enough to send me a couple bottles of this to test out last year and I'm so glad they did! This is a wonderful morning cleanser that is perfect in its simplicity. Cleanses thoroughly, but gently without stripping. No complaints! To spy on it in my wintertime shower lineup, see here!

Yes to Blueberries Age Refresh Smoothing Daily Cleanser: I think this is the only downer in my empties round-up. I purchased this cleanser with high hopes that it would smell of delicious blueberries while cleansing and soothing my picky skin during the cool and harsh Spring we had here in Toronto. Unfortunately, this was one of the worst cleansers I've ever tried. It left a heavy greasy residue of my face that no amount of rinsing or toning could erase. Because of this, it was too rich to use under makeup, yet not effective enough to remove makeup at night. The scent of this was pleasant enough at first, but it soon turned rancid and un-usable. So this was not quite an empty, but rather a product that went bad before I could find a proper use for it. I still have much love for the Yes To... range, but this face wash gets two thumbs down.

And to avoid ending things on a sour note, here's a shot of Sadie. She cannot help but crash every blog photo shoot I do! She decided that the tissue paper made a much better bed than a product back-drop :)

That's it! Have you tried any of the products I featured here? What have you finished up recently?

Thanks for reading! xo


* Products demarcated with this asterisk have been sent to me by B. Kamins. Even though I mentioned this in the text of the post, I thought I'd add the asterisk for extra clarity and transparency. Thanks again, B. Kamins! xoxo