March/April Empties

Yes, I realize that we're in May and I also realized I had been meaning to make this post for a while. Better late than never? I guess...

March/April mask empties

• IPKN Wrinkle Care Snail 8 Mask - super drenched in essence. Fit well. Definitely has a very earthy smell, exactly what I would expect a snail to smell like. It’s not pleasant and it does last quite a while. Very hydrating and sticky afterwards. 
• Pikake, Plumeria, Green Tea Beauty Treats - these were all pretty similar except for the scent. They all fit well, were hydrating, and brightening.  Not very sticky and my skin drank up remaining essence. 
• Naisture Brightening Arbutin - pretty much like the Beauty Treats. Also liked. 
• The Creme Shop Green Tea - Moisturizing and brightening. Very refreshing. Did not fit well but still usable. 
• Purederm Ultra Foot Repairing Foot Mask - this was the first time I did anything of this sort to my feet and I loved it! Strong alcohol like scent and very cooling. A few days through a few weeks after using, feet will peel and “molt” leaving behind soft and radiant feet. It was definitely a creepy and weird experience, but one I would love to try again. Very wet sock type. 
• Petitfee Dry Essence Foot Pack - somewhat waxy dry sock, but left feet very silky moisturized. Paired well with exfoliating foot mask from above. 

Of this lot, I would only repurchase the foot masks.

March/April skincare and hair care empties

• Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner - Purchased. Yes it’s alcohol based and yes it’s heavily irritating on many people. My skin is pretty heavy duty, handling pretty much everything I throw at it. I had no problems with this toner but, I won’t repurchase because I have several more to go through. 
• Instanatural Retinol serum - Received through Amazon review program. I mainly used this one as part of my night time routine. I found this formulation to be somewhat helpful as it did help keep my skin smoother and brighter. I don’t break out too often, but I also noticed less breaking out while using this. I couldn’t really detect a scent. I don’t believe I’ll be repurchasing this particular product. I also have a Retinol cream to go through. 
• Instanatural Age defying & Skin Clearing serum - Received through Amazon review program. This was the daytime counterpart from the previous serum. This one contains niacinamide which I did notice helped keep my skin look brighter and faded any dark spots or scarring quickly. Citrus scent which faded away quickly. I did like it but, will not be repurchasing. 
• Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion skin exfoliant - Received through Ipsy. I really liked this physical exfoliator and was sad to use it up. The very fine microparticles really helped to scrub away any dryness or flakiness to keep my skin smooth. Peppermint scent with a cooling sensation. Creamy, grainy, and thick. Would love to purchase a full size but must go through other exfoliators first. 
• Etude House Baking Powder BB Deep Cleansing Foam - Received from 3B Box giveaway. Creamy Cleanser with copious amount of lather. Left my skin very deeply cleaned but dehydrated. Skin feels soft and visibly brightened. Did not cause any problems on my combination/oily skin. Light citrus scent which does not linger. I also detected very small granules in soap that helped mildly exfoliate. Did like, would not repurchase. I prefer my skin to not be too dry after a wash. 
• Etude House Age Defense Essential Softener & Emulsion - Received from 3B Box giveaway. They both have a high impact perfumy floral scent which does not linger in the softener but does last longer in emulsion. I used softener as a first treatment after toner. Light, not sticky or greasy, and not very  moisturizing. Skin did feel silky and soft but not hydrated. Emulsion was not greasy and slightly sticky. It was lightly hydrating and usually followed it up with a heavier cream at night. Neutral feelings. Will not purchase.*
• Missha Super Aqua Ultra Water-full Active toner & Control Emulsion - Received from 3B box giveaway. I used toner as a first essence because it very light, thin, hydrating, and not sticky or greasy. Honestly nothing special. Don’t feel like it did much. Emulsion was light, thin, runny, and lightly hydrating. It was easily absorbed by skin and it was slightly sticky afterwards. Followed up with heavier cream at night. Will not repurchase.*
• La'dor Perfect Fill-up Hair Ampoule - Received from Mishibox. This is a liquid in a 13 ml bottle that mixes with a 1:1 ratio with water to become creamy. It has a pleasant fruity scent with no chemical smell. After rinsing, my hair was shiny, soft, voluminous (weighty) and lasted for the entire day. Next day my hair was still soft, shiny, had a “thick” volume and was very manageable.  Would love to repurchase. 

*These type of containers are a pain the ass. Even when using a q-tip to try and get product, it takes a long time to build up enough product for one application.  They are hard plastic containers that do not squeeze. I hate sample containers like this and I have several more in my stash.

Shudder

This is Anavita Moisturizing Anti-wrinkle cream. It has a weird minty, plastic-y smell. It is silicone based so I thought it would wear all under makeup. It not heavy or creamy enough for night time, but this thing is a true skincare nightmare come to life during the day.  It is hard to spread and becomes very oily even with nothing on top. While wearing makeup, it would slide right off and make my face look like I had just finished running a marathon. Luckily it didn’t break me out, but also did nothing to moisturize and little else of anything useful. I really dislike this product and is going into the trash with about ¾ of product still in it.