Summer Beauty Empties
Happy September! Fall begins later this month, and I could not be more thrilled about it. We’ve had a swampy summer here in DC, and I can’t wait for cooler temperatures and a lack of mosquitoes. Plus…pumpkin and spooky season is coming! My favorite time of the year!
Let’s take a look at the products I emptied last month:
Though I emptied a fair amount of skin care last month, I hardly did any sheet masking:
Would I Repurchase?
- Thayer’s Unscented Witch Hazel Facial Toner [affiliate link]: I’ve gone through so many bottles of this! I usually have a backup ready to crack open but not this time, solely because I had a different toner waiting in the wings to try out. I would totally repurchase this again, though.
- Augustinus Bader The Cream Cleansing Gel [affiliate link; gifted via Influenster]: this was a good, gentle cleanser; however, it’s expensive ($65) and I’m not interested in super high-end cleansers unless I find them to be magical. This one was not life-changing for me.
- MDSolarSciences Mineral Moisture Defense Body SPF 50: I bought this with a discount code that the brand gave me after I did a Palm collaboration for a different product of theirs (which I liked). I didn’t love this product; it’s quite thick and a little difficult to wash off. I mostly just ended up applying it on my neck in order to use it up. I wouldn’t repurchase this particular SPF but would still try others from the brand.
- Versed Wash It Out Gel Cleanser [affiliate link]: I enjoyed the basic cleanser from this “clean” Target brand. (I use quotation marks because fearmongering about toxins in beauty products is a major thing these days.) This rosewater/seaweed cleanser is more minty than rosy or seaweedy—it contains peppermint oil—so it feels very refreshing. However, I’m sure the mint is a turnoff for some folks. I liked it, and would consider repurchasing.
- Nécessaire The Body Wash, Sandalwood [affiliate link; gifted]: this body wash is gentle enough for my very sensitive body skin and leaves my skin feeling soft. I’m always reluctant to use fragranced body care but happily, the Sandalwood scent didn’t irritate my skin. I actually purchased a bottle of the fragrance-free version before the brand ever gifted me anything, but I would still buy it again on my own.
- Acure Ultra Hydrating Cucumber & Hyaluronic Superfine Mist [affiliate link]: I was not impressed with this mist. It smelled like cucumber, which in my opinion is a very refreshing scent, so I did like that. But the mist itself was not superfine as advertised. I’ve liked some of the Acure products I’ve tried, but this was unfortunately not one I’d repurchase.
- Farmacy Beauty Honeymoon Glow AHA Resurfacing Night Serum: this is a good acid serum. I only used it once a week, so it took me forever to use up. My skin tingled and reddened a touch after using it, so I didn’t want to increase my usage. I do feel like my skin looked a little glowier in the morning each time I used it, and I would repurchase.
- Botanics Pure Botanicals Snow Mushroom Concentrated Serum [affiliate link; gifted via BzzAgent]: this serum was pretty good in terms of hydrating my skin. At $11.99 for 0.5 ounces, it’s quite affordable, but the small bottle doesn’t last long. Also, I didn’t love the scent, which was pretty perfumey (“fragrance” is not on the ingredient list, so I’m not sure what imparts the scent). Fortunately it didn’t irritate my skin, but I just didn’t like how it smelled so I don’t think I’d purchase this.
Minimal Masking
- I’ve talked many times about my love for the Wander Beauty Rose Gold Baggage Claim Eye Masks [affiliate link] and the Skyn Iceland HydroCool Firming Eye Gels [affiliate link; originally gifted but I bought these]. Both are great!
- KNC Beauty Big Chill Aloe + Gotu Kola Super-Soothing Biocellulose Mask [affiliate link]: this mask is from the Big Set that I bought from Cupcakes & Cashmere awhile back. It’s the first mask I used from the set, and I wasn’t thrilled with it. The really thin material was hard to handle and tore in a couple places, and it has glitter embedded in it. Some flecks of glitter remained on my skin after removing the mask. Obviously glitter looks cool for Instagram photos, but it’s unnecessary in skin care products. I haven’t tried the other two masks from this set yet, but I assume they have glitter as well. Eh.
Now that the Pfizer vaccine has full FDA approval, there goes the excuse of “it’s not approved yet.” BTW, you know what isn’t FDA approved? Well, lots of things aren’t FDA approved…but in particular, the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements…you know, the things that many people in the “wellness” realm claim will protect them from COVID-19. Please make sure you get your vaccine shots if you haven’t already…the delta variant is still a huge problem here in the US. And keep masking up when recommended or required.
Stay healthy and have a safe and socially distant Labor Day weekend, folks!
