Since we’re now in April, I need to get busy and post my February empties especially since March’s empties are waiting in the wings.
Here’s what I used up in February:
Skincare
City Beauty UpLift Firming Serum: I didn’t realize that my bottle of UpLift Firming Serum was almost empty. I like to use it in conjunction with City Beauty Advanced Action Sculpting Cream along my jawline. The two have worked quite well to lift my skin, but I don’t have a bottle of CB UpLift Firming Serum waiting in the wings. I will have to try AASC on its own. Recommend? I do recommend UpLift Serum, and I believe that it is effective as a firming serum for the face.
Derma E Vitamin C Concentrated Serum: Although I believe that Derma E Vit C Concentrated Serum is a very good C serum to fade early signs of ageing and beginning dark spots. In fact, using it religiously about a decade ago, Derma E Vit C Serum faded my cute freckles. Recommend? Yes, if you are younger and starting to see dark spots, I do recommend Derma E Vit C Concentrated Serum. It’s an affordable, effective vitamin C serum that can help fade beginning dark spots and increase your glow. I just noticed that you can buy the deluxe travel size in the above packaging for $5.50, but it seems that they have changed the packaging on the Vit C Concentrated Serum and they sell it at a higher price.
Skyn Iceland Pure Cloud Cream, travel size: I brought Skyn Iceland Pure Cloud Cream to Costa Rica on my weeklong vacation. It is a fluffy, mousse-like moisturizer. I absolutely loved it. In response to the high temperatures and very bright sunshine, it soothed and hydrated my dry skin. I was sad that I used it up so quickly. With arctic berries and peptides, this light-as-air cream was created to provide serious hydration during extreme weather, both hot and cold. Recommend? Yes, I thought it was fabulous. If I didn’t have so many moisturizers to finish up, I would buy it tomorrow.
Nulastin Intense Hydration Serum, travel size: Part of the travel set I received from Nulastin, this was one of the travel size products that I brought to Costa Rica. I applied this “thick water” style serum to my parched skin twice a day, and not surprisingly, I finished the bottle. Recommend? Maybe not. I liked this hydration serum, but I have several bottles of other hydrating serum brands that I use on the regular. Because there are more affordable options, I suggest buying one of those.
Bath & Body
RITUALS Precious Amber Hand Balm: I think this is the second, or maybe third, bottle of Precious Amber Hand Balm that I’ve used. You may already know that I am a true fan of amber scents. This thick, fragrant hand cream is the one I usually keep at my kitchen sink. Recommend? Yes, this one is fabulous if you love amber like I do. If you prefer other scents from RITUALS, they make several others to choose from. When I went to replace Precious Amber after Christmas time during their usual sale, it was sold out, but it’s back now.
Venus Disposable 5 Blade Razor: I wanted to bring a lighter weight razor with me to Costa Rica, so right before we left I scored a duo of Venus Disposable 5 Blade Razors. I was very pleased with this one, and I am saving the second one to take with me to Asheville later this month. The blade head pivots, but it is attached to the handle and can’t be replaced. Unfortunately, my regular Venus razor was redesigned a while ago with metal inserts making it heavy and, to me, harder to use. Recommend? Great for travel, but not so great to dispose of, since I don’t believe it can be recycled.
Little Homestead Farm Soap, fragrance Bull City Cider Soap: I was sad to come to the end of the fragrant, artisan-made soap from the Research Triangle area in North Carolina that was part of my Hanukkah gift from one of Jeff’s daughters. Bull City Cider Soap was made in collaboration with Bull City, a local brewery. The soap smelled just like a freshly picked apple. It was divine, and it soaped up beautifully. The plus was that the red-burgundy color that formed part of the soap did not run onto my shower or bath. Recommend? Yes, it is a wonderful soap! But if you’re not an apple cider fan, I have a feeling that all of their soap are lovely.
Makeup
City Beauty City Lips LipGloss, shades Clear and South Peach: Since you probably know that I think City Lips LipGloss is the absolute best, I will not waste too much time singing its praises. Clear is what I buy most often, but South Peach was a terrific everyday shade with a hint of peach color. I tried to buy another South Peach during the last City Beauty LipGloss sale, but it was sold out. Instead, I bought 2 more tubes of Clear. Recommend? Absolutely, positively.
MAC Prep + Prime Lip: I bought MAC Prep + Prime Lip to both hydrate my lips and lock in any lipstick that I was wearing. Over the years as my skin has gotten drier, my lips have gotten drier too. That’s why I mostly wear City Lips LipGloss most days. But I still like to wear regular lipstick from time to time, and I also needed something that would help my lipstick stay put and not migrate into my liplines. This stuff worked. Recommend? Yes, it does its job. Right now, it’s on sale at Walmart.com for $17+, about $8.50 less than the usual price of $25.
Miscellaneous Empties
Just CBD Calm Gummy Bears, 1000 mg: For some reason, JustBrands sent me my gummy bears in a tub with a slightly different label, but they seemed just like their regular CBD gummy bears. They were fine for me, as usual. Recommend? If you’re a fan of CBD gummies, they are worth a try!
IGK Color Extending Gloss Conditioner: Red is a notoriously difficult color of hair dye to maintain. Everything makes it fade. IGK Color Extending Gloss Conditioner (paired with their Shampoo that’s part of the collection) definitely helps my color fade a somewhat more slowly during the 5 weeks between color. Recommend? Yes, if you have color-treated hair.
Frederic Malle Iris Poudre EDP, sample: I had high hopes for Frederic Malle’s Iris Poudre, created by Pierre Bourdon, because the notes were iris, vanilla and musk, all notes that I usually love. Plus I own two other Frederic Malle fragrances, Musc Ravageur and Lipstick Rouge. But I discovered when I tried to wear the perfume that it also contains aldehydes. Aldehydes in perfume are synthetic compounds that bring a radiant, sparkling character to fragrances, often giving them a clean, soapy, metallic, lemony, or powdery scent. For me, the soapy, metallic note dominated and overwhelmed the powdery iris. Recommend? If you like aldehydes (and many people do!), give it a try especially if you find a tester to try it.
Project Pan 2025 Update
In February, I used up about 11 cosmetic products not counting the little perfume sample that actually lasted me for 2 years, lol. In January, I used up 11 products as well. So far, my total is 22 beauty empties!
How about you? What did you finish? Any favorites?
