Trash Talkin' - My Current Empties

No, I don't normally share the contents of my trashcan with all of the internet. But this one is important, it's the bathroom trashcan which means you get to see what I've used up recently. And yes, I do have a separate trashcan for snotty tissues and those gross hairballs that I pull out of my hairbrush, so you won't be subjected to that horrific sight on this blog post. 

I tend to watch quite a few beauty videos on YouTube. One of the most popular things for beauty gurus to share is their empties. This is their time to show the products they've used up and whether they'll be repurchasing, or not, and just their overall opinion of the product in general. I mean let's face it, you can use a product a few times and form an opinion, but once you've used something up to the very end and are faced with either buying the product again or moving on to something else, that's when you know your true opinion of that product. {how many times have I typed the word product?!}

These are products that I've used up in the past, approximately, 2 months, so this isn't a blog post that I'll be able to do monthly but as soon as I get a trashcan full of empties I will definitely share.

Without further ado, let's get started...

Shower:

This month from the shower, I just have a shampoo and conditioner to share. It seemed like it took me forever to go through these massive bottles of Pantene. The ones I chose from their massive selection were the Sheer Volume Shampoo and the Daily Moisture Renewal Conditioner I'm not one to be picky about shampoos and conditioners. I tend to stick to drugstore brands and I usually pick a volumizing shampoo and moisturizing conditioner. I don't have very troublesome hair {frizz, split ends, etc} and I don't color it so I don't need anything special for breakage or color safe-ness {is that a word?}. Although I do have fine hair that falls flat easily which is why I tend to lean toward more volumizing shampoos and products. As far as conditioner goes, I like to pick a moisturizing one that is not so thick that my hair will be weighed down but still gives enough moisture so I can easily detangle when I get out of the shower.

I absolutely love this shampoo and conditioner. If you have fine, wavy hair like mine, this combination will be perfect for you. The shampoo had a great lather and cleaned well without making my hair so squeaky clean that it felt dry. I didn't notice a lot of change in the volume department but it at least didn't make my hair flat. The conditioner was just thick enough and left my hair silky, smooth, and easy to comb. I've found that some are so thin in consistency that it just slips off my hair before it has a chance to soak in.

Hair Products:

Now we move on to hair products. As you can see I love dry shampoos and texturizing products. 

I began using dry shampoos right after my daughter was born for those quick trips to the grocery store or just those days when I didn't have time to style my hair with having a newborn to take care of. So because of that, I think I've tried just about every dry shampoo under the sun. Of all those that I've tried, these two are among my top picks. The Psssst! Instant Dry Shampoo is one that I just picked up on a whim from Ulta and thought I'd give it a shot. I bought the travel-size bottle in case I didn't like it...let's just say, I'm going back for the full-size! Since I have medium brown hair, the dry shampoos that leave a gray cast can tend to make me look like a granny. And although the Psssst! does just that, it can easily be rubbed or brushed out. It didn't give too much grit to my roots and stayed oil-free almost all day.

I also polished off a bottle of the Suave Keratin Infusion Dry Shampoo. I really enjoyed this one as well because it also didn't leave my hair feeling too powdery or gritty but still absorbed all the oil and left my hair looking and smelling fresh. Both of these dry shampoos have a nice light scent, not too heavy or chemically scented.

Then there's the texturizing products. The first is the Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Texture Tease Dry Touch Finish Spray. For the days when I leave my hair to air dry, I like to add a little bit of texture spray. My hair is naturally pretty wavy but since it is so long, the waves can tend to fall out by the end of the day. This spray allows me to keep the waves since it is a finishing spray but it doesn't have the crunchy-ness of a full-on hairspray. The first time I used it, I thought 'Oh no, this is another dud product...' The spray comes out so dry and it feels like you're just spraying one of those cans of compressed air on your hair that you would use to clean the crumbs out your computer keyboard. But somehow it works. I also like to use this as my final step when I use the curling iron.

Another texturizing product that I like to use is Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Beach Chic Texturizing Spray. This will give you more of that beach waves look because it gives a more piece-y look but doesn't leave your hair crunchy like a mousse or gel would. Sometimes I even apply this while my hair is air drying and kind of scrunch it with my hands and then quickly blast it on Low speed with my hairdryer and diffuser.

Skincare:

Who understands the whole obsession with BB, CC, DD, or even EE creams? I don't understand why it had to go beyond BB creams but I do know that I liked the Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream. They only have a Light or Medium shade so this won't be for everyone but I enjoyed the light. It wasn't too pink, orange, or yellow. It had excellent coverage considering my BB creams are just glorified tinted moisturizers that sometimes don't have much color payoff. And with an SPF of 15, this is a great product for moms on the go or for doing a more minimal makeup look when the weather is hot and steamy or if you just need to run a couple errands. I did need to set this with powder though because it can get a bit shiny throughout the day.

I'm not really a 'stick to one cleanser' type of person. I usually just listen to my skin and use a cleanser that I'm needing at the time. With winter recently being on its way out and spring coming in, I needed something that wasn't quite so harsh but yet still gave a gentle exfoliation. That's what I get when I use the Up & Up Invigorating Facial Cleanser. Up & Up is a house brand of Target, so this cleanser is supposed to be a dupe for the Clean & Clear Morning Burst cleanser, which is about $2-3 more than the generic Up & Up brand. I use Up & Up products quite often, everything from toilet paper and paper towels to shower gel and diapers. I must say that I've never been disappointed either. And this facial cleanser is no different. It has small, rounded exfoliators in it that aren't too harsh on my skin but I still feel like I get all that yucky dead skin sloughed off to leave my face smooth and soft.

When the cold, dry air of winter hit, I had to use something on my face that was just a little bit more concentrated, especially at night, to help replace the moisture lost from my skin. Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Soothing Cream came in very handy for this. It was almost like a hybrid between a gel and a cream, which made it feel not too thick like a cream but I still felt like I was getting some type of deep moisturization from it when I applied it before going to bed. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it in stores lately but you can still purchase it on Amazon. But I'm thinking that they've "replaced" it with a new product called Hydro Boost Water Gel Facial Moisturizer. The description of the new product sounds just like the Ultra Gentle one so if you're looking to pick one up at the drug store, instead of ordering it online, give the Hydro Boost a try!

I only used up one makeup item this time around and it's the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. This is a wonderful drug store powder and definitely exceeded my expectations. I picked up on recommendation of several beauty gurus on YouTube. I thought "well all these gurus usually use powders that can cost upwards of $50 each and they like the Rimmel one too, why not just give it a try?". So I did...and I love it! For a powder that only costs around $4-5, it's a great value. I can layer this over any foundation, BB cream, or tinted moisturizer and it works beautifully. I've even used it on its own over moisturizer when just running to the grocery store or a couple of errands. It gives just enough coverage for me to feel comfortable to go out without a whole face of makeup, even though it's definitely not a powder foundation. The only con about this powder is the color selection, if you're not in the range of fair to light-medium, you probably won't find something that works for you.

When I first began hearing about facial sprays, I was thinking "what could be so great about intentionally spraying yourself in the face with something?". Well then I heard about the skin benefits of the Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herb, and Rosewater and I was enticed. I love using this as soon as I get out of the shower to add a little extra moisture before applying my serums and creams. It's also a great hot day refresher. It's like those mist stations that they have at amusement parks and fairs to walk through and cool off...but this is only for your face. But my most favorite thing to use the facial spray for is setting my makeup. After I've applied all my face and eye products, but before I apply mascara, I just give my face a quick mist and let it dry for a few seconds. It just takes away that powder-y look that most setting powders can leave behind and melts everything together to leaves my skin more natural and glow-y looking. 

Now for the Question of the Hour...Will I re-purchase?

Pantene Shampoo & Conditioner: Yes/No...I will re-purchase, just not right now. I like to switch up shampoo and conditioner

Psssst! Dry Shampoo: Yes

Suave Keratin Infusion Dry Shampoo: Yes

Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Texture Tease Dry Touch Finish Spray: Yes...I'm on my 2nd bottle :)

Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Beach Chic Texturizing Spray: Yes...I'm on my 2nd bottle of this also :)

Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream: Yes

Up & Up Invigorating Facial Cleanser: Yes...but only when my skin needs that light exfoliation. I'm using a cream cleanser right now but will need something different when the weather starts getting warmer

Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Soothing Cream: No...but only because it's not easily accessible at the drugstore. I might try the new Neutrogena Hyrdro Boost product though when the weather turns cool again, probably in the late fall.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder: Yes...I'm already using a new one. 

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herb, and Rosewater: Yes...I've already gone back and gotten the full-size and I've been loving using it on these warm days we've been having lately.

Well that was my first installment of Trash Talkin'. Like I said, I will not able to do this more than once every 6 or 8 weeks, or when my little blue trashcan is full. I hope you enjoyed and maybe found a few new products that you'd like to try out yourself. Do you have products that you re-purchase time after time? Please share them below in the comments so we can find out how great they are too.

xoxo
Heather