Happy Columbus Day to all my American readers, I hope you’re enjoying your three day weekend! 😀 I’m back for part two of my beauty empties post, you can check out part one here. Since it takes forever to get through a makeup item, I don’t have a ton of stuff to talk about. But, I have managed to make my way through quite a few products recently. Most of these I loved, but a few I really hated. So, if you wanna know all about my beauty trash then keep on reading!
LORAC I’m So Sensitive Soothing Face Primer – I reviewed this primer back in May, and ever since I’ve been trying my hardest to use it up. Although it makes my skin soft and hydrated, it has the funkiest play-doh type scent. On top of that, I see absolutely no improvement in the staying power of my makeup when I use this. I’m usually such a fan of LORAC, but this product was a major disappointment!
Urban Decay Chill Makeup Setting Spray – I’ve gone through more bottles of this than I can count. This lightweight spray feels so refreshing on my skin, and it prevents my powder from looking dry or cakey. I’m currently using the All Nighter spray, and to be honest they are so similar that it’s hard to tell them apart. But, Chill is just a tad more hydrating, so I do prefer it over All Nighter.
Physicians Formula Super BB All-in-One Beauty Balm Powder (Light/Medium) – I raved about this powder a ton over the summer. It’s affordable, offers a luminous finish and has nice coverage. It can look cakey if you over do it, but when applied with a light hand it gives a beautiful lit from within glow. Unfortunately, this only comes in two shades, and this one tends to pull a little orange on me. For that reason, I probably won’t buy this again until next summer.
NARS Pro Prime Eyeshadow Primer (mini) – Not to be a debbie downer, but I really don’t get why this product gets so much hype. It worked nicely to keep my shadows in place, but to me it was exactly the same as the Too Faced or Urban Decay primers – only this one costs more. Don’t get me wrong, I think this formula is really nice and it prevented creasing, but I’ll save myself the $5 and stick with my Urban Decay Primer Potion.
I don’t think I’ve ever had this many mascaras in one empties post! As you can see, the majority of these are deluxe samples, but I still got about a months use out of each tube. Here’s the run down on each one:
Covergirl Lashblast Volume – Lashblast is a cult favorite, and for good reason. It’s super affordable, and it leaves lashes looking thick and full of volume. The only negative, is it’s really hard to remove. Even with cleansing oils, there’s always a bit of residue left on my lashes. But, it never smudges or flakes so overall it’s a nice mascara.
Benefit They’re Real – This is another product that gets a ton of hype, yet for me it was a major fail. It separates my lashes nicely, but it doesn’t thicken or add volume, so I’m left looking like I hardly have any lashes at all. I also really dislike the plastic bristle wand. I know a lot of people love this one, but I definitely won’t be buying a full size.
Makeup Forever Smoky Extravagant – I received this little guy in my Sephora birthday reward, and although I really liked the results, it smudged on me. It didn’t happen every time, but if I was out and about all day I’d often come home to raccoon eyes. It’s a shame because I liked this, and it has an awesome cone shaped wand that coats even the tiniest of lashes.
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – This product has received a lot of buzz, and now I know why. It left my lashes so thick and full of volume! But sadly, it flaked on me. I’m not sure if mascaras are doing this because I live in humid South Florida, but it really bummed me out. Since my eyes are sensitive, I can’t be loyal to a product that flakes. If it weren’t for that, I would have bought the full size.
Lancome Hynose Drama – I adore Lancome mascaras, they perform so nicely and never flake or smudge. Plus, they are super easy to remove. This one has a great natural bristle wand, the formula was easy to apply, and it never clumped. It’s one of those mascaras that gets better with age, so once some air got into the tube the results were even more impressive. I would definitely purchase a full size!
Lancome CILS Booster XL – The concept of this lash primer, is to boost the effects of any mascara you place over the top of it. However, I really didn’t see a difference when I used it. It has a five star rating on Sephora, so I’m not sure why it didn’t work for me. But, since the full size costs $24, there’s no way I’d buy a full size.
ELF Lash & Brow Clear Mascara – This double-sided product contains a brow gel and a clear mascara, though as you can see I used both sides for my brows. The brow side worked awesome, it locked every tiny hair in place like superglue! The results lasted all day, and I never had to reapply. The mascara side was significantly less impressive, but that wasn’t surprising being that it’s not actually a brow gel. For $2 I think this product works really great, and it’s easily accessible at most Target stores. Oh, and since used up brow gels look so gross, here’s a photo of a brand new tube.
Versace Bright Crystal Rolleball – This fragrance has been part of my perfume collection for years. It’s really light and sweet, but it’s not so sticky sweet that you’ll get a headache. It does fade rather quickly though, so I carried this around with me and reapplied it throughout the day. I’ve gone through 2 full size bottles, and now the rollerball, so it’s safe to say at one point I’ll most likely purchase it again. Side note: Versace recently released a new version of this in a fuchsia bottle and *swoon* it smells so pretty! If you love the original Bright Crystal, I suggest checking that one out too!
It’s always so refreshing to finish an empties post, because then I get the amazing satisfaction of throwing away all this trash! I hope you enjoyed my mini reviews, be sure to let me know what products you recently used up!
All items mentioned in this post were purchased by me.
I’ve been meaning to try that PF BB powder, I really like to look of powder foundations and PF tends to make really good ones.
I prefer powders as well, I just wish PF would increase their shade range!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles to get through beauty products!
Nope! Eyeshadow palettes and blushes take me the longest, but that’s probably because I own way too many haha 😉
I’m always excited to see beauty empties because I too never get through them like I wish I did.
I wish I got through some of my makeup items quicker too!
Super fun post!! Ahh the UD setting spray… A friend let me borrow hers a while back and you’ve given me that extra push to go buy my own. And I LOOOOVE the LashBlast in the purple tube… Totally agree with you on Benefit They’re Real. I had such high hopes but that ball thingie on the end… Why?? Just why?! lol.
The UD setting sprays are a product that gets a lot of mixed reviews, but I love how refreshing they are! And yes, They’re Real was just a big disaster!
I love these posts! I’ve been wondering about the Physicians Formula Super BB….
Glad you liked it! PF powders are great, but their shade range is so limiting 🙁
I love this!! I didn’t get to do mine this month because my hubby threw mine away!! This is the 2nd month in a row he did it, too. He was confused why I was keeping my garbage. hehe. I do love a lot of these products and I had a nice giggle with the gross used brow gel. It’s totally true.
LOL oh no! I keep mine in a bag under our bathroom sink, so I’m sure my husband wonders why I hoard garbage as well. I felt bad showing the brow gel, it just looks so gross! lol
I’ll have to try that UD spray! It’s really helpful hearing your thoughts on each product. Thank you! 🙂
That ELF brow gel looks great, totally getting that!
Hope you like it as much as I do! 🙂
I’ve gone through so many of those setting sprays too! Yesterday I placed an order online at Sephora because I needed more, they have a deal right now- $39 for 2 full size All Nighter sprays! That’s $9 more for an extra full size, score! I agree, they are all similar!
AH! I didn’t know that!! I need to buy some of my essentials, because they all run out at the same time of course lol, thanks for the heads up! xo
I love All Nighter, but I haven’t tried Chill before. My interests have been peaked and a purchase may need to happen!
I hope you like it as much as I do! 🙂
I love empties posts sooooo much. I appreciate your honesty here and it’s nice seeing the other side of some products that people rave about. Thank you for your candor!
Glad you liked it! It’s always a bummer when I don’t have a good experience with a hyped up product 🙁
That elf clear gel, obsessed! I buy like ten at a time! 😉
Oh my gosh, I know! I cannot believe how good it is! Thankfully I never invested in the over priced Anastasia one! 🙂
I got a little sample of the Anastasia one and it’s way too crispy for my brows. I like that the elf one is cheap, gets the job down, no flaking or gel residue, and it doesn’t crisp my brows up 🙂
I got the NARS face primer stick, and was utterly disappointed! I hate writing negative reviews, but I just had to on that one! And it’s expensive too!!! So I can imagine the eye primer was not worth the extra money. So funny how things that are super hyped can be disappointing! I love the UD setting sprays too!!!
Oh no, thanks for the heads up I’ll be sure to avoid that product too! I find hyped products to be 50/50 – either I love them or hate them. Sometimes I think the hype builds up so much people just want to like it lol.