February 2016 Empties, Favorites, and Failures

Like any good New Englander, I like to use it up / wear it out / make it do / or do without. (Whenever I'm not shopping my fingers to the bone, that is.) These are the products I actually used up during the last month.

I could provide you with a crappy iPhone photograph of my empty containers, but I honestly don't understand the point of that kind of thing. And it is a thing. I see empties videos and blog posts all the time. Do people of the internet really enjoy looking at pictures of bloggers' trash? Let me know.

In the meantime, I'll make do with much better pictures stolen from various websites.

Chanel Gentle Bi-Phase Eye Makeup Remover

Retail price: $34.00/3.4 oz

How old: Ancient. Bird passed this along to me with a whole lot of Chanel loot in August, 2010. I know. The SHAME OF IT. In my defense, I probably didn't open it right away, as chances are I already had a bottle of eye makeup remover in use. Also, I don't use eye makeup remover very often—mostly just in the morning to clean up leftover mascara smudges. WHATEVER, I'm gross.

Will I rebuy: No. It's not a failure, but I can just use micellar water. Which wasn't available back in the dark ages when I got it.

Crest Pro-Health Clean Mint toothpaste

Retail price: $4.19

How old: Old enough to still contain microbeads. Even though I don't like putting microbeads in the trash, where they will end up in a landfill, it's better than having them end up in Lake Michigan. So I threw it out.

Will I rebuy: No.

available at Nordstrom

Guerlain Lingerie de Peau foundation

Retail price: $63 / oz

How old: Maybe two years.

Will I rebuy: Maybe. It's a good color match, and after fooling around with various oil-free foundations, cushion foundations, and BB creams, it's nice to use a product that melts into my skin when I blend it with my fingers. You know, kicking it old skool with a liquid foundation. In that respect, it's a favorite.

On the other hand, the glass bottle is heavy, which is less than ideal when I travel. Worst of all, because it's so heavy and semi-opaque (or something) I couldn't tell when the bottle was running out. It still looks and feels full. For all I know, I have plenty left and the pump broke, and that's why nothing comes out any more. And it's expensive. So ... I don't know.

L'Occitane Ultra Rich Body Cream Rich in Shea Butter

Retail Price: $44 / 7 oz.

How old: I bought it two years ago, but only opened it this year. I used it up in about a month.

Will I rebuy: Hell yes, I'll rebuy. This is definitely a favorite. It smells great, moisturizes really well, and doesn't leave me greasy (I have very dry skin, though, so keep that in mind.) Especially because I'm currently testing a crazy-expensive Amore Pacific body cream that doesn't work nearly as well.

Big pot on the right, I'm looking at YOU.

Kilian Love and Tears eau de parfum

Retail price: $260, but is refillable
How old: Probably six years
Retail price of a refill: $160

I'm actually down to the last few feeble spritzes of my bottle, which was signed by Kilian himself at an event at Saks in Chicago. I'd stick a crappy cell phone picture of the two of us in here, except he ended up looking so much prettier than I did.

I'm sure you can see why.

The refill

Will I repurchase: Yes, although I'll feel guilty, because I have so many bottles of perfume. But Kilian has just been purchased by the Estée Lauder company, and I'm afraid the fragrances will be reformulated or discontinued. In those circumstances, I think it's OK to grab a refill. It really is a favorite, even if it took me six years to go through a bottle.

NuFountain C20+ Ferulic Vitamin C serum

Retail price: $21.99
How old: Two months
Would I rebuy: Yes! I just ordered some.

Vitamin C serum is a staple in my skincare arsenal, and this one has a 20 percent concentration of L-ascorbic acid as well as ferulic acid, Vitamin E, and hyaluronic acid. It also has a little glycerin, which gives the product a silky feel and keeps my skin comfortable during the 15 to 20 minutes I have to wait before adding any subsequent products (another serum, exfoliating pads, sunscreen, or moisturizer.) This is such a favorite that I wish Amazon offered their subscribe-and-save option. I'd automatically order a new bottle every two months.

Radical Skincare Age-Defying Exfoliating Pads

Retail price: $20 / 15 pads; $75 / 60 pads

How old: Not sure when I received the packet, but I opened it less than a month ago. Yay me! Not only did I use something up, I used up a sample!

Would I repurchase: These are definitely a favorite. I bought the full-sized jar before I had finished the sample packet. They're expensive, so this is the kind of thing I'd put on my wishlist for, say, the Sephora 20 percent off sale, or a beauty event at Saks, Barney's, or SpaceNK, where I needed to spend a certain amount to qualify for a gift. If you want to read a review, you can find it here.