July Empties

It's the end of the month, and that means...EMPTIES! You guys know I like empties, so let's get into it:

Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation by Maybelline ($7.99) - Okay, I get why everyone is so in to the Maybelline Fit Me line. This is a really good foundation! I mean, this is a foundation I can count on, and there aren't many of those in life. It has medium to full coverage, it has a really nice, demi-matte finish, it has a pretty good shade range, it's easy to mix with other foundations, and it's cheap. What's not to like? I always like the way my makeup turns out when I use this foundation, and I will definitely repurchase it.

Hi Definition Photo Concealer Wand by NYX ($4.99) - I know that this concealer gets rave reviews, but, to be honest, I don't really get the hype. This concealer was okay, but it applied unevenly and it's a little too sheer for my taste. True, I was using the Tarte Shape Tape concealer around the same time, so this concealer probably suffered in comparison. But, even so, I just don't really like it. True, it is very creamy, but I really prefer something with a little more coverage. Also, I found that blending out this concealer tended to move my foundation around, and I'm not about that life. 

Secret Wonderland Body Lotion by Bath & Body Works ($12.50) - If you know me, you know that I'm all about Bath & Body Works lotions and shower gels. They have pretty packaging, their products smell great, and they're always having crazy good sales. And, most importantly, their products work! I particularly like their lotions because the scents last a long time on my skin. This scent in particular is very sweet and fruity. According to B&BW, the key notes are "Luscious Strawberry, Frosted Jasmine Petals, White Amber." High school/college freshman me really liked this scent, so, at some point, I stocked up on a bunch of products with this scent when they were on sale. I'm not the biggest fan of this scent now, but I still have a few products with this scent, so I'm trying to use them up. 

Organic, Virgin, Unrefined Coconut Oil by Spectrum Organics - So, as it turns out, the brand of coconut oil that you buy really does matter. I've been using coconut oil on my face and in my hair for about 10 months now, and, I have to say, I've gotten on the coconut oil band wagon and I don't plan on getting off any time soon. You can use coconut oil as a hair mask, as a leave in hair product (only if you have really, really dry hair though), and you can use it on your face to remove your makeup. Previously, I was using Coconut Oil by a brand called Nature's Promise (actually, that's also what I'm using now because it was on sale a couple of months ago, and I wanted back up coconut oil), and it was fine, but this coconut oil was so much better. It had a smoother, less gritty texture, and it just felt nice. You know what I mean? Anyway, if you're in the market for coconut oil--and I recommend coconut oil in general--I recommend picking this up. I find it in the natural food aisle in my grocery store. In case you're wondering, it's perfectly fine to use food grade coconut oil on your face and hair (in my opinion, organic is best). A lot of hair and skin care brands are now selling some version of coconut oil. Their product is more or less the same thing you find at the grocery store, but it's more expensive per ounce and it comes in fancier packaging. I'm a sucker for packaging, but I'll be sticking with my grocery store coconut oil.

Stay Don't Stray Eyeshadow Primer by Benefit ($26) - I've had a sample of Stay Don't Stray by Benefit sitting around in my makeup collection for a while. Honestly, I forgot that I had it for a long (long) time, but this month I came across it and decided that I might as well try to use it up. This eyeshadow primer is pretty good. It's not my favorite because it's a bit too dry for my taste, but, if you have oily eyelids, that might be perfect for you. I've tried a lot of eyeshadow primers, and, in my opinion, MAC paint pots are the best. I probably wouldn't purchase the full sized version of this product, but, if I got another sample size or something like that, I would definitely use it again.

Geometric Highlighting Powder in Where the Dreamers Go by Wet n' Wild ($4.99) - You may remember this product--the Geometric Highlighting Powder--from one of my Disappointing Products posts. I didn't--and still don't--like this product because it wasn't very highlighting. It had a lot of glitter, but not a lot of pigment. Even though I don't like these highlighters (I have it in two shades), I decided that I didn't want them taking up space in my collection, so I decided to try to use at least one of them up. So, I've been using Where the Dreamers Go, which is the white-ish highlight, to set my under eye concealer. Don't judge. It looks more white and less glittery when the product is spread out over more surface area. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the best setting powder, but it worked, and--as long as I didn't use so much--it didn't look too weird. Obviously, I don't recommend setting your makeup with highlighter, but, in this case, it wasn't horrible.

Fancy Dish Candle in Coconut by Candles by Victoria ($14) - I know that I don't normally include candles in my empties blogs, but I used up a candle this month and I wanted to talk about. I picked up this "Fancy Dish" (so called because it comes in a fancy dish) candle from Candles by Victoria, which is an indie candle company. I like CBV because they have literally hundreds of different scents to pick from, and their scents are quite unique and creative. I picked up the coconut scent (you know how I feel about coconut) and it was really great. It was just a basic, coconut scent, but it was very strong and it lingered for a decent amount of time. However, I did run into a problem with this candle when I got near the bottom. I was burning it one day and, out of nowhere, the glass cracked and broke. I'm guessing this happened because it overheated, but I really hadn't been burning it that long before it happened. Anyway, the end result was that hot wax and FIRE spilled out onto the table. I ended up putting it out with water because I was afraid that blowing on it would make it worse. So, long story short, I ended up with a scorch mark on my table, broken glass on the floor, and a waxy-watery mess. Although I've had good experiences with CBV in the past, I probably will not be purchasing from them in the future. You can't put candles in just any glass or dish and clearly the company doesn't verify that their glass containers are safe to use with candles. I might buy some of their wax tarts in the future, but no more candles for me!

Coconut Cleansing Wipes by Yes To ($5.99) - Coconut, coconut, and even more coconut! This is a coconut flavored blog post, apparently. You guys know that every month I go through at least one packet of Yes To's coconut wipes (I may actually have finished two packs this month; I'm not sure). They're the only wipes I use and I really like them for removing makeup (in conjunction with my coconut oil, of course). I recommend these. They work really well, and they smell great (like coconut, of course! Are you sensing a theme?).

Anyway, those were all the products I used up this month. Let me know what you used up this month in the comments!