A couple of housecleaning items to kick off today’s post. First: may the fourth be with you! and second: I seem to be in spam hell once again. I’ve left a bunch of comments yesterday on various blogs and they all disappeared. It’s so discouraging when that happens – can you please check your spam box? Click here to see where your spam is located. Thanks!
Onward to my April trash Stash! This month [turned out to be] ok for empties – I thought I’d have only a few to show but I am on an ambitious plan to clear out my cupboards of items that just aren’t working for me.
It was fairly well balanced in terms of skincare, body, hair and makeup stuff, actually.
Skincare
Consonant Skincare DHE Mask – $45 for 75ml
This is a very good clay mask – I’ve learned to only use this on my t-zone considering that it consists of Eucalyptus oil which irritates the skin on my cheeks. I do find this helps to suck the gunk out of my skin and my skin looks clearer after using this. I’d mostly recommend this for oilier skin types. The tube lasted me at least 4 months with weekly use.
Stash worthiness: 8/10 Repurchase: Yes
Avene Eluage Eye Contour care – $48 for 15ml
I used this as an eye serum at night. I pump a small amount and apply a thin layer on my under eye area before I apply my night eye cream (Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream). It consists of a tiny amount of retinoid in the from of retinal (aka retinaldehyde), which is milder and less irritating. I find this to be fairly effective in keeping my under eye area plumped up (it also consists of hyaluronic acid) but I couldn’t use it alone as my eye cream considering that it’s not hydrating enough on its own.
Stash worthiness: 7/10 Repurchase: Maybe
Oslee Silk Revitalizing and Firming Sheet Mask
This is a fancy sheet mask because it came with a plastic backing – it’s not needed but I do find it makes it much easier to unfold the sheet mask with less risk of tearing it accidentally. The mask itself is actually a pale orange colour which I’ve never seen before. It fits my face very well – and instead of a cut-out for the mouth, it just has a slit there. They really do not want me to eat or talk while masking! Overall, I didn’t see a lot of results with this – no firming effects, just felt a lot more hydrated.
Stash worthiness: 6/10 Repurchase: No
Mediheal Platinum V-Life essential Mask – $1.30 ($12.99 for 10 masks)
I took a gamble on this mask when I gotten a box of 10 at Winners last year. turns out the masks are really good! the box describes the material as silk cellulose and I need to say it’s quite similar to the Etude house ones I like, although not as thin. the best part about this mask is that it fits every feature of my face perfectly – like they used my face as the die-cut! XD as for results, I did find this helped to calm my skin as one of the crucial components is witch hazel. You’ll be seeing a lot more of this in future empties (9 more, to be specific! )
Stash worthiness: 9/10 Repurchase: Yes
Real Nature Acai Berry Sheet Mask – $3
These are basic sheet masks from The face shop which were my go-to masks considering that they’re readily available and relatively inexpensive (and they’re often on some sort of offer – get 10 get 5 complimentary type deals). They fit my face well and the material is a medium thickness. The amount of serum is appropriate – everything is very middle of the road with these masks. The main benefit I get from them is hydration, and I do find they plump up my skin nicely temporarily. Seasonal allergies have been wrecking havoc with my skin so this was a great soothing one.
Stash worthiness: 8/10 Repurchase: Maybe
Reversa Cleansing Micellar option – $23 for 300ml
This is a repurchase for me – so you know that I like it (in fact, it made my 2015 best discoveries list). This is a fairly no-frills cleaning water – very effective and leaves my skin feeling soft and cleansed. The pump style bottle is very convenient – I’ll be reusing this for my Yves Rocher micaller waters. Reversa is a Canadian skincare brand that reminds me a bit of Bioderma.
Stash worthiness: 9/10 Repurchase: Yes
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil – $35 for 200ml
I love this stuff! You can read my review here. This bottle lasted me 3 months with daily use. I’ll be keeping this bottle to refill it – I wished DHC sold refill bags like how Softymo does.
Stash worthiness: 9/10 Repurchase: Yes
Rebels Refinery capital Vices Skull Lip Balm (unscented) – $8
This is a great hydrating lip balm made in Toronto with good components like coconut and sweet almond oils. I like the passion fruit version better though, so I’ll repurchase that one.
Stash worthiness: 8/10 Repurchase: No
Mary Kay appeal Blotters Oil-Absorbing Tissues – $8.50 for 75 sheets
This is one of my much-loved blotting papers. They are effective in eliminating excess oil from my skin but don’t over strip it or disturb my makeup. They are also the largest blotting sheets I’ve come across, measuring at 10 x 7.6cm. I’m steadily whittling down my blotting paper stash, but I did also haul a whole bunch when I was in Japan so it seems never ending.
Stash worthiness: 9/10 Repurchase: Yes
Etude house Dr. Lash Ampule and Serum set – $20
I was prepared to write a separate review post on this set considering that some of you expressed interest when I hauled it (here). I even measured my eyelash length when I began the treatment (7mm, using the included ruler) – but, there’s not much to report because I didn’t see any difference when I used them. I need to also admit to not using it consistently so that’s possibly why I didn’t notice huge improvements.
One of the reasons why I didn’t use this system regularly was that they stings my eyes often if I over-apply. I just don’t understand why products that are indicated to be applied near the eyes would remotely irritate the eyes, let alone, sting? I also didn’t care for the wand, it was messy and didn’t apply the serum precisely to the lash line.
Stash worthiness: 4/10 Repurchase: No
Quo konjac sponge – $8
Bought this on a whim because it was on sale and ended up liking it. Not as spongey as The face shop one but it’s got a great texture. Interestingly, it’s made in Korea rather than China like a lot of the sponges I see these days.
Stash worthiness: 8/10 Repurchase: Yes
Body Care
Bath & Body works Foaming shower Gel in Tiki Mango Mai Tai
This foams up like shaving gel and lathers up like a shower gel – it’s very hydrating and smells incredible. This was on my favourites list recently. Sadly, this was limited edition. It lasted me about a month. And, while doing some tidying, I discovered another can of this in my closet – huzzah!
Stash worthiness: 9/10 Repurchase: Yes
Jergens BB Hand cream – $7 for 90ml
Interesting concept but it pilled on my skin (rubbed off in little bits like eraser shavings). I do like that it consists of SPF and supplied a good barrier on my skin without any grease. I’d love to find a lot more hand creams consisting of SPF.
Stash worthiness: 5/10 Repurchase: No
L’Occitane Shea Butter extra gentle Soap in Milk – $8.50 for 100g (not shown)
This is my much-loved bar soap from L’Occitane. The smell is so comforting and the soap leaves my skin soft. It’s spendy but a guilty pleasure of mine.
Stash worthiness: 9/10 Repurchase: Yes
Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter – $4.99USD for 227g
This was on my favourites list as well. It smells like coconut ice cream and hydrates the skin amazingly well. It’s such a gem at a fantastic price. I’m still pouting that Trader Joe’s isn’t in Canada. C’mon already.
Stash worthiness: 10/10 Repurchase: Yes
Here are 3 deodorants that I’m getting rid of because they just don’t work for me:
Consonant Dealkalizing Deodorant – $14 for 75g
Read my review of this here. I tried using it again and I just don’t like the texture (crumbly) and it did not stop odour as well as the Lavanila.
Stash worthiness: 5/10 Repurchase: No
Saje peaceful Warrier Deodorant – $12.95 for 100ml
I also examined this in my quest to switch from antiperspirant to deodorant. I do not love the scent of this, nor do I like using using a spray as much as a solid (it was leaky).
Stash worthiness: 6/10 Repurchase: No
Schmidt’s natural Deodorant in Ylang-Ylang & Calendula – $14.99 for 92g
This was recommended by Jodi of A Brash attitude but it just didn’t work well for me. The solid is very firm and rough, so it is actually painful to apply this to my armpits! I also did not like the smell as much as I thought I would, and I didn’t find it neutralizes BO for me. just goes to show how individual personal care and appeal items are!
Stash worthiness: 4/10 Repurchase: No
Hair Care
Head & carry Shampoo in green Apple – $8 for 400ml
This is a long time much-loved of mine. I don’t get dandruff per se, but I do experience tight, itchy scalp especially during the wintertime months. This really helps to alleviate it – plus, it cleans my hair without stripping it and leaves my hair very bouncy. The green apple smell is really fresh and my much-loved of the various types H&S sells.
Stash worthiness: 9/10 Repurchase: Yes
Kiehl’s Magic Elixir Hair Restructuring Concentrate – $28 for 120ml
I’ve had this lingering in my cupboard for a couple of years. I showed this in my wintertime Scalp Rescue post and I didn’t much care for it. I didn’t find this to be wonderful – it’s very greasy and doesn’t do any better than if I’d just use plain olive oil (this consists of rosemary, avocado and safflower oils). and it’s expensive for what it is. This isn’t completely finished but the oil has gone rancid.
Stash worthiness: 3/10 Repurchase: No
L’Oreal Tecni Art Spiral Splendour curl 2 cream – $25 for 150ml
I snagged this for $6.99 on clearance – I’d never pay full price for this! The cream is just ok. It supplies some definition and anti-frizz but not enough hold. At least it doesn’t weigh down my hair. I picked up 2 other tubes of this due to the price, which I’ll use up but I wouldn’t seek it out to repurchase.
Stash worthiness: 6/10 Repurchase: No
L’Oreal volume Collagen Body improve root lifting Spray – $8 for 200ml
I didn’t care for this even though I used it all up. I honestly think this had the same effect as spraying very diluted hairspray on my hair. This is discontinued so I guess L’Oreal realized how crappy it was. I’m now in the market for another root lift product. I used to use the LaCoupe one exclusively but ever considering that they stopped selling at stores, I am SOL! Any recs?
Stash worthiness: 4/10 Repurchase: No
Makeup
e.l.f. High definition Powder in sheer – $8 for 8g
I struggled to use this jar up for ages but ever considering that I started “baking” I’ve been using a lot a lot more product (80% of which simply get dusted off and lands on the floor! ) While this does set everything and locks makeup into place I don’t love it considering that it gives a very matte finish that can look dry especially under the eye area. If you like a matte finish that blurs lines and pores, this is a great powder.
Stash worthiness: 7/10 Repurchase: No
Estee Lauder ideal Light Brush-On Illuminator in Light medium – $35 for 2.2ml
I gotten this under duress after a quickie makeover at the counter. It’s not a stand-alone concealing product which I knew when purchasing it. My main issue with this is that it’s not very illuminating, and the shade is too dark for me. Also, it has a bad routine of disturbing my concealer when I blend this on top. This item is discontinued and I’m not sad about that.
Stash worthiness: 5/10 Repurchase: No
Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon eyeliner in Ro(Cocoa) #48 – $31 for 0.5g
This is very close to being finished but it’s just dried out too much to continue using it. Also, the lead has shrunk or broken off the base so it falls out easily now. But, as a liner, this is aces. one of the longest wearing liners on my lower lash line. There’s also a built-in sharper which is incredibly handy. I like that they released non-shimmery colours now. I might get the dark brown in that later this year.
Stash worthiness: 9/10 Repurchase: Yes
L’Oreal Bare Naturale Mascara
A moment of silence is needed because it is my final tube of this discontinued gem! This was my HG mascara. This particularly tube seemed to thicken faster than other ones I had – probably because it’s 4 years old! (sealed though) I used this exactly for a month before it was too goopy to use. You can read my rave review of this mascara here.
Stash worthiness: 10/10 Repurchase:
CoverGirl LashBlast volume Mascara – $10 for 13.1ml
And how timely that I used this one up now considering that this is my current much-loved mascara – it’s not as lengthening as the L’Oreal one but it does supply impressive volume. What I especially love about this mascara is how it does not smudge or run even with my watery eyes from allergies. I used this tube for 3 months and it finally got too clumpy to continue using.
Stash worthiness: 10/10 Repurchase: Yes
Beauty Blender Sponge – $28 each
Typing out that price of this sponge makes me cringe! That said, I have to admit this is an exceptional sponge for blending out foundation flawlessly. And, this sponge has lasted me 3 years with regularly use (about twice a week – I rotate my sponges) and it’s now finally falling apart. It’s time to retire this and I’m not sure if I’d repurchase it due to price tag. There’s absolutely no reason why the price of this continues to remain so high when there is an abundance of economical alternatives. I personally like the Quo sponge (see my comparison of appeal Blender type sponges