BEAUTY EMPTIES, Vol. 14

Happy FriYAY! Fridays are our *get* *isht* *done* days around the house since we’re both home and pretty much out of pocket, so we’ve got loads and loads (literally) of laundry on the agenda. I’ve also got my glucose test AND another OBGYN appointment today, as well as a baby shower meeting, taekwondo, and family movie night. Might as well add taking out the trash to the list…it’s time to dig through some Beauty Empties. 😉

BEAUTY EMPTIES, Vol. 14 - The good, the bad, the emptied beauty products from Coming Up Roses

LIVING PROOF RESTORE PERFECTING SPRAY

I lovelovelove this spray as a clean, conditioning detangler. Beyond getting out knots from damp hair, it’s also formulated to by hydrating + strengthening, and it protects against UV damage AND heat (up to 450°F). So I really appreciate it as a multi-purposed product and always re-purchase!

TROPIC GLOW FIRMING WHIPPED SHEA BODY BUTTER

One of my top five favorite body butters of all time! (And 800 other people agree – SOLID five-star reviews!) This stuff is a drugstore dupe to the $40+ Brazilian Bum Bum Cream – and it’s LEGIT, from the feel to the smell. But it’s a FRACTION of the price, especially given the size differences in packaging! It smells *identical* to the Sol de Janeiro counterpart – which makes sense given that most of the key ingredients in each are the same: Cupuaçu butter to help restore elasticity, guarana to help smooth, pistachio oil to provide vitamin E for nourishment, and natural shea butter to deeply moisturizer and soften.

It’s also firming to help tighten + smooth skin in time (which is part of what made the Brazilian Bum Bum cream so popular – it was always promoted as a booty-tightener! Ha!). It’s quick to absorb and non-greasy, and has a HINT of shimmer – but it’s so subtle, you could miss it. 

Smells fabulous with notes of pistachio, almond, golden amber, and sandalwood…a really lovely-but-light scent. Comparatively, the Brazilian Bum Bum cream’s key scent notes are vanilla, salted caramel, and pistachio, so they’re reaaaaally similar in scent with many of the same key ingredients in their respective formulas, too.

NATIVE BODY WASH in Sugar Cookie

My current favorite drugstore body wash buy! Free of sulfates, phthalates, parabens, and dyes, it’s just a good, clean body wash that still gives great lather – and their scents smell fabulous. Since emptying this one, I have this scent in our shower currently and this scent next up on the docket for fresh summer vibes!

It’s also got an “Excellent” rating on the Yuka app, which I use as a resource to help verify ingerdients and overall “cleanliness” of products, pantry foods, etc

L’OCCITANE CLEANSING OIL

Unfortunately, this cleansing oil has been discontinued as far as I know – which is a bit of a bummer because I really, really liked it. Womp. I’ve been using this one since finishing the L’occitane and it’s an awesome alternative – it’s lightweight, effective, and won’t clog your pores (+ get 15% off with Tula code COMINGUPROSES).

ARCONA REGENERATE PUMPKIN BODY LOTION 10%

Did NOT like this stuff. It has pumpkin extract + glycolic acid, which I realized is NOT something I want in body moisturizers, particularly post-shave shower. Don’t get me wrong, I am glycolic acid’s biggest fan on the face. But on my body, when I tell you it burned like the devil…

TULA BRIGHT START VITAMIN C ANTIOXIDANT BRIGHTENING MOISTURIZER

I’m all for multitasking skincare products, so I used every drop of this one. It’s a daily moisturizer with brightening ingredients mixed IN – vitamin C, mandarin orange, + tranexamic acid – to help improve dullness and brighten dark marks while also hydrating. It’s kindof a gel-cream formula, so it feels lightweight on and has antioxidants built in, too. I will say, it does have more of a fragrance than other Tula products I’ve used – definitely “orange-y.” So I think that can be hit or miss for people where it either bothers you or it doesn’t, but as a functional product I was a fan.

PIXI QUAD 

This was a pretty decent face palette, in my opinion. I used it hard – great for packing purposes since it’s a contour, blush, blush highlight and highlight in one. Only downside is having to choose one specific “shade” for yours beforehand; I would like to have a bit more shade flexibility all built into one palette, BUT I also appreciated the size of each quad.

NAVY SAILOR TALK DRY SHAMPOO

I bought this after seeing a few influencers share it – I actually liked it decently, which says something since I’m diehard loyal to this dry shampoo. But this one impressed me; it’s made with Argan oil to help boost your hair’s elasticity and shine while protecting against UV rays and free radical damage, and it’s formulated for all hair types, is color safe, is SLS/Paraben free, etc. Most importantly, it absorbed oil well without leaving white powder behind and didn’t leve me feeling weighted by it.

LIVING PROOF PERFECT HAIR DAY ADVANCED CLEAN DRY SHAMPOO

Not sure what it is, but I think I still personally prefer the OG formula over the Advanced Clean formula…and honestly, I don’t know why because I couldn’t confidently tell you the differences between the two. Ha! But this one is still fantastic and I’d still recommend – I just reach to re-purchase the original formula first.

PIXI GLOWTION DAY DEW BRIGHTENING LOTION

Pass. Left me looking like the tin man.

MRS. MEYER’S CLEAN DAY HAND SOAP in Plum Berry

I lovelovelove these hand soaps – they’re rated 93/100 on Yuka and smell + lather great. We’ve already re-purchased + re-stocked more scents!

SECRET pH BALANCED SHOWER FRESH ANTIPERSPIRANT 

So I’ve always liked this antiperspirant/deodorant, BUT I’m testing out other aluminum-free options for something “cleaner.” (And so far found + REALLY like this one, as seen in Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove!).

TARTE OPENING ACT LASH PRIMER

So in terms of functionality, I find it to be pretty comparable to drugstore options that are half the price. BUT, it’s a “cleaner” formula, and you can get 15% off additionally with code ERICA…so if you’re okay spending a few more bucks in the name of overall wellness, it’s worth it.

TULA ADVANCED HYDRATION BODY MOISTURIZER

A bestseller for good reason – this stuff is creamy gold. It’s such a good buttery body butter without being greasy or sticky at ALL. Also has vitamin C + yuzu inside to improve tone and texture, and hyaluronic acid and ceramides to deeply hydrate. Subtle vanilla-coconutty scent. Very light luminous “glow” that you get (it’s not a glitter by any means and sooooo subtle…but you notice it if you’re standing in direct standing that you’re just kinda glowing! Ha!).

Is it pricier for a body butter? Maybe. But get 15% off with code COMINGUPROSES and call it a treat yo’self. Thank me later. 😉

I ALWAYS have it in stock now and have gifted to girlfriends many a time now – it’s a goody.

REVLON COLORSTAY EYESHADOW PRIMER

Nothing crazy groundbreaking. 

ILIA HYDRATING LIP MASK 

This bummed me out. Namely because it’s HALF the size of my favorite lip mask for more money and doesn’t work as well. Like, WOMP. Get this one instead, especially since it’s on sale still!

COVERGIRL SKIN SMOOTHING SKIN PRIMER

I was thoroughly depressed by the fact that I scanned this with my Yuka app AFTER already having finished the tube…and it scored 0/100. So. Guess I won’t be re-purchasing. 

LANOLIPS 101 OINTMENT

This is definitely a good option to throw in a bag for a do-it-all product with how many uses it has…strikes me as a “cleaner” version of Vaseline? I’m no expert on it, but I’d grab it again. Although I think I had a 3-pack of minis, so I’m curious to try the full size original. 

TARTE BROW PENCIL 

I didn’t actually use the “gel” side of this really – just the pencil. The gel comes out too much too strong. But the pencil was nice – I also really like this one.

HANALEI LIP TREATMENT in Rose

OK so I’m not sure if I just had a faulty one or what, but mine smelled kinda weird??? Not sure if it was just a standard salve smell, but I couldn’t finish it for that reason. 

PIXI LIP TREATMENT 

Pass. Didn’t feel hydrating in the slightest for me.

TARTE MICELLAR MAGIC WATER

Nice micellar water that cleansed well for me! No leftover residue and feels like it gets off any remaining dirt, makeup, etc. I used every morning before starting skincare or makeup if I wasn’t doing a full shower! Tarte discount code again is ERICA for 15% off anything anytime. 🙂

LANCOME REGENERATE SERUM 

No complaints here, EXCEPT the price tag. Personally, I’d grab DIME’s serums instead (the Hyper Glow + Hyaluronic) since they’re SO much more affordable AND cleaner formulas. (+ you can get extra 20% off with THRIVE20). 

DO YOU HAVE ANY BEAUTY EMPTIES LATELY THAT YOU’LL BE RE-PURCHASING?

 See past beauty empties here!