May Empties and De-Clutter 2016 + Mini reviews

Hey everyone!

Have you been enjoying the weather so far? It's been amazing out lately! The one thing I miss having living in Toronto is a balcony. I would love to just lay out and tan a bit. Oh and not having to smell sewage everywhere I walk. In my hometown, I just smell cow manure. Which some people can argue is worse, but it's usually only one time out of the year the town smells like it. Mainly April when they fertilize the fields. I choose manure one time out of the year over sewage all year round! Would you agree?

I'm actually quite proud of myself this month. I like to hoard things so I usually have random junk lying around. This also means I tend to buy more products than I can use. I was cleaning out my drawer the other day and found so many random products I forgot about. It's like shopping and everything is free!

I've also written a short summary at the end of the post as well. 

After some products failed to impress me and some just causing my skin to break out, I managed to get rid of quite a number of products. I definitely de-cluttered more than I emptied.

Empties

Left to right:
The Face Shop: Aqua Fresh Hair Essence
IOPE: Essential Moisture Relief Cream
Shiseido: Pureness Deep Cleansing Foam
The Body Shop: Strawberry Shower Gel

There are a few products pictured above I could not WAIT to use up. Didn't even realize, I placed both products I didn't enjoy to the right. The Shiseido Cleanser and The Body Shop Strawberry Body Wash.

The Face Shop: Aqua Fresh Hair Essence
This essence is supposed to be applied after shampooing my hair, but I found it didn't do much for it then. I apply it after I straighten my hair, just to help keep it soft and prevent frizz. The product does state it's supposed to moisturize dry hair, and that's exactly what it does. The hair essence also includes Aloe and Hyaluronic acid to keep the hair smooth.

Actually I don't use this when I just tie up my hair. I basically only use it as a last step after I straighten it. It does a good job in preventing hair frizz and it does keep my hair soft and smooth throughout the day. This was my first bottle I purchased and it lasted me about 3-4 months. I have shoulder length hair and use about 4 pumps each time.

I quite like this product and have purchased two bottles as backup. Luckily at the time when I stopped by The Face Shop, it was on clearance for 50% off. Generally it is available in stores for $12 CAD + taxes.

IOPE: Essential Moisture Relief Cream
A couple years ago, I purchased from Memebox (when they still shipped to Canada T_T) the IOPE box set. On the IOPE website it is said to: "Form a moisture-locking membrane for long-lasting moisture, soothes skin and improve skin firmness".

I especially liked this product because it was very light weight and moisturizing. They recommend using it during the summer, but I used it up mainly during the fall/winter and had no issues with my skin being too dry. It does have a floral scent but I found it quite nice. Definitely not as strong as the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask. Speaking of which, compared to Laneige, even though they are sister companies, the IOPE moisturizer kept my face more moisturized than the Sleeping Mask! Whenever I used the Laneige Mask at night, I ended up reapplying more before bed. With IOPE, it kept my face moisturized for majority of the day.

I would definitely repurchase this in the future. I have found it is a little difficult to find. Amazon has it for $28 CAD, whereas Yesstyle sells it for $105 CAD?!?! What the heck?!

Shiseido: Pureness Deep Cleansing Foam
I purchased this last year as part of a set from Sephora. I have combination/oily skin, especially my T-zone and have been trying different products trying to combat it.

I used the cleanser mainly at night and found the product did not really do much for my skin. Since it is a foam cleanser, it left me with that squeaky clean feeling which I did not like. Not to mention the exfoliating beads I felt didn't do much for my pores or blackheads either. After weeks of use they looked exactly the same. I was glad to be rid of this product and will not repurchase.

The Body Shop - Strawberry Shower Gel
Oh TBS, how I loved you so. But alas, you have betrayed me!

Honestly, there isn't anything wrong with this shower gel. It lathers well, I feel clean and it smells amazing! The issue is, my skin has become far too sensitive for the heavily fragranced gels.

This past Winter my skin was at the driest it had ever been! Dry skin all around my hips and it would flake because it was so dry. I also started to develop eczema as well. After a trip to the dermatologist they advised me to stop using scented products because my skin is too sensitive. I'm now using Dove bars of soap and within a couple weeks of changing, my dry skin went back to normal. It is a shame because almost all TBS products are scented. Looks like I will not be purchasing from the brand anymore.

De-clutter

Left to right:
Gum - Keratin 10 Straight Styler
Biore - Baking Soda Pore Cleanser
Shiseido - Pureness Balancing Softener (Alcohol - Free)
The Body Shop - Strawberry Body Scrub
The Body Shop - Strawberry Bar Soap
The Body Shop - Drops of Youth: Bouncy Sleeping Mask

I consider this to be my spring cleaning. I haven't so much cleaned up my apartment, but at least I've re-organized my skincare! Mainly these products will be why I didn't like them and why I got rid of them. I have passed them along to a friend of mine.

Gum - Keratin 10 Straight Styler
I purchased this from Winners while looking for a new heat protectant spray. I never really had a chance to test this product out because I could NOT STAND the smell. It's this artificial coconut which I really don't like. Will not be repurchasing this.

Biore - Baking Soda Pore Cleanser
I wrote an in-depth review a few months back. Read it here.

Shiseido - Pureness Balancing Softener (Alcohol - Free)
Since the previous two Pureness products I tried didn't work, I didn't bother with the toner. I've since found other toners I enjoy, so I'm not going to bother with this.

The Body Shop - Strawberry Body Scrub & Bar Soap
These are unused products that I ended up giving to my friend. Because of the above shower gel, I'm not going to risk ruining my skin again with these.

The Body Shop - Drops of Youth: Bouncy Sleeping Mask
My main reason I stopped using this product was because of the sticky feeling it left on my face. I know that means the product is really thick and will help hydrate my skin, but I dislike it. That and the scent was very unappealing as well as it basically smelled like chemicals to me. I used it for a couple months before I finally gave up and set it aside for something else. I will not repurchase this again.

Those are my empties and duds for the month of May. What did you use up this past month?

To Summarize

The Good: 

• The Face Shop: Aqua Fresh Hair Essence
• IOPE: Essential Moisture Relief Cream

The Bad:

• Shiseido: Pureness line
• Biore Baking Soda Pore Cleanser
• The Body Shop: Drop of Youth: Bouncy Sleeping Mask
• The Body Shop Strawberry Shower Gel