March 2017 - Empties and Declutter

It's already the end of March. With Spring just around the corner, I figured this is a good time to post my most recent empties. This is an accumulation from fall to winter. I've noticed online some people have started 1 year empties, saving their products for an entire year! I certainly could not do that.

Even with these products in my bathroom closet, every time I saw the bottles I itched to get rid of them. 

I've cleared out a lot, but when I look through my stash of unopened items, I still have so many! I need another face.

Also, I realized after the fact that I organized my empties incorrectly. I usually separate them by empties and the declutters. This time around, I organized them by types of skincare and ended up mixing the empties and throwaways together. Oops.

Toner/Face Wash

Etude House Wonder Pore - Read my full review here

Vichy Normaderm Toner and Purifying Gel - Read my full review here

O& - Soap Berry 
I've had this foam cleanser for ages. It's a miracle I kept it around for as long as I did.

Honestly, there wasn't anything special about it. I never even managed to use it up. On the packaging it said something about carbonated water? It wasn't carbonated at all! Literally just a normal facial foam cleanser. Very disappointing.

Also never heard of the brand before and I haven't seen any of their products around. When it comes to a good foam cleanser that's unscented and non-drying, I'll stick with KOSE - Softymo (previously reviewed here)

Essence/Serum/Facial Oil

Benton - Snail Bee High Content Essence

If you remember my post back in May 2016, I made a large purchase on Wishtrend. I've used almost all of the Benton Snail Bee products I purchased. The essence was good, did a decent job in moisturizing. 

Products containing snail ingredients are supposed to help with wrinkle improvement, provide moisture, improve skin texture and whitening. I found it was moisturizing, but I didn't see any whitening effects. 

While I liked using this, it didn't stand out to me enough to put on my repurchase list. 

Wishtrend sells this for $20 USD

C20 - Original Pure Vitamin Serum

On Instagram, a lot of people were posting about this C20 serum, with great reviews. Heck, even Wishtrend has over 1000 reviews for this and the rating is about 4.8/5 stars. I can certainly see why it's so popular. 

It claims to tone up loose skin, 20% pure Vitamin C, whiting/recovering acne scars and remove blackheads. As I've gotten older, I've noticed my skin isn't healing as quickly as it used to. With daily use, I found my scars cleared up a lot faster. 

I didn't quite enjoy the scent and you have to work fast with it, because if you leave the serum on your hands for too long it leaves the skin feeling sticky. I also made the mistake of applying the serum on right after I waxed my upper lip. The burning... my goodness the burning... don't make the same mistake as me!

The serum was pretty effective for me, so I would definitely repurchase. Wishtrend sells this for $14.99 USD with free shipping.

Cloud Nine - Blanc de White Serum

This particular serum focuses on whitening, which isn't a huge priority for me. I didn't really care for the pump. I felt like it dispensed the product weirdly. 

The thing that surprised me most, is that it's called a serum, but the consistency was rather thick like lotion. The serum has a pearlescent sheen, so when applied onto the skin it did provide a nice glow. Though I wouldn't say it provides any long term whitening benefits. It does brighten/whiten the skin after initial application. My skin tone looked more even as well. What I especially liked about this, was that it didn't leave any white cast. 

I enjoyed using this serum and I liked how it helped brighten my skin. But it didn't make a big enough difference for me to want to repurchase. But since I've stopped using this, my skin hasn't missed out. I won't be rushing out to stock up on this anytime soon. 

I received this complimentary for review purposes, but it is available on sasa.com or skin18.com for $12 USD to $23 USD.

Jose Maran - Argan Oil

Not this past winter, but the winter before, I suffered from really dry patchy skin. I briefly reviewed this in my winter essentials post here. It's definitely too heavy for me to use during the summer, but I love this for the winter. It's a great night moisturizer and any dry patches I may have usually disappear after a couple of days of use. 

I still had about 5ml left in here but had to throw out because the scent changed. I purchased this on Sephora for $20 CAD + taxes.

Face and Eye Creams

Benton - Snail Bee High Content Steam Cream

Of all the Snail Bee products I've tried, this one stands out as my favourite. Once again, another product that's great for winter. 

Benton claims the cream is suitable for all skin types, good anti-aging properties, helps with acne/scarred and dry skin and even those with oily skin that require moisture. I would most recommend this for night time use. No major scent and didn't leave the skin feeling too sticky. 

I have a lot of other creams I'm trying to use up, but I would definitely repurchase this in the future. 

Also available on Wishtrend. 

Normaderm Corrective Anti Acne Treatment - Read my full review here

This was actually a declutter. I still had about half the bottle left. 

The Face Shop - Chia Seed Watery Eye & Spot Essence - Read my full review here

Also a declutter. 

The Body Shop - Vitamin E Eye balm 

A declutter. Supposed to help brighten the under eyes, but I felt like it didn't really do anything. Provided some moisture but ultimately nothing about it stood out to me to make me continue using it.

Face Masks

Purederm Masks
All declutters. Can't review them, because I never even had a chance to use them. I noticed far too late that they were actually all expired. One even expired in 2012!!! I did make sure to check if it was expiry date or manufacturing date. Definitely expiry date.

Beware when you purchase in stores, make sure to check the expirey date!

It's a shame I didn't get a chance to use the Purederm masks. I've read online some pretty decent reviews.

Summary

The Good

• C20 Vitamin C Serum
• Benton - Snail Bee Steam Cream
• Jose Maran - Argan Oil
• Etude House - Pore Wonder Toner
• Vichy Normaderm Toner and Purifying Gel 

Indifferent

• Cloud Nine - Blanc de White Serum 
• Normaderm Corrective Anti Acne Treatment

The Bad

• The Face Shop - Chia Seed Eye Essence
• The Body Shop - Vitamin E Eye Balm
• O& - Soap Berry 

What are some of your latest empties? Any products that have stood out to you?