Throwaways Vol II

This is the second episode of my beauty de-cluttering adventures. As I am maintaining my effort to shake away the guilt that pushes me to hoard stuff I don't use, I'm getting rid of more products I hate, barely ever opened, or that are a few years past their expiration date... This month I also threw in a few empties - it's hard to empty anything when you're a product hoarder, and I wanted to celebrate the achievement! Let's take a look at those throwaways, and learn a bit about the story behind The Body Shop on the way.



Let's start with the skincare products. From left to right:


- Murad Energizing Pomegranate Moisturizer SPF 15: there's a ridiculously tiny amount left in the tube, yet I think I've kept it in this state for about a year... This is the first moisturizer with SPF I ever bought, when I moved to Southern California and realized that wearing sunscreen daily was an absolute must here. I hated this moisturizer and forced myself to use it up, but I just couldn't bear using the last few drops. It made my skin horrendously oily and shiny. It looks like it's been discontinued, and I can see why!

- H2O+ Hydrating Marine Moisture Mask: this is actually a sad story: I love H2O+, and I found this mask at Ulta on clearance, so I grabbed it without a second thought. When I decided to use it for the first time, probably a couple months after the purchase, I realized that it had been opened and tested. I'm not a clean freak, but I just couldn't put a used cream on my face. Who knows how long it had been open?

- Body Time Hand & Body Wash: this one is empty. Body Time is a brand of bath and body products based in Berkeley, CA, with a handful of stores around the Bay Area. They also have an online store. Interestingly Body Time used to be called The Body Shop when it was founded in 1970, and the founder of the UK-based "The Body Shop", Anita Roddick, basically copied the concept and product lines after visiting the original Berkeley store (see the history on Wikipedia), and finally paid the California company a good amount of money to change their name in 1992. If you're old enough to remember what the UK-based The Body Shop used to be like in the 1980s and early 90s, then you know exactly what Body Time is about: simple products in minimal, often refillable packaging, most of which are unscented so you can add the fragrance of your choice from a wide range of perfume oils and essential oils. My Hand & Body Wash was scented with the Grass perfume oil, and I really loved this green, earthy scent.

-H2O+ Face Oasis Hydrating Booster: another empty. I used this hydrating serum in the winter to avoid dehydration. It worked pretty well but despite the brand's claims, it doesn't feel oil-free.

- Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer: empty. I love these new moisturizer sprays, they're great for a quick moisture fix after shower, when I have to get dressed and out the door in minutes (read: every morning). I started a similar product by St Yves as soon as I finished this one.



On to the makeup. There are several items that I received in beauty subscription boxes here and really don't care for. That's the reason I stopped getting these boxes, I was getting a lot more crap than new or exciting products... Both nail polishes and the two blushes came in Ipsy boxes and were used once, if at all. I will try to find new homes for them, especially the NYX Mosaic Powder because I know some people like it, but it just doesn't do anything for me.

- Origins GinZing Brightening Mascara: I got this full-size mascara in a gift with purchase offer a while ago. It's old enough that I should have thrown it away months ago, and I didn't really like it anyway. The brush is HUGE and it got my lashes stuck together.

Wet n Wild MegaEyes Creme Eyeliner: this one dried in its little space pod before I had a chance to decide if I liked it or not. It's now a solid rock of eyeliner...

- Essence All Eyes On Me Mascara in Green: you remember when Make Up Forever launched the colorful smokey eye trend a few years ago? That's when I bought this dark green mascara as a dupe for the pricey MUFE one to copy their green smoky look. I haven't used it much, but it should have been retired a long time ago.

- Essence Eyeshadow Duo: while I like this combination of medium slate gray and aqua, these shadows just have zero color payoff. I can layer them on all day, they still don't show on my eyes except for their powdery finish. Essence is really a hit or miss, the quality and usability varies a lot by product and it's hard to tell in advance what is worth trying and what is not. It looks like these duos were discontinued recently, but I experienced much better results with their 3D Eyeshadow duos.

- Sephora Lush Flush: that's a cheek and lip stain that Sephora was selling a few years ago. It's a very poor product, it only lasts a few hours both on the cheeks and the lips, and it also dries out and burns my lips. When I bought it I was hoping for a Benetint dupe in a gel form, but that's really not what I got. 

- Diorskin Nude Foundation: as much as it hurts me to throw away an expensive, high-end product I barely made a dent in, I have to part with this very old foundation. It must be at least 4 years old, and the texture and smell have changed. It's a pretty good product all things considered, but I think foundation formulas have greatly improved in the past few years and I'm not repurchasing it. It's being replaced by YSL Touche Eclat foundation, which is on its way home from Nordstrom (their 10% off price matching offer convinced me to cave in).

That's it for this month! Have you emptied products lately? Or did you have to throw away expired makeup?

The products featured in this review were purchased by Lulle. I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links.


7 comments

  1. Happy Monday, lovely! This is so good!! Seriously love stopping by your blog!
    Sending you much love!!!
    xoxo, Vanessa
    www.whatwouldvwear.net

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  2. I love H2O+ too actually! I used to use their skincare pretty exclusively in my 30s. I loved it. I wish it wasn't so hard to find up here in Canada-there are only stores in Vancouver and Toronto. They do ship though which is good. Interesting story about Body Time! So you can add whatever oils you want to their stuff?

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    1. They used to have a lot of store in the US, but I think most have closed. Ulta carries a handful of items but not the whole range, and there's even less choice in the stores. So the best way to get their products is to order online here too.

      Body Time has a large choice of perfume oils (synthetic) or essential oils (natural) to scent their products, and you can pick the ones you want for each product when you order. I'ved tried Grass, Fig and China Rain, which is their best seller, and they all smelled really good. You could also add your own perfume oils, I just have no idea what quantity you'd need!

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  3. Wow, I didnt know that The Body Shop has such an interesting history. She really took the marketing to another level after copyng the concept.

    LindaLibraLoca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking

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    1. She did! The Berkeley company is still small, I think she was a lot more ambitious. Nowadays The Body Shop doesn't have much to do with what it was in the beginning...

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  4. I really, really wanted to like the Vaseline spray moisturizers, but the one I tried just didn't absorb that well & made my bathroom floor really slippery. Maybe it was just that specific one I tried though since I've heard so many good things from other people, might have to give a different formula a go - but over a rug or mat this time. Haha.

    However, I can't wait to see what you think of the YSL foundation when you get it in. It is probably my favorite actual foundation (not counting BB/CC/Whatever creams). I can just always count on it for looking like 'my skin but better'.

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    Replies
    1. Oh no! I've never had a problem with spray moisturizers get on the floor (this one of the St Yves version), but I spray very close to my skin, like maybe an inch. I do need to rub it in but it does take longer than 30-40 seconds.
      So far I'm loving the result of the Touche Eclat foundation, it's really making me look radiant. The only problem I have is that my skin has dried out due to a poor moisturizer (Paula's Choice...) and it tends to emphasize the dryness. I'll try to use a primer underneath.

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