Empties – April

Another month draws to an end  (almost!), and that means it’s time for an empties post. This was a very successful month for me – My #NoBuy resolution is still going strong, and I racked up quite a few empties. I hope to continue this trend for at least another month, until the #ANFGB Goodeboxes go on sale! What, you don’t know what these are? Just kidding…ANFGB has teamed up with Goodebox once again to make a limited quantity of boxes available for sale sometime in June and all proceeds from the sale will be distributed to charity. Our hoarder tendencies will be channeled towards a good cause, for a change. Each box will contain full sized products from some of the green beauty brands participating in ANFGB. I bought a couple of these boxes last year and they were an amazing value for money! This is going to be a long post (still can’t let go of my love for details, thanks to a Bachelors’ in Law), so let’s move on to the empties –

Full/Deluxe Sizes:

Melvita Lavender Water – I have been using this bottle since the past couple of months to prepare dry clay masks, and more recently, ever since I ran out of Andalou Naturals Aloe + Willow Bark Clarifying Pore Minimizer, as an “exfoliating/pH balancing toner”. See, I told you I wasn’t joking when I said I would really very hard to use up my stash! Lovely toner, just 100% pure lavender water, soothing for combination-acne prone skin, smells heavenly. What’s there not to like? Well Melvita is supposedly now owned by a parent company that conducts animal testing. Plus it’s super hard to get hold of in the US (I bought mine in France). Won’t be purchasing again. Read my detailed review here.

Weleda Calendula Toothpaste ($6.99/2.5 oz) – Initially, I bought this toothpaste only because Pharmaca didn’t have the more popular Salt Toothpaste in stock, and I’m yet to try the latter, but I can tell you that I really enjoyed this toothpaste. It tastes somewhat like fennel — if you’re a fennel fan and want to get your sweet fix, you’re going to love this. You need a tiny bit only, and this toothpaste doesn’t foam like the traditional ones. I have no idea what Calendula tastes or smells like, sorry. Between my husband and I, this tube lasted us for about 6 weeks. I tried my best to hide this precious tube from my husband, and insisted on him not using this. He has never seen me become so possessive of a toothpaste tube and he actually commented on it. However, I won’t be repurchasing this because it has Glycerin listed as one of its ingredients (which is a problem with MOST green toothpastes out there) – Glycerin in mouth products is said to prevent remineralization, thereby weakening the teeth. This might not be completely proven by research, but I’d rather just avoid controversial ingredients. Having said that, I have some deluxe samples of their various skincare products – Their Wild Rose range is calling out my name guys – and would love to try those out soon!

Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator* ($32/4 oz) – I really enjoyed this marshmallow smelling, extremely potent, hydrating mist and was super sad to see the end of it. This is an amazing option for the “hydrating toner” step, and can be easily combined with your favorite face oil to add moisture back to your skin. The price point is great for such a carefully curated list of organic ingredients, and you can start off with the smaller size if you’d just like to take it for a test run first. Also, I really admire the fact that every product from Josh Rosebrook’s range, including this one, comes with an easy to find Batch No. and an Expiration Date. Most brands only use standard symbols that indicate that products will expire 6-12 months after opening, which doesn’t help much for people like me who maintain huge stashes. So, I really appreciate this straightforward approach. You have absolutely no excuses to give this one a try. I will be sure to restock this after I use up some others in my stash. Read my detailed review here.

Deep Steep Lotus Flower – Guava Argan Oil Body Lotion ($5/8 oz) – I got this humungous tube of body lotion from my local Marshalls store for around $5. I can’t seem to find this particular combo on Deep Steep’s website, although I do see they have other variations available in a smaller 6 oz size.  I really liked this lotion because the consistency was thick and extremely moisturizing – just what my extremely dry skin needed during winters/early spring. Because of the thick consistency, I had to spend some time massaging the product really well. The scent was not too overpowering and quickly disappeared after a couple of minutes. One interesting find: This body lotion has Retinyl Palmitate as one of its ingredients. Anti aging ingredient in a body lotion? Yes, please! I do use a body oil after my shower, but even then, after about an hour, I have to use a body lotion else my skin feels very “stretchy” and parched (not a good feeling). This lotion was perfect as a “top up” to avoid the discomfort that comes with itchy, dry skin. Would definitely repurchase.

Tom’s of Maine Spearmint Mouthwash ($4.89/16 oz) – I have been buying these in 3-pack from Amazon for my husband since such a long time. Each bottle lasts him about 2 months, I’d guess. If you dislike the strong taste or the alcohol sting found in most drugstore brands, it probably makes sense to switch to a greener brand, since most avoid using alcohol, and rely on peppermint oil for the “fresh” feeling. Having said that, I’m a little apprehensive of this product because of Glycerin being listed as one of its ingredients. I am not sure if I’ll be repurchasing. If you have any suggestions for good mouth washes, please do share with me.

Odacitè Pa+G (Papaya-Geranium) Serum Concentrate ($39/5ml) – Used up the bottle in about 5 weeks, with 2X daily application. Wonderful serum if you want a hard hitting product to deal with hyper pigmentation and acne scars. Ever since I ran out of this product, I can tell the cell turnover has slowed down. I can’t wait to break open my second bottle (of course, I have a backup). Detailed review posted here.

Dr. Alkaitis Organic Nourishing Treatment Oil ($90/4 oz) – I used up the 1 oz deluxe sample of the luscious oil, that comes with their trial kit (which you MUST get if you haven’t tried anything from this line yet – lasts for weeks on end and very reasonable priced). I used this as a body oil, although it can also be applied as a face or hair oil. The fragrance is very earthy and “organic”, I am not sure how else to explain it. The oil left my super dry skin more moisturized than any other body oil I’ve tried so far. I loved this oil, but I’ll probably not buy a full size because of my heavy handedness with body oils in general and my preference for DIY solutions. I would still love to try other products from this range in the future.

Tatcha Deep Rice Enzyme Powder ($65/2.1 oz) – My holy grail cleanser. I’ve repurchased        several different variations of the rice enzyme powder and love them all. There is nothing like this in the market – it’s probably the smoothest (and the gentlest) powder cleanser I’ve ever come across. Even the “Deep” version is gentler than your average clay based powder cleanser. Although I’m out of “Deep”, I ended up buying the new Indigo Soothing Rice Enzyme Powder, and I’m currently using it as my regular cleanser. Highly recommend “Deep” for combination/oily, easily congested skin.

Naisture White C Mask Pack ($9.99/5 pcs) – I love Korean sheet masks, so it was easy to justify a purchase of this mask pack when I spotted it at 50% off at Marshalls (again!). I am cursing myself for not picking up the Red Wine Mask Pack, which was also on display at a deep discount. It’s hard to find completely natural Korean sheet masks – this mask is free from most of the major nasties. The sheet mask instantly calms down and brightens skin. My favorite way of incorporating it into my beauty routine is to apply it right after the PM cleansing routine. The mask is soaked in a generous quantity of serum, and can be easily left on for around an hour. After removing the mask, I continue with the rest of my PM routine as usual. Any residual serum gets applied to my neck, décolletage and arms.

I also have quite a few small samples that I used up and wanted to review them in this post, but to keep the length manageable, I’ll review those separately. So, anything from this post that strikes your fancy? Any recent empties you’d like to share?