March & April 2015 Empties!

Well, hello there. It has been far too long since I've sat down at my computer to blog..or just sat down at my computer at all. Work and life events have kept me insanely busy, as is usually the case when I'm away for this long. In any event, May marks my 3 year blogging anniversary and I do have an exciting giveaway planned. Keep a close eye for that ;).
On to the trash!

Rahua Voluminous Shampoo (sample) - Lilly, from Genuine Glow, was kind enough to send me a care package around Christmas that included this sample. It lathered well and left my hair feeling clean, but I didn't find it miraculous.

Organic Matter Shampoo Level 1 - review here - This is one of my favourite shampoos out there. It's made in Canada, doesn't irritate my crazy scalp, cleans and conditions my hair, lathers well, lasts forever, and is reasonably priced. It has been my go-to for over a year now.

Deep Steep Body Butter in Passion Fruit Guava - This body butter was really nice during the colder months. I liked mixing it with an oil, for extra moisture, after a shower. The scent wasn't my favourite because of how sweet and fruity it was. While it did linger, I actually liked how it smelled after about an hour. The butter itself took a little working in and always left my skin super soft.

Deep Steep Body Wash in Honeydew Spearmint - review here - I love this body wash! This particular scent is my favourite of all the scents available. It lathers well, smells delicious, leaves my skin clean and soft, is affordable, and I find that a little goes a long way. Have already repurchased in a different scent.

*North Hill Soap Company Soap in Sex on the Beach & Blackbeard's Booty - review here - These soaps were absolutely lovely! Sex on the Beach was just the right amount of fruity and worked well for my skin. Blackbeard's Booty was my absolute favourite though. I loved the poppy seeds that gently exfoliated, and the bay rum and nutmeg essential oil gave this soap a delicious spicy kick that I just couldn't wait to be intoxicated by.

*Ella's Magic Balm in My Clementine Darling - review here - This balm came in handy during the polar vortex weather that we experienced a few months ago. My skin was crying for help and this lovely balm came to the rescue! It nourished, moisturized, protected, repaired, and loved my skin.

Meow Meow Tweet Deodorant Cream in Lavender - review here - I forgot how much I loved this deodorant. The texture was whipped, creamy, perfection that easily rubbed into my pits and kept me stink free almost all day. Oddly enough, it didn't irritate my pits this time around. Not sure if it was because the weather was colder and I wasn't shaving as much or what, but I'm glad I got to use up this jar as it wasn't cheap.

Andalou Naturals Apricot Probiotic Cleansing Milk - review here - As I've already raved about this cleanser many times before, I'll just say that I still love this cleanser. It works really well for my sensitive skin and I've already repurchased.

Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator - This toner is a cult favourite and for good reason. Josh blends gorgeous skin loving ingredients, like green tea, coconut oil, aloe water, neem, vitamins A, C, E and B2, and tops it off with the intoxicating scents of vanilla bean and ylang ylang. While the scent wasn't my favourite at first, I loved it within a week of using it. It was light and didn't linger. This worked to nourish and calm my skin before applying my oils/creams, and worked beautifully to set my makeup. My only complaint is the packaging. Sure it's travel friendly but it looks a bit cheap considering the price and packaging of the other products within Josh's skin care range.

*Mont Echo Nature Divine Creme Divine - review here - Loveeeeed the scent of this cream. As I mentioned in my review, the scent reminds me of something my mom put on her face when I was growing up. As a moisturizer, it was really nice, although using it morning and night for a few days did cause little red bumps on my skin. The pump also stopped working towards the end, making it difficult to get out the remainder of the cream. My favourite way to use this moisturizer was as a hand cream in the P.M. and under makeup in the A.M. 

*Odylique Repair Lotion - review here - Of the three Odylique products that I had the opportunity to try, this one was my favourite. It worked on my face, hands, and body to reduce dry skin, itching, and redness.

Lush's Angel on Bare Skin  - review here - Despite what some people within the green beauty community think about Lush, I love that they support and promote various causes. While they aren't the most natural, they do have a handful of clean products. Angels on Bare Skin is incredible and lives up to my green standards. This gem of a cleanser is gentle enough to use in the colder months on (my) dry and sensitive skin. I find that my skin is less flaky, I have fewer breakouts, and a more even tone and texture when I'm using this cleanser.

Corpa Flora Eclat Citrouille - review here - This incredible smelling oil has been a staple in my skin care routine for a long while. It's just an amazing, amazing oil and I'm sure you're all sick of hearing me talk about it.

*SBT Seabuckthorn Oil - review here - LOVE. That's all.

*DeVita Italian Tomato Leaf Mud Masque (sample) - Meh. This mask was less than impressive. It didn't burn but left my skin red as a tomato, as the name suggests. My skin didn't look or feel any different, besides the redness.

Living Libations Healthy Gums Clay Toothpaste - review here - Of the three toothpastes from Living Libations, that come in a jar, this is the best tasting one. It's fresh and worked really well to keep my teeth clean and gums happy. My hygienist even asked what I was using! The only downside is that it's expensive and not as easily available as I would like. For reference, a jar lasts about two months with only me using it.

Clean Well Hand Sanitizer - This stuff is soooo good! When I was doing aesthetics, I would get eczema on my hands and this sanitizer did not irritate it at all. It does smell like thyme but doesn't linger for too long. Sadly, Clean Well is no longer available in Canada.
*Zuzu Luxe Dual Powder Foundation in D-10 - review here - This was a fantastic foundation. It offered great coverage and never looked cakey on my dry skin. The shade range isn't too bad either, they offer shades for light to dark skins, of course there always room for more shades though. The thing that irritates me the most about this foundation is that refills are not available in Canada. Why!? Isn't that the point of offering a refillable compact? Because of that, I have not repurchased.
Sante Brown Pencil in No. 2. - I can't believe that I haven't reviewed this pencil yet. It is perfection. It is the perfect shade of brown for someone who doesn't lean red or warm, it's just brown. It lasts almost all day, but can wipe off if your face is oily or sweating. Already working through another one and have a backup.
Benecos Lip Gloss - This gloss is being tossed after discovering that one of the first ingredients is talc. Talc? Really?? Ridiculous. It also contains carmine and lanolin, if you're wondering. Since the ingredients are not on the packaging, I trusted the brand and picked up this gloss. After using it a handful of times, I decided to look up the ingredients. What a let down.
*Sappho Foundation Brush - This brush fell apart on me, the ferrell came loose and fell off. Despite that, this was a fantastic foundation brush. Sappho has since come out with new brushes.
*PR SAMPLES

Reveal My (Makeup) Stash #3: All About Eyes

I'm not adventurous with my eye shadows, I much prefer a neutral eye but still love a nice pop of colour on occasion. That being said, I rarely ever apply more than just mascara to my eyes because a eye primer doesn't exist in my collection. Creased shadow just annoys the heck out of me. Caitie has raved about the Faerie Organic Forty Winks Eye Primer and I keep meaning to pick it up. Perhaps it's about time that I do? Probably.

I'm going to list the shadows by row, starting at the top. To see swatches of Pure Anada shadows, click here. To see swatches of Sappho shadows, click here.

First Row: *Pure Anada Pearl (loose), and Cheeky Cosmetics Samples in Aubergine, Midnight, & Cocoa (loose).

Second Row: The All Natural Face Sample in Smolder (loose), Silk Naturals Custom & Satin (loose), and W3LL People Holiday (loose).

Third Row: The All Natural Face Diva Stix in Milk.

Fourth Row: *Sappho Turtle, *Pure Anada Whisper, Pure Anada Burlap, and *Sappho Craving Cocoa.

Fifth Row: *Sappho Norma, *Pure Anada Mirage, and *Sappho Chloe.

Sixth Row:  *Pure Anada Blackberry, *Sappho Beckitt, *Pure Anada Onyx, and *Sappho Raven

Youngblood Pressed Mineral Eyeshadow Quad in Eternity is the only quad or palette that I own. It comes with me whenever and wherever I travel because they, to me, are the perfect colours for a subtle or smokey neutral eye.

Silk Naturals Satin & Custom, Pure Anada Burlap, Sappho Craving Cocoa, and W3LL People Holiday

Here are four shadows that I have yet to swatch and thought it would be a great time to do so, in case you're thinking of picking them up. Holiday I'm not too crazy about but, the other three are stunning! Also, Craving Cocoa is a bit more or a red brown, almost burnt orange or brick.

Left to right: W3LL People Holiday, Silk Naturals Satin, and Silk Naturals Custom

Left to right: Pure Anada Burlap and Sappho Craving Cocoa

Left to right:  W3LL People Holiday, Silk Naturals Satin, Silk Naturals Custom, Pure Anada Burlap, and Sappho Craving Cocoa

Bottom to top:  W3LL People Holiday, Silk Naturals Satin, Silk Naturals Custom, Pure Anada Burlap, and Sappho Craving Cocoa

Here we have Youngblood Eye Illuminator, Zuzu Brow Pencil in Russet, Physicians Formula Organic Wear in Black Woods, Benecos Kajal in Black, Pure Anada Mascara in Black, and Zuzu Liquid Liner in Raven (AH-MAZING). I've since added Sante Brow Pencil in No. 2 Brown to my collection. Stay tuned for my lippy collection! *PR SAMPLES. The two Silk Naturals shadows were sent to me by the lovely Cori from Well Beauty Blog.

February 2014 Empties!

Oh ya baby, I'm killing these empties posts! I have been making a big huge dent in my stash and am beyond excited about it.

Deep Steep Repairing Shampoo - review here - I really did enjoy this shampoo at first, but I noticed it starting to irritate my scalp with continued use. I began using it only once a week for a "deep clean" and must admit that most of it ended up spilling in my tub because of the water-like texture. Won't repurchase.

Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap in Eucalyptus - review here - I love this soap for cleaning my bathroom. The eucalyptus scent is uplifting and one of my faves. Repurchased in peppermint (my other fave scent).

Batch Naturals Lemongrass & Sweet Basil Soap - review here - While the scent wasn't something that I'd normally go for, I REALLY enjoyed it. This soap contains clay, which worked wonderful for my bacne. The disappointing part is that it didn't last too long. With regular use, and me being the only one using it, it lasted about 3 weeks. Will likely not repurchase because of how quickly it gets used.

Pretty Goat Milk & Honey Soap - no review coming - This soap was not as awesome as I was hoping, seeing as it's from one of my fave brands. It's creamy and moisturizing, but I didn't feel like it really cleaned me. Not that it left me stinky, I just didn't feel clean. I think it would be amazing for someone with super dry skin or babies. Also, it contains palm oil. Won't repurchase.

On A Branch Soap in Monday Morning - review here - Great company and great soap. The coffee grinds were a little too sharp for my liking but I still enjoyed it, especially the cinnamon scent of Monday Morning. Will repurchase in another scent.

Pretty Ginger & Cypress Soothing Mask - review here - Hands down my favourite clay mask ever. I always come back to it, even though trying to DIY it would be much cheaper. It works at pulling out impurities and calming my skin all at the same time. Will repurchase at some point, but I'm currently debating on splurging on a La Bella Figura mask.

*Shamanuti Pumpkin Enzyme Masque - review here - As my skin was freaking out this month (with acne) and not as sensitive as usual, I was able to use this mask more frequently. I really enjoyed how it left my skin soft  and helped to get rid of pimples quicker. May repurchase at some point.

*Therapi Honey Skincare Orange Blossom No. 3 Moisturizer - review here - This is a fab UK brand. They use honey (obviously) in their products, along with other great ingredients. I loved using this morning and night, the scent, and how it left my skin so soft. I do have to note that since running out of this moisturizer, probably about a week and a half ago, my skin hasn't been breaking out as much. So I'm not sure if this is what was causing my skin to freak out, along with hormones, but that's why I haven't written a review yet.

*Sweet Leaf Bath Co. Adzuki Bean Rice Bran Face Polish - review here - Even though this scrub smelled like grass, it worked really well at exfoliating my skin. I especially loved mixing it with honey and using it as a mask. I did end up using it this last month on my face, chest, shoulders, and back regularly. Since I'm not a big fan of physical/mechanical exfoliants, I will likely not repurchase this.

*Thayers Peach Witch Hazel Toner - I used to love Thayers and even got my boyfriend hooked on using it after shaving. This one smelled like fuzzy peaches, which I loveeeeeed, but it contained alcohol. I don't like to use anything too astringent on my sensitive facial skin, so I opted to use it on my chest, shoulders, and back. It did help dry out some of the acne spots I was getting. Won't be picking up the full size.

Pretty Roman Chamomile Floral Water - review here - This is my favourite floral water and I've raved about it enough. I've repurchased in rose.

*PurelyGreat Citrus Cream Deodorant - review here - Aside from the irritation this gave me, it worked amazingly well at keeping me stink free ALL day long. I started applying a water/apple cider vinegar mix to my underarms about 20 minutes before applying this deodorant and it kept the irritation (mostly) away. The most annoying part about this deodorant, was constantly having to mix it prior to use. Because of that, I will not be repurchasing.

*Weleda Sea Buckthorn Body Lotion Mini - This sample came with their Sea Buckthorn Hand Cream that I have already reviewed. The scent was light and fresh, same as the other products in the sea buckthorn range. I was really surprised by this product! It moisturized really well and absorbed nicely. I may pick up a full size once I use up some other body lotions.

Pai Fragonia & Sea Buckthorn Instant Hand Therapy Cream - review here - Lovveeeed this hand cream! It was super hydrating and absorbed ridiculously well. The packaging is too big to carry around with me, which is one of the biggest downsides..along with the price..but I think I'm going to repurchase it soon.

S.W. Basics Cream - review here - I took this picture on Tuesday and have since finished off what was left in the jar. This was deeply moisturizing and an absolute pleasure to use. I loved applying it all over, especially on my knees, feet, and elbows. Will repurchase next Fall/Winter.

First Aid Beauty, Niora & Aromatherapy Associates were sent to me by Cori (Well Beauty Blog). The two unmarked jars in the middle were sent to me by Sabrina and Mayah (Call It Vanity)

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream (sample) - Not entirely natural but it did work well to moisturize my super dry hands.

Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask (sample) - This mask didn't burn or tingle at all, and left my skin brighter and softer. Since it was a one time use, I'm can't tell if it's worth the splurge.

Raw Gaia MSM Beauty Scrub (sample) - I didn't understand this exfoliant because I didn't feel it exfoliating. It felt more like a cleansing balm.

Aurelia Miracle Cleanser (sample) - I loved the invigorating eucalyptus scent of this rich cream cleanser. It left my skin soft, cleansed, and more even toned. I see myself purchasing the full size at some point.

Niora Alpha Clear Cleanser (sample) - This cleanser is designed for adult acne, which is pretty cool. It cleansed my skin well (didn't remove makeup though) all while leaving it well hydrated. Not sure the sample was large enough to notice a different in my acne though.

Aromatherapy Associates Soothing Treatment Mask (sample) - I didn't find this mask to be anything special although I only had enough for one use. It did moisturize my skin, and calm the redness on my cheeks a bit. I also enjoyed the fact that it was scentless.

*SBT Soothing Salve for Stretch Marks/Scars (sample) - I got this in a sample pack back in October and have been using it for several months now. The smell is really nice, almost like a herbal apple, but might be a little much for some. Did I notice a change in the appearance of my stretch marks? No.

Benecos Natural Multi Effect Mascara - no review coming - This mascara was a major flop for me. I loved the large natural bristle brush but hated that it smudged and flaked within minutes of application. When I wore this to work, I'd have to constantly check the mirror to make sure that it didn't look like I went straight to work after a night of partying. On a positive note, it didn't irritate my eyes. Cheeky Cosmetics Eye Shadows in Pebble & Truffle (samples) - review here - I really love the Cheeky eye shadows. They are beautiful and so pigmented. These two taupes were stunning all over the lids, outer corners, and in the crease. I'm extremely tempted to pick up full sizes, however, I don't use eye shadow often enough to justify adding more to my already (kinda) large collection.
W3LL People Universalist Multi-Use Stick in #7 Creamy Peony (sample) - This cool toned vibrant pink is stunning, stunning, stunning! My boyfriend already purchased the full size for me.
Zuzu Luxe Brow Pencil in Russet - review here - The most perfect shade for my brows. I just wish there was a way to use ALL of the product. Already repurchased.
What have you finished up this month? *PR SAMPLES