September Empties 2014

Back again with Empties!

September 2014 Empties!

This past month was another where I used up lots of samples and soap! I must have really liked being clean this month.

* denotes cruelty free
** denotes cruelty free with parent company that tests on animals
V denotes vegan product
BOLD denotes a product I will repurchase

117. ProTerra Marine Sea Kelp Shampoo (marriettasorp.com)
I got this shampoo at a hotel several years ago. It is probably one of the best shampoos I've ever gotten at a hotel. The kelp in the shampoo makes my hair feel super smooth, light, and clean. The scent is slightly perfume-y, but not in a bad way. It is reminiscent of the sea shore and salt water, but with a hint of something else in it I can't place. It is almost impossible to find information about this brand, the ingredients in the products, or anything else about them. This is the most comprehensive information I could find on them. As you can see, not very helpful. I will not be purchasing this in the future despite the way it made my hair feel.

118. L'Occitane Verbena Shampoo 1 Fl oz (30 ml)
Verbena is one of those scents that I have recently discovered that I really love. I have had this little shampoo sample for a while (a hotel sample), and I recently decided to use it. Wow! It worked really well. And it made my hair smell great. The reason I'm not going to buy this? It's not cruelty free. Simple as that.

119. Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief .5 oz (15 ml)
This was a sample my mom had given me. I decided to use this one because I only needed to apply it once a day and it kept me from having dry skin or irritated skin all day. The only problem I had with this was that I didn't really like the smell. It wasn't a bad smell, but it was definitely a chemical one. It is a clear gel moisturizer and definitely moisturizes. Clinique (a subsidiary of Estee Lauder) tests on animals. I will not be repurchasing this.

120. Dove Invisible Solid Antiperspirant and Deodorant Powder Scent .5 oz (14 grams)
There are several reasons why this is probably one of the worst deodorants I've ever bought. First, this is one of those little tiny ones you can buy at the store to take with you on trips. I bought this ages ago when I was trying out different brands of deodorant to see if they worked on me or not. It somehow migrated to my ballet bag and never left. There was very little product in the container and wasn't really worth the waste of all the plastic packaging it came in. Second, it smells really bad. Powder scent it not my favorite scent in the first place, so I should have known I wouldn't like this. But this smells like old grandmas at the nursing home instead of regular powder scented deodorant. Third, it contains aluminum as an anti-perspirant, which has been linked to breast cancer. Fourth, Dove is owned by Unilever, one of the largest animal testing companies on the market. Fifth, this deodorant doesn't really work for me. It would work for maybe four or five hours before I started to smell. Not good for someone who lives in a place where you sweat nine months out of the year. I will never buy this product again.

121. Bath and Body Works Signature Collection Rainkissed Leaves Volumizing Shampoo 1 Fl oz (29 ml)**
 In my April Empties I talked about the accompanying conditioner to this shampoo. This product smells like the conditioner: fresh cut grass, summer rain, and green leaves that have just begun to grow in early spring. It made me feel like I had stepped into an alternate reality where grass grew indoors and everything was bright, fresh, and new. I love crisp, fresh scents like this and would love to smell this scent all the time. I'm not sure this is available as a shampoo anymore (or maybe it is only available at hotels, like this sample size?) as I couldn't find it on the website, so I obviously won't repurchase this product.

122. Secret Natural Mineral Invisible Solid Eucalyptus Blossom Antiperspirant and Deodorant 2.6 oz (73 grams)
I feel like I've used up so many of these Secret deodorants over the past nine months. This one happens to be Eucalyptus Blossom scented. I liked the scent a lot more than I thought I would. It's almost a fruity floral that isn't too prominent throughout the day, but still smells great twelve hours after you have first put it on. It even stood up to ballet class sweat. However, Secret is owned by Proctor and Gamble and is therefore not cruelty free. I will not repurchase it.

123. Snowbird Bar Soap
I used another of these soaps. You can see what I said about it last month here. But know that I love this stuff!

124. Kiss My Face Natural Active Life Aluminum Free Deodorant Lavender 2.48 oz (70 grams)* (v?)
This is one of those products that I really wanted to work. I tried it for a while, stopped using it because I didn't like it, tried it again, and now I'm throwing it away. I hated the way this made me smell. It wasn't like the deodorant wasn't working, because it wasn't body odor smell. I think the lavender oil or whatever was in this reacted badly to my skin. It made me smell horrible! I had to wash with three or four different soaps before I would get the smell off my body. This did not work for me at all. I usually use stick deodorants when I go to ballet class and a salt crystal deodorant for all the other times. This was not the deodorant for me. Kiss My Face is a really fantastic brand that has many natural and cruelty free products. Their website was down when I tried to access it recently, so I can't find out if their glycerin is vegan or not, but I believe that it is. I will never ever repurchase this.

125. Psst! Instant Dry Shampoo (Freeman) 1.76 oz (50 grams)*
I don't usually use dry shampoo, but I have used this brand before and I like this brand more than some others. It doesn't have an overpowering scent and isn't noticeable in my hair after brushing it out a little. If I planned to use dry shampoo more, I would buy this over any of the other brands I have tried. However, I don't like using aerosol sprays. They contain butane. Who wants to keep butane in your bathroom? Not me. Aerosol sprays are also really bad for the environment, so I try to stay away from them for that reason. Therefor, I will not be repurchasing this.

126. elf  shine eraser oil blotting sheets (50 count)*v
I've used several of these lovely little oil blotting sheet packets in the past few years. It was one of the first products I bought from www.eyeslipsface.com, and one that I have repurchased many times. I have about four packs of these floating around in my room, purse, dance bag, and bathroom. They are little pieces of paper that absorb facial oil so it won't totally break down all of your makeup. I find that these work just as well and even better than some higher end blotting sheets I have tried (shishedo and clean & clear are the brands that come to mind) and they only cost $1 for a pack of 50. If you used two of these a day for a year, you would spend about the same amount you would pay for one pack of high end blotting sheets. I will definitely be repurchasing this in the future.

127. Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief  .5 oz (15 ml)
See 119 above

128. Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Shampoo .7 fl oz (20.7 ml)*v
This shampoo smells life fruity heaven. It is almost reminds me of L'Oreal Kids fruity scent (I happen to like that sort of watermelon-y scent, but many people aren't) so I really loved it. It made my hair so soft and so shiny and cleaned exceptionally well. The best thing about this product? It is cruelty free and vegan. I will be repurchasing this in the future, once I use up the many bottles of shampoo I have already.

129. The Body Shop Aloe Gentle Shower Cream 8.4 fl oz (250 ml)**
Shower gel is one of those products that I use for a few months, then I won't touch for half a year. Because of this I have a half dozen half-used bottles hanging out in my bathroom. This was one of those bottles I have had for a while now. It was gifted to me by a friend who was moving back to Ireland and was getting rid of the things she didn't have room for in her suitcase. I liked the way this shower cream made my skin feel: smooth, soft, and healthy. I wasn't a big fan of the scent as it was a little too botanical/medicinal. This is no longer available on their website.

130. Colgate Optic White Anti-Cavity Fluoride Toothpaste Sparkling Mint 4 oz (113 g)
I didn't actually finish this product, but I'm throwing it out because it has turned completely solid and expired at the beginning of 2013. I have a half dozen opened toothpastes in my bathroom and I decided to purge the ones that had expired and/or turned to a solid dried up mass like this one. I did not particularly like this toothpaste when I was using it because the whitening agents in it caused me to feel like my teeth were heating up as a result of either friction or a chemical process every time I used it. It did make my teeth look very white, but I wasn't willing to put up with the discomfort of the product to get that result, since teeth whitening is not something I really care about. Colgate-Palmolive tests on animals. I will not repurchase.

131. Colgate Sparkling White Mint Zing Fluoride Toothpaste 6.4 oz (181 g)
This is another toothpaste that had expired (this time in 2009... no wonder it turned into a rock!). This one, unlike the Optic White, was one of my favorite toothpastes. It made my teeth feel super clean and sparkly, as well as had an amazing mint flavor. Sadly, it is made by a company that relies on animal testing for their products, so I will not be repurchasing this product in the future (if it is even still available).

132. Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps All-One Hemp Almond Pure Castile Soap Bar 5 oz (140 g)*v
This is the best bar soap I've ever bought at a store. It reminds me of almond cookies and makes my skin feel very clean and soft. I could just stand in the shower for days smelling and using this soap. It is 100% vegan and made with fair trade ingredients. The paper wrapper is recycled (yay for recycling!) so I don't feel bad about throwing it away (we don't have recycling in my neighborhood). I have already repurchased this and will continue to repurchase this bar soap in the future!

133. Bath and Body Works Peach Nectar Moisturizing Cleansing Bar 1.5 oz (42 g) **
I have had this little soap hanging out in my soap box for quite a while (I literally have a box full of bar soap I keep under the sink. It is one of the things I collect, so I needed storage. At one point it was a shoe box, but it is now a clear plastic box with a clasp lid we used to use for food storage). This little soap was one I picked up in a hotel and is no longer available in retail stores. You can find them on EBay for a ridiculously high price, though if you really want them. I liked the scent. It was light and summery with a hint of fruity peachy goodness. It cleaned well without leaving an oily residue. I obviously won't be repurchasing this because it is unavailable.

134. Moisturizing Citrus Aloe Facial Soap
This is one of those products that I literally know nothing about. I got it at a hotel ages ago, and I don't know who makes it. It cleaned well, and it had a pleasant scent (if a bit faded from age) that made it a good facial soap.

I hope you have enjoyed this post. If you have used any of these products and have opinions on them, I would love to hear about it in the comments below! See you in a few weeks with October Empties!