February 2018 Favorites!

I actually had a hard time picking my favorite products for February. I haven't really bought a ton of new stuff, so I was picking from items I use all the time. I didn't want to feature the same things again (yes, I love MJ Air Blush in Flesh & Fantasy, but we know that!) so it was a little more difficult picking things this time around. There's a couple new things I haven't featured, and one of my all time favorites in the mix.

Nivea Oil Infused Lotion, Zoya Kimber, Alterna Volume Spray, Fenty Pro Filt'r Foundation, IGK Down & Dirty Spray

Recent Purchases, Repurchases, and Acquisitions

I think it's a good sign for my low buy that I don't have enough stuff for a purchase post AND a repurchase post. It's my birthday month and I was pretty restrained, as you can see. (Unlike last year...) Two of these products were sent to me for review, so I didn't even buy everything here! I'm super excited about everything, though.

I Tried Glossier Solution So You Don't Have To!

Glossier announced a new addition to their skincare line last month - Solution. A chemical exfoliant touted as an "exfoliating skin perfector," Glossier claims that their Solution will "transform skin in four weeks." Naturally, as a skincare aficionado and a lover of a good miracle, I accepted the bait and purchased Solution. I also bought the Glossier branded cottons for $4, since buying the two enabled me to get free shipping under their normal free shipping threshold.

Glossier Solution

Dyson Supersonic - Thoughts From Someone Terrible With Hair

A $400 hairdryer. Of course it's a Dyson - with that design and price tag, who else would make it? I received the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer this past Christmas. It had been on my wishlist as sort of a  "stretch" gift, and I'm really happy that I received it. (My old $30 dryer was on its way out.) However, it's still a luxury item, and I wanted to talk about my feelings regarding it.

The Dyson Supersonic

Why I'm Hardcore Destashing, & Recently Destashed Products

As apart of my Reverse Rouge challenge for the year, and in general, I try to destash a lot of my beauty products that I am no longer in love with. I try to do a lot of destashing by rehoming my products, because sometimes trashing them just doesn't feel right - especially easily sanitized powder products and tube lipsticks. Over the past few months I've done a lot of destashing, but really gone into high gear lately with finding more outlets to just get things out of my house.

I first started destashing and rehoming my makeup on the Makeup Exchange subreddit. It's a great place, because it's all fellow beauty addicts looking for limited edition or gently used makeup items. It's also a great place to put out some feelers for any "white whale" products you may have.

I've had a lot of success destashing my lightly used items on Mercari. My listings are here, in case you're interested in anything I'm looking to find a better home for! The best part is, Mercari can be used for all sorts of things, not just beauty items. It also makes the process extremely easy for buyers and sellers. (I promise I am saying all of this of my own volition!)

At this point, I have so much stuff that I'm not really trying to get most of my money back - just trying to unload a lot of my products. Here's a quick rundown of products I've fallen out of love with, and why I'm destashing them.

January Empties & Reverse Rouge Check In

At the end of last year, I went a little overboard in my purchasing knowing I would be doing a Reverse Rouge challenge for 2018. I won't lie, it's been difficult not impulse buying all of the time, but at the end of January, I found that it's gotten a little easier. I've also made a concentrated effort to try and use up things that were close to empty that I had forgotten about. I'm still not where I'd like to be with the amount of sheet masks I use, but I did use some, and that's what counts.

Since I have a TON of empties this month, and there are some products that I have show up all the time, I'll highlight a few favorites/duds from the pile.

belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb - I LOVED this, and not just because belif sent it to me to review. It's just like the Aqua Bomb, but for eyes. Its a lightweight gel cream (my fave) that sinks in quickly and works under makeup. I have another belif mini eye cream that I am now using, but I really want a full size of this eye cream.

Bath and Body Works hand cream in Salted Honey & Vanilla - I HATED this! I bought it on black Friday because I constantly go through hand cream at my desk due to always needing to pee and the soap at work being stripping (the woes of staying hydrated...) but this was just awful. It didn't really hydrate my skin, didn't completely sink in, and the scent sucked. I had the same scent in a hand soap at home and I really liked it, but the hand cream did not have the same scent. I was really disappointed in this. Looking at the ingredient list, mineral oil is way at the top and shea butter way at the bottom, so that pretty much explains it. I won't repurchase this, or any BBW hand cream.

Boscia Sake Balm - I will be the first to admit that I purchased this due to the texture. You take a scoop out, and it jiggles back into place in the container to become smooth and perfect again. Overall, it was an okay moisturizer. Too much and it became very sticky, so I didn't like using it in the mornings. It was more expensive than I'd like ($46 at Sephora) and it didn't really WOW me enough to consider repurchasing. It was fun while it lasted though!

Cosrx Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence - It took a while for me to jump on the bandwagon for this one, but I'm glad I did. I noticed an increase in the brightness of my skin while using this in my routine. It sank in quickly, and I used it mainly in the mornings for light hydration and quick brightness. I had a backup waiting for when this one ran out!

Clinique Moisture Surge Supercharged Concentrate - I had seen the full size of this in a nifty pump bottle on Instagram, and I wanted to try it. I got the mini size first - it was...okay? I think? It was definitely hydrating, but the gel seemed to have chunks in it that needed to be worked in. It also was a little tacky once it sank in. I like Clinique, so I may try one of their other moisture surge products since I'm a little iffy on this one.

Too Faced Hangover Rx primer - I really enjoyed this, and not just because of the scent! (Though the scent is really pleasant, I love coconut!) The formula for this is light and "sank in" to the skin quickly. I really like it under very matte foundations when the weather is dryer - it doesn't work for me in the summer due to my skin's extra oil production when it's humid. I have a few minis of other hydrating primers to try, but I can see myself repurchasing this soon.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer - I wanted to try this due to how much I like their Brow Wiz, but this won't be my new go-to brow product. It was a bit soft for my liking, and the smaller end of the triangular tip wasn't a fine enough tip. I'll stick with something closer to the Brow Wiz from now on.

Reverse Rouge Check In

Throughout the month, I kept a running list of all of my finished products, purchases, and destashed items. I looked up the value of each item (of course I had discontinued items in there and had to do my best) and calculated the value of any deluxe minis.

• Sephora Argan Oil hand mask - $6
• TonyMoly Foot Peel - $6.50
• belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb mini - $9.60
• Kat von D Tattoo Liner - $20
• Helloskin Jumiso First Lightening sheet mask - $2.70
• Benton Snail Bee sheet mask - $1.79
• Miss O Good Night sheet mask - $7
• Nivea In Shower Lotion - $4.99
• Cosrx Holy Snails sheet mask - $2.74
• C200 Bubble Peeling Pad - $7.95
• Boscia Sake Balm - $46
• Biore Aqua Rich sunscreen - $8.44
• Bath & Body Works hand cream - $4
• Tresemme Volumizing Mousse - $5.49
• Too Faced Hangover Rx primer - $32
• Estee Lauder Cushion Stick - $42
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer - $23
• Clinique Moisture Surge Supercharged Concentrate - $13.50
• Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey hydrogel - $4.20
• Cosrx Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence - $14

Total - $261.90

Here's all of the items I destashed this month. I've done destashing via Mercari and r/makeupexchange. I counted the full retail value of each item, and calculated the value of any deluxe mini items.

• Clinique Black Honey mini - $9.71
• MAC Naked Bud lipstick - $17.50
• Kat von D Halo Studded Kiss lipstick - $21
• Tarte Shape Tape - $27
• Make Up For Ever Artist Shadows (discontinued round pans) in i524, d708, m816, s556, m548, s314, s312, s836, s848, s234 - $210
• MAC Be A Lady Mineralize lipstick - $22

Total - $307.21

Finally, everything I purchased for the month! I'm really proud of myself, under $100 spent, and some of these were repurchases!

• Nivea In Shower lotion - $4.99
• Nivea Oil Infused lotion - $5.49
• Nailtiques Forumla 2 - $9.59
• Glossier Solution - $24
• Glossier cottons - $4
• Bite Lip Pencil 022 - $13.50
• Sephora Favorites Combo Skin set - $28
• Gold Bond hand cream - $3.89

Total - $93.46

Total Empties + Destashed - $569.11
Minus Purchases - $475.65

...WOW! Over halfway to my goal without counting purchases, and almost halfway there if I take purchases out, and it's almost January! That is a CRAZY amount of money when you think about it. I'm really impressed with my progress, and can't wait to see how the year unfolds. February is my birthday month, so I don't expect as much progress (especially with purchases cutting in) but January has me off to a great start!