Recent Repurchases

I love new product hauls, but I also love seeing what products people come back to time and time again. This is a bunch of products I've repurchased recently (thanks, Ulta points!) and a little bit about why I love each one.

October Empties

Another month, more empties! I'm really happy that I'm sticking to getting a monthly empties post in, instead of hoarding trash for months at a time. As always, lots and lots of skincare. This month has a decent amount of hair and body care as well. I go through makeup less frequently, but there's a couple of items that I finished up in October. Read on if you're interested in some quick thoughts on the products I finished.

Skincare Empties!

I'm still writing up mini reviews on my empties from January through the end of April...which has convinced me that four month periods are too long for racking up empties! However, it does let me see that I actually use up a lot of products! Here is all the skincare that I finished up in those four months, along with my thoughts!

Mini Ulta Haul!

I was at Ulta this weekend to get my bangs trimmed, so I decided to pick up a few things! I also had a 20% off coupon and an offer for triple points, so I wanted to make sure I cashed in on that as well! I'm working on a low buy right now, and the majority of these items are repurchases/replacements. 

• Nivea In Shower Body Lotion  - I love this stuff! It makes getting soft, moisturized skin even easier My boyfriend uses it as well, and this is the third bottle I'm picking up. I'm trying to go through all of the other body butters and lotions I have from indie companies, but so far nothing tops this in terms of ease of use. I can even get the middle of my back with this, meaning no dry, itchy spots I can't reach later in the day!
• Simple Cleansing Wipes - I keep these in my gym bag to take off my makeup before a workout. This takes off everything but the most stubborn waterproof mascara, which is OK by me. The scent is nice, and I haven't had any negative reaction after using these for a few weeks. This is my second pack of these. There are a few variations of them, such as exfoliating and what have you, but I just pick up the run of the mill cleansing ones.
• Formula 10.0.6 Deep Down Detox Mask - This is a new product for me. I saw this brand on the website, and I decided I wanted to give this mask a try! This mask is supposed to deep clean your pores and detox the skin. I'm a sucker for face masks, so I picked it up. There's another product I wanted to try from this brand called Three Times Sublime, but my Ulta was sold out. The scent on this is nice, like oranges!
• Rimmel Stay Matte Primer - Another repurchase! I wanted to have a drugstore mattifying foundation on hand, and I really loved this stuff when I used it initially. I find it's much easier to work with than Becca Ever Matte in terms of spreading it onto the skin, and still gives a great matte finish.
• NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Ash Brown - I reviewed this a while back, so this is another repurchased. I LOVE this product, and recommend it to anyone who uses the Anastasia Brow Wiz. It's cheaper per ounce, and does the exact same thing. I'm sure some people will be nitpicky about the formula, but I personally do not see enough of a difference to pay an additional $11 for a basically identical product. Plus, Ulta has these buy one get one 50% off all the time, plus coupons...I just really like this product, okay??

April 2015 Favorites!

Another month has passed, so it's time for another month of favorites! Only one actual makeup item this month, but everything on the list is something I've seriously been digging!

1. Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster - I'm not super old, but I'm getting to the age where I'm worried about starting to age. And I know once I get there, I'm going to be like a Disney villain about ageing - super passionate about being young forever or something. So during the recent Sephora spring sale, I picked up this serum which is supposedly fantastic due to the Vitamin C that's included. Vitamin C is a great skincare item due to its many benefits - reducing dark spots, reducing inflammation, helping to boost collagen production, and fading post breakout redness, to name a few. After using this for the past two weeks, I am seeing some definitely improvement in my skin. Also, it smells like oranges!

2. Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50 - What a mouthful. This is my go to sunscreen that I apply every day after my moisturizer, under my makeup. It's easy to apply, absorbs quickly, doesn't smell overly like sunblock, and doesn't leave a white cast. It is a Japanese product, but it's easily found on Amazon at a price that won't break the bank. I'm currently finishing up my first bottle, and I will be purchasing my second soon! (Also it must be great, look at all the ++++++!)

3. Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Crème in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang  - I've already posted a full review but I wanted to include this lipstick on my favorites list. I'm really impressed with this formula, so much so that I purchased another lipstick in the family during the Sephora sale (and OMG! wait til you SEE IT!!) Every time I'm at my local Sephora this shade is sold out, so I can't be the only one considering it a favorite! Do yourself a favor and swatch it in store if you haven't yet, it's definitely worth trying!

4. Simple Cleansing Wipes - I picked these up on a whim at Target, since I needed to toss something into my gym bag to take off my makeup before my workouts. I love these! A few quick swipes and these take off most everything aside from my waterproof mascara. I have to scrub a tiny bit to get my morn stubborn liquid and gel liners off, but the wipes don't need anything extra to get those off! My skin isn't left overly dry or irritated from the wipes either, which is a big plus.

5. WEN Lavender Cleansing Conditioner - I've heard a lot about "co-washing" and heard that this stuff is the best of the best, and held out til the sale to pick it up, because $32 is a bit much for a conditioner. Unfortunately...I love it. The directions say to use an inordinate amount of pumps to cleanse the hair (like 10-16 for my length hair) and then half the amount to sit in the hair while you finish up your shower. This feels like I'd be using the entire bottle in like five showers, and sometimes I shower like twice a day, so I don't use that many pumps and my hair still feels clean (even with my 309843084 thickening/volumizing products!) I think I will still shop around for something cheaper, but I know I definitely do like this product. There are different scents/flavors/whatever you want to call it, and each coordinates with a hair type - lavender is for fine hair, so make sure you buy based off of your hair type for optimal results!