Emptied and replaced in January and February

It's time for another emptied and replaced.  I have not been a good girl/woman these past weeks.  I admit that haven't been taking good care of my skin, especially my evening routine has been missing a lot and it's starting to show.  Aside from that I've noticed that I've fallen back into the habit of opening several similar products at the same time, especially body products.  That's why there are no empty body products this time but there will probably be a couple next time.

Facial care:

I used up my Nivea eye makeup remover and replaced it by my beloved Klorane eye make up remover.  The Biotherm Blue Therapy Serum (which was a deluxe sample size) was replaced by a deluxe sample size of Lancôme Génifique youth activating concentrate.  I love serum samples, you only need a tiny drop of these so a sample will last you a while.  I had a weird relationship with my Vichy Normaderm daycream, it didn't do much for me and I was a bit relieved when it was finally finished.  I replaced it with La Roche Posay Redermic R daydream.  I'm already using the eye cream of this line and I was really waiting to try out more of this.

Body care:

I used up a Lady Speedstick spring blossom full size and replaced it by the same one in a smaller size (more of a handbag size).  I really love the Lady Speedsticks, whenever I'm in the US I always bring a few back and I really haven't used any other deodorants since I started using these.  There are still a few backups in my bathroom but I'm really nervous thinking about the day that I run out.

The hand cream was from L'Occitane and it was a great one.  I can't really say what I replaced it with because you'll find an open tube of hand lotion everywhere in this house (and on my desk at work).  I have banned myself from buying more hand lotions because I still have so many unopened ones in my bathroom and you can only use so much hand lotion in a lifetime.

Hair care:

Paul Mitchell's Super Skinny Serum was replaced by Kiehl's Damage Repairing & Rehydrating Leave In Treatment.  I love this Kiehl's treatment, I use it everyday on the ends of my hair and it leaves my hair feeling smooth and healthy (even though I have split ends and am in desperate need of a visit to the hairdressers).

Makeup:

A full size Urban Decay Eye Shadow primer potion was replaced by a travel size (look at how cute that is!).  I still have a few travel sized eye shadow primers laying around and I'm going to use up these before I buy a new one (but I'm already stressing out over which one to buy because there are just so many that I want to try out).  My budget proof Cover Girl Ready Set Gorgeous foundation was replaced by Make Up Forever Ultra HD Foundation (which I totally love) and my Bourjois eye pencil was used up till the very end and I temporary replaced it by the Urban Decay 24/7 glide on eye pencil in Bourbon.  This is just a temporary solution because the Bourbon one has glitter in it and since I use my eye pencil to tight line my upper waterline a glitter pencil isn't the best option.  I'm going to get me a new 'normal' brown one this week.

Samples:

I used up some samples, mostly day creams (in-between emptying the Vichy one and starting the La Roche Posay one).  

And that's all.  I've decided to do an 'Emptied and replaced' every 2 months, I just don't feel like there would be much to show if I do it every month.  If there's anything in here that you want to know more about you can just let me know in the comments.

Emptied and replaced in November and December

A new emptied and replaced covering November and December, a roundup of everything I emptied out and what I replaced it with.  I want to apologize for the pictures, I was wearing a bright pink sweater when I took these and it shows (and I'm not that good of a friend with photoshop so I don't know how to remove the pink shadow popping up), lesson learned!

Facial care:

I emptied out my Neutrogena Pore Refining toner, the one I used at night with the Alpha and Beta acids in it, and replaced it by KIKO purifying pads.  I'm not really impressed with these so far, I really have to force myself into using these at night.  Secondly there's my Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair serum, I'm really bummed that this one is empty. Instead I'm using a luxury sample of  Biotherma Blue Therapy Serum which I'm really liking.  I love the feeling and consistency of this serum.  The Body Shop Vitamin E facial mist that I was using as a toner has been replaced by the Vitamin E toner, this toner is so soft and gentle and the smell kind of reminds me of babies (freshly washed by the way).  An empty bottle of Mac Fix + (I wasn't sure if this counts as skincare or makeup) was quickly replaced by a new bottle but I went for the cucumber smell this time.  My Kiehl's eye alert eye cream went in the bin and so far I haven't had to open a new eye cream yet, I'm using up all my eye cream samples instead.  And than last but not least make up remover wipes, from Aldi and Demake'up (that I got because there was a cash back promotion going on).  Now, before you start judging me: I mainly use these in te morning to wipe the make up off the back of hand after I'm done putting everything on. It's just the easiest way to get my hand clean.  That's also the reason why I go for the cheapest ones I can find.

Hair care:

My Aussie Volume Shampoo and Conditioner were replaced by Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo and Conditioner.  I love the smell of Aussie and I really miss it when I'm washing my hair but the Amino Acid range of Kiehl's is just so good!  The price is somewhat higher but my long hair deserves this shampoo from time to time.  Also my Elnette Flexible hairspray got replaced by a new one and the Pantene Aqua Shampoo got replaced by Nivea Classic Shampoo.  I don't think I've mentioned this before but my hairdresser advised me to use a drugstore mild shampoo to wash all of the product residue out of my hair and follow up with a more expensive/ specific shampoo.  First you clean your hair to make sure all the good stuff from the second shampoo can reach your hair.  Sounds logical doesn't it?

Make Up

My Benefit Rolleball mascara was replaced by the brown version of Benefit's They're Real mascara.  Love them both!

Nail Care:

Another bottle of nail polish remover was emptied and replaced by a full one.

Samples/travel sizes/individuals:

I used a bunch of samples and empties this travel size of Kiehl's facial cleanser, this cleanser has been on so many vacations with me but after the last one I felt like the end was near so I emptied it out at when back home.  

And that's it, not too much (especially not considering this was over a period of two months) but I have a feeling January is going to produce a lot of empties.

Phyto 7 hydrating day cream for dry hair

Sometimes you just can’t make up your mind about a product.  You just don’t know if it works or not.  I have those feelings for the Phyto 7 hydrating day cream for dry hair.  I first read about it on Lisa Eldrigdes website, I think it was a post about her in-flight routine.  I’d never heard about day cream for hair before but it just immediately made sense to me. So of course I went out and bought it.

It is exactly what it says that it is: a day cream for your hair.  You apply it everyday on towel-dry or dry hair, just a pea size of product through the hair, focussing on the ends. I use it everyday, after my make-up and right before I leave the bathroom.  It’s not greasy and it doesn’t weigh the hair down.  I’d never heard about a day cream for hair but like I said, it makes sense somehow.

I don’t know what I was expecting but I never really had a ‚wow’ moment with this product.  I just started using it and it found its way  in my daily morning routine.  And last week it suddenly hit me that the tube was getting empty.  What now?  This is the first time I actually had to start analyzing my feelings towards a product.  Normally you just know if you like it or not, you just know … but with Phyto 7 I just couldn’t tell.  The only thing I can tell is that my hair is in good condition, even though I use a straightening tool.  And to be honest, the thought of not having it in my daily routine scares me somehow.  To me, that’s reason enough to order a new tube.  

Where to buy:

You can buy Phyto 7 hydrating cream at your local pharmacy (€13,50 for 50ml).

All time favorite: Kiehl’s Heat-Protective Silk Straightening Cream

Do you remember the epic episode of friends where Monica had a little bit of a hair issue due to humidity?  You know, when her hair looked like this:

That’s me (well, if you dim it down a bit).  I have a natural curl in my hair but as usual, when you have curls you want straight hair.  As a kid it was cute, little blond curls that bounced around.  I was really proud of my curls back then but all that changed when my hair grew longer.  

If I let my hair air dry I have a curl in the back, straight hair in the front and frizz all over.  Not exactly the look I want to go for so I use a hair straightener about 3 times a week.   To prevent my hair from getting too much heat damage, I have developed my own routine: I wash my hair in the evening and let it air dry (and even go to sleep when it’s still damp).  In the morning I use my blowdryer just for a minute followed by the magic of my much beloved Chi hair-straightener.  

But there’s no use in kidding yourself: heat + hair = damage.  The only thing you can do is try to limit the damage is use good heat-protecting products and a decent hair-straightener.  Insert Kiehl’s Heat-Protective Silk Straightening Cream.

Kiehl’s is mostly known for their great skincare products and the apothecary feeling of their shops.  The great thing about Kiehl’s shops for me is that the salespersons are always so helpful.  They take their time and they hand out plenty of samples from products you’d like to test before buying them.  

According to me though, not enough has been written about the haircare range of Kiehl’s.  I love their Amino Acid shampoo and conditioner but I adore their Heat-Protective Silk Straightening Cream.  I’ve tried a lot of heat protective straightening products but I always come back to this one.  Every time I pass a Kiehl’s shop I buy one, just in case …  I think it is the creamy substance that makes me love this so much, it’s creamy so it feels nourishing but without making your hair heavy.  I rub a pea size of the cream between my hands and then put it on the section of hair I’m going to attack with my straightener.  After straightening all I need is a little bit of hairspray and I’m good for 2 days!!

So if you’re looking for a good heat-protective straightening product, take a look at this one.  I promise it won’t disappoint. 

Where to buy:

You can buy the Heat-Protective Silk Straightening Cream at a Kiehl's shop or online shop (€21 for 150ml).