Stuff I've Used Up: Lots of Empties and Pans!

It's been a few months since my last empties post, so here's a check in on what I've been using! I'm happy to add, I have a lot of empties to show you! I don't know about you, but since I'm a beauty hoarder (one of the problems of being a beauty addict, I suppose!), I have way more product than I can ever use up in my entire life (that might not, by the way, be an exaggeration), so I get overly excited whenever I do actually use up something!

Empties! So many empties, including skincare and makeup items of all sorts!

This time round, I have a lot more empties than normal because I decided to consciously use up some of the products that were starting to run low, especially for colour makeup, which I don't always do. I actually set a blush that looked like I could hit pan on it to be my "everyday" blush until it actually got used up, and I couldn't be prouder of myself, haha.


All my empties! Look at how much stuff I actually use up!
Anyway, let's start taking a look at these empties! Empties this time include both makeup (eyeshadow, blush, foundation, lipstick, and more), and skincare (moisturizers, pimple products, eye cream, sunscreen), so there is a lot to cover! Most of these are products I like, probably because I wouldn't even use up products I hate. So I think that the fact that I used all these products up says something!

Let's start with makeup. I also used up another blush, Stila Bud Blush, and it was a very gorgeous light (but not too pastel or chalky) pink colour that was neutral and flattering on most skintones. Unfortunately, it's no longer made by Stila *sniffle*. I've actually done swatches of Stila Bud in this post before, a long time ago. Also I used up two Stila Chinois Eyeshadows. Yup, I used up two of the same colour. I don't think this got much fanfare on my blog, because it's essentially a light eggshell shade, so I used it up pretty fast as a base eyeshadow colour, but it's present in this EOTD from 2012 which makes me shudder at how crappy my eyeshadow skills were back then, as well as this more recent FOTD which was part of a foundation review.

Stila items aside, I've also used up a Prescriptives Anywear Foundation Stick, which is again an excellent product that has been discontinued. I used this as a portable concealer due to its small size (if you tried using it as a foundation, it would probably be gone in a month or so). I also used up Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Recess, which is another nude eyeshadow base-type shade. I'm always impressed by the quality of the Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows, they do stay on really well on me. I also used up a Covergirl Trushine Lipstick in Blushberry Shine, and again this is a long-discontinued item - I stockpiled these when I found out they were being discontinued. This is my second or third? I think? Trushine backup I've used up - you can see a previous Trushine empty (same shade) in this empties post here. On my lips, you can see the Trushine in action on the second ever post on my blog (from 2009!), and it is also the colour I was wearing in my Asian undertones post. I will be so sad when I have actually used up all my Blushberry Shine backups.


Makeup empties: Stila blush and eyeshadow, Benefit cream eyeshadow, Prescriptives foundation stick, Covergirl lipstick, Smashbox highlighter
Also in the above photo, I used up a Smashbox Toki Doki Softlights in Dolce Vita, which was a limited edition release from a long, long time ago, even before this blog started. Shame on me for taking so long to use this up, but to my credit it has a whopping 10g of product! I generally am a fan of Smashbox products in general, and their Softlights and other blush/highlight products specifically, so this was great. Although the Dolce Vita Softlights was promoted at the time as a highlighter, I used it up as a blush.

For those who are wondering what the Toki Doki Softlights used to look like, here's a quick shot from my Instagram page, and you can also find other IG photos it's featured in here, and here. I'm sure there's more, but Instgram isn't very searchable, so I couldn't pull them up. It was seriously pretty, and I held off using it for so long because I didn't want to mess up the imprint!

The Smashbox Toki Doki Softlights Highlighter before it was used up

Okay, and one last makeup item I've used up - my ZA Two-Way Foundation. ZA Cosmetics is a brand that's fairly regional, and you can find it in Southeast Asia as well as places like New Zealand, although they've been expanding into China and Hong Kong. But their power foundations have been quite popular for awhile, for being both cheap and good. I believe this particular casing was a limited edition one from long, long, long ago. It's a pretty good product, if you're on a budget.


Yes I used this all up: ZA Two Way Foundation
Now, on to skincare! First let's look at these tubs of moisturizers that I used up. I have no idea how I used all that up in such a short time, but to be fair, some of the tubs were almost empty during my last empties post. There is a tub of L'Oreal Revitalift Laser x3 Anti-Aging Cream, that I received a long, long time ago when it was a fairly new product (see a pattern here?), and kind of never got around to using it til more recently. I found it to be a good cream - it's a little heavier than some of the other lighter moisturizers you see here, but it will help if you do have dry skin or if your skin needs more hydration. I also really liked that the fourth ingredient is Hydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol, or "Pro-Xylane" if you've been reading the marketing for this product - at least this is a cream that has the ingredients it advertises! And it didn't irritate my skin either or cause me to break out. So yes, I did think this was a good anti-aging moisturizer, and if you're looking for one that doesn't break the bank, this is a good choice.

Also, along with other moisturizers I used up a jar of Vichy Aqualia Thermal Dynamic Hydration Rich Cream. I know the product name says "Rich Cream", and it is a cream, but it's not "rich" in the sense that it's excessively heavy or oily, and it worked just fine on my somewhat oily skin. I actually reviewed both the Vichy Aqualia Thermal Dynamic Hydration Rich Cream and Serum in this post previously, so I won't go through the product features again.

I also used up two jars of Olay Aquaction Long Lasting Hydration Emulsion, which I happened to chance upon when it was on sale and bought two jars. I've actually reviewed a related product from the same range, the Olay Aquaction Long Lasting Hydration Gel, which is supposed to be lighter than the Emulsion, and to be honest, between the two, the formulas are pretty similar, with the same key ingredients such as Niacinamide. But I prefer the Emulsion to the Gel, because it doesn't have alcohol in it. Alcohol's not necessarily a dealbreaker for me, but if I am presented with an alternative, I'll always choose the one with no alcohol.


Skincare empties: Olay, Vichy, and L'Oreal moisturizers and face creams
Now, let's look at more skincare stuff - this time we're looking at stuff that comes in bottles! First up is my trusty Avene Very High Protection Spray with SPF 50+. This is a staple of mine - you see it present in this previous empties post, and I also brought it on holiday with me last year. Avene recently reformulated the sunscreen, and in my opinion, the newer version is actually thicker in texture and more "oily". But on the bright side, it seems to pill and ball less and interact less with whatever moisturizers I might layer under it, so I'll happily accept that tradeoff.

I also used up a Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Lotion, which I've reviewed a long, long time ago on my blog. This is probably one of my favourite Hada Labo products (although I do love Hada Labo in general) - it's formulated with humectants like a lotion should, and actually has (judging from the ingredients list) a fairly decent amount of Arbutin in the product. I also really like the simple but effective formula of the lotion (and the Hada Labo lotions in general), and the fact that it's easy to use and incorporate in my routine. So yes, this is definitely something I'd use again. I actually recently showed off a new bottle of the same lotion (although with slightly different packaging) on my IG, so there you go - I still plan on using this.

I also used up a Shiseido TISS 2 Way Off Cleansing Oil in Blue, and I really liked this too - it's a good oil cleanser that removes makeup easily, and also emulsifies easily and rinses off without leaving too much oily residue on your face. I've actually also used up the yellow version of the cleansing oil before, and both were equally effective at makeup removal. I think the main differences are that the blue version has a stronger floral scent, and a more watery texture, while the yellow one is fairly scent-less and has a thicker, oil-like texture. But both remove makeup well and rinse off cleanly, so I'm happy with either one.


Skincare empties: Avene sunscreen, Hada Labo lotion, and Shiseido TISS cleansing oil
And, lastly, some of my smaller skincare items. We have an eye cream, the L'Oreal Revitalift Laser x3 Eye Cream. I actually found this to be a pretty good product. It helped to hydrate my skin, and didn't trigger any irritation or sensitivity. I also used up my bottle of Skinetica, an anti-acne product that I've reviewed on my blog sometime back. Skinetica is advertised as an acne product that isn't harsh on skin, and it isn't, but I found it somewhat meh as far as actually helping my pimples was concerned. In the end, I didn't miss this when I used it up. I also used up another Kitoko Kalani Acne Ampoule, which I really like, and which you've seen in my previous empties post, and an older one from last year.


Skincare empties: L'Oreal eye cream, Skinetica, and Kito Kalani ampoule
So that's it for my empties this month! I'm quite proud of myself for clearing all these out, and I'm glad to clear out some space on my shelves, too - it makes for the perfect excuse for acquiring more beauty products!