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The Empties | Early Spring

Mark my words, I know that it’s been well over a month since spring officially started. However, until somewhat recently it’s been blizzard-ing, so forgive me if I consider it still pretty early(ish) in the spring season. I used to worry these posts were boring to read, as I rarely used to finish up much of anything and there was little variety of what I did finish up, always trying out new things, rather than finishing what I had on the go. However, in the last couple of years, I have become a more savvy and restrained shopper, buying less and finishing more:

Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Cleansing Balm ($28 US | 103 mL)

After disliking the Paula’s Choice Perfect Cleansing Oil, I’m happy to report that I loved this balm cleanser for nourishing the skin and breaking down makeup and sunscreen. It broke down waterproof eyeliner, mascara and tenacious face products easily enough — but it wasn’t an annihilator in the way that some of these super-oily balms are — with easy-to-use tube packaging and nourishing non-irritating ingredients. It’s fragrance free, doesn’t contain any irritants and actually features lots of fatty acids and some nourishing plant oils to offset any sort of barrier disruption while cleansing. It doesn’t leave a film or anything afterwards. I would buy again, with some sort of sale.

Kate Somerville Goat Milk Moisturizing Cleanser ($57 CDN | 120 mL)

This is my expensive treatment cleanser of choice and I went onto another back-up that I purchased on sale shortly, after emptying the tube. It’s an oil-rich cream cleanser that removes makeup, soothes the skin without being drying in the slightest. It has a subtle fragrance that doesn’t bother my skin because it doesn’t come from essential oils and is enriched with honey, lactic acid and goat’s milk, along with the grapeseed oil, avocado oil and coconut oil. My favourite part is that my skin is left calmer and moisturized after rinsing.

Kate Somerville Delikate Soothing Cleanser ($57 CDN | 120 mL)

This was a fine gentle fragrance-free milk cleanser but was nowhere near special enough to justify the cost for me. It wasn’t irritating or drying whatsoever and removed easily but it didn’t deliver long-lasting soothing or hydration like the former. It contains fatty acids, ceramides, cholesterol, aloe and miscellaneous other soothing and barrier-repairing ingredients. It kind of reminded me of Cerave’s cleansers with slightly less of a tendency to sting on an impaired barrier. 

Drunk Elephant Protini Powerpeptide Resurfacing Serum ($108 CDN | 30 mL)

Last year, I picked up a half-sized sample of this lactic-acid based serum and I’ve happily been using it around 3-4 times per week as a chemical exfoliant and serum in one. It contains 10% lactic acid which helps with overall clarity, brightness and smooths texture, along with amino acids and peptides for hydration and barrier-reinforcement. It’s lighter in texture but contains squalane and some nice rich plant oils along with the myriad of humectants it has. I repurchased a full-size; it’s expensive but lasts a while and is special.

Cosrx Advanced Snail Radiance Dual Essence ($40.99 CDN | 80 mL)

I did love using this plumping brightening humectant serum, however, going for the niacinamide-enriched version of the essence was completely unnecessary for me, as I have multiple other niacinamide-rich brightening serums on the go. I do love me some niacinamide… This is a dual chamber version of their cult favourite fragrance-free essence, with snail secretion in the one chamber and 5% niacinamide in the other. It also contained panthenol, medowfoam seed oil, sunflower seed oil, allantoin, macadamia oil, sodium hyaluronate and argan oil. I found my skin looked bouncy, plumped and soothed while using this serum but I sometimes had to watch to make sure I wasn’t overdoing it on the niacinamide. I will be repurchasing the original version of the essence that is even more economical.

Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Firming Moisturizer ($89 CDN | 50 mL)

I ended up trying this pricy moisturizer because it was sold in the set with the serum, and while I ended up liking it, I’m really not sure it’s special enough for the price for me. It has a lovely comforting plumping texture that’s moisturizing and hydrating without feeling occlusive in the slightest. I enjoyed the myriad of peptides and amino acids it contains to help support the skin barrier and help to bind moisture into the skin and the plumping cushion-y texture, but I didn’t find it concentrated enough or special enough to warrant repurchasing at this price. I did enjoy the airless pump packaging and the lack of fragrance or other irritants.

Kate Somerville Delikate Recovery Cream ($99 CDN | 50 mL)

This is another pricy moisturizer I finished, but on the other hand, it’s special enough to warrant repurchasing, especially when we’re lucky enough to be able to find it on significant sale. It’s a whipped balm that sinks into the skin without stinging in the slightest, soothing the skin and supporting the skin’s barrier — especially a damaged one, like mine certainly tends to be. The texture spreads really far, only requiring a little bit of product, even on my drier and tighter skin, and it offers moisture, comfort and repair without leaving a shiny finish. It features shea butter, ceramides, honey, peptides, plant oils and other soothing ingredients. It’s also beautiful under makeup, helping to minimize the appearance of dry patches and any sort of texture. It also doubles as a wonderful eye cream for those with a sensitive eye area and is wonderful for calming the skin after an allergic reaction. It’s been that kind of spring thus far.

Cosrx Advanced Snail Peptide Eye Cream ($32.57 CDN | 25 mL)

I loved this gentle, fragrance-free eye cream for my delicate and sensitive eye area so much so that I went through it more quickly than I could have, occasionally using on my face in addition to the eye area. I will be repurchasing for sure. It contains snail mucin, niacinamide, sunflower seed oil, sodium hyaluronate and a few peptides. It’s good for plumping up and hydrating the eye area without irritation and wears great under makeup — and I have dry sensitive under eyes that tend to get eczema and allergy-induced irritation.

Sunday Riley Juno Antioxidant + Superfood Face Oil ($95 CDN | 35 mL)

This was one of the first good essential-oil-free oil blends on the market and it remains to be a longtime favourite of mine. Sunday Riley used ‘superfood’ in its actual meaning — as in harvested from fruits and cold-pressed with a variety of antioxidants — and not as a wellness culture bullshit hype-word, which I appreciate. I’ve long-term appreciated the omega rich blend of oils for soothing, antioxidant protection, locking in moisture and helping to eradicate dry patches. I do not tolerate essential oils well so I’ve always appreciated that this was blended without, without skimping on the benefits of these fruit oils. I’d buy again, especially if I found it on for another deal but I might explore more affordable options, even though the bottle does last for ages. I quite like smelling like a salad dressing, which is precisely the scent the natural oils have without essential oils in the mix.

Paula’s Choice Resist Super-Light Daily Wrinkle Defense SPF 30 ($35 US | 60 mL)

I was really slacking on the sunscreen front over the winter, mainly due to laziness. Once I got myself in gear this season, I found myself finishing a tube of the semi-matte finish tinted sunscreen that I had on the go. Because of the slightly mattifying semi-matte finish of the sunscreen, I tend to need to moisturizer underneath. However, the slightly blurring and smoothing finish coupled with the sheer light beige tint, is really flattering on naked skin. I have a backup and I’ll happily enjoy using as it gets hot and humid over the warmer months. It contains a bunch of antioxidants as well, which I enjoy seeing in a sunscreen.

Cerave Moisturizing Cream ($27.99 CDN | 539 mL)

This cream is probably the closest thing I’ve found to an eczema cure with consistent use. It helps to keep the dry and itchy skin at bay that I scratch and turn into a hot mess. The formula is bland, with fatty alcohols, three kinds of ceramides, cholesterol, hyaluronic acid, dimethicone and petrolatum. It stings less than most creams on the market — I’m prone to stinging — and contains ingredients to help rebuild and reinforce the skin barrier. It’s probably a forever repurchase from me. I also love the jar with a pump on it packaging; the pump is super easy to use and it’s practical to be able to screw off the lid to get the remnants out of the container.

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Body Butter ($18 CDN | 300 mL)

If I’m not using a fragrance-free barrier-repairing kind of body moisturizer, I’m using one of the Soap and Glory options as a treat because I can actually tolerate them on my eczema prone body, as they have a rich emollient texture and contain fragrance that I love, that isn’t essential oil based, which poses the greatest problem for me personally. My skin can be a bit of a diva, evidently. It’s a warm citrusy floral scent that I find super comforting and the formula has shea butter, coconut oil, cocoa seed butter, glycerin and rosehip oil to help prevent trans epidermal waterloss and the itchy feeling from returning to my body skin. It’s a favourite for a reason. I also enjoy that it’s rich enough to actually make a difference and for me not to go through the tub so quickly.

Curlsmith Wash & Scrub Detox Pro-Biotic ($37.99 CDN | 250 mL)

Another one bites the dust; I’ve finished another tube of my favourite clarifying shampoo. It doesn’t contain traditional sulfates so it’s not overly drying or stripping but it does enough to keep my scalp from getting itchy and flaky and keeps my waves and loose curls looking great. Another bonus is that it doesn’t turn my hair into tangle city, as most clarifying shampoos do. It contains perlite to gently exfoliate the scalp (without real traditional scrub particles that can be irritating), probiotic ingredients to help strengthen the skin barrier — which is obviously a priority of mine after reading this post –, apple cider vinegar and gentler clarifying agents with the ability to remove silicones and heavy oils. It will be another repurchase for sure.

Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino + Avocado Hydrating & Defining Hair Mask ($49 CDN | 236 mL)

Another long-term favourite of mine are these Briogeo masks and deep conditioners. This one was a primarily hydrating mask (that packed a punch despite being lightweight), with some protein, in the form of amino acids in the mix. Interestingly enough, it’s actually advertised as being protein free, despite the fact that there are amino acids high on the ingredient list, and scattered throughout; regardless, I don’t think it’s protein-rich enough to trigger alarm in those with a protein sensitivity. It’s moisturizing and hydrating, with wonderful slip that glides through the knottiest of strands (I can confirm this from experience) while being lightweight yet concentrated. It features sodium PCA, rice amino acids, avocado oil, castor seed oil, sweet almond oil, shea butter, linseed oil, chia seed oil, keratin amino acids, rice extract and hydrolyzed quinoa. I found after using that my curls had a bit of a boost, clumping nicely together. I’m currently using their original mask, but I would definitely consider picking up this one again.

Curlsmith Feather-Light Protein Cream ($35.99 CDN | 237 mL)

This was my second or third tube of what I would have to describe as my holy-grail curl cream. Despite its name, it’s a medium moisture but fairly lightweight curl cream with a hefty dose of protein. I’m onto another tube of this curl cream, as it’s reached backup status in my collection. It simultaneously enhances curls with some bounce, adds control and keep clumps defined and intact. It offers light buildable hold on its own, which makes it great for refreshes, using on its own or layering under a gel, as I do in my humid climate on my high porosity strands. It can give a bit of a fluffier look when used on it’s own, which I’ve grown to enjoy the texture and volume from at this point in my hair journey; this is less of a factor when paired with a harder hold gel. It uses sweet almond oil, hydrolyzed rice protein, hydrolyzed hemp seed extract and shea butter for a good protein-moisture balance on my fine, high porosity but abundant strands.

Curlsmith Curl Defining Styling Souffle ($55.99 CDN | 473 mL)

My go-to combination of stylers on any wash day that I know will give me great results is the previously mentioned cream in combination with this gel-souffle. It’s more of a medium weight gel, offering medium moisture, curl enhancement, humidity-resistance, medium-strong hold and good control. It’s a super concentrated product so this jumbo size squeeze-bottle lasts for months even on my thirsty high porosity waves and curls and it helps encourage my waves and loose curls into a more defined spiral-y shape and it helps my hair to last 3-4 days with minimal refreshing. It uses glycerin, babassu, irish moss, linseed extract, andiroba seed oil and avocado oil and is the most moisturizing gel that I’ve ever tried, without weighing down my fine waves and curls. Seeing as this is my most repurchased hair product of all time, it’s not shocking that I just opened another one of these jumbo-sized bottles for the warmer weather months…

What products have you finished up?
Maggie, x.

“Fall” Empties | Haircare & Body Care

As promised, I’m continuing on going through the products I’ve finished in between summer and fall this year. As I write this, we are currently expecting a snow storm so as far as the weather is behaving, it is no longer fall on the Canadian east coast. This is actually relevant because despite the cooler temperatures, we actually have a humid winter environment overall. The way I look at it is that even when it’s dry, it’s wet. Onto the products…

Curlsmith Wash & Scrub Detox Pro-Biotic ($37.99 CDN | 237 mL)

This clarifying shampoo has become an ultimate favourite of mine, as in I’m using another tube now and bought a backup. It has a little bit of grit without having harsh scrubby bead-bits in it thanks to the perlite, removes build up like a champ (but bear in mine that I can layer a whole lot of product before build up appears) and most impressively helps with an itchy flaky scalp without tangling or drying out the rest of my fine but dense easily-matted hair. The cleansers remove silicones without irritating my sulfate-sensitive scalp. It has some interesting probiotic ingredients that at the very least serve as humectants and scalp-soothers throughout the washing process and clarifying and balancing vinegar. Also I have great hair days without having to deep condition afterwards.

Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Yogurt Hydrate + Repair Shampoo ($13.99 CDN | 384 mL)

Even though I’m more of a wash-my-hair-twice-per-week kind of girl, this is my favourite daily gentle moisturizing shampoo. It contains four different surfactants that are uber-gentle but possess the ability to remove silicones and other forms of build up. Other noteworthy ingredients are manuka honey, yogurt, shea butter, baobab seed oil, mafura seed oil and coconut oil, which all contribute to the moisturized but not heavy feel this shampoo leaves on my waves. It actually has slip so it doesn’t worsen any knots I may have and cleans my scalp enough for that fresh feeling without drying out my wavy curls. I’m using another bottle at the moment so it’s a definite repurchase.

Garnier Whole Blends Royal Hibiscus & Shea Butter 5-in-1 Curl Conditioner ($9.99 CDN | 355 mL)

Having using regular conditioners instead of religiously going for deep conditioners, I found myself picking this one up when it was on sale, not seeing the dimethicone as the third ingredient, and figuring it was worth a shot, despite the drying alcohol it contains as I’ve gotten to the point where I actually rinse out my conditioner. Colour me surprised to find myself really enjoying this conditioner for the medium moisture it has and the amazing slip it offered so much that I repurchased it. I’m happy to say that it does not weigh down my hair or build up on it at all, with my routine of using sulfate-free shampoos. The pump is actually convenient, dispensing out a good amount of product and I liked the clumping and richness provided by the jojoba seed oil, coconut fruit extract and shea butter. The recyclable packaging and price is also a plus in my book.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair Deep Conditioning Mask ($49 CDN | 236 mL)

This is my favourite hair mask and it’s certainly not my first empty tub of it. It has ridiculous slip and hydration while leaving the hair with so much bounce and body afterwards. It leaves my hair moisturized, strong and bouncy and my curls defined and springy. It contains some great slip agents, fatty alcohols, argan oil, rosehip oil, hydrolyzed proteins, radish root ferment and biotin. I will be repurchasing, as it’s my favourite deep conditioner, whether just used in the shower or left on for a while with heat. It’s concentrated too and applies evenly on my fine porous hair that tends to just absorb everything.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair Honey Moisture Deep Conditioning Mask ($49 CDN | 236 mL)

As someone who usually loves richer and heavier deep conditioners, I was surprised to find out that I did not love this honey-infused version of my favourite deep conditioner. It has a heavier perfumery smell that I don’t enjoy as much, loses much of the slip it has, doesn’t go as far as it doesn’t evenly distribute throughout the hair while being heavier. Also this bear shape container is kind of a nuisance. I got it in a value set last year — as it seems to only be available seasonally — so I’m not super upset about it, but it was a weird disappointment for me. It was a fine deep conditioner but nothing like any of the other Briogeo deep conditioners I’ve tried.

Curlsmith Feather-Light Protein Cream ($35.99 CDN | 237 mL)

This has to be my favourite curl cream (and that says a lot because I enjoy quite a few) and I have two backups for it but the name is a bit of a misnomer, in my experience. Whilst it lends a fluffy and airy effect to the hair especially when used on its own, it’s not one of those super super light creams. It’s more of a medium moisture cream with a lotion consistency that manages to clump curls together, add some control and enhance spirals. The hydrolyzed protein adds some spring to my fine waves and curls, the pvp adds light hold on its own and can be used as such and the sweet almond oil and shea butter add the moisture my thirsty hair craves. I don’t avoid glycerin but if you try to minimize it, this might be a good option as it’s at the bottom of the ingredient list.

Bounce Curl Avocado & Rose Oil Clump and Define Cream ($35.99 CDN | 117 mL)

This cream is another one that I enjoyed offering at least medium moisture, great curl clumps and a mouthwatering musky scent. It’s super concentrated so you don’t need a ton of product — but as a wavy I do still get volume and bounce with this — but it’s majorly expensive for the amount that you get. I can see why so many people love it, as it preserves the formation of big juicy curl clumps, adds a bit of hold and nourishes the hair with avocado seed oil, murumuru seed butter, shea butter, rose oil and more. I did enjoy using it but I can’t think about repurchasing it with multiple creams on the go at the moment. This could definitely be a good winter option for thirsty tresses, though, and the effect it gives is controlled, shiny clumped curls.

Curlsmith Hydro Style Flexi Jelly ($35.99 CDN | 237 mL)

This is a lightweight (but moisturizing) slippery gel with flexible medium-strong hold that I tend to pair with a cream, but could probably work on its own — and I’m a self-professed cream styler addict. True to its marketing, it’s moisturizing with water-soluble castor oil, sodium hyaluronate and panthenol without adding any weight or heaviness. I had some great wash days with this gel and it left my loose curls and waves with spirals, bounce, body and flexible hold. It also doesn’t take a ridiculous amount of time to dry. I repurchased this gel, but it isn’t my holy grail soul hair gel. It would be amazing for fine hair that very prone to being weighed down and experiencing buildup; while my hair is fine, I typically can handle heavier products because I have so much hair and because I have hair that benefits from a bit more control in my products. It’s great for that airy look, however, and I get great wash days with this. Glycerin is super low on the ingredient list so it would be good for those who are very impacted by the ingredient in high and low dew points.

Hada Labo Gokujyun Premium Hydrating Lotion ($22.59 CDN | 170 mL)

In the past, I swore by the hyaluronic acid based products in this Japanese line but the last two that I’ve bought, I’ve ended up finishing up on the body. This one has a super-rich gel consistency, containing seven different molecular weights of hyaluronic acid, glycerin and urea but can sometimes pill weirdly or interact weirdly on the face in combination with a bunch of other skincare products. It’s no longer my favourite humectant serum or milky toner for my face but it was great underneath my moisturizer on my body, that is perpetually dry itchy and flaky. This is still a great humectant, though, even though I think I’ve moved past it for my face at least.

Cerave Itch Relief Moisturizing Cream ($27.97 CDN | 340 g)

This has become one of my favourite daily body moisturizers for my eczema that has definitely flared up throughout the cooler weather. It’s a slightly different nuance on their classic cream with the addition of the analgesic pramoxine hydrochloride to discourage itching and the addition of shea butter as an emollient as a main ingredient. It doesn’t sting on irritated patches of skin and leaves the skin moisturized for hours. I’d repurchase and I have in the past but at the moment I’m using their classic cream happily.

What products have you used up?
Maggie, x.