December 2014 Empties

The end of another month (and another year!) means it's time to see what I used up in December and what I will repurchase or hated. I did a big push to finish up a TON of items so this will be a bigger post that usual. I'm going to try a new format to help speed things up a big, I'll do all my repurchase in one group, all my maybes in another group, ect ect. If this works out well I'll do it for all my empties posts. There are 27 items here, so I am super happy with how my empties turned out this time. Plus I made a huge dent in my stash and actually used up every single one of my foil packets (yay) so I have an empty box now.

First up is the N/A group, so things I made or don't really count.

• Wide Jar: My face scrub, which I liked but probably won't make again.
• Regular Jar: Latest batch of toner pads, I'm still tweaking my recipe
• Wet and Wild Eyeshadow Quad: Technically this isn't empty, I smooshed out the shadows and put them in little jars to make it easier to use them.

These are my Maybe items, things I haven't decided if I will repurchase them.

• Victoria Secret Body Spray: I received this years ago so I'm pretty sure the scent is no longer available. If I could find it for under $10 I'd buy it, but I'm not paying $30+ for one.
• Ulta Bath Smoothie (Dragon Fruit): I really love these and I liked this scent but I'm on the fence if I'd buy a full size of it. I think I'd get sick of it after a month or so.
• Dr Brandt Pores No More Primer: I got this in a Birchbox and while I liked it quite a bit it is SUPER expensive so unless I suddenly get an influx of money I probably won't buy it. Maybe I'll find it for cheap somewhere.

These are my Repurchase items, things I liked enough I have either already repurchased or will be buying in the future.

• Psssst! Dry Shampoo: This is my favorite dry shampoo out there. It works great, is very affordable, and doesn't turn my hair white. If you keep an eyeball out Ulta does a buy one get on either 50% off or FREE! That makes this even more affordable.
• Dove Deodorant: I only use this brand and scent, I buy giant packs at Costco that last me for like a year at a time. I just like them.
• ELF Essential Eyeshadow Primer: This is $1 and is so far the reigning champion of my eyeshadow primer battle. It will last all day on my oily lids and even lasts through the Taekwondo classes I teach. And is only a buck. Crazy right?
• ELF Lip Stain: This is the best red lip stain I've found so far. Only $2, has an easy to use marker design, and dried really nicely. Plus the color is really, really nice.
• ELF Zit Zapper: Another $1-2 item, this is a great spot treatment for acne and actually lasted forever. I think it made a big difference in how long Mt Zit lasted, so I swear by these.
• Jouer Tinted Lotion: Another Birchbox item, I fell in love with how amazing it made me look. Like movie star awesome, I'd get so many compliments when I used it. It is EXPENSIVE though so this will be my birthday present to myself this year.

Lastly, my Not Purchasing pile. These are items I hated, didn't work, or are so expensive there's no way I would ever buy it.

• L'Oriel Volume Filler Shampoo/Conditioner: These were just basic shampoos/conditioner. I saw zero difference when I used them.
• L'Oriel Volume Filler Gel: This was suppose to give me nice full hair when I blow dried my hair, which it did. Until I smoothed out my hair so it'd look nice, then it deflated. The gel was really gross feeling though, so even if it did have lasting effects I'd still say no.
• Suave Naturals Shampoo/Conditioner: Smelled nice but no difference from my usual stuff
• DHC Nighttime Moisturizer: These aren't bad, they worked ok and didn't break me out horribly, but there are other lotions I liked a whole lot better.
• 100% Pure Body Wash: This was a freebie sample from a Birchbox order and it would NOT lather. I need my soap to lather, sorry. No bubbles no buying.
• Number 4 Hair Spray: Worked great but made my hair smell like a hamster cage. So not ok.
• Platinume Gold Imperial Hand Lotion: Smelled great, worked great, crazy expensive.
• Ulta Body Wash: This did not smell great, after a week I was so sick of it. I ended up using it as bubble bath for my spawn to play in.
• Davine Shampoo/Conditioner: Another item I liked but was crazy expensive. I'm not spending $50 a month on my shampoo and conditioner, that's obscene. If you can afford it, hey more power to you, but I'd rather spend that money on my rent.

Overall I'm not really repurchasing that much, which was the general feeling I had as I worked my way through everything. Setting items in a box on my bathroom counter helped me finish things for sure, just seeing it there made me want to hurry up and finish it. For January I'm just going to use things as normal, I'll probably have a smaller empties for sure this month. How did your empties go for December?