It's time for my semi-annual blog post ha ha! I've had a few cleanser empties in the last few months - 2 of which I've been trudging through trying to finish and some that I have absolutely loved. Here are my thoughts on them, along with some other things running around my beauty state of mind!

***All items purchased by me or received as a sample with purchase. This is not a sponsored post.***

EMPTIES/REVIEWS

Pharmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm - I love this stuff. 2 jars down, and I'm onto my 3rd! It's got a light, slightly green grass smell that I love (somewhat similar to the Youth To the People Age Prevention Cleanser), and immediately melts into a lighter oil on contact with my hands and face. It rinses super clean and takes everything off, including sunscreen (I wear minimal eye makeup these days - at most a wash and 1 other color - so I haven't tested it on waterproof eye makeup). It doesn't dry my skin out, nor does it leave my skin with a film or feeling weirdly 'moisturized' like some of the more balmy balm-to-oil cleansers tend to do. My skin simply feels clean and comfortable. After using this, I also realized how much I missed giving my skin a mini massage with an oil cleanser. 

Youth to the People Age Prevention Cleanser - Reviewed HERE. Still a favorite and have turned several of my family onto it!! I have a backup on the ready. 

Cle de Peau Cleansing Cream Oil - This was another one I absolutely loved. The empty here is actually my second finished tube, but due to price ($75/oz) and the fact that I seemed to go through a tube in a month...well...I decided to chill out and use other things. Supposedly this has anti-pollution properties, helps balance your skin and also helps retexturize. I'm not sure about all that, but my skin seemed to really like this stuff. A LOT. I noticed less, and fewer, clogs and my skin seemed a bit more glowy. I'm not certain if the tube is worth spending $75, but it sure felt luxurious and I really loved using it. The texture is rich, but not heavy and the oil part wasn't super slick - it felt more like a creamy oil rather than a true oil. It also removed everything, including my sunscreen (but excluding heavy eye makeup, as I don't wear more than 2 shadow colors anymore so that wasn't tested). 

Boscia Sake Cleansing Water - This version of a cleansing water milky and thicker than a traditional cleansing or micellar water....so much so that I didn't like using the pump and ended up always unscrewing the cap and holding the bottle over a cotton pad to get product out. I don't feel like this removed makeup and sunscreen as well as the Farmacy and Cle de Peau. Eventually it removed everything, but required at least 3 passes (of a new, fully soaked cotton pad) to feel clean. By the middle of the second pass, my face would start to feel a little burn and the product stung my eyes. So, yeah...I didn't like this much. Usually I would've given up, but for some reason I wasn't going to let this little bottle defeat me and I was determined to finish it ha ha! Anyway, eventually I got through it but it took forever because I could only stand to use it maybe a couple times a week or to get rid of swatches. 

Bio-Essence Miracle Bio Water Jelly Makeup Remover - Review HERE. This was a 2015 favorite and I continued to love it during 2016. I'm not sure exactly how many bottles of this I went through, but at some point I found myself with 3 or 4 backup bottles. I purchased them during a CultBeauty goody bag event - it was one of those times where I wasn't sure what to order and resorted to oh, I love this lemme just order 1000!!! I still stand by my review in this product's ease and effectiveness...but man...it was such a slog getting through those backup bottles. At some point I just got plain BORED and went through long periods where I didn't use it at all. And this empty was my last bottle. THANK gawd lolol! 

BEAUTY THOUGHTS

I've been sitting on this post for awhile now, mostly because I wasn't sure if I should include some of the things I've been thinking about beauty (and life in general) - this blog is riddled with my long absences, and I wasn't sure if yet another long and rambling explanation of what I've been up to was warranted or wanted ha ha!. I also didn't know exactly what to say or how to say it? 

Then tonight, I was checking my YouTube subscription feed and the following video from Wendys Loving Life popped up. Though she's mostly referring to luxury handbags & small leather goods, she really put into words what I've been thinking and feeling. She also references her YouTube experience and though that mostly doesn't apply to me, I do totally agree with her on the current landscape of 'influencers' making videos and the monetization/advertising on social media. 

At this point, I feel like I've gone back to my beauty roots and accepted that I mostly like to keep things simple and maintaining a routine really suits me - both in personality and in preference. I don't want to take 30 minutes to do my makeup, nor do I want the stash it takes to keep up with all the latest and greatest. No makeup, makeup is my friend and I try to keep it natural, yet radiant. I don't want to have 1,000 skincare products in rotation...luckily, Tretinoin & regular microdermabrasion has completely changed my skincare game - I rarely even buy face masks or serums, and no longer have a need for physical exfoliators. 

I'm still vaguely aware of launches and such, but I don't follow with such frenzy or lust. I'm a lot more objective about my purchases, and have become pretty good about knowing what colors and products will suit me. Not to say that I don't still try product or return...but my ratio of return (or wish I could return but can't) vs. buy is a lot lower than it used to be. Progress ha ha! 

I also have had my beauty obsession sidelined with handbags and small leather goods. WHOOPS. That's a whole other rabbit hole. Then for a small time I was obsessed with redecorating our apartment. Then I got into fashion again. And I'm constantly obsessing with purging to get rid of things I/we (Hubs & I) don't use - usually that feels really good, but I hadn't used our kettle in forEVER so it was donated. Now I've wanted to use a kettle several times in the last month and it leaves me wondering what was I thinking?!!! 

Not really sure what my point is, but I suppose in relation to the blog it explains why I've been gone so long. Flat out, I've been somewhat preoccupied and don't feel I have much to share??? I guess I thought not posting at all was better than posting 1-2x's a month (and in all honesty the longer I don't post the easier it is to forget about or ignore). But after watching Wendy's video I realized it's all OK - those that still want to read and be here, will be here...and those that don't want to be here, won't. After all, I follow and unfollow people all the time for various reasons...it's all part of the big blogging and social media circle of life. 

And in reference to social media and the monetization of ALL THE THINGS...oooooof...where do I begin??? I won't get into it too much, otherwise I'll never stop. Well, I'll try anyway :-P  But man, all the things I used to enjoy so much just aren't as fun anymore. Pinterest is BLAH. I'm annoyed they got rid of the likes, I'm annoyed if you Pin 1 cheesecake recipe my feed is suddenly filled with nothing but cheesecake recipes, I'm annoyed my feed is so populated with suggestions and ads that I can't even figure out what people I'm following have pinned, and I'm annoyed that it's the same Pins over and over and over and over and OVER. Instagram...I hate that the feed is no longer chronological...I hate all the ads and non-stop affiliate linking - as Wendy pointed out, it's not simply 1 or 2 relevant things but it's everything related or not (like, c'mon I don't need to know where your dog is groomed). Twitter - same. Snapchat - same. 

Seriously, I would pay all these platforms to NOT see anymore advertising. Where's that option??

Sooooooo...ha ha that's the state of affairs in my world!! Where are you in your beauty journey?? How are you feeling about advertising in social media these days???

And THANK YOU so much to everyone that continues to stick around. I wish I could give you all a big hug!!!!! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!!! 

xoxoxo