September 2012 Empties

I've decided to make this type of post a regular monthly feature on my blog. So every month, in addition to my favorite products of the month, I'll also show you guys what I've used up as a way for you guys to know that I really do use my makeup and also for my own personal record.

I used up more products than I expected to during the month of September, which was a really pleasant surprise for me. I feel like I buy so much, my products just kind of accumulate and then it becomes difficult for me to use things up. This month, however, I managed to use up:

Philip B Scent of Sante Fe Balancing Shampoo

LUSH Yummy Yummy Yummy Shower Cream Wash

Dr. Wu AcneCur Pore Refining Serum with Evermat

Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes

Jill Stuart Sugar Lip Scrub

Agnes b. Volum'Up Curl Mascara

Crazylibellule and the Poppies Vanilla Fruit Sorbet & Shanghaijava Ananas Imperial Perfume Sticks

The reason I was able to use up two shampoos is that I've been using them in conjunction with one another for a while. I use them alternatively, the Moroccanoil shampoo helps my hair feel less dry and I think also prevents it from getting split ends, especially when used with the accompanying conditioner from the same line. The Philip B shampoo gives my hair a lot of volume, on the other hand, and flat hair does not suit me, so this really helps me maintain volume without having to use like twenty products on my hair. 

As for the serum, I don't think it really did much for me. I did notice my pores were less noticeable after using it but it didn't do much to help my acne. I suppose it helped fade some of the hyperpigmentation, actually, but since I break out so much the hyperpigmentation isn't as much of an issue for me right now because more pimples pop up in their space. The LUSH body wash was used up extremely quickly because I feel like I needed so much to wash my entire body, so I kind of regret buying this. I've loved the Neutrogena towelettes for a while, I first tried them over the summer when I was at summer school and they were a much more convenient option than using my cleansing oil. 

The lip scrub wasn't very effective, the sugar granules were very large but dissolved really quickly, so the scrub didn't really have time to do anything for me. The mascara was a sample I received with my purchases of Agnes b. items (which I have reviewed) and I'm glad I didn't buy the full size because it was really clumpy on me, but I used it up anyway so it wouldn't be wasted. The perfume sticks are ones I've had for a while and finally used up this month! While I like the conveniency of these sticks (they're so portable and easy to use for touching up) I don't like the way they apply because I feel like they leave a sticky residue and don't last that long on me because they rub off. They smelled really yummy and I got so many compliments when I wore them, but I wish they were in a different type of packaging because I didn't really enjoy them in stick form. 

Those are all the products I used up during the month of September! Have you done a similar post to this? If so, leave the link below! If not, I'd still love to hear in a comment what you've used up this month!

Agnes b. Mascara Crescendo

I posted a few days ago about the Agnes b. blush in Rose d'or and I mentioned that it was one of a few products I decided to pick up from the line when I found it in the States. Today I have a review for another one of the products I bought: the Agnes b. Mascara Crescendo.

This claims to be a lengthening and fortifying mascara, which promises to double up as a treatment for your lashes in order to make them grow longer and stronger. When I first tried this out, I couldn't really decide whether I liked it or not. I noticed there were small fibers that clung to the thin bristled wand and got transferred to my lashes when I applied the mascara, and while I think they definitely made my lashes look longer, I've tried other mascaras with fibers and those seem to work better. The formula is more on the wet side, which I normally don't like but the wand really allows me to separate my lashes so they don't clump up. It's not as black as I would like, though the pigmentation is decent and isn't a huge dealbreaker for me since I have naturally dark lashes already.

No mascara // two coats of mascara

I'm not sure how to respond to claims that it works as a treatment because I don't reach for it every day, but even when I use it for long periods of time I don't noticed much of a difference in the strength of my lashes so I'd say that claim is a bit of a hoax. Overall, I do like this mascara but more for clean, every day looks where I just want my lashes to stand out but still look natural. For more dramatic looks, I wouldn't really recommend this simply because it doesn't build up to anything really drastic in terms of length and volume. That being said, I wouldn't repurchase this simply because it was such an expensive product and I don't feel that it was really worth the money. This mascara will probably work best for those with already long, voluminous lashes that don't need much help.

Have you tried any Agnes b. mascaras?