July Empties

I know it’s not quite the end of July yet, but I’ve got a few empties to show you already:

1. Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, travel size ($18)- this is actually my second travel size bottle of this product. I know it doesn’t look quite empty, but trust me, I’m down to the point where I’m fishing it out with a q-tip (not gonna let any go to waste!). I love this primer because it’s really light and silky feeling, but when I combine it with Hourglass Immaculate foundation, it keeps me matte longer than anything else I’ve tried. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to re-purchase again; my skin is pretty uneven right now and I need something a little thicker to smooth out my skin, so I’m trying out a few other things. Lucky for me that Sephora gives out free samples! This bottle lasted me just under two months with almost-daily wear.

2. NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base ($24) – I seriously can’t rave about this stuff enough. I always thought I was doomed to have greasy-looking, creased eyeshadow by mid-day, but I can get 12+ hours of flawless wear out of most of my shadows if I use the NARS eye primer. It can ‘grab’ shadow and make it a little tricky to blend, so I do a very light layer of skin-color shadow all over my eye as a base – that does double duty, since it slightly camouflages some freckles & veins, and also gives me some slip when blending.  The only real gripe I have with this primer is the packaging. The wand pulls up the perfect amount of product to do both eyes, but it’s one of those things that’s tricky to use sanitarily (important if you’re a pro makeup artist or prone to eye infections). I’m also sure there’s quite a bit of product left in there that’s just hard to get out. I’m not above cutting that sucker open and scooping it into a sample container though. So far I’ve been using this for five months, and there may actually be quite a bit more use left in it if I’m willing to work for it. And yes, I most certainly will be repurchasing.

3. Korres Volcanic Minerals Volumizing Mascara ($20 for full size) – this is a mini that came in a set with a Korres Lip Butter Glaze (which I wasn’t a fan of); I bought the set specifically for the mascara because I wanted to try it before committing to a full size. I really like the separation and volume this mascara gives me. It’s a bit on the drier side, which I enjoy, but not so dry that you can’t do multiple coats. It is a tad heavy, so I need to curl my lashes when I use it; if you have super-straight lashes or trouble holding curl, this one might not be for you. I’ve been using this one for about six months, but I rotate between several mascaras. It’s just now getting to the point that it’s starting to dry out a bit much, and I toss mascara after 4-6 months anyway, because it seems like it would be icky to use it much longer. I may purchase the full size of this at some point, but I still have another mini of it that I got as a points perk, plus about 6 other mascara minis that I need to go through before I buy any more.

All three of these products are available at sephora.com and Sephora stores, and NARS/Hourglass products are available at spacenk.com.

What products did you empty out this month? Leave a comment below!