Products I’m Trying to Use Up – Spring 2018

It’s only been two months since I last posted one of these and whilst I try to do them seasonally – I reviewed my winter list and found that I had already finished most of the products I had listed. I also had a massive declutter (more on that to come) and it forced me to evaluate my collection and start cherry picking out products that I knew I wanted to use up or that were close to their demise so they were added to the list too as a way to focus on them and get them gone. It’s a very makeup heavy edition this time round.

Fragrance

Liu-Jo Scent of Liu Jo Perfume
I really need to get a full review of this perfume up at some point, I recently found that I’d kept the box to do so – so it would also help me declutter that in the meantime! I’ve spoke about my disappointment of this perfume a few times in the past, mainly due to longevity. Whilst I love how it smells it’s not worth trying to keep hold of. I’m trying to get my collection to a selection that I completely love and this will be the perfect time to try and use this going into spring where it feels very suited.

Burberry Body Mini
I’ve had this since Burberry Body launched, which is quite a few years ago. This shouldn’t be too hard to use up, I mean look how small it is, but it’s just something that’s never in my line of eye to grab or gravitate towards.

Victoria’s Secret Rush Body Mist
I did feature this in my winter edition of this, but I have to admit I made pretty crappy progress on it so far. Out of all the VS sprays I bought in New York – now two years ago at the end of the month, when they first launched this bottle design I’ve only made my way through one. I’ve found the other two scents which I picked because I hadn’t tried them before just aren’t my favourites – whist they’re definitely not horrible – but I’d like to get it used up. I’ll probably end up using it layered with other fragrances.

Skincare

QLabo Eauphoria Moisturiser
I was pretty surprised to find this stored in my bedside table because I thought I had used this up. I recently finished up the other QLabo Moisturiser I was sent so it’s time to get this one gone too. I’ve actually already been working on this since December when I refound it and it should be an easy one to declutter. I did find this a bit more effective during summer, it’s a little bit lighter than what I need now.

Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Eye Cream
I’ve had this almost two years and that’s not for lack of using it. I’ll admit there was a spell where I didn’t use it frequently, but this spreads so far you only need a tiny dot of it. Ben has also been suffering with some dark circles and looking tired and has also been using it and it’s been making a big difference, but I just hope that we’re able to get through it some time soon!

The Ordinary Glycolic Acid
When I first bought this I incorporated it into my routine frequently and it’s fell out and never gone back in! I’ve found this the best performing glycolic acid that I’ve tried, its 7% which is stronger than Pixi’s glow tonic at 5%. The thing I don’t love about it is the size of the bottle. It’s huge and it just has to sit out the way which is why it’s hidden from use for me.

Garnier Moisture Bomb Day Moisturiser
Garnier kindly sent me this around a year ago, and whilst I slathered myself in the night version of this, I found the day one harder to use up. Mainly because I find I needed way less product, and I liked it at night more than the day. This is one of those products that I have no idea how much is left in it, and one day it will probably surprise me as empty!

Sunday Riley Luna Oil
This has been neglected for a while, and it was only when I was re-reading my review of Good Genes whilst I debating rebuying it that I realised I never finished this off. I do think this works, but I think it’s expensive for what it is. It also has to be a product that you stick to to see results. This is a little over half full and it took me about 6 months to get to that point – it won’t be a quick one to get finished, hopefully by the end of the year it will be gone.

Makeup

Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation
My next focus of foundation finish up is this one. This colour isn’t right for me and even at my most tan it has been slightly too dark as this foundation oxidises big time. It’s such a chunky bottle I just want to get it finished up and gone, so I’ll be mixing with a super pale foundation to try and finish it up.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer
This featured in my disappointing products of 2017, I love Bourjois concealers as a general rule, but this one just doesn’t work for me. Whilst it has good coverage it creases pretty badly on me and requires a lot of work to get it set. I’ve been using this for a good month and this bad boy is showing no signs of being finished up any time soon. I hope by the end of spring it will be gone.

Laura Geller Spackle Undereye Primer
This was a find in my dressing table and I don’t think it’s ever been used more than once. Again, it’s not a product that I anticipate finishing during spring as it’s virtually full. It’s got a cool metal tip which feels lovely under the eye. I want to test this instead of eye cream pre-makeup to see what a difference it makes compared to a normal primer. I’ll report back in due course.

Collection Primed and Ready Primer
A hand me down from Sophie, and one I’m actually enjoying. Sophie found this too drying, but for my oily skin I find it just right. It’s very siliconey and I don’t love it for every single day of the week – but it’s one I envisage will be pretty easy to use up.

Jerome Alexander Stick Concealer
I’ve had this for quite a while but it’s never been used. This is such a TV shopping product it’s unreal – and it was bought in my days of working for a shopping channel. I have no idea whether I like it or not to know whether this will be an easy one to finish up, but it’s been rolling around in my drawer for way too long, so I guess I just gotta try!

W7 Matte Dreamer Power
Current powder of choice has been Matte Dreamer. I really want to get this gone and finished, I have the Urban Decay Velvetizer which I purchased back in September which I have barely tried yet. I don’t envisage this one will be too hard to finish as it’s the only one I’m currently using! I don’t dislike this powder, and infact find it quite effective for a budget powder – but it’s just one more thing I’ll be happy to declutter thanks to it’s chunky packaging.

TheBalm Bahama Mama Bronzer
This has featured before, and it’s a recommital to finishing. I’m pretty sure this will never end. I’ve been working on this September when I just hit pan, and from there I thought it would be plain sailing to the empties pile. There is still so much to go. On one hand I like this, it’s slim and good for travelling, but I’ve got to the point where I’m pretty sick of the sight of it and I’d like to have something else to try!

Freedom Pro Highlight in Ambient
I’m actually surprised at how much I’ve depleted my highlighter collection – this was next closest to being finished, so therefore next one to being finished up. This is the TAM beauty dupe for the Hourglass powders, this particular shade I think will be quite easy to finish, it’s such a light product it can almost be dusted everywhere for a more glowy skin.

Lord and Berry Magic Brow Pencil
Since Gimme Brows disappearance from the shelves and I finished up my stash, I really wanted to work my way through my pencils. There’s one I haven’t featured here that I’m pretty sure I’ll have gone by the end of the week and then I have two other pencils left to go before I’m through them all (I think). This is a odd product, it’s a marbled mix of browns and white that gives a really natural look to the brow rather than it looking really flat and monotone.

L’Oreal Brow Artist Shaper Pencil
This is a dual ended pencil with a clean up concealer type stick at the other end which I don’t love I find too waxy. I’m not the biggest fan of the brow pencil either, but it’s workable. This came in a beauty box a few years ago and has been used over the years – so the brow side should be easyish to finish up.

HD Brows Palette in Vixen
Last up, and not one I anticipate finishing in the slightest, and the lowest priority is this HD brows powder palette. This will be my last stashed product and I think I may be onto using this by the end of spring, start of summer. I have never used this religiously enough to know if I really like it.

Urban Decay Honey Single Eyeshadow
See that powder in the middle, I bought that for my Prom almost 12 years ago. Should I use it? Probably not. Have I used the rest of it and refuse to throw that little bit away – so I’m going to get this finished up and gone so I can feel great pride and a sense of accomplishment.

MUA Luxe Bright and Lighten Primer
I thought this was the last eye primer in my collection, but just found another one in my drawer which means I’m a further step away before I can repurchase my one from Urban Decay. This is a really decent budget primer, but I’m hankering for my good old Primer potion back.

Stila Espresso Eyeliner
I’ve been using this alot lately with smoked out brown shadow under the bottom lashes but would just fricking love to finish an eyeliner as I have so many! I have used this alot but thanks to the twist nib I have no concept of how much is still left to go. It’s my eyeliner of choice for the most part at the moment, so fingers crossed I can use this one up completely.

MAC Dazzleshadow in Let’s Roll
I’m under no illusion that I’ll actually use this up, however I bought this last year and it has only ever been swatched and not used. I’m such a palette girl and I never find myself reaching for my single shadows. So whilst I don’t necessarily want to use this up (I may even decanter it and put it with my MUG shadows so it gets some use!) I just actually want to see it used. It’s a gorgeous trio-chome (made that up, presuming it’s a thing) that shifts from rust to copper to gold. It’s stunning and I should definitely be using it!

Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil
I got this for Christmas a good few years ago from Ben’s Mum – I’m pretty sure back when we used to live with them… so on that timescale it’s probably 4 years old. It’s had this last little dreg left for quite a while and I’d like to wave goodbye to this heavy glass bottle. I normally request Ben uses this when I request a massage, but due to the fact it has to be left melting in a hot sink for 10 minutes it doesn’t always get used up. I’ll have to demand a few massages (and maybe pre-plan them) to try and get rid of what’s left.

Sephora Collection Super Nourishing Lip Balm
This is my second one of these – I bought one whilst I was in Milan Sept 2016 which I used up in it’s entirety whilst we were on the trip. This I bought in New York before that in January 2016 and it’s just been sat in my cupboard. I’ve placed this by my bedside table for some late night lip nourishment before bed – but I’m always terrible at nicking them from there and they end up scattered around the house and I’m never able to find one when I need one!


Phew that was a big’un – by far the largest list I’ve tried to tackle at once, but I feel like my spread across pretty much every product shouldn’t mean that it’s impossible and I should be able to see a good chunk of these gone by the time I’m thinking about my summer ones to tackle.

Have you got any products you’re working on at the moment?

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Helpless Whilst Drying

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28 Comments

  1. January 24, 2018 / 6:27 am

    The Burberry mini is adorable!

    What is glycolic acid supposed to do for the skin?

    I think it’s sweet that you still have the eyeshadow you wore to prom and you continue to use it, I’d keep the empty pan for sentimental value 😉

    Let’s Roll from MAC looks so pretty!

    • January 24, 2018 / 6:55 am

      Glycolic acid is good for brightening the skin as well as keeping it clear!

      I’ve used the UD shadow a few times this week and it’s such a lovely colour – i would keep the pan but it is broken! It has a clear dome thing that went on the outside which fell off a long time ago!

  2. Charlotte
    January 24, 2018 / 7:12 am

    Oh my goodness, I wouldn’t know where to start. My collection of beauty and skincare is all organised but every time I look at it it scares me how much I have to use. I am trying to work my way through my face moisturisers. Got too many little products from beauty boxes x

    • January 24, 2018 / 7:14 am

      I’m the same, I try to go through and pick anything that has been part used as a priority, and then select a mixture of things that work well and other things that maybe don’t work as well to try and use up to make it feel more balanced!

  3. January 24, 2018 / 10:48 am

    Despite being too dark, is the UD All Nighter foundation any good? Xx

  4. January 24, 2018 / 12:11 pm

    I’m working my way through my skincare stash and trying to only buy products as I use them up.

    • January 24, 2018 / 12:26 pm

      Me too! I’m trying to be really good this year and have constant reviews of my stash, and being willing to pass some things on too!

  5. January 24, 2018 / 2:04 pm

    I really need to pull some products for a project pan. And I’m also looking at my bahama mama bronzer!

  6. January 24, 2018 / 2:41 pm

    Love the reviews you do really helpful and such great posts! :)))

  7. January 24, 2018 / 3:28 pm

    Good luck with panning these! I used to have the Elemis oil. I forgot how amazing it smells!

  8. January 24, 2018 / 3:30 pm

    I really need to get better at using products up! Thanks for the inspo! I’m definitely wanting to go through my collection.

  9. January 24, 2018 / 4:12 pm

    That Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Eye Cream takes forever to get through even though the tube is tiny! Mine almost went bad before I finished it up.

    You said your Sunday Riley Luna Oil is a sample size, right? It’s surprising it’s taken you 6 months to go through half a bottle, considering you go through products pretty quickly! How do you like it? Good but not worth the price tag?

    • January 24, 2018 / 4:26 pm

      I feel like you have to do wait to see results you want to see from it – it’s quick results are stuff that any other oil that’s way cheaper could give you. But it’s such a light thin formula that it spreads so far it does last forever and it’s almost worth the price tag on that respect! Maybe I’ll feel differently using it this time it’s pretty much been a year since it was last used and I’m a whole year older and more in need of retinol 😂😂

  10. January 24, 2018 / 4:51 pm

    Blimey quite a few products to use! It’s a shame the Bourjois concealer doesn’t well for you. I have a list in my notepad of things to use up. Mostly half used items or body creams as I have about a hundred of them! X

      • January 24, 2018 / 4:57 pm

        I used to moisturise once a month at best, but I’ve got through three creams in the past month. Two were minis to be fair, but it felt like an achievement x

        • January 24, 2018 / 5:14 pm

          That would be a huge achievement for me. I get them out and leave them on my bedside table with the best intention but still never reach for them!

  11. January 25, 2018 / 1:11 am

    Good to know about The Ordinary Glycolic Acid. I might give it a whirl. I use the Paula’s Choice 10% so their 7% might not hack it! 😛
    I lump all of these brands together as overhyped and overpriced: Sunday Riley, Tata Harper, and Tatcha. Sephora promoted the heck out of them but none of their ingredients have compelled me to shell out $100+ for them.
    Re: Bourjois concealer – if you don’t like it, why don’t you just chuck it? I just think life’s too short to keep using something that doesn’t work for you.
    I’m 100% confident that you’ll finish up UD Honey eye shadow! 😆

    • January 25, 2018 / 6:48 am

      I’ve always been intrigued about Paula’s choice but it’s not that easy to get hold of here and is a bit more on the spendy side for us that I don’t think it’s worth it!
      Those three brands have done a great job of marketing themselves I think, Sunday Riley in particular have carved out this little “unusual” rut whether it’s just the colour or packaging of a product!
      I just hate throwing things if I can make them work – feels wasteful and I feel great accomplishment at the end of finishing something I didn’t love!

  12. January 25, 2018 / 5:03 am

    You’ve got one long list here!! Much respect!! I am working on using up some of my makeup and just make sure they don’t go to waste. It is so hard though!! I feel so much respect for bloggers who do the pan projects. I still haven’t seen one pan lol

  13. Brooke Nicole Clarke
    January 25, 2018 / 9:52 am

    Primark sell a bottle of foundation lighting drops for £4! I use mine pretty much every day since I’m always buying the wrong shade of foundation! Nip + Fab and MUA also sell them x

  14. January 25, 2018 / 2:40 pm

    It looks like you have so many products to use and finish, good luck hopefully you will be able to finish some by Spring X

  15. February 3, 2018 / 1:13 pm

    Phew! Between you and Stashy, I don’t know who has a bigger problem 😛

    I’m still on my project pan from last year. So far the MAC blush has shown me a little bit of pan andBM mineral veil is almost done (should be empty within 2 weeks). I declare that the Bobbi Brown shimmer brick is physically impossible to finish.

    • February 3, 2018 / 5:23 pm

      After seeing stashys product count, she definitely has the bigger problem 😂 the thing I might beat her on is eyeshadows the rest she definitely wins on!

      I will make a mental note to never buy the Shimmer brick from Bobbi Brown – I like having products I can use up now a days!

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