October drugstore buys!

I'm afraid I don't have the most exciting hauls to share lately, but while there is a bunch of things I do want, I have to admit there's hardly anything I need. Still, the few products I bought at the drugstore this month are all from brands I never tried before! Here they are:

I have been wanting to try the Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes after seeing that brand popping up in my local drugstores, and reading/watching/hearing great reviews about this particular product. I wouldn't use wipes to clean my face every night, but it's good to have that option after a long day or in case of a sleepover (it's surely more practical to carry around than a bottle of make-up remover, a cleanser and cotton pads). The pack contains 25 wipes: I have already tried one of them, and it did a good job of removing my mascara, concealer and blush. I rarely wear much more on a daily basis, so I can't say if they would work as well on heavier eyes topped of with liquid eye-liner, for example -- but I'd think make-up remover would still be a better option.

Oh, and guess what? After about 4 or 5 empty jars of my beloved Nivea Light Moisturizing Day Care, I finally went out and bought something different. I still love that product, of course, but I was growing bored of using the same thing for months, and I wished to change it up. I was also looking for something a little lighter on the skin for the daytime (and compensate with an extra hydrating moisturizer at night). This seems contradictory with winter around the corner; the thing is, I'm usually running around every morning to get ready for class, and I needed something that my skin could absorb even quicker. I contemplated trying a higher end moisturizer for once, but in the end I couldn't make myself spend around $30 for 30mL of product, and I picked up Garnier's Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream at the drugstore.

We'll see if I like it. I've never tried anything from Garnier, but this product has some good reviews on MakeUpAlley (a 3.8/5 score as of now, which is decent for a drugstore product), and has apparently won some 2012 Beauty Grand Prix granted by Elle Québec & Canada. The scent is definitely very fresh and pleasant, which I welcome in any skincare product, especially in the morning. I just hope that the feeling on the skin matches it! The gel-like texture is also very interesting, but I can't say much more: I'll update you in a few weeks.

I also got my very first Mavala polishes, 151 - Marron Glacé and 92 - New Dehli. I just love how tiny they are (each polish contains only 5 ml, whereas an OPI polish stores 15 ml inside a bottle). Let's face it, how often do you use up every drop of a nail polish bottle? Even if I would decide to wear a colour every day for a year, I'm not sure I'd have time to empty it before the product goes bad. 

Last but not least, I treated myself to these delicious dark chocolate-covered candies from Brookside: these have pomegranate pieces inside, and the taste is heavenly! I actually think I'll pour myself a glass of milk and have some right now -- before carrying on with a long afternoon of studying for midterms.

Have a nice evening -- oh, and happy Halloween! How I miss the free candy! xoxo

Empties: October ♥

Except maybe for the sudden drops in temperature, I have really been enjoying this beautiful fall season. Not only is the fashion impeccable (I have a weakness for boots and jackets), but it also allows for comfy evenings in, made perfect by candles that smell of spices and a cup of tea with milk. Incidentally, those evenings make for ideal times to blog ;).

During these past few months, I used up some products that I really love. I've talked about two of them in my Morning routine post: they are the Clean & Clear Morning Burst facial cleanser with bursting beads (gitamin C and ginseng) as well as my Maybelline Baby Lips lip balm in Peppermint. You can check out that post if you want to know why I love using them -- and why I'm pretty sad that there is nothing left of them! The thing is, I can't justify repurchasing them for the moment, as I have two other cleansers to use up, and perhaps countless other lip balms. This means that my skincare routine has indeed slightly changed; but I won't bother with an update for the moment, as I much prefer the products I featured in my post back in June.

It's been a while since I've used the last of my Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Ivory (the one I purchased in March, that is). This one I had no choice but to buy again, since it is a staple of mine. I talk about my love for this concealer in this post.

I'm also done with the Japanese Cherry Blossom Creamy Body Wash from Bath & Body Works, that I've shown you over here. Although I find that the scent was not identical to their Japanese cherry blossom candle (which I adore), I loved this shower gel just as much. This was a nice change from the typical "fresh" shower scents that are offered out there: being more on the sensual side, I think this would also be a great choice for fall.

The next product is a conditioner from L'Oréal Paris that I bought while I was in Ukraine. It is from their Elseve line, and although I did not find the exact equivalent for America, the Russian translates to "Nourishment and Shine". Anyway, I do not suggest that you go looking for it, because I did not like it all that much: even though it wasn't awful, other conditioners can detangle my hair much better (the Herbal Essences Hello Hydration one, for instance).

I'm not sure if this one is entirely relevant, but I will mention it anyway: I've finished up this bottle of gummy multivitamins from Life. There were 70 of them, and the directions advise you to take 2 a day, which makes for a 35-day supply. Whether multivitamins work or not is still a controversial question, and I can't testify for their benefits -- but they certainly made me feel good about eating berry, lemon and orange-flavoured "candies" every morning!

This is it, girls -- I may be very slow in terms of using up products, but I'm still glad to have some empties to show you once in a while! I can't wait to read your empties posts, and I hope you're all enjoying this wonderful season. xoxo.

PS: Would you mind telling me what your favourite face moisturiser is? I'd really love to know.