Monthly Empties | Haircare, Skincare, Beauty, Health + Makeup Declutter!

I'm trying to keep up with my monthly empties post so I don't end up with an overwhelming amount of products in the post. Here's what I've finished up in July with mini reviews! Links to products provided where possible.

 Beauty

Goldwell Topchic Hair Colour in 10P (Pastel Pearl Blonde)
This is the product that my hair stylist uses to tone my highlights and also slightly lighten my base colour so the difference in my natural colour is not so harsh against my highlights. I also use this product at home 2 months after I get my highlights done to slightly lighten my roots between highlights. Full DIY on how I do this is linked here.

Repurchase- YES!

Miracle 10 Cleanser 1
I didn't find anything special about this cleanser. I much prefer my Live Clean cleansers to this one.

Repurchase- No

Soft & Dry Aluminum Free Deodorant
I purchased this only because I ran out of my aluminium free go-to deodorant by Coty/Adidas, and the store didn't have my Coty/Adidas one in stock. This was the only aluminium free one I could find, so I grabbed it. This lasted so long I couldn't believe it! It seemed like it was never going to end. Not really a bad thing, but since l prefer my Coty/Adidas deodorant I was dying to go back to it.

Repurchase- Only if in a pinch

Retin-A Micro Gel 0.04%
I need a prescription to get this here in Canada. With this formula, I have never experienced any irritation like I did with the formulas that I used in my 20's. I'm thinking of bumping up to a higher percentage to see if I can get more results.

Repurchase- Yep!

Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream SPF 30
I love Olay! I used to use Olay exclusively when I was in my 20's and everyone always asked what skincare I used. I have very acne prone skin and Olay products never cause me to breakout or have any irritation. I just wish they were a cruelty-free brand!

Repurchase- Possibly, but I will choose cruelty-free brands over this

Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark -Circle Roller
I only purchased this because I ran out of my favourite eye cream and this was on sale at the drugstore for such a low price. I like this product, it's like an eye cream and highlight/concealer in one. It brightens my under eyes and provides light coverage. I used this daily and thought it would never end, it must have been going for 1.5-2 years, just crazy!

Repurchase- No (I bought 2 more because the sale was so cheap and I had no idea these would last so long!)

Health

Madre Labs Cococeps Instant Dark Cocoa Beverage
Many of you have probably seen this appear on my site before. It's my favourite cocoa powder to use in my protein shakes. It doesn't contain sweeteners, it's organic, and contains immune boosting cordyceps and reishi mushroom powders. This is the only way I can get the health benefits of mushrooms into my diet since I cannot eat them. No- you cannot taste the mushrooms!

Repurchase- Always

Healthy Origins CoQ10 100mg
Another staple in my health care regimen. I've been taking this ever since I was diagnosed with heart issues. I recently had an ultrasound to check on my heart conditions and to my delight, one of my heart conditions has improved. My MVP (Mitral Valve Prolapse) to be specific, has somehow repaired itself. The Doctors couldn't tell me what caused my heart to repair itself.  All I know is that I've been taking this CoQ10 and Fish oil capsules since I was diagnosed with my heart issues.

Repurchase- Always!

Declutter

If you follow me on my Instagram, you may have seen these already. I've been trying to get rid of products that don't work for me or just sit there and never get used for one reason or another. These have all been passed on to homes where I hope they will get the love that they deserve (minus the mascara since that wouldn't be sanitary!). 😊

Prestige Baked Mineral Blush in Natural
This didn't show up on my skin. To get it to show up, I had to pile it on. This made my pores and skin look horrible. I think this would work well on skin-tones that are lighter or darker than mine. It would work well as a highlight for darker skin-tones for sure!

Essence Mosaic Blush in All You Need Is Pink
Essence makes some of my favourite blushes of all times! Their old Silky Touch blushes and their more recent Satin Touch blushes are all 5-star products! The colour of this one was so gorgeous that I had to have it, but sadly it was so powdery and went on very patchy!

Revlon's new Mega Multiplier Mascara
This is a brand new mascara to the market. I've seen so many rave reviews for it but it just didn't work for me. I like big lashes and this gave me very wimpy lashes. If you like more natural looking lashes you may love this product.

Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette
This is a great palette. It has almost every colour you could ever want. I never thought that I'd get rid of it. But, the truth is that I've had it for years and I NEVER reach for it. I had to store this palette in the back of a drawer because it's so large. From now on I will stick to smaller palettes that I can keep within reach so they get used. I do recommend this palette if you don't mind the size and you'll use it!

Nyx Eyeshadow and Blush Palette (not sure of the name)
The quality of these shadows is really amazing! It has a pull-out tray with blush and lip colours as well. I never thought that I'd get rid of it. It was that one palette that I said I'd keep because it not only had neutrals but if I ever had the urge or the need, it also had bright colours. But, because it's quite bulky and also got stored away in the back of my drawer, it never got used. This has gone to another home to get the love that it deserves.

I am slowly learning the hard way what to buy and what not to buy, so my products get used up. I am much more particular about what I add to my collection now and it's working well for me so far.

I haven't missed one of these items since I passed them on either.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I used up this month. Let me know in the comments what you've been loving, not loving or decluttering this month. 💓

DIY: How To Lighten Roots at Home Between Highlights- Bump the Base (in 10 minutes)

I wanted to share with you how I lighten my roots at home myself in between highlights with my stylist. I am not a hairdresser and don't have any training (although I often wish I did!). These directions were given to me by my Stylist when I asked how I could lighten my base between highlights when I just can't take anymore of my roots!

A bit of background first: Unfortunately, I don't suit my darker hair. I was a blonde kid and like many people my hair grew darker as I got older. I have been highlighting my hair for as long as I can remember. I used to do it at home with the cap with the holes in it- ouch! Eventually, I had to get it professionally done and the results are much better but highlights are pricey! from around $70 for partial highlights (the crown area) to $100 and up for a whole head (this isn't including the cut and style!) Not only is it expensive, but my stylist is pretty far from me so I only go every 3-4 months. I've tried some stylist locally but found the one's that I went to were either not consistent or over-processed my hair to the point of tons of breakage!  I've even tried going back to different shades of brown more times than I can count and I've learned that I look best blonde.

My natural colour is between a level 5-6 from what I've been told and although it's very ashy and dull, it pulls a LOT of red! If I was a true level 6, as many hairdresser think I am, I could probably get a nice blonde with a box of hair dye in the ash family without it pulling so red and having to resort to bleach. I have seen a few well known stylist who told me I was a level 6 and they could get me a gorgeous blonde with just one step (not having to bleach and then tone), but, it always came out some shade of orange!

So, when the mood strikes and I can't take anymore, I go to it with my Stylist's valuable instructions in hand! If you are interested in giving this a go, here are the deets....

Here is what you'll need: 

• 20 vol developer (Goldwell 20 volume)
• hair colour (Goldwell 10P)
• mixing bowl
• Tint brush (I got my mixing bowl and tint brush in a kit at the dollar store)
• shot glass (I use for measuring)
• gloves
• Towel and clothing you don't care about getting dye on
• a clock or timer

The colour I use is Goldwell Topchic in 10P (for"pastel pearl blonde" it's a cool tone to keep as much brassiness out as possible)

Mix a 1:1 ratio of dye to developer. 1/2 of the tube of dye is 30g. (I use a shot glass to measure the developer)

1:1 Ratio

Mix well:
Here is your product ready to be applied

Instructions for application:

• Shampoo hair and towel dry
• comb through hair
• put on gloves
• apply your toner (mixture) to roots with brush, sectioning with fingers or end of brush
• massage toner into roots throughout the hair
• leave on for short time, keeping an eye on it for desired results (approx 6-10 minutes) -this is the tricky part for me; if I leave it too long it does get lighter but I get more orange to it, if I get it just at the right time, I get a lighter, softer brown/dirty blonde look. (I don't have a trained eye for this so sometimes it comes out better than others, but it's always better than the super-dark roots) 
• rinse dye out thoroughly
• condition
• rinse 
• apply leave in conditioner if you like or other styling products and style

These are my roots from the top view (yuk, I know) and to make matters worse, I have a few grey hairs right where I part my hair! And a side view. This is about 2 months of growth since my last highlights:

Here are the final results (my hair has been dried but not styled.) It's not perfect, but definitely softened the look.

Here is a close up of the final product (again, just a rough blow dry, not styled.) As you can see, it really does soften the drastic difference between my highlight and my natural root colour, softening and blending it with the rest of my hair- it's def. an improvement from my original roots! I left the product on for about 8 minutes and it did come out with just a hint of orange to it this time, not as ashy as I would like, but it sure beats the dark roots. And, it will buy me some time before I have to go see my stylist and shell out $150 for highlights, cut and blow-dry. Note: I do have a few grey's where I part my hair and this volume of developer is not high enough to cover them, plus, leaving it on for only a few minutes is not long enough for grey coverage. Therefore, If you have a lot of grey's I wouldn't suggest this method, but if you only have a few this will help blend them in.

My stylist said it's better to leave it on for less time rather than more to avoid getting it too light or too brassy, and if it's not light enough just repeat the process another day.

Note: if your hair is even a shade lighter than mine, you should get great results!

You can purchase Goldwell 10P and other similar products linked here. Goldwell 20 volume developer is linked here.

I am so happy I asked my hairdresser how to do this. It may not be perfect but it really makes a difference for me, not only in how I feel about the way I look, but it saves me some time and money. The hair colour is only about $12 for 2 applications! The developer bottle is not expensive and will last a long time since you only use 1 oz. The gloves and mixing bowl with brush are only a few dollars and I reuse the same ones each time.

Let me know if you try this or if you need anymore details on how I do this.

xo Amy