July '25 Empties
Hello, July empties! There’s something oddly satisfying about knocking out a full bottle or jar—it’s like a mini victory dance for your beauty routine. For the month of July, I tackled a mix of longtime favorites and brand-new finds, and I’m here to give you the lowdown on what’s worth repurchasing and what’s heading straight to the recycle bin. Let’s dive in before my trash can gets too full to handle!
As always, I love giving back to everyone who supports my content, so of course, there’s a giveaway tucked inside this post! This time around, there will be two lucky winners—since I wasn’t able to pick a winner for last month, I’m doubling the fun. Just be sure to follow the giveaway rules carefully, so your entry counts and you don’t miss out on your chance to win!
Face Care Empties
Farmacy Brighten Up 3% TXA Toner
Price: $34 for 4oz
The Brighten Up is 3% toner that is formulated with tranexamic acid – hence the inclusion of TXA in the name. The toner is said to help reduce the look of dark spots in as little as 7 days all whilst being gentle. The toner itself has somewhat of vicious consistency and feels thicker than typical toners. I feel like the best way to apply it is with a cotton round. This way distributes the product evenly over the face and helps to wipe away any impurities on the surface level of the skin.
I know the toner is recommended to be used daily, but I typically used it every other day or so. It has some what of a tacky feeling to it, which I didn’t mind for the winter months when my skin could use the extra moisture. But for the summer months, I try to keep my morning routine with as little steps as possible to not look so shiny. I do think the Brighten Up toner lived up to its name of being gentle and effective on the skin. With regular usage and the incorporation of a vitamin c serum, I noticed that my skin did have a nice glow to it and whatever dark spots that I had diminished really nicely.
Peach & Lily Glass Skin Veil Mist
Price: $31 for 3.38oz
Previously Reviewed: Top Products of 2022
The Glass Skin Veil mist is my absolute favorite product from the Peach & Lily line up. I know many people rave about their fan favorite product, Glass Skin Refining Serum, but in my opinion, I feel like the Veil mist is even better! The Glass Skin Mist is a lightweight, moisturizing mist that is formulated with Cucumber Water, Peach Extract, Reishi Mushroom, and Lotus Extract. The combination helps to refresh, soothe, and calm the skin. This a product that I would classify as more of a skincare/skin prep product. I used the mist in both my morning and evening skincare routines as a toner. During the summer months, I sometimes used the mist alone and it worked well to hydrate my skin on its own. As for using the mist in your makeup routine, it’s not something that I would recommend as it’s not a setting mist. But if you have extremely dry skin, you will probably enjoy using this mist in both your skincare and makeup routines.
The Outset Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser
Price: $32 for 5oz
The Outset Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser is a sulfate-free gel cleanser that is said to remove makeup and impurities from the skin. I typically kept and used this cleanser in the shower. The cleanser has some what of a jelly consistency that feels light-weight.
During the course of using the cleanser, I tried using it for different routines. I really disliked using the cleanser with the attempt to remove makeup. I had such a hard time when using it when it came time to remove makeup – especially eye makeup. I found that the best way to use the cleanser was during my morning routines. The cleanser lived up it its claims of being gentle and hydrating for the skin. In my opinion the cleanser was okay, but not worth the high price point.
Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash
Price: $29 for 5oz
The Checks and Balances cleanser from Origins is said to be one of their best sellers. The cleanser starts out with a whipped liked texture and then transforms into a frothy creamy cleanser when combined with water. One of the things that surprised me about this cleanser is that it’s infused with mint. The scent is not overwhelming but lightly lingers. I really enjoyed using this cleanser and I think a big reason had to do with the consistency of the face wash. It almost felt like I was washing my face with a soft pillow cloud. The cleanser did a pretty good job to cleanse my skin without making it feel dry or disrupted. For the most part I used it in my evening routines.
Please note: the brand has recently updated the packaging to a green color tube packaging
Tony Molly Moisture Boost Hydrogel Eye Patches
Price: $24 for a pair of 30 [retail price]
As an eye patch lover, I’m always on the lookout for new ones to try out. I stumbled upon these Tony Molly ones at Marshall’s and I’m so happy I did. The moisture boost eye patches are formulated with Spirulina Extract, Plankton Extract, and Sea Water. The combination helps to soothe, moisturize, and help promote cell turnover. The eye patches stayed in place very well and I didn’t experience any issues with them sliding down my face. They did a great job to keep my under eyes feeling moisturized and also helped with depuffing.
Gisou Honey Infused Beauty Balm
Price: $17 for 15ml/ 0.51 ounces [mini size]
This mini balm lasted so long. When I initially purchased, I wasn’t sure how it would fit into my routine. It’s described as oil balm that melts like honey and absorbs like an oil. I typically used mine for dry patches that I would get on my face. It did a really good job at moisturizing very dry skin. I really like how versatile the balm is. As mentioned, it can be used on the face, it can be used on the nails/hands, and even as a makeup product. I really like that the balm contains skin nourishing ingredients. I could definitely see myself purchasing this agin. The fact that it took me a while to get through this mini size, I don't think this is a product that I would purchase in a full size.
L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Volume Mascara
Price: $13.99
I’ve been on a brown mascara kick for the past couple of years. The L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise in latte brown was such a favorite of mine. I really loved the level of volume it gave my lashes. It was till the point that I was getting compliments from strangers all the time. I typically don’t go for mascaras with wands like this. But I feel like the wand was one of most important features. As for the latte brown shade, it’s more on the lighter side, but still showed up nicely - especially to wear during the day!
Body Care Empties
Price: $9.99 for 3.3oz (travel size)
Previously Reviewed: TOP 10 Beauty Products of 2020
One of my favorite products from Bioderma has to be their Shower Oil. Over the years I’ve gone through several bottles of it. I love that the shower oil is safe to use on the face, body and even on children. At this point, I would rank this as a holy grail product for me. As soon as I finish a bottle, I’ll always have a back-up of it ready to go. If you’re interested in a more in-depth review of it, check out my previous post.
PanOxyl Acne Creamy Wash with 4% Benzoyl Peroxide
Price: $12.49 for 6oz
The acne creamy wash cleanser is formulated with 4% of Benzol Peroxide, which is known for helping to clear mild to moderate acne. Being that Benzol Peroxide is an antibacterial ingredient; it helps to kill acne causing bacteria on the skin. I have normal to oily skin that is NOT acne prone, so I used this wash more so for my body and occasionally for my face.
For my face, I really loved the consistency and texture of the wash. The cleanser performed great as second step cleanser. I think it would also work great as a light mask by keeping it on the skin for a few minutes and then rinsing it off. Whilst using it in my routine, I didn’t experience any issues with dryness or irritations to my skin.
As for my body, I loved using it. I basically used it on my neck, chest and underarms since I wear natural deodorant. These areas of my body also tend to lean on the sensitive side. The cleanser did a great job to keep body acne at bay, worked really well to deep clean my underarms, and almost functioned as a way to reset. I used the cleanser on my body about 2x a week and I think it worked well! This is definitely a product that I could see myself repurchasing in the future!
Benzoyl Peroxide is known for discoloring/bleaching fabrics. If this is a product you decide to use in your routine, be sure use to a whitewash/towel when rinsing it off.
Saltair Body Multi-Lipid Body Butter in Golden Hour
Price: $20 for 10oz
Scent Notes: Radiant Sunflower. Juicy Pineapple. Fresh Coconut.
The Multi-Lipid Body Butter has a thicker consistency that is formulated with Ceramides, various lipids, and Sea Buckthorn Oil. The combination is said to help maintain moisture and replenish the barrier of the skin. For a cream to be on the thicker side, it absorbed into the skin so well without leaving behind a sticky residue. The Golden Hour scent from Saltair is one of my favorites and I love how well the body butter layered with so many of the other products in the collection.
Hair Care Empties
Olaplex No. 4C Bond Maintenance™ Deep Clean Clarifying Shampoo
Price: $32 for 8.5oz
I’ve been a big fan of the Olaplex line for quite some time now and being that I use a lot of heavy stylers in my hair, a good clarifying shampoo is a must in my routine. In the past I’ve tried so many different clarifying shampoos and they all seem to be super drying. Which often led to my hair looking and feeling striped. The Olaplex No.4 Clarifying Shampoo helped to deeply clean my hair without drying it out in the process. The shampoo is said to remove product build up, excess oil, hard water minerals, chlorine, and metals that may be found in the water. I typically used the shampoo once every 2 weeks and a little bit of product would go a long way to create a nice level of lather. Being that shampoo was on the moisturizing side I was able to finger detangle with the product in my hair. The full size lasted me a very long time, so I likely repurchase the shampoo in a mini size.
Oyin Handmade Shine & Define Gentle Styling Serum
Price: $4.99 for 1oz
Oyin Handmade has been one of my favorite natural hair brands for many years. In so many of my posts I go into detail about their Hair Pomade, which I truly love. I love that on their site they offer travel sizes of their products. I used that opportunity to try out the Shine & Define styler in the travel size. I wear my hair in its natural curly state the majority of the time, so I’m always on the hunt to try out new products. The Shine & Define styling serum is described as a cream gel that ‘s aimed to use for twist outs, braid outs, and wash and go styles.
Being that the cream is aimed to be used as a soft hold, I usually used it alongside a gel. I really feel like the gel did a good job to keep my hair moisturized whilst adding a soft level of hold to it. I’m happy I had the opportunity to try out this mini size because I will be purchasing a full size in the near future.
Alterna Restructuring Bond Repair Intensive Repair Leave-in Treatment Masque
Price: $55 for 1.7oz
The Bond Repair Leave-in Treatment is one of the first products that I’ve tried out from Alterna. The mask is said to strength the hair, reduce and prevent breakage, and increase smoothness of the hair. The mask is formulated with the Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging formula that blends caviar extract, antioxidants, which is said to help refuse the hair with nutrients. As per the instructions, the hair mask is to be applied to hair after shampooing and to not use a regular conditioner. Being that I didn’t need to apply and wash out a conditioner prior to using the hair mask, this actually helped to speed up my hair washing process. I do think the mask helped to strength my hair, made my hair feeling super soft; thus making it easier to detangle my hair. Lastly, I loved that it has a pump applicator, and I was able to unscrew the cap near the end to scoop out the remainder of product. I know the mask is on the pricier side and being that I only used it 1-2x a month, it lasted several months for me!
July Empties Value: $315.46
Blog Post Giveaway
GIVEAWAY PRIZE #1
Rael Beauty Exfoilating Cleanser
Rael Beauty Complete Acne Serum
Youth to the People Superfood Skin Drip Serum
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Balm SPF 45
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Hue Drops in Sun Glow
Perricone MD Triple Retinol Renewal Serum
Perricone MD No Makeup Radiant Glow Balm in Cool Rose
Grown Alchemist Polishing Facial Exfoliant
Giveaway Prize #2
Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser
Youth to the People Superfood Skin Drip Serum
Youth to the People Superfood Air-Whip Moisture Cream
Youth to the People Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Mask
HOW TO ENTER:
Subscribe to my Newsletter ( don’t forget to add in your Instagram name so I can contact you). If you’ve subscribed in the past, there’s no need to do this again.
Leave a Comment Under this post telling me about a product that you recently finished including your Instagram handle (so I can contact you if you win!)
Head Over to my Instagram and follow me @beautyetcblog | I usually pick winners from the group of folks who organically engage, so get involved to boost your chances.
Rules:
The Giveaway is open from now until Monday 8/25/2025
The Giveaway is open to residents of the US
The winner will be announced via my IG stories
The Giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or any of the brands featured…
Also, If you have a preference between prize #1 and prize #2, make sure you specify in your comment.