Empties: All The Products I’ve Finished in 2019

‘What’s that smell?’ Mr Smaggle wrinkled his nose and fanned his hand in front of his face.

‘Oh it’s this moisturiser I found at the back of the cupboard. It legit smells like dishwashing liquid and rotten strawberries doesn’t it?’  I replied.

‘How much of it is left?’ he asked with dread.

I didn’t want to tell him, but there’s HEAPS of it left. This is bad news because I’m a completionist. I like to finish things. If I don’t like the scent of a shampoo I bought, tough luck. I’m using it until it’s all gone. I really hate waste, so unless something gives me a rash, I’m using it all up.

There’s a whole ’empties’ video craze on YouTube that shows the products that beauty YouTubers ‘used up’ each month. Which makes sense because if you’re a beauty vlogger who gets sent hundreds of products a month, finishing ANYTHING is a massive indicator that you really loved that product. For me (and for most people), finishing a product could mean one of three things.

1. I really, really loved it and will be buying it again

2. It was okay but I’ll probably buy something else

2. I really, really hated it, forced myself to use it all up and will never ever be buying it again

I wrote an empties post last year and thought I’d pop one together for the stuff I’ve used up so far this year. I love seeing the stuff that other people finish and everyone loves a recommendation post, so here’s a list of my empties so far from 2019.

Natio Tinted Moisturiser

I bought my first lot of this about 2 years ago and it’s the actual bee’s knees. Light coverage is totally my bag and this stuff glides on beautifully, isn’t too thick or greasy and gives a lovely even coverage. This is the second bottle I’ve finished in the last few months.

Will I buy it again?

Yep! I already have! I’m actually a massive fan of Natio stuff in general. They’re just a top notch brand.

Jessicurl Spiralicious Curling Gel and Jessicurl Curl Activator

I loosely follow the Curly Girl method with mixed results and I bought these products years ago when I first started trying out the method. They’ve taken me that long to finish because I don’t wash my hair often and these are both prods you use for styling after washing. I found them alone and neglected at the bottom of a moving box and I committed to using them up.

Will I buy them again?

I don’t know, maybe? They’re an American product so they’re expensive to get shipped here and I’m not actually convinced either of them are that amazing for my hair. Not that my hair would know, it does something totally weird and different every day regardless of what I put on it. I reckon if I’m in the US I might grab a bottle at a drugstore but I won’t pay expensive shipping for it again. 

Avalanche Sugar-Free Hot Chocolate 

I’ve tried a few different sugar-free hot chocolates and most of them taste like aspartame and fake chocolate flavouring so I wasn’t expecting much from this brand but I bloody love them. In fact, they’re kind of hard to find and if I don’t have a box for a few weeks I start really craving them.

Will I buy them again? 

Yep! Literally bought 4 boxes on the weekend. I live in the country – you gotta stock up while you can!

Garnier Hair Food in Papaya 

I’m in a few Curly Girl Method hair groups on Facebook* and these came up as a CG approved product a while ago and it rocked the whole CG community. Not many big brands do CG (free of silicones, alcohols and parabens) friendly products so when these got released it was HUGE. Lots of other CG-ers shared their preference and for me (fine hair but lots of it, seeking mega volume), papaya seemed to be the best option. I use it as a regular conditioner, a leave-in and to refresh in between washes.

Will I buy again? 

Yes. It’s affordable and I like it. Win.

*Curly girl groups I’m a part of

Curly Hair (CG) Australia & NZ

Curly Girls Australia 

Curly Crew Australia and NZ

Hair Romance Crew 

Just a warning about Curly Girl method, it’s great but very strict so if you join one of those groups just be warned that’s very much like a cult. The groups above are great but the CG method groups follow the program pretty intensely so don’t go in there talking about using silicones on your hair or straightening it. They’re not into that at all. Side rant – some people get all in a huff that you can’t talk about straightening your hair in a curly hair group but I’m totally fine with it. If it’s a group about curly hair and using a method that doesn’t condone the use of flat irons, don’t go in there and talk about flat ironing your hair. By all means talk about it on Instagram, write a blog post about it, call your sister – go nuts. If a group has specifically asked people not to talk about a certain thing, don’t talk about it. There are plenty of flat iron straightening groups out there – join one of them! Sheesh. Having said that I accidentally mentioned shampoo in a conditioner washing group (I thought I was commenting in a different group) and they went bananas. I got contacted by admin and they ended up giving me a warning. It was hilarious. Curly girls be loopy about their hair care.

Dilmah Ceylon Loose Leaf Tea 

We switched to loose leaf tea ages ago because it just tastes better and we shopped around until we found one we like. The Dilmah Ceylon is delicious and you can buy it at Woolies which is super convenient.

Will I buy it again?

Yep! And again and again and again. Also it comes in vacuum sealed bags and cutting into it with scissors is heaven. That ‘Pssssshhhhhht!’ sound when the air leaves the bag. So satisfying.

Voeu Night Cream 

Full disclosure. I got sent my first tub of this as part of a campaign I did for Voeu. Then I ran out and bought a second tub. Then I ran again and bought another tub and this one is almost empy. It’s my perfect night cream – not too thick, not too greasy and doesn’t smell weird. It’s also really cheap so I can slather it on right down to my boobs. Win.

Will I buy it again?

Yep.

Red Seal Baking Soda Toothpaste 

I have a funny story about toothpaste. About 10 years ago, Mr Smaggle and I joined CostCo where we bought a 4 tube pack of toothpaste. We didn’t realise it at the time but these tubes were ENORMOUS and it took us a good decade to get through so we bought toothpaste for the first time in 10 years just last week. We were SO confused and ended up just grabbing this one and we bloody love it. This one technically isn’t an ’empty’ but we do spend a lot of time going ‘I REALLY like this toothpaste. Let’s buy it again!’. 

Will I buy it again?

I REALLY like this toothpaste and I will definitely buy it again.

So those are my empties so far this year.

What prods have you finished this year that you will definitely be buying again?

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