Let’s talk about trash – finished products of 2020

Products marked with * before the name are PR samples.

I already wrote a blog post (in Finnish) about first 6 months’ finished products of 2020. So this post is about the finished products from July onwards. And I’m sorry it took over 2 months to get this live but then again, talking about used up products doesn’t have a time limit.

Due to working from home I didn’t go through many makeup products – even though I should probably throw out few mascaras now that I think of it. But I only managed to finish one liner – and threw out other one because it just didn’t work on me, like at all. KvD Tattoo liner in Trooper is my go-to and I have a backup of it in use already (alongside with the Tarteist that I got from my Sephora advent calendar). I think I prefer Tarteist but not a fan that the half of it is kohl pencil since I have enough kohl pencil – I like it as well but I’d prefer more of liquid liner. I had to throw out TheBalm’s Schwing since it smudged on me pretty much immediately – there’s no staying power and if you have watery eyes don’t even look at this one.

As always, I go through lip balms like no one’s business. Past 6 months I used up one night balm and enough daily lipsticks, I probably even forgot about few. Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm was a nice new find and wouldn’t mind using it in the future. There are different scents available, I had the plainest one (Shea Butter & Vitamin E). Bioderma Atoderm Lip Balm is something I even now have on my makeup table. It leaves a nice finish behind and doesn’t sink in too quickly. It leaves my lips moisturized and soft, perfect for applying lip makeup on. Biossance Squalane and Rose Vegan Lip Balm was nice for nighttime use but I have to admit I prefer Laneige – which I have in use now. Biossance was a bit goopier and more vaselline-feeling but hydrated nicely. My lips felt still moisturised in the morning but not as much residue was left as with Laneige – and I prefer to have my lips still caked in on lip balm in the morning. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment is awesome, I love it! BUT it also is extremely soft and most of it is smeared so that it doesn’t look like a stick anymore after first week of use. I also have to dig rest of it with my nail from the bullet since there’s lots of it left behind after plastic starts scratching your lips. Fresh lip balm also seems to run out really quickly – for the price at least. Still, it’s one of the best bullet lip balms – if you just can excuse the price. Carmex ones are my favourite since they have a great price-quality ratio. This time my flavour/scent was peppermint which was nicely tingling on lips. I can’t get many scents in Finland so I order these usually in my iHerb order, this time I only got other Carmex formulas. Blistex Medicated Lip Ointment is really quickly disappearing lip balm, I usually use this under more vaselline-y lip balms. Blistex to repair and other to protect since I don’t think Blistex keeps the moisture in for long. Every now and then I buy this one and realize it’s not for me on its own. Palmer’s Cocoa Butter stick is not lip balm per se but I use it as one. It is nice cocoa buttery balm that moisturizes and protects lips. I also like that you can use it on rough hands if needed more protection and moisture.

If you have read my blog for awhile, you know that I love facial sprays. I usually spray them before any other skincare, throghout the day and sometimes even after my skincare is done. Also, on top of makeup. My favourite by far is Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray. It is extremely hydrating without being pore-clogging or heavy. It feels great, the pump is nice and as it’s a Clinique product – it has no added perfume. I still have one in my cupboard waiting. Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist was a really nice hydrating mist. Pump was a bit so-and-so but the actual product worked and gave me a nice glow. Will probably buy this in the future when I need a break from Clinique. Bobbi Brown Primer Plus Hydrating Spray is meant under makeup but I used this both under, over and without makeup. This was nice but nothing too exciting compared to the price. Clinique is cheaper and more effective in hydrating. Lumene Lähde Hydra Pure Arctic Hydration Spring Water Mist. What a name! This is quite strongly fragranced but I really liked the scent. Even tho when applying this at work made me worry that someone might think I’m actually putting on perfume, or someone soon getting a migraine from the scent. It dissipates quicly BUT if you don’t like scented products, stay away from this. It has nice softening and hydrating ingredients and I might buy it since it’s quite cheap compared to Clinique, around the same price as the Pixi mist. L’Occitane Aqua Moisturizing Mist comes in a small metal bottle, easy enough to carry on with you in a handbag. But this as well comes with a quite strong perfume. I don’t mind it again and since I bought these on sale (like really cheap), I don’t mind it at all. Wouldn’t buy for a full prize though which is why I doubt I will buy these again once I go through the few I still have left from the sale.

As being this pale, I will need to use sunscreen when I go out. Even though 2020 wasn’t really the year of going out. I used up one and threw out one since it was getting too old to work anymore. The one I used up is *Clarins Dry Touch 50+ Sunscreen. I loved that it went on nicely and didn’t leave a cast (I’m really pale so keep that in mind) and it left a nice velvety touch to the skin. No sticky residue which I hate in sunscreens. The one I decided to throw out since it was getting too old was *Exuviance Sheer Daily Protector. I loved the fact that it was really thin and was tinted so no white residue. It didn’t look too dark on my skin even without makeup but evened up my skin tone after applying it. Since my skin has been in a good place when using Exuviance sunscreen I usually skipped foundation even if I otherwise wore makeup. Price isn’t optimal but it works so well that I might pick up one myself in the future. The only thing I noticed was that this might streak if you sweat a lot so don’t wear it for sweaty sports.

Due to 2020 I didn’t wear much makeup which is why I only ran out of one makeup removing oil, this one was from Boscia, called Makeup Break-Up Cool Cleansing Oil. It worked fine but I don’t know why it just felt a bit meh, maybe I expected something extra but got normal well-working cleansing oil. Since Boscia is not sold in Finland, I might not pick this up again since I can get better ones here for cheaper. I also finally ran out of Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover for lids and lips. In the end I just used this to get off lash glue from my lashes if there was any left. This sat almost empty for months in our downstairs toilet so I just used it up to get rid of it. Works nicely but I use oils to remove makeup so this isn’t really much needed product for me.

CeraVe PM Moisturizing Lotion has become my holy grail product! I am already almost done with my second tube of this. It has niacinamide, ceramides and hyaluronic acid, what’s not to love! It works, is cheap, readily available and comes with a pump. If you are looking for a new PM moisturizer and don’t need extra-duper-super-thick moisturizing cream, give this one a try. Clinique Moisture Surge Concentrate is jelly-like thicker serum from Clinique’s Moisture Surge line. It is lovely and moisturizing but I noticed that it sometimes starts to pill up under other moisturizer or foundation (or the moisturizers/foundations on top pill on it). Anyway it’s good for extra hydration but not sure if I will buy one anytime soon since I have other serums for daytime wear. *Nivea Q10 Anti-Wrinkle + Pore-Refining Day Cream smelled like Nivea creams do. It was gel-like green cream that sank in easily and suit my face nicely. It was a pleasure to use up and I love me some Q10 – I take it in supplement form and have Q10 facial toner. If I ever run out of day creams to try, I might pick up another Nivea – not sure if this particular one is in sale anymore but Q10 Power line is great. Fourth Ray Coconut Facial Milk came in a duo with lip balm. Facial Milk was milky serum-like substance that had heavy coconut scent. My face seemed fine with the scent and it left my face glowy but not sure I would pick it up again – even if I’d order from Colourpop.

Apparently I ran out of only one shower gel and that was Original Source Apple & Melon Moisturizing Shower Gel. This was really nicely scented body wash, not Original Source’s best but not the worst either. This formula is more hydrating than normal Original Source washes. Didn’t notice anything extra moisturizing but not drying either. Original Source is not available in Finland so might not buy this anytime soon again. Sephora’s Do Not Drink perfume line is 87% natural. Scents are fruity and flowery. I got a sample of vanilla and sea salt which was a nice warm vanilla scent. I used it up quite quickly since it sat next to my work computer the whole time. Kilian’s Good Girl Gone Bad is a small travel size that I got as a “sorry” that my Light my Fire perfume took so long to reach Finland. I have a travel compact for Kilian perfumes and it lives in my handbag – even though it’s really heavy. Good Girl Gone Bad is from The Narcotics line of Kilian. It’s a fruity white floral scent, not my favourite from Kilian but didn’t mind at all using it up.

Yes, I still use dry shampoos, mostly if I have to go somewhere and my hair is a mess (in winter I can just put a hat on). Batiste Love is Love had a nice scent and worked like Batiste does – which is extremely well. I still prefer Bare which is almost scentless. IGK Jet Lag dry shampoo was a lovely dry shampoo but price is just nuts for the size. Well, at least when Batiste works just as well on me. I also picked up few Fructis Dry shampoos when we still went to shops ourselves and I saw the display. I chose coconut and watermelon scents. I liked them both and the formula is really exciting – wet to powder. Doesn’t feel wet at all on hair and works extremely well. This line is a good contester for Batiste. If you don’t mind strong-scented dry shampoos, give these a try! Matrix silver shampoo finally ran out, atm I have my Function of Beauty purple shampoo in use. Matrix one was extremely drying but it got rid of brassiness well. I wrote (in Finnish) more about *Davines hair products here. *Davines Rebalancing shampoo was my favourite from all the products I received. When I at some point run out of my Function of Beauty products (I still have one kit waiting) I might pick one up.

Was there any of your favourites in this list?