Beauty products emptied in July 2014

I have been on a road-trip since Thursday, which is why this blog has been inactive for the last few days. Part of the trip was nostalgic, going back to my Gramps's old home, while the other part was a bit of a nature-trek. It was very refreshing all around, even if it was a tad hectic. I now have to get through a backlog of comments.
I had travelled a bit in July, which accounts for the number of sample-sized empties. I only used up three full-sized tubs and/or tubes last month - a lip balm, a foot cream and a body butter.
I had also religiously applied one face mask and one hair mask per week. My hair is definitely less frizzy despite the rains, which means it was a good idea. Skin-wise, my face is definitely softer than I can remember, and my foundation is going on smoother, especially the morning after I use a face mask, so I will continue to concentrate on skin care through August. I also want to continue to get seven+ hours sleep each night, and an hour's exercise in every day. But some of those masks were quite awful, while others were great, as you will soon see.

Here are the beauty products I emptied in July 2014 and my quick thoughts on each.

Grace Cole Fruit Works Body Butter in Pineapple and Passion Fruit

Grace Cole is my favourite body butter, reviewed here. I love the texture and how nicely it is absorbed, as well as the silken feel of the skin afterwards. Plus, it is paraben-free! This is the first of three full-sized tubs/tubes I used up last month. Will I repurchase? Oh yes, I already have!

Dirty Works Best Foot Forward Foot Butter

I hate heavy or wet foot creams - they keep me awake all night far more than a bad conscience can. This was lightweight and not wet afterwards. I loved this and used up every bit I could squeeze out. I will definitely repurchase once there is a dent in my stock of foot creams.

Jesse's Girl Lip Balm

This came in a Lip Factory box. A nice lip balm. Nothing earth-shattering. There is only so much you can write about lip balms, unless you are talking about the multi-purpose Dr Smith Rosebud Salve, reviewed here. Will not repurchase, since I have a whole box of lip balms to use up.

So those are all the full-sized products I used up. Now for the travel- and sample-sizes. Hair products first:

Brocato Curl Interrupted Conditioner

While this was the right size for a fortnight's trip, it certainly did not wow me or do a good job smoothing out my hair. Will definitely not repurchase.

NaturVita Hair Pack - Anti-Hair Loss and Anti-Breakage

This was perfect for a weekend away - there was shampoo in one section and a hair mask in the other. I LOVED both. NaturVita is a Portuguese brand and while I would love to try out more of their products, I need to find out where I can get me some. The mask, in particular, was really nice and even the tips of my locks felt soft.

Hair Repair Keratin Water RNA-3 Treatment

From a Memebox. This hairspray helped dry my hair sooner and controlled frizz nicely even on rainy days. I will repurchase from Memeshop if I get a few more Memepoints.

Phyto Paris Phytokeratine Ultra-Repairing Hair Mask

This reminds me of my favourite Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Hair Masque. The moment it goes on your hair, you know you are not going to struggle with detangling, or end up with frizzy hair afterwards. I bought a tub of the Macadamia Oil masque after using a sample, so I will not be buying other hair masks at the moment.

Esthetic House CP-1 Ceramide Treatment

This is the same product that was in the Hair Booster syringes I used up in June 2014. Sadly, there was barely enough in this foil sachet to cover even half my hair, which goes right down to my lower back.

Paul Mitchell Lavender Mint Moisturising Conditioner

While this had the most lovely smell, it did not impress - possibly because I only used one foil sachet, as I usually love Paul Mitchell hair products. Will not repurchase.

Moongkde Nutrition Intensive Hair Repair System

One thing I do not like about Korean shampoos, conditioners and hair packs - at least, the ones I have tried so far - is that they are a bit cooling and menthol-ish on the scalp. These were more conditioners than deep-treatment hair masks. I would have liked these more if not for the menthol-ness. Will not repurchase.

Face masks next:

Leaders Insolution Coconut Bio Mask and Purederm Yoon-an sheet mask

Loved, LOVED both these sheet masks, which contained plenty of serum. Yoon-an is actually for dry skin but I used it after a bit of flaking struck, thanks to in-flight air. As I said before, the morning after I use a good face mask, I find that I need to use less foundation. No, I am not going to repurchase sheet masks.

Befine Food Skin Care Warming Sheet Mask

I have reviewed this here, since this is the second packet that Lip Factory sent me. Each packet is good for three or four uses. I love warming sheet masks now and this is definitely among my top five masks of all-time. I hope Lip Factory sends out more of these to me in lieu of lip gloss.

SLC Milky Cream Modelling Pack

This was fun to use. You mix the contents of the two packs and end up with... pancake batter, which you then apply to your face. My first mistake was waiting for it to harden - it never did. And, I tried washing it off! It peels off. I hope Memebox sends out something like this in future boxes, so I can get it right.

Purederm Nose Pore Strip

This was from the Cacao Memebox and supposedly chocolate-infused. The smell was great, but nose pore strips do not do anything for me, except just sit there. Maybe all the face scrubs and packs I apply help control blackheads... Anyway, these are fun to use while reading a book or something, so I will finish the pack they sent.

Choosy Fruit Lip Mask

When I apply a lip mask, I do not need lip balm until the next time I wash my face or brush my teeth. These are also fun to use and really helpful in removing those sharp flakes from the lips.

Benefit Porefessional

This remains my favourite face primer. This sample was enough for just one use. Have repurchased, will repurchase.

Finally, here are the foot masks I used up:

Keyskin Foot Peeling Care

This came with "essence" and paper socks. You pour the essence into the socks and secure them with the tape provided. I will mention the other foot mask I used before giving you my opinion of both.

Purederm Exfoliating Foot Mask

Another sock-type peeling mask with pre-filled essence, but without tape, so I had to dig up my own.

About the peeling foot masks:

I will never use another peeling mask again. For some reason, I end up having calf-muscle cramps within a minute or so of wearing them and feel very cold, even if the temperature is a safe 25C. The cramps and cold fit both subside only when I remove the masks. This does not happen with non-peeling, hydrating masks such as the Tony Moly Baby Foot Mask.
The peeling takes place over the next couple of days and is uneventful, but the muscle-pull is not worth the hassle. I would rather use a foot soak, followed by a nice scrub and a buffing session with a foot file, to exfoliate, and follow it up with a foot cream or a moisturising foot mask, to hydrate.
Summary
A very mixed bag this month - my favourite body butter and primer starred in the July empties but there were some hair and face masks, a conditioner and foot masks that I disliked. I am working on finishing a shampoo or two in August, so stay tuned for next month's empties post!