Race to the finish

How is it that the older I get, the faster I feel time slip by?  It seems like yesterday that I was living in my old apartment trying out the cioppino recipe for the first time.  I made plans to make it again, along with many more promises to myself to write and update, and take pictures and post....  This may be my one of my biggest lies to myself, that I will do this and that later... only later is 2 weeks into the last month of the year.

I'm determined to make a valiant mad sprint towards the finish line for 2012 - posting everything I had put off to the back burner for the last few months.

The first topic to address is my "makeup-diet" that I started back in January.  The premise was to finish up a dedicated plethora of products before bringing home new products.  In total, I had 19 specific items that I wanted to kill.  By May (I remember because I kept wanting to write, but always put it off) I was unsuccessful at killing all 19 of those items.  However, I compensated immensely by killing off a full bag of other products.

The Carnage!

 In the very beginning of my "diet" I kept a gallon-sized ziploc bag to collect my empties.  I don't know who can relate, but I got a bizarre satisfaction every time I added an empty product to my bag.  The thrill of killing a product gave me such a rush that I became obsessed with finishing stuff so I can add it to the bag.  I'll even admit that there were some things I didn't kill before adding to the bag, but it was no less satisfying to add them to the bag.

1. Facial cleansing 

• Clinique eye makeup remover: Left greasy feeling around the eyes, but otherwise pretty good; Time to Kill (TTK): 3-4 months
• Sonia Kashuk Remove for eye makeup: Decent product; TTK: 3-4 months
• ELF makeup remover wipes: very saturated and soft; decent at $1.50; 30 sheets but TTK was about 2 months because I didn't use them everyday
• (3) Neutrogena makeup remover wipes: not worth all the hype that those girls on YouTube make it out to be - expensive for what they are when the ELF ones are just the same. 
• Olay Gentle foaming facial cleanser: very creamy and gentle; I like very much; TTK: 4-5 months
• Biore warming cleanser: very menthol-y, very drying; TTK: F***ing FOREVER!!!!!  

2. Lotions & conditioners

•  Lancome lotion: smells like tea, probably wouldn't buy it if it wasn't free; TTK: 1 month
• Alpha hydroxy acid: That's right: ACID. I bought it under the notion that it was going to chemically exfoliate my face and give me baby soft skin.  FALSE.  It has the same consistency and smell of Elmer's glue.  I used about a 6th of the bottle on my face before repurposing it as a lotion for my legs.  Yep, I basically slathered glue on my legs for 2 months just for the satisfaction of putting this thing into my empties bag.
• Kiss My Face Hand creme: Smells like Pledge the wood cleaner according to my boyfriend, but I liked it very much.  TTK: 2-3 months
• Clinique Dramatically Different Lotion: Nothing "dramatically different" about it, but I do like it because it's light and moisturizing.  TTK: 3-4 months
• Aussie 3-minute miracle: A YouTube-inspired purchase - smells like coconut, works pretty well, but after not having it for a few months now, I don't really miss it.  TTK: ~3-4months
• Tresemme conditioner: This is my favorite hair conditioner - because it works just about the same as any other conditioner I've tried but it is the cheapest!  TTK: ~1.5 YEARS!

3. Sample packets

•  Uninteresting assortment of samples I consciously tried to use up.  These buggers did not elicit the same high as the other items when I finished them - I suppose because it didn't take that much effort.

4. Mascaras & eyeliners

• Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara: Glad I purchased this when it was 75% off at CVS because it didn't do anything I like a mascara to do.
• Maybelline Full & Soft mascara: Rarely does a product do what its name suggests, and this really does what it says it does: makes my lashes full but still soft.  Nothing ruins it for me than spidery, crunchy lashes.  
• Physician's Formula Organic Wear mascara: AWFUL bloody thing.  For something that's supposedly "organic" it smelled like chemicals and made my eyes tear up.  This was tossed faster than moldy yogurt.
• Assortment of eyeliners: Let me honest with me - I used these up not on my eyes, but on a painting I was doing.  There I said it!  To be fair, I never specified how the product should be used up, only that it should be used up. 

5. Face makeups

•  Strivectin face serum: Yet another product I bought based on the fantastical claims on the label - "Restore skin texture," "Look younger," "Brightened complexion".... yadayadayada...  Bottom line, nothing happened.  TTK: 5-6 months
• Revlon Colorstay foundation: Another confession - I hate foundation, so this was tossed, not killed.
• Face powders: unremarkable; TTK: months and months and months and months, until it shattered and I tossed it
• Black Radiance face primer: did not keep oil at bay; TTK: 3-4 months
• Some eye cream: TTK: 2 weeks because I used it on my legs.

6. Balms, floss, primer, BB cream

• Oral-B floss: Yes I was excited to use up my floss! TTK: 3 months
• EOS lip balm: Overrated novelty item that I wish I hadn't bought so much of.  TTK: 3-4 months
• Nivea Milk & honey balm: Decent; TTK: 2 months
• Nivea Kiss of moisture: Loved! TTK: 2 months
• Dr. Jart BB Cream Sample: makes me look like a white, greasy ghost.  TTK: 1 month
• Elf eyelid primer: Excellent for $1.  TTK: 3 months

7. Perfume minis

• Assortment of minis that are all unremarkable for me except the Daisy by Marc Jacobs - this is the only one that does not make me smell like I jumped into a vat of baby powder! 

8. That which cannot be killed Resilient little bastards

• As hard as I tried, these 4 items refused to surrender.  The powder and the blush got used everyday almost, and yet they taunt me with their bottomless depths.  I don't remember quite when, but I've disposed of 3 out of 4 of these items (except for the eyeliner) when I couldn't take their smirks anymore.

In all, I was very satisfied with my makeup diet.  The stupidly satisfying rush I get when I finish something is very motivating.I've since added a few more items to my collection, but I've also condensed a lot as will be seen in later posts.