Yes, you read that right, there’s not going to be a beauty balance this month. I did not keep track of incoming items due to dropping everything for my dog and the aftermath of losing her. Items did come in. Including the advent calendar, though I doubt I even kept half of that. All I did was keep the empties, and I’ll have to regroup with the beauty balance in the new year. In fact, I plan to change it up a bit, I’d like to do at least 3 months, if not more, of a replacements only low buy. More on that when I get organized in the new year.

I did manage to finish 10 items this month and am awfully close on a few more. I know that more than 10 items entered my collection though.

I finished another farmacy green clean cleansing balm. I like this a ton but would only purchase it on sale. It is too expensive full price. I finished up two The Ordinary products, the niacinamide I used until it was almost gone and then gave the remainder to Miss Butterfly who was struggling with a really large acne situation on her forehead this past month. She’s got it a bit more under control now much to her relief. I also finished a retinoid. I am now working on a different The Ordinary product that is a retinol in oil and am liking that one better, especially for this time of year. So, I won’t repurchase this one yet.

I finished a sample of the dermalogica microexfoliant. I did not love this product and am glad to have used it up. I finished a heat protectant spray from Morrocan Oil, it was fine but I don’t know that it did much for my hair. I finished a Peter Thomas Roth potent c moisturizer which smelled like bacon or pig, and it didn’t really do anything special for my skin except make my upper lip sweaty immediately after putting it on. Not something I’ll seek out.

Now, I tried the Sunday Riley UFO serum, this had a very “green” or botanical smell, quite unpleasant. Another I won’t be purchasing a full size of! I finished a Dr. Jart moisturizer that I did actually like, but won’t purchase because I really adore my Belif moisturizers best.

Then there’s the Rosie Jane perfume I thought was very synthetic and the Tarte blush I finished in my project pan.

I felt like this was a really decent empties month despite just not caring or paying much attention to it at all through the course of the month.

I’ll be starting at square one this year, tracking my empties and what enters in a beauty balance, but I am hoping the items that leave far outweigh the items that enter, especially since I want to go at least 3 months without purchasing anything that isn’t a replacement. And honestly? I will be surprised if I have to replace anything in these upcoming months.