"We’re big fans of the YouTube Beauty Community here at The Everygirl. We’re constantly talking about our favorite creators, their best looks, and buying pretty much everything they recommend. The YouTube beauty world is honestly what we have to thank for some of the biggest trends in beauty—we’d never be baking our undereyes or curling our hair with straighteners or using men’s post-shave balm as a primer if it weren’t for the beauty YouTubers who taught us how.
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Alongside the various techniques YouTube has taught us, the phenomenon of the ever-so-popular “empties video” has truly taken over our subscription feeds. Every beauty YouTuber has made an empties video (if not five), and everyone who even knows just a glimpse of beauty YouTube has seen one. The concept is simple: show everyone what’s in your trash and talk about if you loved it, if you’ll buy it again, and how long it took you to use up.
So being the beauty-lovers we are at TEG HQ, we decided to create our own empties series. Every month, all of our editors will share a few of our own empties—from skin, hair, and makeup products to candles and vitamins and home items—and give our unfiltered review on each of the products. Some of them we’ll love and need to repurchase ASAP … and some we’ll celebrate finally finishing them up. If you’ve ever wondered what our absolute favorites (and not-so-favorites) are, this is the right place to be. It’s finally time for our trash cans to shine!
I have fine, bleach-damaged hair, which means that at one point or another, I’ve tried pretty much every expensive deep conditioner I could get my hands on. A few weeks ago when I was visiting my parents, I saw this in my mom’s shower, used a glob, and was in awe at what my hair felt like after. After immediately ordering it and going through an entire bottle of my own, I can say this truly might be the best deep conditioner I have ever used in my life, and it’s under $10. It makes my hair feel truly healthy, not weighed-down or full of oils temporarily masking the damage, and I’ve noticed a huge difference in my hair’s overall health from using it over time. This is an immediate re-purchase for me.
- Maddie, Associate Editor & Fashion Content Manager
I am the first to admit that my hair is not my best asset. Having thin, fine hair has made me prioritize thickening treatments and texturizing sprays. My cabinets are full of mousses, pastes, and dry shampoos in an attempt to make my hair just a little more Gisele-like. I never thought the secret to better hair could actually be in a product meant to soften and smooth hair, rather than thicken or volumize. The Glow Touch has become my #1 ride-or-die product because the non-toxic mist instantly makes my hair so much shinier and softer without ever leaving it oily or weighed down. Rather than trying to thicken or volumize my hair (which leads to a lot of frizz and damaged ends), this moisturizing product reminded me that the goal should just be to make my hair look healthy. Plus, it smells amazing. It’s basically like a blowout in a bottle, so yes, I will be buying over and over again.
- Josie, Associate Editor & Wellness Content Manager
I saw this moisturizer all over Instagram and was convinced it would be the answer to all of my prayers. My skin is seriously feeling my heightened stress levels, resulting in quite the eff-ed up moisture barrier on my otherwise combination skin, and I thought the ashwaghanda and reishi in this moisturizer might help. Upon the first few uses, I really loved that this was thick without being too heavy, but it just didn’t do enough for me. My skin didn’t feel any more moisturized than a moisturizer a quarter of the price, nor did it feel like it really did anything to help my skin. This won’t make its way back into my routine considering the high price point and lack of results.
- Beth, Associate Editor & Beauty Content Manager
When I first tried this concealer, I proclaimed it was the goldmine of concealers. It was glowy and natural and had medium coverage. But as time went on, I grew to really despise this concealer. It immediately sinks into fine lines, it has abysmal staying power, and it emphasizes dryness I didn’t even know I had. The shade range also isn’t the best, with lots of options on the light spectrum with very few for deep and dark skin. As you can tell, I will not repurchase. (And instead, I’ll stick with my favorite concealer of all time:the Pat McGrath Labs Sublime Perfection Concealer, which is literally the exact opposite of every single thing I hate about this one.
- Beth, Associate Editor & Beauty Content Manager
I have spoken at length about my undying love for this leave-in product. I swear my hair isn’t falling off of my head because I use this every time I wash my hair. I have fine, thin hair that was supremely damaged when I bought this first bottle, and over the 1.5 years I used this product, my hair completely transformed from a bleached rat’s nest to hair that actually looks like hair should look. Don’t get me wrong: a lot of other steps, products, and lifestyle changes impacted my newfound hair health, but this leave-in is at the top of the list. It’s the perfect texture for a leave-in conditioner on basically any hair type because it’s moisturizing and detangling without being too heavy. You can also cocktail it with oils or detanglers to bump it up, which is what I always do!
- Beth, Associate Editor & Beauty Content Manager
Spending more than $5 on a brow product was hard for me after I discovered ELF’s Ultra-Precise Brow Pencil, but I wanted to swap a daily beauty product for a Black-owned brand, was out of a brow pencil, and was dying to try UOMA Beauty. I hate to say it, but I now will gladly drop the extra money on this brow pencil, which leaves me both excited and sad for my wallet. To be fair, this lasts way longer than any of my cheap brow pencils. I got close to double the length of use with this than my favorite from ELF. The color and ratio of waxiness-to-pigment-ease-of-use was sublime. It’s basically impossible to go overboard, but it also has enough pigment to show up, and it lasted all day long (which I never get with brow products). I want to try Fenty Beauty’s brow pencil next, but I will keep this on my radar.
- Beth, Associate Editor & Beauty Content Manager
I have mixed feelings on this deodorant. I bought a three-pack of Native deodorants sometime during spring quarantine (you know how it was), and I just got to this scent. I have been flirting with natural deodorants for a while now, and I can definitely say that this is the best that I have tried. My problem is that it’s $12, when I can buy my trusty two-pack of Secret for $4. However, I will say that when I finished this, I bought one of the newer and cheaper aluminum-free deodorants from a drugstore brand, and I am not impressed. I do kind of miss you, Native deodorant.
- Jess, Assistant Editor & Junior Graphic Designer
I am someone who is kind of obsessed with brow products. I love trying out different high-end and drugstore pencils and gels, and I can’t even think of a brow product that I’ve bought twice--until this one. As you can see by how there is no label left on this, it was well-loved and well-used. It is the perfect dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer at a fraction of the cost. The angled tip is great for hair-like strokes that give that ever-popular natural brow look.
- Jess, Assistant Editor & Junior Graphic Designer
In the middle of this blustery winter season, I realized my trusty Chapstick won’t protect me from dry, dehydrated lips; I had to look for something more tailored to protecting and hydrating my lips. This leave-on lip treatment from Thrive Causemetics is ultra-hydrating and softens my lips, creating almost like a seal of protection against the harsh and dry winter weather. It’s 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free, and the liquid balm treatment features sesame seed extract, vitamin B5, and castor oil, all working together to smooth, hydrate, and plump. I don’t plan to lose this lip balm like so many Chapsticks before!
- Blair, Contributing Editor
This Dior Airflash Spray Foundation was a splurge, but one that was totally worth it. I don’t usually ball out when it comes to beauty products, but for me, foundation is the only product where I’ll put my money where my mouth is. This spray foundation was one of the most natural yet full-coverage foundations I’ve ever tried. I would alternate between spraying it on my beauty blender or a makeup brush, but either way, my skin would look incredible when I would use it. It’s long-lasting for nights out but felt super lightweight which made it perfect for even the hot summer months. As much as I’d like to repurchase, this time around, I’m opting for a lighter coverage tinted moisturizer because, let’s be real, I’m not doing full faces these days. But when the days of being in public grace us again, I’ll definitely be re-adding this to my cart.
- Ashley, Editorial Assistant
This cult-favorite serum is a Team Everygirl essential—and after using it for just a few days, you’ll see why. It adds both an immediate brightness and an over-time glow and just a few drops go a long way. It took me such a long time to go through this bottle that I’m going to take a break from it (to try other serums instead), but I’m sure I’ll re-buy this one again sometime in the future.
- Abigail, Social Media Editor
Rosen is the skincare brand I use more than any other—and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I bought this cleanser back in June to use as I was finishing up a bout of isotretinoin, and I’ve been using it every single day since (the 8 oz. size lasted me about six months). This cleanser is lightly exfoliating and super cleansing (it has a nice lather), so I always feel refreshed and brightened after using it. I’m SO excited that it’s now sold at Target, and I’m already part of the way through a new bottle.
- Abigail, Social Media Editor
Ever since Kristin Ess’s haircare line launched at Target, I’ve had at least one of her products in my daily and weekly rotation. This treatment mask is moisturizing and smoothing, and my hair was always left feeling shiny and more manageable after each use. As someone with wavy, tangly hair, I’m always looking for a product to tame my dry, treated hair—and you simply cannot find a better option at this price point.
- Abigail, Social Media Editor