Category: Product Reviews

Empty’s – February 2023

Last year, I started a new series called “Empty’s” where I revisit an item after it’s been used long term, and decide whether I want to repurchase it.

You can find my previous posts here:

Here are the items in my Empty’s bin today:

Eclat Vitamin C Serum (find it here)

I checked my Amazon orders and I started using this Vitamin C serum in October 2022. That bottle lasted about a month and a half, so I ordered it again in mid-December. I’m not quite done with this bottle, but I’m almost there so I wanted to include it in this post. I love this serum, it’s easy to purchase on Amazon and depending on the day it costs between $9 – $12. I use it twice a day, after I cleanse my face, but before moisturizer and my esthetician told me to keep it up! This one is a definite reorder for me.

Sunday Riley C.E.O. Cream (find it here)

I’ve been using this Sunday Riley face cream as my daytime lotion for over a year now. It was a sporadic lotion when I needed a little extra moisture, but back in the early fall my esthetician suggested I switch to a heaver lotion so now I use it every morning. I just came to the end of the container, so I ordered another one. Yes, it’s pricey at $65 for 1.7 oz. However, a little goes a long way so I anticipate my new container lasting me well over a year.

Eucerin Advanced Repair Cream

I have issues with dry skin and even get painful peeling around my ears, so my dermatologist recommended I switch to this lotion. I used it faithfully on my body (and ears) and I just never liked it. It feels heavy and sticky on my skin and I’m just not a fan. This one is definitely a NO for reordering for me. But I did find a replacement I love:

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream (find it here)  is the absolute best! It goes on nice and creamy, but then soaks right into my skin rather than sitting on top and feeling icky. It leaves me super soft and supple and helps with those extra dry ears too. A giant 19 oz container costs $15.50 and its worth every penny!

Disclosure: Not sponsored. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Pro Tip: Buy a Sweater Shaver

Over the weekend, I thrifted an absolutely beautiful Eileen Fisher sweater for $7.99.

It is 100% Extra Fine Merino Wool and retailed for $228. So, why on earth would someone donate such an expensive sweater? Probably because it had pills under the arms and on the sides.

It wasn’t even that much pilling, but it did look worn. And apparently the kind of lady who buys a $228 sweater doesn’t want to wear it anymore once it looks a bit tired.

Which is why if you don’t already own one, you MUST buy yourself a sweater shaver!

I bought mine in 2012 for $12 and have saved dozens of sweaters over the past 11 years. The exact one I have is discontinued, but I found two similar options for you:

All you do is lay your sweater out flat, turn on the shaver and lightly run it over the pilled areas. Be gentle at first, and more aggressive if your fabric can handle it. It took me less than 5 minutes and my thrifted sweater looked as good as new:

The best part is, that once you own a sweater shaver you can do a quick check of your clothing once or twice a year, do a little shaving upkeep and keep on trucking. It greatly extends the life of your clothing, saving you even more money in the long run!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Kitchen Backsplash DIY: Using Peel and Stick Tile

After I did my little coffee bar refresh, I was still feeling bored with my kitchen. It just felt kind of dark and drab… where I wanted it to feel light and clean. When we moved in a decade ago, I had applied a peel-and-stick backsplash… so I decided for fun to rip the whole thing off and put a new one up.

Because that’s my idea of fun.

One of the questions I got on Instagram when I was posting about this project was: did I consider doing REAL tile and grout. And yes, I did consider it. However, I didn’t want to hire out the job and I don’t feel super confident in my tiling/grouting ability. So I decided to do peel-and-stick again, but a much FANCIER version.

So, what did I use?

The KASARO Peel and Stick backsplash in white hexagon (find them on Amazon here). When I purchased the tile, the cost was $29.99 per 6-sheet box. I purchased 6 boxes to make sure I had plenty, since at the time the Amazon link said it was running low. I ended up only using 4 boxes, so I returned 2. I have 5 sheets left, so I barely needed the 4th box… so I have some sitting around in case inspiration strikes.

Here is what I used on the project:

I had all the tools sitting around (including a fresh pack of razor blades), so this entire project cost me $120 in tile and about $10 for a tube of caulk.

Unlike my last experience with peel-and-stick, this is an aluminum metal composite rather than a rubbery sticker. The tile is much stronger than the previous version, and is more “real” in that it is actual metal tile with a better hand-feel and extremely sticky backing. The difference between this and real tile, is that it sticks right on and no grout is needed. However, get your tile lined up the first time because HOLYMOLY is the adhesive strong!

Here is our old backsplash I put up in 2012:

Once I removed the old backsplash (it just took a hairdryer, a spackle knife and some pulling action), I sprayed some degreaser and wiped down the white melamine backing that was left by the previous owners. Once it was dry, I started laying out my tile pieces. Obviously, I wasn’t lucky enough that a sheet exactly fit my spacing, so I measured out cuts for the top and bottoms of my sheets.

Since the tile is metal, you can’t just cut through it with a pair of scissors. Instead, I used a combination of a level (to measure and as my straight line guide), a fresh razor knife, a pencil and a pair of pliers.

I would mark my exact measurement, go over it 2-3 times with the razor knife, and then clamp on the pliers and snap it on the edge of the table. For every. Single. Hexagon.

My hands were SO TIRED after this project.

Once I had my perfect-sized shape, I’d take off the backing, carefully line it up on my wall, and stick it on. And of course, I’m a perfectionist… so I did the little-bitty points even though only people Jack’s size can see under the upper cabinets.

I ended up covering over our old phone line and cable line — I just took the switch plates off and shoved the wires back into the wall. Cutting around the remaining outlets wasn’t difficult, I just held up the pieces of tile and mapped out where I needed to snip a little:

I worked my way around the entire kitchen and when it was all finished, I grabbed a tube of caulk and did a nice line of white silicone around all the edges. This really took the project from ‘looks okay’ to ‘looks professional’… so I highly recommend caulking as a last step!

Before caulk:

After caulk:

I wasn’t keeping track of exactly how long the project took me, but thankfully the progress photos I took are time stamped. According to my phone, I spent about 3 ½ hours on Saturday night and then about 8 hours on Sunday. Which means the full project took me about 11 ½ hours.

Here’s the “after” for $130 in supplies and 11-ish hours of work:

I am so thrilled with the result!

Disclaimer: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link and ShopStyle affiliate links. This means that clicking on the link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you