Category: Product Reviews

I decided to start a new series called “Empty’s” a couple months ago. My thoughts were that it’s helpful to revisit an item after it’s been used long term and you decide whether to repurchase it. Or not.

You can find my last post here: Empty’s – May 2022

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

Virtue Recovery Shampoo and Conditioner

I love Jennifer Garner and was very much influenced when she started posting about Virtue products. After using Olaplex for years, I decided to give Virtue a try and I ordered the sample sizes of the Virtue Recovery Shampoo (2.0 oz) and the Virtue Recovery Conditioner (2.0 oz). While there’s nothing really wrong with either product and they both smell quite nice, they were both just… fine. Considering the 8 0z version of the shampoo costs $40, I’m going to need more than ‘fine’ to repurchase this! I won’t be repurchasing either the shampoo or conditioner and sticking with Olaplex.

Marrakesh Oil – Argan & Hemp Oil Therapy Hair Styling Elixir

I had to look back in my blog archives to figure out when I received this oil in a previous FabFitFun box and was shocked that it was back in 2016 and I started using it in early 2017. This one bottle lasted me 5+ years?! After showering, I use one pump of this oil, rub it between my hands and then smooth it through my hair from the mid-sections to the ends. It makes my hair silky soft without looking greasy at all. On beach days, I add a couple pumps to my ponytail to keep it protected from the salty air. I actually received a back-up bottle a couple years ago and pulled it out as soon as this one was finished. I will certainly be re-buying this again in the future… which should be around 2027!

Disclosure: Not sponsored.

I hate to be hot when I’m sleeping. Or trying to sleep. However, over the last 10 years in our home we’ve found that the second floor is pretty much always warmer than the first floor. We’ve tried various fixes over the years – adding fans, closing off the intake vent, turning the AC way down an hour or so before bed. Well, this year I finally snapped and couldn’t take it anymore.

I researched the bejeezus out of AC units. I looked into window units and freestanding units and searched Home Depot and Lowes and Amazon and more. And I made a decision and hit ‘buy it now’ on this:

It’s the Black + Decker 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner with Remote and the current price on Amazon should show up in the widget above. I paid $350 for it, but I’ve seen it as low as $332.

And this little unit has CHANGED MY LIFE.

Oh my gosh, it’s absolutely amazing. We installed it in our bedroom and vented it out our window:

I also cut a piece of poster board to cover the other window, because it gets really bright in the morning with the shades up like that! Anyways, after doing all my research I went with this one which has over 35,000 ratings on Amazon with 4.5/5 stars. I read a bunch of the reviews and was really impressed when people would come back to update their review 2 years, 3 years, 4 years later and still loved the unit.

We have been using this AC on our second floor since May 31 and it is fantastic. When I’m working from home and the upstairs of our house starts feeling a little bit warm, I just turn the unit on and let it run for a few hours. I typically turn it off before bedtime since the house cools down overnight anyways. If we are out of the house and come home to a bit of a muggy situation, I fire this baby up and within an hour or so our bedroom is back down to crisp and cool. And not just our bedroom – we leave the door open so that the cool air can regulate most of our upstairs. There is also nothing to empty, as this model is bucket less and self-evaporating.

I’m kicking myself for not buying this 10 years ago and just living with sweaty, crappy sleep every summer. Which is why I wanted to share it with you all.

UPDATE: I just realized that Amazon Prime Day sales are still going on and lots of stuff on Jack’s school supplies list has special pricing today. I made this quickie school supplies shopping link (I did the legwork to find the best pricing on smaller quantities) in case you find it a good jumping off point for your own back to school shopping:

Back to School Shopping List

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

With beach time on the horizon, I thought it would be a good time to revisit one of my favorite summer products: Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40. If you are looking for a pretty much perfect SPF for your face, look no further.

Find it here on Amazon

Find it here on the Supergoop website

Find it here on the Ulta website

I mean, this should be a year-round product, but it certainly goes into heavy rotation for me each summer. I’ve mentioned it before, but I don’t know what fairy magic they use to make a sunscreen that goes on easily, is TOTALLY invisible, not even a little bit greasy, and there is no white cast. Once you rub it in, you can’t even tell it’s there, but it protects you with a SPF 40. You can even apply makeup over it! Oh, and it has no scent at all.

It’s not cheap, at $36 for 1.7 fl oz, but it is the only face sunscreen I’ve used that doesn’t make me look like a grease ball while irritating my contact lenses. Also, a tube lasts a really long time… so for me the higher price is worth it for a product I actually love.

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