making things work part II

I've been on a "get through piles of the products you own" mission lately. I haven't bought any new makeup and skincare that hasn't been essential which is really a special feat for me. This action has brought out a bit of creativity in me because I have a few items that I don't particularly like but I wanted to still use up. So here I am, documenting my little tricks. This is a sequel post to THIS one.

I have talked about all these products before on my blog. Three of the four pictured are products that I have expressed my distaste for because they didn't meet my expectations or because they didn't work well with my needs. Determined to get some use out of these products, I thought of different ways to use them up.

COMBINE
I did a review on Maybelline Baby Face Pore Eraser and found it to be pretty worthless for my oily skin. It did smooth out the appearance of my pores but it also left me hideously oily when used alone. I figured since it did a good job smoothing, I could try out mixing it with the amazing product that is the Bioderma Sebium Pore Refiner. Worked like a charm. I get oil free, smooth results while using up two products at once.

Avene Soothing Moisture Mask as a hand treatment.

APPLY ELSEWHERE
Avene Soothing Moisture Mask and my face just did not get along. It felt greasy and left my skin very congested and clogged. It was, however, particularly nice if I used it strictly on rough patches of my face which got me thinking...what if I applied this to dry areas beyond my face? I recently gave myself mild chemical burns on my hands at work which left my poor hands cracked, scaly, and overall uncomfortable. It doesn't help that I am required to wash my hands extremely frequently which further exacerbated the dryness. To experiment, I applied a thick layer of this mask onto the tops of my hands, let it soak in as much product as possible, and then massaged in the residue for good measure. Holy cow the results were stunning. My scaly, cracked skin disappeared and returned to normal. I can see why dry skinned people love this. I think if you have eczema you need to try this out, it could be your godsend.

Another product I have taken to apply elsewhere is Dior Amber Diamond highlighter. I am in the minority when it comes to this product as I have never been impressed with it on my cheekbones. I don't find it to be special or something that stands out. I have been using it as eye shadow instead, and this is a much better use for it. It isn't super frosty so it isn't too over the top but it does give my lids a pretty neutral sheen when blended all over the lid. All I have to do is add a little transition matte color to my eye socket to finish up. And tons of mascara and kohl liner, but that's a given.