Well, I know I won’t finish reviewing all of my empties for 2025 by December 31. But at least with these reviews from November, I’ll be a little more current!
Here are my Project Pan empties for November 2025:
Skincare Empties
- REN Everhydrate Marine Moisture Replenishing Cream: Actually, REN is one of those brands that is going out of business that I was criticizing Ipsy for giving out. Sadly, I absolutely loved REN Everhydrate Replenishing Cream and wish I could buy another bottle. It was the perfect scent-free, lightweight, super-hydrating moisturizer. I love using it as my daytime summer moisturizer. Sad that it is no more.
- belif Moisturizing Bomb: I bought this moisturizer, one of my favorites from the past, and I put it in a bag in my closet so that cleaning people could clean my bathroom vanity. Needless to say, I forgot about it even though it was almost finished up. I like belif skincare products from Korea a lot especially for those who are younger or who have skin with more oil than I do. For my skin at this time, the gel-cream with niacinamide is great for summer, but not so much for winter and the drier indoor air. Recommend? Yes, I do, for those I just mentioned. And it’s currently 30% off at Amazon.
- Defenage 24/7 Barrier Balance Moisture Cream: I love Defenage products. If I could afford them, I would buy them all the time. Defenage 24/7 Barrier Moisture Cream is a lightweight, scent-free, hydrating cream that comes in a tube. It helps strengthen the skin’s barrier. And it works in conjunction with Defenage Serum that is applied after the Barrier Moisture Cream, a different way to apply skincare products. Although this was a travel size tube of Moisture Cream, it lasted me forever. Recommend? Yes, I strongly recommend it especially now while it’s on sale. Also, it is worthwhile to buy the travel size set now to try the products out.
- TonyMoly Chok Chok Green Tea Watery Essence: I’ve been using this toner-hydrating serum essence on and off for years, and I love it. I bought this bottle at the end of June when Jeff and I were staying in Koreatown in NYC, and now it’s used up. It contains a special type of Korean green tea that’s absolutely amazing for calming and hydrating skin. Sadly, I have been trying to buy more of this terrific product, and it is out of stock everywhere. I truly hope it hasn’t been discontinued.
- Thrive Causemetics Bigger Than Beauty Defying Gravity Eye Cream: Yes, this is my absolutely favorite eye cream for firming the skin above my crease and hydrating my dry eyelids. In fact, I just ordered two more tubes. I use a different eye cream under my eyes to mask dark circles. Recommend? Yes, I do!
Bath & Body
- Alpha Skin Care Renewal Body Lotion: This is an absolutely terrific hydrating skin lotion/cream with 12% glycolic acid for very dry skin like mine. It’s one of my two favorites along with Eucerin Advanced Repair Lotion. It’s unscented, greaseless, and it provides lasting hydrating benefits all day. Recommend? Strong yes!
- Erbario Toscano Vanilla Nourishing Hand Wash: I found this vanilla hand wash about a year ago at Marshall’s, and I was very surprised because I have their reed diffuser and the EDP in the “spiced vanilla”. It was a nice hand wash, though I prefer the “spiced” version. Recommend? Yes, especially if you find it at Marshall’s, TJ’s or HomeSense. Although I don’t see Erbario Toscano Vanilla Nourishing Hand Wash online, Amazon has a variety of other scents that is now called Liquid Soap on their website.
- La Tortuga Verde Body Cream: This delightful rose-scented shea butter-based body cream was one of the remembrances I brought back from Costa Rica. As a result, I used it slowly over the past year to make it last. Now that it’s empty, I’ll probably save the metal tin for at least a while and fill it with buttons and pins so it will be useful. Recommend? Yes, if you find yourself in Costa Rica, consider buying this moisturizing body cream that smells heavenly. I bought it at a supermarket near our AirBnB, and it comes in a variety of scents.
- Molton Brown Festive Bauble Ornament, Marvellous Mandarin & Spice Body Wash: This is such a cute idea from UK brand, Molton Brown! The octagonal shape of the plastic bottle is much easier to get the body wash to come out of than the round shape they had a few years ago. Sadly, this year Molton Brown is making Marvellous Mandarin & Spice only in hand wash, and they’re not making Festive Body Wash Bauble Ornaments at all. This year, they have fragrance ornaments. If you are interested in Marvellous Mandarin & Spice hand wash, it’s a spicy, citrusy gender-neutral, almost masculine scent. Recommend? I recommend Molton Brown products. They make unusual scent combinations out of very high quality ingredients, perfect for gifting for the fragrance-lover.
Haircare Empties
- Defenage 150K Hair Follicle Serum, one month supply: Actually, because I only use Defenage 150K Hair Follicle Serum once a day at night, a bottle lasts me for 2 months. Each bottle used to come in a pack of three bottles. However, Defenage changed the packaging/applicator that come singly. Boo. But this product does work for me. Although it happens slowly, my hair is regrowing still at my temples. Recommend? While pricey, I find the product containing anti-aging defensins does work for me. It might work for you too. Plus an online retailer, dermavenue, is selling Defenage 150K Hair Follicle Serum for $79 per bottle.
- IGK More Life Color Extending Conditioner: I’ve been using IGK More Life Shampoo and Conditioner since the products were launched a couple of years ago. They help me hang on to my red color longer than other types of haircare. Recommend? Yes, if you have color-treated hair, try this duo. Or try any of IGK’s haircare products!
Health & Beauty
- Bon Patch Sleep Patches: If this were my company I would tweak these patches to make them even better. With the sleep patches, I would either tint them or color them so the wearer would remember to remove them since the patches aren’t supposed to be worn for more than 12 hours. And I would make them a little easier to remove from the paper. But other than those tiny changes, I am very happy with the Sleep patches. I honestly sleep better and longer than I did before using them. It is rare that I wake up in the middle of the night like I used to. Recommend? I don’t know if they would work as well for someone else as they do for me, but if you have trouble sleeping, I think they’re worth a try!
- Just CBD CBD Gummies, 1000mg: As usual, I like these gummies. They’re delicious, and they help me relax. Recommend? If you’re into CBD, this brand may be worth trying since they work for me. There’s a 30% off coupon on the website for the Clear Bear Gummies.
Project Pan Update
I ended May with a total of 59 empties since January 2025. With 12 more empties from November, my total without empties from June, July, August, September, and October (sheesh, that’s pathetic that I’m so far behind!), is 71. I know that I will make my Project Pan goal for 2025 that’s only 100 because I have more than 5 empties for all of those missing months. I’ve gotta move on these empties reviews because I still have two huge bags filled with my empty beauty products. I need to start the new year without a lot of trash or recycling hanging around!
How about you? Are you emptying your stash? Finding any new favorites?
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I finished 2 mascaras. One got very clumpy even though it wasn’t 3 months (Essence) and Scorolash just didn’t feel like I had mascara on. I also finished an Aveeno body lotion, dermalogica (sp?) scrub powder, and 2 things I’m forgetting. LOL
Oooh, that’s a bummer, Marcia. I’ve usually had pretty good luck with Essence, but frankly, it’s probably been 3 or 4 years since I’ve used it. Luckily, it’s inexpensive so throwing it away seems like it’s ok. But the Scorolash is a different story. I have not tried their mascara. Do you feel like writing about it for a post on NSDB? No pressure
I found the TonyMoly essence on ebay if you want to take a chance.
Thank you for the head’s up, Gabrielle. I will take a look!