Used to the Last Drop

 There are products I like.

There are products I love.

And then there are the products I use until there is practically nothing left to photograph.

These are those products.

I realized recently that some of the best reviews I could give you aren’t reviews at all.

They’re empty bottles.

Scraped jars.

Crushed sachets.

Packaging that has been handled so often that it no longer looks particularly photogenic.

Because I can tell you that I like a product.

But when I’ve used every last bit of it?

That’s evidence.

Dior Le Baume

I received this little sachet of Dior Le Baume and apparently decided that not one molecule was going to escape me.

I squeezed it.

Folded it.

Pressed it.

Then probably squeezed it again just in case the laws of physics had changed since the last attempt.

There wasn’t much product to begin with, but my hands only needed a small amount so this lasted a few days. 

I also enjoyed what was there enough to make sure I got all of it.

And really, isn’t that the point of a sample?

It made me want more.

Dior Forever Skin Glow

Now this one has lived a life.

Look at that bottle.

The packaging is battered. It doesn’t look remotely like something that just came home from the Dior counter.

And that’s good.

Because it didn’t sit prettily on my vanity.

I used it.

Again and again.

There are foundations I experiment with, foundations I tolerate, and foundations I instinctively reach for when I don’t want to think too much about my makeup.

This became one of those.

The bottle may have lost some of its glamour along the way.

I think that makes it prettier.

I commented to my Dior Beauty Ambassador that the bottle was able to pump out everything!

I opened the bottle and actually shook it and tapped it on the table and then on my hand, but nothing came out! 

I even went as far as flashing a light on the inside to make sure that I got everything. 😆

Yeah, I did. 

Deoproce Skin Rescue Body Serum

Another bottle that reached the stage where I started wondering whether I could persuade the pump to surrender just a little bit more.

Pump.

Nothing.

Tilt.

Pump.

Shake.

Pump.

I know you’re in there.

There is something slightly ridiculous about negotiating with an almost-empty bottle, but you only do it when you actually want what’s left inside.

And I did.

But not for long. 

Because I don’t waste my time anymore on that. 

The Green Body Scrub

And then there’s this.

I didn’t just finish the jar.

I excavated it.

There is a tiny spatula in there because apparently fingers were no longer precise enough for the archaeological operation I had undertaken.

And the jar also came with it. 😏

Scrape around the sides.

Scrape along the bottom.

Check under the rim.

Surely there’s enough for one more shower.

The funny thing is, I bought several of these body scrubs. Pink and green, lined up in their pretty little tubs.

But the green one?

Clearly, I had a favorite.

There isn’t much left to say when the photograph contains an almost perfectly scraped-clean jar.

I liked it.

A lot.

The Good Stuff Is Meant to Be Used

I used to have a tendency to save things I really liked.

The expensive makeup.

The pretty products.

The little luxuries that somehow felt too special for an ordinary day.

I’ll use it later.

I’ll save it for when I’m going somewhere.

I’ll keep this one because it’s expensive.

And then one day, when I finally want to use it, I find out that it has already expired. 

A few times of this happening and somewhere along the way, I started asking myself:

What exactly am I saving it for?

Things expire.

Preferences change.

And sometimes the beautiful thing you’ve been carefully preserving for someday simply sits there while all those ordinary days pass by.

So now I use things.

I wear the lipstick.

I open the expensive compact.

I use the good foundation even when I’m not going anywhere particularly interesting.

I scoop the body scrub generously instead of rationing it.

And if I love something, I keep using it until eventually I’m standing there with a tiny spatula, scraping the bottom of the jar like there might be buried treasure underneath.

Because there was.

The treasure was enjoying it.

Maybe that’s one small part of making life more fun.

Stop saving every lovely thing for some hypothetical better day.

Thursday mall time can have the nice foundation.

A shower can have the favorite body scrub.

An ordinary morning can have the expensive balm.

Use what delights you.

Enjoy what you have.

Make a glorious mess of the packaging.

And when you finally reach the bottom, you won’t have to wonder whether you got your money’s worth.

You’ll know.

Beautiful things aren’t meant to spend their lives waiting for an occasion worthy of them.

Sometimes using them is the occasion. 

—-

With elegance and quiet fire,
Lady E

Founder, Glow by Lady E 
An editorial space for stories, art, and intentional living