How we gave up plastic for Lent and failed

Just before Lent began, a friend of ours posted an article on Facebook about giving up plastic for Lent. I quickly shared this with my husband who is always talking about reducing our waste as individuals in the world and who regularly advocates against plastic water bottles among family and friends. We discussed it over the following week and decided we'd take this on as our Lenten sacrifice.

We have always tried to take whatever measures we find reasonable and do-able. When we were expecting our son, we decided to use cloth diapers instead of plastic ones: a practice we have kept through to our third. However, as the number of children grew so did our load so we limited our use of cloth diapers to be at home and not while traveling. We also make a firm and dedicated stance to recycle everything we possibly can trying not to use anything that couldn't be recycled or composted. We use cloth bags to carry our groceries and so on, you get the picture. Because of all these steps we already took, I really didn't expect our Lenten promise to be as challenging as it turned out to be. It was hard guys, let me tell you. So hard that we pretty much failed every day. We would check in with one another every so often and realize, there were at least 20 different 'plastic-use' incidents and feel so defeated.

Even still, we learned so much in our time of avoiding plastic and wanted to share it with you. I compiled this short list of things that start happening when you start taking plastic out of your life.

1. You become aware of the trash you produce.

We normally use plastic grocery bags to line our trash bins throughout the house. Unable to use plastic, we left it unlined and carried the trash directly to the garbage bins. With stinky, poopy diapers, this was never a task either of us wanted to do but better outside than inside was my moto. So, every day, I'd gather up all the trash cans upstairs and downstairs and shake them, one by one into the garbage bins. Physically doing this every single day, made me so much more aware of the sheer volume of garbage a family of five created! It was astounding to me how it never ended! I became ashamed at how quickly it filled up.

Not only was the volume disturbing, so also was the content. We became lazy, especially when upstairs to bring certain things down for the recycling bin. We would just toss these in the trash without a thought. I also noticed how much facial tissue and paper towel we were using. Much of which could be eliminated by merely using dishtowels or handkerchiefs.

Though we continued to use tissues and papers, since we had only given up plastic, becoming aware of the trash produced by our family on a day to day basis was truly eye-opening.

Also, until about three quarters of the way through Lent, I failed to realize that styrofoam was a type of plastic. I'm not sure what I thought it was, but yes, it's plastic people. So, major fail there.


2. You eat healthier meals. 

We tend to eat out once a week and no more than that, but of course, there is the occasional on-the-run fast food situation. Giving up plastic, we could not grab food on the go because we could end up using plastic one way or another. Most places use wax paper to wrap their sandwiches and burgers which seemed to me to be the same as plastic. But, even if we just count it as paper along with the smaller sized drinks coming in paper cups and napkins being made from paper, the list of paper products pretty much ends there. Any utensil will be plastic. If grabbing a drink through the drive-thru, forget getting a full cup because the lid and straw are both plastic.

When it comes to carrying out food, with the exception of select restaurants, you end up inheriting an insane amount of plastic. I mean, a lot of plastic. This happened to us within a week of beginning Lent and we totally failed at this several times throughout lent. We would order carry out and it came in those black plastic containers with the clear lids. There is then the peppers and special sauces and this and that. It was a plastic-give-uper's nightmare. The only way we could justify carrying away food was by telling ourselves we had to use the plastic containers at least 5 times before recycling it or throwing it out. It was a selfish and lazy exception we made.

With this awareness, though, we tended to shy away from eating out and focused more on planning out our meals and packing food for the kids ahead of time in case they got hungry on a trip out.

Although, we already used cloth bags for our groceries, we still used the smaller plastic bags to contain the foods that shed like onions. Not using plastic, we cut those out as well. We also no longer bought packaged food items. Err. Well, that's a lie, we tried our best. Buying Oberweis Glass bottled milk didn't work out to be a sustainable habit! We chose only paper packaging or only those items we could hold in paper (like fish). Again, there were some exceptions.

Avoiding the plastic packaging was where I almost gave up. EVERYTHING comes in plastic. From body lotion to eggs. But, over the first couple weeks, I began to realize that often, those products that come in paper packaging tend to be the least processed items. Those that come from no packaging at all are least (if at all) processed, whole foods. As frustrating as it was, we were slowly purging ourselves of all these unhealthy food-crutches (yes, I made that up). So, there it was, we were moving toward a healthier lifestyle overall.

3. You are forced to sit and settle down

Through our Lenten journey, I realize that plastic is a mark of our innovation, yes, but also a mark of how occupied we have become and how busy we have made ourselves. We have plastic zip lock bags to prep our meals ahead and leave in the freezer or to take with us in the car. We have plastic water bottles so we can take it on the go. We run and run. But, real cups of coffee and glasses of water, force us to sit and settle. It forces us to enjoy that cool refreshing drink and cozy up with that cup of coffee. There were many times throughout lent when I'd be out and about and needed to have a meal or a cup of coffee. I couldn't just grab one in the drive thru unless I had a cup to hand over. I had to sit and eat/drink. These small instances slowly had a great impact on me. I realized, in the midst of all the crazy of running a house and having small children, how much I was really craving that time of slow-motion.

There is immeasurable value in slowing down as I'm sure you've heard from many places. For me this Lent, this kind of slowing down forced me to draw attention to the ways I can live a more simple, less involved life. Of course, life is chaotic and throw a couple kids in there and you feel done for. But, at times, we complicate our lives unnecessarily by feeling obliged to do things just because we can squeeze it in or because we think we should. Yet, when we settle down and notice what is around us and who we are. We can become more focused on what we should do rather than what we can.

4. You see the necessary and unnecessary uses for plastic

At the end of February, our little baby was hospitalized for a short time. During these days, we say an insane amount of plastic being used and disposed. I remember my husband pointing to the trash can and saying, "Wow, all that plastic just gone." But, this experience caused pause in me. The innovation and ingenuity of such a material as plastic as it is used to prevent disease and keep hospital materials sterile is truly remarkable. We must and should laud its uses when necessary. However, the mark for necessity seemed very different in that moment than it had been before that point (especially, as I made exceptions for our Lenten practice so we can have our fix of Tofu Pad-Se-Ew).

Don't get me wrong, we, just like most people, barely have time to think much less think about our use of plastic. What? However, having gone through the exercise, I find myself so much more aware of my use of unrecycleable and not re-usable items and I was pretty disappointed at how many of those things can really be eliminated.

Ours is a beautiful world we have been given stewardship over. Though not everyone can commit to cloth diapers, we all have some little changes we can make to do our share. It was in our failure, especially in our failure, that we came to realize our spiritual responsibility to our world and our future. Christ, in his Resurrection came to redeem the world, all of Creation. Just as we return to the Lord ourselves, our Body and Soul, at the end of our time, so also do we the world he gave to us, "to fill and subdue." (Gen. 1:28) Afterall, "The Earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1)

Palms before my feet

The title of this post refers to a poem written by GK Chesterton titled The Donkey. It is a well known poem written by the great thinker from the perspective of the donkey upon which Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The donkey of the poem finds himself to be "With monstrous head and sickening cry, And ears like errant wings." He describes his birth in previous stanzas as that moment when all the earth must have been in complete disorder."Some moment when the moon was blood, Then surely I was born," he says. Needless to say that he has such a negative view of himself. Poor guy. He is even treated poorly by human beings with such disdain. It's almost as if he understands why though. It's almost warranted even according to him. Yet, even he has an hour. "One far fierce hour and sweet." It is that moment when the maker of Heaven and the Universe chooses him and they enter into Jerusalem together. When there are psalms before his feet.

There are pages and pages written by scholars to unwrap this beautiful poem so I don't claim here to offer any expert analysis. However, I do want to share the thoughts that well my mind and heart. I wonder who this donkey might be and more so what it might take to be him. Allegorically, I think that we are this donkey in one sense. I, and perhaps we all, are this donkey in the sense that we, alone and in and of ourselves, have no value. We are nothing. Dust. Mortal. Helpless. Sinful. Twisted. Creatures. We pass into this world with no choice to do so and leave in the same way. Yet, unlike the donkey we pretend. We pretend that we are special. We pretend that we have value far surpassing what we might. We pretend we are important. We immerse ourselves in our vain fancies; find solace only in pleasures and avoiding all pain and inconvenience.

Yet, Chesterton's donkey finds his value only in Christ. That is his moment. When Christ guides him into the city of Jerusalem. When he bears Christ. In that sense, that is also how we have value. We are valuable only in that we are creatures of the One Creator. We are lovingly fashioned to be in His image. We like the donkey are chosen for task but that task can only be done by bearing Christ. Without him, we risk the vain delusion of our value and distraction from our call. As a woman, I find myself called to the life of wife and mother. When I find myself distracted from this call, I find my tasks burdensome. I find that my time should be spent doing other things rather than those things required of me. We all become this way without Christ; we become spiritual vagabonds. We become like those who welcomed Christ into the city only to leave him at the Cross. 

This aspect of Christ's entry into Jerusalem always astonished me. How can one join in on the praises of Christ as King only to demand his crucifixion less than a week later? When I consider this question  further though, I realize that question can be asked of me. I cling to my God in despair and abandon him when it is hard. When my gaze turns upon the world and when I feel the burn of exercising my faith, I let his hand slip out of my own. I reap the joy of Easter but did I suffer the whip of the agony? 

Never saw it coming- KonMari Method Update 1

I remember messaging a friend of mine who had also heard about the KonMari method and mentioning how I was 80% done with all my sorting. As I typed that message, I remember trying to think of the most accurate number and finding that comfortable 80% but boy was I wrong!

Since my last post, I finished the book (very good read, by the way) and began the process of applying the KonMari Method to my own life. It has been two weeks and we are still nowhere close to done. For those unfamiliar with the method, it requires one to take each and every individual item in one's possession and asking the question: does this spark joy in me. Then, keeping only those things that do. This is however only the first step. The second is to then find a spot for each and every item that you are then left with. It is promised by Marie to be a method to end all methods of tidying. She claims that none of her clients have every relapsed to a state of hoarding or untidiness. Once started, she recommends it being done swiftly. It sounds crazy but it is an interesting exercise that brings so many aspects of ones character and mind set to light.

I began my journey (or saga, because that's what it is turning out to be) with my closet as she suggests. After being at it for two weeks, I completely understand why. That feeling of joy that she describes is most easily and readily felt with our clothing. Maybe because we have a sense of how they feel or how they look on our bodies, not sure. Having some familiarity with that sense of joy and inspiration she describes, helps us to later sort through the more difficult items. It's practice.

As Marie suggests I brought all my clothes out and laid it out on the floor. I mentioned in my previous post that I consider myself to not be a hoarder at all. In fact, I have no problem throwing things away when I'm done or donating them. I really didn't expect my closet cleaning to take much time at all. Yet, once I saw all of my things just lying there, one on top of the other, more still in the closet left to bring out, even more in the drawers, and then another closet full of ethnic clothing, I had a minor panic attack. Where did all this come from!?

You can't tell from the picture, but the while was as high as our bed!

Now, this picture does not include my unmentionables and some PJ that were tucked away in some drawers. Also, I have a pretty huge stock pile of clothes at my parents' house which I complete forgot about. 

In any case, I start from one corner and worked my way through. I have to say, it was quite hard at first and as I progressed, quite surprised. There were a few things that I had forgotten about and quite a few things that I ended up donating which I had worn just a day or two prior. Going through each article brought back so many thoughts and memories. I had to let go of a lot of guilt and greed and fear. Oh the fear. What if I need this one day and I won't have it? What if I never find anything to wear with this? Yet, I tried to keep my eyes on the prize.

My refined wardrobe

At the end, after getting through just the pile on my floor, I had about 6 garbage bags full of stuff: clothes, purses, shoes. Pictured above is what I had left, although I did end up taking a few more pieces out. There was such a serious level of satisfaction that came over me. I couldn't believe it. I wasn't so surprised at all the stuff that I threw away. I mean, I was, but more so surprised at the things I kept. I looked at the pile before me and saw myself. With having each child and moving from an academic setting into a home life setting, I felt like I had lost my sense of personal style and even sense of coordination! I struggled with my new body and my new stage of life in terms of how to translate that into my style. But when I look at my closet now, I see me. By focusing on what I love, I saw a more clearly.

There is something quite indescribably about seeing only those things that lift you up. Wanting to wear every single piece without hesitation; it just being a matter of what you're in the mood for.

More importantly, however, employing the method, as Marie says, provokes a shift in lifestyle but also of mindset. I mentioned earlier how I am someone who usually has no qualms about donating things or getting rid of unused things. Because of this, I considered myself at an advantage. However, the process so far has proven two things to me and taught me something crucial about myself. This is a) I don't actually get rid of as much as I think I do and b) to paraphrase Marie, it is about looking at what you have rather than what you want to get rid of. The second point is key because looking at what you have and looking at what you want to get rid of perpetuate two very different attitudes. The former gratitude and the later greed and worldliness. 

When we look at what we want to get rid of, we look to replace it somehow. 'I got rid of this thing so that means I have more space for something else'-attitude. It is also quite disrespectful to those things that have played some part in your life. Looking at what you have helps us to fully realize what we really need and more importantly that our happiness doesn't depend on how much we have. All those things fulfill a purpose and that purpose should be to contribute to bringing more joy into our lives. Everything else-forgettabout it. 

Being at it for 2 weeks, I still feel like I'm at the beginning of it all but tackling the first task of my closet has left me quite excited to see what will come from all the other parts of our home. I feel reawakened to a sense of who I am. Amid all the chaos of bringing things out from every corner and crawl space of our house, I can finally see the potential of a more simple and permanently organized life.

Making a home- KonMari Method

Ever since I have started staying home full-time, I've noticed that a significant portion of my mental energy goes into thinking about the space that I am in all day: our home. Where should this go? How did this bathroom get so dirty? How should I organize our clothes? How do I stuff these three boxes into that closet? Do those curtains match?

The space that we live in should bring us joy and peace. More importantly, it should bring joy into our family's life. Having an orderly home necessarily brings us to an orderly life. This was the mantra I always heard growing up but exactly how to do that: well, that's always been a work in progress.

I know what I want though. I want a bright, cheery, well kept home. Ideally like the ones you see when you open up a home and lifestyle magazine. While I know that might not happen, I want to get as close to that, my version of it, as possible. I want there to be function. I want to know where everything is and want to be able to get to it in no time. So, with all this in mind, I've tackled many a "spring cleanings." I am by nature, someone who doesn't like keeping a lot of stuff. (at least that's what I thought) I tend to take initiative constantly to help clear out things that get in the way.

I've taken the advise of many other bloggers and writers.  I once heard that women only wear 20% of their wardrobe and had a closet "purge" that in retrospect was not really a purge at all (I'll explain later). When we moved, I made it a point to get rid of more random things that we didn't need. I've employed a number of organizational methods, some that stuck and others that didn't, spending time and money to implement them. Yet, somehow I look into my closet or home today and I don't feel the satisfaction that I hoped to. I want to walk into my living room, dining room, whatever room and feel at peace. I want to be in absolute complete love with every living square foot of my home.

I'm not a disorganized person for the most part. I try my best to keep things in order, labeled, etc. But it wasn't until I discovered the KonMari method that I realized that this was not the issue for my discontent. KonMari reflects the tidying method or philosophy of a Japanese woman named Marie Kondo who wrote the best selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. After reading about the method, I've started (finally) listening to the audio book because, let's get real, I aint about to read this book when I have a pile of at least 6 others sitting on my night stand. I'm including the link to the free audio book here. I started listening to it while nursing my daughter or doing random tasks around the house. People, it is inspirational. The method is centered around the notion that we should surround ourselves with only those things that bring us happiness. 


KonMari

Being introduced to this book has forced me to consider the spiritual dimension of my discontent. She said something in her book that was particularly striking to me. She gave the example of how whenever she had a huge task before  her, like an exam, she would spend hours cleaning and tidying before she even cracked a book open. Oh, could I relate to this! She said that after much thought and research, this is indicative of something much deeper- that our minds are unable to tackle the task at hand because it has to deal with the deeper issue first. Once these issues are dealt with, we can live the life we imagine. She claims that the change is life-changing and transformative. It requires a change in mind set.

As a wife and mother, I must feel like the home I create for my family is one that is over flowing with love and affection and happiness. This is important especially for my children because their first experience of how they should feel at peace, that feelings they should chase their entire life comes from how they feel when they are home. When a home is cluttered or unclean or just plain unattractive, it doesn't inspire us; we are not elevated to be who we are created to be. We waste our time, distracted every so often instead of completing tasks and building ourselves.  This of course doesn't mean we have to have expensive things, just making the things we have beautiful and attractive. 

I firmly feel that what God wants of us is to live artfully and thus joyfully. Anyone can life by the bare necessities-even animals-but we are beautifully complex, artistic creatures created by the most creative One of all. This is how we realize the full potential of who we are so that we can see the world and ourselves the way God Himself sees us. As I live out my vocation as wife, mother and home maker, I am obliged to ask myself how I can perform these roles with the utmost diligence. How can I inspire my children to be 100% who they are and do so joyfully? 

The first exercise Kondo says, before starting anything, is to imagine the kind of life you want at the end of all this. Then, ask yourself why? and then again, ask why? Doing this 3-5 times she says, you finally come to realize that you ultimately just want to be truly happy and joyful in life. Doing this exercise, I found that this goal extends further to consider where I am in my spiritual journey and vocation. It has caused me to ask what I put emphasis on and what things I neglect to work on. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I want to feel free and able to enjoy the life God has been so gracious to bless me with. I want to be able to spend more time with my children instead of worrying about tidying up. I'm tired of always feeling overwhelmed with all that needs to be done. These are the kinds of things that truly make me happy and joyful. This is the kind of life, I feel, God wants for me also. 

So, I take you with me as I begin this journey! I'll keep you updated about my progress and the thoughts I have along the way. 

Our Advent Gifts for Christ Child Activity

So, since Ian has turned 3 years old, I have been trying to slowly encourage him to start learning his prayers. In September, we used the first 8 days of the month in anticipation of the Nativity of the Blessed Mother to teach him the Hail Mary. I created a paper birthday cake onto which we placed a candle every day Ian (and Zelie) would recite their prayers. It was a hit! On the 8th, we baked a cake together, frosted it, and sung happy birthday to our Blessed Mother!

Though he has only learned the first half of the prayer, this has made me very ambitious for the Advent Season! Harnessing this energy and enthusiasm, I thought I might teach him the Our Father. It was pretty successful. I am so proud of them. For Advent, we created a list of mainly clothing items that little baby Jesus would need when he is born on Christmas. I adapted this from an a similar activity we would do as children in our home growing up.

This is what it looked like by Christmas (with a few missing stars)

We created the list together, sort of. The attention span of a 3 and 2 year old only allowed them to contribute socks and candy canes but you know, they got the gist.  Next, I wrote the items onto a piece of poster paper and taped it up on our wall. The deal was that during the Advent season, every time they would complete an Our Father, or half of one in the case of Zelie, they would receive a star. To keep their gifts for Jesus distinct, I used different colors to for each of them. Ian was gold and Zelie was pink. (They chose their own colors! Didn't reinforce any gender stereotypes!) Five stars would result in the completion of an item. This was a little hard of Zelie to grasp but Ian got it, I think. He was so excited that even after Christmas, he was wanting to make things of Jesus. Mainly a suit. He seemed to think that it was very important that the newborn Jesus have a suit.

He loved looking at the chart to see all the gifts they had created for Baby Jesus. Of course, they had their "I-refuse" days here and there but overall they had a lot of fun with it.

I got all my supplies from DollarTree. All I needed to create this simple Advent activity was:
Black poster paper
Metallic Markers (to create the chalk writing effect)
Star stickers
Pencil

Let me know what you think and if there are any activities you use to help your little ones learn their prayers!

Mystery of this water and wine

Today, I finally made it to weekday mass. 'Finally' meaning for the first time since we've had our newest little one, Chiara Ann. Due to a number of cultural formalities and physical limitations, I was putting off starting to go. However, now with a nanny that arrives around 6:15, I can go and come back just before the kids begin to wake up! Providence, surely, is on my side here. But I digress.

Maybe because of this hiatus in being able to go to mass by myself, my ears and especially heart were ultra sensitive today, I feel. The words of the celebrant rung more sharply in my mind, over and over, long after he spoke them. Yet, these words rang especially loud and long today:

By the mystery of the water and wine, may we come to share in the 
divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

How especially beautiful these words are during this time of year. For some of us, we dragged through these last couple weeks of the year and for others the spirit of the season carried us over the expected hump of the year end only to have a delayed release come January. In the wisdom of our faith, these words can serve us in a special way whichever season we find ourselves in, both figurative and literal.

Their scriptural foundation in both the New and Old Testament, brings to life their true brilliance and the wisdom that inspired its inclusion into the liturgy.

By the mystery of this water and wine           2 Macc. 15:39; John 19:34

may we come to share in the divinity of Christ          Rom. 5:2; 2 Pet. 1:4
who humbled himself to share in our humanity.                       Phil. 2:8

Spoken during the preparation of the gifts, they are swollen with anticipation and fulfillment.They teach us to remember the mystery of the Incarnation, Christ becoming man, the original Christmas miracle (ha-ha) alongside the suffering that awaits this newborn child.

The divine world meets the human world. Water and wine serve to provide such incredible depth and color (almost literally) to these words. Water, pure and holy, not made by man but provided for him from the earth through creation itself, meets wine, the product of man's sweat and toil, is the blood of our humanity. Though mingled not confused. Christ is this mystery.

 It is in the mystery of the body- the human body- of Christ that we touch the divine world, the divine power we cannot touch any other way. We touch the divine only because he has shared in our humanity. The Eucharist therefore, brings us to Heaven and allows us to share in the same mystery that IS Christ.

What does this mean then? Well, other than the awesomeness that we are now a part of in our rebirth through baptism and participation in Eucharist....well...it means a lot more!

It means that our bodies (and minds) are thus elevated. My body means more because of Christ than it would have ever without him. (Not to say that it didn't matter before or outside of Christ because of course as made by God it means a great deal.) As a temple of the Spirit, it is as was Christ's body, a point from which we can/should to draw others to God. 

December Empties

There were several products that we went through as a family this December. I mention these products to share our experiences with them and in hopes of helping those of you out there looking to try them yourself!

I share these products for another important reason as well. The products we choose I think also reflects upon the way we live also and that what this is all about right!? I put a lot of research into the items I buy. I do this not only because I hate wasting money on products I might not like, but also because I truly believe in using products that are the best for the body and the environment. I refer to the GoodGuide as a starting point of my research quite often when it comes to purchasing certain items. It is quite important for me to be socially responsible in the way I spend my money as well. I would rather spend 5 extra dollars on a product, service, or at a store that promotes good values and treatment of other human beings than save that money for myself. The way I see it, I encourage those individuals to continue doing what they do, promote their success and hopefully the ethical values they practice prevail in a world filled with...well not that. This being said, sometimes my research falls short or I cave by the disparity in pricing but I try my best to always stick to my guns. 

Here they are then for the month of December:

Mustela Dermo-Cleansing Baby Body Wash

       I've been using these guys since the California Baby body washes changed formula about 2 years ago. My babies smell so wonderful with this baby wash. It is super gentle and great for sensitive skin like that of a newborn or child with eczema.  

The Body Shop- Cocoa Butter Body Butter

       Oh goodness. This is the good stuff. The formula of this product melts with your body temperature. It is super hydrating for my uncomfortably dry skin. I used this especially while I was pregnant with Chiara to help those bad itching spells that come toward the last stretch (haha, get it?)

Kiehl's Deep Moisture Clarifying Cream

       This guy is a little bit on the ess-pen-sive side of the spectrum of skin care products. For me, at least. However, it is a plant based product and perfect for my skin. I'm a firm believer in the "you get what you pay for" mantra when it comes to skin care because I FEEL a huge difference since I've started using this guy. Normally, one of these lasts me between 5 and 6 months. Which is a LONG time. 

The Body Shop- Vitamin E Cream Exfoliator

       Ok, so when I bought this little number, I was desperately looking for a face scrub that could deal with the desert that is my face. What I failed to realize was that this has microbeads for exfoliation. It has a score of 0 in the GoodGuide for Health. Unfortunately, I have a serious problem where with wasting products I buy. I can not throw it out unless it is finished or (seriously) expired so I sucked it up and finished it. Will not be repurchasing. 

Cera Ve Baby Lotion 

       This lotion came as a suggestion made by a dermatologist as being better for our kids than Aquaphor. It is definitely easier to put on but I don't feel that it is as moisturizing. We have another bottle open so we'll see how that goes. 

Origin's GinZing Under Eye Cream (not pictured) 

       A tiny bottle that I purchased last March has lasted me till December! Again, expensive but I know how important under eye cream was so I sucked it up and bought it. I can't say I feel like it did anything for me. It had such great promises all over the place but did nothing for me. Comes to show how sometimes your research doesn't align with experience. 

So these are my select empties of December. Hope they help and let me know your thoughts!