I just returned from a trip as well. My husband & I packed in one bag & put toiletries in there & checked it.
HOWEVER, after getting through security going there AND back, I noticed that I had the following in my purse: hand lotion, several lip glosses (gel, not like chapstick), 2 antibiotic creams that we purchased out of the country on our recent honeymoon for bug bites that I forgot to take out of my purse, and more. Seriously. I didn't even realize how much "cream/gel" stuff I had in my purse.
That said, another woman at security had all her lipsticks/chapsticks/etc taken away from her (she did ask if she could use it first, the security man said "uh, no!"). And my father-in-law had his bag checked at both airports because he had deodarant in it (though they approved it, apparently you can have the non-gel type)....
Anyways, that's been my experience.