Products I've Used Up | Empties #8

I'm back with another empty products post - I have been storming through the empties this year! I'm splitting the empties up into two categories Bath & Body and then Makeup like I did in my last post. Starting with a new empty product for me, a dry shampoo (I know this isn't really classed as a bath or body product but it didn't fit anywhere else today!)

Products I've Used Up | Empties #7

Time for another instalment of empty products! I have a lot to get through today! So I'm going to do today's empty products post a little differently than normal by splitting it up into a couple of categories and writing a short review on each product underneath and if I've already written a post about it I will link it up there.

Hair & Skincare.

VO5 Cherish My Colour Shampoo & Conditioner. I wrote a full hair care post a little while ago featuring these two products. I liked these together, thought that they maintained clean looking hair however I don't think that they did a lot in prolonging the life of the colour. I would buy these again though purely as they are affordable everyday hair products.

Vaseline Antiperspirant Active Fresh. I'm usually a Sure deodorant girl but the Vaseline ones were on offer and thought I'd give them a go. Fine for day to day use but wouldn't recommend them ahead of a sweaty gym session as my armpits weren't quite so fresh smelling compared to my usual Sure one.

Cotton pads. In every single empty post I do I think, as always I get these from Aldi as they are most reasonable and good quality.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Facial Wipes. Ehh. In theory these wipes felt very delicate, they had a mild, clean not too overpowering fragrance but the occasional time I had a lazy evening and wanted to use a wipe to remove my makeup this made my face so irritated, patchy red and generally unhappy. I felt these tugged too much they weren't gentle at all. I ended up using these to take off stubborn lipstick. Not for me, and they weren't cheap either so wouldn't repurchase.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion + 50ml. I got this when feeling a little spendy in Clinique on my holiday back in December. And this has turned out to be my holy grail moisturiser as it is the only one I've found I can wear without breaking my skin out. Full review here. The only thing I would say about the 50ml is that its not the best in terms of value for money compared to the 125ml.

Bath & Body.

Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel. Couple of winter bath and body products in this category. The Snow Fairy is a sickly sweet as candy body wash that you've just got to buy in the build up to Christmas. Full review here.

See By Chloe Fragrance 30ml. This time last year I had a real Chloe fad and while I still think they are nice fragrances I would far rather spend my money in Jo Malone as the scents are more unique and bespoke. See By Chloe is lovely for spring and summer though and I prefer this to the original Chloe I think, full review here. I wouldn't buy this again.

The Body Shop Glazed Apple Body Butter. Oh my. This had to be one of my favourite butters from TBS ever! This was released as limited edition part of their Christmas stock and I so hope it gets re released this year. Full review here. I would definitely get this again.

The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Body Butter. I bought this when the new Argan Oil range came to TBS as I'd never really tried argan oil body products - just thought it was for hair. While it was nice and nourishing due to the rich oil as an ingredient, I think there are nicer options. The smell isn't all that nice and you want a body butter to smell pleasant right? Full review here.

Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter. This is very effective at what it does at softening your cuticles and generally polishing your hands off nicely in the winter - if you can hack the lemon fragrance its quite strong. My one grumble is that because Lush uses fresh ingredients I found that it went off quite quickly.I had only used a little amount, forgot about it for a few months and by the time I went back to it it had gone off and had to chuck it out. Wouldn't buy again for this reason. I think a smaller pot and smaller price tag would be better.

Bath & Body Works Bubble Gum Sanitiser. I didn't mind the smell of this once upon a time, but my tastes changed and towards the end I found this so cheap and tacky smelling. I wouldn't buy such an overpowering hand cleaner again but go for a milder smelling one.

Makeup.

Soap & Glory Supercat liner pen. I'm including this in my empties as although it hasn't actually fully dried up as such - you could still use this if you were desperate its just that the pens got a bit old and therefore it doesn't create such a neat line. I'm  no pro at liner but this is the best one I've ever tried and have since replaced this with three more when Soap & Glory makeup was on 3 for 2!

Rimmel Brow This Way. This is a bit of a frustrating product as you can see its not completely empty there's quite a bit of product at the bottom but you can't get to it unfortunately. This isn't the best setting product either, my brows still get a bit unruly when using this. But for an affordable price tag it does the job okay. I would probably pick this up again but only the next time there is an offer on I think.

QOTD: What products have you used up recently?

Products I've Used Up | Empties #6

What better way to get into a year of blogging than to talk about a load of products that I've used up over the past few months. I've been getting through loads of products recently, and am still in the process of using up lots more so expect to see quite a few empties posts in 2015! As you can see this post (and the ones to follow) include quite a few seasonal bathing products from the likes of Lush and Philosophy - these types of posts are always quite satisfying to do as I like seeing all the products I've used up. For quite a lot of these products I have already written full reviews on them so they will be linked below if you want to check those out.

Philosophy Pumpkin Pie.
First up was a shower gel I loved using during late autumn/early winter from Philosophy and it was their Pumpkin Pie edition. This was a delicious shower cream to use and it really got me in quite a seasonal mood ready for the winter months where it was so spicy and richly scented. The texture of this was very silky and luxurious which is always a nice quality in a shower cream. I also used this as a bubble bath a few times but seen as though I tend to shower mostly its main job was as a body wash. Although I enjoyed this and it made a nice change I would say that generally speaking I prefer shower gels to be a bit more zingy and uplifting - I shower in the mornings so I like to have something that's invigorating rather than this which is more on the decadent, indulge-yourself side of things.

Rose Jam Shower Gel.
While I'm on the topic of shower gels I thought that I would talk about Rose Jam from Lush, another seasonal bathing item and this one was much more up my street! Rose Jam is a limited edition release over the festive period and I'm a little gutted I didn't stock up before it sold out in the sales - next year I will definitely be buying the size up as I only got this in the mini version. Rose Jam is absolutely gorgeous - it has a winning blend of floral and fruitiness to it which works so well together. If you like rosy scented products and didn't get round to picking this up at Lush I would definitely recommend it this winter if its released again!

Palmolive Almond Soap.
Last bath/shower product to mention today is just a bar of soap from Palmolive I picked this up on my holiday. Not really a bar of soap girl but I dabble in and out of them from time to time and this was pretty nice. Fresh smelling, does the job not much more to say on that one!

The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Lotion SPF 15.
If you've been reading my blog for a while you may already know that I'm a big fan of the Vitamin E range from TBS. I chose this moisturizer during the summer and on my holiday as it contains SPF 15 and it was a decent moisturizer and I just continued to use it up until it was empty, which took longer than you would think actually. The Vitamin E Moisture lotion is very light, quickly absorbs into the skin - it isn't sticky or greasy feeling on your face it has a pleasant, fresh smell to it and its affordable so its pretty win win really.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Toner.
Another Vitamin E product emptied and this time in the form of a toner. To be honest I don't have a great deal to say about this, or toners in general really as I don't quite see the point of them or that they make any real difference in your skincare routine. Sure this is pleasant enough and I'd probably recommend it to someone who wants to try out a toner as its way cheaper than most high end skincare branded toners, but I doubt I will be picking another up as this is just for me an unnecessary step in my routine that I can probably afford to miss out on.

Cotton Pads.
Cotton pads: essential item, one that I'm always stocked up on and I always buy these from Aldi as they are cheap as chips and you get a double pack. Simples.

Snow Fairy Massage Bar.
My last seasonal beauty product for this empties post from Lush is the Snow Fairy Massage Bar. This is a nice addition for those days where you really want to indulge your skin in some oily TLC. Massage this into your body and the result will be sickly sweet smelling smooth skin. Not a product you would want to use on a day to day basis as it is greasy and requires a bit of a wait for it to sink in.

Garnier Soothing Eye Makeup Remover.
Garnier eye makeup remover has been my go-to product for years and years, I'm sure I've probably already mentioned one before in an empties post! Its so reliable that I just always go back to it. Its similar to a Micellar water in the way its very gentle yet effective at removing even the toughest of eye makeup products. I'm going to try something new for a change this time but I know I will be making a repurchase of this at some point!

Khiel's Creamy Avocado Eye Treatment Sample.
I asked for this sample from a Khiel's counter ages ago and once I used it up I did actually go out and buy a bigger sized pot of it. As sample sizes go this contained enough product for me to decide whether or not I actually liked it enough to buy it, I think it lasted about a week and that was using it twice daily.

QOTD: What products have you used up recently?

Products I've Used Up | Empties #5

 

 

 

My bag of empty products has gotten ridiculous lately where I've been accumulating so many things. So this post is a bit of a backlog of products I used up throughout the summer months and without further hesitation I'll give you a little rundown of the stuff I've finished alongside a mini review of each product.

Palmolive Shower Milk.
When I run out of my Soap & Glory shower creams I buy something cheap and cheerful and usually go with whatever is on offer at the time which must have been Palmolive. I quite like Palmolive shower stuff as its normally only a few pounds, it smells pretty average - its never going to be anything too fancy but it keeps you clean and gets the job done. I would repurchase this again but its not something I would run out to the shops to stock up on once it was gone.

Simple Kind to Skin Body Wash.
As I used to suffer with really sensitive skin as a child I always like to have a back up shower gel in a cupboard somewhere that's super kind to my skin for times where it might be acting up. I don't use this on a regular basis but sometimes I can tell when I've been using more heavier scented shower gels or creams and its nice to have a gentler alternative. I must say I'm not a fan of the smell at all, I can't really put my finger on what it is but I put up with it because it doesn't irritate my skin.

Marc Jacobs Lola Shower Cream.
Nobody could ever accuse me of not taking a shower if you read my empties posts :P yep another shower cream to add to the empty list. I used this in conjunction with the matching Lola fragrance to layer it up and used sparingly it can totally last ages and ages.

Marc Jacobs Lola 50ml.
This is about the third empties post that has featured a Marc Jacobs fragrance, so you can definitely see a theme arising here that I'm kind of out growing these fragrances a bit now. I loved them at the time, obviously enough to use them all up but I think my tastes have changed a lot and I crave something much different these days. I would say that Lola is an appropriate fragrance for someone looking for a flowery yet sweet scent, it also has that air of 'oh that's a Marc Jacobs perfume' to it. If I got it as a gift I would wear it but it wouldn't be something that I asked for or would go out and buy myself.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer.
Ah the trusty old Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. How many of these do I get through a year? This beauty product is just such a reliable makeup staple, it covers blemishes, imperfections and dark circles with ease and it costs you less than a fiver. Obviously with a price tag like that its not going to be the most glam product in your makeup collection, the writing smears off after about two uses but the actual concealer itself does an amazing job. Although this is not the emptiest of empties and by that I mean I probably could wrangle a smidgen more product out with the doe foot applicator but its sort of beginning to dry up and show its age. I repurchased this the minute it started getting a bit dry and old.

Soap & Glory Flakeaway Scrub.
It was a good change to try a different scrub as I tend to always use the same old one. I used this a while ago but from what I can remember Flakeaway was a pretty  'gritty' scrub so exfoliated the skin nicely leaving it soft and smooth however it didn't replace my favourite Scrub Of Your Life.

Sure Crystal Invisible Deodrant.
Can't live without a spritz of deodrant every morning. Well you can but chances are you won't be so fresh and sweet smelling... I like Sure deodrants as they last really well, keep me from stinking and generally speaking don't leave nasty white marks.

The Bodyshop Blueberry Body Butter.
As a big lover of TBS body butters the Blueberry one was a product that I was really looking forward to trying out, its so gorgeously fruity smelling which was perfect back in the summer. Its a special edition product but I think they bring it out quite regularly so I would recommend this to all the fruity fragranced lovers out there. This didn't quite make its way to my favourites (I love the Raspberry and Coconut body butters best) but I did enjoy it a lot and would probably pick it up again in the summer months.

Benefit Instant Brow Pencil in Blonde.
This brow product from Benefit was the first 'higher end' one that I purchased back in the Spring. I really like the colour on me its not got a gingery tint to it that you can find with some blonde brow products. The only thing that I disliked about this really was that it required a lot of sharpening and therefore it didn't last very long at all. It got small very quickly and its not really very easy to use where its become short. I think that if this was a little cheaper or lasted a bit longer then it would be a lot better value for money.

Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede tester sample.
When making an online order from Jo Malone I received a tester sample for the Peony & Blush Suede cologne which I did enjoy trying out however I think that I much prefer a lot of the other colonges that Jo Malone offer so I doubt it will be one I pick up.

 

QOTD: What products have you emptied recently?

Products I've Used Up | Empties #4

This post has been sitting in my drafts for ages now.. oops. Better late than never, time for another empties post!

Bioderma.
Ah good old Bioderma. When I got sucked into the beauty world last winter it didn't take me long to discover the hype around micellar waters and a few weeks later naturally Grace ended up with a Bioderma in her possession. This is after all 'the' micellar water. I have to be honest it took me a little while to get used to this product, I really didn't like it as a general makeup remover but I absolutely loved it for eyemakeup as it removes it like no other I have ever tried. Initially I thought it was pretty pricey, but it lastes me absolutely ages so I think the price is worth it. I will probably buy this again but I might try the Garnier version first.

Lacura Facial Wipes.
I had these face wipes sitting around in my draw and I was using them for one thing only and it was to remove stubborn lipstick. You know when you have a lipstick that stains your lips and is quite difficult to thoroughly remove... well these are amazing for that job. I picked them up in Aldi I think, so they were super cheap. These wipes sort of remind me of the ones at MAC as they are quite moist and effective in effortlessly removing makeup. Again I wouldn't use these all over my face.

Tea Tree Oil.
Tea Tree oil is like my little secret weapon, I use this stuff for so many different things. Its amazing on spots, (although a little on the drying side sometimes) and it has a range of other uses which I wont sit here listing to you as you can find it all on google, but I definitely think everyone should have a tea tree oil sat in their bathroom cupboard.

The Body Shop Raspberry Body Butter.
TBS raspberry body butter was the most perfect summer product to give my skin some moisture. It smells so delicious and I was really sad to use it all up, its on a par with my favourite body butter from TBS which is the coconut one. I love them both. I've written a full review on this product here.

Vaseline Aloe Fresh.
I liked using this Vaseline product on days where my skin felt a little irritated or sensitive as its very cooling and soothing on the skin. Otherwise its a pretty standard moisturiser.

The Body Shop Sorbet Satsuma (sample).
When the Sorbets were released from TBS I was super excited to try them as I thought the concept was quite interesting. I decided to get a sample pot when I was shopping one day and I'm glad I did because honestly I wasn't really blown away, I will definitely be sticking to the body butters I think.

Clinique Dramatically Moisturiser.
I've wanted to try Clinique skincare for ages but I'm still a bit too scared to spend out on skincare. So I thought I'd get a smaller tester first and I quite liked this product it didn't break me out... but again it wasn't anything that blew me away I mean it was nice but it didn't make me run to Boots to pick up the full size.

Soap & Glory Orangeasm Body Wash.
I absolutely love this body wash. Its so summery and revitalising. I've done a full post on this product here if you want to see a more in depth review. I will definitely buy this again next year, I think I will probably return to my trusty S&G Clean On Me now we are approaching autumn.

Soap & Glory Hand Food.
This is one of my favourite hand creams, I've been through so many of these hand creams over the years. It smells pleasant, its moisturising but not at all greasy so its one of those products you can easily pop it in your bag and apply it on the go.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Cream Cleanser.
I really liked this cream cleanser from TBS. Its quite unusual for me to use up a skincare item so this definitely shows that I got on well with it. I found it really effective as a gentle cleanser, I think its good at simply making your face feel really lovely and clean - it has a very fresh, comforting scent - and it was also effective in removing makeup too. Its also very afforable, I think its under £10 and often in 3 for 2's. I will repurchase this again in the future.

QOTD: What products have you used up recently?

Products I've Used Up | Empties #3

 

 

 

It was only when I was giving my bedroom a good tidy up last week that I noticed how full my bag of empties had become, and knew I would be doing another empties post before long. There is definitely something satisfying about seeing all your empty products accumulate as you know that you've been using things up and getting your full moneys worth. Here's a brief run through of my latest empties, you can catch my previous two here and here.

 

Marc Jacobs Dot 50ml.

Out of all the Marc Jacob's perfumes I would say that Dot is my least favourite, and honestly when it was released I think I was more swayed with the cute polka dot bottle more than anything else. Its just not what I would ever call one of my favourite scents, its nice but there are a lot nicer options out there. I probably wouldn't repurchase Dot again.

 

Soap & Glory Butter Yourself 300ml.

I liked this body butter especially now during the summer months, (full review here) however I'm glad that I've used this up as its not something I would have reached for at any other time of the year purely because it smells so fruity and exotic. I probably wouldn't repurchase this or at least not for a while just because I've recently stocked up on Body Shop body butters in their summer sale.

 

Soap & Glory Righteous Butter 50ml.

You can tell I've been trying to keep my skin well moisturised as here is another body butter from S&G this time a little travel sized pot of their Righteous Butter. This probably has to be my favourite body butter from S&G. I've used up so many full sized and travel sized pots of these.

 

Boots Conditioning Nail Polish Remover.

 

Batiste Dry Shampoo.

 

Urban Decay Primer Potion Sample in Sin.

This sample came with my UD Naked 3 Palette and I absolutely hated it, it was so metallic and made my eyelid look all shiny and oily.

 

The Body Shop Vitamin E Sink In Moisture Mask sample.

Sadly this was another sample that I wasn't overally impressed by. I found it way too greasy and I felt like it left my face looking a bit sweaty and just not very nice.

 

John Frieda Everlasting Blonde shampoo and conditioner.

I love John Frieda products and this combo has to be my favourite when it comes to washing my hair. It always makes my hair look freshly coloured and vibrant but I don't feel like it strips it of any goodness. Whenever I use these together my hair looks bright and healthy. I'm always repurchasing these two products.

 

The Body Shop Grapefruit Shower Gel.

This shower gel was featured in a small haul a few months ago and I really wanted to love this because it smells divine - just like summer in a bottle -however it flared my eczema up on my arms (I suffer from sensitive skin here) and I was so uncomfortable that once I figured out what had upset it I had to let my parents finish off the quater of the bottle I couldn't manage.

  

Garnier Soothing Eye Makeup Remover.

This is another product that I have been through absolutely bottles of as it has been my go-to eyemakeup remover over the years. This is really affordable and does exactly what it says on the bottle.

 

 

 

Products I've Used Up | Empties #2

I'm back with another Empties post today...

 

Marc Jacobs Daisy 50ml.
This has been my signature scent for such a long time now, and has to be one of my absolute favourite day time perfumes. Its just so easy to wear - I'm an all round lover of Marc Jacobs fragrances but I think I'm ready to try something else soon just keep things different.  For that reason I wouldn't repurchase this at the moment.

Marc Jacobs Daisy shower gel.
I received this as part of a set although this is a lovely luxurious item, I wouldn't use it on its own as a shower gel - its purpose is mostly to enhance the smell of the perfume in my opinion. Whenever I used this I would always use my normal body wash first and pop this over top at the end. I probably wouldn't go out my way to buy this, however if it came as part of a set I would definitely use it.

The Body Shop White Musk body wash 250ml.
This was a freebie when I joined the rewards programme. Firstly the smell is absolutely divine it sort of reminds me a little bit of Flowerbomb, if you're familiar with that perfume for a comparison. Although as for the shower gel it just seemed to disappear really quickly and I definitely wasn't using too much. For 250ml it costs over £6 so I would only repurchase if in a decent sale.

Soap & Glory Clean On Me 75ml shower gel.
I tend to make sure I keep a travel sized body wash in my over night bag and this is always my chosen option and it got used up while I was away on my course this month. I've already replaced it in my over night bag!

The Body Shop Vitamin E 60ml cream cleanser.
Another travel sized item that got loved while away from home this month was the Vit E cream cleanser from The Body Shop. I have absolutely adored this and will 100% be repurchasing.

Lush Golden Egg.
Over the Easter weekend my bath was like a glisten gold tub of lush goodness - I loved loved loved this range from Lush.

Skin Therapy cotton wool pads.
I tend to go through cotton wool pads pretty quickly to remove eye makeup and so on these are cheap and cheerful from Wilkinsons.

Sure Women Clear Pure Crystal 48hr.
When it comes to antiperspirants I stick with what I know and what works for me which happens to be Sure. This is my last can of this in the old style design.

John Frieda Full Repair Deep Conditioner.
This was a lovely product to use once a week in the shower to give my bleached hair some TLC, it visibly made my hair look healthier and it felt like velvet afterwards. I'm not bleaching my hair at the moment but if I do again I would repurchase this.

 

What products have you been using up?

Products I've Used Up | Empties #1

 

 

 

 

Hello, I've used up some products recently so I thought, why not feature an 'Empties' styled post on my blog? These won't necessarily be every month because I don't always use up a load of products just in a month, but just whenever they seem to run out. 

 

Soap & Glory Clean On Me 500ml shower gel.

This shower gel has lasted me forever! Literally the S&G shower gels are amazing value for money and especially when they are in a 3 for 2 offer as they just seem to last and last. I like the fact that it has a pump as it means you can control exactly how much product you want resulting in less waste, plus they look pretty smart sitting on your bath tub too. This smells so fresh and the consistency is incredibly creamy - so it feels like it does two jobs in one product. I have repurchased this before and will continue to again I expect.

 

Soap & Glory Scrub Em and Leave Em Body Buff 300ml tub.

After adoring S&G Scrub Of Your Life I had high hopes for this tub of Scrub Em and Leave Em, however I was left disappointed and wishing I had tried the small travel sized version before splashing out on this 300ml pot. It smells pleasant enough however I really didn't find this very exfoliating at all, it just didn't do its job. For a start the pot is really annoying and only makes it practical for use if you're in the bath as otherwise I found that it just got water from the shower in it. I just really strugged to see that this had any impact or exfoliating benefits on my skin and so it ended up being quite pointless. I wouldn't repurchse this again, but instead just stick to S&G Scrub of Your Life from now on.

 

Lush Cream Candy Bubble Bar.

My favourite product from Lush and also the first thing that I purchased in there along with a bath bomb. This smells absolutely incredible (leaves your bathroom like a mini Lush shop for hours afterwards too) and is such a luxury addition to your bath time routine. I have repurched this and will definitely buy the cream candy bubble bar many more times again, although I am definitely going to have a nose at their Easter range next time I stop by a Lush shop.

 

L'Occitane Violet Handcream 30ml.

This was a limited edition from L'Occitane and a free sample from a magazine last winter. Aren't the freebies always best? Quite a shame that this was limited edition because it was lovely, with a very light feminine scent and the cream itself was very moisturising without being at all greasy which I quite often find with handcreams. 

 

Skin Therapy 3 in 1 Facial Wipes.

I use these ocassionally before removing my makeup properly. One thing I find practical about these is that they come with a lid meaning it keeps some of the moisutre in the wipes and stops them drying up. I find them quite useful to throw in my gym bag on nights where I finish work and head straight to a spin class when I obviously don't have time to thoroughly remove every scrap of makeup from my face. For that reason alone I would probably buy them again.

 

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Tropical.

I don't really have a lot to say about this product, it does the job ok as it does freshen up day old hair to some extent. But there is just something about this that makes me wonder if sprinkling talcum powder in my hair would achieve the same result as all this does sometimes is make my hair have a white tinge. I don't like the smell of this version of Batiste either. If anyone has any dry shampoo recommendations for me please comment below as I think I need to branch out a bit in the dry shampoo world.

 

Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation sample.

When I was in John  Lewis a while ago I asked for a little tester sample of the Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation so I could try it out on myself and see if I liked it or not. I had read a lot of rave reviews on this but there are also a fair few negative ones so I wanted to actually try some on my face to help me decide if it was something I wanted.

 

The Body Shop Hair Chalk.

 No surprise here really. I used up some more of my well loved hair chalk from The Body Shop, I've done a full review on this product that you can read here. I will definitely be repurchasing, I think the pink will look so pretty come summer time too.

 

What products have you been using up?