I have been making a concentrated effort to finish things up before opening something new lately and it seems that my efforts are paying off as in October I managed to use thirteen full sized products and seventeen samples (and they were mostly large/ deluxe samples at that).
Skincare.
Full sized skincare items that I used up included a couple of old favourites - Kiehl's Ultra Facial Toner and Caudalie Grape Water. I loved Sarah Chapman Skinesis Dynamic Defence as a daytime moisturiser, it made my skin look and feel plumped and radiant and that scent! I also loved Sunday Riley Artemis Facial Oil, a fairly thick oil that balances skin, feels very nourishing and also does a great job of calming troubled skin. I'm certain that I will repurchase these four in the not too distant future!
RMS Beauty Raw Coconut Cream was a great product for both cleansing and moisturising but I did find it a little messy to use.
Sample wise repeat products I loved were Sunday Riley Good Genes (of course!), Laneige Water Sleeping Mask and Ren Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial, which I swear makes my skin look brighter and perkier in only a minute. Chantecaille Fruit and Flower Acids Mask is another quick mask that makes everything a little brighter, it smells great and there's a little tingle going on with this one so you actually feel it working.
Tatcha Polished Rice Enzyme Powder is something that I have had for a while but not used because I thought that it would be messy. In fact it wasn't messy at all and was a very very gentle facial polish/exfoliator that I liked a lot. I most likely won't ever buy this as I always have exfoliator samples in stock.
Sisleÿa Essential Skin Care Lotion is an essence that you use after toning to prep skin for serums. Like all Sisley products this smelt lovely and it did leave my skin temporarily feeling a little softer. It's not 'Essential' by any means but like all Sisley products it is very nice to use if you time have the money to invest in it.
Perricone MD Face Finishing Moisturiser and Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum were both okay products for me, nothing that I disliked about them but equally I didn't find them outstanding in any way. Chantecaille Bio Lifting Neck Cream and Trish McEvoy Beauty Booster Eye Serum were both fine to use but somewhat unnecessary products. I honestly don't think that you need a separate neck cream or that you need to use an eye serum...
Make Up and Fragrance.
I finished two cheek products this month. Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush is my favourite drugstore cream blush. It has quite a strong pigment yet it blends well. This shade #15Rose Petal is a good everyday pink for me that lends a subtle flush to my cheeks. Nars Illuminator in Super Orgasm looks very bright and shimmery in the tube but has a very sheer consistency that is easy to blend and highlighted rather than adding sparkle when worn - I liked this a lot.
I finished a mini Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss in the shade 'Pretty'. This is another one that looks shimmery in the tube but doesn't wear shimmery once on. It is aptly named - a very pretty pink that is easy to wear and that is natural rather than girly.
I disliked Buxom Lash Mascara. I found it's formula to be clumpy and the brush was unwieldly to use. Oddly I found it was difficult to remove at night even though it flaked throughout the day.
I used up just one perfume sample but it was a good one! Derek Lam 10 Crosby Something Wild was a creamy vanilla with woody incense notes, very much my kind of perfume.
Haircare.
Bumble & Bumble Seaweed Shampoo is a basic everyday shampoo. It lathers and rinses well but I don't find that it leaves my hair especially soft or shiny. At the other end of the haircare price range Garnier Fructis Full and Plush Conditioner does a fabulous job of adding body and volume to my hair. I enjoy it's berry like scent - it is one of my favourite drugstore haircare products.
Alterna Caviar Replenishing Moisture Milk is a leave in conditioner that you put onto wet hair. I have used the cream from this range before and I liked that a lot but I didn't find the milk to be moisturing enough for my hair. It's serum like consistency also annoyingly meant that it didn't work as a spray on product (it came out in spurts rather than as a mist) although I think that it has been repackaged since I bought this version. OUAI Finishing Cream smells great and when smoothed over dry hair does a great job of defrizzing ends and taming flyaways. I liked this but wish that you could use it on wet hair also...
Bodycare.
Penhaligon's Juniper Sling Bath &Shower Gel was a treat to use. It lathers well and has a sharp bright scent that smells a little like gin - I mean that in a good way! It's expensive though, so unless I am given this again I won't be using it in the future.
I have been slathering on the body lotion this month and finished two full sized ones. I used up another Space NK Life Float Away Body Lotion (part of a bumper TJ Maxx haul) along with a Vaseline Healing Serum, which I had feared was going to be greasy but pleasingly wasn't. Instead it had a very light easily absorbed texture and was lightly scented with cocoa butter. I also used a mini Kai Body Lotion, I have to say that I like the white flower fragrance of this lotion more than I do the Kai perfume as it is subtler. I find the perfume can be a little too sickly because it lacks the dirty undertones that round out my favourite white flower scents.
I didn't particularly like either Honest Shampoo+Body Wash or Honest Face+Body Lotion. They were both okay but I'm simply not a fan of multi use products in general.
Finally this month I finished a big tube of Royal Apothic Simply Amazing Hand Cream. I love the formula of these creams which are nourishing without feeling at all greasy. The Green Tea scent of this one was clean and fresh feeling.
Phew!
That was a lot of products but I am so pleased that I managed to produce so many empties. I'm not expecting to have so many in November but you never know...
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