Empties: March 2017.

I'm pleased with March's empties pile as I managed to finish thirteen full sized products (fourteen if you include a sheet mask) and sixteen samples. I even managed to use up four full sized make up items this month which I don't think I have ever done before!

Bodycare.

Nivea Creme Body Wash was a good drugstore item. It was pretty basic with a minimal fragrance but it left my skin feeling soft. 

I used up two body moisturisers. C Booth Honey Almond Body Butter is one of my favourite drugstore products, not at all sticky and it smells delicious. If you are looking for a budget friendly alternative to Kiehl's Creme de Corps Whipped Body Butter try this out! Space NK Life Ultimate Unwind Body Lotion is a lightweight glycerine based formula that does a good job of softening  skin, although the fragrance of this is supposed to be relaxing I find it to be very fresh and uplifting with it's notes of lime, green tea, cardamom and ginger.

I finished two tubes of Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. This is one of my favourite hand creams as it absorbs instantly to soothe hands without making them feel greasy or sticky. I also used up a bottle of Revlon Top Speed Top Coat which made my nails very glossy and prolonged the time of a manicure. I don't often do my own nails and I have had this for a very, very long time, so long that I'm sure it is probably discontinued!

Haircare.

I didn't use up any full sized haircare products this month, only five samples but I liked them all. Moroccan Oil Light and Obliphica Seaberry Serum both made my hair look shiny while taming any stray hairs and frizz. Philip B Oud Royal Shampoo smelt wonderful and paired well with Philip B Light Weight Creme Rinse. Gold Lust Shampoo was another impressive product from Oribe that smelt amazing to boot.

Skincare.

I used a whole box of Sephora Express Eye Make Up Remover Wipes which I find to be very gentle and effective. They are quite large wipes and I find that one wipe is enough for both eyes.

They also come packaged in individual sachets so they are ideal for traveling with. 

Babor Mild Cleanser has been in my travel bag for some time. It only did an okay (not great) job of removing make up and I found it didn't quite feel right as a second cleanse for me. There wasn't anything drastically wrong with it - I mean I did use it up eventually - but I just felt that it didn't do anything for my skin and it didn't feel special.

The Ginza Creamy Cleansing Foam (which wasn't actually foamy) and Energizing Lotion were a beautiful addition to my routine that left my skin not only clean but brighter and smoother. I loved, loved, loved these! (So much so that they will get a 'Brand Love 'post of their own sometime soon!).

I confess that I used my sample of Fresh Seaberry Skin Nutrition Booster incorrectly using it as a serum rather than mixing it into a face cream. Despite my mistake I liked this very much, it absorbed well and left my skin looking plumped. I actually preferred this to Fresh Seaberry Oil, in part because it didn't smell as strongly.

 I feel that Caudalie Resveratrol Lift Serum firmed my skin mostly by hydrating it. I liked this but there are plenty of other serums that I prefer so I can't see myself getting this again.  The packaging of this was terrible btw. It had a slim glass dropped but the serum itself was too thick for the dropper to work. I think that it has recently been repackaged but things like this annoy me enough to put me off a product. I love Caudalie as a brand but have to say that some of their packaging is inexplicably bad.

Dermalogica Multi Vitamin Power Firm was an eye cream that made my eye area look smoothed but it felt very silicon like and I felt that it was more of a blurring product than a treatment.

I used another sample of Sunday Riley Tidal. It's a very nice gel moisturiser that's great for layering on top of other products.It's not my favourite gel moisturiser but its a good one and I like its cucumber fragrance.

I used two samples of Chantecaille Bio Lifting +. It was rich and slightly oily feeling but it absorbed well, my skin felt softened and smooth but I didn't notice that it was 'lifted'.

Finally for skincare, I used a Dr Jart Vital Hydra Solution Sheet Mask. I liked that this mask was saturated with product but that it wasn't at all drippy so it wasn't messy to use. It was very hydrating but my face did feel tacky when I took this off. This was one of the better inexpensive sheet masks I have used but I still haven't been converted and prefer traditional face masks! 

Make Up and Perfume. 

I only finished one sample of perfume, Clean Cashmere, quite a powdery scent that has a sharp chemical note to it when applied. It is quite a clean smell once that note dies down but it isn't my kind of fragrance I'm afraid.

I  can hardly believe that not only did I use up seven make up items four of those were full sized! Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara was supposed to strengthen and promote growth of lashes. I didn't notice any change in my lashes but it was a good formula that darkened my lashes without making them clumpy, I quite liked the natural look that it achieved. I also finished a mini mascara, Clinique High Impact Mascara. I love Clinique Mascaras, this darkened my lashes dramatically and gave them length and volume. I liked it a lot but must admit that I prefer the waterproof version of this one for it's superior staying power.

Another eye product I finished was Kevyn Aucoin The Eye Shadow Single in shade #104 Soft Clay. I love this grey toned pink eyeshadow, it's my go to for a minimal make up routine and I have already opened up a new one. 

I used two cheek products, a sample of Nars Illuminator in 'Orgasm' which I loved as it was sheer and blendable and gave my skin a natural sun kissed look. I also finished a full sized NYX Cream Blush in the shade CB11 Boho Chic. This cream blush looked bright and shimmery in the pan but was another sheer blendable product that gave a subtle pink blush to my skin, I'm upset that this has gone as it appears to be discontinued.

Finally two lip products. I have been trying to finish my tube of Laura Mercier Lip Glacee in 'Bonbon' for a very long time and finally succeeded. This gloss felt lovely to wear and it lasted really well on my lips, when the gloss did disappear it left a stain. Quite a bold pink, but one that I enjoyed wearing very much. I also liked its candy like scent. I have so many lip products at the moment that I won't buy this again right now, but if I did ever need a bold pink gloss I would definitely get it again. Lastly a half sized By Terry Baume de Rose in a lip gloss format. I'm still not wowed by this expensive lip balm, it doesn't appear to do much for my lips, but it was good to try it in it's new format.

March was a good month for empties for me, I'm especially pleased at finishing up so many make up products! I think that April is going to produce even more empties though as I have quite a few things that are already nearly empty...