Empties: May 2017.

May was another month in which I managed to use up a lot of products resulting in a big old pile of empties. In all I used up thirteen full sized products and twenty five samples and a lot of the samples were very generously sized ones at that. (As a rule if something comes as a sample as long as it doesn't retail in that size I count it as a sample, if it is sold in that size, such as a handbag sized hairspray, then I count it as a full sized product).

Skincare.

I was sad to finish a pot of Darphin Aromatic Cleansing Balm. It feels very indulgent and leaves my skin feeling clean and soft. It is also a very sensory product to use, it smells so good and always feels like a special treat. I will be getting another jar at some point for sure. I also enjoyed Darphin Eye Make Up Remover Solution which was effective and gentle, it isn't at all oily and it didn't sting my eyes.

Tatcha Pure One Step Cleansing Oil is pretty good for removing make up but, honestly, it isn't one of my favourites. There's nothing wrong with it exactly but I find it to be a little thin to work with so it can be bit messy.

Although I'm not big on physical exfoliation I have used Lancer The Method Polish before. I find this to be quite an aggressive scrub so I only occasionally used a very small amount mixed in with a creamy cleanser.

Ren Clarimatte Toner is a gentle exfoliating toner, it leaves my skin looking bright and preps it well for other products. It's not all that easy to find here which is a pity. Dr Haushka Facial Toner was a refreshing spritz that smelled of geraniums. I didn't love this as it did make my skin feel a little 'prickly' on a few occasions.

Serum wise of course I loved the sample of Sunday Riley Good Genes which I use nightly, and Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S. Serum which I use to give my skin a boost of moisture during the day.

Samples of Clinique Sculptwear and Vichy Idealia Radiance Boosting Serum left me somewhat underwhelmed (I didn't notice any difference or improvement when I used either TBH). But I was extremely impressed with a sample of Dr Dennis Gross Ferulic+Retinol Wrinkle Recovery Overnight Serum. This was a creamy serum with a pleasant fruity scent, a little went a long way and the next day my skin looked plumper and fuller. I have been looking for an overnight retinol treatment for a while and will definitely be buying this in the near future.

Skin & Co Truffle Therapy Eye Cream had a very runny consistency which meant that it was difficult to apply easily to a specific area and it didn't appear to do much except give a boost of temporary hydration to the eye area. On the plus side it didn't sting or make my eyes water but overall I wasn't very impressed. 

Somme Institute Eye was lightly textured and good to use as a daytime eye cream under make up but again apart from a little temporary hydration that smoothed the eye area it didn't seem to do much. I loved the look of the sleek minimalist packaging of this but it left a little dried 'tail' of product that oozed out each time I used it so it wasn't very practical and was quite wasteful.

Algenist Regenerative Anti Aging Moisturiser was a good basic daytime moisturiser with SPF 20. I used this almost daily in the cooler weather under make up.

I didn't notice any brightening effects from Eve Lom Brightening Cream and ended up using it as a final 'sealing' coat of moisture over serums and oils overnight.

Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel (Sensitive) was a gel cream mask. I didn't notice much difference when I used this, even though it had a bit of a tingle going on, and it smelled a little funky so it didn't impress.

Haircare.

Bumble+Bumble Surf Shampoo and Conditioner are some of my favourite haircare products. I'm not adept at styling my own hair, I nearly always wash it and let it air dry so I love that these two products give it some grit and texture. I do find that they can be a little drying if I use them daily so I normally only use them at the weekend. They have a clean fresh mineral scent that I like and I will certainly repurchase these again when I have used up some of the many shampoos I have in stock.
John Frieda Luxurious Volume Colour Care Shampoo gave my hair a bit of body and kept my colour looking fresh.When traveling I used a sample of John Frieda Frizz Ease Moisturising Conditioner which didn't weigh my hair down but it did leave it soft and frizz free. I think John Frieda is a good drugstore range, I also love the practical packaging of these products.
I also used samples of Schwartzkopf Gliss Hair Repair Shampoo and Conditioner. These were both okay but they weren't my favourites. They were both rather thin in consistency and I wasn't keen on their strong floral fragrance. I also hated the packaging of these which was top heavy and had a very small opening which made it difficult to get the product out easily.

I don't use a lot of hairspray so it has taken me a long, long time to use up a handbag sized Oribe Superfine Hairspray. It smelt great and lightly held hair in place without making it brittle or sticky.

Body care.

Rituals Mild Exfoliating Body Scrub was a very gentle creamy body scrub with very fine grains. It did smooth my skin and soften it but I did need to add a lot of moisture to my skin after using it. The Tao fragrance of this was a little too soapy for me, I would have preferred something a little more bright and zingy.

Yardley Sea Mineral Bath and Shower Gel had quite chunky salt grains in it so it exfoliated as it cleaned. The sea mineral fragrance of this felt very fresh and clean. It wasn't massively foamy but I would get this again as I think it is a very good product considering its low price.

I used another mini Rituals Yogi Flow Foaming Shower Gel which is a fantastic product, one of my favourite shower gels in fact. I also used a sample of Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash which I don't particularly like. I prefer something that is foamy rather than creamy when I shower and I don't like any of the fragrances that Dove use in this range.

I used another Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion. This is my favourite Nivea Lotion, it is light in texture yet intensely moisturising. It absorbs well and leaves my skin feeling softened and it has a fresh, clean spa like fragrance that I like.
Mio The Activist Body Oil is a dryish body oil that doesn't leave my skin greasy. It is very good but a little expensive to use daily so I am always happy to get samples of this!
I used two small jars of Juara Candlenut Body Cream. I found the formula was dry rather than oily and I could slather a lot of this on and it kept sinking in. I liked how this felt on my skin and it had a unique nutty fragrance that I enjoyed. Again this is a pricey body item so I wouldn't see myself buying it even though I liked it a lot.
Nubian Heritage Body Lotion with soy milk, frankincense and myrrh was so thick that I would call it a body butter rather than a lotion. It's creamy incense like fragrance is exactly the type of scent I adore and it was very nourishing. 

Kat Burki Hand Therapy was a rich hand lotion with a lovely honeysuckle fragrance. I was a little disappointed in this - I normally love Kat Burki products but this felt too greasy on my hands and took a while to sink in even when I used it sparingly.  

Make Up and Perfume.

Hourglass Veil is my favorite primer. It makes my make up last longer than anything else does and it doesn't make my skin congested.
I used up a(nother) tube of  Chantecaille Just Skin in Nude. I use this everyday and love everything about it, I have yet to find a product that equals it. It gives a medium amount of coverage to my skin leaving a 'glowy' finish, it has SPF 15 in it and contains antioxidants to protect skin from pollution.

I used three vials of perfume. Both Replica scents, Lazy Sunday Morning and Flying, smell quite chemically on me rather like fabric softeners and although I like Aerin Amber Musk, which is a warm feminine vanilla infused musk, it doesn't have much longevity on me.

I'm not expecting to have many empties next month as I am going to be concentrating on using up sample sachets. I'm also going to try and use up perfume vials which I have opened.

I'm sure I will discover a few must haves along with a few duds!