Empties: September 2017.

I find it hard to believe that September is over and it is now officially Autumn but it's time for another Empties post so I guess that it must be so. September's Empties pile was a pretty big one. I used up sixteen full sized products and twenty samples.

Skincare.

I finished five full sized skincare items. 

I was very impressed with Lierac Cream Cleansing Milk, it was more of  a cream than milk and it did an excellent job of melting away make up leaving my skin feeling soft and moisturised.  

I like to use La Roche Posay Eau Thermal as a second toner or facial spritz. Of all the 'water in a can' type sprays Caudalie Grape Water is my favourite but I've been tending to use this lately because I can pick it up in my local drug store and, honestly, it's not all that different.

Darphin Exquisage Serum was nice to use but I don't feel that it did much beyond give my skin a boost of hydration. It worked well for me as a day time serum but I don't think I would get this again as it is quite pricey for what it is.

Farmacy Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm is a curiously textured green gel that turns into an oil on application. I found that this was good to use in the colder winter weather or when I slept somewhere that had heavy air conditioning. It did a fantastic job of sealing in serums and replacing lost moisture in my skin but it was a little too much to use on warmer nights. Overall I enjoyed this and found it to be very effective.

Supergoop Setting Mist is an SPF50 spray that can be used over make up. This mini size was handy to carry around and use as a top up SPF if I was out all day. You do need to be careful not to get this in your eyes, but I will get another of these next summer as I found it to be so convenient.

I got through quite a few skincare samples this month (which was good as I gained a helluva lot of new ones!). I've used many, many samples of Fresh Soy Cleanser over the years and was indifferent to it for a long time but now I find I like it a lot. It smells refreshingly like cucumbers and works very well as a morning face wash.

Lancome Absolue Premium with SPF15 was a bit of a bust for me as it left my skin feeling greasy and looking shiny. It was so rich feeling that I initially mistook it for a night cream before seeing that it contained SPF. On the other hand, I love Caudalie Vinosource Sorbet. This lightly whipped moisturiser is perfect for me to use during the day when the weather is warm, it's light and cooling and has that distinctive Caudalie fragrance that I love. I do find that I tend to use this up rather quickly though...

I don't see the need to use a separate neck cream but I always use them up when I get them as samples, Natura Bisse Tensolift Neck Cream was a nice enough moisturiser but I didn't use it long enough to tell if it did anything.

Chantecaille Retinol Intense+ is a creamy Retinol that has a bit of a tingle to it on application - it's good though and not too strong. Goldfadden MD Wake Up Call is a rich night cream that smells quite fruity and left my skin looking plumped and brightened the next day. I rather liked this.

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular CC Cream SPF30 failed to convert me to CC creams. I didn't find it to do anything much coverage wise and it also felt heavy on my face which I disliked.

Pleasingly I used up six mask samples. 

I didn't mind Clean & Clear Deep Action 60 Second Shower Mask. It's more of a scrubby wash than a mask but it has a little AHA in it which left my skin feeling clean and bright. 

Chantecaille Fruit and Flower Acids Mask has been cropping up in a lot of goody bags of late and I don't mind a bit! This gentle mask is quick and easy to use and I like that it smells if flowers rather than fruit, it gently exfoliates and leaves skin softer and clearer. 

Another AHA containing mask that I used was Murad Intensive C Radiance Peel and I did find it to be quite intense, it tingled quite strongly and made my face quite red but when I rinsed it off my face felt cool and minty and soon lost it's redness. I didn't exactly dislike this but I felt that it was a little harsh for me.

I have been using Ren Evercalm Ultra Comfort Rescue Mask after peeling masks and treatments and it does an excellent job of cooling and calming things down quickly. If I didn't already have so many masks I would definitely buy a full sized tube of this.

Finally two moisturising masks. The Body Shop British Rose Plumping Mask was similar in appearance to the Fresh Rose Mask but it was nowhere near as effective - in fact I thought that this one did nothing at all for my skin (although it did smell good). Derm Institute Antioxidant Hydration Gel Mask wasn't as hydrating as I expected it to be but it felt wonderfully cool on my face. Great for use after a treatment, it absorbed well and I liked how it was packaged in single dose sachets.

Make Up and Perfume.

It's rare that I finish a full sized item of make up but this month I finished three along with three samples! 

The full sized items I finished were Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch which is Maybelline's dupe for a Touche Eclat. I actually prefer this to the real thing, not only is it cheap and cheerful, it blends superbly and it camouflages as well as it highlights. 

I finished two eye pencils from Charlotte Tilbury. A chunky Colour Chameleon in 'Smoky Emerald' was worn down to a stump! I have used this practically every day since I bought it under my lower lashes and I already have a new one on the go. I loved the Rock and Kohl Eye Pencil in 'Brown' for lining my water line as it is the only one that I have found to last a decent amount of time. I have had this one about three years and the center of it has dried out so I'm having to throw it away before it's finished. I have a ton of eye pencils at the moment but I will get this again in the future.

I used two mini Kevyn Aucoin The Essential Mascara. I like the formula of this, it lengthens and adds curl without being clumpy but these minis never last me long, they always become dry and flaky very quickly once opened. 

I also used a mini tube of Hourglass Ambient Primer in 'Mood Light'. This doesn't make my make up last as long as Hourglass Veil Primer but it does prep my skin evenly for make up and gives it a subtle glow. I liked this sample enough to purchase a full sized tube.

Bodycare.

I used up two body washes this month. Zest Fresh Aloe Shower Gel is a reliable drugstore buy with a light fragrance that smells fresh and clean, it produces plenty of suds and doesn't dry out my skin. I love Nivea body products as a rule so I had to try out their new Foaming Silk Body Wash. This was lightly fragranced with the classic Nivea scent and left my skin feeling soft but I found that the foam wasn't very stable and melted to nothing when I rubbed it on. I needed to use a lot of this so it felt quite wasteful. I did like the packaging though, the undulating shape of it made it very easy to grip with wet soapy hands. I also used a small sample of Diptyque Shower Oil, I thought this would leave me with a perfumed bathroom and a veil of fragrance on my skin but disappointingly it did neither.

I used two (yes two!) tubes of Victoria's Secret Fragrance Lotion in 'Blush'. This is so far away from the type of product that I usually like that I shocked even myself how enamoured I was with this light body lotion! I did smell the whole range of these lotions and the rest were all too sweet or sickly but Blush's warm and sunny blend of Grapefruit Blossom and Magnolia was quite grown up, it reminded me a little of Tom Ford Orchid Soleil. It left my skin scented and softened.

Clinique Deep Comfort Hand Cream was a rich cream that sank into my hands right away and felt very soothing. It did work a treat but I prefer a lightly fragranced hand cream.

Haircare.

I enjoyed using OUAI Repair Shampoo and Conditioner. The shampoo felt as if it dried my hair a little but the conditioner seemed to put back what the shampoo took away. My hair looked and felt great when I used these and I noticed that there were very few hairs in my brush and in the shower so it appeared to strengthen my hair as well. I preferred the conditioner to the shampoo but found it annoying that it came in the smaller bottle of the two, I know I'm not alone in using more conditioner than shampoo. The bottles of both did last a long time and I would certainly repurchase the conditioner even though it's not cheap.

Samples of Pantene Moisture Renewal Shampoo and Martial Vivot Shampoo were both perfectly fine, but I preferred the cheaper Pantene one of the two of them as the Maritial Vivot shampoo was very thin in consistency.

L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil is a leave in hair serum that I picked up at the supermarket and I find that I like it as much as I do many high end and salon serums. It leaves my hair soft and shiny and doesn't weigh it down or leave it limp and lank. It's very good indeed and there's a few bottles of this around the house!

I also used a sachet of Rahua Omega 9 Hair Mask which worked well at deeply conditioning my hair. 

I'm happy with the amount of products that I got through in September. I have to admit that I have made a lot of beauty purchases of late so I hope I can keep up the good work finishing up products in October!