Empties: October 2017.

October has sped by so fast I can hardly believe that it's time for an Empties post once again but here we are... 

I managed to finish eleven full sized products and twenty six samples this month.

Skincare.

I finished four full sized skincare items and fifteen samples. 

The full sizes were a varied bunch starting with another bottle of my favourite ever night time serum Sunday Riley Good Genes. 

Darphin Stimulskin Plus Divine Eye Cream has lasted me for a long time and it's very good albeit somewhat expensive. It's not perhaps the best at hydrating my eye area but it does brighten and tighten things up so everything looks a bit smoother.

Tatcha Aburatorigami are facial blotting papers and while they are good but I'm equally happy to grab a packet of cheap ones from Muji.

  Nivea Lip Butter is a cheap and cheerful lip balm that is one of my favourites and I especially like this Cocoa Butter version.

I used four samples of cleanser. I found Drunk Elephant Beste Jelly Cleanser was to be a tad drying. Biologique Recherche Lait VIP O2 was good but I didn't love the way it smelled. I did like Andalou Naturals Apricot Probiotic Cleansing Milk which was gentle, very good at removing make up and also had a nice consistency - I liked this so much I will buy a full sized tube when I next need to stock up on cleansers. I also liked Farmacy Green Clean, a balm that whisked make up away easily and rinsed off easily leaving my skin clean and soft.

Lancome Bi-Facil  Eye Make Up Remover is a little too oily for me but it does do an excellent job of removing make up and this mini bottle lasted for ages. 

Tatcha Polished Rice Enzyme Cleanser is a gentle exfoliating powder that I mixed into a facewash to use. It's not harsh at all and is a good physical exfoliator for people like myself who don't like to use anything too scrubby. 

I also used another sample of Chantecaille Fruits and Flowers Acids Mask which gently and effectively exfoliated with botanical acids.

I  used two Retinol serum samples. Dr Dennis Gross Ferulic+Retinol Wrinkle Recovery Overnight Serum is creamy and feels lovely on my skin, I have a full sized bottle of this as I liked a previous sample of it so much. Kate Somerville DermaQuench Liquid Lift + Retinol was okay, I didn't dislike it but it wasn't outstanding in any way.

I used a vial of Vichy V Mineral 89, a Hyaluronic Acid serum that I like a lot, I have quite a few samples of this but plan to buy a full sized bottle when I have used them up. Rodial Pink Diamond Instant Lifting Serum is an eye wateringly expensive daytime serum that did make my skin look firmer and smoother but I felt that it did so by sitting on my skin's surface and that it's effects were temporary rather than being something culmulative that would lead to improved skin tone.

I loved the zingy citrus fragrance of The Organic PharmacyAntioxidant Serum but it left my skin feeling oily as it didn't sink in very well.

Zelens 3t Complex is one of my favourite face creams. I notice that everything just looks so much better whenever I use this - smoother, lifted and firmer - it is expensive but worth it.

Finally I used two tubes of Natura Bisse Diamond Extreme Eye Cream which was also very good, it did an awesome job of hydrating my eye area and I would love to buy some but won't as it is super expensive ($300+ - gulp!) 

Make Up and Perfume.

I didn't finish any make up items this month but I did manage to use up a full sized bottle of fragrance and eight sample vials. 

It's rare that I finish a full sized perfume. Chloe has been my go to daily perfume when I'm working. It's floral and not too strong so I find that it's something that I can wear without it being too obvious (or obnoxious!). It's a very nice floral that isn't too sweet or sickly but I won't repurchase this as I have a lot of perfume that I need to use up and there are plenty of other perfumes that I would prefer to own.

 Bulgari Omnia Crystalline was a light floral and perfectly pleasant but a little too generic for my taste. Jo Malone Peony and Blush Suede was a more pleasing floral for me, soft and feminine, but it faded to nothing very quickly on me.

 Marc Jacobs Decadence is a surprisingly grown up fragrance, quite unlike the other perfumes from this designer. It is quite old fashioned with violet and amber notes that wears quite powdery on me. I like this but not enough to buy it (and it comes in that ridiculous bottle that looks like a handbag which I hate).

Clean Reserve Sel Santal was surprisingly similar to the ubiquitous Le Labo Santal 33. It was basically a lighter version of that scent with a touch more saline and a little less floral element.  Diptyque L'Ombre dans l'Eau was a pleasant surprise for me. Although as a rule I love Diptyque perfumes, the fact that this was a mix of blackcurrant and roses didn't appeal. However, I was wrong and I loved this fresh green spiky fragrance which was leafy and summery and refreshing. 

I also finished two samples from Byredo. Bibliotheque also has hints of blackcurrant but it warms to a smoky, soapy, leather scent which is quite masculine. It does indeed smell like books (or a loved leather jacket) and although it was interesting I prefer it as a room scent rather than a personal fragrance. What I did love enough to put on my wish list was Velvet Haze also by Byredo. This is a patchouli scent that has floral notes and cocoa to round out and complement the patchouli, it also lasted very well on me.  

Haircare.

I finished four full sized haircare items.
Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner is a drugstore favourite of mine, it isn't too heavy and I like it's coconut scent. Rusk Calm Conditioner is another lightweight conditioner. I liked the gingery fruity fragrance of this and it did detangle my hair but the formula was almost too lightweight. I had to use a lot of this so I got through this huge bottle a lot quicker than I thought I would.

I finished another bottle of L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil Serum. (This is a bottle that I have had in my travel bag and it only had a drop left - I didn't use a whole bottle of this in a month!) I really rate this leave in treatment, it leaves my hair soft, shiny, and hydrated. I think this drugstore item is on a par with many high end serums.

Oribe Wave and Shine Spray smells amazing of course, and it made my hair piece-y and windswept looking. It didn't add any shine to my blond locks and it didn't have the grittiness of Oribe Dry Texturising Spray that adds body to my fine hair - maybe this works better with thicker, heavier hair?  I didn't dislike this but the Dry Texturising Spray works so much better for me.
Talking of which, I used up a sample size of the Dry Texturising Spray and samples of Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo and Gold Lust Transformative Mask. All had Oribe's signature fragrance and the mask left my hair soft and silky. The dry shampoo did a great job of removing oil from my hair and freshening it up, but it is definitely a dry shampoo rather than a texturising product. 

Body care.

I only used up two body care items this month, both of which were full sized body lotions. Crabtree & Evelyn English Honey and Peach Blossom Body Lotion was a lovely formula that I didn't have to use too much of as it was very moisturising without being at all greasy. The scent of this wasn't unpleasant in any way but it smelled a little too peach like for my liking.
I'm still working my way through my stash of Space NK Life body products and used up one of the Ultimate Unwind Body Lotions. I like the formula of these and this one which smells of green tea, cardomom and ginger is my favourite from this range.

I'm happy with the amount of products that I got through this month and I especially enjoyed trying out so many different (luxurious) skincare items.
I was also pleased to make a dent in my stash of perfume samples and find a new perfume to treat myself to!