Empties: November 2017.

November's empty pile is quite a healthy looking one as I managed to use up twelve full sized items and twenty five samples.

Skincare.

I managed to empty six full sized skincare items. 
NuFace Prep-n-Glow are textured cleansing cloths aka super fancy face wipes. They served me well on a trip away from home but aren't something that I would ever use with any regularity. One side of them is quite knobbly and while they seemed to do a better job of removing make up than your average wipe I still washed my face with a proper cleanser afterward.

The next four items could all be featured in my 'best of skincare' lineup! 
Kiehl's Supremely Gentle Eye Make Up Remover is a non irritating creamy make up remover that whisks away even the most stubborn mascaras easily.
La Roche Posay Thermal Spring Water and Evan Healy Lavender Facial Tonic HydroSoul are both facial sprays that are hydrating and calming - I've used both of them before and I will use them both again in the future.
Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S. Serum is an extremely hydrating serum that keeps dehydrated skin in check (and is one of my favoured daytime serums) as it does so whilst being light and comfortable. It's simple formula means that you can layer it with other products and make up without any piling or irritation.

I'm a big fan of Dr Dennis Gross skincare so it pains me to say that I wasn't all that impressed by his Medi Spa Peel kit. The pads were big and generously saturated with product but I didn't see any more of an improvement from these than I did from his regular Alpha Beta Peel Pads - in fact, I think I prefer the Alpha Beta Pads. However, the Firming Peptide Milk that was included in the kit was a highly effective and calming moisturiser, so much so that I would consider buying it by itself to use with other pads and peels.
I used up a lot of skincare samples in November, fourteen of them to be exact! 

Youth to the People Kale+Green Tea Spinach Vitamins Age Prevention Cleanser (what a name!) was a gel cleanser that was just okay, there was nothing outstanding or special about this for me. Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm on the other hand was excellent, it has a lovely consistency for facial massage and when used as a second cleanse (it's far to nice to waste removing make up) it left my skin clean and softened.

I used samples of two hydrating masks. Fresh Rose Face Mask is a previously used favourite. Derm Institute Anti Oxidant Hydration Mask comes handily packaged in individual sachets. I take two of these with me when I fly, one to use the night I land to help my skin recover from the flight, and one to use the night before I fly home to prep and protect skin. 

I used three eye cream samples. Malin+Goetz new Revitalising Eye Cream hydrated my under eye area well but it was too greasy for me and left my eyes a little blurry after use. Chantecaille Nano Gold Energizing Eye Cream is rich, non greasy, and does a lovely job of smoothing everything around the eye area. 3Lab Super Eye Treatment is comfortable to wear and does an all round amazingly good job of addressing all my eye area concerns, but it's over $400.00 for a full size...

I used five serum samples, three of which were Vichy Mineral 89. I have been so impressed with this wallet friendly HA gel serum that I have bought a full sized bottle. Chantecaille Bio Lifting Serum and Valmont Prime B Cellular are both clear gel serums that are pretty pricey. Both of them were  nice to use but not especially spectacular in any way. 

Finally I used two samples of moisturiser. Valmont Firming Lifting Corrector Factor II was a fairly rich cream with a green grassy scent that felt very nourishing, but the skincare sample that I most loved this month was Tata Harper Repairative Moisturiser as it felt light yet soothed and hydrated my skin so well. It was a brilliant day time cream that layered well with other products and smelt fresh and herbal, this one is on my shopping list!

Haircare.

I only finished one full sized haircare item, Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin Conditioner. I did enjoy using this, because of course, it made my hair and bathroom smell extraordinarily good and was a very luxurious way to start the day, but in terms of performance I didn't think that it did much  for my hair beyond detangling it. It was sort of a super fancy Herbal Essences! And the square bottle with a screw top drove me mad every time I used it as it was so impractical. I wish it had had a flip top and had been more rounded so that I could have emptied it completely.

I had been looking forward to finally trying Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Shampoo. It smelled fresh and clean but was a bit too heavy for my fine hair, leaving it a little lank looking. I actually gave up on this and passed it over to Mr C&C who did like it.

I used two samples of hair products. OUAI Hair Oil is one of my favourite leave in conditioning/smoothing products. R+Co High Dive leave in conditioning cream had a strong powdery scent that I liked and although it did a good job of detangling I found that if I used too much it made my hair look a little string-y so I had to be careful not to overdo it.

Bodycare.

I used some varied body care items up in November.
TonyMoly Changing Magic Foot Peeling Shoes were one of the strangest beauty products I have ever used and I had been curious to try them! I wrote about them in depth elsewhere so I'll spare the (somewhat gory) details and merely report that they weren't as good as I was hoping them to be.

I also used up two hand creams. Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Hand Cream is something I have used before, the formula is great, it smells softly of roses and it's perfectly sized for a handbag - the tube is sturdy and leak proof also. I was less keen on a sample of Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream, I know that this is excellent if you have badly chapped hands or need to protect them but for me it is a little too greasy feeling to be comfortable.

Aromatherapy Associates Support Bath Oil smelt strongly of Lavender and Peppermint and was a calming addition to a bath. The sample was enjoyable and a full sized bottle would be a welcome gift but I don't ever think I would purchase this myself as these oils are quite expensive. I would buy good quality essential oils and blend my own in preference.

I finally got around to using a Crabtree & Evelyn Body Wash that I have had for a long, long time. It was a nice gentle formula that produced a rich lather but the 'English Honey and Peach Blossom' scent was a bit too peach like for me.

I'm still working my way through my stash of Space NK Life body products! Daily Fix Body Lotion is a richly hydrating, practically unscented cream that leaves my skin soft and comfortable.
I also used a sachet of Sisley Restorative Body Lotion. It was an excellent body cream that had a delicate lavender perfume but as nice as it is, it is far too expensive for me to ever consider purchasing - especially with the way I need to slather on lotion daily!

Make Up and Perfume.

Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser may well be my most used and most loved beauty product ever! Medium coverage that makes skin look glowing, SPF 15 and skin protecting antioxidants make this my desert island product. I use it everyday and had another tube in stock ready to open as soon as this one was empty.

I was really loving my mini Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in 'Peacemaker', a brown toned nude. It had a creamy texture and is exactly the shade I like to wear. Unfortunately it also had a cap that came off in my bag (thankfully in a toiletries bag and not my actual handbag!) and meant that it smashed to pieces. I do have another of these (that is staying at home!) but I think that I may well buy a full sized one before too long as I like it so much. Another lip product I liked was Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask. I had a sampler of three shades, all of which I liked, and found it to be thick and nourishing. This not only stayed on my lips for a good amount of time, it tasted good also.

I used three vials of perfume: Michael Kors Sexy Amber; Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black and Diptyque Eau de 34. I liked all of these but not enough to want to purchase full sizes of any of them.

Wow! That was a lot of empties!
I'm not sure how many things I will use up in December as I have a lot of new products that I have just opened but sometimes I surprise myself. And at the end of December I will be totting up how many empties I have produced over the course of a year which is always quite a surprising amount when added all together!