February has flown by - it always seems to as it is a short month! However, short or not I still managed to finish eleven full sized products and fifteen samples.
Skincare and Perfume.
I only used up five full sized skincare items.
Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater has become a bit of a fixture in my routine. I use this inexpensive spray as a refreshing spritz and also as a second toner. I love the delicate rose fragrance of this spray, it's comforting and relaxing. This particular bottle is huge and I actually decanted it into a smaller spray so that it fitted on my bathroom shelf better.
F.A.B. Facial Radiance Pads are textured rounds soaked with exfoliating acids (fruit, glycolic and lactic). They are very convenient to use and are a good introduction to acid toning as they are very gentle. Personally I prefer something a little stronger and while I loved how convenient these were for traveling I most likely won't repurchase them as I prefer the more inexpensive Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Extreme pads.
Rodial Glamtox Night was a bit of a disappointment as I love the Cleansing Balm from this (now discontinued) range so much. This cream was thick and almost balm like. I found it sat on top of my skin rather than sinking in so it was of little benefit. I did like the jar/ pump packaging though.
I bought The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5%+HA 2% to compare and contrast it with my beloved Sunday Riley Good Genes. It's a thickish slightly tacky serum and although I can't say that it improved my skin very much there's nothing bad about it - especially as it is only $5.00! It lacks the silky feel and brightening and plumping effects of GG but it's a good budget option and I will buy this in the stronger 10% concentrate to try in the future.
I sadly used up the last of The Ginza Moisturising Emulsion. It's a very good basic moisturiser that's great for daytime as it layers so well with other products. I really enjoyed this but I believe that it is only available in Japan so I can't see myself using it again any time soon unfortunately!
Sample wise I managed to use up two cleansers. Alpha-H Essential Cleansing Balm was a rose scented no frills cleansing balm. It was a little thick in texture and I found that I needed to warm it up a little on my fingers before applying. It didn't do a very good job of removing eye make up but it did emulsify and rinse off easily and it had a pleasant rose fragrance. It's rare that I'm not enamored by a Chantecaille product but their Rice and Geranium Foaming Cleanser is a bit too soapy for my liking and I find the small exfoliating grains in it get caught in my hairline.
I used four different mask samples. Mizon Vita Lemon was a splash on Vitamin C mask. I found this messy to use and it also had no effect whatsoever on my skin. Revive Masque de Glase was a simple pink clay mask, it was slightly dry in texture (that may have been because it was a sample size). It was a good non messy clay mask that wasn't drying but if I was going to spend big bucks on a clay mask there are others that I prefer. I used a two pack of Caolion Masks - Pore Original and O2 Bubble Pore. I wasn't expecting to like these but they were dramatically effective! My skin felt very, very soft and my pores did indeed appear smaller! I also finished a sample of Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask. This is a truly luxurious hydrating mask,samples of these are always a real treat to use and it always leaves skin plumper and healthy looking.
Clinique Moisture Surge Concentrate is a new addition to the popular Moisture Surge range. It is a very wet feeling clear gel serum that as well as feeling cool and soothing is very hydrating.
I can see why everyone has been raving about Dr Jart+ Ceramidin. I found it to be an excellent moisturiser that had plenty of slip so that I didn't need to use much. It absorbed well and made my skin look and feel comfortable. This cream really felt as if it was 'giving something back' to my skin and it's top of my shopping list for when I next need a basic moisturiser. Sunday Riley CEO is an intensely orange scented gel cream moisturiser. I found it to be a nice hydrator but didn't notice any skin brightening effects. The scent was very zingy and uplifting - a little too bright for night time use but good for a morning pick me up.
Caudalie Vine(Activ) Eye Cream is nicely hydrating but other than smoothing out the under eye area I didn't find that it addressed any other eye area concerns such as circles and puffiness. It feels lightweight but is a little oily and does take some time to sink in so this is better suited to nighttime use.
I also used two samples of perfume. Maison Margiela Lazy Sunday Morning is one of those light clean fabric softener type scents - very inoffensive but not my kind of fragrance. Jo Malone Oud & Bergamot was a smoky Oud with fresh tea like notes, however like all other Jo Malone fragrances it lasted next to no time on me so I wouldn't purchase it.
Haircare.
Miriam Quevedo Hydra Pure Shampoo was a lightweight sulphate free shampoo that lathered and rinsed well, leaving my hair in good condition. I was quite impressed by this colour protecting shampoo, it smelled good too.
Protect & Oil was an Argan type hair oil that I used as a leave in conditioner, it left my hair soft and didn't make it look stringy or weigh it down at all.
Bumble and Bumble Don't Blow It markets itself as a fine hair styler. I'm not sure about that, but it was an exceptionally good leave in conditioning hair cream that kept frizz at bay and made my hair look smooth and sleek. I liked this so much that I already have a full sized one.
OUAI Texturizing Hair Spray was so good! It left my hair looking tousled and added so much volume to it. This is my favourite texturizing spray right now.
Finally for haircare I used a full sized Pantene 3 Minute Miracle Conditioner. This was quite thickly textured, a cross between a hair mask and a conditioner really. It was okay, my hair didn't feel especially soft or anything when I used this so I wouldn't get it again as there are better drugstore conditioners out there for me.
Body Care.
This month saw me coming to the end of all my Space NK Life body products. I have had so many of these from a big TJ Maxx haul that it feels quite strange not to have any of them hanging around my bathroom anymore! These were all such great bath products that I picked up for a few dollars each and seeing these three together the clean graphic design of the matte packaging looks so fresh and modern. I liked the light scents of these, all of the body lotions were especially nice. I think Space NK should bring these back as a lower priced toiletry range...
And of course Empties wouldn't be Empties without a handbag sized Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Cream. This month's was Somerset Meadow which smelled grassy, clean, and fresh.
That's all for February!
I've lots of samples on the go at the moment so while I'm doubting that I will finish too many full sized products in March I am expecting that there's certainly going to be quite a pile of skincare samples finished.
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