Empties: April 2018.

Once again (already?!?) it's time to have a look at my monthly pile of empties.

I'm still trying to reduce my stash somewhat as there are plenty of new products that I'm keen to try but I can't justify purchasing them when I have so much in stock already! I have been trying hard to concentrate on using almost empty products and resisting the urge to open up new items before I finish something up. Although this isn't the biggest pile of empties I did manage to use up some bumper sized products, along with a few items that I have been trying to empty for a while. Fifteen full sized products and twelve samples in all which isn't bad.

Skincare.

I was pleased that I managed to finish eight full sized skin care items.

Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel has been featured in many of my empties posts. I think that it is a great cleanser for the price. It cleans my skin well without stripping it and I like it as a morning cleanser. I do wish they would make this without the excessive fragrance and colouring but if you are okay with fragranced face products and haven't tried this you really should!

The Body Shop Camomile Gentle Eye Make Up Remover is something of a cult product and another pocket friendly item. The bottle was huge and it lasted me for such a long time. If you haven't tried this it is a clear water consistency liquid that smells lightly of Chamomile. It didn't sting my eyes at all but I did find that it didn't remove waterproof mascaras all that efficiently. This was okay but it didn't overly impress me and I prefer something that feels a little more nourishing. I wouldn't get this again even though I am happy to have tried it.

I used up another La Roche Posay Thermal Spring Water. I always have a tin of mineral water next to my sink. I love to layer it between products (especially Hyaluronic Acid ones) as well as use it for rinsing my face after cleansing/treatments. Nothing fancy about this but it is easily available and one I often have in stock.

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2%+B5. Honestly I had a struggle to finish this, it is a very thick serum that I found didn't absorb all that well. I had the best results with this when I applied it to damp skin and sprayed mineral water on top but otherwise I felt that it sat on top of my skin rather than sinking in. I also had problems with this causing other products to pill and roll - no way could I use this layered with oils unfortunately. The Ordinary do have a newly reformulated HA which I have bought to try but this older formula even at it's incredibly low price was a big fail as far as I'm concerned.

I had a sample of Caudalie VineActive Eye Cream that I quite liked but when I consistently used this full sized tube it left me unimpressed. It is a light cream but oddly feels quite oily once on my lids. I didn't find that it did much at all to improve my eye area other than temporarily hydrating it. I'm kind of bummed that this didn't impress me as I usually like Caudalie products.

Lierac Hydra-Chrono Hydrating Balm was a cooling, soothing gel moisturiser. There is a little oil in the formula but it was very watery in feel. I liked this basic hydrator but as with all gel products I found I used it up very quickly.

I used up two full sized lip balms in April. Kiehl's #1 Lip Balm isn't one of my favourites, it's okay but I feel that it sits on top of my lips rather than sinking in, I never buy these but I have quite a few around that I got for free which I am trying to use up.
Like the Kiehl's balm Smith's Rosebud Salve is basically a petroleum gel but this is much lighter in formula and does appear to sink in. I like this pale pink rose scented balm and often have one in my bag for use on mostly lips but also my cuticles. I think that the tin this comes in is super adorable!

In addition I also used up seven skincare samples.

Cle de Peau Softening Cleansing Foam is a lovely rich cleanser. It produces more of a cream than a foam, a little of this goes a long, long way you really only need to use the tiniest amount and it leaves skin so so soft.

3Lab Super Eye Treatment and Natura Bisse Diamond Extreme Eye are both fantastic and both very expensive! The 3Lab is more serum like in consistency and was great for use during the day while the richer Diamond Extreme Eye was better for use at night. I loved using this duo and things did look smoother and brighter but they are way too pricey for my pocket! 

Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask is a classic product that is lovely to use and always leaves my skin softened, calmed and hydrated, as ever I enjoyed using this very much.

Finally Aveeno Ultra Calming Night Cream and La Mar Moisturising Cream were both basic moisturisers that I used at night. These were both fine but neither were anything special.

Haircare.

L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil Nourishing Conditioner is such a good drugstore product - I've found the whole of this range to be great in fact. This smells like Moroccan Oil and although it is quite thick and a little oily in feel, it rinsed out easily leaving my hair incredibly silky feeling without adding any weight or greasiness to it - I already have more of this in my stash.

Pantene Pro-V Hairspray #4 did a good job of holding hair in place but it did leave quite a lot of residue in my hair. It smelled quite fruity which was preferable to the usual chemical like smell of cheaper hair sprays but overall this was merely okay for me.

Ouai Finishing Cream was a leave in conditioner/finisher that I had high hopes for as I have liked most OUAI products, but it was too heavy for my hair and made it look stringy. I gave this to Mr C&C who finished it up but he wasn't keen enough on it to get it again.   

Body care.

I only finished three body care items but two of them are ginormous!

Soap & Glory Rich and Foamous Body Wash was creamy and lathered well. I liked it's sweet nutty brown sugar scent, it wasn't too sweet and it lingered in my bathroom making it smell lovely. Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Body Milk was another hit for me! Another sweet but not sickly fragranced nutty scent (which complemented the body wash perfectly) this was very thick and nourishing. It was ever so slightly tacky feeling but these two products left my skin noticeably softer when I used them together.

I'm very impressed with L'Occitane body products and their Ultra Rich Body Cream was lovely. This was a very thick cream but it melted into my skin beautifully. I didn't need to use much of this and it left my skin very soft and comfortable. It's baby powder like scent wasn't my favourite but it wasn't offensive at all and faded quickly. 

Make up and perfume.

Two mascaras are going in the bin this month. I rarely buy a mascara but I did succumb to the hype around L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise and purchase a tube. I wasn't sure about this at first but once it dried up a tad I liked it a lot. The brush was good and it added length and volume to my lashes in a way that was bold but not too overdone. It stayed in pace throughout the day, in fact the only negative thing I would say about this is that it was a little tough to remove  thoroughly. It's not my favorite mascara but it may well be my favourite drugstore mascara.
Mineral Fusion Volumizing Mascara was a fail for me I'm afraid. I was excited to try this 'natural' formula and I had high hopes for it. It had a lovely feeling creamy formula but it flaked off so badly during the course of the day that I abandoned using it long before it was empty.

Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer in the shade 'Light' was a great eye shadow primer. Easily applied with a doe foot this blended easily, evening out the colour of skin and filling small lines and my eye make up stayed in place much longer when I used it. I was impressed, I would get this again.

I used up three perfume samples. Atelier Cologne Sud Magnolia wasn't to my taste as I find that all of Atelier Cologne EDT's smell a bit sharp and chemical like on me. I did like Helmut Lang Cuiron, it's very masculine but it's woody musky tones added up to a soft leather scent - very 1970's! Byredo Gypsy Water is a soft green aquatic scent. I always find these type of fragrances a tad too fabric softener like on me and this didn't last long on me either - it's not bad, it's just not my type of thing.

Overall I'm pleased with April's empty pile, I'm slowly getting through older products and making room in my cupboards for some lovely new things.