Oh my, May has flown by! However, I did manage a big beauty declutter and I also used up a record amount of products - two sheet masks, thirteen full sized products, forty two sachets and nineteen samples.
Skincare.
I only emptied four full-sized skincare items. Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel is one of my favourite cleansers, I love using it as a morning cleanse. I like the texture, it's a fabulous consistency for facial massage, it rinses away easily, and it smells like rose Turkish Delight!
Caudalie Vinosource SOS Serum is a basic hydrating serum packed with Hyaluronic Acid. It has a fresh fragrance, is light in texture and isn't at all tacky. I've used many bottles of this over the years and the only thing that I don't like about it is that I go through a bottle pretty quickly!
I was surprised how much I enjoyed Nip+Fab Post Glycolic Fix Moisturiser! I bought it on sale in CVS for $5.00 or something crazy like that. It wasn't greasy and it worked well under makeup. It contains SPF30 but was comfortable to wear, left no white cast and didn't feel at all sunscreen like. It did smell quite strongly of grapefruit which was a little odd but other than that it was a perfect daytime cream.
I used Thayers' Witch Hazel (with rose petals) as a traditional toner. It wasn't astringent - the witch hazel is way down the ingredient list and it contains aloe and glycerine. This was perfectly fine but there are other toners and spritzes that I prefer so I probably wouldn't get this again in a rush even though there was nothing at all wrong with it.
I'm not a fan of sheet masks but I have a few from various GWP's that I am trying to use up and in May I used two of them.
111Skin Bio Cellulose Facial Treatment Mask didn't do anything for my skin. It was a good fit and the packet contained a lot of extra serum but the serum contained a lot of alcohol so I feel that the serum evaporated rather than absorbed.
Verso Deep Hydration Mask came in two parts, one for the top of my face and one for the bottom. This mask was thick with serum which did seem to absorb. My face looked plumper after using this. I'm not converted but it was possibly the best sheet mask I have used to date.
I also used a couple of Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads. I wiped these over my face at night and did wake up with a little more natural looking colour in my face that lasted a few days. I wouldn't buy these but they were a fun sample to try out and they were effective.
I used twelve skincare samples.
VenEffect Pore Minimising Cleanser is a melon scented runny gel. It didn't foam but it did make a light froth. I used this as a morning cleanse and it was okay but I found it a little drying.
Evan Healy Rose Cleansing Milk was a nice creamy cleanser that melted away makeup and left my skin feeling comforted. It has a very earthy rose scent that wasn't my favourite, it smelled a little paint like, but I would happily use this again as the formula was so nice.
I'm not a big fan of Micellar Water these days, it feels very odd removing a day's make up with it, but this one from Simple was very effective. I used it purely as an eye makeup remover and was astonished at how well it removed even heavy waterproof mascaras. Honestly, it worked better than quite a lot of specific eye makeup removers and I will definitely get this when I next need to buy an eye make up remover.
It has been a long time since I have used Eve Lom Rescue Mask but I enjoyed using this deep cleansing mask again. I was most impressed that it pulled all the gunk out of what would have become a pimple and prevented it from erupting (sorry to be so graphic!). The Organic Pharmacy Collagen Boost Mask was disappointing. It smelled amazing, very citrusy, but it didn't seem to do anything, it felt tacky, sat on top of my skin and when it dried it felt tight. I didn't enjoy this one.
I was very impressed by Dr Dennis Gross Dew It All Eye Gel. This creamy gel was non-irritating and did a wonderful job of hydrating and smoothing my eye area, I liked this so much that it has made it onto my shopping list!
Sunday Riley Good Genes is my favourite night time serum. It's so good and I have featured it so often I don't need to say anything else about it other than 'Try it!'.
Biossance 100% Squalene Oil was a basic face oil. It wasn't anything special for me and it was a little oilier than I like (I prefer a dryer feeling oil).
I used three samples of moisturizer. La Mer Creme de la Mer left my skin feeling very soft, it was better than I expected but it should be good considering its high price. Caudalie Premiere Cru Cream is another nighttime time hydrator that I like. Weleda Skin Food is an extremely rich thick greasy cream. I used it at night as a top layer to seal in my other products but it's a bit too thick and greasy for my tastes.
Finally, Murad Invisiblur SPF30 is a clear lightweight - almost no weight - sunscreen. I'm super fussy about sunscreens but I thought this one was good.
Haircare.
I have gathered quite a few sachets of haircare lately so I brought back 'Month of Foil'* for hair products only during May. I used up twenty shampoo sachets and twenty conditioner sachets. Brands ranged from drugstore cheapies through high-end luxury ranges. I didn't actively dislike any of the sachets that I used but my favourite duos were the ones from Oribe, Ouai, and R+Co. (Full list of sachets used as follows: Garnier Fructis Moisture Lock S&Cx1, Garnier Whole Blends Oat Delicacy S&Cx1, Love Beauty & Planet Argan Oil and Lavender S&Cx3, Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla S&Cx2, Nexxus Keraphix S&Cx2, L'oreal Advanced Haircare Ultimate Straight Shampoo x1, Klorane Strengthening&Revitalizing S&Cx1, Klorane Blond Highlights Conditioner x1, Sachajuan Ocean Mist Volumising Shampoo x2, Gloss Moderne Clean Luxury S&Cx1, R+Co Gemstone S&Cx1, OUAI Repair S&C x3, Oribe Beautiful Color S&Cx1, Oribe Gold Lust S&Cx2.)
As well as the sachets I used two haircare samples. Aveda Invati Conditioner was a thickening conditioner that left my hair feeling very soft. It also had a patchouli/myrrh like fragrance which I loved.
Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream is maybe my favourite leave-in conditioning product. It's another fantastic smelling product with its signature Oribe fragrance. I apply it to damp hair and it detangles it a dream leaving it soft to the touch and frizz free all day long.
I also finished full sized bottles of L'Oreal Elvive Volume Filler Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner. I liked these, they smelled fruity and they did make my hair feel as if it had more body and was thicker. I
used up a handbag sized R+Co Death Valley Dry Shampoo which is one of my favourite dry shampoos to use as a texturising spray and it perfumes my hair nicely with its amazing fig fragrance.
Bodycare.
I used up two creamy shower gels this month and I have to admit that they were okay but I wasn't wild about either of them as I prefer shower gels that produce a thick frothy lather rather than a light cream. Zoella Soak Opera felt and smelled like a cheap bath product to me, it's fruity floral fragrance had a harsh chemical edge to it - I was very unimpressed by it.
Le Petit Marseillais Orange Blossom Shower Cream was slightly better, it had a creamy orange scent rather than the Neroli type fragrance I was expecting and I had issues with the packaging. This bottle was huge and quite unwieldy. I wouldn't get either of these body washes again I'm afraid.
I've included two face washes in my bodycare pile this month as I repurposed them as handwashes. Aveeno Absolutely Ageless Nourishing Cleanser was far from nourishing for me. It was very foamy and made my face feel tight, it also had a strong berry scent that I found a little sickly A sample of Cerave Foaming Facial Cleanser was also too foamy and drying.
Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion is perhaps my favourite drugstore body lotion. It is light yet hydrating and has a fresh clean fragrance. It absorbs well and is a very good lotion to use in warmer weather as it is not only lightweight in feel but also highly moisturising.
I used up two hand creams this month. Rodial Stem Cell Hand Cream has a wonderful rose fragrance, feels lightweight, is non-greasy, absorbs well and does a good job of soothing sore hands.
Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve is gentler than it sounds but is something that I turn to when my hands need a little extra TLC. I like its clean menthol type fragrance and it's another cream that soothes without greasiness.
Makeup and Perfume.
I finished two full-sized makeup items, both of which are firm favourites of mine.
As I have combination skin I need to use a Primer. Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer contains SPF15 and as well as preparing my skin nicely for makeup, it stays in place much longer than if I apply it to a bare face. I can't feel this on my skin and it doesn't cause breakouts or make other products roll and pill.
Chantecaille Brilliant Lip Gloss in the shade 'Modern' is my most used lip product. I love the formula of these glosses and the colour is perfect for me either by itself or over the top of a nude lipstick. It's expensive as glosses go but I like that it has an actual brush rather than a foam doe foot applicator and a tube of this lasts a long time.
I used three perfume samples up. Chanel Gabrielle is a sophisticated white floral, it is very Chanel-y if you know what I mean.
Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil is a green citrus scent, it's not a type of fragrance that I would pick for myself but it's a classy, classic summery cologne type fragrance.
LaCoste L.12.12. Sparkling is a youthful fragrance that smells quite apple like - it's almost a bit shampoo-like - not my kind of thing at all but it is inoffensive enough.
* 'Month of Foil' is when I concentrate on using up all of my sample sachets. I use sample sachets exclusively until I have run out of a certain category. I amass a lot of samples over a year and try to do a 'Month of Foil' once a year to keep my stash in check and use up older products.
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