Empties: July 2018.

July's pile of empties was another impressive one! I managed to finish up thirteen full-sized products and twenty-three samples.

Skincare.

I got through seven full-sized skincare items. I used two cleansers, Ren Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk is more of a light cream than a milk. I bought this in the winter when the severe cold was sucking every last drop of moisture from my skin and I found this really did help with hydration levels and any cold weather-related redness. It did a great job of dissolving makeup but honestly, I liked this so much I used it for first, second, and morning cleanses. I liked how the practical pump packaging kept the product fresh and dispensed just the right amount. I'm definitely getting this again to use in winter.

No7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser was a gel/balm consistency that did indeed melt down into an oil and then emulsify with the addition of water. It did a great job of removing makeup and I thought this powdery scented gel was, like other balms, best suited to a first cleanse. I got this in an Ulta sale for $5.00 which was a bargain price!

I've long had my eyes on a big bottle of toning water from Santa Maria Novella so when I saw this in a sale I snapped it up. This one is the Orange Blossom Water. It's a very basic but lovely product, that was refreshing to use as a toner. It has a pleasing neroli scent with a touch of mint and that bottle is simply gorgeous isn't it?

I used up two very different serums. I'm sure everybody knows about Sunday Riley Good Genes and my love of it by now, so I won't bang on about this Lactic Acid serum, but I will say that it does make a visible difference to my skin and that I have already cracked open another bottle! The Ordinary Marine Hyaluronics is a Hyaluronic Acid serum introduced for folks like myself who found The Ordinary H.A. 2% too thick and sticky. This one is the consistency of water and it absorbs well. It wasn't the best H.A. serum that I have used but it was easily absorbed without any tacky residue and it is super cheap ($5-6 if I remember correctly?). I quite liked this but it has a terrible scent of, I kid you not, dirty feet and hot dogs which means that I won't be getting this again unless I'm having to be very economical with my skincare purchases!

Skin Owl Beauty Drops P.M. is a facial oil with a berry-like aroma. It was quite an 'oily oil' but it did absorb fairly well. I made a real effort to use this up as it has been open a while and I found that it wasn't an oil that I liked enough to reach for all that often. I like an oil that feels 'dryer' than this one,  plus I didn't notice it making a big difference to my skin.

I am sad that I finished my Oribe BalmEssence Lip Balm, soothing, moisturizing, lemony fresh, and in a beautiful pot, there wasn't anything I didn't like about this one. Actually, I don't like the price so unless I find it on sale again this one has sadly gone from my routine for good...

I used up a whopping fifteen skincare, makeup, and fragrance samples so I will try to be brief!

Goldfaden MD Pure Start is a non-foaming grapefruit scented gel cleanser that cleansed without stripping. It did do a good job of removing makeup but I prefer it as a second or morning cleanser. I like this a lot, it's on my shopping list!  I used two Bi-Phase eye make up removers: Lancome Bi Facil and Clinique Take The Day Off. These are both much of a muchness for me,  I prefer to use a cream or water remover but both of these worked well.

I used two eye cream samples. Goldfaden MD Bright Eyes is rich but absorbs well, leaving my eye area brighter and smoother. I have bought this in the past and had forgotten how nice it was. 111SkinSpace Defense Eye Lift Gel is a high-end GWP staple it seems! I've used many of these over the years and it always fails to impress me, it really doesn't seem to do anything and it's a very pricey product.

Tata Harper Resurfacing Serum is a new addition to the range. It was a very wet hydrating serum but I didn't notice any difference to my skin when I used it beyond hydration. Chantecaille Flower Harmonizing Cream is a calming moisturiser and I enjoyed using it after deep cleansing or masking, it's very soothing for stressed skin. Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream has that typically Fresh cucumber type fragrance, it's a lovely light if somewhat basic moisturiser but it is nice to wear in the warmer weather and sits well under SPF and makeup. I wasn't all that keen on Olay Regenerist Whip, it did feel quite cooling on application but it had an odd almost plastic like rather than aerated texture and it was quite strongly perfumed. I used this as a nighttime final layer to seal everything in but wouldn't really recommend it.

I used up two mini sunscreens.  I like to carry a spray sunscreen in my bag for daily top-ups when out and about and used Amore Pacific Sun Protection Mist SPF 30 in this way. The spray mechanism on this delivered a nice fine spritz that felt cooling and it had a sophisticated summery scent. I'm not a fan of Philosophy products as a rule but their Ultimate Miracle Worker was a pleasant surprise. It ticked all my sunscreen boxes (no white cast, easily absorbed, comfortable to wear, etc etc) and was moisturising at the same time.

I used a mini ByTerry Baume De Rose. This cult product isn't my favourite, I do like its rose scent but it does nothing at all for my lips, in fact, I think it makes them feel drier if anything. I also used a mini Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss in the shade 'Lucky' I'm trying to work my way through a stash of mini glosses before I buy more full sized ones and Lucky is a wearable shimmering nude that I like to wear over a nude lipstick.

I also used two perfume samples. L'Etat d'Orange Libre Jasmine and Cigarettes is a pure jasmine dirtied up with tobacco that is very wearable and one of the least complex scents from this innovative perfume house. Etro Paisley opens with a big blast of amber but swiftly develops into a warm ylang-ylang based scent - there's something very 1970's about this one that strikes a chord with me.

Haircare.

I only use a Clarifying Shampoo about twice a month so I have had this one from Moroccan Oil open for-evah! Sulphate and Paraben free, this has the distinctive Moroccan Oil Argan scent and is safe for colour treated hair. My hair felt very clean but I did need to put a lot of moisture back into it (I normally masked) after using this. I didn't dislike it but I do much prefer Bumble+Bumble Sunday Shampoo and that is what I purchased to replace this.

I usually love OGX products and while this Shea Soft &Smooth Conditioner left it frizz-free it also didn't detangle it at all. However, this did smell amazing, coconutty and caramel-like at the same time - delish!

I used a mini Rahua Classic Shampoo, this is possibly my all-time favourite shampoo, especially when paired with its matching conditioner. Evo Fabuloso Colour Intensive Conditioner is one of those purple colour correcting conditioners for blondes. I thought this mini, which I used sporadically, was okay, it left my hair soft and smooth but I didn't notice any change in the colour. I also used a mini tube of Matrix Biolage Cleansing Conditioner. This did what it promised, it cleansed my hair and left it soft enough and detangled. Although it's not the sort of product that I would buy I can see that it's handy for a trip or a gym bag.

I used a full-sized L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil Lustrous Oil Serum. This is one of the best drugstore hair care products in my book! Scent wise there's a big nod towards Moroccan Oil, and it does a superb job of smoothing and detangling hair without weighing it down, leaving it nice and soft at the same time.

Samples of Oribe Supershine Moisturising Cream and Ouai Hair Oil took care of my locks when I was away on trips in July. I love both of these leave in conditioners and have used them both many times before.

Bodycare.

I used another Nivea Foaming Silk Body Wash. These cheap and cheerful bath products are fun to use and leave my skin soft but I do go through them quickly. This one was the 'Warm Vanilla & Jasmine Blossom' scented one but I must admit that all the ones in the blue tins simply smell like Nivea to me. I also finished up a tube of Zest Fruit Boost Shower Gel. This is a concentrated gel but I used it up about as quickly as I would a regular gel, its citrus scent was very refreshing to use and left my bathroom fragranced. The packaging of this looks fun and appealing resembling a large tooth tube but it isn't practical as once opened the product would ooze out unless it was left upside down which is very annoying.

I've snuck an Algenist Purifying & Replenishing Cleanser into my bodycare empties. I bought this on a whim and was surprised to find that it was very foamy. It left my skin clean but feeling a little too tight so I repurposed this one as a hand wash to avoid wasting it.

Sol Janeiro Brazillian Bum Bum Cream is possibly the most buzzed about body range at the moment. I used up two samples and I'm a little 'meh' about it. The smell is super summery - very tropical beach but it stays on your skin for a long time and I think that it is a little too overpowering. The cream itself is good, it's rich and moisturizing and absorbs well but it is kind of expensive for a body cream, more than I'd like to spend certainly - this one falls in the happy to use it if it's free pile, for me at least. Final bodycare product for this month is Susanne Kaufmann Ingerweröl Detox Oil. This one is expensive too but a little goes a long way and it's made of high-quality natural ingredients. It has a lovely, fresh, lemony spa scent and while I can't attest to it's 'detox' abilities 'Ingerweröl' is a delight to say! If I was going to splurge on a bodycare item it would be this one!

I'm pleased at the rate I've been getting through products and producing empties so far this year. Let's hope I can keep the effort going in August too!