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.

Empties: February 2018.

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.   

A Small Deciem Sale Haul.

In all honesty there wasn't even one thing that I needed to add or replace beauty wise when the post Christmas sales came around, but sometimes sale bargains are simply too good to miss out on, and if I have money in my budget available, as long as it is something that I will use up at some point, then it seems silly not to take advantage of what's on offer.

  

These items are actually from the Black Friday sales but I didn't receive them until just after Christmas so I'm counting them as part of a post Christmas sale haul.

  Deciem really are a beauty company like no other and they proved it once again with their Black Friday Sale policy. They had a number of special offers but there weren't any limit to the amount of them available. With a caveat of one per customer for each offer if you ordered one you got one, even if they had run out of stock and you had to wait for the next batch of that product to be produced. How brilliant is that? Way to build customer loyalty Deciem!

Sanskrit Saponins is a skin cleanser (as opposed to a make up remover) and this huge tube of it was only $9.00 instead of $55.00 which is truly an offer to good to refuse! I have recently started using it and so far I'm impressed with this creamy, earthy smelling cleanser. I have been using it as a nightly second cleanse and it leaves my skin feeling very clean, preps it perfectly for products, and I've noticed that my skin looks pretty darn good whenever I use it. The only complaint that I have about this is that I don't know how to store this giant, toothpaste like tube! This is a 6oz tube and it is going to last me for such a long time but will be on my repurchase list when the day finally comes that I need more. 

I also bought a set of two Fountain supplements in this sale which cost $23.00 instead of $70.00, again too good a deal to refuse. 

The two supplements were The Hyaluronic Molecule and The Phyto Collagen Molecule.

 The gel/liquid formula of these supplements make these easy to take neat (so far I have only taken the ginger flavoured Hyaluronic Molecule and while I wouldn't say it was delicious, it tastes totally fine) or you can mix them into a drink or smoothie. I've never taken a liquid supplement before and I'll admit to being a little on the fence about supplements on the whole but as long as they aren't harmful I'm more than willing to try them out. 

The Hyaluronic Molecule is supposed to plump skin as well as aiding in lubricating joints and hydrating dry eyes. I'm forever applying Hyaluronic Acid to my skin, as it's one of my favourite serum ingredients, so I'm interested to see if it works from the inside out as it were

The Phyto Collagen Molecule is another molecule that is of benefit to the skin as the ingestion of a collagen will supplement and support the body's own collagen production. Again, I'm keen to see if there will be any difference in my skin after I have been taking this for a while. 

There's always a lot of information to consider and digest (no pun intended) when it comes to anything dietary so I suggest that if you are interested in any sort of dietary supplement heading over to www.fountain.co where there's a heap of information to be found to help you decide. 

Of course, now I've looked I'm interested in trying out some more! Glow, Geek, Happy, and Energy in particular all appeal, but I'm going to try the ones I have already and see how I get on with them before committing to more purchases. (I feel that more buys may be inevitable however giving the glowing reviews from satisfied customers on the site).

If you don't already subscribe to Deciem's news letter (incidentally they don't bombard you with bumph, they only send you information regarding your orders or very special deals) or would like to know more about their ranges of products take a look at deciem.com

I think you will be interested and impressed!