Month of Foil - Hair.

Every so often I have what I term a 'Month of Foil' during which I aim to use up as many sample sachets as possible. In the past I have always used up samples of everything - skincare, body care, make up and haircare but this Month of Foil features only hair products, simply because the amount of hair care sachets that I had was so plentiful. 

If there's an option to choose samples with an online order and shampoo and conditioner are available I inevitably choose them thinking "that will be handy when I travel" forgetting that I already have a ton of mini sized hair products that are much more likely to get thrown in my toiletry bag it seems...

Anyway,  I managed to use up twenty eight hair care sachets in July. (Interestingly in the last Month of Foil proper I used up 27 sachets of haircare). I still have a ton of Rahua sachets left that I will enjoy using in the near future but I managed to use up all of my R+Co samples and almost all of my Oribe ones as well as a selection of random ones. I loved everything I used by Oribe - I mean everything in this range smells so amazing that even if the product were crappy I'd be enamored! (Oribe products are all exceptionally good in my experience if very expensive.) But while the R+Co products were nice I  didn't  think that they are all that great, very stylishly packaged though...

I usually only use the regular Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner but I tried out the Voluminous range this month and liked it immensely, it didn't smell quite as nutty as the regular products but gave my hair a subtle root lift making it look fuller. Rahua Finishing Treatment was good, very nourishing, but I needed to be very judicious with the amount I used - too much and my hair looked greasy which isn't good...

Discovery of the month was Bumble+Bumble Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner. These gave my hair so much lift and volume (the shampoo in particular - I needed to use only a very small amount of it to make a difference and I can see that a bottle of it would last me a long, long time.) that I think I may prefer it to B+B's Surf range.

I have to admit to not getting my act together to use a hair mask even once in the whole month which is somewhat lame as I have a few that I should have used up. Overall though, I'm happy to have gone through something like half of my hair care sachets.

Now I really should do a month of sheet masks as I have quite a few of those hanging around... 

  

Empties July 2015.

July's empties started off somewhat slowly but then seemed to gain momentum ending up with sixteen samples and ten full sized products being used up.

I'd been traveling a lot in July hence there being two packets of wipes in the photo (I only use wipes for convenience when traveling and then only use them as a first 'cleanse' just to get rid of the majority of my make up. I always follow them with a 'proper' second cleanse.) 

The samples were all used on trips as were the individually packaged facial peels.

Products that I liked this month included Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream which smelt great, left my hair feeling super soft and hydrated it enough that it minimized frizz but managed to do all this without weighing my hair down or making it feel greasy.

Rodial Stemcell Super Food Cleanser is a really nice cleansing cream that I have bought repeatedly,  the huge pot that it comes lasts forever. 

I liked the Scalisi Skincare Cleanser and Exfoliator that I received in a Glossybox a lot more than I was expecting to. It was gentle and non drying and a good morning face wash. 

I enjoyed all the skincare samples I used: Sisley Ecological Compound Serum and African Botanicals Marula Oil in particular. (I also loved that the Marula oil came in a roller ball applicator which meant that it was easy to apply with no risk of spillage.) 

On the other hand I wasn't overly impressed by Kiehl's Skin Rescue Hydrator. It made my face too shiny to use during the day and whilst it didn't make me red or irritate in any way it didn't feel particularly soothing or cooling - for me this was just a very basic night time moisturiser. 

I was really disappointed with Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara. It  was one of the worst mascaras I have ever used - very wet and clumpy with an awkwardly shaped brush and it had a tendency to flake off during the day. 

Overall I'm very pleased with the amount of products I finished off this month!

Empties October 2014

Seriously?!? 
I thought that September produced an impressive pile of empties but in October they just kept on coming. 

So many - 24 full sized and minis and 30 samples -  that this month I split them up into 'hair and body' and 'face, make up and perfume'.

Now of course I didn't use 3 full sized shower gels etc etc instead it was more of a concentrated effort to finally finish all of those things that were almost done. 

There were previously mentioned things I love (Bumble and Bumble Surf and Seaweed products, Carol's Daughter Hair Mask, Rituals Shower Gel), a couple of oldies but goodies that I haven't used for a while but finally finished (Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo, Oribe Dry Texturising Spray, Burt's Bees Hand Salve) and a new must-have, the Oribe Supershine Cream which is really lush, smells divine and does what it says without weighing down hair.

 The only things on the hair and body pile that I disliked were the Bayliss and Harding Body Balm and Bumble and Bumble's Invisible Oil Primer .

Skincare wise the Koh Gen Do Cleansing Wipes are the best if you really have to use a wipe and whilst I still love  Boots Botanic's Clay Mask for ease and convenience I really rate the Biore Self Heating One Minute Mask. I finally tried a nose strip, also by Biore and found it very uncomfortable and a little scary to remove - not for me!
The mini face washes that I used were all foaming ones that I used in the shower in the morning - easy to use but not my faves other than the convenience they afford when traveling. The Murad Active Radiance Serum felt surprisingly nice on my skin - a silky serum that left a nice glow - and I really like the Caudalie Vinosource Moisture Recovery Cream as an everyday (and night) moisturiser in warmer weather as it leaves me hydrated without being greasy. Goldfadden MD Bright Eyes Eye Cream was great and I have added one to my stash.

Make up wise three items bit the dust. No7 Instant Radiance Concealer is a constant in my bag, even though I use it more for highlighting rather than concealing. It's a cheapie that I really like but it always starts to get a little dry and smell a bit funky before its finished so it had to go. Likewise, the Pixie Eye Pencil wasn't totally finished but it was old - it's quite a hard pencil that I find doesn't last well on the waterline so it was time to let it go.  However, I did finish every last bit of Kevin Aucoin's Eye Shadow #104/soft clay. It's my everyday, go to, perfect nude shade and I have another  ready to crack open, although at the moment I'm enjoying playing around with my Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette. 

One last thing that's not strictly a beauty product but I included as it was in a  SpaceNK gift bag is  This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray. I'd heard lots about it and was very sceptical but it really does work! I went straight out and bought a full sized one as soon as the sample was done (I've also been using the Caudalie Beauty Elixir as a pillow spray and whilst it is relaxing it's nowhere near as sleep inducing).

After all these empties I'm expecting November's pile to be slim pickings but then again... you never know...

Empties July 2014

July involved a lot of travel for me so whilst I only used up eight full sized products there was a whole host of minis and samples that were used up. Look at all the empty Caudalies!

Nothing really blew my socks off this month but I did like the Caudalie Polyphenol C15 Eye Cream and the Radical Peptide Infused Antioxidant Serum was also very lovely.

I was impressed by the St Ives Fresh Hydration Lotion. Although it's quite a light moisturiser it gets points for being so quick and easy to apply and the continuous spray leaves no slick overspray on my bathroom tiles... And although I wouldn't get it again the Stila Lip Glaze wowed me with the way it dispensed the product, every last bit of gloss squeezed out - genius!

Yup, good packaging as well as products makes me happy.

Empties June 2014.

I didn't think I used up that much this month but it was a bit of a squeeze to get all the containers on the background mat so I guess I did after all.

Some old faves were Chantecaille Just Skin, By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra Primer and Royal Apothic Simply Amazing Hand Cream.

New discoveries that I really liked included Reviva Rosewater Facial Spray from Wholefoods - it's cheap, wholesome and smells fantastic. Bumble and Bumble's Surf Shampoo and Cream Rinse

were amazing - instant beachy hair as soon as you step out of the shower and another product that smells so good! Giorgio Armani Regenessence High Lift Eyes was a gorgeous eye cream , despite the long name - why do they do that? And if I ever become obscenely wealthy I will go straight out and get myself several pots of Chanel Sublimage La Creme!

Disappointing products included Caudalie The des Vignes Shower Gel - this was a product that I had been so looking forward to using but the fact that it hardly foamed at all meant that there was no way I could love it. Shiseido Future Solutions LX Sunscreen sadly made me greasy and break out, although I have to say that Shiseido have the best packaging for their samples, it's very luxe. The Bakel  Thio C Serum which consisted of a liquid and a powder that you had to mix looked very fun and scientific but was really just too much of a palaver, it's pretty expensive and it didn't do much for me.

This month was a bit of a mixed bag with some things I loved and some that were unlovable but nine full sized items got used up... I may well have to go shopping soon...

Empties May 2014

May was a good month for empties with twelve full sized and fifteen samples hitting the bin.

Discovery of the month was Rituals Foaming Shower Gel. It was one of the richest foamiest shower gels I have ever used. So luxurious, more is on my wish list. I was also happy to try out the Bumble and Bumble Surf shampoo and conditioner, I like 'beachy hair' and these achieved it effortlessly and smelt amazing. Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream was another new find that I loved - bonus points for the small transportable tube that didn't explode in my handbag!

Elemental Herbology Purify and Sooth Balm could just be my favourite make up remover ever so I was sorry to finish this off. I also really love the Rodial StemCell Superfood Cleanser. The huge purple pot lasted a really long time and it was a joy to use. Both of these will be replaced on my shelf when I next need to buy cleansers.

Chantecaille Rose Eye Make Up Remover is the best eye make up remover in the world in my book. It's hideously expensive but I love it so much that it's worth the splurge.

The low point of this collection of empties for me was Sunday Riley Start Over Eye Cream. I was so excited to try this as I have been so impressed by other Sunday Riley products and it left me so disappointed. It really stung my eyes and it was a struggle to finish it TBH. The search for a new eye cream continues... watch this space.

 

Month of Foil.

I rarely buy a beauty product without there being a GWP attached to it (come on you know that's a fab idea right?) and after a while I accumulate a hoard of samples. The larger deluxe ones I have no problem using up, they are great for travel and generally last long enough for me to discover what they are really like. The sachets just seem to linger though... 

So starting a new year with good intentions I set to use up as many as possible. I was thrilled to count them up and find I'd used up 52. Now I have to admit that it was a lot of work to figure out what to  use with what and one of the coldest January's possibly ever wasn't the best time to do it but I do have to say that my skin isn't looking too bad for it, I don't feel guilty about having quite so much unused stuff hanging around and of course there will be plenty of sachets in the future to replace these.