Empties #10

I actually enjoy hanging onto my empties to then share on my blog for you guys, but also for me to look back on and think "yeah, I actually really loved using that product". Within this bunch there are definitely some staple products which I would highly recommend.

Firstly the Dove Derma Spa Summer Revived Fake Tan which I purchased after watching Anna Saccone's fake tan routine video. This is now one of my favourite fake tan products and I've written a full blog post all about it here. Anything to help with spots/blemishes is right up my street and the Garnier Pure Active Anti-Spot Exfoliating Scrub. It's a really invigorating scrub which really feels like it's doing something to help my skin out. Again you can read more here. Another great spot product is the Out of Trouble mask by Origins. This I personally find really soothing for my spots and it also helps calm down the redness.

The Urban Decay Naked Concealer is such an amazing concealer. It's obviously slightly more expensive and there are great concealers which you can purchase in the drug store. However, I do really adore this one for everything - spots, blemishes and those under eye bags. Next the Rimmel Super Curler Mascara which is aimed at holding and improving the curl of your lashes. This is quite a natural looking mascara which I love for everyday. I'm not sure it really helps with the curl of my lashes, I did still curl them myself, but it was a great mascara.

Jimmy Choo Flash Perfume is a new favourite of mine. I got this on one of Boots flash deals, when it was half price. It was a bit of a whim, as I had never smelt it before, but I absolutely loved it. Finally I picked up this SPAtopia Argan Oil Body Scrub from TK Maxx. I was simply in need of a new one and spotted this one so thought I would give it a go. I'd never even heard of the brand before but now I've fully used the product up, it was a really amazing scrub. It was invigorating and actually felt like it was getting rid of all the dead skin.

There we have it, that's another one of my empties posts all done. There are some great products featured in this post which I would really like to re-purchase in the future. If you've tried any of these products before, then I'd love to hear your thoughts about them in the comments below!

Empties #9

It's time to empty my empties basket and share them all with you again. I feel like recently my empties have come to a stand still and I've started a few new, full products hence why they've slowed down. Having said that I have quite a lot pictured here to get through so let's get started.

Firstly my recent Tips & Tricks post featuring bed socks and moisturiser is where this Ghost Body Lotion has come from. As I mentioned in that post, I had lots of moisturisers from gift sets, this being one of them, and I absolutely love the scent of this, perfume included. Next the Barry M Colour Correcting Primer which I did write a Disappointing Products post about. As mentioned in this post, I didn't really enjoy this primer as basically it didn't do what it said on the tin. Next the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara which I haven't actually spoken about on my blog, correct me if I am wrong. I was kind of sitting on the fence about this product, I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. When I first started using it, I wasn't a fan, there was so much product on the wand and I had to spend ages scraping it off back into the tube. Then after a short period of time, when it started to dry out a little, I really enjoyed using it as it didn't clump, was very black and helped lengthen. After that it dried up quite quickly so all in all didn't last me too long.

Next the Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Spot Wand which I enjoyed using due to it's double ended wand, one end for day and one end for night. I wrote a full post on this product which you can read here but it's super cheap and works. The next product I was super sad to finally use it all up, it's the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. When I first picked up this product I was using it for my spots, which did work but I did find that the concealer dried up after wearing it all day. I then started using it under my eyes which worked super duper well. It's probably the best under eye concealer I've used and got rid of those under bags completely! You can read more here. The next product my mum gave to me after only using it a couple of times and it's the Tresemme Platinum Strength Hair Serum. I hadn't heard of this product before but I really enjoyed using it. I simply just put it on the ends of my hair after every wash and it helped strengthen my dry ends, also making my ends super soft.

One of my staple products is the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle, this particular one was aimed at frizz whereas normally I get the deep treatment for long hair. I definitely prefer the long hair one to this frizz one but I did enjoy using this one too. These treatments are just great for leaving your hair soft and sleek. Next the Vichy Normaderm Moisturiser aimed at oily and blemish prone skin. When I first purchased this product I wasn't fully sold on it so I put it away and came back to it a few weeks back. I don't know what I didn't like first time around but since going back to it, I really enjoyed using it. It helped my oiliness and kept it at bay for longer whilst keeping my skin hydrated. Finally the Nivea Micellar Water which I picked up when I recently ran out on the food shop. I loved the actual product but the way it came out of the bottle was super annoying. It just flicked product around when trying to get it on a cotton pad.

There we have it, all my recent empties! There seemed to be a few more products which I didn't enjoy so much in this particular empties post but definitely a firm favourite too. Let me know if you've tried any of the products I mentioned and your thoughts on them :-)

Empties #8

I seem to forget how many empties I actually have, until it gets to the point where I physically cannot fit anymore in my little basket I keep them in. It's surprising how many empty products my storage basket can hold, then when it comes to photographing them I know it's going to be a pretty lengthy blog post. So I apologise in advance but there are some great products featured in this empties post.

Firstly the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder which I absolutely loved. It's a really lightweight powder and doesn't make you look chalky but does the job really well. It kept my oiliness at bay for a reasonable amount of time but I always knew I could reapply without worrying about looking powdery. Next the Mark Hill Turn Up The Heat Spray which you can apply onto dry hair and that's how I used it. I normally wash my hair in the evenings and then style it the next morning so a heat protector which works on dry hair is a must for me and believe it or not, there's not many out there that I've found! There's not much I can say on this product but it did the job and I enjoyed using it. Then the Boots Dream Pillow Spray which is my second bottle of the stuff. It's easy to use and leaves my pillow smelling of lavender which is lovely. I'm not fully convinced this helps me get to sleep but it's definitely a nice product to use.

One of my all time favourite mascaras is the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes which I've repurchased many times in the past. This particular tube was sent to me but obviously I loved the product due to trying it previously. It leaves my lashes looking lengthened and completely natural, no clumps in sight. Next is the Olay Complete Care Moisturiser which I purchased when my skin started becoming drier in places. I really liked it to begin with, then another one came into my hands so I stopped using it but recently I went back to it and loved it. It's really lightweight for a normal/dry skin moisturiser and sunk into my skin nicely. It helped my dry patches stay hydrated and didn't effect my oily patches all that badly. Next I used up the Witch Overnight Clearing Serum and after using it all up, I'm not sold on this product. I used this nearly every night for a long period of time but I really didn't see much difference in my spots in the morning.

Pen-ultimately I used up my Origins Super Spot Remover which I absolutely loved and would you believe it this tiny pot lasted me such a long time. I definitely think this product works better on the larger, more painful spots rather than those pesky little ones. You get the stinging feeling and it really helps reduce the size and redness of big spots. Finally my Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover has all dried up so I have invested in a new one. This product is genius and makes removing nail varnish so, so much easier and much less hassle. It's definitely worth it and as I said I've repurchased already so it goes to show how much I need this product in my stash.

And that's my lengthy empties post complete! I hope you found a new product which takes your fancy that I've raved about in this post. Let me know your thoughts on any of the products I've mentioned in this post :-)

Empties #7

It feels like I've been saving up this lot of empties for quite some time now, so it feels good to finally be photographing them and sharing them with you. I have a specific cosmetic bag which I stuff until it's full and that's when I think it's about time I wrote up one of these posts.

Firstly is the L'Oreal Lumi Magique Primer which I actually really enjoyed using. I didn't think it would work for me as I have an oily t zone but it really didn't interfere with that. I like that it has a pump, meaning easy application and it kept my make up in place for a sufficient amount of time. Next is the Herbal Essences Split End Protection Cream which I love. It's such an affordable product and really leaves my ends feeling soft and smooth. It's also such an easy product to apply and I pretty much used it after washing my hair every time.

Next is Benefit's Gimme Brow which is such a great, easy product to use for your brows. It's perfect for those days when you cannot really be bothered to fully do your brows, you can just sweep this through them and you're done. The Tresemme Daily Colour Lock In Spray was quite an old product I rediscovered in my stash. I do colour my hair but really not very often at all and probably haven't had colour on it now for a good year. I found this was actually a good product to spray on after washing when trying to put a brush through my hair.

I then used up the Eucerin Intensive Lip Balm which I picked up rather recently due to suffering with really dry lips. I've heard good things about Eucerin as a brand so was looking forward to trying this but I can say that I wasn't all that impressed. I'm not a huge fan of the applicator (I'm not sure if it has a specific name or not) and I found the product just went really quickly. Next is the Boots Botanics Micellar Water which I enjoyed using. It really made my skin feel clean and ready for the rest of my routine either morning or night. The only downside was that it was just an open bottle so you had to do that awkward tipping motion onto your cotton pad, if you get me.

Another lip balm I used up was the Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla & Macadamia which smells absolutely amazing. It's a really thick and creamy lip butter and really made my lips feel nourished. The final product is the Amie Morning Light Moisturiser which I received in a beauty box. This definitely was a light moisturiser and would have been perfect for Summer. It's just not enough for the colder months, for me personally.

And that's it for this load of Empties! I hope you found something you may be interested in purchasing and if I've mentioned something you love or hate then let me know in the comments :-)

Empties #6

It's time for another empties post which have been waiting for my return from holiday for me to photograph. I love photographing empties and then being able to throw them away just feels so satisfying strangely. Again I've accumulated many items so let's get this post started.

Firstly is the Soap & Glory Heel Genius which I had been religiously using over the Summer as I tended to have bare feet at work. So I applied this each evening before bed to try and relieve some of my dry skin. I did find that it made my feet feel soft the next morning but I think I needed something a bit more hard core for my drier patches. Next is the new mascara from Benefit called Roller Lash. I actually picked this up from a magazine and I had heard a lot of good reviews about it. I can't say I agree with those rave reviews, I actually didn't really enjoy this mascara. I found it didn't help my eye lashes in anyway unfortunately and I definitely prefer Benefit's They're Real.

Next is Schwarzkopf got2be Guardian Angel Heat Protectant which I actually picked up in a B&M store as it was super cheap. I simply needed a new heat protectant and saw this one whilst I was out and I definitely wasn't being fussy. I enjoyed using this one and it simply did the job. Avon Clear Skin Clearing Gel is next and is just your standard spot gel. This wasn't the best one I had ever tried but you know me, I simply just love buying a new spot gel and enjoy testing them all out!

I then used up the CoLab Dry Shampoo in New York which I am kind of sitting on the fence about. I really enjoyed it to begin with but as I continued to use it I found it just wasn't working for me. I didn't like the way it left my hair feeling and I think I will continue to stick to my favourite Batiste. The penultimate product is Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil Free Moisturiser which I actually purchased a long time ago. Recently I was using up a few things from my stash and I found this product. With my skin turning slightly drier I don't think this was the best moisturiser for my skin. It did help my oily t zone I will admit but overall I wasn't that keen on it.

Finally is Rimmel's Wake Me Up Foundation which if you've read my review you may already know how I feel about this foundation. It's basically become my go to foundation and I absolutely love it. The coverage is light/medium but buildable, I love the staying power and the main reason is that it works well with my skin. This is the hardest thing I find when buying a foundation due to having both dry and oily skin but this one just works. I've already gone out and repurchased this foundation!

There you have my 6th empties post, I hope you enjoyed it and found something you may want to look into purchasing. If I've mentioned a product you've used before then let me know your thoughts in the comments :-)

Empties #5

Recently my empties just seem to be collecting up rather quickly so I have another empties post for you today. It's not actually been that long since my last one but my little empties basket was full hence this post coming so soon. I do love finishing products and writing these posts as I find I actually think back about what I loved and didn't love so much.

Firstly the Maybelline Baby Skin Primer which at first I hated but recently I went back to using it when my other primer had ran out and actually enjoyed using it. I think now my skin is drier that this actually works better and hydrates those areas. I do however find that my oily t zone doesn't like this product as much but my drier areas definitely do. The texture of this is very silicone-y but if you get over that then this product is pretty good for those of you with dry skin. Next the famous Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish which I absolutely love. This product takes your make up of effortlessly and I'm definitely not a make up wipe user anymore. This product is rather pricey though and considering I use this everyday can become expensive which is a downside.

The Boots Botanics Lavender Pillow Spray has really helped me recently when it comes to drifting off to sleep, so much so that I have repurchased although I couldn't find the exact same in Boots so I think they may have changed the packaging or something as it's the same scent and brand. This smells lovely and is just nice and relaxing to spray onto your pillow before you drift off to sleep. Then the Bourjois Volume 1 Second Mascara which I really enjoyed using and found that it definitely helped with volumising my eyelashes. I did find that it dried out rather quickly which is rather annoying. Next is the Elizabeth Arden Night Moisturising Cream which I used religiously from when I received it until it was all gone. It was a thick night time moisturiser which I like as I found it helped keep my dry patches hydrated throughout the night. This even worked well on my oily patches which was a bonus.

Next is the Bach Night Rescue which I have recently done a full blog post about so I won't go into it too much. It's a great product for helping me drift off to sleep when I find myself fidgeting and it taking hours to do so. It can be quite expensive but I do find that it lasts a long time. Finally is the Dr Brandt Pores No More Moisturiser which my mum actually gave to me as it didn't suit her skin type. It was aimed at oily skin therefore helped my oily t zone but wasn't so great on my dry patches. Although saying that it wasn't terrible on them therefore I continued to use it all up. I just found that throughout the day my dry patches wouldn't last as long as my oily t zone did, if that makes sense. I'd never heard of this moisturiser before and don't think I will be repurchasing but it was a nice moisturiser to use in between myself buying a new one.

And that's all my empties! I hope you enjoy reading this post and find something that you may be interested in trying. Let me know if you have tried one of these products and your thoughts or if you are going to try something :-)

Empties #4

I seem to lose track of how many empties I have then it comes to times like this where I have loads to talk about all in one post. So this may be a lengthy post but I'll keep it as straight to the point at possible. I like writing these posts as it can (hopefully) give you an insight on how I feel about the products fully as, obviously, I have used them all up.

Let's get going, firstly is the Freederm Overnight Clearing Serum which I have actually written a full post about here so I won't go into it too much. I will say I've repurchased this product and really love it for my spot prone skin. Another product I've written a full post about is the Marc Jacobs perfume in Lola, you can read that here. I absolutely loved this perfume, and the bottle!, and am sad it's all gone but I definitely like to try different perfumes so am currently on the hunt for a newbie. Rimmel's Wake Me Up Concealer is one of my all time favourite under eye concealers, again you can read fully here. Another product I've already fully reviewed is the Nivea Express Hydration Primer, here, this is an ok product and perfect for if you're in a rush to do your make up. But I did find the hydrating part wasn't quite enough for my dry skin and definitely needed something richer.

Right onto products that I haven't fully reviewed before and firstly is the Avon Sleep Therapy Sleep Balm which is a slightly random product. It takes me ages to get to sleep at night so I'm always on the look out for products that can help that. This product smells like lavender and is a thick cream consistency. I enjoyed using this product on my wrists but don't think I'll be repurchasing as I'm not sure it really did anything to help me. Next is the Urban Decay Perversion Mascara which I absolutely loved. This is a little sample size I got when I purchased one of their palettes and was a great way to try it out. I did find that it dried out pretty quickly though, which is one down side, but I love how thick and volumised my lashes looked when I used this.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo+ is just an amazing product and this is the second one I've now been through and I will definitely repurchase this again. It works absolute wonders on my skin for my blemishes and is such an easy product to use. I just apply this in the morning and evening and it just does something amazing to my skin and spots. If you're skin type is like mine then I would definitely try this product out. Next is the Garnier Fresh Refining Toner which had actually been in my stash for quite some time then when my old one ran out my skin type had basically changed. Yes I still had oily patches but this product did not get on with my dry patches. Therefore I cannot really review this product properly as it just didn't work for my skin.

Another empty is the T Zone Spot Zapping Stick which again was something that had been in my stash for quite some time. I swear spot creams are the one thing I either have loads of or none, no in between. I had a love/hate relationship with this product as it only worked on my larger blemishes/spots. If you applied this on any smaller spot I swear it just did not work at all for me and I have absolutely no idea why. But it did work well on my bigger spots but I can say I don't think I will repurchase this. Finally is the Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm again another sample size I received and I rather enjoyed using it. It left my hair feeling really soft and a lot less tangled which is always a bonus when you have longer hair.

And that is all of my empties over the past couple of months and boy there was quite a lot there! There are definitely some products I will be repurchasing and others I will not but I find writing these posts help me to decide whether or not I would actually repurchase or not. Therefore this has helped a lot! I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know products you've recently used up that you love :-)

Empties #3

After hoarding all of this lot for quite some time now I thought it was about right that I finally did another empties post. When I was photographing this lot I realised how many hair care items there are included, clearly I had too many in my stash and needed to use some of them up. I still have way too many but hey, what are you going to do about it.

Anyway let's get started. Firstly a sample of the Laura Mercier foundation primer which I received in a beauty box a little while back. I have actually tried this before and I'm not overly in love with it, it's one of those primers that just does the job. It's pretty runny in consistency which is something I'm not a fan of. But it was relatively pleasant to use whilst it lasted but something I would purchase myself.

Next is a small tube of Moroccan argan oil from Natural World. I received this as a present, again a while back, but I really enjoyed using it. You only needed a small amount to work through the ends of your hair and it left them feeling less dead and much more soft. I really love hair oils and how they leave your hair feeling super soft, this one was no exception.

Two Aussie products next and I really do love their hair care range. Firstly the Miracle Recharge Conditioning Spray, this was another present I received for my birthday. If I'm honest it's not probably something I would have picked up myself but I really enjoyed using this product. My hair is pretty thick and gets super knotty, this product helped so much with the knots and detangling. It could also be used on dry or wet hair which makes it a great all round product. It also had many other positives but I mainly loved it for the detangling. Next is the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deep Treatment, another love of mine. This is actually my second tube of this and it definitely does work miracles. My hair gets dead pretty quickly on the ends and even though this product works so quickly it still does such an amazing job. I hate those hair masks where you have to wait 15+ minutes so this one is always a winner for me.

Next is the L'Oreal Micellar Water which I picked up after hearing a lot of hyped reviews about it. I did enjoy using this product, it was soft on my skin and didn't irritate it. I used it after cleansing for any make up that I may have missed and it worked like a dream. I'm not sure it was the greatest on my dry patches for hydrating them but didn't necessarily harm them. I then used up a small sample of one of my all time favourite perfumes from Ghost. I'm pretty rubbish at describing scents but this one is definitely up in my top three. I like these small samples as they are perfect for throwing into your handbag daily or in your night out bag.

Finally two more hair care products, the first one from Philip Kingsley and it's their Daily Damage Defence. Again something I received from a beauty box and something I loved using. This product had a really nice scent to it which I loved and was just simply an all round product. It covered everything you would want it to when it comes to your hair, making it super easy to use. The final product is from Uniqone All in One Hair Treatment. This product is basically another version of the Philip Kingsley one and is the perfect all rounder. It claims 10 different hair care positives, just what you would want from one spray. I very much enjoyed using both of these sprays.

Overall there are definitely some products I want to repurchase from these empties and get the full size of. On the other hand there are some I wouldn't and that's why the sample sizes are great for trying them out. Let me know if you've tried any of the products I mentioned and your thoughts on them :-)

Empties #2

I can't believe Christmas has been and gone already. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and Boxing day :-) I'm spending my day today watching all of the DVDs I received for Christmas and eating chocolates, just perfect. Onto the post, I cannot believe this is only my second empties post ever. I definitely need to remember more to keep my empty goodies to share with you but for now lets get talking about these ones.

Sephora Coconut Perfume
I picked this up a while back when I was in Rome, I simply love the smell of coconut, not so much the taste but the smell is lovely. So when I saw this little travel sized perfume I thought it was perfect. It's a great size to just chuck into your handbag and spritz whenever needed. The smell lasted a pretty long time and surprisingly so did this little tube. The only slight downside was that it was glass so not perfect for travelling but it served me well and I loved it.

Garnier Ultimate Blends 1 Minute Treatment
I was gutted when this beauty ran out. I picked this up when this range first came out and it worked miracles on my hair. It was perfect for those quick hair wash showers when you don't want to stand there for 5 minutes with a hair mask on. This one worked it's magic in just 1 minute. You popped this on your hair after shampooing and if your hair needed it you could then use conditioner but you didn't have to. I would sometimes just use a small amount of conditioner right on the ends of my hair to really give them a good nourish. This honestly really helped my hair and it's split ends. It also smelt amazing with avocado oil and shea butter.

Murad Blemish Spot Treatment
I got this spot treatment within a Murad gift set a while back from TK Maxx. I don't need to tell you how much I love a good spot treatment but I did really enjoy using this one. It had quite a runny consistency which was sometimes quite difficult to work with but once on the face it was ok. It didn't leave the affected area tight or stiff and it also didn't sting on application. It really helped my blemishes over night and the redness reduced. I've tried so many spot treatments, this one did work but unfortunately not one of my favourites I've used over time.

Jelly Belly Bubblegum Candle
I picked this candle up a pretty long time ago now but I'm so glad I did. This honestly smells incredible, within minutes my whole bedroom would smell amazing and it was all down to this candle. It sure had a long burning time to because it got to the point where I was having to light this everyday. This is by far the best candle I've ever burnt and I would love to see what other scents you can get from this range as I would 100% buy one.

And that's it for my second empties post! I don't have so many this time around but will have to definitely try harder to remember to keep everything I use up for next time around. Again I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and I'll see you next time :-)

Empties #1

My first ever empties post! I actually remembered to huddle some of my empties together to write a post on them, yay me! I always tell myself to write one of these posts but then realise that the other day I threw one in the bin, end of that post. I must say these empties are from rather a long time ago, probably December woops, but finally this post goes live.

My first empty was the Nivea express hydration primer and I really enjoyed using this. It was absolutely perfect for those 'in a rush' days before work as it moisturises and primes all in one product. It obviously isn't the most luxurious product but it did the job for a day at work and for that reason I really like this product.

Next are 2 products from Collection, first their infamous lasting something or other concealer. This was my first tube of this and it's just a little tube of perfection really. I had this in the lightest shade for under my eyes which worked absolute wonders. It was too light to use to cover my spots/imperfections and for that now I bought the next shade which I also love. I won't run on too much as I'm sure everyone reading this has most probably tried it. The other Collection item is the Fix Me Up, said to keep your make up in place for longer. First things first the bottle is pretty small, now I know Collection aren't the most expensive but this bottle barely lasted. I also didn't notice much more hold in my make up, it was nice to apply in the morning but no more than that and I doubt I'll be repurchasing again.

Aussie is one of my favourite hair care brands as they have different products for your length of hair which I like. I believe the 3 minute miracle is probably one of their best sellers, I got the one for long hair and I really enjoyed using this. It helps deeply moisturise and nourish your hair which it definitely did, it left my hair feeling super smooth and soft. I used this once or twice a week depending on how much I thought my hair needed it. It definitely did the job and I've always used Aussie products and I won't be stopping anytime soon.

Finally 2 perfumes, due to living in 2 houses I have a perfume at each and this time it just so happened that they ran out at the same time, annoying hey. First the Calvin Klein IN2U, I actually got this for my birthday from my aunt and uncle and it smells super duper good, definitely an everyday wear. I'm rubbish at describing scents I'll have you know. Next is one from Sarah Jessica Parker, this is simply an old time classic and totally reminds me of middle school. I'm not so keen on the packaging but the smell is gorgeous, I'd say this one is slightly floral but again is for everyday and this is also is super cheap, bonus.

So that's all my empties and I hope you enjoyed this post, a first for me and you as my readers! I think it's nice to get mini reviews and I enjoy them so I hope you do too :-)