December Empties

I didn't think I'd got through a lot of products this month but it turns out I did! 

Liz Earle Orange Flower Botanical Body Wash

This body wash is okay - I don't think it's anything special though. I prefer fruity or sweet scents so that probably explains why I didn't love this!

L'Oreal HiP Jelly Balm in Ripe

I love these little balms - I have about six others waiting in the wings! This shade is my favourite; it's a nice peachy colour. On the lips it's very sheer, glossy and moisturising.

Bath & Body Works Pocket Bac in Guava Grapefruit

I use these little guys a lot - I have one in every room! This scent is fruity and fresh.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation in Natural Beige 
I'm so sad that I've used this up! This has been my most used foundation this year.  Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on another in the future. I wish they sold it here in the UK.

Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume in Brown
This has dried up now and whilst I did enjoy using it, I've been so impressed with my BeneFit They're Real that this made me feel a little 'blah' when I applied this for the last time. 

Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Serum
This little tube has lasted me forever. I think it's okay - when I first started using it, I did notice some improvement but over time I don't think it's done that much for my skin so I'll be on the lookout for a new serum now! Any recommendations?

Soap & Glory Pulp Friction Body Scrub
I reviewed this recently here. I've really enjoyed using this product and will probably pick up another once I've worked my way through all the other body scrubs I own!

Bath & Body Works Pocket Bac in Sour Drop
I wasn't super keen on this scent but I love these handy little pocket bacs. I've been through my stash and I'm horrified to see I only have two left!

Caudalie 1st Wrinkle Serum Eye Cream Smaple
I quite liked this eye cream, actually - I may have to pick up a full size.

Clarins Moisture Rich Body Lotion
This was a generous freebie when I picked up some Clarins products. It's absolutely lovely! It's very rich and a bit greasy so definitely not one to use in the mornings. It's very moisturising and smells delicious. The full size is £29 though...

Clarins Smoothing Body Scrub
This is another freebie (well, I got both together) and I really like this too. It's not as nice as the body lotion, though.

Tresemme Instant Refresh Volumising Dry Shampoo
This is my favourite dry shampoo and I will continue to repurchase it until I find something better. It doesn't give me the grey cast most other dry shampoos do.

Boots Essentials Nail Varnish Remover
I prefer this to the Superdrug one - it removes polish better. I don't get any peeling or brittle nails from using this. 

The Body Shop Papaya Body Butter
These body butters are my absolute favourite and I still have about three more to get through. This scent would probably be nicer in the summer but I love fruity scents all year round. 

Caudalie Quenching Sorbet Creme
I've not actually finished this but the pump has stopped working which is annoying since there's 1/3 of the product left. I've tried opening it but the texture looks a bit odd so I'm going to bin this. It's a nice face cream, shame about the packaging.






Did you get through a lot of products this month?


Stace xx

First Impressions: Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint in Beach 03

I always keep little pots like these for when I get samples in sachets - it means I get more than one use out of each sample! This is a stick of three and is from Superdrug, if you're interested!

A Swatch

Blended Out

I recently did a swap and my swap partner included a sachet of this as an extra. I've been wanting to try this for a while but after reading mixed reviews I didn't want to commit to a full size tube without trying it first so it was nice to get this to try! 

First of all, this shade is too dark for me. I think, in MAC terms, its around an NC35 - NC45 sort of shade. It'd be okay for me if I was tanned in the summer. I'd be interested in trying the Beige 02 shade.

I've tried it once on it's own. I applied it with my fingers and found that even though it's quite thick, the coverage was disappointing. Now, I am not an expert when it comes to tinted moisturisers, but I expected something a bit more from this. It basically just tinted my skin orange. I put my MSF Natural powder on top to bump up the coverage and it looked okay but it was nothing amazing. One of the reasons I like the idea of a tinted moisturiser is that I expect the finish to be nice and dewy so when I have to powder them, it kind of defeats the purpose for me.

I think if you can find a shade match in this and want something very, very sheer, you'll like this. I think the thick formula is deceptive but I guess they have called it a SHEER Skin TINT so it does what it says on the tin.

Have you tried this? What did you think?

Stace xx

September Empties: Quick Reviews!

Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover - I love this eye make up remover - it's the best I've tried. I realise that the oily feeling this leaves can be annoying for some but I'd rather have that than really irritated eyes. I solve the problem by removing my eye make up first, then my face make up and then sweeping a teeny bit of toner over my eye area to get rid of the oiliness. This is the only eye make up remover I've tried which takes off all my mascara without me having to rub half of my lashes off. I will definitely be repurchasing!


Liz Earle Brightening Treatment Mask - when I first got this, I loved it and would have given it a rave review. I used it a couple of times a week in the shower after exfoliating my face with the Gentle Exfoliator from the same line. My skin looked brighter and felt amazing. However, I feel that this stopped working as well for me over time. After the first month I found it began making less and less difference and that my skin went back to looking a bit dull and breakouts kept popping up. Also, when I got to the end of the product the texture went very strange. This product has a funny texture anyway but it seemed to separate a bit and wasn't fun to use. I might buy it again in the future but will only use it occasionally rather than every week. 


Liz Earle Gentle Exfoliator - this is a really nice product and I think it did a good job of exfoliating my skin. I'm not entirely sure it's as good as my HG scrub (The Body Shop's Vitamin C Microdermabrasion) and I think it began to become less effective the more I used it, like with the Brightening Mask. I will probably repurchase this in the future but I have another scrub waiting in the wings to get on with right now.


Lush Tea Tree Toner - I don't have the packaging for this as the spray had broken so I'd put it in a different bottle anyway. This is a nice toner; I initially thought it would be a bit harsh for my skin but it was fine. I would sweep it over my t-zone after cleansing and it left that area feeling fresh and oil free. I might repurchase but I'm going to try using a cleanser which needs to be rinsed off so won't need a toner with that.


Superdrug Cleanser for Sensitive Skin - this thing lasted forever! It does a good job of removing make up but I'm not sure how suitable it is for sensitive skin. I normally use it once to remove my make up and again to cleanse my skin in the evenings before bed. I find that quite often after the second time my skin feels a bit stingy. I don't have particularly sensitive skin so I'm not sure how it would feel for someone who did have really sensitive skin. I probably won't be repurchasing this.


Origins VitaZing Moisturiser - never fear, I have a back up! This is my go to daytime moisturiser as I find it helps to even out my skintone before I put on foundation so I don't need to cake on the foundation as much. Sometimes I can just wear this with concealer on spots and under my eyes and a bit of my MAC Natural on top.


Barry M Toffee Lip Gloss - my boyfriend threw this empty in the bin because Teddy (the cat) was playing with it...anyway! I can't believe I've actually used up an entire make up product! I love this lipgloss though and if I'm wearing any sort of nude lip this is always my go to gloss. It does have some shimmer particles which can be annoying but it smells good and isn't sticky at all. I will be repurchasing once I've made my way through a few of my other nude glosses.


Aussie Mega Shampoo - I won't be repurchasing this as it gave me a horribly dry scalp. I do love the smell and it cleans my hair well so I do recommend it if you don't have a sensitive scalp like mine!


Boots Nail Varnish Remover - It's a decent remover and I would repurchase if I was in Boots. I don't really have any issues with polish removers!

Bioderma Ceraline H2O Sample - I really like this! I'd love to track down a full size bottle because it's so easy and quick to use.


No7 Cleanse & Care Eye Makeup Remover - This was an okay eye make up remover. I've already repurchased the Botanics one so won't be picking this up in a full size. It did the job but you do need to use a lot of it.


The Body Shop Body Butter in Blueberry - I have zillions of these! I will always repurchase them. 


NARS Eye Makeup Remover Sample - This is nice, it's very similar to my Botanics remover but it doesn't feel quite as oily. I probably won't purchase the full size though!


Jergens Naturals Firming Body Lotion - This is a nice product and it has lasted me a very long time. The pump means I don't use too much. I will probably be picking up another at some point.


Origins Mega Mushroom Cleanser - I tried this when my skin was feeling very irritated


Random foundation/skincare samples - none of them are anything to write home about!

Soap & Glory Clean, Girls, Clean Shower Gel - I liked this but found I needed a lot of it to lather up well.

Soap & Gory Clean On Me Shower Gel Mini - I much prefer this S&G shower gel! I'm using up all my mini sized products because I never remember to take them when I travel anyway so I might as well use them up.

Origins Perfect World Cleanser Mini - This stung my eyes so much, even when I kept it as far from my eyes as possible so I will not be buying this in a full size.

Origins Modern Friction Scrub Mini - This was also very harsh on my eyes. It was a weird texture and I don't think it worked very well at exfoliating my skin.

Bath & Body Works Pocketbac in All Star Apple - I love this! It smells amazing. I love most pocketbacs and have a nice stock pile of them!

Liz Earle Intense Nourishing Treatment Mask - This smells pretty awful but I could deal with that at the beginning as it was nice and moisturising. However, it seems to be a common problem with Liz Earle products that once you get to the end of a tube, something goes wrong. In this instance, this mask started stinging my skin. It was horrible. I'll not be buying this again either!

Clinique Pore Minimizer Thermal Active Skin Refiner Mini - This isn't really an empty - I just can't get the product out! I got some out eventually and it was way too hard to smooth onto my skin.

Woah! That's a lot of empties - it has been a month of using up what I have already opened. I've also thrown out a few MAC paint pots/liquid liners which were past their use by date or dried up.

What have you used up this month? Do you keep a record?

Stace xx

Beauty Buying Ban - Day 21 - Weekly Wishing: Liz Earle

I already use a few Liz Earle products and I really like them. Here are a few other products I'd like to try...

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - 100ml Pump £11.75

I'm going to start using the No 7 Radiance Boosting hot cloth cleanser very soon and if I like it I'd love to try the Liz Earle version. I'm always skeptical about using water in my cleansing regime as I find it dries out my skin. 

Deep Cleansing Mask - 75ml Tube Starter Kit - £12.75

I've used two of Liz Earle's other masks and love them so this one is the next I want to try!

Hands & Feet Try Me Kit - £17.40

I've heard some good reviews on the foot products; I'd love to try those but I'm also looking for a decent hand cream so this would be a good way to try the Orange Flower Hand Wash and Hand Repair.

Do you own any of these? What do you think of them?

Stace xx