Empties – January 2019

Alright guys, here it is – the first of this year’s No Buy series and the products I managed to use up this month. Lots of these were half empty so don’t expect this kind of treasure trove (if it can be called that) every month… but my stash is looking much better already!

Total number of products used up: 32

Estimated retail value of products used up: a whopping £169.86! (Jesus)

I’ve broken them down into further categories below, and have written a little review about everything in case you’re that bored.

Face Products

(L-R: Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, Simple Micellar Cleansing Water, St Ives Microdermabrasion Scrub, Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser)

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water – 10/10 – Love a micellar water to remove makeup, and the Garnier bog-standard pink one is the best out there in my opinion. Leaves no trace, makeup pretty much vanishes with one swipe, and it’s cheap as chips at £5 or so a bottle. Love love love. Will repurchase until I die.

Simple Micellar Cleansing Water – 4/10 – Ehhh. It did the job, but was it as effective as Garnier? No. Was it slightly greasy? Yes. Did I love it? Not really.

St Ives Microdermabrasion Scrub – 6/10 – I’m a dermatologist’s worst nightmare. I do very little to my skin, very often sleep in my makeup, hardly ever moisturise it, and scrub it constantly. In theory I should have way worse skin but I’m riding on those good genes (thanks Mum!) and will carry on using my scrubs until I no longer have a face to use them on. This was alright – PACKED full of rough…scrub…stuff, which I like (look, if you’re a scrub, don’t fob me off by adding a load of lotion, k?), but the tiny scrub particles were a pain to clean off my sink. Probably wouldn’t repurchase because I’m lazy and don’t like cleaning.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser – 3/10 – Look, I don’t want to get jumped on by the beauty community here. I’m no guru, but I also don’t buy into the hype of stuff without trying it out myself. And I’m here to say: I’m not a huge fan of the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser. It left my skin greasy, with a weird residue, and I wasn’t a fan of the smell. It’s also ridiculously expensive for what it is – I’m pretty sure you can get equally good, if not better, hot cloth cleansers for way less dinero. Sorry not sorry.

Hair Products

(L-R: Herbal Essences Argan Oil Shampoo, Pantene Pro-V Micellar Shampoo, Mane ‘n’ Tail Deep Moisturizing Conditioner, Mane ‘n’ Tail Conditioner x 2, Schwartzkopf got2b Hairspray, Nizoral Shampoo x 2)

Herbal Essences Argan Oil Shampoo – 7/10 – Nice smell, left my hair clean. Not really much else to say about shampoo, is there?

Pantene Pro-V Micellar Shampoo – 6/10 – Again, nice smell, left my hair clean. Knocked a  point off because I’m not really sure what the Micellar part was meant to do, and methinks the team at Pantene were jumping on the Micellar bandwagon with no idea of what it really means for hair. Nice try, suckers. Mama didn’t raise no fool.

Mane ‘n’ Tail Deep Moisturizing Conditioner/Regular Conditioner – 5/10 – The horse part aside, this was your bog-standard conditioner. Smelt slightly medicinal compared to the fruit ‘n’ flowers combo I usually put on my head, did the trick, but don’t really understand the horse link. If this is what they put on horses to make their manes shiny, give them the option of fruit ‘n’ flowers too.

Schwartzkopf Hairspray – 8/10 – Probably what structural engineers should be using on buildings in earthquake hot spots.

Nizoral Shampoo – 9/10 – I get psoriasis on my scalp when I’m very stressed, and have had a significant amount of stress and upset over the past few months. This was my saviour, cleared up my scalp nicely and gave me one less thing to stress about during a very turbulent time. My only gripe is that the bottles are tiny for the price (£5 or so each), and if you have hair as long and thick as mine, that’s about two uses per bottle. Ouch.

Makeup

(L-R: Mac Studio Fix Fluid in NC25, Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer, Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner, Essence Lash Mania Mascara, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder)

Mac Studio Fix Fluid – 7/10 – Great if you have oily yellow skin like me. Blended like a dream, full coverage, didn’t budge all day. Slight downside is the price, it’s one of the more expensive brand foundations for quite a small bottle. Upside is the amount of shades and formulations they have – there’s bound to be a perfect match for you whatever your skin type and shade.

Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer – 9/10 – Cheap as chips again (£5 a tube), smoothes on nicely, and helps foundation to stay all day. I’ve repurchased about twenty times and doubt I’ll try another primer for a while.

Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner – 7/10 – El cheapo eyeliner which gives precision and is easy to use. Only drawback is that it can smudge towards the end of the day – at least on me.

Essence Lash Mania Mascara – 8/10 – Once again, a cheap makeup product at £3 a tube! Look, I don’t care how much you spend on a mascara – I will argue until the end of time that people literally can’t tell the difference if your mascara is £2 or £20 once it’s on your face. And this mascara, cheap as it is, is one of the best mascaras I’ve ever used. Sadly now discontinued, I’ve swapped over to the – possibly even better – Essence Lash Princess mascara, at a similar price. I like cheap mascara and I cannot lie.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder – 10/10 – Bit of a Rimmel love fest this month! My favourite ever face powder. Does what it says on the tin and doesn’t require me to take out a loan. Love it.

Body Products

(L-R: Superdrug Tan Remover, Korres Basil-Lemon Shower Gel, Champneys Good As New Bubble Bath, St Tropez Tan Enhancing Polish, Garnier Ultimate Blends Body Balm, Bvlgari Body Lotion)

Superdrug Tan Remover – 8/10 – Really liked this. It’s winter, so I’m not exactly sporting a summer glow at the moment, but used this as a regular scrub instead and it was lovely. Left my skin very soft and smooth with minimal bumps. Can’t attest to its tan removing powers but it’s discontinued now so doesn’t matter anyway!

Korres Basil-Lemon Shower Gel – 8/10 – Lovely shower gel, made me feel like I was sunning myself on the island of Rhodes instead of in a malfunctioning shower in Reading.

Champneys Good As New Bubble Bath – 7/10 – Gorgeous smell and gave very satisfactory bubbles. Had a slight shimmer to it which wasn’t noticeable in the bath or on my skin, so have knocked a point off for that. Give me glowing skin, Goddammit.

St Tropez Tan Enhancing Polish – 3/10 – A boring-ass scrub with no discernible effects afterwards. Didn’t even smell nice. Bored me to use it and couldn’t wait to use it up.

Garnier Ultimate Blends Body Balm – 5/10 – If you have super dry skin, this is probably great for you. As it stands, I have pretty oily skin – this made me feel gross and also made me smell like a newborn baby (something about that oat smell), which is not the image of a confident, put-together, self-actualized 30 year old woman that I want to present to the world.

Bvlgari Body Lotion – 7/10 – Lightweight, lovely smell, and made me feel fancy using it because Bvlgari.

Miscellaneous Products

(L-R: Salon Services Fruit Smoothie Creme Wax, Bath & Body Works Eucalyptus Mint Foaming Hand Soap, Crabtree & Evelyn Geranium & Orange Hand Wash, This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Mist, Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb, Oral B 3D White Luxe Toothpaste, Nivea Double Effect Antiperspirant, CND Shellac in Decadence, Walgreens Nail Polish Remover)

Salon Services Fruit Smoothie Creme Wax – 8/10 – I wax my own legs, arms, eyebrows and underarms, and this wax was great. Heated up nicely, multipurpose wax (can be used anywhere), and a good consistency. Only reason I knocked points off is that I couldn’t smell any Fruit Smoothie scent and it was the only reason I chose it.

Bath & Body Works Eucalyptus Mint Foaming Hand Soap – 9/10 – Love these foaming hand soaps. They feel incredibly luxurious and smell amazing. Knocked a point off because they’re kinda expensive for soap, and you also can’t get them easily in the UK (come on B&BW, sort yourselves out).

Crabtree & Evelyn Geranium & Orange Hand Wash – 9/10 – Bougie hand soap alert! Lovely hand soap, very moisturising and smelt gorgeous. Only drawback is that I can’t afford to replace it.

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Mist – 9/10 – Gave me a solid night’s sleep, and for that I am incredibly thankful #insomnia

Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb – 4/10 – Eh, a little too cloying for me. Look, I know I said I enjoy fruit ‘n’ flower scents, but this was like being thrown into the Secret Garden and being forced to snort Lily-Of-The-Valley. Too much. ‘Flowerbomb’ is right.

Oral B 3D White Toothpaste – 6/10 – Nice toothpaste, but it didn’t make me look like Shakira, so I’m calling false advertising.

Nivea Double Effect Antiperspirant – 10/10 – Did the job. Not really much more I can say here, I pity deodorant marketing departments.

CND Shellac in Decadence – 8/10 – As well as doing my own waxing, I also do my own Shellac nails, and this was the first bottle I’ve managed to use up. A lovely red that stays on nicely and comes off very easily. I love CND. Wish they’d release more shades, but that’s because I’m a fussy bitch and pretty much only wear darks, reds, and nudes.

Walgreens Nail Polish Remover – 7/10 – Again, did the job, but left my nails feeling a little weak afterwards. Meh.

So there you have it folks, my first round-up of empties of 2019, and my first no-buy month. Hope you enjoyed!

R x