Empties – November 2019

Alright everyone? Winter has officially arrived, and with it comes another raft of empties. A small haul this month – I actually went to Dubai for just under a week in November, and purposefully didn’t use much makeup while I was out there (the tan quest was real), but I appear to have accumulated a load of empties anyway. Here goes!

Total number of products used up: 21

Estimated retail value of products used up: £128.27

Total value of products used up this year already: £1645.55

Body Products

(Original Source Cherry & Almond Milk Shower Milk)

Original Source Cherry & Almond Milk Shower Milk – 8/10 – Here’s the thing, I’m a sucker for an old school cherry bakewell. Little hit of pastry with a blast of frangipane, jam and that naff-but-still-delightful cherry half on top? I’m here for it. And this was like showering with liquidised bakewell. Every morning and evening, I actively looked forward to using it and smelling like Mr Kipling for the next few hours. Knocking a few points off because I don’t really know what shower milk is.

Skincare

(L-R: Beauty Pie Japanfusion Cleanser, Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Biocellulose Face Mask, Garnier Micellar Water)

Beauty Pie Japanfusion Cleanser – 6/10 – So I  used up my last cleanser in September, and decided to sign up for Beauty Pie for the Japanfusion cleanser that had been clogging up my Facebook feed for the past year or so. Beauty Pie as a whole has been pretty excellent – I admittedly haven’t placed too many orders as I’m only ordering replacements, but the quality so far has been lovely. This cleanser was, sadly, a little overrated in my eyes. It’s a gel cleanser and transforms to a milky consistency when mixed with water, but it was pretty underwhelming and didn’t have a visible impact on my skin. It also smelt slightly off – fragrance free but with a whiff of plastic? I’ve heard that the other cleansers are pretty good so it may just be this one, but I don’t really understand the massive praise it’s getting.

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Biocellulose Face Mask – 7/10 – I received this in a care package from a friend of mine, and really enjoyed using it. A VERY overwhelming scent of cinnamon and nutmeg, but was a lovely luxurious face mask, felt very treaty, and left my skin looking pretty damn glowy. Thanks S!

Garnier Micellar Water – 10/10 – I’ve raved about this before, and I will continue to do so. Buy it as soon as possible.

Hair Products

(L-R: Garnier Ultimate Blends Honey Treasures Conditioner, Garnier Ultimate Blends Honey Treasures Shampoo)

Garnier Ultimate Blends Honey Treasures Shampoo & Conditioner – 9/10 – I’m going to review these together, as I used them together, and to be honest I’m not such a hair expert that I can distinguish between the performance of identical shampoos and conditioners. Sorry ’bout it. That being said, I really liked these. GORGEOUS scent (a very rich honey fragrance that stayed in my hair all day long), made my hair dead soft, and it was super cheap to boot. Really lovely.

Fragrance

(L-R: Beauty Pie Perfume Sample Set x 3, CanMake ‘Make Me Happy’ Perfume Mist in Rendezvous)

Beauty Pie Perfume Sample Set x 3 – 6/10 – Another item I threw in my cleanser order above, this was a cute little sample set of Beauty Pie’s three fragrances – Brazilian Lime, Fig Leaves and Tea, Petals, Heliotrope and Ambrette, and Red Apple, White Peony and Cashmere Wood. They didn’t last too long on my skin, and the only one I would consider buying the full size version of is the Petals, Heliotrope and Ambrette scent, but I can’t ever pass up a little fragrance sample to throw in the ol’ handbag.

CanMake ‘Make Me Happy’ Perfume Mist in Rendezvous – 8/10 – I bought this in Tokyo, along with two other CanMake perfume mists, and finally used this one up this month. A lovely little perfume mist, very light and floral and ‘pretty’, and lasted a surprisingly long time on the skin given it’s just a body spray really. I’ve got one more on the go at the moment and I’m going to miss spritzing these when they’re gone.

Makeup

(L-R: Kat von D Lock-It Foundation, Revolution Matte Fix Oil Control Fixing Spray, Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder, Colourpop Matte Liquid Lipstick in “Fresh Cut”, Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer)

Kat von D Lock-It Foundation – 4/10 – Oh man, this was a disappointment, and not just because I accidentally gave money to an anti-vaxxer by buying it. This foundation is insanely full coverage. Which, y’know, is fine if you want to cover up a tattoo, or a scar, or maybe your political ties with Ukraine, but for regular everyday foundation it’s just too much, and goes cakey towards the end of the day. My skin was crying out for mercy by around 5pm. As I said, it is good coverage, and if you have some severe acne or skin condition that regular foundation isn’t touching, go for it, but for normal skin types, I’d find something else.

Revolution Matte Fix Oil Control Fixing Spray – 6/10 – Given that I was using hairspray for a really long time to fix my makeup, you’d think my skin would be over the moon about me using an actual fixing spray, and would want to play ball. Huh, not so much. It certainly did well at the start of the day (no shit?) but towards the end my makeup was slip-sliding all over the shop. I’d opt for something else – if you have a few coins to throw at this non-problem, Urban Decay does a great setting spray.

Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder – 9/10 – Only my fiftieth use of this this year. Go forth and buy.

Colourpop Matte Liquid Lipstick in “Fresh Cut” – 7/10 – OK, I heard loads of great reviews about Colourpop’s matte liquid lipstick range, and about a year or so ago I went and bought loads of them and had them shipped to the UK (see now why I needed to do a no-buy year…?). They last a hella long time, and are insanely pigmented, but for some reason the colours oxidise really badly on my lips, to the point where my lips look a completely different shade from the tube. It’s bizarre, I’ve never experienced anything like it before, and I really don’t know what’s caused it. This liquid lipstick was one of the only ones which didn’t do this, so naturally I used it all up this month. It was the perfect pinky nude, and I miss it very much, but because of #oxidisegate, I’m reluctant to buy it again in case it happens again with this one. I’m not sure my spendy little heart could take it.

Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer – 9/10 – Have repurchased, would repurchase. Best budget primer out there.

Nail Products

(L-R: CND Shellac Power Polish Base Coat, Bluesky Gel Top Coat)

CND Shellac Power Polish Base Coat – 8/10 – I’m a big fan of CND Shellac polishes, and this base coat was no exception, giving a great base with extreme longevity to whatever gel creation I plopped on my nails this month. The only drawback is that this shit is expensive – I really can’t afford to keep spending £15 on a tiny bottle of base coat, and I doubt you guys can either. I’ve been trialling a brand called NYK1 which I found on Amazon – will let you guys know how this goes as replacements for this and the below.

Bluesky Gel Top Coat – 4/10 – Bluesky is one of these brands you see being flogged on Wish and Amazon and AliBaba all the time – it’s a cheap but cheerful gel polish brand, and is almost marketed as an alternative to CND Shellac and Gelish. I’ve bought quite a few of their colours over the years and put up with the peeling and blobbiness because it was cheap and did the job for a few days, but I’m putting my foot down with this top coat. If you are in desperate need of a gel top coat* and payday isn’t for weeks, then go for this one, but if you want long lasting manicures with no air bubbles or seepage onto your cuticles, opt for something else.

*I don’t know what kind of weird nail emergency this would constitute, I don’t know your life

Miscellaneous

(L-R: Pronamel Toothpaste x 2, Bath & Body Works Frosted Cranberry Hand Soap, Salon Services Raspberry Ripple Wax, Dove Go Fresh Deodorant, Nivea Pearl & Beauty Deodorant)

Pronamel Toothpaste x 2 – 7/10 – Cleaned my teeth. Great job, toothpaste.

Bath & Body Works Frosted Cranberry Hand Soap – 9/10 – Not much more that needs to be said about these foaming hand soaps that I haven’t already said. Love, love, love them. Please come over to the UK in the roaring 2020s, B&BW.

Salon Services Raspberry Ripple Wax – 8/10 – For those of you in the know, I wax my own legs, arms, and usually eyebrows (when I haven’t had them microbladed, of course!!!111!!!). The best thing about this wax was the yummy smell. The worst thing was wondering why wax needs a yummy smell???

Dove Go Fresh Deodorant – 9/10 – I liked this deodorant! Really pleasant smell, and did the job well all day long. Apparently it has pomegranate in it – who knew that was a thing armpits needed?

Nivea Pearl & Beauty Deodorant – 7/10 – A cute little travel sized deodorant I carried around in my handbag for about a year, and only used up this month. It was fine and did the job. Not much else to say, is there?

***

Last month to go in this year’s #NoBuy project, and the question remains… do you guys want me to continue with this series even though the year has technically finished, or shall we wrap it up and look ahead to this new decade? Answers on a postcard…

R xx