Well hello again! It has been quite some time since I last posted anything but to make up for that, I have for you today a decent number of empties to talk about.
I have been on a bit of a budget as of late so you won't be seeing gigantic hauls or anything like that for a little while, but what I do have is products to use up for days!
Excuse the lighting, you can thank gloomy Wales and my awkward room set-up for that, and also the grubby packaging of these empties - but such is the nature of an empties post!
Let me know if you have tried any of these products yourself and if you liked them or how they worked for you, I'd love to know. Also, please do let me know if you have any general questions or have a product in mind that you would like me to try! I hope this post is of help to you in some way - ENJOY! xo
First up, we have Lush's 9 to 5 Cleansing Lotion! I remember buying this on a complete whim, as it was relatively inexpensive, smelled lovely and I was just starting to dabble with different cleansers at this time.
The consistency of this is lovely. Described very aptly by Lush as a cleansing milk, it's pretty runny and very light on the face. A pro of this is that it really feels like it's cleansing in all those nook and crannies in your face, but a con for me was that it tended to sink into my skin before I could wipe it off properly with a cotton pad, as is suggested on the bottle. Alternatively you can wipe it off with a warm flannel, which I suggest you do as it's better for removing all the product. It's really, really good at removing make-up and always left my skin feeling soft and hydrated as well, a huge bonus for a cleanser!
To me is smelt beautiful: a really light, subtle floral scent that was slightly talcy and musky, but as is the case with all Lush products it seems, people either love or hate them! I just happened to love it.
Now I don't know whether it was my own laziness for not washing it off properly or if it's the product itself, but I felt like it irritated my skin and caused me to break out a little bit. I wouldn't say that I have sensitive skin so this baffled me, but every time I used it I came out in a slight rash/tiny spots around the sides of my mouth - weird huh! Especially so because this is such a gentle cleanser! I was pretty gutted about this because I actually really loved it!
Weird rash aside, this is a gorgeous little cleanser that I think, while it didn't really work for me, would be amazing for somebody else!
It seems like beauty bloggers, vloggers and 'Tubers have been raving about this dry shampoo by Colab no end! I first bought the
London scent which I loved because of the bergamot in it, and while this is not the best dry shampoo in my opinion - more on that later - I found myself going back for more and this time, I decided to try the Monaco fragrance in the Sheer + Invisible range. The scent is indeed fresh, as is described, and lingers on the hair all day. I would go as far to say as this is quite a masculine scent but not unpleasant in the slightest!
Now, I mentioned that I don't reckon this is the best dry shampoo out there and this is because it pretty much fails to do exactly what dry shampoos are supposed to: make my hair feel clean. While it's amazing in the sense that your scalp and the hair at the roots feel refreshed and are left with virtually no residue what so ever, it wasn't left feeling fresh for very long at all. My hair was still slightly greasy to the touch, and this is on second-day hair people!
And yet, I went back for more. I wanted to love this product! It didn't leave my hair with dusty grey patches and it seemed to work wonders for everybody else, so I gave it a second chance - unfortunately to no avail. I suppose this dry shampoo doesn't work for me! But fear not! My hair is fine but I have a lot of it - I also have really oily hair, so I shouldn't be too hard on this product. On lighter hair, with a normal oil production, unlike myself, I do not doubt that this product is amazing! For me, though, the heavy-duty
Batiste will always be the one.
D'you know what I love? Inexpensive, decent, cruelty-fee skin care. I present to you, Superdrug's Vitamin E range! While this is described as an eye make-up remover, I used it to remove all of my make-up; if it's tough enough to work on mascara and liquid eyeliner, surely a bit of foundation shouldn't be a problem? And it wasn't. It effectively removes all make-up (this is the initial cleanse, you will need to have a second cleansing stage after removing make-up to ensure that your face is squeaky clean), and leaves your skin feeling soft, bouncy, hydrated and a little glowy if I'm honest!
To apply, I had a couple of methods: firstly, I would squeeze some of the product out onto my fingers and apply the product straight to my face, concentrating on the eye area. To effectively remove eye make-up, I would gentle massage th area, focusing on my eyelashes and using them as an indicator that I've finished: they'd be nice and soft, no longer crispy. I'd then take a cotton pad (or 4) and start to remove the product. When you're able to open your eyes you'll see that you're sporting the panda look, but fear not! I see this as good sign that your cleanser is doing its job and removing your make-up. The second method, one that I generally use when I don't have a great deal of make-up on, is I apply the cleanser straight to a cotton pad and then wipe this all around my face.
This cleanser is creamy and hydrating, but also light and easy to use. I actually found myself grabbing this to put on my face first thing in a morning when I have no make-up on, simply because I love how it makes my skin feel.
This was a really surprising little product, not to mention it's so cheap! Thank you Superdrug, thank you.
Holy moly would you look at that! Another cleanser! It isn't obvious or anything but I bloody love a good cleanser and d'you know what, Angels on Bare Skin by Lush tops all the cleansing products featured in this empties post. Oh lordy, it's amazing. Unlike when I purchased 9 to 5, I went into Lush on one rainy afternoon specifically looking for cleansers. I remember being a bit dubious about whether Lush actually had many cleansers but why oh why do I ever even doubt them! All this time I thought cleansers only really came in liquid/cream form but oh no, the clouds parted that day, the Hallelujah chorus was sang and I basked in the heavenly glow of enlightenment: my relationship with Angels on Bare Skin was born.
It's gentle enough to use every day as a secondary cleansing phase (after removing make-up), and sometimes I was grabbing it twice a day which, being as gentle as it is, seemed to have no adverse effect on my skin at all.
I would describe this as a multi-purpose product. By that, I mean you could use it as a scrub on your face or body, varying from gentle to deep exfoliation, or you could also use it as a face mask by leaving the product on for 5-10 minutes (I would advice against leaving it for 10 minutes for people with dry or sensitive skin). You can vary the consistency of the product by adding water: to loosen up the product, I wet my face and hands, scoop a bit out of the tub and massage it between my fingers a little, then apply it to my wet face in circular motions. If I feel it's still a bit stiff (lol), I'll add more water by slightly wetting my fingers first and then continuing the circling motion all around my face. Once you're done, rinse it off with warm water to reveal, clean, soft, buttery, glowing skin.
For me, it's a miracle product. My skin has never looked so even in texture and tone. My skin is visibly brighter after using it and bloody hell I love it so much that it almost makes me emotional. Did I mention that it smells amazing? Yeah, it smells amazing: it's a fresh, soothing lavender scent that's slightly sweet, and I would happily hum of it every single day.
The only issue I have with this product, or, more accurately, an issue other people may find with it, is that it can get a bit messy: looks a little bit mingin' if it gets in your hair but hey ho brush it out with your hands or wait until it dries, rinse the sink out, no biggie!
Angels with Bare Faces, I love you.
This is the last cleanser, I promise. Micellar water is another of those things that was really hyped up by the beauty blogger community but came in the form of a Bioderma version and then a cheaper Garnier version. As both of these companies are extremely questionable in their cruelty-free status, I went on the hunt for an animal-friendly version and once again found myself at Superdrug. I remember this being pretty inexpensive but I have a feeling it was an introductory offer, as the product was relatively new to Superdrug shelves so may be a little bit more now.
I actually like this product! This is the second bottle I've finished. I find I go through it really quickly, which isn't great but the bottle is pretty small. I apply it to a cotton pad and then run the pad all over my face to remove make-up. I don't think it is particularly good at removing eye make-up as you have to work quite hard at it which ultimately goes against the "quick and easy" gentle cleanser. Also, don't get it in your eyes okay. Just don't.
Recently, I've found myself using this more after I've removed all of my make-up or in the morning to remove any excess oils that have developed during the night. It's refreshing, pleasant and more or less fragrance-free, and it's a totally adequate product. It hasn't change my life, and yet I found myself going back for more. Have you tried this micellar water? What did you think of it?
We have come to the final stage of our empties journey and what a finale it is! I present to you the dreamy body lotion by Lush, appropriately named Dream Cream. This hand and body lotion is just beautiful and I will most likely be buying it again as it is fabitty fab fab for summer.
Another impulse buy in Lush, this has a fragrance to die for that reminds me a great deal of Angels with Bare Faces - lavender, you do it to me every time! "A soothing and cooling cream" is perfect in its description of the product: amazing after shaving or being out in the sun, this light, absorbent cream glides onto skin leaving behind little residue and a whole lot of cooling soothing freshness. The sensation reminds me a lot of the fair trade
foot lotion by Lush!
I completely annihilated this tub: it usually takes me ages to use something up but I could not get enough of this stuff. I found it started to replace my
Vanilla Dee-Lite body lotion because the scent isn't as overpowering and is really nice after you've showered.
It's very hydrating, leaves skin feeling smooth and supple, smells amazing, would last a long time if you used it normally and not like a madwoman like myself and while it seems a little pricey, it's worth every penny.
