Shopping my Stash... & June Empties

This month I have been without my beloved maternity pay :-( which means that I have had to tighten my belt somewhat and shop my stash for new beauty products to use up, rather than shop the shops.

This has been a learning curve for me, as I tend to get bored of products that come in large containers and take ages to use up. I am also a sucker for 3 for 2 offers etc. which leaves me with umpteen bottles of shower gel and body creams that just dont ever see the light of day if I am continuously on the hunt for new products.

I have quite a large clear stackable storage box in my wardrobe, which houses my array of beauty products, and when I first pulled everything out of there I was actually quite sickened by the amount of products that I have. I dont need to buy any more shower gel for the next year, nor body cream for the next millennium.

So, to cut a long story short, I will make a start on reviewing this months products that I have finally used up!!

Olay Refreshing Face Wash - I used to use this product all the time. I bought this particular bottle in a 3 for 2 offer in Boots, and I still have two more of these to use up. They cost around £3.00 for 150ml, and I forgot just how great this product is. It smells nice, lathers up really well, removes make up like a dream, and leaves my skin feeling soft. A good all rounder and well worth the money - if I didnt already have two more bottles to use up, I would definately re-purchase this product!!


Balance Me Rose Otto Body Wash - I had this product free in a goodie bag when I went to the Clothes Show Live back in December last year. Normally I love rose scented products, but this particular rose scent smells quite medicated - its a little bit TCP meets turkish delight!! The Balance Me brand is promoted as  "natural, high-performance, paraben and sulphate free, aromatherapy skincare products, made in the UK" and this particular product has won various beauty awards. However, despite containing "skin-quenching rose otto oil", I found it to be quite drying, and this coupled with the iffy smell made it really not worth the £12.25 price tag for me. I definately wont be buying this again.


Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor - This was recommended to me by my hairdresser, and it was already half-used when I started to re-use it again (if you know what I mean). I could immediately see why I must have stopped using it in the first place. I have fine hair and usually wash my hair every other day, and on the day after washing my hair it normally just needs a little bit of a boost with some dry shampoo, but after using the 3 Minute Miracle I felt like it just needed re-washing completely. I found this to be quite a heavy conditioner that never fully rinses out of the hair, and it is not lightweight at all, but left my hair feeling bogged down with product and like it needed a really good going over with a deep cleansing shampoo. I did persevere with this product though as I dont like to be wasteful, but I am so glad to say that it is now finally gone as I will not be re-purchasing.


St Ives Invigorating Apricot Body Scrub- This is the old style packaging for this particular product as it now comes in a white tub. I LOVE this body scrub!! It smells great - Apricot with a little bit of what I think is eucalyptus - and has lots of tiny grains that are really exfoliating without being too harsh. It is a great product to use on your legs pre-shave and leaves skin feeling really smooth. I followed this with Palmers cocoa butter for super smooth legs. It normally retails for £5.49 at Boots, but they currently have a third off deal at the moment. Overall a BIG THUMBS UP!!

St Ives Invigorating Apricot Facial Scrub - This is a travel size tube of product, which was left-over from my recent trip to Paris. There are a few different St Ives Facial scrubs, but I find that this one is the best. Much like the St Ives Invigorating Body Scrub, there are lots of tiny grains that exfoliate the skin well. I would say that, personally, this scrub is too harsh for everyday use as I have quite sensitive skin on my face, but somedays you just feel like you want to give your face a good scrub (literally) and this product is just the ticket!! It exfoliates well, smells lovely, and leaves skin soft and awake. It retails at around £4.00, but quite often these are included in the Boots 3 for 2 offers (hence why I have another two bottles of this to use up also!!).


And finally....

Batiste Blush Dry Shampoo - Hmm. I was such a big fan of this product when it was first released in the UK, but after using it for a while I am no longer so WOW'ed by it. I cant make up my mind as to whether it worked better for me at first because my hair was highlighted, but right now as a brunette I find that it doesnt work so well. I feel as though, if I used the amount of product that I actually need to refresh my hair properly, I end up looking like I've lost a fight with a bottle of talcum powder. This is my zillionth can of Batiste, and I have tried many of the scents, but I have to say that now this little baby is done and dusted, I am on the hunt for an alternative product (I have my eye on the LUSH No Drought Dry Shampoo)


So thats it for now peeps. It has been such a great feeling to finally start making a dent in my stash!! A bit like Spring Cleaning :-)


Let me know what you think, and what products you've used up this month!!

Claire

x X x