Empties Sept/Oct 2012

Timotei Pure Shampoo & Conditioner (Normal/Greasy Hair)

The Timotei Pure range are new(ish) hair care products that are free from parabens, colourants and silicone's. This particular shampoo & conditioner is infused with green tea, and has a light, fresh scent that really stays after the hair is dried. The shampoo lathers well, and the conditioner is lightweight but rinses well and leaves the hair feeling de-tangled, glossy and in great condition. I also found that I didn't really need to use a dry shampoo the day after washing my hair as it wasn't as 'greasy' as it normally can be. So, a big thumbs up for this combo!!

Original Source Cranberry Daily Scrub

For use simply as an everyday scrub, I wouldn't say that this is the best product on the market as the grains are few and far between, so I popped a little on a shower pouff and used as a simple shower wash instead. Not exactly how it is advertised for use, but it worked well all the same and I didn't feel like I had wasted my money. On a positive note, it smells deliciously sweet, lathers well, and left my skin feeling soft. It was a great bargain for a pound.

Aussie Take The Heat Leave in Spray

I have used this product after every hair wash over that past six months or so. It combs through the hair well, and it has moderately helped to protect my hair. It smells good too. Would I purchase this product again? Hmm... its good but it is not the greatest heat protectant spray available, so more than likely I wouldn't.

Boots Extracts Almond Body Scrub

I loved the smell of this product, and it left my skin feeling great. Although it does say it is a gentle exfoliating scrub, it just didn't have enough 'scrub' to it for me, and for a cost of £7.95 for 400ml I think there are better products out there.

Body Shop Cocoa Butter Body Butter

I am a big fan of any of the Body Shop Body Butters, and this particular one is no exception. Made with Community Trade cocoa butter, it did a great job of moisturising my dry skin. All of the Body Butters are a bit on the pricey side, but they always smell great, apply easily, and dry quickly. This little 50ml size is also ideal for travel, as the larger size butters are quite bulky. 

Origins A Perfect World Moisturiser

This little tube was good for a weeks worth of testing, and I have to say that I was really impressed with it. Aside from the smell, which I wasn't overly keen on, my skin felt really soft and moisturised after using this product. It provided a great base for my foundation, allowing it to blend easily. A full size 50ml jar is £33.00, and I think it is a product worth splashing out on.

Flora by Gucci

I love almost all of the Gucci fragrances, and this one is by far one of my favourite scents of all time. As the name suggests, this perfume has a light, floral scent, but without being too sickly-sweet. I would repurchase it again and again, and am really unhappy that this bottle is empty :-(

L'Occitane Precious Night Cream

Oh, how I am falling in love with the L'Occitane range. This particular product claims to reinforce regeneration of the skin, visibly correct deep wrinkles and improve skin firmness. It works overnight, and is just such an amazing product. The smell is a bit iffy, but it is such a rich, indulgent moisturiser that I wouldn't hesitate to spend £49 on a 50ml jar. I don't know how well it would work on deep wrinkles, but my skin absolutely loved it.

L'Occitane Rose 4 Reines Body Milk

As body moisturisers go, a body milk is not something I would have ever considered purchasing. This was before trying out this generous sample. It is enriched with grape seed, and I applied it to my legs, tummy and arms after having a bath. My skin not only smelled amazing, but was left feeling super soft and more than adequately moisturised. I have to say that I was quite shocked after using this product, as I didn't expect any body milk to be this good - they always just seemed too watery in consistency to do any worthwhile moisturising. It has super fast absorption, and the scent is one of a beautiful vintage rose product that your gran would be proud of. A full 250ml bottle retails at £18.50.

L'Occitane Repairing Shampoo & Conditioner

These are products formulated with a natural origin vegetable complex of 5 essential oils. The shampoo aids repair of dry, damaged, colour-treated or chemically-treated hair. The conditioner strengthens, regenerates, nourishes and helps to restore capillary fibres. It also claims to detangle, soften and add lustre to hair. I loved both of these products. After use, my hair felt thicker, glossier and healthier, and in much better condition that it had done for a long time. The shampoo is £14 for 300mls, and the conditioner is £14 for 250mls - not exactly a bargain, but I guess sometimes you get what you pay for. And I would definitely purchase these at full price.

 

I hope you like my empties - what products have you used up lately?

 

Claire

 

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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

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