With a HUGE Body Shop order coming my way I thought I'd get my empties bag emptied in readiness.

My overall aim is to break the habit of buying products, using them a handful of times, and then leaving them untouched for months in a drawer, and to find great, hard working products, that I can rely on and go back to time and time again.

The first two products to earn their place in my beauty cabinet are Garner Micellar Cleansing Water and The Body Shop Camomile Waterproof Eye & Lip Make-Up Remover.


Both of these featured in my first Empties post so I won't talk about them again here, but I've repurchased these a lot.

Two other favourites are St Ives Apricot Scrub, and Olay Total Effects CC Cream.

I've used Olay for years, I started using it when it was still called Oil of Ulay (back when Starburst where still Opal Fruits and a Snickers was a Marathon).

The CC cream version is a thicker consistency than the normal Total Effects so I like to mix this with a small amount of primer before applying to thin it a little. Once mixed, it goes on well, stays put, and covers minor blemishes and marks, whilst giving a nice hint of colour.

The St Ives Apricot Scrub is a product I returned to after I found out that my Neutrogena scrub contained micro beads (didn't that all go very quiet in the media?). Anyway, I picked this up as an alternative and was quickly reminded of why I used to use it all the time when I was younger. My skin feels so soft and smooth after using this and it's gentle enough for every day use. At £4.19 it's a real bargain too.

New things I've tried recently are Elemis Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm, Balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Polish, Una Brennan Super Facialist Vitamin C Brightening Dark Circles Eye Cream, and Una Brennan Super Facialist Vitamin C Brighten Glow Boost Skin Serum.

All of these were nice but none wowed me enough to make it into my beauty cabinet for good.

The Elemis Flash Balm felt nice but didn't smell very appealing (good job this was a free sample).

The Balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm left my skin feeling soft but oh-so-slightly greasy, I had to follow this with a quick swipe of micellar water.

The Super Facialist Brighten Glow Boost Skin Serum was nice but, again, nothing special. It did give a nice radiance but I've tried better products (the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer for example).

The Super Facialist Dark Circles Eye Cream melted into my skin but did nothing for my dark circles, I'm currently using the Superdrug B. Vitalised Eye Cream which is slightly cheaper and equally nice to use (currently half price FYI).

I was really disappointed with the Rimmel London BB Cream Radiance.

It just didn't sit well on my skin, I found it hard to apply and after a few goes I binned it. I have the matte version of this which I love, so I'll be sticking with that instead.

Another disappointment was a mascara that I'd read rave reviews about, and had seen used countless times on the channels of several beauty YouTubers - the DHC Mascara Perfect Pro Double Protection.

This did nothing but make my lashes clumpy and spiky. After three uses it was tossed. So, so disappointing for £14.50. However, this isn't the most expensive mascara that I've tried and disliked (I'm looking at you Benefit Roller Lash).

The Max Factor 2000 Calorie Waterproof Mascara remains a firm favourite and it's a bargain at £7.99.

All that remains of my empties are the 'tried, liked, but probably won't bother to re-purchase' products.

For the most part I liked these, the Korres Body Milk had a nice scent and soaked in well. The Sanex Bath Cream was OK, but nothing to rave about.

The Elnett hairspray was fine but smelled strange, a bit like rotten oranges.

The Lumiere d'hiver Super Comb Prep & Protect spray was nice, it made my hair super easy to comb through when wet but I'm currently trying something else that I prefer and that is much easier to get my hands on (cheaper too!). I'm sure this will feature in a future Empties post.

What products would make it into your beauty cabinet hall of fame?