It's been a while since my last empties post, so I won't share everything I've used, just the things I think are worth a mention.

I knew it must've been a while since my last post because the bag I keep them in has been overflowing for weeks and now it's just getting in the way. This morning I kicked a shampoo bottle across the room, scaring a cat in the process.

I don't normally share bath empties because as long as they smell nice I'm easily pleased, but these two were delicious.

The Sanctuary Luxury Bath Float  |  Boots  |  £10.00
This was a treat-to-myself before Christmas. I love the smell of this range and even though it's far more than I'd normally spend on a bubble bath I really enjoyed soaking in this delightful smell!

Frosted Plum Bath Fizzers  |  The Body Shop  |  No longer available to buy
I loved the delicate pink hue of my bath water when I used these. And they smelled delicious too. My skin felt lovely and soft after using these, it's just a shame that they were limited edition and are no longer available.

My face saw a lot of new products.

Camomile Gentle Eye Make Up Remover  |  The Body Shop  |  £9.00
My sister in law gave me this as it irritated her eyes. I don't normally get a reaction from eye make up removers so I was happy to take it off her hands. But this made my eyes sting too and left them a little red. I was so surprised as this is suitable for sensitive eyes and is dermatologically and  opthalmologically tested. To be fair I wouldn't have continued to use this anyway as it doesn't shift the waterproof mascara that I wear everyday.

Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel  |  Superdrug  |  £5.99
I spoke about his briefly in my New In post and I still love it. The kiwi fruit and mulberry extracts tackle dull skin and uneven skin tone, whilst the glycolic acid get to work smoothing the texture of your skin. It's a lovely gel formula that smells pleasantly masculine and results can be seen overnight.

Simply Pure Hydrating Serum  |  Superdrug  |  £2.69
This first featured in the same post as the above and is another product I'm glad I found. It's super cheap but so, so lovely. It's hydrating without feeling tacky, it sinks in well and it's easy to apply moisturiser afterwards. A great product and a great price!

24hr Soothing and Rehydrating Fresh Mask  |  Nuxe  |  £18.50
I got this in a beauty box some time ago. It has a lovely floral scent (mimosa I think) and leaves skin feeling soft, I washed this off after relaxing with it on my face for a while, it doesn't dry onthe skin so is great for using in the bath. You can just rub in the excess but I found this left my skin feeling a tiny bit tacky. A nice treat though.

Vitamin E Moisture Lotion SPF 15  |  The Body Shop  |  £13.00
I found this left my skin felt greasy so I used this as a neck cream instead. I don't normally use a separate cream for my neck but I didn't want to waste it. It's nice but not for me.

I'm still searching for my perfect shampoo and conditioner.

OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Shampoo and Conditioner  |  Boots  |  £6.99 each
I liked these but they didn't wow me, and had the same niggles as they first OGX shampoo and conditioner I tried - stiff bottles make it hard to squeeze out the product, the product itself is very thick which doesn't help, and you can't balance it on it's head when the product runs low.

Dove Oxygen Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner  |  Boots  |  £5.99 each
Nice but it's not 'the one'. My hair felt clean and soft but... I don' know, it just wasn't amazing.

Lee Stafford Big Fat Mousse Spray  |  Boots  |  £6.99
I've had this for ages and have finally I've decided to bin it. It sounded like the perfect thing for me as I hate the feel of mousse on my palms. It fizzes (like that powder sweet you pour onto your tongue, what's that called?) which is kinda fun and is a nice mousse in terms of hold and not feeling stiff or tacky in your hair, but this sprays mousse everywhere and scares the cats.

Elegant Touch Rapid Dry for Nails  |  Boots  |  £3.05
This is a must for me because as soon as I paint my nails I get an itchy nose / have to go to the loo / forget that I've just painted my nails and start using my hands...

Rhubarb and Rose Replenishing Hand Cream  |  Molton Brown  |  £10.00 for full size 40ml tube
This was in a Birchbox and I love the scent! It's deliciously rhubarbular (and also moisturises nicely).

Two of my mascara staples.

Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara in black waterproof  |  Boots  |  £9.99
My lashes are stubborn, they don't like to hold a curl and I find very few brushes and formulas that work well for me. This is one that does.

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara  |  Boots  |  £13.50
Really Ree recommended this and I haven't used anything else since. I've already purchased a replacement. It has a teeny tiny brush that gets to all my bottom lashes. Normal sized mascara wands are too big and I just end up making a mess.


Of course I've used my usual suspects - Dove Original Deodorant (have yet to find anything that rivals this), Garner Micellar Cleansing Water, The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, and the The Body Shop Camomile Waterproof Eye & Lip Make-Up Remover.

I was delighted to read Caroline Hirons post What To Buy? The Body Shop and see my favourite cleansing butter featured. If Caroline Hirons says something is good, then you know it's going to be good.

The post made me want to try several other Body Shop products though - the Nutriganics range sounds amazing and the Aloe Cream Mask and the Warming Mineral Mask have all made their way onto my must-try list, which is a tad on the ridiculously long side at the moment!

What have you enjoyed using recently?

A mixed bag of empties this time around. Some I liked, some I didn't.

This one I loved! Although it might've been usurped for a few new products I've found recently, this Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant is great for dull skin. Used twice a week my skin felt brighter and as it helps to combat congestion it can help to keep blemishes at bay.

I first heard about this Lisa Eldridge's skincare routine video. I think the name is a little misleading though, I wouldn't expect a 'gentle' exfoliant to have much impact on my skin, but this really did. I highly recommend this product.

Next up, a few base items. An eyeshadow primer by Nicka K New York. I got this in a Glossybox ages ago and really liked it. It's cheap at £4.99 but having finished this tube I discovered one I like better. The Nicka K version has a wet formula, whereas my new find is dry and easier to apply - Beauty Bay The Collection Lip & Eye Primer. It's a total bargain at £3.00 and can be used on the lips too (although I haven't used it on my lips yet).

And Supergoop! CC Cream, I mentioned this last year and I found a second tube of this hidden in the bottom of my make up bag, I've fallen in love with it all over again. It's self adjusting colour gives great coverage without being obvious and I love that it has an SPF 35. A full size tube is pricey at £32.00 for 47ml but as it acts as a foundation, primer and SPF you're getting three products in one.

The Super Facialist Salicylic Acid Anti Belmish Purifying Cleansing Wash didn't blow me away. In fact his has been discarded while half full. I expected to feel / see / notice a difference but I didn't. I'd rather use my beauty staple, The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, over this any day.

I did and didn't like this OGX shampoo and conditioner. My hair felt nice after use but this is over shadowed by what I didn't like, which was that the bottles are hard and it can be really difficult to get the product out. The product itself is quite thick, which probably doesn't help, and I found I had to warm the shampoo between my hands before I could use it, otherwise it felt as if it was tangling my hair. Also, you can't stand these on their head when they're nearly empty. So annoying.

This No7 Skin Beautiful Energising Mask so old! It's got about a third left in the tube but I'm done with it. It's a really nice mask, it leaves skin looking more radiant but as much as I enjoy a peel off mask (it's so satisfying to get it all peeled off in one piece, right?) I also find them a bit of a faff. I won't be repurchasing but I would recommend it if you like peel off masks.

Love this Laura Mercier Foundation Primer. I have the radiance primer too which is equally as good, but this is the primer that convinced me I should use one. It really does make my foundation / BB cream go on with ease, and it looks better and lasts longer.

Without doubt I'll purchase this again.

There where three products that I found really disappointing. The Maybelline Baby Skin had a really artificial, plasticy smell that really put me off putting it on my face, and The Rodial Lip Balm had a funny taste that left my mouth feeling coated. Not pleasant.

But it was the MyChelle SPF that was the most disappointing. It has quite a thick consistency, so when I applied it I felt I had to rub it in a lot, and when used with a serum, a primer and a moisturiser or BB cream it just felt like too much.

I find that too many layers of product end in the whole lot rubbing off. Two or three layers are enough for me, so I'll be sticking to products with an SPF included instead.

What products have made it into your beauty cabinet?

Day 2 of Blog Every Day In November with Rosalilium

When my empties bag starts to fill up I get a real kick out of seeing all the things that I have finally used up. One day I'll have actual space in my beauty cabinet, and I'll be able to see everything that's in there at a glance. One day. But for now I'm just content with working my way through it all and separating the wheat from the chaff (my husband would be so proud of my agricultural reference there).

First up, a product that I really liked.

Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum. This is definitely going to be repurchased. If you believe the spiel this serum 'understands the particular needs of your skin, providing custom repair for the damage you see and the damage you don't.' Do I believe it? It's hard to, but what I can say is that my skin looks and feels wonderful when I use it, and that's something I can believe.


L'Oreal Professional Mythic Oil Nourishing Masque. This was another goodie. I left this on for ages in the shower and my hair felt amazing - softer than it has done for years. I'm going to buy a full size pot and investigate other items in the range.


I've had this a while but it's a lovely scent that seems perfect for everyday but has a hint of spice making it evening appropriate too. I'm rubbish a describing scents so here's how the Yardley website describes it, 'A modern floral chypre opening with a fresh, fruity, green top note of pear and freesia with a spicy floral heart of rose, ginger and pink pepper and a sensual powdery base of patchouli, amber and balsam.' It has a pretty 20s styling and is really reasonably priced at £19.99.

I'd possibly buy this again, but I have a few that need to be finished first.


A small clutch of Body Shop items will probably be a regular thing in these empties posts.

The Wild Argan Oil Bubbling Bath and Shower Gel where nice. I liked the smell but someone told me that it reminded them of tyres, I can't see (or smell) it myself but it's put me off.

The lip roll-on was a real disappointment. It was too glossy, didn't last long and was a bit drying. I only used this a few times before it got thrown in the empties bag.

The Virgin Mojito Shower Gel was a nice minty, citrus pick-me-up in my morning shower, it's a limited edition range and I don't think this is available anymore.

I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to bubble bath and shower gel, the only qualities that they need to have are that they smell nice and the lather / foam well. So many do the job perfectly well I think I'll be happy to just use whatever happens to be on offer in Tesco.


It feels like I've had this L'Occitane hand cream for eons! It smells a bit like baby lotion but it's really thick and super moisturising. I used this at night as it's a little too thick for use during the day (I'm really fussy about being about being able to feel hand cream on my skin, especially my palms, I can't bear it). This is something I'd possibly repurchase but I've got eleventeen hundred others to finish first...


This little lot probably won't be purchased again. The Elnett hairspray smells like rotten oranges. The Batiste has been usurped for Colab which is just so much better. The baby bubbles where fine. The Arbonne body lotion was nice, the grapefruit scent was appealing but it's expensive for what it is and I'm sure I have ones I prefer in my stash.

The Mitchum 48hr deodorant and antiperspirant was useless. I bought this to take to Latitude. I wasn't sure of the showering situation and although I was armed with wet wipes and dry shower body shampoo, I thought this might be good to have too. It was rubbish. Not as good as my normal brand. This hit the bin as soon as I returned home.

So, a mixed bag of empties this time. I hope to have my Beauty Cabinet page up next week listing all my favourite hair and beauty products. But I've recently been made aware of some great sounding products that I'm going to have to try too!

Do you hoard beauty products or have you got your essentials sussed?

(Day 16 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

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?

I was talking to friends the other day about how my blog had become a series of lists and that I should really think about doing a non-list post. But, I’ve been meaning to do this post for a while…

I love empties posts, mostly due to my extreme nosiness but also because I’ve found some great new products from reading them.

Over the past few months I’ve finished a few items, most of which I’ve really enjoyed using.

Garner Micellar Cleansing Water.
I’ve lost count of the amount of bottles of this I’ve used. I love it as a first cleanse to get rid of make up and freshen my skin. I’ve tried the Bioderma one too and to be honest didn’t see much difference between them and this is cheaper and easier to get hold of.
Repurchase? Yes, multiple times already.

Co Lab Dry Shampoo, London Classic Fragrance
This is definitely one of the better dry shampoos I’ve tried. It does still make my hair seem a little dull but has much less of the chalky look. It smells good too - the back says bergamot, musk and magnolia.
Repurchase? Yes.

Sachajuan Hair Mousse
This is a pretty standard mousse as far as I’m concerned - not really worth the £19 price tag. For this price I expected great things.
Repurchase? Nope.

The Body Shop Camomile Waterproof Eye & Lip Make-Up Remover
I bought this because the Garner Micellar water wasn’t shifting my waterproof mascara. This is one of those shake to activate types, it is a little oily but if using before bed it doesn’t really matter as it takes of waterproof mascara easily and without irritation.
Repurchase? Already have and popped a few other items in my basket at the same time.

Cafe De Bain Softening Shower Creme - Cherry & Almond Fragipane
I love this. It smells exactly how you would imagine it to. When it comes to shower gels I don’t expect much from them other than to lather up and cleanse my skin - I don’t expect them to tone, hydrate and all that jazz as well. So, my only stipulation is that it smells nice. I got these in Superdrug when they were half price (I think, they were on offer anyway). The only thing I don’t like about them is that with wet hands they’re hard to open.
Repurchase? Maybe.

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm
I found this via one of Harriet’s empties posts. I wanted some thing gentle to use as a second cleanser and this did not disappoint. It feels really gentle and melts away make up and grime.
Repurchase? Maybe I’m trying The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter at the moment as a cheaper alternative, which is also pretty good.

Nivea Hydro care Lip Balm
This is very basic, no nonsense lip balm. No taste, no tint, just moisturising. Nice but nothing exciting.
Repurchase? Maybe but I have a fuck tonne of others to finish before purchasing anything else.

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream
I think that this was a magazine freebie. It’s a nice cream, feels moisturising but I always find it so hard to tell if an eye cream is working. Nothing shifts my dark circles so I just look for something moisturising and that tackles fine lines. I often wonder if my eyes would look any different if I’d never started to use eye creams…?
Repurchase? Maybe

The Body Shop Indian Night Jasmine Eau De Toilette
I first mentioned this in a Body Shop haul post. It’s a gorgeous scent - if you like jasmine - perfectly sized for your handbag and inexpensive.

What products do you repurchase again and again?