UK Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

April 30, 2013

April Empties




So this month I finished a lot of products... a lot, a lot. I'm going to do really short reviews of each letting you know how I felt about using them and if I'd repurchase them.


Original Source Shower Gels- Shea Butter and Honey and Vanilla and Raspberry
Original Source are my Holy Grail budget shower gels. These two varieties smell like heaven in a bottle, they're not tested on animals and they don't aggravate my sensitive skin. The Shea Butter and Honey version is my all time favourite and has, and will, be repurchased over and over again. I'd highly recommend them if you like bath and shower products that smell good enough to eat.

Weleda Calendula and Chamomile Conditioner
I recieved this product in my Weleda Lucky Dip (you can read the post I wrote about it here) and I've been using it every day. I think it's a lovely conditioner, it worked really well at detangling and moisturising my hair and the fact that it was gentle and natural was a big plus in it's favour. I did, however, dislike the scent - it's hard to explain why as it isn't overpowering at all, I just found it a bit herbal. For that reason I'm in no big hurry to go out and repurchase this but if I could pick it up discounted then I would repurchase it.

Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Shampoo
This is a pretty standard empty. I think all the Herbal Essences Shampoos are prettty same-y, they clean the hair but I don't think they do much else. I don't think this version, 'Tousle Me Softly', really helped my wavy hair much so I wouldn't recommend it for that reason. It is, however, a perfectly reasonable budget shampoo but full of a lot of nasties that many people, rightly, shy away from. I won't be repurchasing this as I have about six shampoos in my stash that I've picked up this year with magazines/as presents etc.

Nivea Double Effect Violet Senses Anti-Persperant
I picked this up on a whim in the hopes that it would smell like violets. It doesn't, at least not to me, so that was disappointing. It was effective and lasted me through gym sessions but I won't be repurchasing it as I've swapped it for a more natural, super gentle Aloe Vera anti-persperant from The Body Shop.

Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean
If you want to know my opinion on this I'd highly recommend reading the post I wrote on it, link here. I won't be repurchasing this, ever.

L'Occitane Almond Hand Cream
I'm a huge fan of Almond scents, a huge fan of L'Occitane Hand Creams and combining these two loves in one place was love at first use. I've since repurchased this (in the form of the Almond Silhouette collection) and would highly recommend it for people looking for light, quickly absorbing hand creams that are effective at softening dry skin. Big thumbs up from me on this one, and I may even write a full post on it in the near future as I am a big, big fan.

Miss Sporty Nail Expert Manicure Polish (Clear)
This was a budget base-coat stand in before it a) got knocked off my dresser and spilt everywhere and b) went really gloopy. I wouldn't recommend it as I'm about 90% sure this was responsible for turning my nails a horrible yellow colour. I think it's worth paying a little bit more for a better quality product, especially with a product like this that you're going to be using regularly.

Nivea Essential Lip Balm
One of my favourite lip balms! I love how melty this is, it's so soft and does an excellent job of moisturising the lips. I got through this in about five months (although I'm not loyal lip products and do use a few at a time) which I think for the £1 I paid made this excellent value for money. I'd definitely recommend it if you want a budget lip balm that is effective and completely untinted.

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub
I wrote a full review of this earlier this year, which you can read here. I loved using this body scrub, the scent is really gorgeous and zesty and the product itself is really easy to use and isn't too harsh. As much as I loved it I don't think I'm going to be repurchasing this for a while as I think that body scrubs are actually not as good value for money as just buying an exfoliating glove and using it with a shower gel or oil. But if I ever crave a body scrub again I would definitely repurchase this, or perhaps try one of Soap and Glory's other Body Scrubs. It has my recommendation!

Ren Vetiver v5 Body Cream
I loved the scent, then I hated it, then I loved it and now I kind of hate it. I just don't know. Ren is a lovely brand and their moisturisers are SO effective. This body cream needed so little to do so much which made it great value for money, but the scent of this variety was very grass-like and would put a lot of people off. I have another one of these kicking about my stash so I'll probably end up getting through another bottle eventually but I won't be reaching for it right away. I'd recommend the body creams but maybe not in this version, the Morrocan Rose scent is a much nicer alternative.

Superdrug Optimum Intensive Protecting Serum
I won this product in a Superdrug giveaway late last year and have been using it (on and off) ever since. I don't think it did much for my skin but I felt like it was a good idea to get into the habit of using a serum. I won't be repurchasing this and I'm very ambivalent about how effective it was so won't recommend it- I'm pretty sure I won't ever repurchase this. I've recently replaced it for a Body Shop Aloe Vera Serum which I'm hoping has more noticeable results.

Dirty Works Foot Butter
Fantastic product, I wrote a brief review on it here, and I think I would actually recommend this over Soap and Glory's Heel Genius which is pretty hyped. It's very affordable, very effective and the scent of it is really nice, it isn't minty like most foot products tend to be. When I get through my L'Occitane Foot Cream (the foot cream in my stash) I'll definitely be repurchasing this as I really enjoyed using it.

Witch Face Wipes
I recieved these face wipes at a blogger meet up and was very happy to be able to give them a go. I wrote a full review here, but in short I did like these although I felt they dried my skin out a tad. I won't be repurchasing them, simply because I'm trying to get out of the habit of using facewipes, but if you have oily or blemished skin and are looking for some face wipes to try then these would probably be great for you!


It was a long empties post this month! I've started a mini spending ban (just for a month so it would end on May 20th, although if it goes well I may continue with it) and I have a LOT of products to get through so I'm quite pleased that I was good and used lots of things I already had instead of buying things I didn't need. A couple of things I had to repurchase, like anti-persprerant and a serum, but other than that I'm trying to get more use out of products in my stash!



Are there any products I've mentioned in this post that you use? Any that you've tried and didn't like?


Share:

17 comments

  1. You have definitely emptied a lot of products this month! The original source shower gels are amazing. I love the lime one and the mint one. The mint one tingles on my skin and makes me feel so refreshed! The nivea lip balm is equally as nice, I used to use these loads but have recently discovered my original burts bee one. They last forever!
    Great post
    Rachel x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have haha. The mint one is great! They have a mint chocolate one too which I'm keen to try :) xx

      Delete
  2. I love the scent of Sugar Crush but you're right, so over priced x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I might just get the Sugar Crush shower gel and use it with my exfoliating mitt xx

      Delete
  3. I have to agree with you, herbal essence maybe nice but I refuse to use it because it contains sulfate. that is a ton of empties! Good luck on your spending ban!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks lovely :) and yeah, I really have to stop using it- a habit of a lifetime is hard to rbeak though! xx

      Delete
  4. i bought the lip balm at the weekend and i definitely agree with you, its great value for money.x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love Dirty Works foot butter too xx

    http://beautyqueenuk.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's great value for money and super effective! xx

      Delete
  6. I always have a tonne of original source empties

    ReplyDelete
  7. You managed to get a good collection of empties, I didn't use up as many as I hoped :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some months I get through lots and other months hardly any, next month you'll probably surprise yourself with how many you finish :) x

      Delete
  8. Nice Post! I'm glad I found your blog! xx

    http://beautyfashiondiva.blogspot.com.au/

    ReplyDelete

© One Little Vice | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Designed by pipdig