Recent Product Empties #1

Today I am sharing my first ever Recent Product Empties post. I’ve always thought these types of post are great as the resulting reviews will be very informed. If you’ve finished the whole product and are willing to repurchase something that speaks volumes in my opinion. 

These posts probably won’t come about very often, as just building up this collection of empties took me quite a few months. But I do plan on doing more in the future.

Products are linked.

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Recent Product Empties

Face Skincare Empties

• The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-Oil – I’ve previously mentioned this serum in a haul and in my review of derma rolling as this is the oil I use to do that. Whilst I predominately only use this oil when I am derma rolling, which I still highly recommend, I also put some drops into my moisturiser every now and then when my skin feels especially dry or when I have the remnants of a spot. I find that the oil helps heal the marks left by a spot much quicker than normal. The oil has never broken me out and leaves my skin feeling very supple and brighter with or without the combination of derma rolling too.

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes, I already have

BUY HERE

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• Superdrug’s Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream – I’ve reviewed this product before and everything I said in that post still stands. I honestly love it so much! To the degree that even though it only costs £2.99 I asked my mum to get it for me as a stocking filler because I knew I’d be happy to receive it on Christmas day. Please try it if you are looking for a new night cream. At £2.99 I really don’t think you can go wrong with at least giving it a go.

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes, I already have

BUY HERE

• Superdrug’s Vitamin E Nourishing Eye Cream – You saw me buy this eye cream in my most recent collective haul. I said in that post how I had been using it almost every night, which is not something I’ve ever done with eye creams as I find I lose interest in them very quickly, as for the most part, you don’t see any benefits from them. I am still planning on doing a full review on this product but until then I do recommend it. Again, at only £2.99, why wouldn’t you?

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes, I already have. And I asked for the eye cream as a stocking filler too.

BUY HERE

There is currently a buy 1 get 2nd 1/2 price on selected Superdrug Skincare too.

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• Yes To Coconut Cleansing Wipes – This is another product I mentioned in my recent collective haul post. I said in that post that I haven’t been very impressed with the Yes To Wipes. I have previously tried another one of their cleansing wipes and was likewise disappointed. They seem to retain no moisture and because of that they simply are incapable of removing makeup. They actually remind me of those cheap baby wipes that likewise don’t cleanse anything.

Hopefully you can see in the pictures below how unsuccessfully they removed my makeup. So much so that as I’m writing this I’m starting to wonder whether that is actually their purpose? Either way I don’t rate the material, as I said it’s somewhat cheap-clothy-baby-wipe-y-material.

WILL I REPURCHASE? No

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• Garnier Moisture Bomb Mask – Prior to making the decision to go cruelty free I bought a significant amount of these sheet masks from Gariner whilst they were on sale. And since then I’ve been working through them. This alone speaks volumes as I just don’t reach for them. There is nothing specifically awful about them but there is nothing specifically good about them either. They feel a bit itchy on the face and don’t leave me feeling moisturised; more tacky and in desperate need of a face wash. They are also pretty large sheet masks that strangely have small holes for your eyes and mouth. They’re just blah. Even disregarding the animal cruelty element I wouldn’t repurchase these.

WILL I REPURCHASE? No

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• Skin Republic Bubble Face Mask – I got this bubble face mask as a freebie addition in a Superdrug haul and I think I understand why it was being given away as a freebie. I have never tried a bubble mask before and whilst that part was reasonably fun I did not enjoy the results from the mask.

After removing the mask I noticed immediately how my skin felt dry, irritated and itchy. It left my skin looking red and blotchy too. It felt similar to a sun burn. I’m not sure why this happened as I have used and loved many other products that have activated charcoal as their main ingredient, nor do I have particularly sensitive skin. I didn’t keep the mask on for longer than recommend either. I’ve read a few reviews where people loved it which was why I was quite excited to try it, but afterwards I did a bit more digging and there was also a lot of reviews saying they experienced the same results as me. So I wouldn’t recommend this mask. I’ve also never even heard of the brand Skin Republic before.

WILL I REPURCHASE? No!

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Body Skincare Empties

• Sanctuary Spa Ultra Rich Body Butter – This is yet another product I’ve shared on my blog before, specifically in my Brands I Want More Of series. I really love Sanctuary for their body moisturisers, my favourite ever being their Cocooning Body Butter. Which, much to my disgust, they discontinued.

But their Ultra Rich Body Butter is pretty nice too. I didn’t however use this to moisturiser my body; I actually used it exclusively on my ankle. Which I’ll explain more with the last product in this post. Overall though I did like this product. It’s no Cocooning Body Butter, but it’s okay. – Can you tell I’m holding a grudge here?

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes, but not for full body moisturising.

BUY HERE

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• Mitchum Deodorant – I have been using Mitchum deodorant for.. – years nows. Possibly a decade or more. I’m not sure what else to say about this other than it prevents me smelling and also helps somewhat with keeping me dry (as it’s anti-perspiration as well). Unless it’s hot, in which case I will sweat. I just won’t smell. I’ve always preferred role on deodorants over spray as I just feel they work so much better. Especially if you suffer with more perspiration than the average person.

One of the only issues I have with this product, or roll on deodorants as a whole, is my inability just to do a couple of rolls and then walk away. Instead I find myself getting caught up in roll after roll. I then spend the next 5-10 minutes with my arms in the air waiting very impatiently for them to dry and cursing my inability to control whatever that weird tick is that I suffer from. I also suffer this way when piercing microwaveable meals. Ending up piercing the film with far more holes than necessary as I enjoy the noise it makes so much. I’m not insane dammit.

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes

BUY HERE

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Beauty Empties

• Urban Decay Perversion Mascara – In almost every makeup look I’ve posted on this blog I’ve used this mascara. And as you can see from the wand, I used it within an inch of its poor little life. I most definitely used it past it being even remotely acceptable. Obviously I loved this mascara and whilst Urban Decay are cruelty free, their parent company is L’Oréal who most definitely are not. If you are looking for a cruelty free mascara I am currently using Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara and I am really loving it.

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes, if their parent company was cruelty free.

BUY HERE

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BrKhcn5hOo0/

• Elegant Touch Nails – I’ve been using Elegant Touch Nails for over a year now and I love them as a quick and easy way of making your nails look instantly presentable for special occasions. I reviewed them as a whole here, which I think is a pretty funny post. And all my observations in that post are still very true whenever I put a new set on.

At an average of around £5 – £10 I also think they are pretty reasonably priced. They last around a week for me, although that is with them occasionally falling off and me re-gluing. I also think they could be used again as a whole at least once or twice if you file down the glue on the nail. 

The ones I’ve used and loved so far include; Coral, Charcoal, Next Stop New York, Mink Nude and Steel The Night.

I would also really recommended their brush on glue. It makes things so much easier than the little tube they give you in each packet of nails. As they seem to dry up and get pretty difficult to squeeze out, especially when trying to be careful with the fresh nails you’ve just glued on.

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes

BUY HERE

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Haircare Empties

• L’Oréal Pure Colour Shampoo & Conditioner – I honestly don’t have much to say about this shampoo and conditioner. It really isn’t anything special, nor is it anything bad. It just.. is. I’ve been using it up for what feels like forever but I’m finally done. I won’t buy this again because L’Oréal are top offenders for testing on animals and lying about it. If you are interested in knowing more or about going cruelty free yourself I recommend blog sites like Cruelty-Free Kitty.

WILL I REPURCHASE? No

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• Hask Argan Oil Shampoo & Conditioner – In my search for a sulfate free shampoo and conditioner (which is recommended for coloured or frizzy hair) that was also cruelty free I came across the brand Hask. They have different ranges for all your hair needs. I went with the Argan Oil for my first try and I honestly love them. The Argan range is ideal for repairing damaged hair but they also have ranges for volume, thickening, texturizing, curl care, blonde care, purifying, moisturising and more! 

When I first bought these I said that if I liked them I would try one of the other ranges when it came to repurchasing. Which actually proved difficult when it came to it as I really just wanted to buy the Argan Oil again as I loved using it so much. I did manage to keep my promise though and went with their Smoothing Keratin Protein range instead. 

I usually find that I have to alternate my shampoo and conditioner every few washes otherwise my hair seems to acclimatize to them and not clean as well. But I never found this with these products and was instead reaching for them every single time as I loved the way they went on and how they left my hair looking and feeling.

I enjoyed the slightly citrusy smell which isn’t overwhelming. That’s always a must for me because of my strong sense of smell. It foams nicely, cleans very well. Leaves my hair feeling soft, looking shiny and marginally less frizzy than normal. I’m not sure what else I can say about it and those are the basics most people want from a shampoo and conditioner. And regarding the marginally less frizzy comment; I don’t expect any haircare to really control my mane. It’s simply too wild. 

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes

BUY SHAMPOO HERE

BUY CONDITIONER HERE

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Other Empties

• Westlab Epsom Salt – I first shared about using epsom salts in my Bath Routine post back in June 2017! Which was one of my first posts and feels forever ago. I started using these after it was suggested that they may help with arthritis. I wasn’t expecting any kind of wonder product, nor do I personally find it to be one. But the magnesium sulfates are supposedly meant to reduce the amount of inflammation caused by arthritis.

Considering I find momentary relief from my arthritis when soaking in a hot bath anyways, I hoped this would also do something to minimize the pain I suffer with and loosen my joint slightly. I’m honestly not sure they do much. I think they, combined with soaking in a hot water, might ease the pain slightly but overall they are nothing to write home about. Do you know that saying?

But I also use them now as they leave me feeling cleaner, which most likely is just a mental thing I’ve convinced myself of as I see no reason why they would leave me any cleaner than I would be without using them.

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes

BUY HERE

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• CBD Oil – Now this is a bit of a wonder product with regards to my arthritis. My mum bought me some CBD oil after reading some articles about how people with arthritis and other chronic pain found relief from taking it orally. I tried this for a period of time but found it to not do anything. But then I read an article about using it topically by mixing it in with a mosituriser.

And since then, every night, I moisturise my ankle with this oil. And I really have noticed how it helps. It was never going to revert the damage done, nor was it ever going to take all my pain away. But it really is amazing how this illegal drug (not the CBD oil as that is now legal in the UK, but cannabis which is illegal) helps reduce how much I suffer.

Since bringing this into my routine I’ve not had half as many days of being completely crippled and unable to bear any weight on my ankle. Yes, I am still in constant pain. And yes I’m still needing my steroid injections, daily morphine and future surgery. But it helps me feel more like a normal human than I have in the last few years just by taking the edge off. It’s honestly amazing. CBD is beneficial for so many different things too:

• Chronic pain relief
• Anti-seizure properties
• Reduces anxiety
• Helps with sleep related issues
• Aids cancer treatment
• Helps with Epilepsy
• Reduces depression
• Helps with Multiple Sclerosis
• Helps with Parkinson’s Disease

Just to name a few! I mean, what the hell! Why isn’t this stuff more available. I would highly recommend doing some research into it if you suffer with any of the above and maybe giving it a try. Obviously I can only speak about it regarding topical pain relief but there are many posts and YouTube videos of people telling you how it has improved their lives. I’m hopeful it won’t be too long until it is available via prescription as it is pretty expensive. More expensive than I can really afford for the amount I go through. It is currently available via some online shops but I get it from Holland and Barretts as I trust them.

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yes!

BUY HERE

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I hope this post was useful and informative as I’d love to do more of these in the future, but only if you guys enjoy them? 

Have you used any of these products? What have been your experiences and thoughts? Please let me know in the comments!

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