Thursday 30 April 2015

April Empties

I can't believe it's almost May; five months into the year already, where has the year gone...  I've been kept busy with plenty of work, but managed to celebrate a few birthdays in between.  Of course with so many birthdays crammed into the beginning of the year it can leave you a bit low on the cash front, so Ive been making do with the supplies I have stashed under my bed.

And boy have I managed to get through some of my stash

Since I managed to get through so much I'll try and keep it short and sweet...

The Lush stuff

The Twilight shower gel was a limited edition product from, I believe, a year or two back.  The scent is still available in bath bomb form.  I loved the smell of this so much, Lavender, Tonka and Ylang Ylang, that I purposefully saved this as long as possible.  I'm so disappointed it was limited edition as the shower gel scent lingered on the skin far longer than the bath bomb version; if it is released again I'll be purchasing 50 bottles.
Similarly the Snow Fairy shower gel is also limited edition, but gets released every year at Christmas.  I always buy myself a bottle, I just love the sweet scent.  Sweetie Pie is a shower jelly, I think I'm on my third tub.  If you like the Comforter bubble bar then this has the same scent.  Personally I've gone of the jelly formula of late, I end up losing most of it down the drain, so I've been buying the Comforter instead.  The tub of Lemony Flutter has lasted me forever.  It's a cuticle balm and it really is awesome for your nails.  My gripe is I can never get through the whole tub before it goes bad and gets overly sticky!  It seems like such a waste; who'd have thought I'd complain about getting too much product.  I won't be rebuying.

Lotions and potions

I received this Laura Mercier souffle body creme in a subscription box.  It's in an ambre vanille scent, which has  a really warm, natural vanilla smell.  I just didn't find it hydrating enough for me to buy the full size version.  I do love this Burt's Bees milk and honey body lotion.  It's hydrating and absorbs so easily, but I can't say I'm a fan of the scent.  This Green People sun lotion was acquired from another beauty box, I keep this is my handbag for when I'm out.  Being fair I burn quicker than toast, so I usually go for a higher SPF.  It was a handy size to have though.  I'm always pulling out my Soap and Glory Hand Food; I keep a tube of it next to my bed and apply it every evening, after a mani, after washing my hands.  You name it I find a reason to use it, and I already have another tube on the go.  Something I'll definitely be repurchasing at some point is the Yves Rocher Cocoa and Orange Moisturising Hand Cream.  Ugh, the smell of this is just so good, exactly like a Terry's chocolate orange - the only downside to this is it makes me crave chocolate.

Hair Care

The Aussie Take the Heat Conditioner and 1 Minute Miracle Treatment were impulse buys and while they did the job, I do prefer others from the range much better.  I really enjoyed using the Dove Intensive Repair Regenerating Mask.  It left my hair super soft and so much less tangled than normal, once again I have other masks I prefer over this though.  Lastly the Hair Growth Treatment Mask from Lee Stafford, which I adore the smell of.  It's sweet and the scent lingers in the hair, more so when used with the matching shampoo and conditioner.  I don't think it helped my hair grow, but I will probably repurchase when it's on offer, just for the smell.

Facing it

I love using the Natio Gentle Skin Toner.  I repurchased this once but have since found another toner that seems to suit my skin better.  I do think this is quite a good toner if you have dry skin, as it's very gentle.  Another impulse buy was the Origins High Potency Night-a-mins, an impulse buy that I definitely do not regret.  Whenever I used this my skin felt so much plumper in the mornings (I alternated between this and a few others), and far less dry than it would be had I not used it.  As soon as I have the funds I'll be buying another pot online.  It doesn't feel fair of my to judge the Skin&Co Sicilian Light Serum as I only got two uses out of it - I think some must have leaked out.  It had a nice light scent but the two times I gave it a shot my skin felt a little tight, I'd need to try it again to be sure.  I'm a huge fan of The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Beautifying Oil.  Although it says on the bottle it can be used in hair, I always find it a bit too heavy for mine.  Instead I use it on my face and it leaves my skin lovely and glowy and soft. I'm on my second bottle but it lasts absolutely ages.

And the rest

I've had this bottle of Impulse goddess body spray for forever.  I bought it on a hot day many moons ago, and while it does have a pleasant enough scent I tend to lean toward perfumes nowadays.  The Sanctuary Spa Body Scrub was in a Christmas gift - this one has bits of pumice in it which I thought was quite unique.  I do love a good scrub but I didn't find this scrubby enough for my tastes.

I'm so pleased to have used up so many things this month, it's left me with lots more space, for me to purchase more products possibly... I really do need to whittle down some of my stash, so maybe next month I'll be reporting back with an even bigger empties post.