AD/PR Product (This post contains products which have been sent to me for consideration as a PR sample only, all thoughts are my own).
I am having to consciously spread these empties out as I feel as though there have been quite a few lately. As you know, I have used the lockdown period to catch up with these and of course to try and use up some odds and ends that I had lying around, so, there has been an abundance of empties of late. That being said, it feels good to finally be through a few things, some of which, I am here to share with you today.
Starting off with two hair care products that I purchased from Pantene, we have the Pantene Hair Biology Cleanse and Reconstruct Shampoo and the Pantene Hair Biology Cleanse and Reconstruct Conditioner, both of which are for greasy roots and damaged lengths. I believe these launched this year but I can’t be completely sure on that front, either way when I saw them in Sainsbury’s I was intrigued. I purchased them on offer and overall I was pleased with them. This came as a surprise to me as unfortunately, despite loving the scent of Pantene products they rarely agree with my hair. Out of the two, I would only repurchase the shampoo as I felt that the conditioner was OK but nothing special to make me want to buy it again, that being said, if it was on offer then I may consider it in the future as it did a nice job of conditioning my hair, it just wasn’t a stand out for me. The shampoo, however, was a different story. I found this to be lightweight, cleansing, and hydrating and more importantly it did not leave my hair looking greasy the next day. In fact, my hair was very soft and fresh looking after using this; I would not hesitate to pick this up again. In fact, I would go as far as to say that this has been one of the best shampoos I have used in a long time for my colour treated, but greasy locks!
Two products that I adored during lockdown were the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex II and the Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist. Both will be repurchases in the future, that’s for sure! The Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair is a product that has been around for such a long time, so long in fact that I have no idea why it has taken me until 2020 to try it, but there we go. It is essentially a nigh time serum which is based around Estee Lauder’s exclusive patented Chronolux Technology. It also contains hyaluronic acid, squalene and Bifida Ferment Lysate which is said to protect against UV damage to the skin and also to help with DNA repair. This serum for me is pretty darn good and I don’t say that lightly. I found it to be extremely hydrating, nourishing and it definitely made my skin look brighter and more youthful. I would buy this again for sure, the only thing that stops me currently is the price as I personally think it is expensive retailing at £78 for 50ml.
The Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist was something which I opened up during lockdown and finished during the lockdown. I used this religiously throughout the day and loved every bit of it. The spray itself is a good one, I am keeping it to decant other products into as it produces a lovely fine mist. The mist itself is also good, it contains hyaluronic acid, B Vitamin Complex and Black Oat Extract which helps with inflammation. I used this before applying my hyaluronic acid serum and afterwards, I think it made quite the difference in how serum worked and simply how hydrated my skin was kept throughout the day. It is extremely gentle on the skin and I should imagine most skin types would get along with this just fine. It is lovely and it will definitely be a repurchase.
Moving onto the Tropic So Sleepy Pillow Mist* which I received a while ago. This was a good pillow mist that I used right up until the pump stopped working. This was most frustrating although I think this was something I did as it fell off the bedside table and didn’t work after that. In the end, I had to pour what was left into a separate bottle. The packaging is nice, it is a purple glass bottle which makes it feel a bit more luxurious and the scent is beautiful. It contains seven essential oils ranging from lavender, chamomile and frankincense to name but a few. I do suffer from asthma and in the past have struggled with some pillow mists as they have been too strong, I have to say that I had no issues with this at all. Whilst I can’t say that they make me fall to sleep, they do certainly relax me which then, of course, aids the sleep process. All in all, a good pillow mist.
The next two products are from Erborian, those being the Erborian Eau Ginseng Lotion* and the Erborian Bamboo Matte Lotion*. These are both lotions which individually tackle different skin concerns, for instance, the ginseng lotion is full of antioxidants such as liquorice root extract and ginseng itself, therefore, this product aims to brighten the skin, help fight the signs of ageing and it also helps to promote hydration within the skin. The second lotion as the name would suggest targets oily skin by the use of mattifying powder which is contained within the product, hence needing to shake before use. The aqueous phase lotion also contains extracts of bamboo which is known for its moisturising properties. Overall out of the two I did prefer the Ginseng Lotion, I felt like this did hydrate my skin and it did aid brightness to an extent whereas the Bamboo lotion didn’t seem to do much at all for me, In truth, I don’t think I would use either of these products again which pains me to say as I do like the majority of the things I have tried from Erborian, especially the CC creme which is amazing.
From Origins I used up the Origins Make A Difference Plus+ Rejuvenating Treatment Lotion which I had for a little while before opening. I must admit, I have struggled to find this on the UK website as there now only seems to be the moisturiser, treatment and hand cream. I am not sure if this is just because it is out of stock or not, therefore, I will try and remember to check in a week or so. I liked this but I didn’t love it, however, what I did love was the smell. In fact, the whole Make A Difference Plus range smells incredible. If you do happen to stumble upon this I would advise that alcohol is an ingredient high up the inci list which is something to watch out for as it can be drying.
From Murad I finished up the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser*. I received this in a Latest in Beauty Box last year if I recall and I was rather excited to give it a go. This is a gentle cleanser which exfoliates away dead skin cells and renews skin texture. It contains Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid so it is a bit of a multi-tasker in what it aims to do. This was only a 30ml so I wasn’t able to test it out for months on end, that being said, I did find that during the time in which I was using this that my skin was clearer and I had fewer blemishes. I would be tempted to repurchase this so that I could test it out for a longer period of time as I do believe that long term I could have some really positive results.
Another gel cleanser that I thoroughly enjoyed was the Ark Age Defend Conditioning Cleanser* which I featured in more depth here. I liked this product and often reached for it of a morning as I found for me it was more of a morning cleanse. The reason for this is that I found it to be nice and refreshing, it made my skin feel more awake if that makes sense. It did a good job at removing makeup too as I did, of course, test it out for that purpose, but ultimately, it was a morning cleanse for me. Containing kiwi and passion fruit oils to help support a healthy skin barrier and blue lotus which acts as an antioxidant I think all in all that this is a really lovely cleanser for most skin types.
Onto hand cream, I finally finished the Tony Moly Panda’s Dream White Hand Cream* which has taken me ages to use. I am not sure why really as it is quite a nice hand cream, although the answer is probably because I had quite a few on the go for some reason and I actually don’t reach for them that often. I loved the packaging when I received it and still do, it’s quirky but I would love to know if this comes in just a normal tube as I wouldn’t mind purchasing it in the future. I found this to be quite a thick hand cream but it worked wonders on my very dry hands during the lockdown. The only negative I have is that it is quite expensive, that being said, I do like it.
So there we have it, another empties done and dusted. Did you spot any of your favourite products or some which you are keen to try?
I am tempted to reduce the number of empties in each post to five a time as this took ages for me to write today, I can’t wait to get a cup of tea now.
*This post contains PR samples, for more please read my disclaimer.
