AD/Gifted (This post contains products which have been gifted to me for consideration on a gifting basis only, all thoughts are my own).
When it came down to finding my last Beauty Empties post in order to follow in sequence (I number them now), I found myself going all the way back to June 2019. Now I know why I have an absolute abundance of empties lying around and an also unwritten post that I never finished, which, I probably won’t ever use now as the images were not very good and they also have a calendar from September 2019 featured in the background. Not good. Alas, I am sure you do not need to hear my ramblings about my failings on posting, it is time to get down to business and share with you a whole heap of empties and my ultimate thoughts on them.
There is quite a bit of skincare here as I am on a huge mission to get through my stash and make a good old dent in it in 2020 so that come 2021 I have fewer products lying around. I also don’t want to be wasteful therefore I do want to ensure I use everything up. I had a huge sort out the beginning of January and gave lots away to friends and family, I also recently gave a few things away to work colleagues and I also put together a giveaway which ends tomorrow (it is over on my Instagram). I am however still left with quite a bit, however, it is nice to see the amount I have finally reducing down.
Starting off with the Jurlque Rosewater Balancing Mist* now, I do not remember if this was gifted to me, however, I also do not recall purchasing this version so, I have marked it as gifted just incase. All in all, I loved this mist and have since purchased the intense version from Latest in Beauty (I received one gifted and also purchased a second as a back up). It is a beautiful floral rose-based mist which is so delicate on the skin and hydrating, I also find it quite soothing too and rather relaxing to use. It is, for me a bit of a princess product but I do love it and would recommend it to everyone for a bit of luxury.
The Medik8 Glow Oil* I have had for a while and I was conscious to use it up. This has changed packaging slightly now, although I am not sure if the ingredients remain the same. Overall I liked this. I used this predominantly in the evening in truth, I am not sure if this was the right time to use it although my skin seemed to enjoy it, especially come morning. This is a dry touch facial oil and I would say that’s true to its word, I found that after a few minutes this had almost disappeared from being noticeable to touch on my skin. Containing Vitamin C this oil aims to help slow down the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles whilst also providing antioxidant protection from the day to day stresses of the environment. I would definitely look into buying something like this from Medik8 myself, in fact, they are already on my radar for later this year as I would like to pick up the Crystal Retinal from them once I have used up a few more things.
For toner, I discovered the REN Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic last year and I really enjoyed it. This came in the Latest In Beauty Sunday Times Style Beauty Awards Box that I purchased. I find that upon very first use of this that my skin does tingle for a few seconds, this soon ebbs away. This tonic contains AHA, Lactic Acid and BHA, all which combined together help to break down dead skin cells and exfoliate the surface of the skin. The results of this are glowing skin which I can honestly say does work. I really do rate this and wouldn’t mind investing in the full size later on in the year, however, for now, I am quite sure that I have a few more of these mini 50ml’s lying around to use up.
An oldie but a goodie is the Superdrug Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream, which just out of interest, is still one of my most read reviews to date, even seven years on. This is one of my favourite budget beauty products and I have already picked up another as a backup. At the moment it is on offer for £2.98 which is such a good deal, if you haven’t yet tried it then I would give it a whirl, especially for the price. The 75ml pot lasts you quite a while too making this an even better purchase. All in all, love it and will always repurchase.
Staying with skincare for a bit longer, the Beauty Pie Japanfusion Pure Transforming Cleanser received a lot of hype last year, so of course, I had to try it. I think I even ordered two before trying it, yes, it got that bad. In truth, I liked it a lot and for the membership price of £5.87, I think it is great! Would I pay £25 for this as a non-member? The short and simple answer is no. Yes it is nice, yes it did a good job at removing my makeup, I often also used it as a second cleanse too and I looked forward to using it. The full price of £25 is, in my opinion, a lot of money for what you get, it is a simple cleanser, no-frills and I think you can find other products which are just as good as this which are cheaper too. Like I said, for the member price go ahead and knock yourself out, it is a great deal. I just wouldn’t pay full price. To clarify, I am a paying member of Beauty Pie and have been for easily over a year, I haven’t yet come across a product which I do not like.
The Indeed Labs Retinol Reface was my first real experience of using retinol and overall, I liked it a lot and would definitely pick this up again. I know that some people can suffer from sensitivity when using retinol however, I did not experience anything of the sort with this. From my understanding, this is low retinol and is great for beginners which is probably why I had no issues. I really noticed a difference when using this as my skin looked smoother and brighter the next morning. I am torn between re-purchasing this or trying something a step up, what do you think?
Another discovery (and it took a while to use up) was the Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Oil which I absolutely loved. The only reason I haven’t repurchased this as of yet is that for Christmas I received the balm version, so, I am going to test that out first and see which one I prefer. This is unscented, gentle on the skin and removes makeup really well, even eye make up which surprised me as normally I like to use micellar water on my eyes. I would repurchase this in a heartbeat if required, no thoughts. It is great and I would highly recommend it. I also found that it lasted me a really long time too so the initial price of £23, whilst seemingly a bit more pricey at first is ok when you consider how long it will last.
The Ark Skincare Pre Cleanse and Makeup Remover* was a lovely little product I tried last year and this is something I would consider buying in the future. It was just a pleasure to use and it did the job wonderfully. You can read more about this product here along with a few others from the range. It was great to discover this brand in 2019 and I look forward to seeing what they do in 2020.
The one product within this empties that I know I wouldn’t purchase in the future is the Dirty Works Perfecting Eye Cream*. In the past, I have used their Miracle Serum several times which I really like, however, I found the eye cream to be a bit underwhelming. It was nice, it did an ok job at hydrating my eye area but it wasn’t anything special, unfortunately. You can buy this in Sainsbury’s, although, I have linked Amazon for ease.
Moving onto body care products, I have finished up the Rituals Fortune Oil Shower Oil (love) and the Soaper Duper Passionfruit Body Scrub (loved even more), there was also a travel-sized Almond Shower Oil* from L’Occitane which is so luxurious, I was sad to reach the end of this. Speaking of being said, it looks as though this particular scent from Rituals has been discontinued which is such a shame, it is beautiful. It used to fill up my whole bathroom with this scent which I found to be really relaxing and comforting, I hope they bring it back one day.
All in all, this was a huge empties post and if you somehow managed to make it to the end then I do applaud you; thank you for taking the time to read it. Did you spot anything new here which tickled your fancy or any long term favourites?
*This post contains PR samples, for more please read my disclaimer.
