Product Empties | July 2018

 

Empties really don’t need much of an introduction. These are products that I have used to full completion, which means I can do a fully informed review for you.

Makeup

Benefit Hello Happy Foundation
This is only a sample, single use sachet, but from what I tried, it’s very nice. It is blurring, as advertised and is a medium, buildable coverage. It felt very lightweight to wear and left me with a healthy glow. However, after a full day of work and a very hurried rush into the city centre to meet Birmingham Bab , it had pretty much been completely eaten by my skin. So although it looks great when you put it on, I’ll not be repurchasing, as I like a foundation that’s going to last all day. But, bonus points to Benefit for including 3 of their shades in the sample, so I could correctly colour match myself.

Revolution Conceal and Define
This concealer has become my new holy grail. It has fantastically high coverage, without creasing or caking. I would fully recommend this to anybody who struggles with dark circles. My only criticism is that it’s in one of those sneaky bottles which makes it look like there is tonnes more product than you are actually getting. Meaning I plowed my way through this concealer. This doesn’t put me off too much, as it is very affordable. I’d be pretty annoyed if it were high end. The only reason that I’m yet to repurchase this, is because my shade always seems to stock.

L’Oreal Nude Magique BB Cream
This is a good, fool-proof BB cream, that I chose as my base product on more low-key or lazy days. A nice light, blurring coverage. Unlike the Benefit foundation, this lasted me all day. The strange thing about this product is that is one of those “shade adjusting” products, that is white initially, but blends out to shade. I will not be repurchasing for this reason, as it seems like a cop out for L’Oreal to only produce two shades – Light and Medium. It’s not shade inclusive and I really feel like there is no excuse to not include darker shades, especially in 2018.

Benefit Porefessional Pore Minimising Makeup
This was a strange one. I really wanted to like this foundation, but I just didn’t. It’s incredibility light coverage and didn’t even minimise the appearance of my pores, which is what it is marketed for. It also pilled on my face, settled into fine lines and was just intensely unflattering on me. I’m so disappointed as I adore the Porefessional primer and expected more from Benefit. I’m glad I tried the deluxe sample first. Needless to say, I will not be purchasing a full size.

MAC False Lash Extreme Black Mascara
Again, another deluxe sample here. Again, another that I didn’t like. This mascara really didn’t do much for me. No volume or length, just a bit of tinting. There are so many good and cheaper mascaras, so I would never purchase a tube of this.

Jelly Pong Pong Fairy Lashes Mascara
I got this full size mascara in a Look Fantastic Beauty Box. I reviewed in on my blog before on this post. I did like it, but head over to that post to see my thoughts.

Soap and Glory Archery Brow Pencil
This is a great brow pencil. It’s very slimline, making it great for a feathered and precise brow. I’ll be repurchasing this, as it great, doesn’t budge and is really affordable. I’m pretty gutted that the spoolie on this broke, as it was as good as the pencil.

Skincare, Bath & Body

Micheal Kors Wonderlust Eau de Parfum
I really enjoyed using this fragrance, it’s very summery and rich. Look up the notes, if your a fragrance nerd, as this very complex with a wide variety of notes. It lasts a really long time on my skin, meaning this small sample actually lasted me a good few days. I also got compliments when I wore this, which enough to win me over. It would really love to repurchase this, but I own too many fragrances to justify a new purchase. It’s definitely on my list for the future.

Benefit It’s Potent Eye Cream
Luckily, this post is not all Benefit bashing. I did enjoy using this eye cream. It’s very rich and left my undereyes feeling and looking fresh. Also a lot of this goes a long. Because it’s very rich, I would recommend trying a sample of this if you are particularly prone to milia, as it may be a bit too much. I personally had no problems. Although I enjoyed using this, I do have a slightly bigger love affair with Clinique Pep Start Eye Cream and Pestle and Mortar Recovery Eye Cream at the moment.

Benefit Dream Screen SPF45
This is a really lovely facial suncream product. It didn’t leave me looking shiny at all, like most SPFs and didn’t feel thick on the skin. Unfortunately, I’m a bit snobby with SPFs and would rather go with a more specialised skincare brands, as sun protection is so important and something I use everyday.

Eve Lom Morning Time Cleanser
This cleanser is very gentle and luxurious to use. It’s a balm texture, making it deeply cleansing and an all around pleasure. It didn’t suck any moisture from my skin, which meant it was great to use as my cleanser before makeup application. It doesn’t smell the best, but that doesn’t bother me too much. I would repurchase this in the future.

Lush Cup o’ Coffee Face and Body Mask
A classic coffee scrub type product. For me the coffee grind in this are far to large and abrasive for the face, which is a shame, because it made my skin look so even and healthy. I did enjoy using the on my shoulders instead. I’d pop it on while in bath and letting my conditioner work it’s magic. I found using this regularly helped reduce back acne, which I often suffer with. I also think this would be great for the legs before shaving, but it’s just too expensive to use on such a large area of the body. I wouldn’t repurchase, as you do get more for your money with other, just as effective, coffee scrubs.

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub
I’m a huge fan of lip scrubs and this was the first one I’d ever tried. This made of flavoured sugar means it’s edible and you can just lick it off after use. It’s not too abrasive. The is phenomenal for dry lips and saves me in the summer. I would always use a lip balm after, but this just gets rid of any dead skin and creates a smooth canvas. I’m not repurchasing, as I treated myself to the Jeffree Star Grape Soda Lip Scrub recently, I will probably return to a Lush one in the future, as they are half the price of the Jeffree Star ones.

Alpha-H Liquid Gold
This acid toner can do no wrong in my eyes. I use this as an overnight treatment and can see a clear visible difference in the morning.My skin is left feeling even and intensely glowy and smooth. It’s a glycolic and liquorice toner, so please make sure you’re using a good SPF if you are using this and I also wouldn’t recommend using the daily. I use mine 1-2 times a week and that’s more than enough to keep prolonged results. I would recommend this to anyone and have already repurchased.

Garnier Micellar Water for Combination and Sensitive Skin
I do now try to avoid micellar waters as I find them too drying on the skin and make me lazy when removing my makeup and looking after my skin. It’s the same with this particular micellar water. It did nothing to improved my skin and did dry it out. I wouldn’t recommend this or purchase any of these in the future.

Sanctuary Spa Body Butter
This is a lovely body butter. I found it soaked into the skin really quickly and was incredibly moisturising. It also boasts a long lasting fragrance, which is great if you aren’t sensitive to fragrances, but could be bad news if you are. I can confirm that the light fragrance did last on my skin for at least 5 hours and I really liked that. I would repurchase this.

Simple Pollution Protection Sheet Masks
I picked up a good few of these, because they were on offer for only 75p each in my local Asda. I did like using these, as I find sheet masks very therapeutic and they left my skin feeling well moisturised and bouncy. However since reading Caroline Hiron’s post on Sheet Masks, I’m really quite hestitant to buy any in future, if they are no benefit (possibly detrimental) to my skin. It’s your call, I know some people love sheet masks.

Philosophy Purity Cleanser
I did like this from the sample I tried. It is thick and a gel to cream consistency. I haven’t been able to use it enough to really comment on how effective it is, but I was lovely to use and my skin felt nice after use. I probably won’t repurchase this as it is foaming and hasn’t got the greatest ingredient list for sensitive or dry skin.

Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel
I’m gutted that this is finished, as it’s limited edition for the Christmas period. It smells like pure happiness. Very sweet. like a mixture of candy floss and vanilla. It was a pleasure to use. I’ll probably repurchase this again if they bring it back for Christmas 2018 and if I’ve made a big chunk in my body gel stash.

Imperial Leather Cherry Bakewell Bubble Bath
This lush smell just didn’t last when poured in a bath, which is a real shame. I haven’t had the same problems with other Imperial Leather bubble baths and thought their Foam Bananas one packed a punch in the fragrance department. It also didn’t bubble up as much as other bubble bath’s that I’ve used. I wouldn’t repurchase this

Soap and Glory Scrub of Your Life
I do adore Soap and Glory body products, they have that perfumey signature smell. This scrub is my go-to for before shaving and before self tanning. I already have another one of these in my stash to use up, but for now I’ve moved to the Sanctuary scrub.

Haircare

Batiste Dry Shampoo
A solid favourite here, that I will always return too. There’s a review of these already on my last empties post. The oriental fragrance was new to me this time and is lovely, but I can never seem to find it in the bigger size.

Tresemme Heat Defence Spray
I’ve been using this now for probably around 10 years, so I think that speaks volumes. It’s very light and does weigh down my hair or make it greasy any faster. It’s also very affordable as well. This is a mini one I bought for travelling, the bottle is great because it’s refillable, so I can top it up with my full size. I will repurchase this when I run out of the bigger bottle.

I feel like my empties post get bigger and bigger! Let me know if you’ve tried and/or finished any of these – I would love to know your thoughts on them too!