Summer Empties 2017 / Skincare, Body & Fragrance

It feels like extra relief that I also managed to get up my final part of my stupidly large summer empties. These are a big old slog to write up, and my recycling man probably wasn’t too pleased at the extra level of heavy junk that went out this week but it feels really good to be clearing out items in my collection. The declutter has been strong over summer!

Fragrance

Paco Rabanne Olympea
Definitely in my top three fragrances of all time, now my second bottle is finished up. I wore this a lot over summer and it was the only perfume I took with me on honeymoon. I tried to resist using up the last 4-5 uses but the urge to declutter got to me and I ended up finishing it off. I’ll repurchase this but will wait until I see it on offer or at Christmas in a set.
Repurchase? Yes

Michael Kors Very Hollywood
My dog eaten 30ml bottle has bitten the dust! I’m down to my last 100ml bottle of this now and I love it for summer. Very floral and beautiful, was my favourite perfume ever but has slipped down the ranks a little in recent years since I got Olympea and Tom Ford Black Orchid. A little harder to find than other MK fragrances, but worth a whiff if you can find it.
Repurchase? Still have 100ml bottle to use up!

Hyperbole
This little sample lasted me a long while, it was a 8 ml sample and so strong only one spritz at a time was needed. Not really my cup of tea but was used up sporadically since December when it arrived in a beauty box.
Repurchase? No

Valentino
I got this in a goody bag at an event in August and loved it. Reminded me a lot of Victor and Rolf Flowerbomb but a little less sweet. Would consider purchasing.

Mugler Alien
Can’t remember where the bloody hell this came from I think it was a post sample. I remember loving this when it came out (I even remember me and my mum smelling it in Selfridges on a weekend trip where it was initially exclusive to!). Now it’s not really my cup of tea enough to buy it, but I enjoy using samples.

Skincare

Muji Light Toning Water
I bought this after hearing good things about the Muji skincare via Stashy, but the options in the UK are seriously lacking compared to other parts of the world. I was left with basically two different toners to choose from and whilst I bought one it probably wasn’t the best product to give me an idea of whether I liked it or not.
Repurchase? No, Would like to try more from Muji’s line if I can get my hands on it though, maybe in Canada next year I can get some!

Nip & Fab Glycolic Fix Pads
I bloody loved these and so did my skin! These were such an easy thing to keep my bedside and they were feeling lazy sleepy friendly as I could just whip out a pad or two and be done. Looking out for these to be on a good offer in Superdrug and then I’ll stock up on more. I do have some glycolic toners to keep me going in the meantime and I refuse to cave at full price.
Repurchase? Definitely

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Wash (review)
I put up a first impressions of this line extension from Garner when it launched in January and was pretty much the first review on the internet at the time so the post got a tonne of views. It took me ages to use this up. I liked this to remove makeup but felt it was pretty harsh on the skin and not great around the eye area due to it’s strong bleach like scent.
Repurchase? Nope

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser (review)
This reminds me a lot of the micellar cleansing wash, but it feels a lot less harsh on the skin. It’s good at removing makeup, and lightly foams but not so much so that it’s unusable with my Magnitone cleanser. I took this as my only cleanser for honeymoon and it was the perfect size for 15 days away from home.
Repurchase? Already have.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish (review)
I was really pleased to get a sample of this as it’s a product I once loved and haven’t used in years. A cream cleanser that’s good at removing makeup and leaves behind a nourishing feeling. This was the first part of my Revisiting Old Favourites series and I’ve been compiling a list of products to retry, so keep your eyes peeled.
Repurchase? Maybe

MeruMaya Bi-Phase Plus Eye Makeup Remover
This was one of those half and half shake to mix oil makeup removers, which I got in a goodie bag at an event last year. These are never my favourite to use on a daily basis but will use them if I’ve got particularly stubborn mascara or really heavy eye makeup.
Repurchase? No, but would use again if I had it if that makes sense.

Simple Micellar Water
This stung my eyes so badly, I ended up using this up to clean products before photographing them/wiping down my vanity to remove any makeup.
Repurchase? No

Garnier Micellar Water
Travel size for honeymoon, probably my 900 millionth bottle of this by this point, or that’s what it feels like at least. Bae for life. This should be under 100ml to be fully travel friendly though Garnier!
Repurchase? Already have.

Bee Good Cleansing Water
I got this in a beauty box last year and sadly it’s not an empty. I had a weird problem with this bottle going persistently weird. I contacted them to ask for advice and they said it must have been a bad batch and sent me another which was really kind so I ditched this one.
Repurchase? No need got a fresh one to try!

The Body Shop Aloe Day and Night Creams
Ben put these in his homemade body shop advent calendar and they took so long to finish each. I used both as night creams as I found the day one too heavy under makeup for my oily skin. I liked them, but wouldn’t repurchase.
Repurchase? Nopedy Nope

Amie Matte Finish Moisturiser
I was hoping to love this with a matte finish but honestly didn’t find it moisiturising at all. This looked and felt nice on the skin but I didn’t find it was rehydrating.

Lancome Advanced Genifique
My mum traded me this for a full size Kiehl’s Oil that had barely been used (I think one of us got the raw end of the stick here haha!) but I didn’t love the Midnight Recovery Oil and after 6 months of repeatedly trying it I decided it defo wasn’t for me. I did however really like this serum, and if I needed to buy one at the moment I’d probably try a full size of that.

I won’t go into any of these in great detail, but I’m still glad I gave away my Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery to my mum that stuff just doesn’t work for me. I liked the Clinique Moisture Surge Moisturiser sample and all of the bare minerals stuff was average other than the serum which I loved. I’m down to my last handful of sachets to declutter!

Body Care

& Other Stories Punk Bouquet Body Wash
I loved this stuff but I would have serious reservations about buying another & Other Stories body wash again it lasted so long. I bought it in October last year and one pump was enough at a time and it just lasted so long. I say that but in all seriousness I would consider buying more and I’m going to London at the end of the month with Molly and Lora and if I walk past I’d like to go sniff some other scents and maybe have a few in rotation in my shower.
Repurchase? Maybe

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Shower Gel
This was nice, but it didn’t blow me away. Plus the full sizes are bloody huge and would take me even longer to get through than the & other stories one!
Repurchase? Nope

Just like yesterday when I had a bunch of mini hair care, I’ve got a lot of shower gels too, I shall not bother talk about them in detail but I managed to declutter five!

Mitchum Ultimate Pure Fresh Deodorant
I have about six different ones of this on the go at any one time, usually because I go somewhere for the weekend realised I forgot to pack it and have to make an emergency stop for it! Love this stuff, best deodorant.
Repurchase? Down to my last 2 of them but will do eventually!

La Source Body Lotion
I think this might have been in my Mum’s box of hotel stolen goodies, very thin formula and massaged into the skin easily but didn’t leave it moisturised.

Rituals Touch of Happiness Body Cream
This came in a past my little box and I loved this fragrance! It was lovely for summer and was warm but floral. Massaged into the skin well and was moisturising.
Repurchase? No I’m perpetually kept full of moisturisers from beauty boxes and I’ll never need to rebuy another one!

Baija Moana Creme
This was lovely and had a frangipani fragrance that took me right back to Bali with them flowers from the trees surrounding and falling into every pool. I have a body oil from this brand which is equally as gorgeous scented as what this. If you like lovely smelling body care this is a brand to look at.
Repurchase? Same as above, but would seriously consider this one!

Ted Baker Hand Cream
I featured this in one of my last products I was trying to use up and thank the lord it’s gone. Didn’t like the scent and thought it was a rubbish hand cream too.
Repurchase? No

Spa Retreats Smoothing Body Scrub
I got this in a beauty box and never ended up reviewing it as I couldn’t find it anywhere to actually purchase it seems to have been an old own brand line from somewhere that’s been discontinued from what I’ve gathered. This was a creamy moisturising type texture with tiny little shell type pieces, but they were so tiny they weren’t effective as a scrub at all. Took ages and a lot of motivation to use up!
Repurchase? Can’t but wouldn’t.

Sephora Almond Foot Mask
I bought this whilst we were on honeymoon and wore them after a long morning walking when we were stuck in the hotel in the rain. These did actually work which was surprising as I’ve tried some others before and thought they did diddly squat. These softened the foot well, which on my thick hard skinned feet is saying something.
Repurchase? Yes

I had so many cotton packs on the go at once, 3 times Boutique Superdrug ones which they’ve just changed the size and shape of so they have to reconvince me that they’re my favourite, one from Boots which I knew I wouldn’t like but needed to get some they’re too fluffy, and some from Primark, which were okay but not great.
Repurchase? Boots – In emergencies, Primark – No, Sainsbury’s bought the new versions.

Boots Essentials Cleansing Wipes
I bought these for our wedding bathroom boxes for the venue toilets and they weren’t even opened. These are normally my wipes of choice if I ever buy them but this time I seemed to find them quite irritating on my skin, they ended up being used to wipe down products and my dressing table as well.
Repurchase? Already have another packet to use up.

Primark Chocolate Face Mask (review)
I had two masks from Primark that I tried recently, one was great and the ohter did nothing this one did nothing.
Repurchase? No

Primark Charcoal and Black Scrub (Review)
This was such a pleasant surprise. I really liked this as a facial exfoliator and it made the skin soft, smooth and glowy.
Repurchase? Yes

Oozoo Bear Black Space Pore Caring Mask (review)
This sheet mask came with quite the surprise, it was black and thoroughly creeped my dogs out. Unfortunately that’s where my fun stopped as the mask did nothing.
Repurchase? Not available in the UK, but no.

Oozoo Bear Aurora Mask 
You’ll have to wait and see for my full thoughts until tomorrow on this one!
Repurchase? Can’t!

Wow Sheet Mask (review)
Recently reviewed an this won a prize for being the biggest let down. Super pricey for a one off mask that basically did nothing.
Repurchase? Pass, no thank you.

Garnier Self Heating Sauna Mask (review)
Again another let down of a mask, this just did nothing, and it didn’t even heat up on my skin. Waste of 20 minutes.
Repurchase? Nope

Tony Moly Broccoli Sheet Mask (review)
This helped calm down skin that looked like it was about to breakout pre-wedding, but left the skin feeling quite tight!
Repurchase? Maybe

Chin Up Mask
I planned to review this but somehow the outer box got lost and I didn’t end up ever finding it. This is a slimming neck mask which came with two treatments I used in the days before the wedding, I did record my results so I’ll list them below.
Measuring Ear to Ear
Pre Treatment Thursday 29.5cm
After Treatment Thursday 27cm
Pre Treatment Friday 27cm
After Treatment Friday 23.6cm
Sunday 25cm
I was sceptical over this and somewhere I have before and after pictures but I’ve flicked through my memory cards and can’t seem to see where they are,  but it was visibly different.
Repurchase? Maybe, only for special special event as they’re quite pricey, but if you’re getting photographed from all angles then maybe worth it!

Colgate Cavity Protection
I promised I used more toothpaste than 6.5ml in 3 months! This was almost worth not including but it was so small and cute I had to! I’ve already got 2 other that have gone into this months empties and have a third almost done with, I was flirting with too many over summer to declutter more than this one that was in one of our hotels from honeymoon!
Repurchase? No, but look how tiny!

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Helpless Whilst Drying

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8 Comments

  1. September 7, 2017 / 11:29 am

    I had a huge declutter ages ago and it’s so much nicer having a much smaller stash of products! That’s a shame about the Simple miceller water – I love Simple products but haven’t tried their miceller water x

    Jenny | LuxeStyle

  2. Aimee
    September 7, 2017 / 10:53 am

    I have just finished my Olympea perfume as well! I need to get a new bottle but it’s so pricey!

  3. September 7, 2017 / 12:52 pm

    I’ve heard such good things about the nip and fab pads, so think I’m going to have to try them! Also, I’m intrigued by those foot madks, might have to look for them too .X.

  4. September 7, 2017 / 1:04 pm

    Phew that was some empties post! I loved it. I love those Nip + Fab pads as well, always pick up a few back ups when they’re on offer.

  5. This is Kat.
    September 7, 2017 / 1:12 pm

    This was one of the best empties posts I’ve seen, and so many of these products I use myself! I’ve heard so many good reviews about the nip + fab products but am yet to try them myself!

  6. September 7, 2017 / 2:45 pm

    great empties review! garnier micellar water is definitely bae 🙌🏻 I love how many different products you have here!

  7. annaandmylunadog
    September 8, 2017 / 11:31 am

    I need to try the nip and fab pads!! Yes I agree I don’t want to pay full price ! 😂

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