Products I’m Trying To Use Up – Winter 2017

It hasn’t quite been three months since my last seasonal edition of this, but when I took over to review what I featured last time I saw that I’d actually managed to use the majority of them up, so I started digging out what I wanted to get used up next. This is probably the biggest edition that I’ve done of these yet, I think I’m inspired by my pre-Christmas need to declutter and there’s a lot of products I’d be happy to see gone and out the door. Some of these should be easier to use up than others, and I’m hoping I might even get to see some of these in this months empties (which prewarning is going to be huge).

Skincare

Kiehl’s Calendula Deep Foaming Face Wash (review)

I put this in a post last October called 10 Products I Regret Buying, and it’s barely seen the light since. This is still almost full up until the label at the top – I could never tell what this was doing for my skin, I found that it didn’t remove makeup well, didn’t help with oiliness – I’m giving it one last good go before I’ll try passing it on to someone else to try.

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser (review)

I know, another Kiehl’s cleanser, this time it’s one I actually really love and have been using for the past few months. Quite the opposite of the other, this seems to keep my skin clear and removes makeup really well, the only reason I want to use it up is because I have many others in my cupboard I want to try and many more that I want to buy and try.

The Body Shop Spa Wisdom Afrique Hand and Foot Cream (review)

This is another product that’s been cast aside for a bit too long. I really like this on my feet, but I heavily rely on Ben to apply it for me due to my inflexible hip problems meaning I can’t twist my left leg to get to it. I’ve moved this from our bedside to our coffee table in the hope I can slyly sneak my feet onto his lap. So far it’s worked once.

Caudalie Resveratrol Lift

This is a bit of a cheat one, but I’ve been really trying to get this used up for a good few months and I know I’m really close to getting it finished now. This is a really thin moisturiser with SPF that I’ve been wearing under makeup. The deluxe sample size has been bugging me as its either too big to fit in my small acrylic drawers, and if it goes in my skincare drawer in my dressing table it’s small and gets lost. I’ve kept it on top of my dressing table and thankfully I’m getting close to the end.

The Body Shop Smoky Poppy Body Butter

Another one I’m relying on Ben’s help for! This is current back massage cream of choice, and it has been almost for a year. I’m sick of the scent now, and also fed up of looking at it. I can’t wait to see it decluttered from my bedside table and finish something else up next. Luckily I’m probably down to the last third or so. If I can bring my lazy self to do so I might start moisturising my arms and legs to try and get it out the door. I’d love to see this used up by Christmas!

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Haircare

Lee Stafford Coco Loco Light Serum Spray (review)

You may have seen this in a recent product loves and hates, and this was one of the bad guys. Whilst it smells great, it doesn’t do much for my hair. I don’t find this as effective as other oils for shine or nourishment. There’s really not much of this left, but the hardest part of products you don’t love is always that end bit.

Toni and Guy Volume Plumping Whip

I think this might have been in the first ever post like this I did last year, If I use the tiniest dab of this I find it makes my hair lovely if it’s curled. I have to be really careful not to use too much though as the volume it creates quickly becomes counteracted, looking greasy and feeling heavy.

Tresemme Keratin Smooth Shampoo

This has been one of the most long lingering shampoos in my shower ever! I think Ben bought this as part of the food shop sometime around our wedding (which was almost six months ago!), and neither of us particularly like it. I find if I use it too frequently it makes my hair feel really dry, I can use it just not too frequently which is making it really hard to finish up quickly. If I don’t like a shampoo I often try to get through it a bit quicker as a body wash, but Tresemme smells like nothing so in this case I can’t even do that! I might remove all Ben’s shampoos from the shower in the hope he’ll end up reaching for this to get it gone!

Percy and Reed Volumising No Oil Oil

I’ve finished up another oil recently and I’ve found that I’ve been bouncing around the drawer picking up all different ones, which won’t help me declutter any bottles very quickly. This one is practically brand new, ut it’s also pretty small so I’m hoping it might be easier than some of the others to get used up. I can’t really comment on it all that much yet as to whether I like it or not, I’ve not been paying that much attention!

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Fragrance

Victoria’s Secret Rush Body Spray

This one’s going to be a real mission! I bought this last year in New York alongside two others and quickly used up my favourite of the three, this one became my next go to and I just haven’t found myself reaching for it that much. I’ve tried to keep a limited selection of perfumes and fragrances out so I actually get through them in my goal to have only fragrances I really love in my collection, but this one seems to always be there and collects dust in the corner. I’m going to try using this in conjunction with other perfumes as well as by itself to get it finished off and one bottle down in the fragrance collection.

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Makeup

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation (review)

This has been my go-to for the past month or so, it’s currently the perfect shade for me (it’s SB06 for reference), so why are you asking I want it gone? It doesn’t last on me very well, this looks so flawless when it’s first applied, but I find if I’m wearing it for work it’s really started to disappear somewhere around midday. I have so many foundations in my drawer and any I can manage to declutter is a job well done.

L’Oreal True Match Minerals Powder.

I’ve got a review of this going up hopefully this week, but just look at this stupid packaging. Why did I pick this up? I have thin depth drawers which house normally 2-4 powders stacked up on top of each other, this doesn’t even fit in the drawer. Therefore it’s another product that lives on my dressing table and therefore I’m desperate to get rid of.

Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Foundation

If you saw my review of this then you’ll know whilst I adore the finish using this frequently I get really bad breakouts from it. In addition I said I was going through it really quickly and found I needed a lot per use, so would it surprise you to see that if held up to the light I’m somewhere between the E and the A in Beauty? Considering I’ve been really limiting my wear on this I can’t quite believe I’m that far through it. This is a little too dark for me, but workable, I’d like to get it finished off whilst I still can so it doesn’t have to sit in my drawer almost done until my skintone starts to warm up next year.

Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer

I have a couple of concealers on their last legs and this is one I feel like has the longest way to go so I’ve chose to include this one as I think I may be able to use up the others pretty quickly. I adore this concealer, it’s joint favourite with Instant Age Rewind from Maybelline and I can’t choose between them which I like more! It’s really light and works well under the eyes and despite the ‘radiance’ name, it’s not too glowy to have to avoid using on blemishes. I only really want to use this up so I can get down a few others and then repurchase this!

Freedom Pro Glow in Purr

Last but not least, is this. I’ve had this since Freedom first launched. It’s not been used that often but it’s stayed in my top drawer so it’s rattled around too much and as a result the lids fallen off and it’s got a bit broken. This is a bit of a weird product that I use in place of a blush and bronzer, it’s too coloured to use as a contour, but too brown for a blush – it’s almost more like a bronzer. I’m going to try with this but I don’t know whether I’m going to fall in love with using it daily so I’m keeping it til Christmas to see if I can manage to make it part of my routine, otherwise, it’s a gonner.

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So that’s it for this bumper edition. Let me know if you’ve tried any of these, and what you thought of them – as well as any products that you’re trying to use up too!

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