An Empties post has been overdue thanks to my camera going in for repair, it’s meant I had to let them pile up for a few weeks whilst I was waiting for it to come back in as it took almost 6 weeks! So here we are, like the good old days where I l had an absolutely massive pile to go through. I’ve still decided to split it up into more digestible chunks as I’ve got a lot to say about a few of these products. This time we’re heavy on skincare and makeup.
Skincare
Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Face Mask (review) – Gifted by M&S
This night mask has bought me such joy since I cracked it open in summer last year, I’ve used 2-3 times a week and my guess would be that I got somewhere between 100-120 uses from this mask, so whilst it’s at the top end, it’s by far the best value mask I’ve ever used. I find this gave me an extra dose of moisture and was soothing on my skin and sinked in far quicker than any other sleeping mask I’ve tried which makes it very pillow friendly.
Repurchase? Not immediately, but I definitely will in future – I have one other overnight mask I want to finish and then I’ll be sure to get another of this!
Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream Moisturiser (review)
I recently reviewed a good chunk of Drunk Elephant products, so I won’t talk about this in too much depth as I’ve already heavily covered it in that. I really liked this moisturiser and found it really effective on my skin, I liked the bouncy texture that it had and again, found it friendly for sinking in quickly at night and for layering with serums and other products. However, it comes in at around double the price of my favourite night cream, M&S Ultimate Sleep Cream, and whilst I enjoyed it, I didn’t enjoy using it twice as much or see effects that were twice as good.
Repurchase? No for the reasons listed above, but if you’ve wanted to try it I would recommend!
Beauty Pie Plantastic Cleansing Balm (review)
The last of my three Beauty Pie cleansers that were tried and tested by me recently. I enjoyed this cleansing balm and I found that more so than any other cleansing balm that I think I’ve tried – that it seemed to go the longest way. It’s not my absolute favourite thing that I’ve tried, I prefer the Emma Hardie Moringa and the Pixi Double Cleanse balms, but this does come in at a fairly good budget price if you’re a subscriber to Beauty Pie (or are tempted to try) and I’d be tempted to pick it up again in future.
Repurchase? Quite possibly, but not immediately as I have enough cleansers to last me at least a year!
If you have anything else you’re interested in seeing reviewed from Beauty Pie please let me know, I have a lot of credit to use up!
Filorga Time-Filler Eyes Eye Cream (review) Gifted M&S
This was supposedly the most Googled beauty product of last year, with bold claims of it mimicking the effects of botox I was excited to put this eye cream to the test – even though it had a high price tag of around £50, I was hoping I wouldn’t fall in love with it – and luckily I didn’t. It wasn’t a bad eye cream in the slightest and it did last me a long time – but I was expecting so much more than what it delivered, and I didn’t see the time reversing effects it promised. I discussed in my review that whether I’m just not old enough to see the wowing skin transformation that this advertises and whilst I do think it lasted me a long time, I think I’d have a hard time parting with £50 for an eye cream in one pop.
Repurchase? Highly unlikely, maybe if I’m older, looking saggier and feeling spendy.
Makeup
Stila One Step Correct Primer (review) Gifted by M&S
I was surprised at just how well this product seemed to work on my oily complexion and since I’ve been more open to trying more moisturising primers as a result of having such a good result with this one. I’ve liked that it was subtly colour correcting, but not so much that it whitened out my skin.
Repurchase? Maybe, but not immediately as I have others to finish first
Stila Aqua Glow Foundation
I’d planned to review this but I never got around to it, but I did mention in my roundup of products I was trying to use up (which this featured in) that I disliked this foundation a lot and I was desperate to see the back of this. I’m sure if you’re dry skinned then this might be a better performer, but I really struggled to get this to apply evenly, and then it wore off terribly through the day. The worst product from Stila I’ve ever tried!
Repurchase? Absolutely not, if it was the last foundation on earth I wouldn’t bother wear foundation any more.
Stila Stay All Day Brow Pencil
I bloody love these but fear that Stila are discontinuing them – by far my most used brow product ever, I think I’ve finished 5/6 of these over the past few years and I’m scared of having to find a replacement. I’m going to keep my beady eyes peeled out for my shade in this and stock up on every one I can get my hands on, just in case.
Repurchase? I still have one in back up, but if I can buy more I will buy more!
Jouer High Coverage Foundation (review)
I feel like I really need to re-review this foundation as whilst I gave it a good review, the more I used this the more it became my favourite foundation ever and I’ve now finished my second bottle of the stuff and I feel like it deserves a full blown glowing review on it’s own accord! High coverage, light weight, oily complexion friendly, matte but not flat effect – there’s nothing I don’t love about this. I may have held off repurchasing this for a bit longer and tried to finish up some others but I had two weddings coming up and I wanted to make sure I had my favourite foundation on me for long days.
Repurchase? Already have!
Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara (review) Gifted by Latest in Beauty
Received as part of a build your own beauty box from Latest in Beauty, I was quick to give this a go as I’d heard great things about it and I was keen to give it a try straight away. This was a nice mascara, it added weightless fluttery volume, but I found that it seemed to dry out quite quickly. Whether the full size would dry out as quickly as this mini did or not, but I found that as it dried out, the worse it performed through the day as it turned quite powdery and started disappearing off the lash.
Repurchase? Nope, definitely had a lot better.
Fragrance
Lancome La Nuit de Tresor Review
This was a gift last Christmas from my parents and I’ve savoured the last few drops. I had it on my Spring use up list to finish with a few special events in mind – and I used the last drops of it this weekend at my Sisters Wedding. This is one of my favourite reviews that I’ve ever written I think, and it’s all down to how gloriously special this perfume is.
Repurchase? Not straight away as I have a few to try and finish, but I will pick this up again at some point during the next year and have my eyes peeled for a good offer on it!
Extras
Green People Scent Free Sun Lotion
I think I got this in a beauty box at some point, I took this on the go with me at Easter as it was such a lovely sunny weekend. It seemed to do the job for both Ben and I!
Penhaligons Quercus Bath and Shower Gel
Super tiny shower gel sample, virtually unscented, thoroughly boring.
Regenerate Enamel Science Toothpaste
Visually appealing sparkly white toothpaste, okay flavour but not as fresh as I’d like. I’ve tried better premium toothpastes.
Dior Joy Perfume
Cute little tested spritzer, nice but quite light, not what I’d usually opt for – but enjoyed the few uses I got from this!
I’m already well on my way to my next ten empties so there will be another one in the not too distant future, likely next week! My value total for the year is starting to tot up and I’ve now hit over the £600 mark. This year has felt like a really good use up year in terms of finishing up items in my collection and I’m really starting to notice certain types of product dwindle down in my collection to the point where I’m pretty much “stash free” in some categories – a positive step!
Have you tried any of these items?
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I have not tried any of these products but they sound great!!
Jennifer
Effortlessly Sophisticated
These are some great products
Candice x
Being stash free – that sounds so lovely! :]
That’s a little disappointing for the Marc Jacobs mascara, I would hope they would want their sample to perform as well as the full size to get you to come back.