Ten Empties #8

It’s another one of those ‘basics’ empties – the ones where all your essentials run out at the same time and this time it’s unusually heavily focussed on haircare. We’ve been travelling a lot over the past month with lots of weekends away – and I’ve been working on clearing out my shower since the start of the year and it’s only just starting to feel like I’m making progress and it’s starting to look a lot less cluttered! Seeing hair care gone and used up is always so pleasing to me as it’s always so chunky compared to everything else so one more thing off the shelf makes the world of difference.

I think this might be the longest that I’ve gone between an empties – and it was a classic situation of waiting ages on number 9 for the tenth item to be finished and then finishing up 5 products on the way, but I actually ended up miscounting and have 11 in here… whoops – so my next Empties post I’m sure won’t be too far behind as I have so many products from my Products I’m Trying To Use Up series on their last legs!

Haircare

Tresemme Cleanse and Replenish Conditioner
This took an age to finish as it was used begrudgingly once a week until it was gone – it also ended up being doubled up as a shaving aid when I do my legs to try and get through this so quickly. I’ve now banned Tresemme from our household, I’d literally use any other brand by this as it’s all terrible for my hair (although I can’t help but be curious about their new pro line because I want to see if it is actually any better) and I’ve asked Ben not to get sucked in by the cheap supermarket prices when I ask him to pick something up as it makes my hair so hard to manage.
Repurchase? I think we’ll take the above as a no.

Herbal Essences Bio Renew Argan Oil Shampoo
I finished up the conditioner in my last edition of these and it didn’t take long for the shampoo to finish either. I liked this shampoo but I didn’t like it quite as much as the White Strawberry and Mint one I tried earlier in the year as I preferred the scent, lather and clean feeling that that one gave me over this one which was a bit more nourishing – whilst I do have dry hair I have oily roots and I found the other was a bit better for balancing my scalp, but I wouldn’t avoid this one – I’d just pick the other.
Repurchase? Maybe, but I’ve just bought the Passionflower one from the line to try next (it smells gorgeous!)

Creightons Argan Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner
When we went away to Wales I realised that I didn’t pack any shampoo and conditioner with us, so whilst doing the food shop I picked these up. The Tescos I was shopping in was huge but their Beauty Aisle was so small in comparison and the choices were limited. At a quid each I was hoping these would be a great budget find – these were okay, but nothing to write home about – the conditioner didn’t go very far in helping my hair get detangled with a brush after washing, but once it was dry my hair did feel smooth and silky. If I was in a bit of a stitch and had limited options on the shelf I would get these again, but I wouldn’t actively go and hunt them down.
Repurchase? No

Makeup

The Ordinary Coverage Foundation
This has been a really good colour match for me over the past few months when most of my other foundations have been way too dark – so it made sense to get this used up and gone. I’ll have a review of this going live soon alongside the primers and the other foundations so I won’t go too indepth about this, but it was okay.
Repurchase? No – because I’m no longer supporting Deciem for the first point, but it also wasn’t my favourite foundation for my skin type.

MAC Brave Lipstick (Review)
My OG MAC Brave is now officially dead – after spending a lot of time in the shop with an assistant we came to the conclusion that this wasn’t a mislabelled lipstick as MAC Brave (at least currently in production) and there wasn’t an exact dupe. The closest from MAC we found was Viva Glam II – which I plan to pick up at some point (I’m one lipstick away from Back to MACing – so I may hold out for that) but it doesn’t have the very slight pink undertone that this lipstick has and is more of a pure medium nude, but it’s close enough.
Repurchase? I already have repurchased (if you’re new and haven’t seen me banging on about this for a year – this MAC Brave is not the same as the current MAC Brave… see the review linked for full details!)

Seventeen Skin Wow Concealer
I bought this at the start of last year and it was on my last Products I want to use up list, I have used this here and there over the past year and there can’t have been that much left in it as I’d only been using this a few weeks before it stopped clicking up more product. Seventeen is now all extremely heavily discounted in Boots as the entire line is being discontinued and I did consider picking this up as I did quite like it as an undereye concealer (I think it’s about £1.60 now) but if you saw the amount of concealers I had you wouldn’t need to see why I decided against it – I’ve amassed so many! It doesn’t outbeat Maybelline Age Rewind though.
Repurchase? If it wasn’t for the fact I had so many then I’d be stocking up on a few of these.

Violet Voss Brush Cleanser (Review)
I feel like I went through this really quickly but in fact I think I’ve got into a really good routine of cleaning my brushes more frequently rather than doing a 100 once a month I’m cleaning my favourites about twice a week – this was a lovely brush cleanser although a little on the pricy side – it was worth it for the instagram photo though haha (you’ll have to check out the review it’s the most extra brush cleanser ever).
Repurchase? Maybe, but not immediately.

Real Techniques Brushes – Bold Metals 200 and Buffing Brush
I’ve been having really bad luck with all of my Real Techniques brushes as they’ve all been falling apart – no other brushes are doing it and I’ve had really shitty customer service which has been pretty demeaning when I’ve tried contacting them for advice, so I’ve decided not to be purchasing any more brushes from RT. In the past 6 months I have had 4 brushes fall apart and all are under 2 years old. The Buffing brush has been used no more than ten times so that was a real surprise that it fell apart. 200 is one of my favourite blending brushes and I was really sad to see that fell apart, but I do have a spare from a Christmas set.
Repurchase? No

Bodycare

The Body Shop Shea Moisturising Sugar Scrub (Review)
This has been one that I’ve been trying to finish up for a while – I’ve had too many scrubs on the go at the same time and I’ve finally finished them all up so I can start on something fresh from the Bathroom shelf. I actually really enjoyed this scrub and felt it left a really nice balmy nourishing oil behind on the skin that made the skin feel so soft by the next day. Would definitely recommend if you are in the market for a new scrub.
Repurchase? I would in future but I have two unopened scrubs on my shelf.


Extras

IT Cosmetics Illuminating CC Cream
I had really low expectations of this as I haven’t gotten on very well with the original and anything illuminating when it comes to foundation is normally shit when it comes to oily complexions. This however was gorgeous – I’m really tempted to treat myself to a tube!

Sephora Peony Shower Pod
This was great for when I went for one night away alone, but I wouldn’t go and try and seek them out. It had a nice light floral fragrance.

EcoBoutique Shampoo
These have featured so heavily since the start of the year – I thought I’d used them all up but I found a couple more in my cupboard. I actually use them up to wash my beauty blenders, but I wouldn’t dare use on my hair.

VS Sassoon Colour Preserving Conditioner
I recently went through my bathroom cupboard and binned all my box hair dyes as I won’t use them – but I did save any conditioners that were in there!

YSL BiPhase Makeup remover
I’ve had a few of these and I really enjoy them, but I can’t see myself spending the full price of this ever as it doesn’t go very far.

Chloe Nomad Perfume
Oh I love this, it’s so unusual! It might be next on my perfume list to buy – definitely give it a whiff if you’re looking for something a bit different.

YSL Black Opium
I’ve talked about this loads – but I have a full size of this already!


This has just tipped me over the £600 quid mark – for anyone wondering how I’m calculating this total it’s a total if I was to rebuy without any offers, discounts, 3 for 2s etc – it’s not accurate to what I’ve spent as offers, PR items and stuff in beauty boxes would all make the real spent total impossible to calculate.You can peek at my 2018 empties spreadsheet at any time by clicking here. if you would like to read the first posts in the series, you can click here to see what I already finished up this year.

Have you tried any of these? What have you finished up recently – let me know in the comments below!

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16 Comments

  1. April 30, 2018 / 6:39 am

    Oh wow so many empties! Im patiently waiting for herbal Essence to launch their hair range over here.

    Candice | NatalyaAmour.com

  2. April 30, 2018 / 6:40 am

    I’m suprised you liked the IT cosmetics – I’ve heard really mixed reviews about it! xx

  3. April 30, 2018 / 7:10 am

    I remember when you tweeted about your RT brush shedding/breaking – it’s really horrible when customer service is bad too – it accentuates the situation. Do you know if it’s happened to many other people? I’ve had my brushes for a couple of years now so I hope they don’t do something similar. I have noticed the newly manufactured brushes have slightly different colouring, the pink and purple colour is much brighter. Still loving these posts! x

    • April 30, 2018 / 7:12 am

      I meant to type amplifies not accentuates lol

    • April 30, 2018 / 7:16 am

      I’ve seen a few people say about it – I remember stashy had an issue and the Canadian distributor sent her a whole package, but the person I spoke to was downright rude when all I was asking for was advice as to why it may be happening – I must have 30+ brands of brushes and the only ones which have fallen apart so quickly is RT so there’s clearly an issue!
      The buffing brush is one of the newer ones – I still have an old blush brush which I’ve had since the line launched and is perfect, but a lot of the newer ones are falling apart 😞
      Thank you!

      • April 30, 2018 / 7:34 am

        I’m not surprised it’s the newer brushes tbh, people change things and try and cut corners. I remember that post of Stashy’s – they should have a policy in place for all countries and treat as many customers as they can the same x

  4. rinkydinkyrhi
    April 30, 2018 / 7:49 am

    I didn’t know Seventeen was on the way out, I’m quite disappointed about that as it’s a brand I’ve used since I started playing with makeup. I’m going to town today so will have a trip to Boots to get some bargains hopefully x

    Rhi | http://www.rinkydinkyrhi.com

    • April 30, 2018 / 8:43 am

      None of my local boots have had any in stock – but I have seen some have, there’s loads online though most of it is 1.50-2.50! It’s being replaced by CYO in stores xx

      • rinkydinkyrhi
        April 30, 2018 / 8:53 am

        Ah dammit, I have seen CYO in store and wondered what it was. I’ll have a look online xx

  5. April 30, 2018 / 1:38 pm

    I’m so obsessed with my MAC Brave, I’ve gone through so many I’ve lost count! If you are struggling to find a store that stocks it, I recommend NYX butter lipstick in “Pops”. It’s the closest dupe I’ve found for Brave – virtually the same thing 🙂

    PS. check out my blog https://livingsimply245598904.wordpress.com/

  6. April 30, 2018 / 4:46 pm

    Tresemme is life! haha I always have so many in my empties, also kind of pumped for you that you finished Brave up.

  7. esterpiubeni.com
    April 30, 2018 / 6:47 pm

    I’m very tempted by the it cc cream that you’ve reviewed!!

  8. jazminheavenblog
    April 30, 2018 / 7:02 pm

    I can’t believe your RT brushes are falling apart!!! That is such a shame. I have the Buffing brush and mine has been going strong for a while. Maybe you got dodgy brushes but with it being more than one brush it seems strange! Great post xxx

  9. April 30, 2018 / 7:19 pm

    *high-five* I HATE Tresemme with a passion too! I just cannot use their stuff. Really rubbish and cheap product that makes my hair feel so dry and I didn’t think it was remotely possible since I have oily roots!

    That’s so sad to hear about your RT brushes. Even worse to hear about the bad customer service! I personally haven’t encountered any problems yet but I do recall a time when my best friend’s stippling brush completely fell apart like how your 200 has! From what I understand, they’ve released some new brushes again but I just don’t care, especially if the quality is going downhill with the newer batches! X

  10. April 30, 2018 / 10:55 pm

    I am so surprised to see the Real Techniques Brushes comments! I have a few and they are quite a bit old and never had any complaints! Now in saying that I never really clean them to the point of pristine, I wonder was it the cleaning bringing the glue away? I’ve had that with other brushes!?
    I would love to know what brushes you do use, have you a post on that before?
    xxx

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