Empties! November 2014

Hello everyone! Time for my favourite kind of posts – an empties blog post!

Here’s what I’ve used up this month:

1. Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion – £7.65 for 300ml
   I had two 10ml samples of this face and body moisturiser, so to make it lasts longer and get a good idea of what this product is really like, I only used it on my face. These two samples lasted me a month: the first time I used it I thought I would love it, but this love soon turned into hate. It has got some qualities: it is lightweight, it sinks into the skin very quickly and it doesn’t feel greasy at all once applied; it also has no perfume so it is suitable for sensitive skin. However, despite not feeling greasy once applied, my skin became very, very oily after a couple of hours. I didn’t blame the moisturiser at first, but I switched to another moisturiser for a weekend and then came back to Aveeno: on the weekend my skin was absolutely fine, and as soon as I applied this Aveeno moisturiser again my skin became all oily again… so I wouldn’t recommend this product to anyone with oily/combination skin. Also, I avoided using it before applying make-up as foundation was literally impossible to apply evenly on my skin, not even with a brush. So glad I didn’t spend a single penny for this moisturiser.
2. Garnier Ultimate Blends The Silky Smoother Shampoo – £3.89 for 400ml
   Despite being an average shampoo ideal for everyday use, I didn’t get bored of this massive 400ml bottle, which is great value for money especially if you buy it on offer like I did (it’s currently half price at Boots). The smell is lovely, very warming and not too sweet. It works really well when your scalp feels very itchy, but don’t use this if you want to get rid of dandruff (unless the dandruff caused by my dermatitis is harder to get rid of?). Also make sure you use a conditioner once your hair is washed as this shampoo tended to leave my hair feeling a bit dry.
3. Vaseline Derma Beauty Aerosol Anti-Perspirant Deodorant Compressed – £2.75 for 75ml
   This deodorant is your average deodorant, it smells nice and feminine without being overpowering and most importantly it does its job. The only negative point is that you have to shake it well before using it unless you don’t mind ending up with white underarms. However, I’m not sure I will buy compressed deodorants any time soon. I have read a lot of negative reviews about them, stating that they don’t actually last as long as the full size cans (that’s what they claim), but since I needed a small deodorant to bring on the plane with me I decided to give them a try anyway. Well, if you haven’t tried this deodorant, I can guarantee you these reviews are true for the Vaseline compressed deodorants. So disappointed, but still quite handy when travelling on a plane.
4. Rimmel Volume Flash x10 Mascara Black Extreme 1 – £5.99
   This has to be the only Rimmel product that has disappointed me so far, but to be fair it was quite old so that didn’t really help in giving me a better opinion of this mascara. It is so clumpy! And it doesn’t give much volume nor lenght to my lashes. However, if you’re looking for a very black mascara, this one could be what you’re looking for.
5. Femfresh Intimate Hygiene Daily Intimate Wash – £2.99 for 250ml
   This is not the first time I use this product but I thought I might as well briefly mention it as it is part of my every day routine after all. I have to say, compared to France there isn’t much choice of intimate wash here in the UK… All I can find in my local Boots is this brand or Boots’ own products. I’m not complaining though as this product is really good, you only need a tiny bit and it foams really well. The scent is very light and it’s just so much better than shower gels.
6. Intensive Aqua After Colour Mask
   I don’t think there’s much point in me reviewing this product since 1) I don’t dye my hair, my mother does so I don’t know why did she decide to give it to me and 2) we got it from my hairdresser in France and I couldn’t find anywhere where you could buy this online. I used it as I would normally use this moisturiser, it is very thick and nourishing but don’t ask me whether this does its job or not as I have no idea!
7. Kiko Gel Look Top Coat – £4.90 for 11ml
   I reviewed this in my first ever nail varnish post and my feelings haven’t changed – I have having to throw products in the bin when they’re not empty yet but this ruins my freshly painted nails every single time and I’m fed up! It doesn’t apply evenly and I could always notice some crack lines after a couple of days… since I’ve stopped using this I haven’t seen any since so it has to be this top coat! I love Kiko nail products but this is such a waste of money!
8. Rimmel London 60 Seconds Nail Polish in the shade 615 Fast & Fuchsia – £3.69 for 8ml
   This is not actually empty either, but it’s all dried out so I can’t use this product again. I bought this along with other Rimmel colours about 5 years ago and it’s the only one that is now unusable, so in general they do last quite a long time. Oh and the brush is really wide which is great!
9. Derma Intensive+ Lip Balms – £1.20 for three lip balms
   This is the last of the three lip balms I got in this pack and it’s the aloe vera one – the other ones are blue and they’re unscented. I’m glad this is finished because the aloe vera one smells a bit weird, however both scents are very creamy and they do their job quite well.
10. Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in the shade Trasnparent – £3.99 for 14g
    I shared with you my first impressions of this powder a couple of months ago and I was very pleased with this product.. well I can tell you that even after something like three months my feelings haven’t changed at all. This was the first powder I had ever tried and I’ve tried two other since then: I can safely say that this is my favourite one. Not only it does the job perfectly, but what makes this powder my favourite is that it is incredibly lightweight, whereas the other ones tend to make my face look all cakey. The shade transparent is the lightest one and it matches my skin tone perfectly – you can’t see it at all once applied! And since it’s so cheap compared to other high street brands, you have no reason not to give this amazing powder a try!

That’s all for me! Do you have any empties this month? Have you tried any of the products I’ve mentioned?

Lorrainex