Empties #1

So as a blogger/beauty fanatic/girl I find that I'm trying out a heck of a lot of different products, which means that I'm always using up a variety of weird and wonderful things. I've stockpiled all of the things I've recently run out of/finished up, and I thought I'd give you a quick review on what I thought of each of them...

First of all, can you tell I like dry shampoo? I seriously don't know what I'd do if Batiste had never been invented, as it is quite literally my saviour! Here I've stockpiled three (L-R: Bloom which is calypso orchid and pink freesia; bright and lively Floral Essences; Neon Lights which is pomegranate and jasmine) but I just know that I'll have thrown more cans of this away than just these. This is my absolute fave dry shampoo, and I'll continue to repurchase Floral Essences for as long as I live.

The other dry shampoo that snuck it's way in here is Co-Lab Sheer Invisible in the Paris scent. Although there was a lot of hype around this, I actually didn't get on well with it. It's good if you're looking for a texturising product, but not so great at absorbing oil (which is it's main purpose...)

It's weird to love a body wash but this Dove Go Fresh Nourishing Body Wash in Plum & Sakura Blossom was an absolute treat. It had a really sweet but enjoyable fragrance, and as with all Dove products it was gentle and hydrating on the skin.

I use a deep conditioner almost every time that I wash my hair (around 2-3 times per week, depending on whether I'm venturing out). This Herbal Essences Dazzling Shine Light Reflective Intensive Mask is a favourite of mine for summer as it's rich and nourishing but leaves a gorgeous citrus scent in your locks which lingers for hours.

I'm very fussy when it comes to facial moisturisers, but I'd heard good things about the Una Brennan range so thought I'd give the Tea Flower Deep Clean mattifying moisturiser a go. It turns out I didn't love it and found it quite heavy on my face (?) however it was great for my chest and back whenever the odd spot reared it's ugly head. Not too keen on the scent though...

In complete contrast to that, something that I can't live without when it comes to breakouts is the Origins Super Spot Remover. This is a little pricey at £15 for a teeny 10ml bottle, but a little goes a long way and this little wonder lasted me for months! It's great at zapping spots super fast and doesn't dry the skin out.

When it comes to moisturising my limbs I can be pretty darn lazy, which is why I love the concept of the in-shower moisturisers. I adore the scent of Nivea after sun and this In Shower Refreshing After Sun Lotion smells exactly the same - it just reminds me of all my amazing holidays! Unlike the others in this range I don't find that this leaves a sticky or greasy residue on my skin, and the lovely light scent lasts for ages. Great all round really.

This poor battered bronzer is hardly recognisable, but it is in fact my absolute fave for warming up my skin. This is, believe it or not, the NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Powder which is an absolute steal at just £1.99 a go! I've already repurchased another!

As I've got older my skin has started to dry out a little, but I still have shiny days and make-up meltdown from time to time. I bought the Urban Decay Deslick Make-Up Setting Spray after hearing so many good reviews about it - boy were they right! Since using this up I've tried a couple of others but nothing else seems to cut it. This controls oil, sets make-up into the skin to stop it looking powdery and keeps it in place for hours - well worth the £21 price tag!

Towards the end of last year my skin was seriously temperamental, and everything I used seemed to make me break out! I've used the Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean 3-in-1 Wash-off Deep Purifying Cleanser before, and I remembered it working really well, so I gave it another shot. This fruity face wash sorted my skin right out - it calmed my breakouts and redness down, balanced out the oil and didn't dry or strip my skin. It's got active ingredients in it which chemically exfoliate the skin, and I think it's this that really helped to keep my spots at bay. I will definitely repurchase this again in the future if I'm ever in need.

To go alongside this cleanser, I also picked up a bottle of the Garnier Pure Active Spot Fighting 24h Moisturiser to really tackle my troublesome skin. I used this overnight on the affected areas, and I really found that it made a difference. This has a really fresh scent and a slightly cooling feeling on the skin, so it's perfect for use on irritated breakouts, and as it contains salicylic acid it really calms down those spots in a flash!

After running out of my sample size of the Clinique All About Eyes, I went on the hunt for a cheaper eye cream alternative. I came home with the Garnier UltraLift Eye Firming Anti-Wrinkle Eye Care (which I think I found on offer), and after just a few uses I could tell I wasn't impressed. I didn't find that this absorbed very well, and instead it just sat on my skin leaving a slightly greasy residue that interfered with my make-up. I tried a variety of ways of applying it, but nothing seemed to work. It's a shame, as this is such a bargain and can always be found on a deal, but sadly it just didn't work for me.

Along with the dry shampoo, I know that I got through more than just this teeny can of deodorant, particularly as this is my absolute fave (is that a weird thing to say about an anti-perspirant? I've been using the Dove Invisible Dry Aerosol Deodorant for as long as I can remember - it really doesn't leave any white marks on clothes, has a lovely subtle scent that doesn't interfere with perfume, and it works well to keep me sweat-free all day. Permanent love.

As soon as I started using the Maybelline Brow Satin Eyebrow Pencil in Medium Brown I was hooked. This is the best drugstore brow product I've ever found, and it lasts me so well too. This stays put all day and because of it's dry texture it has a really natural look on the skin. I'm already on about my fourth!

Now last, but by no means least, is a perfume. This is rare for me as I never get through my fragrances (I must have over 20 on the go right now...) but this one has been in my stash for quite some years, so I'm not surprised that it's given up! Amazingly this stuff is still available on Amazon which is impressive as I've had this bottle for around 8 years now! I bought this as it's a much cheaper dupe for a discontinue Lancome scent that I fell in love with back in school - I think this cost me around £15! The packaging is tacky as hell, but it was an easy one to travel with as there's no glass, and the subtle but sweet fragrance actually had pretty good staying power. That said, I don't think I'll be repurchasing this, even though it is still a bargain!

Well there you go, we finally made it to the end of my mammoth list of empty products. I hope that you found some of this useful, and I'm sure you'll see another of these popping up in the next few months!