Empties – April 2021

Hi there! It’s the first weekday in May, so it’s time for my April Empties post. I used 11 single-use face masks – and you can read about my latest face mask finds here. Now let’s get to the bigger bottles, tubes and tubs!

1 Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Shampoo & Conditioner – I loved this conditioner (and the matching shampoo). Unfortunately, the entire Blends line has been discontinued. 😩

2 Sainsburys The Collection Sleep Relax Bath Soak – what a surprise find! I have repurchased this one already! My husband used this bath product too, so this is a shared empty.

3 Boots Live + Be Beautiful Connection Bath Soak – this was nice, but I wouldn’t buy it again. I’ve had enough rose-scented stuff for the moment.

4 CiatĂ© Cabaret – I liked this colour. I wore it on its own a few times, and it looked really good. I won’t repurchase it though. I have lots of similar nail polishes.

5 Olay Anti-Wrinkle Firm & Lift Day Lotion – a beauty staple! Love it! ♄

6 Cellio It’s True Honey Moisture Cream – a lovely moisturiser. I would buy it again!

7 Superdrug Layering Lab Blossom Body Mist – the perfect Mugler Alien dupe as a body mist. I have already stocked up.

8 Tesco Kind & Pure Refreshing Face Wash – a decent face wash. I’d repurchase it (although not now as I have a few other face washes to finish).

9 Boots Extracts Sweet Mango Body Scrub – a great product. Too bad the entire line has been discontinued! 😩

10 Radox “Perky Peach” Peach & Berry Scent Shower Gel – a great shower gel! I’d like to buy it again.

11 Superdrug Layering Lab Blossom Body Lotion – I’m glad this body lotion is gone! Bye!

12 Superdrug Layering Lab Blossom Shower Foam – I didn’t care for it at all, and I won’t buy it again.

13 Boots Live + Be Awakening Glow Body Mist – this was nice enough while it lasted, but I wouldn’t buy it again.

14 Creightons Manuka Honey Hydrating Hand Cream – one of my favourite hand creams. I would like to repurchase it!

15 Creightons Cocoa Butter Softening Hand Cream – another great hand cream that I’d be happy to buy again.

16 L’OrĂ©al Elvive Full Restore 5 Repairing Cica-Masque – this is actually a really good hair mask but the fragrance started to annoy me half-way through the tub, so I won’t be repurchasing this product any time soon.

17 Boots Extracts Rosehip Body Butter – OMG, I love this body butter! The Extracts line has been discontinued, but I have a few more tubs.

And this is everything I managed to finish in April. Not bad! Which products have you said goodbye to recently? Feel free to let me know via the comments. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 22 – 28 March 2021

Hi there! Happy Sunday! Today’s post is my weekly blog recap. And here’s what I’ve written about this past week.

Monday 22 Mar – Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Shampoo & Conditioner

On Monday I reviewed a shampoo and conditioner combo. Click here to read the post.

Tuesday 23 Mar – Nail Of The Day
Wednesday 24 Mar – Simple Ultra Calming Sheet Mask With Hemp Seed Oil

Tuesday’s post was a Nail Of The Day post. Click here to read it.
On Wednesday I reviewed a face mask. Click here to read the post.

Thursday 25 Mar – My Little Pony Lovely Lipbalm

Thursday’s post was about these cute lip balms. Click here to read it.

Friday 26 Mar – Radox “Perky Peach” Peach & Berry Scent Shower Gel, Radox “Mint To Be” Lime & Peppermint Scent Shower Gel

Friday’s post was about 2 Radox shower gels. Click here to read it.

And this is it for this week. Thanks for stopping by! x

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Revisiting Old Favourites – Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi there! Today’s post is about 2 hair products that I’m using at the moment – Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Shampoo & Conditioner. Unfortunately, these products have been discontinued and replaced with a terrible new line. But thanks to end-of-line retailers, Alberto Balsam’s Stunning Shine proucts haven’t totally disappeared just yet.

Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Shampoo is simply lovely. It has the most amazing fruity floral peach and peach blossom fragrance. I like that it’s clarifying but not drying. Great stuff!

Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Conditioner is great too. It detangles my hair with ease, and it makes my hair feel soft. I’m enjoying this conditioner very much!

Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Shampoo & Conditioner are available as 300ml each for about ÂŁ1 – ÂŁ1.50 each. I’d recommend these lovely products!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – August 2020

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I finished in August. I used quite a few single-use face masks. You can read about my latest face mask finds here. Now let’s get to the big bottles and tubes!

1 Thierry Mugler Alien Flora Futura – such a stunning fragrance. I love it! It’s a limited edition from 2018, but it can still be found online. I might buy another bottle.

2 Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum – this is a lovely serum. This is the last tube of the “old” formula. But the current version is awesome too, so I will repurchase that.

3 Superdrug B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz – my go-to face mist. I have plenty of back-up!

4 Lucy B. Royal Water Lotus & Vanilla Musk – another amazing fragrance. I would love to buy it again if I find it somewhere (without having to pay for international shipping plus tax)

5 Imperial Leather Grapefruit & Pomegranate – one of my old favourites. It’s been discontinued, but I have 1 more bottle in my stash.

6 Palmolive Santorini Breeze – this is a very nice shower gel. Those big 500ml are quite a commitment, but I might buy this one again.

7 Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Conditoner – I like this conditoner (and the matching shampoo) a lot. This collection has been discontinued (and replaced with a terrible new line), but I have another shampoo and conditoner combo as a back-up!

8 + 9 Essence Eyeliners Boogie Nights & Forever Green – I used to like these colours, but I won’t be using these anymore, so bye-bye!

10 Boots Extracts Luxurious Coconut Body Lotion (travel size) – a decent body lotion. I got this as part of a gift set, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought a coconut-scented product. I may have a few more of these…

11 Olay 2 in 1 Cleanser & Toner – such a lovely toner. I have a back-up bottle!

12 Maybelline Color Elixir By Colorsensational 135 Raspberry Rhapsody – I enjoyed this gloss very much, and I’m glad that I have another one in my stash!

13 Rimmel 60 Seconds 820 Hot Black To Go – this is one of the polishes I used as a stamping polish. I have no doubt that I have a few back-up bottles in my stash.

This is everything I emptied in August. I’ve done better than last month, and I’m happy with this. 🙂 Which products have you finished recently? Anything worth repurchasing? Feel free to let me know in the comments. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

 

Empties – December 2016

Hi there! Before I start the new year with new product reviews, let’s take a look at what I emptied last month. As always, I used several face masks – but I never keep the empty sachets. I’ve also thrown out my first konjac sponge. Yes, I have replaced it with a new one.

And I’ve finished a black eyeliner pencil. Yay! I’d have loved to show it off but unfortunately I lost it. I probably hoovered it up or my husband may have seen it and just thrown it away. But I’m working on two more eyliner pencils (Essence and Maybelline). Once they’re finished, I’ll make sure I’ll keep them safe. Now let’s look at all the bottles and tubes I emptied in December.
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1 Superdrug Clearly Youthful Hydrating Day Serum – this serum has its flaws. It doesn’t work with every moisturiser (it might ball up…), but it does make my skin look and feel clearer. And despite its flaws, I actually love this serum. Unfortunately I can’t buy it again because Superdrug has discontinued the collection. But I have a back-up bottle which should last me for another six months. I’ve also gone to great lengths to get every last drop of serum out of this bottle – I even had my husband cut the sturdy bottle in half! 🙂 The leftovers lasted me for 4 more days!

2 Givenchy Ange Ou DĂ©mon Delicate Bath Gel – I used this travel-sized bath gel as a shower gel and I really liked it. Great formula, wonderful fragrance. I can’t repurchase this exact product because the fragrance has been reformulated.

3 Givenchy Ange Ou DĂ©mon Silky Body Veil – a lovely moisturiser. It felt light and non-sticky, but it was actually very moisturising. Great fragrance! Too bad Givenchy changed the formula…

4 Olay Anti-Wrinkle 2 In 1 Instant Hydration + Radiant Glow – this is a wonderful moisturiser. It smells lovely, it hydrates my skin well, and it really gives my face a nice glow. I haven’t touched it in a while but I’ve rediscovered this little gem because I’m making an effort to use up all my part-used moisturisers. I don’t need to buy it again any time soon because I have two back-up bottles (please, say nothing). I’ve also cut this bottle in half (I managed to do this myself), but there wasn’t much product left in it. It was just enough product for one generous application.
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5 Superdrug Strawberry & Raspberry Shower Gel – a nice, fruity shower gel. It smells a lot better than some of the strawberry or raspberry-scented products you can find for five times the price on the high street. Well done, Superdrug! I’ll buy this one again, no doubt.

6 Pantene Pro-V Volume & Body Conditioner – I didn’t love Pantene’s Volume & Body products. The shampoo and the conditioner flattened my hair! I’m glad the conditioner is gone. I wouldn’t buy it again. If you’re wondering what happened to the shampoo – I always use more conditioner than shampoo. And whenever I empty a conditioner, I pass the matching (leftover) shampoo on to my husband who’ll use it up.

7 NSPA Caramel Fudge Bath & Shower Gel – a wonderful shower gel! I loved everything about it! I’d love to buy it again but it was a limited edition and it really is gone. 😩
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8 Superdrug Lotus Flower & Cherry Blossom Body Butter – I love this body butter. It’s very hydrating and not sticky at all. And it smells fantastic. Repurchase? Oh yeah!

9 Boots Mediterranean Grape, Avocado & Lemon Body Butter – this body butter was quite old when I rediscovered it in my stash (Oops!). It has been discontinued years ago. However, it hadn’t gone off (I think preservatives are awesome!). The fragrance wasn’t great. So I decided to use it as a foot butter. This one is a shared empty because my husband used it too.
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10 Calcot Manor De-Stress Body Buff – a great body scrub! But the charmingly old-fashioned floral fragrance is quite strong, so you might want to give this one a sniff before you buy it. Calcot Manor products are exclusive to Tesco, although bargain stores have snapped up some of the older stock. If I were to find this one again for 99p or ÂŁ1, I’d buy it again. But I wouldn’t pay a fiver (Tesco).

11 Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Conditioner – another great Alberto Balsam product! It’s dirt cheap but it’s really good. Pantene should take note! My husband is now using the matching (leftover) shampoo, and he likes it too. I’ll buy the Stunning Shine shampoo and conditioner again, no doubt.

12 I Love… Strawberries & Cream Bath & Shower Cream – I wanted to give this away because the strawberry fragrance was just too strong for me. But I forgot to put in the ‘for my teenage relative’ box. And then I just used this shower gel on and off for about half a year. And now it’s finally gone! I wouldn’t repurchase it, but if you love strawberry-scented products, this one is worth a try for sure. It smells much more natural than the overpriced strawberry-scented products from a certain high street brand. 😉
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13 For Kings & Queens Nefertiti Honey Shower Gel – this is a fantastic product. It smells like… heaven! It’s that good that I’m looking into buying the matching fragrance.

14 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream – one of the best night creams I’ve ever had. It’s rich and hydrating, and at the same time it has a brightening effect. And it’s under ÂŁ3 when it’s on special! I’ve already repurchased this cream.

15 Rimmel Stronger Double Duty Base Coat – this base coat promises to strengthen and protect nails. And it really works! This base coat has been discontinued but I have a few back-up bottles.

This is it for December. I hope I’ll be able to finish lots of products in 2017 so that I can finally get on top of my stash. Feel free to get in touch if you want to. And thanks for reading! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

December Beauty Awards

Hi there! It’s the end of the month. So it’s time for my monthly favourites. As usual, I only picked products which I’ve reviewed this month. And since I’ve loved quite a few products, it wasn’t easy to pick three favourites and to limit myself to only a few honourable mentions. But I did it! So let’s take a look at the products I loved the most this month.

3rd place – Boots Extracts Cocoa Butter Body Wash
Boots Extracts Cocoa Shower + Bath
I love the taste and the fragrance of chocolate and cocoa. So it’s hardly surprising that I also love chocolate and cocoa scented shower products. Boots did an excellent job with their Cocoa Butter collection. It mops the floor with the more expensive offerings from a certain high street brand. 😉

Runner-Up – Boots Exracts Olive Body Butter
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Boots Extracts Olive Body Butter was one of my favourite products from the Extracts range. And then Boots discontinued it and replaced it with a cheap smelling strawberry body butter… Idiots! I have a few tubs of this wonderful olive body butter left but I know I’ll be sad once they’re finished.

WINNER – Flower Pharm Orange Flower Body Butter
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Flower Pharm’s Orange Flower Body Butter is simply fantastic. The formula is perfect, the orange flower fragrance is divine, the product bursts with natural ingredients and the price is very reasonable. If you see this body butter at your local Home Bargains or TK Maxx store (or wherever), you should just buy it.

Now onto the honourable mentions. I loved all the Superdrug face masks that I’ve tried this month:
Clearly Youthful 3 in 1 Mask / Cleanser / Scrub,
Vitamin E Leave On Mask,
Black Seaweed Peel-Off Mask, and
Superfruits Clay Mask.

And I’m really pleased with my new Olay Anti-Wrinkle cleansing products. I also love Givenchy’s original Ange Ou DĂ©mon fragrance. And Alberto Balsam’s Stunning Shine hair products are very nice too!

What do you think of my December favourites? Which products did (or do) you love this month? Feel free to get in touch. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 19 – 25 Dec 2016

Hi there! And Merry Christmas! Today’s post is my weekly recap. If you’ve missed any of my posts this week, this post will bring you up to speed. So let’s start!

Monday 19 Dec – Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Shampoo & Conditioner
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Monday’s post was about Alberto Balsam’s Stunning Shine shampoo and conditioner. I like these two products. You can read the full review here.

Tuesday 20 Dec – Nail Of The Day
Wednesday 21 Dec – Superdrug Black Seaweed Peel-Off Mask
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Tuesday’s post was a nail post. I went for christmas glitter on a white base. If you want to know which products I used, click here to read the post. On Wednesday I reviewed Superdrug’s Black Seaweed Peel-Off Mask. This mask is fantastic! You can read the full review here.

Thursday 22 Dec – Superdrug Clearly Youthful SPF15 Skin Balancing Moisturiser
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Thursday’s post was about a product that I won’t miss when it’s gone – Superdrug’s Clearly Youthful SPF 15 Skin Balancing Moisturiser. If you’ve missed the post, you can read it here.

Friday 23 Dec – Haul! 20+ New Products
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Friday’s post was about the new products I bought recently. I didn’t need any of these products, but I couldn’t resist. Click here to see all the goodies I bought.

This is it for this week! I hope everyone’s enjoying the long Christmas weekend – no matter if you celebrate it or not. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi there! Today’s post is about Alberto Balsam’s Stunning Shine Shampoo and Conditioner. I picked up these two items when they were on special for ÂŁ1 each at my local Asda. It’s a great deal, I know! 🙂 But let’s not discuss my bargain hunting. Let’s get to the review!

The shampoo smells lovely. Many peach-scented products smell of peach skin, but this shampoo smells like the actual fruit. It’s fruity, but it’s not artificially sweet. I like it! I also think this shampoo cleanses my hair well. And at the same time it’s not harsh. Very nice!
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The conditioner is good too. It’s quite thin, but it conditions and detangles my hair surprisingly well. And the pleasant peach fragrance really lingers. Awesome stuff!

I don’t think these two products make my hair particularly shiny. But I would say they help maintain my hair’s natural shine. I’m enjoying these products very much and I will buy them again, no doubt!

Alberto Balsam’s Stunning Shine Shampoo and Conditioner are available as 300ml for ÂŁ1.50 each.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde