Empties – September 2017

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I finished in September. I’ve used a number of single use face masks. Since I don’t keep track of these, I can’t tell you how many I used, but you can read about my latest face mask find here. Onto the empties!

1 Eva & Davis Berries & Love Fragrance Mist – a beautiful and refreshing red fruit jelly all-over body spray. I would love to buy it again, but, unfortunately, it’s no longer available.

2 Daily Defense Argan Oil Moisturizing Conditioner – this is a fantastic conditioner. I will buy it again, no doubt!

3 Olay Anti-Wrinkle Toner – another awesome Olay product! At the moment I have a number of different toners to finish, but I’ll buy this one again.

4 Laura Biagiotti Laura – I bought this fragrance ages ago, and it’s finally finished. It’s nice (office-nice), but not very special. I won’t buy it again.

5 Boots Botanics Super Serum Triple Age Renewal – this is a great serum that delivers on its promise. Visible results within weeks. Awesome! Yes, I will buy it again.

6 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Eye Cream – this is a good eye cream that sits well under make-up. I bought it before and I will buy it again.

7 The Sanctuary Spa Pomegranate & Cassis – I’m not sure when I bought this fragrance, but I’ve been using it on and off for a couple of years. I think this one was a limited edition, and it seems to be gone for good. But I wouldn’t buy it again anyway. It was nice enough for the office, but it wasn’t very special.

8 Essence Nail Whitener – a so-so product. It really brightened my nails, but it took ages to dry. This is an old product, so I can’t buy it again (not that I’d want to…). However, I will give Essence’s current nail whitener a try.

9 NSPA Honey Rich Body Butter – this is the best-smelling honey body butter I’ve ever had! Very nourishing, but – unfortunately – sensationally sticky. But I think I will buy this body butter again.

10 NSPA Grapefruit Shower & Bath Gel – this is one of the best shower gels ever. It’s perfect if you want a refreshing shower on a hot summer morning. 11 stars! This shower was a limited edition, and I can’t buy it again. But I have another big 500ml bottle for next summer!

11 L’Oréal Elvive Fibrology Thickening Masque – I’m glad this hair mask is finished. I wouldn’t buy it again. The delayed thickening effect really annoyed me.

12 MUA Top Clear Coat – this is a reasonable top coat. And I have a back-up bottle.

13 Primark PS… 18 Strobe Nail Polish – this is a great white polish! I have a back-up!

14 The Body Shop White Musk Breeze Body Puree – this is an OK body lotion. Nothing special though. This product has been discontinued, but I wouldn’t buy it again if it were still available. Saying this, I have one more bottle…

15 The Body Shop White Musk Breeze Shower Gel – this shower gel was alright. I liked that it didn’t feel drying, but I wouldn’t repurchase it.

16 XNG Nail Polish Remover – another reasonable £1 nail polish remover. I would definitely buy it again.

I think September was a good month for empties. I managed to finish quite a few poducts. I already know of a few products that I will definitely be able to finish this month, so I hope October will be another good month for empties. Any comments? Feel free to get in touch if you want to, and thanks for stopping by! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – August 2017

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I finished last month. Like always, I’ve used a couple of single-use face masks, but I didn’t keep the sachets (I never do). So let’s focus on the big empties – the real empties!

1 Givenchy Ange Ou Démon – a lovely fragrance! I would buy it again, no doubt. However, I think I’d like to try the purple version first (I’m sorry, I can’t be bothered to look up the exact name).

2 Boots Extracts Luscious Vanilla Body Spray – this is such a wonderful all-over body spray. The vanilla fragrance is sweet and dreamy – awesome stuff! This one is a shared empty. Yes, my husband used this body spray too! I have 2 back-up bottles.

3 Boots Extracts Sweet Mango Body Spray – I love it! This is the perfect mango fragrance. I have 2 large back-up bottles!

4 Max Factor Pan Stik 25 Fair – my holy grail foundation. Yes, I have several back-up Pan Stiks. 🙂

5 Superdrug Vitamin C Boost Mango & Papaya Body Butter – this body butter is really nice. It smells natural and authentic. I will buy it again.

6 NYC In A Minute 001 Evil – this is one of the nicer black polishes I had / have (I have several back-up bottles). And this is also one of the black non-stamping polishes that I used for stamping. This polish was only about 1/3 full, so I poured the leftovers into another half full black polish bottle. Tadaa!

7 Montagne Jeunesse Buriti Fruit Body Smoothie – this is a fantastic moisturiser. I already bought a back-up!

8 The Body Shop Moringa Body Butter – my husband and I used this one as a foot butter. It was OK. I have another tub which will also be used as a foot butter…

9 Original Source Skin Quench Cherry & Jojoba Oil Shower – this is a nice shower gel. It has moisturising oil beads that burst on the skin, and I like the fun fragrance. I have a back-up bottle.

10 Radox Revive Mandarin & Lemongrass Shower Gel – this is one of the best summer shower gels ever. It’s so refreshing! I will buy it again, no doubt. My husband also enjoyed this shower gel. So this one’s a shared empty.

11 Superdrug Extracts Aloe Vera & Mango Conditioner – this conditioner is the definition of average. I won’t buy it again. My husband is using up the leftover shampoo – he doesn’t care for it.

12 Original Source Lemon & Tea Tree Shower – this is another shower gel that my husband and I like. I have at least 2 back-up bottles. This one’s another shared empty.

And this is all the stuff I finished last month. It’s not much compared to what I’ve finished over the past few months, but that’s OK. I know that I’ll finish a couple more products very shortly. Anyhoo, have you tried any of these products? Which products did you finish recently? Feel free to comment. And thanks for reading! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Boots Botanics Super Serum Triple Age Renewal

Hi there! Today I’m reviewing the day serum that I’ve been using for quite some time now. It’s called Boots Botanics Super Serum Triple Age Renewal. This serum claims to stimulate cell renewal, to visibly reduce the appearance of deep lines and wrinkles, and to improve skin firmness in 4 weeks. It contains hyaluronic acid, vitamins A, C and E, soy protein, moisturising sugars and plant antioxidants from purple orchids. Oh, and the serum is made in the UK!

So how’s the serum? I think it’s quite good! It’s quick and easy to apply, it’s absorbed almost instantly, and it feels moisturising. It also plays well with all sorts of different moisturisers. I don’t think that my skin feels firmer, and I can’t comment on whether this serum helps with deep lines and wrinkles because, fortunately, I don’t have any deep lines or wrinkles (yet). However, I do have a few fine lines on my forehead, and they seem to be less visible than a few weeks ago. Awesome!

In summary, I like this serum and I would recommend it! Boots repackaged the entire Botanics collection, and the prices seem to have gone up quite a bit. I paid £4 for my 30ml pump bottle in the old packaging, whilst the current version of the serum is just under £10, I believe. But please correct me if I’m wrong!

Have you tried this product? If so, how do / did you like it? Feel free to comment. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – April 2016

Hi there! I haven’t done any posts about emptied products before. But every time I read my fellow bloggers’ posts about emptied products, I’m thinking I should do such posts too! And as someone who’s guilty of hoarding beauty products and toiletries, I’m sure that looking at the products I emptied every month will make me feel like I’ve accomplished something. 🙂 So, here’s what I emptied this month!

1 Palmolive Pampering Touch with Coconut and Moisturising Milk – what a lovely shower cream! This one’s been a shower staple for years. I love the creamy and gentle formula and the gorgeous fragrance. Yes, I will definitely repurchase this one.

2 Positively Fruity Smells Like Tropical Showers Body Wash – a nice body wash. It smells sweet, sunny and tropical and the formula isn’t drying at all. I think this is a good product and I might buy it again.

3 Harmony Hair Indulgence Herbal Conditioner with Mulberry Extract – an OK conditioner for my hair type (long, thick, curly). But I’d recommend it to ladies with fine and straight hair. I’ve got about 25% of the matching shampoo left in the bottle. As almost always, whenever I finish a conditioner, my husband will finish the matching shampoo and I move on to another shampoo and conditioner combo. 🙂 Anyway… repurchase? Don’t know. Maybe.

4 Colgate Kids Toothpaste 0-3 Years – I bought this toothpaste because it looked cute. I know kids toothpaste doesn’t have much fluoride, so it doesn’t replace an adult toothpaste. But I really liked using this toothpaste every time I wanted to give my teeth a quick brush in between (during the day, after work, etc…). I think I’ll repurchase this toothpaste again because it tastes yummy and it’s fun!

5 Colgate Max White One Optic – I tried this relatively new toothpaste for the first time and I really like it. It keeps my teeth clean and it tastes quite good! I’ll definitely buy this toothpaste again!

6 Boots Extracts Festive Spiced Apple Body Scrub – the matching shower gel and body butter are long gone. But I only just emptied this scrub. I found the body scrub too gentle for my liking. I prefer a more powerful scrub for my body. And now, a month after Easter, I’ve really had it with the christmassy apple-cinnamon fragrance. I’m glad this product is finally gone. I wouldn’t repurchase it for myself.

7 Superdrug Hand Rescue Balm – one of the hand creams I’ve been using on and off over the past few months. It’s an OK hand cream, but I had to keep using it all the time. And I grew tired of its weird scent quickly. Repurchase? No. There are much better hand creams out there.

8 Superdrug Animal Mad Lip Balm – a great lip balm! I like the soft and rich texture and the pleasant and subtle berry flavour. I have three more lip balms from this set, so I don’t need to stock up. But if Superdrug does a similar lip balm set again this autumn or winter, I’ll probably buy it.

9 Boots Botanics Hydrating Serum Capsules – good stuff! Too bad these capsules have been discontinued. If they were still available, I’d repurchase them in an instant.

10 Max Factor Pan Stik 25 Fair – this is THE ONE foundation for me. Full coverage, very affordable, makes my dry skin look dewy… what’s not to love? I’ll keep buying this foundation for as long as its made!

So, this was my first empties post. Looking at the stuff I’ve used up, I feel a bit proud of myself. 🙂 Now I have to tackle the countless eyeliner pencils which are almost used up – but just almost.

I don’t know if I will include toothpastes and things like that in the future, but this time I really wanted to tell everyone that I love kids toothpaste and I wanted to tell you about Colgate’s Optic White toothpaste (just in case you might be interested).

Have you tried any of these products? Feel free to let me know what you think. And thanks for stopping by.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Boots Botanics Hydrating Serum Capsules

Hi there! When I had a bit of a clear-out recently, I found these Boots Botanics Hydrating Serum Capsules.

It’s been a while since I actually used these serum capsules. But I remember I liked them, so I decided to give them another try.

For the past few days I’ve used the serum on my face (once daily, in the morning, before I applied my day moisturiser). And I’m really pleased with the product!

The serum feels wonderfully velvety. I love it! And it really does give my skin a moisture boost – just what I needed! And despite the rich formula, the serum doesn’t mess with my make-up!

It’s too bad these serum capsules have been discontinued some time ago. Otherwise I’d swing by my local Boots to stock up on them today! I also don’t know why I stopped using this serum back them. I know it didn’t cause me any skin trouble (I would have thrown it out), so I guess I probably just put the bottle somewhere safe and then I forgot about it…

I’ve previously used other Boots Botanics products as well – but only stuff from the older collection. But now I really want to look into the current product line! Any recommendations?

Mrs Strawberry Blonde