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

August Beauty Awards

Hi there! Today’s post is my monthly favourites post. As always I’ve chosen my top 3 products from all the products I’ve reviewed this month, and I’ve thrown in a few honourable mentions as well. Now onto the top 3!

3rd place – Boots Botanics Super Serum Triple Age Renewal

I really enjoy using Boots’ Botanics Super Serum because it makes the fine lines on my forehead appear less visible.

Runner-Up – Montagne Jeunesse Buriti Fruit Body Smoothie

Montagne Jeunesse’s Buriti Fruit Body Smoothie is unique! And I love it!

WINNER – Yves Rocher Retropical Eau De Toilette

I didn’t know what to expect from Yves Rocher’s Retropical fragrance. But it turned out to be the most beautiful summer holiday fragrance. Just wow!

Now onto the honourable mentions! There were quite a few products that I liked a lot this month, and whilst the winner and the runner-up were easy to determine, there were several products that were competing for the 3rd place!

Sukin’s Moisture Restoring Night Cream has helped me get rid of my dry patches. Outstanding! The melon-flavoured My Little Pony Lip Balm is quite possibly my all-time favourite lip balm. NSPA’s Shea Butter Shower & Bath Gel is one of my all-time favourite shower gels, and using Anatomicals’ chocolate face mask was awesome fun because it was like rubbing chocolate mousse all over my face.

Have you tried any of these products? If so, how do / did you like them? Or would you like to try any of these products? Feel free to comment. And thanks for stopping by! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 14 – 20 Aug 2017

Hi there! And welcome to my weekly blog recap! Read on to find out what I’ve been up to on my blog this week. 🙂

Monday 14 Aug – A-Z Nail Art Challenge Intro

On Monday I told you about the upcoming A-Z Nail Art Challenge which I’ll be doing. (The photos above shows 3 manis I did for the 31 Days Nail Art Challenge which I did previously.) Click here to read Monday’s post.

Tuesday 15 Aug – Montagne Jeunesse Buriti Fruit Body Smoothie

On Tuesday I reviewed Montagne Jeunesse’s Buriti Fruit Body Smoothie. Click here to read Tuesday’s post.

Wednesday 16 Aug – Boots Botanics Super Serum Triple Age Renewal

Wednesday’s post was about the Boots Botanics Triple Age Renewal Super Serum which I’m currently using. Click here to read Wednesday’s post.

Thursday 17 Aug – Superdrug Cocoa Butter & Vanilla Body Scrub

On Thursday I reviewed Superdrug’s Cocoa Butter & Vanilla Body Scrub. Click here to read Thursday’s post.

Friday 18 Aug – NSPA Pineapple Bath & Shower Gel, Pineapple Fragrance Body Mist

And Friday’s post was about NSPA’s Pineapple-scented products. Click here to read the post.

This is it for this week! I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend!

By the way, next week is going to be NAIL WEEK! I’ve already done quite a few manis for the A-Z Nail Art Challenge. That’s because I had written the A-Z Nail Art Challenge announcement post right after the 31 Days Nail Art Challenge wrap-up post. And I haven’t shown you any new manis since the first week of August. So… the nail posts have been piling up! 🙂

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