Empties – September 2018

Hi there! September is over, so it’s time for my September Empties post. Read on if you’d like to know which products I said goodbye to last month. 🙂

1 Nivea Powerfruit Fresh Shower Gel – I didn’t love this shower gel, and I won’t buy it again.

2 Classics Nail Polish Remover – I love this nail polish remover. It does its job, it doesn’t smell too bad, and it’s £1 for 400ml. I have a few back-up bottles.

3 Gliss Hair Repair Supreme Length Conditioner – this is a great conditioner. I will buy it (+ the matching shampoo) again.

4 Essence Black Eyeliner Pencil (x2) – I love Essence’s eyeliner pencils. They’re £1 each, and they’re great. I have no complaints about them. I have several more in my stash (and rota).

5 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream – this is a great night cream. I will buy it again.

6 Superdrug Flutter Lip Balm – I loved this balm. I think I have 1 or 2 more of these in my stash.

7 Anna Sui Eau De Toilette – this is a very enjoyable floral fragrance. It’s all about iris, rose, lilac and powder. It’s very nice!

8 Olay Gentle Hydrating Rich Creamy Cleansing Milk – this is a great make-up remover. I will buy it again, no doubt.

9 Imperial Leather Indulgence Irresistible Body Wash – this is a sensational shower gel. I have a back-up bottle!

10 Patisserie De Bain Cranberries & Cream Bath & Shower Crème – I didn’t love the sweet fragrance, and I won’t buy it again.

11 Boots Essentials Cucumber 3-Minute Clay Mask – this is a great face mask. Very effective! I like to leave it on for about 15 minutes, and I love the deep cleanse it gives my skin. By the way, when I cut up the “empty” tube, there was enough product left for 2 more uses for me and my husband! Yes, I will buy it again.

12 Beautifully Scrumptious Aloe Vera Body Butter – this is a nice body butter. I would like to buy it again.

13 Yves Rocher Organic Raspberry Exfoliating Shower Gel – this was an awesome shower scrub. Too bad it’s been discontinued, otherwise I’d love to buy it again.

14 The Body Shop White Musk Breeze Body Purée – now that I’ve finished the 2nd bottle, I’m thinking this was actually a very nice little body moisturiser… but it was a limited edition from a few years ago, so this one’s definitely gone for good!

15 Superdrug Gentle Foaming Facial Wash For Dry Skin – another great product from Superdrug. Too bad it’s been discontinued.

I also used a few single-use face masks. I’m not counting them because I don’t keep the empty sachets. If you’d like to read about my latest face mask finds, click here.

This is everything I emptied in September. I think I’ve done well this month! What have you emptied recently? Feel free to comment. And thanks for reading! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Boots Essentials Cucumber Facial Scrub, Cucumber Toner & Cucumber 3-Minute Clay Mask

Hi there! Today’s post is about 3 dirt cheap Boots own-brand products – Boots Essentials Cucumber Facial Scrub, Facial Toner, and 3-Minute Clay Mask. These products are £1.50 each, but Boots ran a 3 for £3 promotion, so I paid £1 each. Now let me tell you if these products are any good!

I really like Boots Essentials Cucumber Facial Scrub because it’s effective without being too harsh. And the fragrance – which I’d describe as a clean and feminine fragrance with a hint of cucumber – is nice and pleasant. If I hadn’t known that this is Boots’ cheapest and most basic own-brand scrub, I wouldn’t have believed it. Well done, Boots!

Boots Essentials Cucumber Facial Toner is very good. It feels refreshing, and the cucumber fragrance is really nice. And whilst this toner contains alcohol, it doesn’t feel drying at all. I’m also glad to be able to report that I found this toner perfectly safe to use around my eyes. There was no stinging or burning at all! Outstanding!

Product number 3 is Boots Essentials Cucumber 3-Minute Clay Mask which promises to leave skin deeply cleansed, soothed and toned. Does it work? Oh yes! After a single use of this mask my skin felt cleaner and my pores looked considerably smaller. Yes, I left the mask on for longer than 3 minutes, but I always leave masks on for longer than recommended. In any event, the important thing is that my pores looked smaller. Considerably smaller! Awesome!

Like I said, these Boots Essentials products are £1.50 each. The scrub and the clay mask come in 50ml tubes, and the toner bottle houses 150ml of product. I will continue to use these products, and I will buy them again, no doubt. I will also try other products from Boots’ Essentials collection.

Have you tried any of these products? If so, how do / did you like them? Feel free to get in touch via the comments. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Beauty & Cutie Haul – Boots, Superdrug, Asda & Primark

Hi there! Some of you may remember that I used to buy toiletries, skin care and make-up in bulk. But I’ve stopped doing that a few months ago. Since then my approach to shopping has been 3 out / 1 in, which is going surprisingly well, so I’m sticking to this approch until (at least) the end of the year. 🙂 OK, I haven’t done much shopping lately, and because of that I’ve built up some “shopping credit”. So I decided to treat myself to a few new products. Now let me show you what I bought!

I found this Baylis & Harding Beauticology Donut Shop gift set at my local Asda store. It was £6 and it contains the following full size products: Blueberry Glaze Donut Shower Crème, Frosted Sprinkles Bath Soak Crystals, Vanilla Sugar Donut Body Butter. Yummy!

I also found lots of cute trainer socks at Primark. I bought a set of 3 pairs of Pokémon socks…

… and a set of 3 pairs of Care Bears socks. No, clothes and accessories have nothing to do with the 3 out / 1 in policy / approach / thing. However, I still wanted to show you that I bought these super cute trainer socks. 🙂 OK, now let’s get back to the toiletries and the beauty products that I picked up from Boots and Superdrug!

I bought 2 Carex shower gels. Carex used to do hand soaps and hand gels only, but they’ve recently launched shower and bath products too. These Carex shower gels were £1 each (special offer, Boots). I also bought 3 Boots Extracts Body Sprays – 2 mango sprays and 1 vanilla spray. These sprays are £3.50 each, but Boots ran a 3 for 2 promo, so I spent £7 in total for these 3 fantastic body sprays.

I found this super cute Caolion O2 Sparkling Purifying Soap by accident. I wasn’t looking for it. I didn’t need it. But it was £4 (Boots) and it looked cute… I wanted it, and I bought it! I also bought 3 more B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritzes. They’re normally £7.95 each, but they were on special (half price), so they were £3.95 each. However, Superdrug also ran a 3 for 2 promo on selected skin care products, so I paid £7.90 in total for these 3 body spritzes. Fantastic value!

I bought 3 more items from Boots’ Essentials collection – a Cucumber Facial Scrub, a Cucumber Facial Toner and a Cucumber 3-Minute Clay Mask. I’m really looking forward to testing these products!

I also bought several Carex Bubble Gum hand washes (Superdrug, 89p each) and several Carex Bubble Gum hand gels (£1 each, Boots). But these products are essentials, so I always stock up when they’re on special. 🙂

Any comments on my beauty and cutie haul? Feel free to get in touch. And thanks for reading! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde