Empties – December 2022

Hi there! Today’s post is about my December Empties – plus a summary of everything I used up in 2022. Let’s start with December – which has been a very bad month for Empties. I thought I’d be able to finish a bunch of skin care items – but it wasn’t meant to be. And some products seem to be self-replenishing… Onto the Empties now!

1 Jil Sander Simply Elixir Eau De Parfum – a lovely fragrance! I would be happy to buy it again!

2 Palmolive Aroma Therapy Morning Tonic – one of the best shower gels ever! Unfortunately, this one has been discontinued, and this was the last bottle from my stash. 😢

3 Dove Go Fresh Nectarine & White Ginger – my favourite Dove product ever. Another one that’s been discontinued. Very sad! But I have 2 more bottles in my stash.

4 Pantene Pro-V Miracles Lift N’ Volume Thickening Conditioner – I liked the volumising effect of the shampoo and the conditioner in the beginning, but towards the end, these products made my hair unmanageable to the extent that I woke up with what I’d call clown hair every single morning. I wash my hair every morning, so in theory this shouldn’t be a big deal, but the clown hair effect was hard to get rid of. It took me 3 washes with the original Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner to restore my hair back to its normal amazingness. For the first 2 weeks, I thought this Pantene shampoo and conditioner combo was awesome if it weren’t for the annoying scent which I didn’t like at all. However, for the last 2 weeks my hair looked so bad that even the annoying scent faded into the background.

5 Palmolive Delicate Care with Almond – this is my all-time favourite Palmolive fragrance. I haven’t seen the almond bath and shower products for a long time, but I hope Palmolive will bring them back. Please, Palmolive!!!

6 Boots Live + Be Woodland Whisper Shower Cream – this is such an amazing shower gel. I love it! Unfortunately, another discontinued gem, but I have another bottle of this shower cream, a body cream and 2 bottles of body mist with this beautiful scent.

And here’s the total for 2022:

Face Masks 45
Shower Gels, Bath Gels, Body Scrubs 45
Fragrances 22
Conditioners 14
Body, Hand & Foot Moisturisers 13
Facial Moisturisers 6
Nail Polishes 5
Toners 5
Serums 4
Face Washes & Scrubs 4
Nail Polish Removers 2
Lip Products 2
Eye Creams 2
Face Mists 2
Make-up Removers 1
Pan Stiks 1
Face Mask Tubes and Tubs 1

That’s a total of 174 products. I haven’t used as many face masks as usual. In the past, I’d often do 3 masks per week. But 2022… ouch! Well, I can definitely do much better in 2023!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you had a good start to the new year. Let’s hope it will be the best one yet! xx

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Weekly Recap 3 – 9 January 2022

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

Monday 3 Jan – December Empties

Monday’s post was about all the products I emptied in December plus the 2021 total. Click here if you’re curious.

Tuesday 4 Jan – Nail Of The Day
Wednesday 5 Jan – Skin Treats Fennel Brightening Sheet Mask

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 6 Jan – Lux Soft Touch Soap With SilkEssence TM & Rose Water

Thursday’s post was about Lux’s rose-scented body soap. Click here to read my review.

Friday 7 Jan – Claire’s Vanilla Cookie Flavoured Lip Balm, Claire’s Trifle Flavoured Lip Balm

And on Friday I reviewed 2 lip balms. Click here to take a closer look.

And this is aleady it for this week. Thanks for stopping by! xo

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – December 2021

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I managed to use up in December; there’s also a breakdown of all my 2021 empties at the bottom. But let’s start with the December empties!

1 M&S The Fragrance Collection Peony & Rhubarb Eau De Toilette – this is a nice fragrance. I’ve gone through 2 bottles (1 x 50ml, 1 x 100ml) now, and I might buy a third (although not too soon)!

2 Superdrug Layering Lab Gelato Body Mist – not a groundbreaking scent, but nice and pleasant enough for everyday wear or for your handbag. I won’t repurchase it though as it’s not a favourite.

3 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Tonic – one of my all-time favourite skin care products. Yes, I already repurchased it!

4 I Love Elderflower Fizz Scented Bath Salts – I didn’t enjoy these bath salts, and I won’t buy them again.

5 I Love… Tangerine Dream Revitalizing Shower Gel – this was a gigantic 750ml bottle! This shower gel smelled delicious; unfortunately, it has been discontinued.

6  Palmolive Memories Of Nature Flower Field Shower Gel – a decent shower gel, but not a favourite. I won’t repurchase it.

7 Sanctuary Spa Kuan Jin Lychee & Pearl Bodywash – a beautiful limited edition shower gel. Unfortunately, it can no longer be found, so I can’t buy it again.

8 Imperial Leather Indulgence Irresistible Rich Moisturising Body Wash – I’m not really a fan of lotus or water lily scents, but this shower gel is lovely! I have 1 more bottle in my stash.

9 Herbal Essences Bio Renew Bourbon & Manuka Honey Deep Repair Conditioner – I LOVE this shampoo and conditioner combo. I have a back-up set!

10 Asda Sleep & Relax Bath Soak – such a nice bath gel. I have a few more bottles in my stash.

11 Superdrug Nourishing Pro-Vitamin B5 Body Lotion For Dry Skin – a nice enough body lotion. Much, much better than its incredibly low price would suggest. But I don’t think that I’d buy it again.

12 NYC Expert Last 138 Classy Glassy – a decent clear polish. I think I have at least a few more of these in my stash.

13 Boots Extracts Shea Butter Body Butter – an all-time favourite! Unfortunately discontinued, but I have a few more tubs in my stash!

I also used a bunch of single-use face masks, and you can read about my latest face mask finds if you click here.

Onto the 2021 summary now! I finished 261 beauty products last year. Not bad at all!

109 Single-Use Face Masks
52 Shower & Bath Products
23 Fragrances & Fragrance Mists
16 Body, Hand & Foot Moisturisers
13 Conditioners (plus matching shampoos – but I don’t count these because once I finish a conditioner, I always pass the matching leftover shampoo onto my husband)
13 Nail Polish Bottles
8 Face Washes &  Scrubs
7 Face Creams
6 Facial Cleansers & Toners
4 Lip Products
3 Serums
2 Nail Polish Removers
2 Face Mists
1 Foundation
1 Eye Cream
1 Multi-Use Face Mask

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – December 2020

Hi there! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today’s post is about all the products I emptied in December. I’ve done much better again, and I’m happy to report that I’ll be returning to a normal blog schedule soon – and this includes catching up with all of my blogging buddies. 🥰

So what kind of stuff did I finish last month? I used quite a few single use face masks, but let’s look at the big bottles, tubes and tubs.

1 Boots Extracts Sweet Mango Body Wash (travel size) – unfortunately discontinued. 😢 Otherwise I’d buy this amazing body wash again.

2 Alberto Balsam Mandarin & Papaya Conditioner – this is an old favourite, and I have no doubt that I’ll buy it and the matching shampoo again.

3 Garnier Skin Active Refreshing Botanical Cleansing Milk– not bad, but also not a favourite. I won’t buy this cleanser again.

4 Vaseline Intensive Care Aloe Soothe Non-Greasy Lotion – this is a very good body lotion, and I’ll buy it again for sure!

5 Classics Nail Polish Remover – my go-to nail polish remover. Already repurchased.

6 NSPA Green Tea & Aloe Vera Bath & Shower Gel – a lovely shower gel that I can see myself buying again.

7 Max Factor Pan Stilk 12 True Beige – unfortunately, this HOLY GRAIL product has been discontinued, but fortunately I stocked up on original Pan Stiks as soon as I read that the Pan Stik would be relaunched with a “new and improved” 🙄 formula, so I’ll be OK for a long time.

8 Patisserie De Bain Raspberry Roulade Hand Cream – this is a nice hand cream. I would repurchase it.

9 Essence Plumping Nudes 07 So Heavy – what a wonderful lipgloss! Too bad that this shade is no longer available.

10 Rimmel 60 Seconds 740 Clear – a nice clear polish. I’d buy this polish again, but I think I have a few more of these. 😁

11 Yves Rocher Jardin Des Nymphes Eau De Toilette – not my favourite type of fragrance, so I wouldn’t buy it again.

12 I Love… Chocolate Truffle Bath & Shower Crème – this is one of the best shower gels I’ve ever used. Too bad it was a limited edition.

13 Olay Regenerist Daily Regenerating Cream Wash – this is a very good face wash, and I can definitely see myself buying it again.

And this is everything I finished in December 2020! Which products have you used up recently? Feel free to let me know via the comments.

And below is a breakdown of all the products I said goodbye to over the entire year (256 products in total).

Single Use Face Masks 86
Shower + Bath Gels, Bath Salts 54
Body + Hand + Foot Moisturisers 23
Conditioners 14
Fragrances 12
Nail Polish 12
Facial Cleansers, Toners, Pads 10
Lip Products 10
Facial Serums, Oils 8
Facial Moisturisers 7
Face Washes 5
Face Mists 4
Nail Polish Remover 3
Multi Use Face Mask Tubes or Tubs 2
Pan Stiks 2
Eye Creams 2
Eyeliners 2

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 30 December 2019 – 5 January 2020

Hi there! Happy Sunday! Today’s post is my weekly blog recap. Read on if you’d like to know what I’ve been up to on my blog this past week.

Monday 30 Dec – My Favourite Manis Of 2019

On Monday I showed you which manis I loved in 2019. Click here to read the post.

Tuesday 31 Dec – December Favourites

Tuesday’s post was about my favourite products in December. Click here to read the post.

Wednesday 1 Jan – December Empties

On Wednesday I showed you which products I emptied in December. Click here to read the post.

Thursday 2 Jan – Best Of Beauty 2019, Part 1 Face Masks

Thursday’s post was about the TOP 11 face masks of 2019. Click here to read the post.

Friday 3 Jan – Best Of Beauty 2019, Part 2 Skin Care

On Friday I told you about all the skin care products (TOP 12) I loved in 2019. Click here to read the post.

Saturday 4 Jan – Best Of Beauty 2019, Part 3 Hair, Lips, Fragrance, Body

And on Saturday, I told you about my favourite products (TOP 13) from the categories hair, lips, fragrance and body. Click here to read the post.

And this is already it for the first week of 2020! Thanks for stopping by! 😘

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – December 2019

Hi there! Happy New Year, everyone! My first blog post in 2020 is about all the stuff I emptied in December 2019. At the bottom of the post I’ve also included a breakdown of everything I finished in 2019. The numbers don’t lie… I finished more than 300 products! Success! But let’s start with the December stuff:

1 Baylis & Harding Pink Grapefruit & Raspberry Shower Scrub – I enjoyed this product while it lasted, but I don’t think I’ll buy it again.

2 Anovia Replenishing Argan & Marula Conditioner – this is an OK conditioner. I don’t think I’ll buy it again because it’s not the most suitable product for my hair type. It smells lovely though!

3 Nivea Harmony Time Shower Cream – this is a nice shower gel that I’m happy to buy again.

4 Body X Feel Enchanted Shower Gel (no photo) – a nice shower gel. I’d buy it again. This is a shared empty because my husband enjoyed this shower gel too! And it was also my husband who finished the shower gel and binned the empty bottle – hence no photo. Boo!

5 Treacle Moon Happy Melon Sorbet – I love this stuff! It smells like honeydew ice cream. I’ve got 3 more 500ml bottles of this wonderful shower gel. This is a shared empty.

6 Flower Pharm Orange Flower Body Butter – another product I love! One of the best body butters ever. I have 2 more tubs.

7 Boots Botanics Nourishing Body Butter – my husband and I used this product as a foot butter, so this is another shared empty! This product has been discontinued ages ago, and this was the last tub I had in my stash.

8 Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care Shower Moisturiser – this product came in handy – time and time again – like when it was too hot to use an actual moisturiser, or when I had a very early start, etc. I have a back-up!

9 Maybelline Back Eyeliner Pencil – a nice eyeliner, but this one may have been the last of the bunch – or I might have 1 or 2 more somewhere in my stash…

10 Rimmel Stronger Double Duty Base Coat – a good base coat. I have a few more of these.

11 L’Oréal Color Riche 210 Shocking Pink – one of my favourite pinks! I have 2 backup bottles!

12 Astor Couture Automatic Lipliner 013 Bois De Rose – my all-time favourite lipliner! I’ve got a few more of these!

13 Yves Rocher Vanilla Blanche / White Vanilla Hand Cream – a lovely hand cream. Too bad it was a limited edition!

14 Clarins Crème Jeunesse Des Mains / Hand And Nail Treatment Cream – I didn’t like this hand cream at all. Strange “fragrance” (more of a smell) and very siliconey. Good riddance.

I’m happy with what I finished in December. Now let’s look at what I finished in 2019! One thing… you might notice there are not shampoos listed. The reason is that I use matching shampoos and conditioners. Every time I finish a conditioner, I pass the leftover shampoo on to my husband who will finish it. Alrighty, now that this has been explained, here’s what I finished in 2019:

Single-Use Face Masks 131 😱
Shower Gels & Scrubs 51
Body, Hand & Foot Moisturisers 27
Lip Products 18
Conditioners & Deep Conditioners 13
Facial Cleansers, Scrubs, Washes, Cleansing Pads & Toners 11
Nail Polishes 9
Face Moisturisers 8
Eyeliners 7
Fragrances & Body Mists 6
Face Serums 5
Facial Sprays 5
Multi-Use Face Mask Tubes 4
Max Factor Pan Stiks 3
Nail Polish Removers 3
Eye Creams 2
Eyeshadow Singles 1
Eyeshadow Palettes 1

TOTAL 305!

I’m over the moon with how many I products I finished last year. I hope I can finish even more in 2020. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for reading, and again, Happy New Year! 🥳

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 31 December 2018 – 6 January 2019

Hi there! Happy Sunday. 🙂 Today’s post is about all the posts I’ve written this week. Scroll down to see what I’ve been up to on my blog this week.

Monday 31 Dec – December Favourites

Monday’s post was about the products I loved the most in December. Click here to read the post.

Tuesday 1 Jan – December Empties

On Tuesday I showed you what I emptied in December. I finished a lot! Click here to read the post.

Wednesday 2 Jan – Major Haul!

Wednesday’s post was about all the stuff I bought over the past few weeks. It was a lot! Click here to read the post.

Thursday 3 Jan – Nail Of The Day
Friday 4 Jan – Treacle Moon The Honeycomb Secret

On Thursday I showed you a mani. Click here to read the post.
And on Friday I reviewed a shower gel. Click here to read the post.

This is it for this week. Thanks for stopping by! By the way, next week is going to be Nail Week! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – December 2018

Hi there! Happy New Year, everyone! 🙂 Since it’s the 1st of the month, this post is about everything I finished last month. I’ve used a few single-use face masks. Whilst I don’t keep the empty sachets, you can read about my latest face mask finds if you click here. Onto the empty bottles, tubes and tubs!

1 Boots Extracts Cocoa Butter Body Butter – this is, without doubt, one of the best body butters I’ve ever tried. I have a few back-up tubs in my stash!

2 NYC Expert Last Nail Polish 138 Classy Glassy – this is a lovely clear polish. I love to use it as a top coat when I do foil manis. I have a few more bottles in my stash.

3 Orly Nail Lacquer Clear – this is the best quick-dry polish ever. I have 10+ back-up bottles.

4 Enliven Mango & Papaya Shower Gel – this is a nice shower gel that I can see myself buying again. My husband used this shower gel too, so it’s a shared empty.

5 Yves Rocher 3 Min. Cranberry Cooling Effect Mask – this is, without doubt, one of the most useless “beauty” products I’ve ever come across. It doesn’t do anything at all.

6 Boots Garden Collection Rose Body Wash (travel size) – this is a great little shower gel. I have one more bottle in my stash.

7 Max Factor Pan Stik 12 True Beige – my holy grail foundation!

8 Palmolive Aroma Moments So Vibrant Shower Gel – this is a fantastic shower gel that I would love to repurchase.

9 Herbal Essences Bio Renew Whipped Cocoa Butter Strength Conditioner – I thought this conditioner and the matching shampoo were not bad, but I’ve changed my mind. They were bad! For weeks, I thought my hair needed a trim, but I realised how incredibly flattening these 2 products were just after I had finished this conditioner (which was the day I passed the matching leftover shampoo on to my husband). I started a new shampoo and conditioner combo (Gliss), and those new products made my hair look big from day 1. Thank you Gliss! Goodbye and good riddance Herbal Essences Cocoa Butter products.

10 Boots Extracts Sweet Mango Body Spray – this stuff smells gorgeous! It’s the best mango fragrance out there! I have another bottle – which is already in use!

11 Enliven Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel – another great shower gel that I would like to repurchase. My husband helped with this one, so this one’s a shared empty.

12 Imperial Leather Thai Fusion Bath Moments – if this one hadn’t been discontinued, I’d buy it again.

13 Classics Nail Polish Remover – I will continue to buy this nail polish remover for as long as it’s made.

14 Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Frosty Delight Body Lotion (travel size) – I found this half-empty bottle in my stash, so I made an effort to finish it. Success! This one was alright, but I wouldn’t buy anything from this brand again.

15 Garnier Pure Active Fruit Energy Daily Energising Gel Scrub – I liked this gentle scrub, but I didn’t love it. I don’t think that I’ll repurchase it.

16 Wonder Woman 2 In 1 Shampoo / Conditioner (travel size) – this is a nice shampoo. Very clarifying! But it doesn’t replace a conditioner. I might pick up another Wonder Woman toiletries set in the future.

17 Elizavecca Milky Piggy Kangsi Pack – this is another product that didn’t do anything for me. I won’t repurchase it.

18 Ciaté Amazing Gracie – another low quality polish from Ciaté that I am happy to say goodbye to.

19 Super Facialist By Una Brennan Vitamin C + Brighten Sleep & Reveal Night Cream  – this night cream isn’t the most suitable product for dry skin. And I think it didn’t do anything for my skin. I won’t buy it again.

20 Superdrug Treat Me Salted Caramel Shower & Bath Soak – this is a nice shower gel that I would repurchase. Since my husband used this shower gel too, this is another shared empty.

I did well again in December, didn’t I? I’m glad I finished all these shower and bath products. Some of them have been sitting by the shower – in various states of empty – for much, much longer than I’d care to admit. But (with a little help from my husband) I finished them – one by one. I’m actually a little proud of myself!

Since this is also the last Empties post for last year, I thought I’d let you know that I emptied 239 products in 2018. This figure includes the single-use face masks I’ve used. Whilst I don’t keep the empty sachets for my Empties posts, I do count them in my overall empties.

Again, Happy New Year! I hope it’s going to be a great year for everyone!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 1 – 7 Jan 2018

Hi there! Welcome to my first weekly blog recap of 2018! Read on if you’d like to know what I’ve been up to on my blog this week.

Monday 1 Jan – December Empties

Monday’s post was about all the products I emptied in December. Click here to read the post.

Tuesday 2 Jan – Nail Of The Day / A-Z Nail Art Challenge
Wednesday 3 Jan – Tesco Pro Formula Fresh Skin Brightening Face Scrub

Tuesday’s post was about a mani I did recently. Click here to read the post.
And on Wednesday I reviewed a face scrub. Click here to read the post.

Thursday 4 Jan – Imperial Leather Funfair Nostalgia & Enchanting Romance

On Thursday I reviewed 2 Imperial Leather shower gels. Click here to read the post.

Friday 5 Jan – Boxing Day Haul

And Friday’s post was about all the stuff I bought on Boxing Day. Click here to read the post.

And this is already it for this week. I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – December 2017

Hi there! Happy New Year, everyone! My first post in 2018 is about all the products I emptied in December 2017. If you read my empties posts regularly, you know that, every month, I use a number of single-use face masks and that I don’t keep the empty sachets. If you want to read about my latest face mask finds, click here. Now… onto the tubs, tubes and bottles… the big empties… the real empties!

1 Olay Total Effects 7 In 1 Day Moisturiser – this is a fantastic moisturiser. I will buy it again, no doubt!

2 NYC In A Minute 202 Grand Central Station – this is one of the best clear polishes. I emptied one last month, and I emptied one this month. I’m really getting on top of my part-used clear polishes!

3 Max Factor Pan Stik 25 Fair – my holy grail foundation!

4 The Body Shop Vanilla Eau De Toilette – I loved the original TBS Vanilla, but this stuff is just average. I do have a few more bottles in various states of empty. I hope my teenage relative or someone at work wants them…

5 Palmolive Aroma Moments Feel Good – this shower gel is wonderful. Happy to buy it again!

6 Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care All Over Body Cream – this is a lovely moisturiser. It smells divine and it’s not sticky at all which makes it the perfect moisturiser for whenever you need to get ready in a hurry. Plus: This is a huge 475ml tub which is £2.99 only – and there’s usually a buy 1 get 2nd half price offer on SD Vitamin E products as well! 🙂

7 Gliss Ultimate Colour Conditioner – this is a good conditioner. I’ll buy it (+ the matching shampoo) again.

8 Radox Uplifting – this is a wonderful grapefruit shower gel. I will buy it again!

9 Classics Nail Polish Remover – 400ml for £1. Awesome stuff! I have a few more bottles, and I’ll continue to stock up on this nail polish remover.

10 Garnier Intensive 7 Days Ultra-Replenishing Lotion With Shea Butter – this is a lovely body lotion. It’s nourishing and it smells gorgeous. Happy to buy it again!

11 Manhattan Colour Loop Lipgloss 52S Soft Nude – this lip gloss was awesome. I’ve got a few more of these glosses (different colours), and I’ll review them soon!

12 My Little Pony Rainbow Dash Shower Gel – this travel-sized shower gel was part of a gift set. The shower gel was nice, and I’m sure I’ll buy MLP branded toiletries again soon!

13 Boots Essentials Cucumber Facial Scrub – this scrub was really good. I’ll buy it again!

This is what I emptied in December. I was hoping I’d be finishing a few more products, but it wasn’t meant to be. Ah well, so I have a few more empties this month. 🙂

One more thing… I finished 191 products in 2017. Those 191 products are…
41 shower and bath gels,
31 body and hand moisturisers,
22 fragrances (fragranced body mists included),
16 conditioners and deep conditioners (I don’t count shampoos – I’ve explained this here),
16 nail polishes,
11 face creams and lotions,
6 face serums,
6 face washes and cleansers,
5 Max Factor Pan Stiks
4 body scrubs,
4 face scrubs,
4 toners,
4 foot creams,
4 nail polish removers,
4 lip balms and lip glosses,
4 eyeliner pencils,
3 B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritzes,
2 eye creams,
2 glycolic peels,
2 face mask tubes (I didn’t count single-use face masks).
Not bad, eh?

Anyway… Happy New Year, everyone! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde