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

Empties – February 2019

Hi there! It’s the 1st of March – this means that it’s time for my February Empties post. I’ve used a number of single-use face masks. As always, I didn’t keep the empty sachets. But you can click here if you want to read about my latest face mask finds.

Another thing – I achieved something big! What? Well, over the past 2 weeks, I managed to finish 3 lip products! Wow! Anyway, read on if you’d like to know which products I finished between 1 and 28 February!

1 Treacle Moon Happy Melon Sorbet (travel size) – one of the best shower gels ever! I hope Treacle Moon makes this available in 500ml bottles! Pretty please!

2 Flower Pharm Wild Rose Body Butter – one of the best body butters I’ve ever used. Unfortunately, it’s been discontinued! 😪

3 Garnier Skin Active Nourishing Botanical Cleansing Milk – this is a disappointing product. I wouldn’t buy it again.

4 Alberto Balsam Volume Boost Conditioner – this is a fantastic conditioner that I will buy again. If you’re wondering what happened to the matching shampoo… whenever I finish a conditioner, I pass the matching leftover shampoo on to my husband, and I start with a new shampoo and conditioner combo.

5 Tesco Pro Formula Fresh Skin Brightening Foaming Face Wash With Grapefruit & Cranberry – a nice face wash. But I wouldn’t repurchase it because I have too many face washes in my stash.

6 Carex Fun Edition Unicorn Magic Shower And Bath – a nice shower gel. I might buy it again.

7 Imperial Leather Foamy Banana Bath Cream (x2) – yes, I bathed a lot in February. I had a cold, and those warm baths really helped. Anyhoo, Imperial Leather’s Foamy Banana products are simply wonderful. I need to stock up!

8 Claire’s Popcorn Popcorn Lip Balm – one of the best lip balms ever. I’m sad it’s gone because it’s been discontinued, and I can’t repurchase it. 😢

9 Freedom MakeUp London Pro Lipstick Bare 115 Mannequin – I liked the colour, but all in all, this was a low quality lipstick. I wouldn’t buy it again.

10 Manhattan Cosmetics Soft Mat Lip Cream 95G – another unloved lip product that I’m glad is finished. I wouldn’t repurchase it.

11 Vaseline Intensive Care Hand Cream + Anti-Bac – this is a nice hand cream. I have plenty of hand creams to go through before I buy any new ones, but I would repurchase this one.

12 Derma V10 Cocoa Body Butter – this is a great little body butter. I will repurchase it.

13 Treacle Moon Sugared Grapefruit Sunrise – I didn’t like this shower gel at all. It didn’t smell pleasant.

February has been another good month for empties. I’m proud of myself for finishing 3 lip products – I’ve never managed to do this before, and I think it’s been a year since I finished my last lipstick or lip balm!

Which products have you said goodbye to recently? Feel free to get in touch via the comments. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – April 2018

Hi there! Another month is history (time really flies…), so it’s time for my April Empties post. I’ve thrown out a konjac sponge (note to self: Primark’s konjac sponges are much better than Superdrug’s). And I’ve used a few single-use face masks, but I didn’t keep the empty sachets (what else is new…). You can read about my latest face mask finds if you click here. Alrighty, onto the big empties!

1 Caolion O2 Sparkling Purifying Soap (not in the photo because it was a soap and I used it up…) – I finished this awesome face soap after almost 4 months. This soap was £4, so it was excellent value! I’ve already repurchased it!

2 Boots Extracts Luscious Vanilla Body Wash (travel size) – this is a great little body wash. I have more of these in my stash!

3 NSPA Shea Butter Shower & Bath Gel – this is a lovely shower gel that I’m happy to buy again. My husband enjoyed it too, so this one’s a shared empty.

4 I Love… Chocolate Truffle Refreshing Body Spritzer – this body spritzer was just as nice as the matching body butter. I have 1 back-up bottle.

5 Boots Extracts Luscious Vanilla Body Butter (travel size) – another awesome product from Boots. I do have several vanilla body butters in my stash!

6 Superdrug Optimum Phyto Brighter Triple Action Illuminating Black Moisturiser – I’m glad this stuff is now finished. Repurchase? Nope!

7 Dr. Organic Bioactive Haircare Organic Aloe Vera Conditioner (travel size) – it conditioned well, but it smelled unpleasant. I wouldn’t buy this conditioner again, but I’d like to try more products from this brand.

8 Flower Pharm Orange Flower Body Butter – one of the best body butters I’ve ever had. Perfect formula, sensational fragrance. The entire Flower Pharm collection has been discontinued, but I do have a few back-up body butters!

9 Max Factor Pan Stik 12 True Beige – this is my holy grail foundation!

10 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Day Cream (Normal To Dry Skin) – this is a reasonable day cream that really helps with dry skin (it’s super rich and hydrating). I think I’ll buy it again, but not before autumn or winter.

11  The Body Shop Frosted Plum Shower Gel – this is the ultimate “filler” shower gel. It’s basic in every way. No one, absolutely no one, needs to buy it twice!

12 Boots Extracts Luscious Vanilla Body Wash – this one’s a shared empty (my husband used it too).

13 Boots Extracts Luscious Vanilla Body Lotion (travel size) – this is a great body lotion. I believe I have 2 full-size tubes in my stash (and quite possibly another 75ml tube). I finished quite a few vanilla-scented products this month, didn’t I? 🙂

This is what I’ve emptied in April. I’m happy that the black moisturiser is gone, and I’m proud of myself for finishing a few more travel-sized products, as well as one of the big 500ml shower gels. 🙂 Have you tried any of these products? What have you emptied last month? Feel free to comment. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 6 – 12 Feb 2017

Hi there! This post is just my weekly recap. So if you’ve missed any of my posts, this is your chance to catch up. 🙂

Monday 6 Feb – L’Oréal Youth Code Luminizer Serum

On Monday I reviewed L’Oréal‘s fantastic Youth Code Luminizer Serum. If you want to read the post, click here.

Tuesday 7 Feb – Flower Pharm Wild Rose Body Wash, Body Scrub, Body Butter

Tuesday’s post was about Flower Pharm’s Wild Rose products. These body products are great! Click here if you’d like to read my review.

Wednesday 8 Feb – Nail Of The Day
Thursday 9 Feb –  Madly Kenzo Eau De Toilette

Wednesday’s post was another Nail Of The Day post. Click here to see which products I used for this mani. On Thursday I reviewed a fragrance that I rediscovered in my stash – Madly Kenzo! If you want to read this post, click here.

Friday 10 Feb – Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Radiance Balm

On Friday I reviewed Superdrug’s Naturally Radiant Brightening Radiance Balm. It’s not a product I’d repurchase. I’m glad this product will be finished soon! If you’d like to know more, click here to read the post.

This is it for this week. I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

100% Awesome – Flower Pharm Wild Rose Body Wash, Body Scrub & Body Butter

Hi there! Today’s post is about Flower Pharm’s Wild Rose Body Wash, Body Scrub and Body Butter. It’s been some time since I bought my Flower Pharm Wild Rose gift set (Asda, £5). But when I saw a similar Flower Pharm set (same contents, slightly different packaging) at my local Tesco store the other day (I thought these products were discontinued – ?!), I knew I should finally try the products that I already have!

I have reviewed the body butter (which I have a big tub of) some time ago, and you can read my review here. In summary, this body butter is amazing! It’s rich, but not sticky. It feels great on my skin and it makes my skin feel great. I love it! And instead of mineral oil and synthetic fragrances, it contains coconut oil and real Damascus rose flower water. This body butter is fantastic!

The body scrub is very nice and effective. It contains pecan shell powder but it feels like a sea salt scrub. Great stuff! In addition, this body scrub contains sweet almond oil and shea butter – I guess this is why this scrub makes my skin feel so soft and conditioned. The body wash is wonderful. It’s a clear gel that lathers up nicely and cleanses my skin gently. It smells lovely and it doesn’t feel drying at all. Well done, Flower Pharm!

If you’re wondering what the fragrance is like… it’s a charmingly old-fashioned and pure rose fragrance. And it doesn’t have that sweaty note that most rose fragrances seem to have nowadays. This is the kind of rose I’d like to smell in all rose-scented products. So yes, I would recommend Flower Pharm’s Wild Rose collection! As Flower Pharm’s products seem to be stocked by the most random stores, you should check if your local supermarket, drugstore or bargain store has them. You won’t be disappointed by Flower Pharm products, I promise!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Flower Pharm Orange Flower Body Butter

Hi there! Today’s post is about Flower Pharm’s Orange Flower Body Butter. I got my hands on several tubs when they were 49p each at Superdrug. Yes, I mean it! 49p per 300ml tub!

Superdrug no longer sells this brand, but I’ve seen Flower Pharm products at Home Bargains (99p to £1.99) and TK Maxx (where this body butter is £2.99). I’ve also seen Flower Pharm gift sets at Asda and Tesco. And now let’s get to the actual product review! 🙂

I think this body butter is fantastic. It goes on like a light moisturiser, but it’s really rich and hydrating. Despite this, it’s not sticky at all. Yes, I think the formula is perfect! I also love the fragrance. It’s very authentic, and I’d describe it as a dense and warm Mediterranean orange flower fragrance. It smells very ‘high end’. It’s gorgeous!

Looking at the ingredients, this body butter contains coconut oil (it’s the second ingredient listed – after ‘aqua’) and lots of natural extracts (neroli, bitter orange, bergamot, etc). I think this is quite impressive! And I’ve also noticed that Flower Pharm products are made in the UK. Awesome stuff!

I would recommend this body butter in an instant. The formula is perfect and the fragrance is simply gorgeous. And if you consider the low price, this body butter is a total steal!

Have you tried this body butter or any other Flower Pharm products? How did you like them? Feel free to get in touch. And thanks for reading! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Flower Pharm Wild Rose Body Butter

Hi there! Today’s post is about a product which, unfortunately, has been discontinued. It’s this lovely Flower Pharm Wild Rose Body Butter. I’ve seen different products from this brand in TK Maxx (about £3) and Home Bargains (99p to £1.99) recently, so if you fancy trying this body butter, you should swing by your local discount stores. But before you rush out, let me tell you what this product’s actually like. 🙂

I think it’s super easy to rub this body butter into my skin. The formula is lovely, the butter melts into my skin and it’s not too sticky. Well done, Flower Pharm! The fragrance is beautiful and charmingly old-fashioned – just like wild roses!

I checked the ingredients and this body butter appears to contain more quality ingredients than other comparable products. So instead of mineral oil and the likes, this body butter contains lots of coconut oil (it’s the second ingredient listed – after water), and it contains real rosa damascena (Damascus rose) flower water!

I’ve only used this body butter for a few days, but it seems to have made a difference already. My skin feels very soft and silky. And my semi-permanent eczema patch on my shin isn’t half as itchy as usual.

I think Flower Pharm’s Wild Rose Butter is absolutely fantastic, so I can’t understand why the entire line has been discontinued. Seriously, what were they thinking? I’ll definitely buy a few more tubs from my local Home Bargains store this weekend!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde