Empties – January 2022

Hi there! It’s the first day of a new month, and this means that today’s post is about last month’s beauty empties. And here they are!

1 Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care Lip Balm – a decent lip balm! I have another one in my stash.

2 Mugler Aura Eau De Parfum Sensuelle – this is a nice fragrance for sure, but I didn’t enjoy it enough to buy it again.

3 Rimmel Lycra Pro 421 Clearly Clear – one of my favourite clear polishes. I should have a few more of these in my stash.

4 Yves Rocher Jardins Du Monde Well-Being Shower Gel With Lavandin – this is a decent shower gel in many ways, but not a favourite, so I won’t be buying it again.

5 Dove Go Fresh Revive Body Wash With Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena Scent – I don’t think I’ll buy this shower gel again. It’s just not repurchase-worthy.

6 Palmolive My Fresh Splash Shower Gel – such a lovely shower gel. Too bad it was a limited edition, otherwise I’d buy it again.

7 Agent Provocateur Aphrodisiaque Eau De Parfum – nice enough while it lasted (my husband liked this fragrance on me), but I wouldn’t buy it again.

8 Garnier Skin Active Soothing Botanical Toner With Rose Water – this is an OK toner. I don’t think I’ll buy it again.

9 B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz – a beauty staple! I have a few more of these!

10 Gliss Liquid Silk Shampoo & Conditioner – I love Gliss’ liquid silk hair products. A definite repurchase!

11 Radox Essentials Soft Care Bath Cream with Milk – one of my favourite bath products ever. Unfortunately, it was discontinued, so I can’t buy it again.

12 Classics Nail Polish Remover – my go-to nail polish remover!

13 Prada Infusion D’Iris Eau De Toilette – a really nice fragrance. Repurchase-worthy!

14 Patisserie De Bain Orange Crush Hand Cream – a decent hand cream, no doubt, but I don’t think that I’ll repurchase it.

15 Olay Anti-Wrinkle Firm & Lift Eye Renewal Gel – one of my all-time favourite eye products. I have at least 2 more in my stash.

I also used 11 single-use face masks. And all in all, I’m happy with what I managed to use up in January!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – August 2020

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I finished in August. I used quite a few single-use face masks. You can read about my latest face mask finds here. Now let’s get to the big bottles and tubes!

1 Thierry Mugler Alien Flora Futura – such a stunning fragrance. I love it! It’s a limited edition from 2018, but it can still be found online. I might buy another bottle.

2 Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum – this is a lovely serum. This is the last tube of the “old” formula. But the current version is awesome too, so I will repurchase that.

3 Superdrug B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz – my go-to face mist. I have plenty of back-up!

4 Lucy B. Royal Water Lotus & Vanilla Musk – another amazing fragrance. I would love to buy it again if I find it somewhere (without having to pay for international shipping plus tax)

5 Imperial Leather Grapefruit & Pomegranate – one of my old favourites. It’s been discontinued, but I have 1 more bottle in my stash.

6 Palmolive Santorini Breeze – this is a very nice shower gel. Those big 500ml are quite a commitment, but I might buy this one again.

7 Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Conditoner – I like this conditoner (and the matching shampoo) a lot. This collection has been discontinued (and replaced with a terrible new line), but I have another shampoo and conditoner combo as a back-up!

8 + 9 Essence Eyeliners Boogie Nights & Forever Green – I used to like these colours, but I won’t be using these anymore, so bye-bye!

10 Boots Extracts Luxurious Coconut Body Lotion (travel size) – a decent body lotion. I got this as part of a gift set, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought a coconut-scented product. I may have a few more of these…

11 Olay 2 in 1 Cleanser & Toner – such a lovely toner. I have a back-up bottle!

12 Maybelline Color Elixir By Colorsensational 135 Raspberry Rhapsody – I enjoyed this gloss very much, and I’m glad that I have another one in my stash!

13 Rimmel 60 Seconds 820 Hot Black To Go – this is one of the polishes I used as a stamping polish. I have no doubt that I have a few back-up bottles in my stash.

This is everything I emptied in August. I’ve done better than last month, and I’m happy with this. 🙂 Which products have you finished recently? Anything worth repurchasing? Feel free to let me know in the comments. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

 

Empties – January 2018

Hi there! It’s the 1st of February, so it’s time for my January 2018 Empties post. So let me show you which products I finished. 🙂

1 Elizavecca Gold CF-Nest White Bomb Eye Cream – I enjoyed using this eye cream, and I would recommend it to everyone who’s looking for an eye cream that hydrates well and that plays well with make-up. I won’t buy this eye cream again – I just have too many eye creams in my stash!

2 Boots Extracts Cocoa Butter Body Wash – this is a lovely body wash. I’ll buy it again, no doubt!

3 Zatik Beauty Essentials Passionfruit Cacao Organic Lotion Moisture Recovery – I didn’t love this product because it’s not the most suitable product for my skin type. I wouldn’t repurchase this particular product, but I’d like to try other products from this brand.

4 Olay Anti-Wrinkle 2 in 1 Instant Hydration + Radiant Glow – a lovely moisturiser! I have 1 or 2 back-up bottles, so I don’t need to stock up any time soon.

5 Palmolive Aroma Moments Feel Glamorous – I loved this shower scrub – and so did my husband. So this one is a shared empty. I’ll repurchase this product again, no doubt!

6  B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz – this is one of my holy grail products. It changed my life. I don’t want to be without it. Yes, I have several back-up bottles!

7 Claire’s Meringue Flavoured Lip Balm – this was a nice lip balm. I’ve got more Claire’s lip balms that I can’t wait to try!

8 Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care Leave-On Moisture Mask – this stuff is awesome. I will repurchase it soon!

9 Olay Hydration Balancing + Purifying Cleansing 2 In 1 Refreshing Face Wash – a lovely face wash. Happy yo buy it again!

10 L’Oréal Elvive Full Restore 5 Extreme Repairing Conditioner – one of the best conditioners L’Oréal ever made. It appears that, unfortunately, the Full Restore 5 Extreme collection has been discontinued. 😦

11 Imperial Leather Funfair Nostalgia – this is a lovely shower cream. I’ve already repurchased it.

12 Yves Rocher Les Plaisirs Nature Organic Vanilla Eau De Toilette – this is a wonderful vanilla fragrance. If you liked the original The Body Shop vanilla fragrance, you’ll love this one!

13 Sanctuary Spa Crème Soufflé – this moisturiser feels very luxurious. And I love the Sanctuary Spa fragrance! I’ll probably repurchase this product.

14 TRESemmé Renewal Hair & Scalp Nourish & Renew Deep Conditioning Masque – I think this is a good deep conditioner. I would repurchase it.

15 NSPA Pineapple Fragrance Body Mist – I enjoyed the product, but I don’t think that I’ll buy this body mist again because the big 200ml bottle takes ages to finish – and I have too many fragrances and body mists in my stash.

16 Rossmann Wellness & Beauty Mango & Ylang-Ylang Body Lotion – I bought this body lotion a very long time ago. I thought that, after such a long time, I shouldn’t use it as a body lotion, so I used it as a foot cream. Result = happy feet!

17 I Love… Chocolate Truffle Nourishing Body Butter – this body butter smells insanely delicious. This was a limited edition product, and I’m glad I bought several tubs!

18 Sanctuary Spa Intensive Heel Balm – this product is amazing. It really helps with cracked and dry heels! I would like to repurchase it, but the small tube is £7.50 which, I think, is quite expensive. So I’ll keep my eyes peeled for special offers!

19 Essence Black Eyeliner – my favourite cheap eyeliner. I have lots more in my stash. 🙂

20 Manhattan Only Button Baby Eye Palette – I’m incredibly proud of myself for finishing this eye palette!

21 Bourjois Sunset A Rio 47 Nail Polish – I got every last drop of polish out of this polish (thanks to stamping!), and I’m really proud of myself for finishing another colour polish!

I’ve also used quite a few single-use face masks – but I didn’t keep the sachets. If you’d like to read about my latest face mask finds, click here. This is everything I finished in January. I’m very happy that I managed to empty a few more skin care products and a small eye palette! What have you emptied recently? Any product you’re proud of finishing? Feel free to get in touch. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – October 2017

Hi there! Another month has passed, so it’s time for my monthly empties post. I’ve gone through a number of single-use face masks. I don’t keep the empty sachets, but you can read about my latest face mask finds here. Now let’s take a closer look at the ‘real’ empties. 🙂

1 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel – I love this product. I’ve already replaced it. 🙂

2 Superdrug B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz – this product is a beauty staple. I stocked up some time ago already, and I have a few back-up bottles.

3 The Body Shop White Musk Breeze Cooling Chiffon Body Mist – this is (was) a reasonable all-over body spray. It was really nice while it lasted, but I wouldn’t buy it again.

4 Olay Essentials Complete Care Plus Multi-Radiance Moisturising Lotion – this is another product I love. Yes, I’ll buy it again!

5 Maybelline MNY Black Eyeliner (x2) – I picked up 5 or 6 of these eyeliners when they were on sale (£1 each), and I tried my best to like them and make them work. But these eyeliners are rubbish. They can’t even be sharpened properly. I had these 2 in my current eyeliner rota, but I’ve had it with them. I’ve binned them.

6 The Body Shop White Musk Breeze EdT (x2) – I finished 2 of these over the past 6 months. They were nice enough while they lasted, but I wouldn’t buy them again. However, about 2 weeks ago I discovered that I have another bottle of White Musk Breeze, so I’m still thinking about whether I should just finish the 3rd bottle or give it away…

7 Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Perfume – another ‘nice enough while it lasted’ fragrance. I also have 2 roll-on fragrances (+ body care products), but I don’t think I’ll buy any of the Tuscan Blood Orange products again.

8 Rimmel 60 Seconds 740 Clear – one of my favourite clear polishes. I have several back-up bottles. 🙂

9 Boots French Lavender Relaxing Bath Essence – I really liked this product. Too bad it’s been discontinued, so I can’t repurchase it.

10 Superdrug Moisturising Crème Bath – I think this is one of the loveliest sweet floral bath products I’ve ever tried. I’d love to buy it again.

11 Superdrug Nourishing Crème Bath – another awesome Superdrug own brand product. I’d love to repurchase this one too!

12 Original Source Hibiscus & Pomegranate Tea Shower – this is a great limited edition shower gel from Original Source. I enjoyed the lovely fragrance very much, and I can see myself buying this one again as well!

13 I Love… Mango & Papaya Exfoliating Shower Smoothie – I liked this shower product. It did have an exfoliating effect, but it wasn’t too harsh. I might buy this product again.

14 Alberto Balsam Blends Volume Boost Conditioner – this conditioner is awesome – and so is the matching shampoo. I will buy these again. Soon!

15 Palmolive Aromatherapy So Sweet Shower Gel – this is a fantastic shower gel. My husband loved it too. This one is a shared empty! I’ve already stocked up!

16 Boots Botanics Relaxing Bath Elixir (x2, travel size) – I love Boots’ old Botanics products. I think these were the last 2 bath elixirs I’ve had in my stash. I’ll miss the gorgeous fragrance!

17 The Red Forest Moonlight Raspberry Scented Body Scrub (travel size) – I think this body scrub was OK, but not special. I wouldn’t buy it again.

This is what I emptied in October. I think I’ve done well again last month, and I hope I can keep up the good work. 🙂 Oh, and in case you’re wondering why I finished so many bath products this month… well, I caught a nasty cold around the 3rd. And then I caught another nasty cold around the 20th. And because of this I’ve enjoyed quite a few hot baths!

Have you tried any of these products? Or would you like to try them? What have you emptied last month? Feel free to get in touch via the comments. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – March 2017

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I emptied in March 2017. I used a few face masks (what else is new…) but I haven’t kept the empty sachets. So let’s get to the (more or less) big empties right away! 🙂

1 L’Oréal Youth Code Luminizer Serum – this serum is very good! It’s been discontinued, so I don’t think I’d be able to repurchase it at a reasonable price. I have, however, started to use a new L’Oréal serum just a few days ago, and I think the new serum (which I’ll review soon) is very good too!

2 B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz – fantastic stuff! I only discovered this product in December 2016 – but it became a beauty staple and an all-time favourite in a matter of days. I have four back-up bottles! 🙂

3 Superdrug Clearly Youthful Retexturising Glycolic Peel Off Mask – this mask is the most effective spot-fighting product I’ve ever used. Unfortunately this product has been discontinued. But I still have two back-up tubes.

4 Olay Total Effects CC Cream Complexion Corrector Fair To Medium – I liked the rich and nourishing formula, but the shade fair to medium (which is the lightest shade) was way too dark for me. Because of this I won’t purchase this moisturiser again.

5 Pacifica Vanilla Hibiscus Color Quench Lip Tint – this is a really nice tinted lip balm. I might repurchase it again at some point in the future, but for now I have more than enough lip balms and glosses in my stash…

6 Miss Sporty Dr Balm Gossip Kiss SOS Lip Balm – this is a decent lip balm, but I wouldn’t buy it again. I finished one of these before and I must say that the melon flavour has been annoying me for quite some time…

7 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Radiance Balm – I’m glad this product is finished. It didn’t do anything for my skin, it wasn’t hydrating at all, and the chunky shimmer particles weren’t great either. I wouldn’t buy this product again.

8 Boots Botanics Quenching Body Lotion – another oldie that’s been sitting in my stash for ages. I found this body lotion very hydrating. However, it was also quite sticky. I wouldn’t repurchase it (but it’s been discontinued anyway…).

9 Boots Botanics Skin Brightening Toner – this toner is fantastic. Too bad it’s been discontinued – otherwise I’d buy it again and again and again… However, I do have another small 75ml bottle of this toner in my stash! 🙂

10 Maybelline Color Sensational Luscious Lipgloss 410 Peach Sorbet – a decent lipgloss! It’s never been a true favourite, but I did enjoy using this lipgloss. I have several of these Maybelline lipglosses – another peach-flavoured one, a cherry-flavoured one, and several pink ones (not sure about those flavours though).

11 Rimmel Pro Super Wear Ultra Shine Topcoat – a nice top coat! I think this one’s been discontinued, but if it pops up in some bargain store at some point in the future, I’d repurchase it!

12 Markwins Orange Shimmer Nail Polish – I’ve had this nail polish in my stash for ages but it seemed to have dried out over the years. This polish has never been a favourite of mine, so I didn’t mind letting it go.

13 Possibility Raspberry Pavlova Shower & Bath Gel – I liked this one in the beginning, but the sweet raspberry fragrance started to annoy me half-way through the huge 500ml bottle. I wouldn’t buy this one again.

14 Boots Marshmallow Peppermint Body Butter – I didn’t like the fragrance, so I’m glad this one is gone. I hope Boots won’t repeat this fragrance for this year’s limited Christmas edition.

15 Essence Nail Art White Stampy Polish – the best white stamping polish you can find for £1.50. I have two back-ups, but I’d like to stock up because this one’s sold out online at the moment. I’ll see if I can still find it in store… Fingers crossed!

16 Superdrug Vitamin C Boost Body Scrub Mango & Papaya – a really nice scrub. I will buy it again! This one’s a shared empty. My husband used this scrub a few times too.

17 Superdrug Raspberry Bubblegum Shower Gel – this is a decent shower gel, but it’s not special. I wouldn’t buy it again. This one’s also a shared empty.

18 Classics Nail Polish Remover – this is one of my nail care staples. As long as Poundland, Poundworld and the likes stock this product, I’ll repurchase it.

19 Radox Passionfruit Splash Shower Gel – this one is very nice. I’ll repurchase it, no doubt.

20 Daily Defense Moisturizing Conditioner With Keratin – I think this conditioner is fantastic. I already bought another bottle. 🙂

I think March was surprisingly good for empties. I’m very proud of how many ‘small’ products I finished! Right now I’m thinking I won’t be able to finish anything this month, but I’m sure I’ll have a few empties. For now… feel free to get in touch via the comments. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

January Beauty Awards

Hi there! And welcome to my first ‘beauty awards’ – aka my monthly favourites – of 2017. 🙂 As always, I’ve chosen three favourites (and a few honourable mentions) from all the products I’ve reviewed this month. So let’s see which products I liked best!

3rd place – NSPA Caramel Chocolate Shower & Bath Gel
Runner-Up – Nivea Q10 Firming Body Lotion

NSPA’s Caramel Chocolate Shower & Bath Gel is a fantastic shower gel. It smells… delicious! Too bad it’s a limited edition. I also really like Nivea’s Q10 Body Lotion. Yes, it made my skin feel firmer within days. I will buy this body lotion again, no doubt!

WINNER – Superdrug B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz

I’ve never used a facial spray/spritz/mist until I tried Superdrug’s B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz.

And what happened when I started to use this product? I fell in love with it. Now, just 8 weeks later, I can’t imagine being without it.

I use this hyaluronic acid mist almost every day. And I even have a bottle in my handbag!

On top of that I already bought four back-up bottles – just in case! 😀

If you haven’t tried this product, I’d definitely recommend you buy it right away. It’s great for dry skin (I think it’s probably suitable for all skin types), and it hasn’t caused my sensitive and moody skin any trouble at all.

Now onto the honourable mentions! I really like Imperial Leather’s Effortless and Beautiful shower gels. They’re 100% fantastic.

And Radox’s Mango Mayhem and Passion Fruit Splash shower gels are extremely nice too. These two products remind me of my favourite season of the year = summer!

These are the ‘new’ products that I liked best this month. Have you used any of these products? If so, how did you like them? Feel free to comment. And thanks for reading! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

You Need This In Your Life – 100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz

Hi there! I’ve been using Superdrug’s B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz for over a month now. So I think it’s time to tell you a little bit about this product.

First of all, this product is certified cruelty-free (it carries the Leaping Bunny logo) and it’s suitable for vegans!

I didn’t know that hyaluronic acid could be obtained from plant sources – but it appears that the humble potato is an excellent source of hyaluronic acid. So keep eating your spuds, OK?

Now let’s get away from the trivia. Superdrug’s B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz promises 12 hours of skin hydration and healthy skin with regular use. Sounds good!

In addition, the product claims to be a perfect pick-me-up for tired skin. And apparently this facial spritz is non-comedogenic, so it doesn’t clog pores. Nice!

The directions for use state that you can use this product on freshly cleansed skin, you can spray it over make-up, or you can use it “whenever your skin needs a refreshing boost”. So in summary, you can use it whenever you want. 🙂

As I said, I’ve been using this product almost every day for a month now. And I love it. I have to admit that I rarely use it right after cleansing. But I love to spray it over my make-up. Here’s why…

… I have very dry skin and I have eczema. Of course I also have semi-permanent dry patches, and there is only one foundation (Max Factor’s Pan Stik) that doesn’t highlight those dry patches. Actually, the Pan Stik conceals those dry patches perfectly! However, because of the cold and dry air in our office (I think the air con is set to permafrost…) I usually need to do some serious touching up on my make-up by lunch time – otherwise the dry patches show their ugly… scales.

But since I’ve been using this hyaluronic acid product, I don’t have to ‘redo’ my make-up during the day anymore! Two sprays in the morning after I’ve done my make-up, two sprays at lunch time, and sometimes two more sprays before I leave the office (but this depends on whether I’m doing anything exciting after work, or whether I just head home) – and that’s basically it. The only other thing I still (feel I have to) do is to go over my face with a kabuki brush every couple of hours – just to rearrange my face (that’s what my husband calls it…).

In summary, this product is amazing! It’s the best thing since I discovered konjac sponges (again, thank you Stashy and Kathy). Buy it! And buy konjac sponges! Superdrug’s B. Confident Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz is available as 75ml for £7.99. However, at the moment Superdrug is running a buy one get one free promotion on selected B. skin care, so you really have to get two of these face mists (one for at home, the other one for your handbag). 😉

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

20+ New Products – Boots AND Superdrug Haul!

Hi there! It’s almost Christmas. And since I’m planning some serious shopping this Boxing Day, I wanted to show you what I’ve bought so far this month. I expect to do another haul post after Christmas though. 🙂 OK, this is what I bought this month.

I stocked up on Superdrug’s konjac sponges. They’re £1.99 each, but they’re on a 3 for 2 offer. So I bought 3 more. There are only two sponges in the picture, I know. Sponge number 3 is already in the bathroom, it’s ready to be used once I’ve thrown out my current sponge (which will happen in a few days).

I picked up Zoella’s Kissy Missy Lip Balm for £1. And I also bought B.’s Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz. It was £3.95 (half price offer) and I’ve wanted to try it for some time. So I bought it.

I bought two Body Fantasies fragrances – Twilight Mist and Pink Grapefruit Fantasy. I already have Grapefruit Fantasy, but these two were on a 2 for £3 offer, and they’re usually £3.99 each. And since I could have two body mists for less than the price of one, I just bought another Pink Grapefruit Fantasy body mist. By the way, I hate the Twilight Mist fragrance. I think it’s the stuff of nightmares. It smells like a cheaper version of Britney Spears’ Fantasy. My teenage relative will love it, no doubt!

I bought another Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Eye Cream. This eye cream isn’t brightening at all, but otherwise it’s a fairly nice eye cream. And it was £2.95 only. And finally I got my hands on Superdrug’s Naturally Radiant Hot Cloth Cleanser. This was £2.95 as well.

I also swung by my local Boots store. I bought Boots’ Botanics Triple Age Renewal Day Cream, Night Cream and Super Serum, and Boots’ Botanics Radiant Youth Microdermabrasion Polish. These products were £4 each.

And I bought six products from Boots’ Botanics All Bright range – Radiance Concentrate Serum, Day Cream, Night Cream, Toner, Cleansing Cream and Face Wash. These products were £2.50 each.

I’ve also stocked up on the Hyaluronic Acid face mists. Initially I bought one, but I liked it so much and I knew it would be stupid not to stock up. So I bought 4 more. The price was the same as before – £3.95 per bottle.

Superdrug’s face masks were on a buy 1 get 2nd half price offer. The face masks are 99p each, and because of the offer I paid £2.98 in total for the 4 face masks.

I also noticed that Superdrug had revamped their Extracts hair care collection. The bottle design is new, and they also had a few new fragrances. I liked Grapefruit & Papaya and Aloe Vera & Mango. These were 89p each. Normally the Extracts products are £2.29 each, but there was a better than half price offer.

So this is what I bought this month. I spent just over £71 which isn’t much at all considering I got myself 5 hyaluronic acid face mists! I’m really happy with what I bought (even though I needed none of these products) – but I know I’ll go out hunting for bargains again soon.

Feel free to get in touch via the comments. And thanks for stopping by! I appreciate it! And Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde