Empties – August 2021

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I finished in August. I went through a lot of single-use face masks, and you can click here if you’d like to check out my latest face mask finds. Now let’s take a closer look at the big bottles, tubes and tubs!

1 Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava Body Wash – this is a really nice shower gel. It smells sweet and warm, and the formula is very cleansing but also gentle on the skin. Nice one!

2 Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care Smoothing All Over Body Cream With Acacia Collagen – I love this body cream. A definite repurchase!

3 Maui Moisture Strength & Anti-Breakage Agave Conditioner For Chemically Damaged Hair – not a terrible conditioner, but the not the most suitable one for my hair type. I won’t buy it again.

4 Radox Mineral Therapy Sleep Aromatherapy Bath Salts With Lavender & Ylang Ylang – these are wonderful bath salts! A definite repurchase!

5 Agent Provocateur Fatale Pink Eau De Parfum – a major disappointment. This stuff isn’t worth anyone’s time or money.

6 M&S The Fragrance Collection Vanilla & Woods Eau De Toilette – I LOVE this fragrance. It’s a modern classic. Feminine and cuddly. An ageless beauty. You wouldn’t believe it considering the ridiculously low price, but this fragrance is simply fabulous.

7 Superdrug Calm Skin Skincare De-Stress Refreshing Facial Spritz – I love this face mist. Too bad it has been discontinued, otherwise I’d pick it up again!

8 Palmolive Aroma Therapy Morning Tonic – I love this shower gel. Why did Palmolive discontinue this beauty? Fortunately, I have one more bottle in my stash.

9 Palmolive Aroma Therapy Sensual – same as above! 😢

10 Sanctuary Spa Ultra Rich Wet Skin Moisture Miracle – this is a really nice in-shower moisturiser, and I can see myself buying it again.

11 Poundland #6 Anti-Ageing Eye Cream – this £1 eye cream is much better than its price suggests. A very likely repurchase.

12 Superdrug Layering Lab Blossom Body Mist (x2) – this is the perfect dupe for Thierry Mugler’s Alien – but this body mist is actually better considering that it wraps you in a nice fragrance cloud (which L’Oréal’s watered-down version of Alien can’t do anymore). I have at least 2 more bottles in my stash, and I will continue to buy this body mist.

13 Poundland #6 Anti-Ageing Retinol Night Cream – a very good night cream! I might buy it again!

14 Poundland Anti-Ageing Retinol Day Cream With SPF 25 – same as above! 👌

I’m happy with the amount of products I finished in August. I don’t think September will be a great month for empties since I finished a lot of skin care in August already, but let’s see how it goes. Have you tried any of these products or would you like to try any of them? What have you finished recently? Feel free to comment, and thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – Pacifica Island Vanilla Perfume

Hi there! Today’s post is about Pacifica’s Island Vanilla Perfume. I’ve already tried quite a few Pacifica products – some were good, some weren’t. So now I’m reviewing their vanilla fragrance!

But before we get to the actual review, let me say a few words about the brand. Pacifica is a company from Oregon, USA. They specialise in vegan and cruelty-free products. They sell body care products, candles, fragrances and cosmetics. If you’re in the UK, you can find Pacifica products at Holland & Barrett’s.

Onto the fragrance! Pacifica’s Island Vanilla is based on Tahitian vanilla – which is said to have fruity and floral nuances – and bourbon vanilla – the ultimate “sweet treat” vanilla.

I think this vanilla fragrance is really nice. It smells sweet and cuddly, and it has a youthful feel to it. It’s not the most sophisticated fragrance, but it’s pleasant and inoffensive. I also think it’s a reasonable (but not perfect) replacement for Yves Rocher’s stellar Bourbon Vanilla fragrance which seems to be out of stock almost all the time.

Pacifica’s Island Vanilla Perfume is available as 29ml spray and 10ml roll-on. Pacifica also offers vanilla-scented candles and body care products!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Body Wash, Body Butter & Perfume

Hi there! Today’s post is about Pacifica’s Blood Orange Body Wash, Body Butter & Perfume. These products were part of a gift set which I picked up for next to nothing (clearance). I’ve now tried these products, so let me tell you if they’re any good.

Let’s start with the body wash! I really liked this one. It lathered up nicely and it cleansed my skin well without being too harsh. I also liked the boozy blood orange fragrance.

The body butter is… well… not a body butter, but more of a lotion. The product’s also nowhere near as moisturising as it claims to be. However, the main issue is the “fragrance”! This body butter doesn’t smell as bad as Pacifica’s Indian Coconut Nectar body butter, but it still smells unclean (a mix of night sweats and candied oranges). We (my husband and I) use this body butter as a foot lotion!

I’ve already reviewed the perfume – and you can read the full review here. But to summarise my thoughts… this perfume isn’t a summer fragrance. It smells like a mix of oranges, strawberries, marmalade and a hint of carrot. I think it’s an autumn fragrance that would go well with pumpkin spice scented body products!

I don’t think I’ll be buying any of these products again. I do like the perfume, but I don’t love it. The body wash is nice, but it’s not nicer than the shower gels I can find in supermarkets or drugstores (or bargain stores).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Perfume

Hi there! Today’s post is about Pacifica’s Tuscan Blood Orange Perfume. But before we get to the review, let me tell you a little about the brand! Pacifica is an Oregon-based company that specialises in vegan and cruelty-free beauty products.

Yes, all their products are vegan and cruelty-free! Pacifica started out with a number of fragrances, fragranced body products and candles. But now they also do nail polish, colour cosmetics, skin care and hair care. Great stuff!

Back to the fragrance! Pacifica’s Tuscan Blood Orange Perfume contains the following notes: blood orange, strawberry, raspberry, mandarin and sweet orange.

When I bought the fragrance, I thought I’d be getting a fresh, sunny and juicy summer orange fragrance. However, the fragrance isn’t a pure orange fragrance. The strawberry note is quite strong, so it takes away from the freshness.

I would describe this fragrance as a sweet mix of orange, strawberries, marmalade and a hint of carrot. Tuscan Blood Orange is definitely an autumn fragrance, maybe even a Halloween or Thanksgiving fragrance!

Whilst I think that Tuscan Blood Orange is quite nice, I don’t love it, and I won’t be buying another full-size bottle. If you’re interested, Pacifica’s Tuscan Blood Orange Perfume is available as 29ml for about £20.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Body Wash, Body Butter & Perfume

Hi there! You might know that I’m not the biggest fan of the fragrance and the flavour of coconuts. So I wouldn’t have chosen these coconut-scented products for myself. However, these products were part of a humongous gift box (no, not a set – it was a huge box) which was incredibly cheap – so I just had to have it. 🙂 Now let’s look at Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Body Wash, Body Butter & Perfume.

The Body Wash is quite nice. It smells like coconut and vanilla, but it doesn’t have this sickly sweet scent which many coconut-themed products have. The body wash lathers up nicely and it feels good on my skin – it’s not drying at all. Well done, Pacifica!

The Body Butter is a weird product. First of all, it’s not a butter but more like a body lotion. And it’s brown. It doesn’t stain. But for a moment I really thought they might have accidentally filled this tube with a self tan lotion. 😀 I think this product is very moisturising, but the fragrance is totally off. I looked up reviews elsewhere, and about half the reviewers noticed the weird scent too. Most of these guys (or rather gals) found the scent plasticky, and someone likened it to furniture polish (not that far off). I’d describe the scent as that of a wet gym towel. Unfortunately the scent is also quite long-lasting – and no, it doesn’t get better.

The Rollerball Perfume is excellent. When I roll on the fragrance, it’s quite strong and harsh at first. But that’s just for a few seconds. And it develops into a really beautiful summer vanilla fragrance. It’s tropical, exotic, sweet, warm and creamy. Yes, the coconut is definitely noticeable but it doesn’t smell cheap. And (fortunately) the vanilla note is stronger than the coconut note. The fragrance stays close to the skin, but it’s really long-lasting – twelve hours plus!

Based on my experience with these products, I’d recommend the fragrance and the shower gel. In regards to the body lotion, if you can sample it in-store, you should do it!

Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar is available as body wash, body butter, rollerball perfume, spray perfume, solid perfume, soap, candle, reed diffuser, body oil, hand cream and wipes. There’s something for everyone! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Vegan & Cruelty-Free – Pacifica Vanilla Hibiscus Color Quench Lip Tint

Hi there! I’ve been buying lots of lip care products lately. And Pacifica’s Vanilla Hibiscus Color Quench All Natural Moisture Lip Tint is about to become a beauty staple.

So, let’s start. This lip tint is 100% vegan and natural. It contains coconut oil, cocoa butter, vitamin E and a few other natural ingredients.  I love how soft and moisturising this lip tint feels. It’s really lovely!

The sheer tint isn’t my favourite – it’s just a hint of a pale pink with a pearly shine. But it doesn’t annoy me, so it’s alright. 🙂 However, the flavour is absolutely delicious – like vanilla cookie crumbles. Yummy!

Priced at $7 (Pacifica web site) or £5.49 (Ethical Superstore) this isn’t the cheapest lip balm/tint. However, you get a lot of product for your money. And there’s the added bonus that Pacifica‘s products are vegan and cruelty-free!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Brand Of The Month: Pacifica – 100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free

Hi there! I read a fantastic post about a Pacifica make-up palette on Vegan Needs a couple of days ago, so I thought it would be a good idea to check which of my Pacifica products look presentable enough to be photographed. 🙂 Here’s what I deemed to look good enough to show off:

These little beauties above are body washes. From left to right: Tuscan Blood Orange, Indian Coconut Nectar, Tahitian Gardenia and Hawaiian Ruby Guava. And below you can check out the matching body butters:

Now on to my favourite Pacifica products: Fragrances! My love for Pacifica started to blossom when I discovered their wonderful fragrances about 5 or 6 years ago. At the moment I have at least 10 perfume sprays and roll-on perfumes; some of them are in the photo below.

I will review the different products in more detail soon. If you’re interested in Pacifica products, you can buy them online from their web site pacificabeauty.com. If you’re UK-based, you can purchase Pacifica products from Holland & Barrett and shopvegan.co.uk.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde