Empties – April 2017

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I emptied in April. I have used several face masks – but I didn’t keep the empty sachets. But you can read about my latest face mask finds here. Now let’s get to the big empties! 🙂

1 Olay Anti-Wrinkle Face Wash – this is a nice creamy face wash. I have 10+ face washes in my stash, so at the moment I’m not buying any more. I would, however, buy this face wash again! I’ve been using this product since November last last year.

2 Burberry Weekend – the ultimate inoffensive office fragrance. I won’t be buying this fragrance again. It’s just too random and too forgettable. I’ve been using this fragrance on and off for several (5+) years.

3 Boots Extracts Rosehip Body Butter – one of my favourite body butters. It’s been discontinued, but I have a few more tubs in my stash! This body butter lasted me for about six weeks – although I didn’t use it every day.

4 Boots Extracts Satsuma Body Spray – a decent body spray. This one was a limited edition body spray, so I can’t repurchase it. I’ve been using this body spray since February – but not every day.

5 Superdrug Moisturising Cocoa Butter Body Lotion – not great. I wouldn’t buy it again. My husband and I used this body lotion as a foot lotion – so this one is a shared empty. We’ve been using this “foot lotion” on and off since September last year.

6 L’Oréal Elvital Color-Vive Deep Conditioner – this deep conditioner is fantastic! I bought a back-up bottle last month. I started to use this product in April last year, so it lasted 12 months!

7 Superdrug Extracts Grapefruit & Papaya Conditioner – a mediocre conditioner. It’s not good, it’s not bad… it’s just mediocre. I won’t buy it again. The conditioner lasted me 3 weeks. I have passed the matching leftover shampoo on to my husband.

8 Maybelline Black Eyeliner – this is a nice eyeliner. I would buy it again. However, I have five more of these and dozens of other black eyeliner pencils, so I won’t be stocking up any time soon. I don’t know when I started to use this eyeliner because I have about 20 eyeliners in a rota…

9 Yves Rocher Lemon Basil Refreshing Shower Gel (50ml) – this one is quite nice. I might buy it again – but next time it would be the full-size bottle! I finished this travel-size shower gel within a few days.

10 Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Snow Flurries Shower Gel (120ml) – it was nice while it lasted. But I wouldn’t buy it again. I’ve been using this shower gel on and off for 2 or 3 weeks.

11 Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Berry Frost Shower Gel (120ml) – just like the other Simple Pleasures shower gel, this one was nice enough. But I don’t really need to buy it again… I’ve been using this shower gel on and off for 2 or 3 weeks.

12 Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care Nourishing Eye Cream – I liked this eye cream. It’s not as nourishing as I expected it to be, but it’s still a really good eye cream. I will repurchase it. I started to use this eye cream in October last year. Then I lost it, but I found it again, and now it’s finished!

13 DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom Body Lotion (150ml) – I received this boy lotion as a gift ages ago, but I only started to use it (on and off) in December last year. This body lotion is extemely runny, and I also don’t care for the fragrance. I should have re-gifted it…

14 Sanctuary Spa Crème Soufflé – this moisturiser feels very luxurious. And I love the Sanctuary Spa fragrance! I’ve used this product on an off for about a year (it’s a huge 475ml tub after all), and now it’s finished. I have another tub left in my stash. But I promise it won’t take another year for tub number 2 to be finished. 🙂

15 Superdrug Clearly Youthful SPF 15 Skin Balancing Moisturiser – I’m glad this product is gone. It’s the worst face cream I’ve ever tried because it’s not even a proper cream. This awful ‘paste’ balled up every time, so I could only use it as a targeted night-time blemish treatment. I started to use this product in late October or early November last year.

16 Max Factor Pan Stik 25 Fair – my holy grail of foundation! This Pan Stik has been 1 of the 6 Pan Stiks I’ve been using for the past year. I have a few back-up Pan Stiks. 🙂

17 Yves Rocher Apple Star Anise Refreshing Exfoliating Shower Gel – this is a very nice exfoliating shower gel! Unfortunately it’s been discontinued, otherwise I’d buy it again. I started to use this product in July last year (!), then I used other exfoliating shower products, so I only finished this one this month.

18 Imperial Leather Indulgence Beautiful Shower Gel – I love this shower gel! Of course I have a back-up bottle! 🙂 I started to use this shower gel in January.

19 Body Fantasies Pink Grapefruit Fantasy – this sugary grapefruit fragrance is not very sophisticated, and it’s incredibly sweet. However, it’s alright. It’s also a good ‘base’ for musky fragrances that you wouldn’t like on their own. I’ve been using this fragrance on and off since June or July 2016. I have another bottle, but once bottle number 2 is finished, Pink Grapefruit Fantasy will not move in with me again.

This is everything I finished in April. I didn’t think it would be this much because March already was an exceptionally good month for empties. But hey, I’m not unhappy! 🙂 Let’s see how many products I’ll empty this month! Feel free to comment if you want to. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

100% Cruelty-Free – Superdrug Moisturising Cocoa Butter Body Lotion

Hi there! Today I’m reviewing another Superdrug product, Superdrug’s Moisturising Cocoa Butter Body Lotion.

Next to an aloe vera body lotion and a pro-vitamin B5 body lotion, this cocoa butter body lotion is one of three basic body lotions currently available at Superdrug.

This body lotion for all skin types contains cocoa butter and vitamin E. Superdrug claims that this body lotion “conditions and smoothes” to make skin soft and supple.

So how’s the body lotion? I have to say it’s a fairly decent moisturiser. It really makes my skin feel soft and nourished. In this regard it’s definitely better than the aloe vera body lotion.

However, the fragrance isn’t the nicest. Yes, it smells like cocoa, but unfortunately it’s a very artificial cocoa note. And I really don’t want my body to smell like a chemical cocoa cocktail.

What will I do with this product? You know I’m not wasteful. I’ll be using the lotion on my feet! 🙂

If you want to try Superdrug’s Cocoa Butter Body Lotion, it’s usually £1.49 for the 475ml bottle. However, Superdrug’s body lotions are often on special for 99p. Also, this body lotion is vegan and cruelty-free. It’s BUAV-approved and it carries the Leaping Bunny logo.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – May 2016

Hi there! Last month’s empties post was really fun, so I collected this month’s empty stuff too. Now here’s what I used up in May 2016.

1 (no photo) 3 Superdrug Dead Sea Purifying Clay Masks & 3 Superdrug Fruit Sorbet Antioxidant Peel-Off Masks – I really love these face masks and I’ll repurchase them again. Sorry, there’s no photo but I didn’t want to keep the empty (and sticky) sachets.

2 Herbal Essences Shimmering Colour Conditioner – this stuff is amazing! I rejoiced when Herbal Essences reintroduced two of their Rainforest Flowers shampoo and conditioner combos in 2013. Unfortunately these products were discontinued again. 😦 I don’t know why – the products are excellent! I have a few more back-up bottles and I’ll do a proper review soon. 🙂 In the meantime, check out my post about the Herbal Essences Classics products – if you’ve never tried them, you really should do it now because they’re the best shampoos and conditioners out there!

3 Classics Nail Polish Remover – I’ve been buying this nail polish remover for years. It’s effective. It doesn’t dry out my nails. It’s cheap (£1 for 400ml). It’s simply great! And this product is made by a UK-based company and it’s not tested on animals. Repurchase? Absolutely!

4 Superdrug Cocoa Butter & Vanilla Body Lotion – a really nice body lotion that smells lovely and moisturises my skin nicely. Good quality, good price. Repurchase? Yes!

5 Olay Total Effects Radiance Enhancing Cream Wash – an amazing face wash! It exfoliates gently – but at the same time it’s creamy. It’s brilliant for dry skin! Too bad this product has been dicontinued.

6 L’Oréal Elvive Colour Protect Conditioner – one of the best conditioners out there, second only to Herbal Essences’ Classics conditioners. Repurchase? Yes! (In case you’re wondering what happened to the shampoo – as soon as I’ve used up a conditioner, my husband will finish the matching shampoo.)

7 Palmolive Oriental Beauty Sophisticated – a really nice shower gel, refreshing and not too harsh on dry skin. And it smells like a mix of tea and flowers. Nice! The product has been discontinued, so I can’t repurchase it. If it were still available, I’d buy it again.

8 L’Eau Par Kenzo Ice Pour Femme (50ml) – a fresh summer fragrance (which I’ll review properly in a few days). This one was a limited edition from a few years ago. But I wouldn’t repurchase it if it were still available – because it no longer tickles my fancy.

9 Kirstie Allsopp Lansdowne Rose Shower Gel – a gentle and pleasant rose-scented shower gel. Perfect in combination with Flower Pharm’s Wild Rose body butter. If it weren’t discontinued, I’d probably buy it again.

10 Yung Haircare Deep Conditioner – this one’s a cheap product from a German drugstore. I bought it years ago (!) but left it untouched until a few months ago. It’s an okayish deep conditioner, nothing special. I wouldn’t repurchase it.

11 Black eyeliner pencil – not sure which brand this is, but I liked this eyeliner pencil. Good quality. Comparable to Essence.

12 Superdrug Animal Mad Lip Balm – I used up one of these last month – and I’ve now used up another one. This lip balm was part of a limited edition set from last autumn so I can’t repurchase it.

13 Thierry Mugler Alien EDP sample – I love Thierry Mugler’s Alien. I’ve got a full size Alien EDP, but whenever there’s an Alien sample in a glossy mag, I’ll use it! Awesome stuff!

14 Boots No 7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum – I have no idea how old the bottle was when I finally opened it. I used this serum a few years ago when it was introduced. But I never opened the second bottle – until a few months ago. I’ve now been using this serum on and off – and I actually still like it a lot. I’ll give the current version of the product a try and then I’ll report back. 🙂

15 Naturtint Shampoo & Naturtint Nutrideep Multiplier Protective Cream samples – I didn’t like these products. I’d probably use the shampoo if nothing else was available. But I wouldn’t use the protective cream again if you paid me. My last post explains it all…

16 NSPA Raspberry Body Butter – a rich body butter with the pleasant scent of juicy raspberries. I think this body butter smells a lot more natural than some of the considerably more expensive raspberry-scented body butters out there. And it’s only £3. Repurchase? Most likely – as soon as I crave raspberries again.

So this is what I emptied / used up in May 2016. I really enjoyed writing this post – so I’ll definitely make monthly empties a permanent feature. 🙂 Oh, and I’m really proud of myself for using up an eyeliner pencil before losing it. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by! I hope June 2016 will be an awesome month for all of us.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Superdrug Cocoa Butter Body Lotion

Hi there! If you follow my blog, you have probably noticed that I’m not only in love with new beauty products, but also love a classic. I mean ‘products the internet has forgotten about’, or simply,  discontinued products.

Superdrug has launched a new body care range earlier this year. I’m really happy with the new products, but I do miss some of the old ones, like this one: The one and only Superdrug Cocoa Butter Body Lotion.

This was my last bottle. And I’ve just finished it. I’ve gone through the 300 ml bottle in under three weeks and now that it’s gone I know how much I’ll miss it.

Superdrug did a fantastic job with this product – it’s an incredible moisturiser. I’ve got really dry skin (and regular eczema outbreaks on top of that…), but this body lotion is so good that my skin feels dewy and soft even after a long day.

And then there’s the scent: warm, intense, natural and sweet cocoa powder – just yummy! There are other really nice cocoa butter products out there, but the scent of this one is quite unique. I will miss it!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde