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

Major Haul! Awesome New Products / Beauty Stuff I Bought In September And October

Hi there! I forgot to do a haul post last month, so today I’m showing you what I bought in September and October. 🙂

I bought a set of 5 SpaScriptions face masks – the set was £4.99. I also bought a set of 5 panda face masks – this set was £4.99 as well. TK Maxx

I bought a Superfacialist Rose Hydrate Mask (£4), a large 1kg Kallos Multivitamin hair mask (£7.99), and a Superfacialist Rose Hydrate Creamy Cleanser (£4). TK Maxx

I picked up 3 Superdrug items – a Salted Caramel Shower & Bath Soak (£1.47), a Glycolic Tonic (=toner) and another Glycolic Overnight Peel to replace the one I finished. The last 2 products were £5.99 each, but there was a buy 1 get 1 free offer, so I paid £5.99 in total for the 2 Naturally Radiant products.

I got a few more masks – I couldn’t resist those Hunny Bee grapefruit masks (£4.99 for a set of 5 masks), and I bought another SpaScriptions mask set (£4.99 for a set of 5 masks). TK Maxx

I found an Argan & Marula shampoo and conditioner combo (99p each) and a My Little Pony shower gel (99p). Home Bargains

I got another Superfacialist Rose Hydrate product – I bought the Day Cream (£6.99), and I picked up 2 Sanctuary Spa Being fragrances (£3.75 each). And I spent £6.99 on my Superfacialist Vitamin C + Brighten night cream. TK Maxx, Boots

The Zatik Passionfruit Cacao Lotion was £5, the Scinic Vita Ade Eye Cream was £6, and the Scinic Sparkling Pore Toner was £6 as well. TK Maxx

I bought a big It’s True Moisture Cream (£9.99), a Smack Beauty Firming Night Cream (£3), and another Hunny Bee mask set (£4.99 for 5 masks). TK Maxx

I got my hands on a Skin Care Chemist Macadamia Beauty Oil (£3), and I bought a Sukin Chia Seed Oil+ Foaming Facial Cleanser set. The set was £7.99 which is excellent value because the chia seed oil is usually £14.95 on its own! TK Maxx

And I bought 2 big jars of compressed sheet masks. These were £4.99 each. The bamboo jar contained 22 masks, the assorted jar contained 23 masks. TK Maxx

This is everything I bought in September and October. It’s quite a lot, I think. 🙂 Have you tried any of these products? Or would you like to try any of them? Feel free to comment. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – January 2017

Hi there! As it’s the 1st of the month, today’s post is about the products I emptied last month. So let me show you what I’ve used up in January. As always, I’ve used several face masks, and whilst I didn’t keep the empty sachets, you can read about my latest face mask finds here. Now let’s get to the (more or less) bulky stuff – the ‘real’ empties!

1 Olay Complete Day Cream – this is a wonderful face cream. I started to use this cream last winter, then I neglected it… but over the past few months I’ve made an effort to use up all my part-used skin care products – and now I’ve finished this one! I’ll buy this cream again, no doubt!

2 Rival De Loop Black Eyeliner Pencil – this is the eyeliner pencil I finished in December. I thought I’d lost it, but it turned out that I did keep it safe! I just forgot where it was and I found it by accident the other day. 😀

3 Olay Anti-Wrinkle Instant Hydration Day Serum – this is one of my favourite face serums. I’ll buy it again for sure!

4 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel – this is a very effective product that doesn’t trouble my sensitive skin at all. I love it! I’ve already repurchased it.

5 Boots Extracts Vanilla Body Butter – this body butter is a real treat. It makes my skin feel incredibly soft and it smells… delicious. The vanilla fragrance in this body butter is one of the purest and most authentic vanilla fragrances out there. This body butter has been repackaged but I have several ‘old’ tubs left.

6 I Love… Iced Cookie Bath & Shower Crème – this shower cream was perfect for the time around Christmas. The fragrance is simply delicious. I can’t repurchase this item because it was only available as part of a winter-themed limited edition gift set.

7 I Love… Mixed Berries Bath & Shower Crème – a decent shower product. I did like it but it was nothing special. I don’t think I’d repurchase it, but if it happened to be in I Love…’s next Christmas set, I wouldn’t be disappointed.

8 Boots Botanics Firming Body Gel – this is an oldie that I found in my stash. I didn’t find this gel particularly moisturising, and I didn’t love the sticky feel, but I liked the fragrance. Very ‘spa’! This product has been discontinued. But I don’t think I’d repurchase it anyway.

9 I Love… Chocolate & Oranges Bath & Shower Crème – this stuff smells like cheap dish soap and I’m glad it’s gone.

10 Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care Intensive All Over Body Cream – great stuff. I really like this body cream. It’s quite nourishing and it smells lovely. I have another tub.

11 Alberto Balsam Sun Kissed Raspberry Conditioner – a decent conditioner. It detangles my hair with ease and it smells really good. I think most berry-scented toiletries smell a little off – but this one smells great. I will buy this conditioner again, no doubt!

12 Yardley Invigorating Blue Orchid Moisturising Body Wash – not a favourite. I started to use this shower gel in October – and I’ve only managed to finish it now. I wouldn’t buy it again.

13 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Micro Polish – this is one of my favourite skin care products ever. Try it! I’ve used this micro polish scrub once a week (every Tuesday) and this tube has lasted me six months. Great stuff! I have two back-up tubes. 🙂

14 L’Oréal Elvive Fibrology Thickening Conditioner – not the most suitable conditioner for long and curly / wavy hair – that’s if you use the matching shampoo too. I think L’Oréal’s Fibrology products are probably great for people with thin hair. However, I don’t see myself repurchasing the shampoo and the conditioner any time soon. Saying this, I still have the matching hair mask which I’ll try as soon as my current deep conditioner is finished.

15 Positively Fruity Smells Like Tropical Showers Body Lotion – cute bottle, so-so contents. Because of this my husband and I used this body lotion as foot lotion. So this one is a shared empty. I wouldn’t repurchase this product.

This is what emptied in January – not bad, eh? If you’re wondering why there are two conditioners and no shampoos – I use more conditioner than shampoo. And every time I finish a conditioner, the matching shampoo is instantly (more or less) ‘useless’ to me, so I’ll pass it on to my husband who’ll use it up. 🙂

February is a short month, but I think it’ll be another good month for empties because I still have lots of part-used toiletries and skin care products that I’m working on.

Oh, by the way, I’ve officially run out of storage – you might remember those boxes under the bed… well, that was so last year! Now I’m talking about boxes next to the bed and next to the sock drawer. Because of this I’ve implemented a 1-in-3-out policy earlier this month. Yes, this means that I can buy one item (make-up, skin care, toiletries – whatever) for every three products I finish.

The only exceptions are essentials such as… toothpaste, hand soap, “special” skin care creams (I’m talking about creams like Savlon, Sudocrem, Daktacort…), beauty basics like cotton buds and cosmetic pads, and the original Herbal Essences hair products when they’re on special (Yeah, I mean it!) because I can’t have these products cut into my rewards. 😉

Oh, and something else happened… some of you may have noticed that I haven’t been the best blogging buddy over the past 2 weeks. That’s because I had to slay the tax demon. And I did it! In the UK you have to submit your tax return by 31 January – otherwise they’ll slap you with a fine – no ifs, no buts. I submitted my tax return just before 19:00 yesterday – just in time! So yeah, I slayed the tax demon! This means I have 11 months and 2 weeks of freedom – until next year’s tax demon rears its ugly head!

Feel free to comment if you want to. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

September Beauty Awards

Hi there! And welcome to Mrs Strawberry Blonde’s September Beauty Awards – a.k.a. my monthly favourites which I selected from all the products I’ve written about this month. As always, I’ve also thrown in a few honourable mentions. 🙂 Now, let’s get to the actual favourites!

3rd place – Superdrug Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream

This night cream is amazing and I will definitely repurchase it. It makes my skin look fresher, it’s very moisturising and it smells great too. If you’re in the UK, you need to swing by Superdrug and buy this cream.

Runner-Up – Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel

If you want to brighten your skin with the help of glycolic acid and fruit acids, this is the product to try. This glycolic peel feels great on my skin and it makes my skin look considerably more refreshed. I didn’t notice and tingling, burning or redness – just amazing skin. If you buy the night cream, buy the glycolic peel too!

WINNER – Astor Lipliner Pencil 014 Bronze

This is my favourite lipliner. Ever. I usually wear it on its own – yes, instead of a lipstick – because I love the colour and the finish. This lipliner is fantastic and I’m glad I have more than one. 🙂

Now on to the honourable mentions! I really liked Garnier’s Ultimate Blends The Shine Revitaliser Shampoo & Conditioner with lemon and green tea. Garnier’s hair products usually don’t impress me, so these two were a nice surprise. Another hair duo I liked was Harmony Hair Indulgence Herbal Shampoo & Conditioner with ginseng extract.

I also love Yves Rocher’s Apple Star Anise Refreshing Fragrance Mist – which I’ve been using a lot this summer. And I just found my new favourite peel-off face mask – the delicious Montagne Jeunesse Pineapple Peel Off Mask.

What are your favourite products this month? Have you used any of the products that I used? Feel free to get in touch. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel

Hi there! Over the past few months I’ve been using several product from Superdrug’s Naturally Radiant product line. The face mask is the best thing since sliced bread, and I love the night cream and the micro polish scrub.

Now, today’s post is about Superdrug’s Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel. Like all other products in the Naturally Radiant range this peel contains kiwi fruit and mulberry extratcs, and glycolic acid and fruit acids which are said to retexture and refine skin, and to even out and brighten skin tone. Now let me tell you how this product works.

What you’re supposed to do is… apply a pea-sized amount of product to your cleansed face before you go to bed. And just wash it off in the morning. That’s it.

What’s good about the peel? First of all, the gel formula is very nice and easy to work with. The gel feels great on my skin. It’s not drying at all (it’s a tad sticky though) and it makes my skin feel refreshed. This glycolic peel doesn’t really peel (you won’t see any old skin flaking off), but I can see and feel the difference. I never thought I’d say this but – thanks to this product – my face looks almost refreshed in the morning.

I really love this peel – and I’ve already bought a back-up. I would recommend it to everyone – even to those with sensitive skin – because this glycolic peel does the job without being harsh. The only thing I need to mention as a bit of a negative is that there’s no indication of how often this peel is supposed to be used. It’s not stated anywhere on the product or Superdrug’s web site. So you might want to use it daily, weekly or anything in between. I use the peel 2 to 3 times per week, most of the time under the Naturally Radiant night cream, and this works well for me.

Superdrug’s Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel is available as 30ml for £5.99. I bought mine for £2.95 (half price deal). The last time I checked (last week) there was a BOGOF offer, so don’t forget to check for promotional deals before you buy.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde