Empties – September 2018

Hi there! September is over, so it’s time for my September Empties post. Read on if you’d like to know which products I said goodbye to last month. 🙂

1 Nivea Powerfruit Fresh Shower Gel – I didn’t love this shower gel, and I won’t buy it again.

2 Classics Nail Polish Remover – I love this nail polish remover. It does its job, it doesn’t smell too bad, and it’s £1 for 400ml. I have a few back-up bottles.

3 Gliss Hair Repair Supreme Length Conditioner – this is a great conditioner. I will buy it (+ the matching shampoo) again.

4 Essence Black Eyeliner Pencil (x2) – I love Essence’s eyeliner pencils. They’re £1 each, and they’re great. I have no complaints about them. I have several more in my stash (and rota).

5 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream – this is a great night cream. I will buy it again.

6 Superdrug Flutter Lip Balm – I loved this balm. I think I have 1 or 2 more of these in my stash.

7 Anna Sui Eau De Toilette – this is a very enjoyable floral fragrance. It’s all about iris, rose, lilac and powder. It’s very nice!

8 Olay Gentle Hydrating Rich Creamy Cleansing Milk – this is a great make-up remover. I will buy it again, no doubt.

9 Imperial Leather Indulgence Irresistible Body Wash – this is a sensational shower gel. I have a back-up bottle!

10 Patisserie De Bain Cranberries & Cream Bath & Shower Crème – I didn’t love the sweet fragrance, and I won’t buy it again.

11 Boots Essentials Cucumber 3-Minute Clay Mask – this is a great face mask. Very effective! I like to leave it on for about 15 minutes, and I love the deep cleanse it gives my skin. By the way, when I cut up the “empty” tube, there was enough product left for 2 more uses for me and my husband! Yes, I will buy it again.

12 Beautifully Scrumptious Aloe Vera Body Butter – this is a nice body butter. I would like to buy it again.

13 Yves Rocher Organic Raspberry Exfoliating Shower Gel – this was an awesome shower scrub. Too bad it’s been discontinued, otherwise I’d love to buy it again.

14 The Body Shop White Musk Breeze Body Purée – now that I’ve finished the 2nd bottle, I’m thinking this was actually a very nice little body moisturiser… but it was a limited edition from a few years ago, so this one’s definitely gone for good!

15 Superdrug Gentle Foaming Facial Wash For Dry Skin – another great product from Superdrug. Too bad it’s been discontinued.

I also used a few single-use face masks. I’m not counting them because I don’t keep the empty sachets. If you’d like to read about my latest face mask finds, click here.

This is everything I emptied in September. I think I’ve done well this month! What have you emptied recently? Feel free to comment. And thanks for reading! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – December 2016

Hi there! Before I start the new year with new product reviews, let’s take a look at what I emptied last month. As always, I used several face masks – but I never keep the empty sachets. I’ve also thrown out my first konjac sponge. Yes, I have replaced it with a new one.

And I’ve finished a black eyeliner pencil. Yay! I’d have loved to show it off but unfortunately I lost it. I probably hoovered it up or my husband may have seen it and just thrown it away. But I’m working on two more eyliner pencils (Essence and Maybelline). Once they’re finished, I’ll make sure I’ll keep them safe. Now let’s look at all the bottles and tubes I emptied in December.

1 Superdrug Clearly Youthful Hydrating Day Serum – this serum has its flaws. It doesn’t work with every moisturiser (it might ball up…), but it does make my skin look and feel clearer. And despite its flaws, I actually love this serum. Unfortunately I can’t buy it again because Superdrug has discontinued the collection. But I have a back-up bottle which should last me for another six months. I’ve also gone to great lengths to get every last drop of serum out of this bottle – I even had my husband cut the sturdy bottle in half! 🙂 The leftovers lasted me for 4 more days!

2 Givenchy Ange Ou Démon Delicate Bath Gel – I used this travel-sized bath gel as a shower gel and I really liked it. Great formula, wonderful fragrance. I can’t repurchase this exact product because the fragrance has been reformulated.

3 Givenchy Ange Ou Démon Silky Body Veil – a lovely moisturiser. It felt light and non-sticky, but it was actually very moisturising. Great fragrance! Too bad Givenchy changed the formula…

4 Olay Anti-Wrinkle 2 In 1 Instant Hydration + Radiant Glow – this is a wonderful moisturiser. It smells lovely, it hydrates my skin well, and it really gives my face a nice glow. I haven’t touched it in a while but I’ve rediscovered this little gem because I’m making an effort to use up all my part-used moisturisers. I don’t need to buy it again any time soon because I have two back-up bottles (please, say nothing). I’ve also cut this bottle in half (I managed to do this myself), but there wasn’t much product left in it. It was just enough product for one generous application.

5 Superdrug Strawberry & Raspberry Shower Gel – a nice, fruity shower gel. It smells a lot better than some of the strawberry or raspberry-scented products you can find for five times the price on the high street. Well done, Superdrug! I’ll buy this one again, no doubt.

6 Pantene Pro-V Volume & Body Conditioner – I didn’t love Pantene’s Volume & Body products. The shampoo and the conditioner flattened my hair! I’m glad the conditioner is gone. I wouldn’t buy it again. If you’re wondering what happened to the shampoo – I always use more conditioner than shampoo. And whenever I empty a conditioner, I pass the matching (leftover) shampoo on to my husband who’ll use it up.

7 NSPA Caramel Fudge Bath & Shower Gel – a wonderful shower gel! I loved everything about it! I’d love to buy it again but it was a limited edition and it really is gone. 😦

8 Superdrug Lotus Flower & Cherry Blossom Body Butter – I love this body butter. It’s very hydrating and not sticky at all. And it smells fantastic. Repurchase? Oh yeah!

9 Boots Mediterranean Grape, Avocado & Lemon Body Butter – this body butter was quite old when I rediscovered it in my stash (Oops!). It has been discontinued years ago. However, it hadn’t gone off (I think preservatives are awesome!). The fragrance wasn’t great. So I decided to use it as a foot butter. This one is a shared empty because my husband used it too.

10 Calcot Manor De-Stress Body Buff – a great body scrub! But the charmingly old-fashioned floral fragrance is quite strong, so you might want to give this one a sniff before you buy it. Calcot Manor products are exclusive to Tesco, although bargain stores have snapped up some of the older stock. If I were to find this one again for 99p or £1, I’d buy it again. But I wouldn’t pay a fiver (Tesco).

11 Alberto Balsam Stunning Shine Conditioner – another great Alberto Balsam product! It’s dirt cheap but it’s really good. Pantene should take note! My husband is now using the matching (leftover) shampoo, and he likes it too. I’ll buy the Stunning Shine shampoo and conditioner again, no doubt.

12 I Love… Strawberries & Cream Bath & Shower Cream – I wanted to give this away because the strawberry fragrance was just too strong for me. But I forgot to put in the ‘for my teenage relative’ box. And then I just used this shower gel on and off for about half a year. And now it’s finally gone! I wouldn’t repurchase it, but if you love strawberry-scented products, this one is worth a try for sure. It smells much more natural than the overpriced strawberry-scented products from a certain high street brand. 😉

13 For Kings & Queens Nefertiti Honey Shower Gel – this is a fantastic product. It smells like… heaven! It’s that good that I’m looking into buying the matching fragrance.

14 Superdrug Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream – one of the best night creams I’ve ever had. It’s rich and hydrating, and at the same time it has a brightening effect. And it’s under £3 when it’s on special! I’ve already repurchased this cream.

15 Rimmel Stronger Double Duty Base Coat – this base coat promises to strengthen and protect nails. And it really works! This base coat has been discontinued but I have a few back-up bottles.

This is it for December. I hope I’ll be able to finish lots of products in 2017 so that I can finally get on top of my stash. Feel free to get in touch if you want to. And thanks for reading! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

30+ New Products – Superdrug, Asda & Bargain Store Haul!

Hi there! I tried my best not to buy more stuff, but I caved. And then I caved again. I bought a lot of stuff in the past three or four weeks… So let’s take a look at the new products that moved in with me.

Item number 1 is this Flutter Hand Cream – Flutter is a Superdrug brand that always makes an appearance around Christmas. This hand cream was £1. Then there’s this Sweet Snuggles Hand Lotion Set – this set consists of a small hand cream and a nail file. I think it’s cute. And it was £1 only.

I also bought 3 Superdrug Facial Konjac Sponges. There was a 3 for 2 offer, each sponge was £1.99, and thanks to the offer I paid £3.98 in total. Nivea’s Firming Body Lotion was on a better than half price promotion so I paid £2.55 instead of £5.25. And I’m looking forward to trying my new B. Refine Exfoliating Cleanser which was half price as well – it was £2.69 instead of £5.49.

I also bought new hair care – L’Oréal Nutri-Gloss Crystal Shampoo & Conditioner. These were on a half price offer – £1.99 each instead of £3.99. I also bought two more eyeshadow brushes. These are Superdrug own-brand, they were 99p each.

I couldn’t resist when I saw this exclusive edition Olay Refreshing Face Wash. It was £1.45 instead of £2.99. And I found this incredibly cute My Little Pony Nail Polish Trio for £2.99 at B&M Bargains. This set contains 2 toe separators and three nail polishes (pink – Pinkie Pie, lilac – Rarity, glitter – Rainbow Dash). Awesome stuff!

I liked Superdrug’s cocoa butter & vanilla body butter, so I wanted to give Superdrug’s Cocoa Butter & Vanilla Body Scub a try too. This scrub was £2.45 (half price offer). I also bought two more Superdrug Clearly Youthful Glycolic Peel-Off Mask tubes. They’re £4.89 each, but there was a 2 for £5 offer. By the way, this mask is absolutely brilliant. Please check out my review of it!

The Patisserie de Bain set was a freebie. Superdrug gave these sets away as a gift with purchase – all you had to do was buy two skin care products (yes, they included lots of cheap basics – like face wash for £1.50 and the likes – in this offer), and you’d get this Patisserie de Bain set for free.

Up next is a lipstick – Models Own Miami Heat – £1.24 (clearance). And I couldn’t resist this cute Flutter Lip Balm. It’s strawberry-flavoured and it was £1. The Models Own Nail Polish was £2.49 (clearance) and the shade is called Eggshell Goose. The Max Factor nail polish is from Poundworld, so it was £1. I had to have it because the colour really pops!

I was really happy when my local Asda restocked Alberto Balsam products whilst they were still on a £1 promotion. So I got Alberto Balsam Volume Boost Shampoo & Conditioner for £1 each. The Pantene Breakage Defence Hair Strengthening Tonic was £1 at Poundland.

Finally I bought a few face masks again. They’re all Montagne Jeunesse masks. I got two Mud Pac and Amore Rose duos for £1 each at Poundland. The Black Seaweed Peel-Off Mask and the Charcoal Masque were 85p each at Asda.

As I love Superdrug’s Naturally Radiant collection, I bought another product – a serum & moisturiser. This product was on a half price promotion, so I paid £2.94 only. Superdrug also had a new version of the Leafy & Lovely hand cream. It’s probably the same as before – but it was £1 only, so I thought I should have it. Superdrug’s Vitamin E Toning Facial Mist cost me £2.24 only. Superdrug’s Sweet Snuggles gift set was £3.50.

I also bought 2 Garnier Moisture Bomb Tissue Masks. They were on special for 99p each. And I got 2 tubs of Superdrug’s Vitamin E Intensive All Over Body Cream for £2.61 each. Superdrug’s Vitamin E Leave-On Moisture Mask was £2.24. And Superdrug’s Naturally Radiant Night Cream was also on special for £2.95. I love this night cream. This one’s a back-up! And the last item is a Sweet Snuggles lip balm set which I got for £1. I loved last year’s lip balms, and I’m sure this year’s lip balms are just as excellent.

So this is what I bought over the last few weeks. I know it’s more stuff that I didn’t really need, but I’m still happy that I stocked up on products that were on a promotion. 🙂 Have you tried any of these products – or would you like to try any of them? Feel free to let me know what you think. 🙂

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 Renewing Night Cream

Hi there! Today’s post is about the night cream I’ve been using since early July – Superdrug Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream. This product promises “to help revive skin’s radiance and even out skin tone” with the help of kiwi fruit extract, mulberry fruit extract, sugar beet extract and fruit acids. And the product claims to make skin smoother, softer, more refreshed and more energised within one week. So is the cream any good? Yes, absolutely. If you read on, I’ll tell you why.

The first thing I’ve noticed about this night cream is its lightweight, yet very moisturising formula. It feels great on my skin, and yes, it makes my skin feel soft and supple. I also like the subtle fragrance – this night cream smells extremely nice!

I’m happy with what this night cream does for the overall appearance of my skin. It really seems to even out my skin tone! Whilst I didn’t see much of a difference after one week, I did notice that my skin looked brighter and generally better after about three weeks. Now, eight weeks later, I can say I’m really satisfied with the cream because it did make my skin look considerably fresher and brighter.

I will continue to use this night cream and I can say for sure that I’ll buy it again. This night cream is now a permanent addition to my beauty staples! So in summary, I would definitely recommend it!

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream is available as 75ml for £5.99. I bought mine for £2.95 (half price offer), so don’t forget to check if there’s a deal before you buy! 🙂 If you’d like to try more products from this range, I’d recommend the face mask and the micro polish.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde