October ~ Empties

You know when someone starts a new business and they don't expect to really a turn a profit in the first year?

Well, that's kind of the viewpoint I'm taking with my obsession with all things skincare and make up! I'm allowing myself one year (this year) where I'll go all silly and buy too much and hopefully get it out of my system before concentrating on what I need rather than getting side-tracked by FOMO purchases and "well it was very cheap" purchases and "ooh, sparkly" purchases and "everybody else loves it" purchases.

 

It's already clear that I have far too many half-finished and unopened products in my stash that I need to get through before buying new ones. And that's not even counting all the samples and travel sizes that I get from beauty subscription boxes (but I'm never giving up those!!) and also review products.

 

I do have a wish-list and in the new year, I am determined to use up my current stash before purchasing from the wish-list and keeping the products in my routine manageable and limited. For example, I still don't own a full size of the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask (even though I know it's my favourite) because I keep buying (and receiving) other sleeping masks which I have to get through first. My plan is to stick with a favourite (ie, the Laneige sleeping mask) and when I've used that up, only then decide if I want to try something else out.

 

When I heard that Glossier was coming to the UK I had planned to be first in line to buy some of their iconic Milky Jelly Cleanser. Trouble was, I have several second cleansers that I need to use up which seem to be taking an inordinately long time to empty! So far I have been very good and not ordered from Glossier. This all does have something to do with this empties post - honestly! I want to share my empty products this month as a record of how I'm making my way through my stash and also as a record of what items I would repurchase and which ones just didn't work out for me.

 

Streamlined and minimalist are probably not words that I would ever describe myself as, but I would like some semblance of order in my skincare routines and stash!

 

Ellora Beauty Facial Cleansing Gel (£14) BUY HERE

 

* This was the largest amount of product I managed to finish up last month. It was actually a freebie, sent to me for review purposes. I liked the scent and although very slightly drying, it was an okay product but I wouldn't repurchase it.

* SkinFood - Tight Tissues for Skin (approx. £4.00 for box of 60) BUY HERE

(see top photo). These have become an absolute staple in my stash. I primarily use these to mop up any excess serum that you get in a sheet mask pack after using the mask and then use the tissues as patch sheets the next evening. I have already purchased another box of these from the RoseRose shop on eBay (free shipping from Korea - a reputable eBay seller). I find they are so much better than the compressed sheet masks you can buy - sometimes there's just not enough serum left in a sheet mask pack to completely soak the compressed masks.

 

 

Niod Copper Amino Isolate Serum £38 for 15ml BUY HERE

 

* I absolutely loved this when I first starting using it and had pretty remarkable results within a short amount of time (I blogged about it here). I was pretty sure that this was going to be a holy grail item, but after the initial few weeks of noticeable results I either became immune or inured to it. I just stopped noticing any difference. In the ten days or so since this run out, I haven't really missed it. I'm going to wait and see if it's worth re-introducing in the future. An alternative on my wish list was the IS Clinical Copper Firming Mist (£24.00 for 75ml BUY HERE) which is cheaper and a larger size, but it is a mist and would probably take very little time to get through. We'll see....

 

 

* Oskia Renaissance Mask £51.00 for 50ml BUY HERE

I absolutely LOVE this wash-off mask. I received this deluxe sample in a Latest in Beauty box and promptly added another to my next order, so I luckily have a back up! At £50, it's over the budget I'm comfortable with spending on a mask so I will try and gather any samples I can to see me through! However, this small pot gave me about 10 uses. The rose scented cream is just divine and results of cleaner, clearer and brighter skin are instant so it does have great appeal. I shall be reviewing this in full shortly.

 

* Banila Co Clean it Zero ~ Radiance (from a 4 piece sample kit) Full size £15.69 for 100ml (BUY HERE)

I bought this as part of a Banila Co Clean it Zero cleansing balm kit of 4 sample pots from eBay (where it is not currently available). The first 'flavour' I opted to try out was the 'Radiance' which has a fresh, faintly citrus scent. Cleansing balms are my first choice for a first cleanse step. I just love how they emulsify onto your skin to get rid of all your make up, sun cream and all of the days grime. This brand is a favourite amongst the Korean skincare community and I can see why. It's softer than a lot of balm cleansers so doesn't need as much work to emulsify on the skin. I'm going to go through the other flavours in the kit first, but I'm guessing that I will repurchase one of them in the future. You can buy the full size of this product from many sellers on eBay - but I've linked to the RoseRose shop again from Korea. They are reputable and have free shipping.

 

Samples

* Skin Food Rice Wash Off Mask
I keep seeing rice included in a lot of products and a lot of people seem to swear by it's properties. This sample was a freebie with a purchase from Korea and I got a couple of uses out of it. I liked what I experienced and would look out for this if it was a good price.
* Purito Pure Hyaluronic Acid 90 Serum
I didn't really experience any results from this small sample.
* Matis Response Yeux Eye Contour Balm
I chose this from the Feel Unique sample pick n mix selection as I'm still looking for a decent eye cream. This wasn't one of them!
* Sulwhasoo First Care Activitating Serum
Only one of these used up this month. It's still one of my favourite products and I still have more of these sample sizes in my stash, but for some reason I didn't get another one out when this one was finished and I haven't used it for a coupe of weeks. I would always repurchase these sample sizes though.
* Miss Dior perfume
Wasn't a scent that moved me particularly.
* Roger et Gallet Gingembre
I love this scent and would definitely purchase a full size - that is when my skincare and make up wish list depletes a bit!

 Sheetmasks

I didn't use as many as I thought I had this month. Stand out favourites amongst these are the Lovemore Paprika mask and the Bon Vivant botanical mask pack - both from my Mask n Chill October Bundle.
And also the Etude House Rose Damask from my Beautyinhanguk bespoke box and the Crème Shop Sea Kelp eye mask.
Mask n Chill just revealed their November mask pack and I have already ordered one.