Skincare Empties ~ April 2020

Phew! An enormous amount of empties this month as I work to finish products in my stash (and buy just a couple of cheeky newbies!).
Everything else during this lock-down has gone absolute doolally - apart from my skincare and body care routines. It's nice to know that I can keep something together at least!

Key

WR - Will repurchase or have already repurchased

MR - Might repurchase at a later date.

WNR - Will not repurchase. Either it didn't work for me, I didn't like it, it's too expensive or it had ingredients that didn't suit my skin.

Skincare

* Cerave - Foaming Cleanser (WR)
I think this is probably mu number one 'go-to' everyday cleanser.
It's perfect for daily use, low foan, soothing and non-drying and great value for money. No thrills or drama here - but you can't beat this as a basic but effective first cleanser.

* Optimum - Bedtime Cleansing Balm (WNR)
Now this would have been great if it weren't for one negative - you couldn't use this on the eye area. There are too many first cleansers that do a great job of removing eye makeup without irritation for me to choose something that you can't use on your eyes. Also, it was difficult to keep it away from the eye area - especially when rinsing off. 
I loved the slightly granular texture, the gentle scent and the way that the balm emulsified into a milky lotion when water was added. All of these points were the positives but unfortunately, the negative outweighed and so I won't be buying this again.

* Darphin - Vetiver Stress Relief Detox Mask (MR)
I don't usually go for higher-priced products when buying skincare. Firstly, I can't afford it; secondly - I want to be able to justify spending a lot and thirdly, there are generally much cheaper products that do the job just as well, if not better.
The Darphin mask was one of my rare 'worth the price' purchases. But because of the cost, I did tend to jealously hoard this and use it very rarely. But actually, now it's gone, I don't feel bereft! It was a gorgeous treat while it lasted but I think I'll move on to something else next time. I did love the oily-gel texture and would like to try similar oil-based masks in the future. A word of warning if you're not a fan of strong scents - this is VERY strongly scented. So much so that sometimes my eyes would slightly water when wearing this mask. Even I felt that this was on the over-powering side and I'm a huge fan of scented products.

* Nakin - Advanced Cleansing Milk (MR)
I don't usually use cleansing milks or creams, preferring instead oils and balms. But I did enjoy using this Nakin cleansing milk. It was very gentle but was able to remove most of my makeup (I always needed extra removal for my eye makeup). I did always remove with a damp face cloth, rather than tissue or cotton wool as I'm not keen on feeling residue left behind from a first cleanser. I still think I'd choose oils and balms first, but would consider buying this again in the future - I'll have to see just how much I miss it.

* Garden of Wisdom - Vitamin C 23% & Ferulic Acid (WR)
I've bought numerous bottles of this serum as so far, it's been my preferred Vitamin C serum. However, instead of already buying another bottle, I opted to try out the new GOW Deep C Serum. I can already tell that I prefer the Vitamin C 23% & Ferulic Acid version and so will probably be buying a replacement bottle very soon, but feel like I should give the new serum a fair trial.
But quite frankly - this is the best! Great value, no irritation, beautiful results (over a longer period of consistent use) and layers well with the rest of my skincare routine. Nothing else beats it yet!

* Philosophy - Purity Cleanser (MR)
I had this in an ovenight bag as my travel cleanser, but since any travelling is out of the picture in the near future, I thought I'd best pull it out to use up. This cleanser is one of the 'good guys' - it does everything you want it to, gently and effectively. It's not the most exciting of second cleansers but apart from that, I can't fault it.

* Evolve Beauty - Daily Defence Moisture Mist (WR)
One of my favourite empties of the month. I absolutely adored the Daily Defence Mist. There's often not much to say about facial mists as they usually are quite perfunctory. However, this mist does have more oomph than most and I felt that it went quite a way in providing an extra layer of hydration to my skin. It's light and smells nice and the mister on the bottle is just right. Will definitely be repurchasing this soon.

* Pure Savvy - Just a Minute Brightening Facial Mask (WR)
I've tried flash masks before but didn't really experience the same results as I did with 'Just a Minute'. It's pretty hard to believe that leaving a product on your face for as little as a minute could actually have any positive effective, but the results from this mask are near miraculous! Brightening, softening, evening out skin tone - it's bloody fantastic!

* Casa Mencarelli - Sole e Mare Sea Buckthorn Serum (MR)
I won this limited edition Sole e Mare in a giveaway. I love Casa Mencarelli products, so was delighted to get the chance to try this luxurious Sea Buckthorn serum. It was ideal during the coldest parts of the winter as it is such an extremely rich and nourishing oil. Bright orange in colour and with a nutty scent, this was best used overnight as it was just too heavy for me for daytime use. I did really enjoy this, but for me, there's only a short window of time when my skin actually feels like it needs something so rich.

* Trilogy - Vitamin C Booster Treatment (WNR)
Firstly - although I have noted this as a 'will not repurchase' that's not because it was an inferior product. I only got two weeks of usage out of this so I couldn't really say anything about long term results. But what I saw, I was definitely impressed with. This is a very runny liquid - I did feel that there was some wastage because of this. No tingling or irritation but my skin liked it and it layered well with other products. I feel that if I were to use it for longer than the results would be as good as my usual Vitamin C Serum (GOW). Why wouldn't I repurchase? Purely for the fact that my usual Vitamin C serum is stable, and therefore I don't need to fear about it going off. This is not so stable and has a very short shelf life. And that's the only reason for a 'WNR'.

* Natural Wisdom Spa - Blue Tranquility Balm (WR)

Without exception, this is the most healing and soothing balm I have ever had the joy to try. I've had an incredibly stubborn patch of eczema on my wrist and this has been the only balm that has reduced to it a red mark. With the superstar ingredient of Blue Tansy, this balm had the most stunning blue colour and the unmistakable scent of Blue Tansy. A little pricier than I'd usually opt for, but this is worth every single penny.

* Evering Botanique - Agrume Facial Oil (WR)
One of two facial oils that I have from Evering Botanique. Agrume facial oil is scented with citrus and neroli and is a lovely, light but effective oil. I've been sharing this with my son who has been using it as the only moisturiser that he uses! 
Beautiful stuff - will be repurchasing when my facial oil collection has diminished.

* Jurlique - Herbal Recovery Advanced Day Cream(WNR)
This is a nice enough light day cream but I'm struggling for much more to say about it! It's okay but I can't find any positives that place it above any other day cream I've tried.

* Z Skin - Retinique (WNR)
This was quite an interesting product. I got this in a beauty box and thought I'd try it out when my usual Ishtar Skinlights Retinol serum ran out.
Firstly, I wasn't expecting its white lotion texture - I'm used to more of a watery or gel serum. Despite its texture, it did layer reasonably well with other products. Although it did take quite a while to rub in. Once in, it had a mattifying effect on my skin. I used this at night, but with the matte effect, then it would probably have been quite good for daytime use under makeup. I can't really speak for the results as it was quite a small sample, and would need more to really show up effects.
An interesting experience, but I won't be replacing my usual Retinol serum.

* Cacti - Regeneration Oil (WNR)

Because of the sheer amount of facial oils in my collection, I admit to using this up as a multi-use oil (face/body/hair) so as not to waste it. As such, it didn't really get a chance to prove itself in consistent use in my routine, so I didn't really get a good feel for its efficacy. It was nice enough, but didn't make enough of an impression for me to want to repurchase over facial oils.

Body care/Hair care 

* The Body Shop - Shea Body Butter (WNR)
You can't go wrong with the Body Shop body butters when you just want something to thickly slather all over your skin! I had this in my gym bag to use after showering. It's quick to absorb, despite its richness and meant that I didn't have to wait before getting dressed. The Shea Butter didn't have too much of a scent and I'd usually prefer something more scented. It also wasn't quite as long-lasting as other body butters in my collection - so for that reason, it's not something I'd buy again. 

* Maria Nila - Luminous Colour Masque (MR)
I've had this kicking around for ages - I think it may have come in a beauty box some time ago. I only really started to use it just recently and I was impressed with it. It's a lovely, rich hair masque but what I really appreciated was that it was easy to rinse out and didn't leave any residue or leave my hair feeling heavy or crispy.

* Nudge Boutique - Kokum Body Boost Butter (WR)
My favourite body butter! This lasted for perhaps longer than it should have because i found myself rationing it out slowly as it was sooo good! One of the most gorgeous scents I've ever tried in a body butter - May Chang and Pink Grapefruit and one of the nicest creamy balm textures too.
This is very dense and luxurious body - you only need the smallest amount and it slips and glides like silk over your body as it melts. Will be making another order for this very shortly.

* Aveda - Hand Relief (MR)
If ever there was a time when we need our hand creams to work for us it's now during this time of extra intensive hand washing! This was a beautiful rich cream that moisturised, softened and soothed my hands without leaving a greasy residue.

* Barbary Fig Oil (WNR)
Another carrier oil that I bought when I was having a novice attempt at mixing up my own oils. I haven't tried this for a while as I have so many fantastic oils by some brilliant formulators - so I used this up on my body.

* Molton Brown - Orange & Bergamot Shower Gel (MR)
As with most Molton Brown shower gels, this smelled gorgeous and produced lots of lovely foam. Always nice to receive as a gift or in beauty boxes. But a bit pricey for me to commit to buying a full size at full price!

* Organic Oils by Hema - Orange Passion Hair Oil (MR)

Used weekly as an overnight hair treatment, the Orange Passion Hair Oil smelled delicious and was super nourishing for my hair. Using oils which were easy enough to wash out the next day without leaving my hair greasy, heavy or lank. I still have another Hema hair oil to use but I would certainly consider repurchasing this one.