Product Empties-Empty Products #1

I love reading these kind of posts, but I'm at a loss as to why everyone calls them 'product empties' - never in normal conversation have I ever heard anyone say those two words in that order...! Blogging madness.

Anyway, I love these cos it's like a little review and I think you find out more than in a 'haul' post cos the person has actually used the thing they're talking about.  Incidentally...I also hate the term 'haul' - again, never used in the real world! If I said to my friends that I had been shopping and has a massive haul they would look at me with blank faces. Blogging bolloxology, can't beat it.

I appear to have finished up quite a lot of skin and haircare products this month, sadly some fairly expensive-to-replace things have run out all at once, isn't that always the way?!

First is my absolute favourite toner - Michael Todd's Blue Green Algae, which I talk about more than is acceptable.  I posted about it here so I won't go on too much, but it is amazing and my wonderful friend LouisaLoves217 ordered me a replacement when she was ordering her own stuff, so thankfully I won't be without it for too long!

Next is my Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion, which I've been trying to ration because it was running out, but it's finally gone. Waaah! I'll definitely repurchase it because it;s a really good, gentle exfoliator, and with an oily t-zone I need to be able to chemically exfoliate daily, which I can do with this because the salicylic acid isn't too aggressive.

Another toner I've finished recently is my Lancome Tonique Douceur, which is a mini size (125ml) I got with a very generous Gift With Purchase a while ago.  It smells lovely, but I didn't feel like it did anything of note, and at £22 for the full size I'd need a bit more effort on it's part to make that kind of commitment.  It was nice while it lasted though.

I posted recently about Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance, and having become completely addicted and used it every day, it's now all gone, but will soon be replaced because it's really good.  You can read my post about it here

Continuing with haircare, the next empty bottle I have is Tresemme's Platinum Strength Shampoo. The conditioner is stubbornly hanging on in there n the side of my bath, with another few uses left, but the shampoo sadly died first.  I used this all summer and loved it.  Apart from tresemme's heat defence spray I've never been a massive fan, but this does wonderful things to my hair and makes it all shiny and soft.  The downside is that it makes me play with my hair constantly, which probably means everyone I come into contact with thinks I'm trying to flirt with them, but It's too hard not to do it!  I'll definitely be repurchasing this once I've used up my current bath-side stragglers.

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation is one of my favourites and I've repurchased it quite a few times now. I'm already onto the next bottle  - you can read my post about it here.

I thought I'd lull you into a false sense of security with all the smiley happy products at the beginning, and then fit my angry little rant in at the end..Toni & Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray, you cruel maiden.  I thought you were the answer to my lazy tendencies and that I could have an extra 10 minutes in bed and look all beachy and carefree, which I did for the first two uses...after that sadly the liquid couldn't get down the tube...(no that isn't an innuendo..), as the salt appeared to have clogged it up.  In the end the salt had evidently affected the pump part because it was jammed and couldn't be pressed down.  I tried a few times to just screw the lid off and pour it into my hands, but I quickly decided life was too short for that and just bought a different salt spray. This is now on it's way to landfill and I won't be repurchasing. 

This shouldn't really be in an empties post because technically there's just under half left, but since the remainder is unusable and the charming folk at Seche Vite informed me upon complaining that the product can be expected to thicken over time.. I give up.  The first half of the bottle was good, gave me a nice shiny top-coat and made my nail polish last longer.  The second half of the bottle was so thick it couldn't be painted onto my nails without pulling off the polish, and eventually solidified into a gloopy mess.  Seche vite suggested that I buy another product from them to restore it's original consistency, which I have zero intention of doing, cheers anyway.  Won't be repurchasing.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my collection of empty bottles :) have you used any of these products?

Suzy

Xx

#theSOproject WEEK 1: SKINCARE

So welcome to theSOproject!

I haven't done an introductory post to this series as I think it's pretty widely known and no one wants to read 150 versions of the same thing do they! It is going to be 10 weeks on different themes relating to starting out with make up and beauty, with a view to giving younger and less experienced readers some handy hints and tips about super duper products and techniques for using them.

This post is all about skincare, which I think could be a difficult one for me as I can tend to wang on about this to anyone that dares to look in my direction! I shall try and keep it short, sweet and not too ranty, however.

I should probably mention that I have oily skin, which results in the odd spot and perennially clogged pores. So my routine might not suit those with dry skin as you'll maybe need more moisture.

Keeping skincare simple and without 1000 steps is what's important as far as I'm concerned.  Who has the £££ to be buying superfluous lotions and potions and more to the point who the heck can be faffed with a gruelling 30 minute routine either in the morning or evening?! I'm pretty much of the opinion that if you're putting on 10 layers of various toners, serums, oils and moisturisers, at least some of them are cancelling each other out.  Pointless.

So keep it simple: cleanse, exfoliate, tone and moisturise.  Then leave well alone and get on with the rest of your day!

Cleanser
If you are using soap...STOP. It isn't 1945 and we don't still have rationing. I find it bizarre that soap even still exists! It strips away your natural oils, dries your skin out terribly and most are so heavily perfumed that they're likely to irritate your skin and cause nasty spots.
Cleansing wipes: these really are vilified in beauty circles.  Okay, the ingredients wont do your skin any good as such, and they should never be used as your only cleanser, but for me, as a quick first cleanse, to get rid of my eye make up especially, I haven't found anything I prefer.  Bioderma is ineffective at removing my mascara and I have to use far too much of it, which is expensive and time consuming. In my opinion as long as you're washing it off with a proper cleanser afterwards, a face wipe is absolutely fine for a pre-cleanse.
At the moment I'm really enjoying using Boots Essentials Fragrance Free Wipes, which are £1.50.

Next you need a proper cleanser: preferably not a foaming one as SLS, which enables the cleanser to foam, strips the moisture from the skin. I'm currently using Michael Todd Charcoal Detox Cleanser, which is 70% organic and wonderfully gentle on my skin.
A cleansing milk also gives effective but gentle cleansing, I love Clinique Take the Day off Cleansing Milk, as it can be gently massaged into the skin to remove the make up and dirt, and then washed off with water and a flannel. 

I recently wrote about using a cleansing brush such as Clarisonic, or No7, which is something to think about but certainly not an essential purchase when you are first getting into looking after your skin.


Exfoliator

To have lovely clear skin you need to be exfoliating regularly.  I don't mean the god-awful manual exfoliants that my Fiancé describes as rubbing bits of rock on your face, but an acidic exfoliant, to clean out the pores. It doesn't hurt at all, despite sounding quite extreme.

I use Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion morning and night as it is so gentle, but efficiently cleans my pores with salicylic acid. I have also tried Pixi Glow tonic, which didn't go so well as I explained here.
I also love Paula's Choice 2% BHA lotion for this purpose, as it does a wonderful job on any blackheads.  I usually use this at night, never in the day because the BHA can cause sun damage if not protected by using an SPF.

Toner
It might seem a little extreme to essentially double tone - exfoliating toner and then normal toner, but it's important to get some moisture back into your skin after the acid has worked it's magic.
The toner should never contain alcohol as it defeats the purpose by drying out the skin.
I'm using Michael Todd Blue Gree Algae Toner which I blogged about recently as it is super moisturising due to the hyaluronic acid it contains. I also like Lancôme Tonique Douceur, but for £22 I don't feel there are enough skin care benefits compared to the Michael Todd which is around £11.50.

Moisturiser
Moisturiser is the area of skincare I feel least qualified to talk about: I still don't feel I've found what completely works for my skin and I'm still pretty much on a merry-go-round of trying new ones out.  The one I've stuck with for the longest, purely because it protects me with a high SPF and it doesn't irritate my skin is Clinique Superdefense, but I don't feel like it's working hard enough to justify the colossal £38 price tag. I'm going to have a look at REN next for moisturiser, but on the more budget-friendly side, Adam absolutely swears by Aldi Lacura Aqua Moisture Cream, and he has ridiculously sensitive skin so it must be good!

What products would you recommend for cleansing, toning and moisturising?  I would love to hear about them!

Suzy xx