So at the end of August, I decided enough was enough and it was time for a spending ban. I didn’t buy a single product for myself – no cosmetics of any kind, whether I needed them or not. And I finished off a massive TWENTY products! My drawers are so much lighter, and I’ve decided to carry it on throughout October too. But of course, I had to share my thoughts on all these used up products. Read on to find out which I loved and which I didn’t.
I decided it might make it a bit easier if I broke the photo up throughout the blog post – so here’s 1-4:
1.Boots Extracts Cocoa Butter Scrub – Do not, and I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT buy this. The stickiness is unreal. Both my boyfriend and I have been completely unable to rinse off the sticky residue this scrub leaves behind. I couldn’t even tell you if it leaves my skin smooth, because it’s just STICKY. Plus, Boots were very patronising when I moaned on twitter – they told me ‘The instructions say to rinse it off’. Seriously. That was their response. If by rinse you mean ‘attempt to get it the hell of your skin by washing with every shower gel and shampoo in your bathroom before eventually giving up and cringing as your sticky legs stick to your towel’ then yes, Boots. I will rinse it off. This one isn’t empty – I just cannot stand to use it again.
2. Lush Elbow Grease – I am OBSESSED with this solid body oil. The fragrance is a tropical and flowery, with orange blossom and ylang ylang. It nourishes the skin wonderfully, it lasts for ages and the packaging is so sustainable! It’s literally just a bit of greaseproof paper. Also, the only time it melted was the hottest day of the year, and I’m sure if I’d just put it in a dark corner, it would have been fine. I’ve already bought a new one because I couldn’t stand to be without it!
3. Caudalie Divine Body Scrub – This is a gorgeous scrub, really luxurious and nourishing. My skin feels incredible after using this, so soft and smooth, and yet the scrub itself actually feels really gentle on the skin. This is the perfect way to pamper yourself with a little bit of luxury, and the smell is HEAVEN.
4. Jurlique Balancing Foaming Cleanser – love this stuff, always have and always will. Its gentle formula deeply cleanses without stripping the skin at all, and I have no doubt that had a huge part to play in me achieving the best skin of my life.
5. REN Rosa Centifolia No.1 Purity Cleansing Balm – A good, effective cleanser with a lovely scent, but one I simply cannot recommend to anyone. If this gets anywhere near your eyes, the stinging is unbearable – honestly it hurts more than shampoo, shower gel, anything. It’s such a shame because otherwise it’s a really nice product, but nothing should sting that much, and it’s not like I’m even properly getting it in my eyes, this is just an everyday occurrence when you use it.
6. Klorane Eye Makeup Remover – This is another product that I loved when I first bought it, but I felt like it became less effective the longer I had it. Maybe it evaporated a bit, because it started to smell very chemically too – almost acrid, like nail polish remover. I didn’t have a reaction or anything, but I certainly didn’t enjoy using it as much as I had, and I’ve found other products I prefer.
7. Korres Bergamot Pear Shower Gel – Still my all time favourite shower gel, this is the best scent on the planet and leaves your skin clean and super smooth. I love it, and will repurchase foreeeeever.
8. Weleda Almond Cleansing Lotion – I like using this to remove my makeup – it’s very gentle and reasonably effective. But if you use it to remove eye makeup it leaves a horrible oily film over your eyes. I used to love it, but I’ve definitely discovered better makeup removers recently (that, like this one, are also 100% natural).
9. Lush Big Shampoo – This is Lush’s salt shampoo, (you can’t see because I decanted it ages ago into a smaller pot) and is supposed to volumise the hair without stripping it of oils. I used it once on my scalp, and while I think the concept is solid, the salt is just too rough. My scalp felt raw and I was really concerned about the effect the jagged crystals would have on my hair. I used it on my feet and the backs of my arms instead – but even on them it felt a little too rough.
10. The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter – This is such a shit product, honestly. It leaves a layer of grease on your skin after rinsing, doesn’t remove makeup properly in the first place, and cannot remove eye makeup at all. It smells lovely, but it doesn’t even have a natural formula. I really don’t think there’s any excuse for cleansing balms or oils not to have natural formulas as the natural oils are the bits that do all the hard work, and this product 100% proves that theory. Someone on instagram suggested to me that I use the rest on my legs when I shave, and it did a very nice job as a shaving balm. But I would obviously only recommend that if you’re trying desperately to use up this tin of rubbish you spent £10 on – otherwise stick to shower gel and remember how to prevent ingrown hairs!
11. Serge Lutens Fleurs d’oranger – My one and only, beloved perfume. I can’t imagine ever wearing another scent. It fits me perfectly. I’ve been using it for a year now, and it makes me happy every single morning.
12. Jurlique Jasmine Shower Gel – This is one luxurious shower gel. Both price wise and quality wise. The jasmine fragrance is heady and intense, while the later is super thick and rich. It lasts for ages too, and I think it makes a great treat for yourself or someone else (unless paying £17 for 300ml of shower gel is just par for the course in your life in which case go forth and enjoy!).
13. Eve Lom Cleanser – This was described by Vogue as ‘probably the best cleanser in the world’ and to be honest, yep. It is amazing, however it is also prohibitively expensive, and sometimes the oils in it smell like fish. I think Trilogy’s Cleansing Balm is a much better option for these two reasons, though I do accept that this is a particularly gorgeous balm.
14. & Other Stories Fig Fiction Body Scrub – These sugar scrubs are so nice, and really cheap! They smell amazing, and are lovely to use. They’re only £5 and come in a wide variety of fragrances, making them a pretty solid choice.
15. L’Occitane Peony Shower Gel – This shower gel put me in a good mood whenever I used it. The foam was lovely and my skin felt soft, and the scent is uplifting, sweet and clean. I adore the smell of peony, and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for this next time I need a new shower gel.
16. Kerastase Oleo-Curl Cream – I liked the smell of this, and it did a reasonably good job of re-defining my curls between washes. But it wasn’t very nourishing, and it has a shimmer in it for some bizarre reason. Probably ok for people with less porous curls, but not something I enjoyed using, or saw any benefit from.
17. Pit-Rok Salt Deodorant – This is just about the best natural deodorant that exists. It keeps smell at bay, ALL DAY EVERY DAY. Can you believe that? It’s just salt. It works so well. You must try it. I use it every morning.
18. Weleda Sage Deodorant 100ml – I keep the 30ml in my bag at all times incase of any underarm smell throughout the day. It’s really good at eliminating body odour, but does absolutely nothing to prevent it. I’ll keep buying the 30ml, but I don’t need the bigger version as I only use it on the go.
19. REN Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk – I used this last winter, and kept a tiny bit back in case my skin ever reacted to any new cleansers. I loved it – my skin got very dry last winter and this helped to keep it smooth and soft, but still really clean! I would use it twice, the first time I’d apply and then wipe my makeup off with cotton pads, and the second time I’d wash it off to refresh my skin. I decided to finish it off this month, and it was just as wonderful as I remember.
20. Nuxe Prodigieux Scented Shower Oil – Honestly don’t know what the point of this shower gel is supposed to be. It has a gold shimmer in it – which doesn’t leave any effect on the skin but which they feel the need to mention on the packaging, and the scent is really artificial and boring. My skin did feel reasonably soft after using it, but if you want nourishment from your shower product, use Eucerin’s shower oil instead.
Phew! That was a long one. Congrats if you made it to the end. What did you think? Did I slate any of your faves, or warned you off something you were just about to buy??
Cia Eclectica 