Trimming My Stash - November And December 2022 Edition - Empties, Mini Reviews And A 2022 Round Up*

Hey everyone, I hope you are all having a good week - it's nearly the weekend! I don't know what it is at the moment but we seem to be lurching from one drama to the next! I've been knocked for six with a virus culminating in an out of hours doctors visit on Saturday afternoon; all 3 cats have been poorly and have ended up at the vets, my mam had a hospital appointment last Friday, and believe you me all of that is only the tip of the iceberg, so fingers crossed you've had a better few weeks than I have!

Anyways apart that I've been doing a lot of work behind the scenes on the blog, including working on some exciting new collaborations, and prepping a long awaited giveaway post. Before all of the excitement of that though, it's empties catch up time, and today we're travelling back nearly a whole year to November and December 2022, to take a look at all of the products that I used up way back then, and just what I though about them.

Jolen Face Wax Strips - 16 Wax Strips
Bath & Body Works White Barn Cactus Blossom Gentle Foaming Hand Soap - 259ml
Smooth Coffee Coffee Body Scrub - 200g
Eclat Acne Cream - 50g

Total - 4 Items 

Ah November, that transitional month from autumn into winter, the month of bonfire night, Christmas light switch ons, and Black Friday, and seemingly sub par trimming my stash performances. Like in October I only managed to finish 4 items, including a few things that you've seen before as well a couple of new bits.

1. Jolen Face Wax Strips - 16 Wax Strips

I guess it's no real surprise that these babies make another appearance in an empties post. Since I was first sent these facial wax strips to review in early 2022 they've become a permanent fixture in my beauty routine and I probably been using about 1/2 to a full packet every month.

You can read a full review of them here (including some lovely hairy themed pictures ;), I really can't recommend them enough. They're good quality, they remove even the shortest hairs, and they're really affordable. My hairs are finer and are less dense, and honest I couldn't be with them now.

I've been buying these for around a £1 in both Savers and B&M, but I recently picked up a few packets in B&M for just 89p each. I'm also lead to believe that they are available in some Poundland stores, even though I've personally seen them there. If you fancy buying them in bulk, or you want them delivered to your door and you don't mind paying a little bit more, you can also find them on Amazon, o them on eBay and on Ocado.

2. Bath & Body Works White Barn Cactus Blossom Gentle Foaming Hand Soap - 259ml

As much as I love a bargain something that I've really loved splurging on over the last year or so, are Bath & Body Works hand washes and hand soaps. They aren't cheap but thankfully I have managed to pick a few up bottles in various NEXT sales and this particular one was one of these bargains.

In my favourite 'gentle foaming' formulation, Cactus Blossom is one of their most popular permanent fragrances. The scent is officially described as 'the scent of a sweet tropical oasis with notes of cactus flower petal, sun-kissed coconut and sparkling lemon'. For me though, as someone who is rubbish at describing scents, it has a real heady tropical floral scent, with just a hint of fruity sweetness and freshness. I'm a huge fan of the Victorias Secret fragrance 'Tease' and this definitely has some similarities.

Couple an amazing scent with Bath & Body Works amazing shea butter, aloe vera, vitamin E, and essential oil formulation, and you have a luxurious, non drying foaming hand wash that's perfect for a powder room or an upstairs bathroom.

These hand soaps retail at around £10 each but a little goes a long way, and you're feeling savvy, then when you get to around half way down the bottle fill it up with water, give it a shake and continue using your now full bottle of hand wash. The product is really concentrated so adding some water honestly doesn't make that much of a difference bar it making the bottle last twice as long ;).

Officially only available from NEXT Beauty online, and in selected NEXT stores with Bath & Body Works concessions, there are loads of other Cactus Flower products to choose from including a fabulous candle which I would throughly recommend. You can also buy a whole range of different Cactus Flower products including some exclusives, rare and discontinued products on eBay.

3. Smooth Coffee Coffee Body Scrub - 200g

From something that can be a bit spendy, to something super affordable, and it's a product I first showed you way back in the  summer of 2021. Costing just £1 from Poundland, the predominantly salt based body scrub also contained arabica coffee seed powder and walnut shell powder, and it did the job perfectly; it was scrubby enough for me and it also won praise from Mummy Lou for not clogging up the shower drain, and not leaving everything gritty and brown! You can see some pics and read a full review here.

Unfortunately I haven't seen this in store for quite some time, and I can't find it anywhere on the new Poundland website! Yes, you heard me, you can now buy all of your favourite Poundland goodies and some very interesting special buys (including PIXI, Elemis and L'Occcitane!) online. Alas no chilled, frozen or PEP & Co products yet but I can imagine it being a real godsend for anyone who can't make it to a store. As I say I can't find this particular item on there but I would recommend their Sooo Cocoa Cocoa Butter Salt Scrub which is only £1.50 for 270g - I will be featuring it in a future empties post but it's pretty similar at least texture wise to this one.

4. Eclat Acne Cream - 50g

I've mentioned it in a few posts now, but if you don't already know last year I was diagnosed with a skin condition called Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS), which causes nasty almost boil like spots and scarring, in areas such as the under arms and inner thighs. 

I'm quite lucky that so far my case is relatively milk, but it doesn't look very nice, and the lesions can be quite painful. Treatment options are varied, but there doesn't seem to really be one definitive cure or answer. One of the options I was given was just to treat like acne and to use products like spot creams and products containing salicylic acid to try and keep it under control.

I did a little search online and I've bought a few products that other people recommended, and I've made a few other changes to me everyday routine, but this particular item was something that I just randomly came across. You know what it's like, it's late at night and you're just randomly scrolling through Amazon, just searching for random stuff, I think I was searching for spot or acne treatments and I came across this.

From 'nature powered' beauty brand Eclat Natural Skincare, this is as the name suggests an acne treatment cream. Designed to prevent and treat breakouts, and reduce oiliness, pores and blackheads, this cream contains salicylic acid, vitamin C, olive oil, safflower seed oil, and allantoin.

It has a dense but lightweight texture, and it absorbs into the skin really quickly. It has a very slight menthol type scent, and whilst it initially feels cool and slightly tingly on the skin, that feeling quickly subsides.

What I like about this product compared to some other acne and spot treatments, it that it doesn't seem to dry out the skin. Obviously underarms are quite a sensitive area and this cream definitely doesn't cause anymore irritation, the skin feels almost moisturised and in my case it does seem to calm down active ares, and prevent the spots from getting any worse.

The pot is pretty tiny but a small amount goes along way, especially if your just treating individual areas, with an RRP of £9.99 it's also pretty affordable , cruelty free and vegan. I bought my initial pot and the one I'm currently using from Amazon but it's actually out of stock on there and on the Eclat website, but I'm lead to believe it should be restocked shortly. In the meantime though you can also find it on eBay.

So they were my empties from November 2022, not an amazing total but they all count and hopefully you'll agree there were a couple of interesting items in the all be it very short list. I did say that this was a double header, so it's time now to move on to the last month of 2022 and to find out whether or I ended the year with a bang or more of a whimper?

NeilMed Neil Cleanse Piercing Aftercare Fine Mist Wound Wash - 177.6g
Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Cupcake Gentle Foaming Hand Soap - 259ml
Jolen Face Wax Strips - 16 Wax Strips
L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water - 200ml
If The Shoe Fits Little Miss Princess Twinkle Toes' Moisturising Foot Mask Socks - 2 x Foot Mask Socks

Total - 5 Items 

Okay, it wasn't the spectacular ending to the year that I would have liked, but I did go one better than in November and in December I managed to finish 5 items. Again there are a few both old and new staples on the list, and a few newer random things, all in all not a bad mix to end the year on.

1. NeilMed Neil Cleanse Piercing Aftercare Fine Mist Wound Wash - 177.6g

2022 was the year when I caught the piercing bug again. In September of last year, I added a daith piercing to my left ear, and then in December I added two new helix piercings to the same ear.

To be honest I can't really remember getting any real aftercare instructions with any of my previous 8 ear piercings, bar being sold bottles of aftercare solution, but nowadays the best advice for a new piercing is to keep it clean with sterile saline solution. I must admit at the time I got slightly addicted to piercing videos on Tik Tok, and this particular product kept being recommended by both professional piercers and piercing fans alike.

It's just sterile saline solution, and nothing else, no preservatives, alcohol, tea tree or anything. The can is pressurised so the mist is actually really fine, and the slightly longer nozzle means that you can get right into those awkward areas meaning you can just spray and go, so there is no excuse not to keep your piercings clean. 

I love the spray on this one, the size of the can, and just how long it lasts. Alas I had a couple of faulty cans in a row which meant I did try a few, all be it cheaper, products, but I keep coming back to this particular product, and it's one that I will continue to repurchase, especially when I get round to getting my daith hoop switched out, and fingers crossed my right conch pierced before the year is out!

This particular size retails at around £13.99 from Amazon but it's also available both in this size and in a smaller size at several different price points from eBay.

2. Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Cupcake Gentle Foaming Hand Soap - 259ml

I'm sensing a bit of deja vu in these next 2 products at least - that's what happens sometimes though, you finish the same or similar products over and over again, so next up it another gentle foaming hand soap from Bath & Body Works, this time in one of their fall and festive fragrances.

As much as Bath & Body Works have some really nice core fragrances, I really think that their seasonal scents are where it's at, even if it annoys me when my favourites don't reappear year after year.

So from fall 2022 comes Pumpkin Cupcake - again with aloe vera, vitamin E, and shea extract, this scent has notes of 'baked pumpkin, whipped vanilla frosting and golden honey.' If you like foodie based, spicy and sweet scents then this is / was the fragrance for you - it was sweet, warm and cakey - if you're a fan of The Body Shop's Vanilla Pumpkin then you'll love Pumpkin Cupcake. 

Whilst there are a few pumpkin based things from Bath & Body Works on the NEXT website, this particular scent doesn't appear to have returned in 2023, you can however get the Pumpkin Apple hand soap which I would 100% recommend. If you have a concession near you it might be worth having a look in store, if not these are loads of pumpkin themed Bath & Body Works products on eBay including a few Pumpkin Cupcake bit, and some US exclusives.

3. Jolen Face Wax Strips - 16 Wax Strips

I hope you appreciate the fact that I have gone to the trouble of taking and editing another photo of these for you LOL ;) You'll probably be pleased to know that I won't be waffling on and repeating myself again, singing the praises of this product - just scroll up to see what I think ;)

4. L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water - 200ml

Next up another items that you've already seen quite a lot of on this blog so again I'm not going to go into too much detail about it. I love this stuff, I've used numerous bottles of it now, I don't know how it works, but what I do know is that it makes my hair less frizzy and easier to control. I've tried a few similar products now but I keep coming back to this one. If you want to find out more about what this product does and a bit more on how it works then have a little search on the blog to find out more x 

5. If The Shoe Fits Little Miss Princess Twinkle Toes' Moisturising Foot Mask Socks - 2 x Foot Mask Socks

New Years Eve - a night of celebration and wild partying, or if you're more like me a night of pampering, cosy PJ's, nibbles, fizz and a good film! Since I'm very much a home bird on New Years Eve - I'm definitely on the fun, relaxation and self care train - it therefore makes sense that the very last product that I finished in 2022 was a pampering product and it was this foot mask.

I think I actually bought this set maybe a year earlier as a gift for someone but I completely forgot about it, and when I rediscovered it I decided to keep it for myself! If you're around my age then you'll probably remember a period of time when the Little Miss characters were everywhere! I know I ended up with a whole load of t-shirts, sweatshirts, and nightwear with the Little Miss Naughty character on from the likes of Debenhams, Miss Selfridge, and if you know you know, La Senza, in fact I think I still have a dressing gown somewhere, and it's safe to say I still have a bit of nostalgic love from the characters.

This cute set contained 3 Little Miss themed beauty and pamper products - a lip mask, an eye mask and this foot mask.

The packet contained a pair of alas not Little Miss designed, plain plastic socks. They were definitely shorter and smaller than some similar products that I've tried, and on my size 8 feet they ended up being a bit more like a trainer sock, so I was pretty pleased that they still fit!

The plastic socks had a thin fibre lining and contained a runny liquid containing vitamin E and rose extract, which had a slightly astringent fruity floral scent.

When I first put the socks on the liquid almost seemed to bubble up. The socks obviously felt cool and soggy but they did sting a little bit on the odd cat scratch!

As instructed I removed the socks after 20 minutes and there was quite a bit of froth on my skin. This was a rinse off mask, so I rinsed it off with warm water and dried them off with a towel. After drying then looked a bit wrinkled and a bit red, and whilst they felt more relaxed there was no real difference in the smoothness of my skin, and later that night I did notice that they got a bit itchy, but that could have been down to the bubbly and the cheese overload!!

I think that these were a fun gift or stocking filler but don't expect any skincare miracles. I bought this gift set in the local north east institution that is Boyes Stores, but it is available from anywhere in between £8.99 - £10.99 on eBay who also sell a whole load of other Little Miss themed beauty items.

There you have it then, my empties for the last two months for 2022, and another 9 items were added to my Trimming My Stash 2022 total, which you can see in all its glory below...

January - 3 Items
February - 7 Items
March - 7 Items
April - 8 Items
May - 7 Items
June - 4 Items
July - 6 Items
August - 7 Items
September - 5 Items
October - 4 Items
November - 4 Items
December - 5 Items

2022 Total - 67 Items

Well, if you look at it statistically at least, 2022 was a little bit of a disappointment when it comes to trimming my stash, never mind with anything else. In 2022 I managed to finish just 67 items, which was way down on both 2021's total of 94, and on 2020's total of 75, and I actually managed to equal 2019's total, making 2022 my joint worst performance since I started logging and blogging my beauty empties.

There is no doubt that I could have done better, but overall I'm still pretty pleased with my total. That's 67 less products cluttering up my office, my bathroom and my bedroom, and since I've been both buying less, and I've been starting to clear out some expired and unwanted products, I'm definitely starting to create some spaces here and there.

Obviously trimming my stash is a regular thing both for me personally and for the blog, so I'm doing it again this year. I've been updating the items in my side bar but I'll be updating it properly with the totals and so on over the weekend, and in the next week or so I'll be starting to play catch up with monthly total and mini review posts. Be warned they are probably going to be pretty epic posts covering around 3 months worth of products each, at least until I get back up to date anyways x 

Thanks again for your patience with all of the catch up stuff, I really appreciate it - If you're doing something similar then let me know how you're doing in the comment, and I will see you soon either with an autumnal nails of the day or my long awaited giveaway ;) x

*This Post Contains Automatic Affiliate, Added Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links

PR / UNPAID AD - Sleepy Showers And Scrubs With The Lush Co-Mingle Body Scrub*

Unlike a lot of bloggers with disabilities and chronic illness I don't actually talk about my health that much - my blog has always been a place to escape rather than dwell on my limitations but every now and then I throw the odd thing into the conversation and today I'm talking again about my issues with sleep! 

As you would probably expect from a condition named 'Chronic Fatigue Syndrome', some of the main symptoms are tiredness, and exhaustion. Even if I've had a real 'lazy' day, I can go to bed and sleep solidly for 12 hours plus, and still wake up feeling just as shattered as I did when I went to bed! It's both annoying and debilitating, but what a lot of people don't realise though is that ME, CFS, or whatever it called this week, can also cause chronic insomnia! If you've ever suffered from the inability to sleep, even if it was just a one off, then you'll know just how frustrating it can be. I regularly have nights when despite being almost delirious with exhaustion, I just don't sleep! If I'm having one of those nights, there isn't always a lot that I can do about it, but I can at least try and prevent it by adopting a good sleep routine.

I've talked quite a lot on the blog in the past about establishing a good sleep routine, so you should know the drill by now - establish a regular bedtime, have a comfortable bed and bedding, cut out the caffeine and have a warm drink, say goodbye to electronic devices, and have a warm but not too hot bath or shower.

I love having a shower just before bed, I don't know whether it's the warmth or the sound of the water, but it really helps me switch off and wind down. Sometimes I'll just grab the first shower product that I come across, but most of the time I'll trigger 'operation sleep' and use something lavender scented. At the moment I'm using the shower gel and the body lotion from the Lush Sleepy range, which has a beautiful relaxing lavender scent. When I'm having a late night, pre bed shower I normally just foam up, rinse, dry and then moisturise - no treatments, extra products or anything that takes too much time or effort, recently though I was sent a product from Lush that works perfectly with the Sleepy range, and amps up your nighttime routine, without too much extra effort, and yes it's one of my favourite ever things, a body scrub!

As much as I love my body exfoliators when you're feeling tired, adding in that extra step is often a bit of a chore, that you could probably do without, but if you love the idea of a body exfoliator without the effort then Lush Co-Mingle could be the answer to your prayers!

Designed to be quick and easy to use, Co-Mingle is the perfect product for that late night shower. It's basically a 3 in 1 product - a gentle body scrub, and a body wash with built in moisturisers, so you can just scrub, wash and go!

Crammed full of shea butter, cupuaco butter, cocoa butter and argan oil, as well as natural exfoliators bamboo stem extract and tagua nut powder, this scrub is pale pink in colour, and has a creamy, almost whipped mousse like texture, permeated with very fine but noticeable exfoliating particles.

Just apply it as you would any other body scrub to damp skin, and massage it on to the skin. In seconds it goes from a creamy exfoliator, to a creamy, milky foam, cleansing and gently exfoliating your skin. Even though the particles are quite small they still rinse away fairly easily and the skin is left feeling clean, smooth and smelling heavenly.

Oh yes, the smell! As you've probably already guessed this scrub has the same beautiful lavender scent as the Sleepy range. This isn't your old fashioned powdery lavender it's has a gorgeous, relaxing aromatherapy like lavender scent that makes this product perfect for those nighttime baths and showers. 

It obviously works perfectly as an accompanying product to the similarly scented Sleepy Shower Gel, or Showder, or even the Sleepy Bubble Bar, or the Deep Sleep Bath Bomb, but if you're extra sleepy then you could just use this use this over your whole body, I'd probably avoid "ahem' certain areas but the particles are fine enough, that it shouldn't cause too many issues elsewhere. So all you really need to do is take this one tub into the shower, and then because of the moisturising ingredients, you can either dry yourself off and pop your PJs straight on, or you can do what I do and team it up either with the Sleepy Body Lotion, or Lush's fabulous Dream Cream, and then you'll be in the land of nod before you know it!

You should know by now that I do love a full on scratchy scrub, and whilst this one is never going to win any awards for its scrubbiness, it should win an award for its convenience, and for it's fabulous scent. When used alone or with some other similarly scented products, it really helps you get in to that bedtime mind set whilst at the same time giving your skin a much needed treat.

Lush Co-Mingle Body Scrub comes in a 225g tub and retails at £20. It's available direct from Lush and from your local Lush store x 

I'd love to know if you have a specific nighttime routine and what products you use to help you get a good nights sleep, so please let me know in the comments and don't forget to let me know if you have any questions x 

*Press Sample / Unpaid Advertisement / Non Affiliate Link

Trimming My Stash - March And April 2022 Edition - Empties, Mini Reviews And A Little Personal Update* **

I can hardly believe that it's been nearly two months since I last posted anything on here, and I have to say that even for me that's a pretty long disappearing act, and for that I'm truly sorry!

So, what have I been up to? Well quite a bit, and at the same time not a lot! As well as celebrating my birthday by spending a little bit of quality time with my friends and family, I've also been lost in the hell that is PIP renewal, and yet more unpleasant health stuff! The gist of it is that I have another couple of diagnoses to add to my already long list of medical concerns; Thankfully nothing immediately life threatening, but there is one that I'm actually going to talk about in more detail later in this post, that can be pretty painful, and unpleasant, and the other one is something that my GP is going to have to keep a close eye on. As the old saying goes, it never rains but it pours, but as they also say knowledge is power, and thanks to knowing just exactly what's wrong now, I'm definitely in a much better place at least in my mind than I was say a month ago.

So here I am again, back with a renewed since of purpose and a slightly less messy brain, ready to talk about some fun, escapist stuff. Today I've got an empties post for you, and in the spirit of playing catch up again, I'm doubling up and today you've got a two for one, with both my March and April Trimming My Stash posts all condensed into one beauty filled bundle just for you.

Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Apple Gentle Foaming Hand Soap - 259ml
Vitamasques Pearl Sheet Mask - 1 x Face Mask
Philip Kingsley Elasticizer - Geranium & Neroli - 75ml
L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water - 200ml
AVON Advance Techniques Anti Hair Fall Conditioner - 250ml
Moksha Beauty Advanced Salicylic Acid & Sulphur Scrub Soap Bar - 100g
Woo Woo Refreshing Wipes - 12 x Wipes

Total - 7 Items 

After a pretty poor start to the year, like in February in March I managed to finish another 7 beauty products. It was quite a hair product focused list this time around, with a couple of other little bits including something which is now one of my bathroom staples, and a product that literally made my mouth water!

1. Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Apple Gentle Foaming Hand Soap - 259ml

Although I still wish that we had stand alone Bath & Body Works stores here in the UK, I'm really enjoying having slightly easier access to at least some of their products in their range via both NEXT online, and my local NEXT Beauty store in the Metrocentre, although I'm not sure my bank manager would agree!

I've bought a couple of things in the last few months from them but my huge Bath & Body Works hauls happened primarily during the latter part of 2021, and I went mad for all of their fall and festive scents!

This particular fragrance, was I believe one of their fall scents, and I literally had to do everything in my power to stop myself from having a taste, it literally smelled so good! As you would probably expect Pumpkin Apple had a gorgeous sweet fruity scent, with just a hint of tartness and warming apple pie spices - mouthwatering!

To the best of my knowledge Bath & Body Works do two different types of hand wash / hand soap, and this is the Gentle Foaming version, so instead of dispensing a gel or liquid soap, this pump action bottle dispense a blob of creamy feeling, dense, whipped foam.

Unlike some hand washes on the market this one was all about luxury and it was surprisingly moisturising. A little went a long way, and it was easy to rinse away leaving the hands clean, soft, smooth and smelling amazing, Not the cheapest hand wash out there but in this case I think you get what you pay for and this one for me was well worth the money.

I don't know if this particular scent was available in anything other than hand care products (I talked about the matching hand cream in my February 2022 empties post x) but I'm really hoping that Bath & Body Works bring back this scent for autumn / winter 2022.

2. Vitamasques Pearl Sheet Mask - 1 x Face Mask

Next up a skincare product that I received in the September 2021 edition of Glossybox UK. Since last year (and maybe even this year - eek!) was a bit of a fail when it came to Glossybox unboxings I'm trying to dig out and use as many of the products as I can and review them for you, and since this one was a nice, quick and easy one to use and review, way back in March I thought I'd give it a try.

From Korean style mask specialist Vitamasques, come their Pearl Sheet Mask. Containing real pearl powder, chamomile, peony, and centella asiatica extract, this is an anti-inflammatory mask that is designed to brighten dull and tired skin, and to protect against redness .

The shell shaped packet contained a good quality, thick, white fibre sheet mask. The mask itself was very wet and despite how wet it was the quality meant that it was pretty easy to unfold. Over the years I've used a lot of sheet masks and let's be honest sometimes they don't always fit that well, sometimes the eye holes, etc. are just too big or small, or they're in the wrong place, but I have to say that for me the fit of this one was pretty much spot on, and I think I have quite a large head, so read into that one what you will ;)

Before 

Like most sheet masks, this one initially felt quite cool on application, but it slowly warmed up to body temperature. As I say it was quite wet in the packet, soaked with a water like, liquid serum, but thankfully my skin seemed to absorb quite a lot of the liquid, so there were very few drips.

On Application

As per the instructions I left it on for about 20 minutes before removing it. Despite how much liquid my skin seemed to absorb there was still quite a bit of fluid left on my skin so it took quite a while to massage it in and for my skin to take it all in so my face remained quite sticky and damp for a good 10 to 15 minutes.

Immediately After Removal

After about 10 - 15 minutes my skin felt a touch smoother, and it also looked and felt more hydrated, less red, and it also seemed to have a slight sheen / glow to it. As time progressed my skin did feel a little bit oilier than usual but I love how it felt on my skin and how my skin looked afterwards. Throw in the biggest selling point for me which was the beautiful almost jasmine like white flower scent, and I would definitely consider buying this cruelty free mask again.

About 10 Minutes After Removal 

The Vitamasques Pearl Sheet Mask retails at around £4.99 and is available direct from Vitamasques. 

3. Philip Kingsley Elasticizer - Geranium & Neroli - 75ml

 
From something new to something that you've seen me talk about in several posts, Philip Kingsley's famous Elasticizer, and if you either haven't read my previous posts or you haven't heard of this stuff, where have you been?

Originally developed for the goddess that was Audrey Hepburn, Elasticizer to put it simply is an intensive hair conditioner that strengthens and revitalises the hair in just one use.

Apply a generous amount to damp hair, and leave it for at least 20 minutes but you can leave it on for pretty much as long as you want. My mam often leaves it on overnight, and at this time of year you can even pop it on before a beach trip for all day treatment and protection. Then all you do is just shampoo and condition your hair as normal and then voila! instantly softer, stronger better hair! Have a little search on the blog for Philip Kingsley Elasticizer and you'll find loads of posts where I sing its praises, it really is that good, and it's something that I will continue to buy and use.

This particular tube was a limited edition, and had a gorgeous aromatherapy like geranium scent, so it will probably be pretty difficult to find this particular one, but there are loads of other scents and sizes out there both on the high street and online from various retailers including direct from Philip Kingsley, Marks and Spencers, Feel Unique, Boots, Look Fantastic, John Lewis, and QVC UK.

4. L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water - 200ml

Next up, the second of 3 hair care products in March's countdown and again it's something that you've seen before, and it's something else that you will no doubt get tired of seeing again and again in future posts.

I'm still at a bit of a loss as to how exactly this water like substance works but I know that it does something that my hair appreciates. You can read my thoughts on this one in a bit more detail here, but again it's something that I'll continue to buy and use, in fact I've just finished another bottle. I will definitely continue to buy this one, but I've actually just bought the new Colour Protect version to try, so I've you've already tried it I'd love to hear your thoughts.

5. AVON Advance Techniques Anti Hair Fall Conditioner - 250ml

Well I always knew that this day would come, and in mid March it finally arrived, and I finished my last product from the AVON Anti Hair Fall range!

Admittedly I still have a finishing product left, but still sad times - I've really enjoyed using both the shampoo and conditioner from this range, and whilst I do love the product that AVON replaced it with, I'll never forget that fruity, minty scent.

6. Moksha Beauty Advanced Salicylic Acid & Sulphur Scrub Soap Bar - 100g

Suffering from as many ailments as I do, you reach a point where you actually dread going to see a doctor or nurse about a new symptom or problem for fear of what it may lead to, so you put it to the back of your mind, and try to deal with it the best you can, until it either gets too much or like me in this case you have a few spare minutes at the end of an appointment.

For a few years now I've been getting the very painful spot like lumps mainly on my underarms and on the tops of my legs and thighs. They don't always behave like normal spots in that they don't always burst or come to a head, but they can be really uncomfortable, and embarrassing and they leave behind horrid dark, pigmented type scars when they eventually disappear.

I vaguely remember asking a doctor about them, only to be told it was either down to shaving or ingrown hairs, recently though I mentioned it to my new doctor, and at last I have a proper diagnosis - Hidradenitis Suppurativa. I've linked to the Wikipedia page so you can read a bit more about but it's basically caused by blocked sweat glands / hair follicles.

Alas there is no real cure for it, but there are things that you can do to reduce the lesions and lessen the discomfort. At the moment I have quite a mild case so my GP recommend that I use an acne type wash on the affected areas, and after a little bit of online research a few people talked about salicylic acid soaps.

From a UK based company Moksha Beauty, this cruelty free, vegetable based bar contains sulphur, salicylic acid, vitamin E and exfoliating poppy seeds. It's antibacterial and is designed for use both on the face and body.

It has a herbal like scent mixed up with the scent of freshly struck matches - not amazing but I do think it's helping. It leaves the skin quite taut when you first rinse it off but touch wood I haven't had quite as many spots since I started using it, and the lumps that I have had don't seem to have gotten quite so large or uncomfortable.

As I say nothing can cure it but if I can keep on top of it, without going the antibiotic, steroid or surgery route, that will do me just fine. If anyone has the condition and has any other tips or product recommendations though I'd love to hear them, especially if you've found anything that helps with the pigmentation and scarring!

The Moksha Beauty Advanced Salicylic Acid & Sulphur Scrub Soap Bar 100g retails at around £8.99 on Amazon UK and around £7.97 direct from Moksha Beauty.

7. Woo Woo Refreshing Wipes - 12 x Wipes

The final item that I finished in March, was another one that you've seen before, the Woo Woo Refreshing Wipes. You can read my thoughts on these here and here. I do like these for that yucky time of the month, but they aren't something that I use everyday. They retail at around £2.25 a pack from Superdrug if you fancy trying them for yourself. I actually haven't been to Superdrug for anything in what seems like an age (or a proper shopping centre come to think of it), so I'm actually trying another brand of intimate wipes at the moment, and of course I'll let you know my thoughts on those ones in a future empties post x 

So they were the 7 items that I finished in March, but I said this was a double header, so just how did I do in April...

Jolen Face Wax Strips - 16 Wax Strips
The Body Shop Juicy Pear Shower Gel - 250ml
The Body Shop Juicy Pear Softening Body Butter - 50ml
Berry Nice Body Scrub - 150ml
Bath & Body Works Winter Candy Apple Shea Butter Hand Cream - 29ml
Derma V10 Gonk Printed Foot Pack - 1 x Treatment
Derma V10 Gonk Printed Sheet Mask - 1 x Treatment
The Body Shop Vanilla Brulee Shower Gel - 250ml

Total - 8 Items 

Well in April, I managed to go one better and I managed to finish 8 beauty products, making April my best month of 2022 so far. Again I managed to use up a good assortment of products including some fun things, and a couple of gold standard items.

1. Jolen Face Wax Strips - 16 Wax Strips *

First up on April's list is new ish product to me that's quickly achieved holy grail status in LouLouLand, and it's the second pack of Jolen Face Wax Strips that I was sent a little while ago to review. You can read my full review here, and whilst this was the last packet that I was sent, you will definitely see these again in a future post, because I loved them so much that I went out and bought another 4 boxes! That's commit and dedication for you ;)!

2. The Body Shop Juicy Pear Shower Gel - 250ml

3. The Body Shop Juicy Pear Softening Body Butter - 50ml

Next up a double header, with 2 products from one of my favourite festive ranges from The Body Shop in recent years, Juicy Pear. 

These two products really were the perfect combo, a non drying, gently foaming shower gel, and a lovely creamy, nourishing body butter with an amazing sweet yet tart sugary pear scent - In my opinion this scent wasn't just for Christmas, it was a scent that worked equally well in the summer months. I think I might have a couple of Juicy Pear bits left here and there but I'm not too worried about using them up, because I have a whole load of products from the Christmas 2021 Kindness & Pears range which smells exactly the same and it might be a little bit easier for you to track down either in  The Body Shop outlet stores, or on the secondary market.

4. Berry Nice Body Scrub - 150ml

If you're a regular reader of this blog then you'll know that there are 2 things that I particularly love - body scrubs and bargains, and this next product combines both of those things.

I can't remember exactly how much this particular scrub was but I know it was reduced and I know that I picked it up in Poundland.

Officially described as a blueberry body scrub, this densely packed scrub had a sort of blue raspberry scent. If you've ever had a blue slush puppy then that's exactly what this smelled like, slightly synthetically sweet, with a touch of pleasant sourness to it. I really wish I'd taken a picture of the scrub itself for you because the colour was something else, it was a deep, cool almost turquoise blue colour.

I'm not sure if it was a salt or sugar based or even a combination of the two but it had a nice scrubby feel to it, with the added bonus, that it temporarily made you look like a smurf! Thankfully the scrub and the blue colour rinsed away pretty easily leaving no residue behind just soft and smooth skin. For the price whatever it was, I actually really liked this scrub, I loved the slightly retro scent, it was fun to use, and it did everything that you'd want it to.

Given the high turnover of products in Poundland, I would suspect that this particular product will now be quite difficult to find, but if I did see it again, I'd definitely pick up another pot or two.

5. Bath & Body Works Winter Candy Apple Shea Butter Hand Cream - 29ml

Next up a slightly more expensive product and it's another item from one of Bath & Body Works fall and festive ranges. I've been buying (all be it with difficulty!) products from Bath & Body Works Winter Candy Apple range for well over 15 years now, and there is a reason why this scent keeps coming back year after year.

This scent for me is something special - a spicy, sweet fruity combination of red apples, winter rose, candied orange, cinnamon and maple - it's perfect for the festive season and beyond.

Team that beautiful scent with Bath & Body Works signature shea butter filled hand cream formula, that sinks in really quickly for such a rich product, and leaves the hands super soft and protected, and for me it's a winner.

Seeing as this is a seasonal scent it's probably only available on the secondary market at the moment, but fingers crossed it comes back into stores for the 2022 holiday season.

6. Derma V10 Gonk Printed Foot Pack - 1 x Treatment

Something else that I missed on the blog this year is Easter. I ate way too much chocolate, I made my Creme Egg Cheesecake, and I tried out a couple of Easter themed pampering treats. Both come from Derma V10 and both were bargain £1 from Poundland. First up feet and I tried this pair of Easter themed gonk moisturising socks.

Containing passion flower, sugar cane, pineapple, red grape, lemon and olive oil extracts, these were basically fibre lined plastic bootees, that were filled with a slightly sweet smelling, milky water like serum.

Really simple to use, all you do is pop them onto your feet and chill for around 20 minutes or so, before removing them and massaging the copious amounts of leftover serum into your feet.

Like the Christmas themed socks that I tried way back in December I was pretty impressed with these socks for the price. My feet looked noticeably less dry and they felt really soft and smooth. It's a shame these ones were a limited edition but there are some similar foot packs in the permanent or at least more widely available Derma V10 range so I might give one of those a try in the future.

7. Derma V10 Gonk Printed Sheet Mask - 1 x Treatment

Just like at Christmas Derma V10, and Poundland also did a matching Easter themed sheet mask. Featuring an orange and pink Easter bunny gonk design, this mask contained hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, and prickly pear extract, as well as liquorice root, rosemary and aloe vera, this 20 minute mask was designed to moisturise the skin and to leave it smooth and hydrated.

Immediately on opening the packet you could smell a sweet, but subtle watermelon scent. The mask itself was damp but it wasn't the wettest mask that I've ever used but it was of a decent quality so it was pretty easy to unfold.

Like most sheet masks it initially felt quite cool on the skin but it quickly warmed up to body temperature. The instructions said to leave it on for 20 minutes but I only ended up leaving it on for about 15 minutes, as it started to feel quite dry to the touch.

There was a little bit of excess serum left on my skin, which as per the instructions I massaged into my face. My skin felt a touch tacky at first but after a few minutes my skin felt dewy and hydrated, and it looked fresher and as though I'd just applied some moisturiser. It seemed to be just what my skin needed after copious amounts of chocolate! Alas like the foot mask this one was also a limited edition but as I say I'll definitely be taking a closer look at some of the other products in the Derma V10 range.

8. The Body Shop Vanilla Brulee Shower Gel - 250ml

Finally another product from The Body Shop, and I've got to say that I'm a little bit embarrassed to show you this one, because this product has to be be from at least 7 years ago!

Originally released as part of their Christmas 2014 offerings The Body Shop Vanilla Brulee collection was another one of my all time favourite festive ranges. With fair trade vanilla extract and honey, this gorgeous custard like, creamy, foaming shower gel, had a lovely warm, spicy, almost caramel like sugary vanilla scent, that stayed the same right up to the very last drop in the bottle.

This range is obviously long gone now but I'd love to see a similar scent again this year, fingers crossed.

So all in all 2 pretty good months, and a good mixture of products to boot. Obviously May's already been and gone now (My May empties post will be up soon!) so fingers crossed I can finish June on a high. As per usual if you have any questions or comments please let me know, and thank you again for your patience and your continued support. In my absence I hit 1.8 million all time page views which is totally insane. Thank you so much, you don't know how much it means to me knowing that people still take time out of their day to visit my little spot on the internet, it's still crazy to me and I'm forever grateful xx

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