Trimming My Stash - January 2015 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

It's hard to believe that we're already one month into 2015. It honestly doesn't seem two minutes since it was Christmas but here we are at the beginning of February, and hopefully one step closer to spring.

As much as I love the freshness of the air at the moment all I really to do at the moment is eat, sleep, have bubble baths and hibernate, and that's something that I think is reflected in my first Trimming My Stash post of 2015.

Tesco Pro Formula Radiance Toner - 200ml
Avon Spiced Cranberry And Orange Bubble Bath - 1000ml
The Body Shop Rich Plum Shimmering Bath Bubbles - 400ml
Elemis Melting Cleansing Gel - 125ml
Total - 4 Items

Okay 4 items isn't a particularly impressive start but it does pretty much represent my January. First up skincare - a new broom sweeps clean as they say and at the moment I'm trying to use up some those half finished bits before I start testing some new and exciting things, I only managed two skincare items in January but I'm sure I'll manage a few more in February. The only other items that I managed to finish were bubble baths. I love, love, love my bath but the cogs are turning and the re-development of our bathroom edges ever closer, and thankfully my bath product mountain is starting to look more like a large hill - fingers crosses I'll manage another bottle or so this month.So what did I think of the products that I finished...

1. Tesco Pro Formula Radiance Toner - 200ml 

Nice toner, good price - you can read a full review here x

2. Avon Spiced Cranberry And Orange Bubble Bath - 1000ml

I've been using this bottle on and off since Christmas 2013! These litre sizes from Avon seem to go on forever and this one was no exception. This had a slightly zesty, slightly citrus aroma and produced lots and lots of bubbles. This product is no longer available but it did appear in November and December of this year in a smaller Snowman shaped bottle. If you want a lot of bubbles at a decent price I can't recommend these bubble baths highly enough. I have a few different fragrances to finish and if I wasn't losing my bath I'd definitely be trying out the new Pomegranate And Peony variety.

3. The Body Shop Rich Plum Shimmering Bath Bubbles - 400ml

This is one of my favourite ever festive fragrances from The Body Shop. Not only did I buy numerous back ups at the time, but I also scoured ebay, and outlet stores to stock up on one of my favourite scents. I have a couple of shower gels left, one more bubble bath and a body butter and then it's gone :( It was warm and fruity and mouthwatering - please The Body Shop bring it back.

4. Elemis Melting Cleansing Gel - 125ml

My final empty for January is another discontinued product - Elemis Melting Cleansing Gel, I actually really liked this orange scented cleanser and I'm pretty sad that it's been discontinued. You can read a full review of it here x

I'm really hoping that I can do a bit better in February. My aim is to finish some more skincare, some more bath products and maybe a bit of make up. Are you doing something similar in 2015? Let me know if you are x

Skincare On A Budget With The Tesco Pro Formula Hot Cloth Cleanser* And Radiance Toner

I'm not a snob when it comes to skincare, rather than choose products by their price tag I use what works for me. My current skin care routine involves products priced between £1 and £60 and I'm a firm believer that great products can be found at all price points.

I know some people wouldn't dream of buying skincare in the supermarket but things are changing. More and more supermarket lines are formulated with the same care and scientific knowledge as their high priced cousins. Yes the packaging may be a bit more basic and not quite as glamorous but it's the product inside that matters. 

Last years saw the launch of Tesco's Pro Formula range, a selection of skincare, men's grooming products and haircare designed to achieve real results on a budget.

The skin care range features a wide range of products, catering to all different skin types for dry and sensitive, to oily and combination. The range which appealed to be most was the Pro Formula Radiance line which is specially designed for normal to combination skin, with a focus on anti-ageing. All the products in this particular are full of green tea extract and Vitamin E to tackle the first signs of ageing. A few months ago now I was kindly sent one of the stars of the range to try, the Pro Formula Radiance Hot Cloth Cleanser.

Containing green tea and vitamin E, the cleanser comes boxed, and in a pretty, utilitarian style green, silver and white, squeezy tube.

Inside the box you also get a small, but useful, soft, muslin cloth.

Like a lot of the other hot cloth style cleansers on the market, this one is white in colour, and has a rich creamy texture, and fresh scent.

For those of you that aren't familiar with this type of cleanser, all you do is massage it over your dry face, and remove it with a warm, damp muslin cloth or even a flannel, You can also use it on the eyes to remove eye make up.

Here's a scary picture of me removing the make up look that you saw yesterday. A little bit early for Halloween but it's going to get  a lot worse before this post is out lol.

This cleanser has absolutely no problem at all with removing both light and heavy make up. The combination of the warm, damp muslin and this hot cloth cleanser means that your make up just seem to melt, making everything from long wear foundation to waterproof mascara just disappear in a flash.

Not pleasant the cloth is it? but it just shows after numerous rinses just how much make up it had to deal with. I do sometimes do a double cleanse when I'm removing my make up but with this I didn't need to.

Apologies for the slightly scary, barefaced after pictures, but these pictures show my face immediately after I've removed the cleanser. The skin looks clean and clear, but it isn't overtly pink or inflamed looking. Obviously we don't have feel a vision so you can't feel my skin but it feels super smooth and moisturised, probably down to the hydrating ingredients and the exfoliating properties of the cloth and the cleanser.

You can see in the second picture that my eyes also look fine. I'm not a huge fan of using cream, or balm cleansers on my eyes but used gently this product dissolved yesterdays long wear eye look with very few problems, leaving my eyes feeling clean and not at all sore, runny or irritated.

It's sometimes seen as quite an old fashioned thing to include a toner in your skincare routine and with this cleanser it's probably not essential but I love how clean and fresh they leave my skin. I was after a new toner so having tried the cleanser I decided to try the corresponding toner, the Pro Formula Radiance Toner For Normal / Combination Skin.

Like the hot cloth cleanser it contains a combination of green tea and vitamin E, to leave the skin soothed and refreshed.

Packaged in fairly plain bottle in the same colours as the cleanser, it has a flip top cap, and is clear in colour and has the same fresh, clean, cucumber / green tea scent

It feels cooling and refreshing on the skin but it seem to take a little while to absorb. The skin is left feeling clean and revitalised. There is a bit of alcohol in this toner so if you have a drier skin this probably isn't for you but personally my skin was left feeling very comfortable, with no excess dryness, redness or irration.

I have to say that these two items have really surprised me. The hot cloth cleanser easily compares to some I've tried from higher end brands, and the toner is really good value, and feels pleasant on the skin. The prices for the Pro Formula Radiance are superb with everything priced between £1 and £5, and the range includes several different cleansers, wipes, moisturisers and even BB creams, so it's definitely worth a look in your local branch of Tesco if your on a budget. The Pro Formula Radiance Hot Cloth Cleanser retails at £5 for 150ml and the Pro Formula Radiance Toner retails at just £2.00 for 200ml, so you really are getting value for money. Are you a fan of supermarket beauty products? I'd love to hear you thoughts x

(*PR Sample)