Trimming My Stash - April 2020 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews*

Before I start on another round of Glossybox unboxings and reviews, I thought I'd get my empties update, so today I'm sharing my April beauty empties with you.

Beauty Pro CBD Oil Infused Mask - 1 x 22ml Sheet Mask

Starskin Dreamkiss Plumping & Hydrating Bio-Cellulose Lip Mask - 1 x 5g Mask

Elemis Skin Nourishing Hand And Nail Lotion - 100ml

OPI Avoplex Nail And Cuticle Replenishing Oil - 15ml

Cussons Carex Fun Edition Caring Hand Wash Antibacterial - Love Hearts - 250ml
The Body Shop Juicy Pear Exfoliating Sugar Body Scrub - 50ml
Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml
Femfresh Daily Intimate Wash - 250ml**

Total - 8 Items

After a pretty indifferent start to 2020 Trimming My Stash wise, April was a much better month all round, and I managed to finish 8 items. I didn't manage to finish anything overly exciting, but it was a nice mix of essentials, and basics, with a few a few pampering products thrown in for good measure.

1. Beauty Pro CBD Oil Infused Mask - 1 x 22ml Sheet Mask

The first item that I finished was a sheet mask from mask specialist Beauty Pro, that I received in the January 2020 edition of Glossybox UK. You can read a full review of this mask in my original unboxing post that you can find here. This mask is one of Beauty Pro's newest editions, and it's completely plant based. I really loved this one it had a lovely, slightly herbal, lavender scent, and I loved how fresh and clean it made my skin feel. 

It's one of the nicest products that I've tried from Beauty Pro and it's something that I would definitely consider using again. The price varies between £4.95 - £5.95 and it's available from various retailers including directly from Beauty Pro, and Look Fantastic.

2. Starskin Dreamkiss Plumping & Hydrating Bio-Cellulose Lip Mask - 1 x 5g Mask

Next up another pampering product, and another item from Glossybox. This is another mask but this time it's a lip mask from another mask specialist, Starskin. This cruelty free lip mask is designed to be hydrating, and to help increase the volume of the lips. You can read a full review in my February 2020 Glossybox unboxing post that you can read here.  

Despite not seeing a great deal of difference volume wise, I love the hydrating effect and it was a really nice treat for the lips, and something that I would definitely consider repurchasing. These Starskin lip masks come in a pack of 2, and retail at around £8.50 from various retailers including Look Fantastic and Feel Unique.

3. Elemis Skin Nourishing Hand And Nail Lotion - 100ml

I don't know about you, but my hands are pretty dry at the moment. All of the constant washing, using anti- bad gels, and a lack of fresh air all means that I'm trying to give my hands an extra bit of TLC.

I think that this product was part of a gift set, that my mam originally bought from QVC UK, which included some Skin Nourishing body products and some hand care items including the hand wash that I featured in my December 2019 Trimming My Stash post, that you can read here :)

From the popular Skin Nourishing range this lovely hand cream was really moisturising and hydrating but without being too heavy or sticky. Containing camellia, cotton seed, and starflower, it had a lovely soft floral, almost baby powder type scent, that worked perfectly at bed time teamed up with a pair of cotton gloves for an extra boost.

Like the hand wash, I think that this hand cream was either a limited edition or it was exclusive to the set that it originally came in, because I can't find anywhere online. You can still get a few products from the Skin Nourishing range, including the famous milk bath, the shower cream, and a body cream, which is basically a thicker, and more luxurious version of the hand cream, from various retailers including John Lewis, Debenhams and QVC UK.

4. OPI Avoplex Nail And Cuticle Replenishing Oil - 15ml

Next up another product that was designed to combat dry hands and nails, OPI's classic Avoplex cuticle oil. Containing avocado, grapeseed, sunflower, sesame, and kukui nut oils, this is one of the best products that I've ever used on my hands and nails. Lately though I've abandoned it in favour of some cheaper options, but I recently rediscovered this half used bottle, and I decided to use it up.

Despite its almost cult status, OPI have actually discontinued the original Avoplex formulation, and replaced it with the new Pro Spa Nail And Cuticle Oil.  The bottle looks the same, and apparently it smells the same, but the ingredients do seem to be slightly different.

I definitely think that I'll try the new version at some point but the £18.20 price tag does put me off a little bit, especially when I am seeing decent results from cheaper products. If you've tried it then I'd love to hear your thoughts on it before I open my purse? Let me know in the comments your thoughts good and bad x 

5. Cussons Carex Fun Edition Caring Hand Wash Antibacterial - Love Hearts - 250ml

There seems to be a bit of a glut of hand and nail care products in this post and here's another one, and this time it's a hand wash. 

Whilst we always use a hand wash in the kitchen, my mam has a pretty strong relationship with the humble bar of soap, so that's we tend to use in the bathroom, only switching it up for a liquid soap at Christmas or when we have visitors. Like a lot of people though for hygiene reasons at the moment we've started using hand wash in the bathroom as well, and since I was the one that actually bought this product I thought that it deserved a mention in my April empties post.

Part of Carex's 'Fun' range, this is part of Carex's collaboration with tuck shop sweet giant Swizzels, which has seen a wide range of sweetie themed hand washes, shower gels, and hand sanitisers. I picked up this hand wash after trying the Love Hearts themed hand gel in the September 2019 edition of Glossybox UK (You can read my review here).

As well as all of the obvious hygiene reasons, I love the smell of this hand wash, it smells similar to the hand sanitiser, but the lack of alcohol gives it a sweeter, less harsh, fruity scent. It has a gentle foam, and it cleanses the hands without leaving them feeling dry or stripped. I would definitely consider repurchasing this particular fragrance in the future but at the moment when it comes to hand wash at the moment, it's a case of what you can get, and you really can't be too choosy. If you do fancy tracking this down though the price does seem to vary depending on where you buy it, Poundland and Asda sell it for a £1 compared to Superdrug who currently charge around £1.89 for it - hmm.

6. The Body Shop Juicy Pear Exfoliating Sugar Body Scrub - 50ml

I talked about this product in my last empties post (you can read it here). This is a mini pot that I got in Christmas gift set from The Body Shop. As I said in my previous post this is a lovely sugar based body exfoliator with a lovely sweet, yet tart fruity pear scent. I still have a full sized pot of this left and a few other bits in the same scent so I can enjoy this, in my opinion, all year round scent for a little bit longer.

7. Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml

Next up, my current favourite eye make up remover (find out why here). It took me a long time to find something that worked, and that didn't irritate my eyes. Throw in the fact that this product is pretty affordable too, at around £3.79 or less a bottle, and it's a winner in my eyes ;)

I've actually run out of this now so I'm going to try and use up a few of the other products in my stash but I will definitely be repurchasing this in the future.

8. Femfresh Daily Intimate Wash - 250ml**

As as Brit I'm pretty accustomed to whinging about the weather, so I hope you'll excuse me for you've guessed it whinging about the weather. Whilst it'd definitely cooler than yesterday, I'm sitting writing this post with the windows wide open, and I'm still sweating like a banshee, in fact as soon as I publish this post I'm going to go for a nice refreshing, tepid shower to freshen up my bits. My shower is full of all different types of shower products that I'll happily use and slosh all over my body, but you do have to be a bit careful with some of them.

I try and keep products that are really, really scented, or that contain shimmer, glitter or sparkles away from my intimate bits, and instead I'll use a specialist product. I'm not a huge fan of the advertising strategy for a lot of products like this because they always seem to want to convince women that they smell unclean or abnormal, which is quite frankly ridiculous, but as long as you don't over use them I think that certain feminine hygiene items, can play a part in your regular beauty and hygiene routine.

Quite a while ago now I was sent a whole load of Femfresh products to try and I've gradually been working my way through them. This Daily Intimate wash is hypoallergenic,  and dermatologically and gynaecologically tested. Containing moisturising aloe vera extract, it's gentle enough use every day, and it's designed to help maintain a healthy pH balance. The product itself is a colourless gel, which produces a very gentle, light foam when mixed with water. It has a very subtle fresh scent, and it doesn't leave the skin dry or irritated.

I used to pretty against feminine products like this but now like I said I think they have their place and their uses especially at that time of the month. The packaging on the entire Femfresh range seems to have changed since I was sent this, but they still have a Daily Intimate wash which sounds almost identical to this one, and looks pretty much the same. This product retails at around £2.99 from various retailers including Boots, Superdrug, independent chemists and supermarkets.

So after a fairly indifferent start to 2020 Trimming My Stash wise, April turned out to be a pretty decent month, I've got to say May isn't looking the great but I think I might manage to finish another product before the month ends tomorrow but we'll see x Either way I'll update with you my May totals in a week or so, and if you have any questions or comments on any of the products that I've mentioned then leave me your thoughts below and I'll see you in a few days with my thoughts on the March 2020 edition of Glossybox UK and a little giveaway ;) x

*This Post Contains Both Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links
**Press Sample

A Very Late Trimming My Stash - April 2019 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews*

It's quite scary to think that we're over half way through May now, I honestly don't know where the last few weeks I've gone - I've been in the middle of a huge ME / CFS flare, I got a kitten, I had several days and meals out and I turned 41 eeek! What I haven't had much time to do is blog and as I said in my previous post I'm going to try and make it up to you in the next few weeks with lots of new and different posts. First though I'm going to get caught up and I'm going to share my April beauty empties with you x 

Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml
Boozi Bodycare Cocktails Virgin Mojito Body Wash - 50ml
Colour Vibe Vibrance Bright Violet Semi Permanent Hair Colour - 150ml
AVON Advance Techniques Anti Hair Fall Conditioner - 250ml
Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life - 200ml
Ojon Rare Blend Moisture-Rich Cleansing Conditioner - 240ml
Primark PS... It's Oil Good Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes
Primark PS... Cuticle Oil - 10ml

Total - 8 Items 

Empties wise April was a pretty good month, like in March I managed to finish 8 items. Unfortunately no make up this time round but a nice assortment of skin care, body care and hair products, including a couple of press samples and a couple of holy grail products.

1. Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml

I spent a long, long time looking for an affordable eye make up remover, that would do the job without stinging my eyes, and then about a year ago I found it. This Simple eye make up remover has rapidly became one of my most used beauty products, it's removed pretty much every product that I've threw at it, without making my eyes sore and watery and at around £3.79 a bottle it's pretty purse friendly. I'm going to try and use up some of the other eye make up removers in my collection first but I will definitely be buying this one again.

2. Boozi Bodycare Cocktails Virgin Mojito Body Wash - 50ml

I've already this yummy cocktail scented body care, brand on a few occasions, most recently in my October 2018 empties post, and this is another one of their yummy fragrances. This one isn't quite as strong as some of the other scents that I tried, but it really does smell like a mojito with refreshing hints of lime and mint, all contained in a nicely foaming non drying shower gel. Unfortunately though since my previous post on Boozi Bodycare, both the brands website and twitter account appear to have disappeared, which is a huge shame. You can still get a few products on both Fragrance Direct and Amazon UK though, if you're still interested in trying the range.

3. Colour Vibe Vibrance Bright Violet Semi Permanent Hair Colour - 150ml*

This was a press sample that I received quite a few months ago x I'm not going to say anything about here though as I will have a full review coming up on the blog in the few weeks.

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

Next up another HG product, I finished the shampoo in March and I finished the corresponding conditioner in April. I've already spoke at length about both of these products and it's safe to say that I am a huge fan of the range. It contains keratin, bamboo extract, arginine, and peppermint, and it smells gorgeous, it makes a huge difference to my hair and it's really affordable at around £2 a bottle. I've already started a new bottle and I will definitely be buying more.

5. Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life - 200ml

Despite the fact that I'm very much a salt and sugar scrub girl, I've gone through quite a few tubes of this now and it's really grown on me. It's a foaming gel based scrub, that contains a whole host of biodegradable scrubby particles. Even though I would like it to be a bit more scrubby, it's quick, easy to use and it works! Unfortunately I can't actually find this on the Boots website anymore so I'm not sure if it's sold out or if it's actually been discontinued.

6. Ojon Rare Blend Moisture-Rich Cleansing Conditioner - 240ml*

From something that may have been discontinued to something that definitely has been! I loved Ojon from the moment that I bought my first ever kit from QVC. Made from rare, and precious ingredients from the South American rain forest, their Restorative Hair Treatment was a product with almost cult status, and it was in my opinion the best thing for dry and damaged hair that I've ever tried. I loved it and I love every other Ojon product that I ever tried.

As often happens though smaller companies tend to get swallowed up by the big boys, and ultimately the brand was taken over by Estee Lauder. At the time I did a little bit of work with some of Estee Lauder groups brands, and I was sent a few Ojon products to try, unfortunately before I got round to reviewing them the brand was absorbed into Origins before disappearing from shelves completely. I was devastated and after a quick search online I found out that I wasn't alone in that feeling.Thankfully I still have a few jars of the Restorative Hair Treatment and a few other products in back up, and last month used up the last of this particular product.

A few years ago now there was a huge trend for co-washing, which basically washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo. It was a trend that I actually embraced for a month or two and I do think that it made a difference to my hair at least in the short term. My hair at the time was highlighted, and sun bleached and it had a tendency to be dry and frizzy and the extra conditioning really seemed to help. In the long term though, personally my hair never felt truly clean, so I ended up reverting back to the old shampoo, conditioner and intensive hair mask routine. As a result of this trend, or innovation a lot of brands started introducing something called a cleansing conditioner, which is basically a very conditioning and nourishing hair cleanser that's designed especially for dry, damaged and breakage prone hair.

This particular one from Ojon was both sulfate and glycerin free and contained a huge variety of moisturising ingredients including kukui seed butter, coconut oil, Castor seed oil, and cocoa butter, and lots of botanicals and fruit extracts including watermelon, blueberry, wolf berry, orange, lemon, bergamot, tiare flower and aloe Vera.

It wasn't quite as thick as I expected, it had a creamy shampoo type feel, and a slightly citrus, aromatherapy type scent. It produced a gentle creamy foam and it was nourishing but not too heavy or rich. It was a nice product and it's a shame that this item, and the line is now long gone.

7. Primark PS... It's Oil Good Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes

The last products are both Primark items and they're both products that I will repurchase again, and again. I've talked at length about these at least a dozen times already, but they are full of tea tree and they are really useful for a number of things including swatch clean up.

8. Primark PS... Cuticle Oil - 10ml

Finally another product that I can't be without, my favourite Primark Cuticle Oil. My nails are horrific at the moment, they are short, stubby, peeling, flaking and breaking, so I'm resuming operation nail grow LouLou style - OPI Nail Envy, loads of cuticle oil and frequent hand cream application during the day, and cuticle oil, a thicker hand cream, and cotton gloves at night. I have so many fab nail polishes that I want to show you I just need decent nails to show them off and hopefully this will help. It's only a £1 a bottle and it's just as good as the more expensive stuff.

So it was late but we got there in the end, as I say the Colour Vibe review will be up soon, but if you have any questions on any of the other products that I finished last month then please let me know x 

*Press Samples

Trimming My Stash - November 2018 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

Have you ever felt as though there just aren't enough hours in the day? I'm feeling that way at the moment, and it's so easy to see why people get so frazzled at this time of year, there just seems to so much to do at times and the to do list never seems to get any shorter! The annual decorating and tidying frenzy is well and truly under way, there are gifts still to wrap, cards still to deliver and there is shopping still to be done. For a spoonie that's hard enough to deal with but throw in an attack of the sniffles, a coughy, snotty and snuffly Mummy Lou, and all the everyday tasks that still need to be done, then it's no surprise that I don't whether I'm coming or going at the minute. It's hard for everyone at this time of year, so I'm trying not to put too much pressure on myself, I'm going to do what needs doing and I'm going to try not to stress about the little things, and above all I'm going to try and focus on what's important.

Having said that, although this post is up a lot later than I would have liked, this and my previous post probably marks the start of what hopefully be my busiest spell on the blog of 2018. I have lots of posts planned, they are nearly all photographed, and I'm really excited to start getting some content up, eventually! I've also got a festive giveaway planned so providing the creeks don't rise, stay tuned for some long awaited blog posts x First of all though it's time to take a step back to last month and have a look at November's beauty empties.

I was so proud of myself with October's total of 10 items, but alas I couldn't continue that success in November. I tried hard I really did but for some reason it just didn't happen and I only managed to finish a measly 3 items :( Not the best month I'm sure you'll agree but every little helps as the famous supermarket saying goes and it does, I now have 3 less items in my bulging cupboards and drawers, and I've created a tiny bit of space for potential beauty gifts (fingers crossed ;) Although there aren't many of them, the items that I managed to finish are pretty interesting and weirdly I loved them all and as you'll see, I will definitely be repurchasing two of them x 

Baija Paris Green Tea Jasmine Body Oil - 30ml
Oh K! Fruit Enriched Peeling Foot Mask - 2 x Skin Softening Socks - 2 x 20ml Sachets Stimulating Foot Essence
Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml

Total - 3 Items

1. Baija Paris Green Tea Jasmine Body Oil - 30ml

We'll start off with an item that I probably won't be repurchasing but I would if I could. Like so many unusual and less well known brands this product came in beauty box, I think it was either a My Little Box or a Birchbox. This isn't very well known brand but in my experience it should be, it's a French based predominantly body care brand, that seems to be famous for it's beautiful, natural aromas.

This was a beautiful, fine textured, easily absorbed body oil. You could use it as an all over body moisturiser but I tended to use it on my tiger stripes to add a bit of excess moisture and a bit of TLC! Okay, I admit it I have stretch marks, who doesn't? I'm not the biggest fan of them but thanks to growth, and periods of weight loss and weight gain, I have them and once you have them there isn't too much that you can do about them bar embrace them, and give them a little bit of moisture love. Although it doesn't get rid of them completely, moisturising can make them less visible and it can definitely prevent new ones from forming. Whilst this wasn't a miracle worker it did leave my skin feeling smooth and silky, and smelling amazing.

This oil had an amazing scent - a fabulous fresh, fruity floral green tea scent, mixed with just a hint of jasmine. It actually smelled very similar to Elizabeth Arden Green Tea, a scent that some people find a little bit old fashion but personally it's a one that I love and that I used to wear regularly. I would definitely consider repurchasing both this product and some of the other products that I've tried from Baija Paris but the range is incredibly difficult to get hold of in the UK, you can occasionally find the odd thing in TK Maxx, but other than that you're pretty much relying on resellers which is a shame, if you see it though the entire range is well worth trying x

2. Oh K! Fruit Enriched Peeling Foot Mask - 2 x Skin Softening Socks - 2 x 20ml Sachets Stimulating Foot Essence

Foot peels and peeling socks are probably one of the grossest beauty products on the market but personally I love them! There is something completely gross yet somewhat fascinating and even enjoyable about watching all of that dry skin fall off your feet! I don't even like feet that much but these things are just so satisfying - Does that make me a bit weird lol I don't know?

I've tried a lot of different types of peeling socks over the years but these ones are a little bit different to all of the other brands that I've tried so far. The box contains a pair of paper / fabric socks with a plastic lining. The socks are pretty decent quality they don't feel flimsy or thin and they have a tie which helps secure them onto your feet. The tie is a much better idea than the sticky tabs that these socks normally have, they felt really safe on my feet, they didn't feel as though they were going to slip off, and I didn't feel that I needed to put a pair of socks on over the top to hold them in place. 

Sounds pretty standard so far doesn't it but what is unusual is that the socks are completely dry, so the box also contains two sachets of stimulating foot essence (1 for each foot), which contains lactic, salicylic and glycolic acids and a variety of fruit acids including lemon, lime, orange, apple, grape and wild cherry, which you then pour into your socks.

All you do is wash and dry your feet, and then put the liquid filled socks on to your feet, secure them with the ties and then you just sit and relax for between an hour and an hour and a half, to let the liquid do it's thing before rinsing off your feet in plain, warm water.

There was no real scent to the liquid just a slight astringency, almost alcohol scent, The two phase system meant that the socks were really wet, and the liquid really did completely cover the feet. I'm not going to lie, after about 10 minutes I started to feel a tingling sensation, it wasn't unpleasant but it was noticeable, and you definitely felt as though it was doing something. 

The worst thing with this type of product is the waiting, over the next week or so your feet steadily get drier and drier, and no matter how much you want to, you can't moisturise them! I used these socks around 2 weeks ago now and it's safe to say that my feet do not look pretty! The skin is drying and peeling off on the soles, and balls of my feet and even between my toes . Soaking your feet makes a big difference and it can really help speed the process up, so for best result either shower with your feet in a washing up bowl (that's what I've been doing!), have a bath, or treat yourself to a foot spa, to really loosen off that dead skin!

Based on the initial feeling and the results so far these are probably the strongest type of these socks that I've tried, yes my feet look pretty horrid at the moment, but in a week or so they'll be smooth, baby soft and party ready x If your feet have seen better days and the thought of showing them to anyone fills you full of horror then these could be something to try, just make sure you give them long enough to work before that big event, as with these things it definitely gets worse before it gets better x Based on my current results I will definitely be repurchasing these socks again x They retail at around £8.50 from various retailers including FEELUNIQUE, ASOS and the Oh K Life website x 


3. Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml

As you know my quest for a new eye make up remover has been a long one - there have been lots of fails, and lots of nearly's, but at long last I think I may have found the one. Simple are specialists in skincare for sensitive skin, so why on earth did I wait so long before giving this one a go? I'm obviously not quite with it at times! 

Like all Simple products this eye make up remover is free from colours or dyes, artificial perfumes, or chemicals, it's also oil free, non comedogenic, hypoallergenic, dermatologically tested and approved, and opthamologically tested. Containing Pro Vitamin B5, it is designed to gently and effectively remove all eye make up including waterproof mascara, and it's also suitable for contact lens wearers.

As you would expect it is clear in colour and it has an almost water like appearance and texture, and no real scent. Given the slightly unassuming appearance I was really surprised at how well this worked. It removed everything that I threw at it with very little effort, long wear mascara took a little bit longer but it still removed easily without scrubbing or rubbing, and most importantly my eyes didn't feel dry or sore, and there was no watering or stinging!

I don't know if my quest is over, and I'll definitely keep trying new things, but with this product I've definitely found something that I like and that I'll continue to repurchase. In fact I've already bought another couple of bottles, the RRP for this is around £3.79 but in Superdrug in particular, it's normally on special offer so it's well worth stocking up if you like it as much as I do.

So only 3 items, but as hopefully you can see they were three very interesting items, 2 of which have subsequently become firm favourites. We're now well into December and so far I've only managed to finish one item so fingers crossed I can up my game and finish the month and the year on a high x Don't forget to let me know if you're doing something similar to Trimming My Stash and of course please let me know if you have any questions on any of the items in this post x 

Trimming My Stash - November 2016 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

Late again I'm afraid, I think you can guess from my previous post why I've been AWOL this week but  I can type again and I'm back with my November 2016 empties

Simple Kind To Eyes Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml
Benefit They're Real Mascara - Jet Black - 8.5g
Baylis & Harding Skin Spa Rose Ylang Ylang & Patchouli Body Smoothing Polish - 200ml
Elemis Smart Cleanse Micellar Water - 50ml
AVON ANEW Clean Anti Ageing 3-In-1 Cleansing Water - 200ml
John Frieda Frizz-Ease Smooth Start Hydrating Conditioner - 250ml

Total - 6 Items 

Last month I managed to finish 6 items. It's not as many as I would have hoped but some of these items have been floating around my bathroom and my bedroom for a little while now and I managed to finish item, and a couple of skincare items so it's all good.

1. Simple Kind To Eyes Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml

From the very first moment that Boots started messing around with their Botanics Eye Make Up Remover. My quest for a new product to remove my eye make up started. I know I have a couple of old favourites from Gatineau and Lancome that I can fall back but I desperately wanted to find something a more purse friendly price point. I've bought a few so far without much success but seeing as a have really sensitive eyes I thought I'd try a product from a brand that specialises in sensitive skin. I actually really liked this product, a clear liquid, it removed even the most long wear make up without making my eyes burn, run or sting. It retails at around £3.45 for a 125ml bottle and I definitely liked it enough to consider a repurchase. The one drawback is that you did quite a bit of product so if you wear a lot of eye make up, it probably wouldn't last long.

2. Benefit They're Real Mascara - Jet Black - 8.5g

I'm going to be honest and say that I've been using another mascara so I'd actually forgotten about this one hence it was probably open for way longer than the 3 months shelf life - whoops. What can I say about this one? Some days I love it, some days it drives my round the bend, on a good day it gives that perfect false lash effect or bad days it turns into a clumpy mess. Funnily enough the longer I had the better it got. Despite my frustrations with it the good days do outnumber the bad and it's definitely a mascara that I would and already have bought again. You can read a full review here x 

3. Baylis & Harding Skin Spa Rose Ylang Ylang & Patchouli Body Smoothing Polish - 200ml*

This was a product that I was sent to review many many moons ago (2014!), it was a recent rediscovery and it still smelled and looked fine so I finished it off. You can read a full review here x Although I still prefer a more grainy,  sugar or salt scrub the real winner here was the scent. It had a pleasant oldie worldly rose scent with just a hint of the heady other ingredients. Unfortunately the Skin Spa range appears to have been discontinued but they still do a wide variety of fragrances especially at this time of year, including a new rose scent, and an amazing Blackberry and Apple scent that I'm obsessed with.

4. Elemis Smart Cleanse Micellar Water - 50ml

5. AVON ANEW Clean Anti Ageing 3-In-1 Cleansing Water - 200ml

Next up not one but two micellar / cleansing waters. I think micellar waters are the new cleansing wipes but thankfully most of them are a lot kinder to the skin. You can either use them on their own or as I've been doing as part of a double cleanser. These are two products at opposite end of the price spectrum and I've really enjoyed using both of them. I will be reviewing both of them in the future so that's all you're getting for now x

6. John Frieda Frizz Ease Smooth Start Hydrating Conditioner - 250ml*

The final product that I'm going to share with you today is another one that's be lingering around in the bathroom since the year dot. This product was something that I received as part of a trio of press samples from the John Frieda Frizz Ease range. As one of the first haircare lines on the market for girls with frizzy and curly the entire Frizz Ease range is truly revolutionary. Although this particular product has now been discontinued, and the full line has been reformulated and repackaged I can't praise this hair care line enough. From coarse and unmanageable hair, to a silky smooth, easy to comb main, this range of product is an affordable must have if you have hair that doesn't behave. You can read my original review here x

So that was my November empties post x After another rough month I'm hoping to be a lot more productive on all fronts in December, so lets hope that I manage to finish the year with a bang and use up some more products, and that I manage to get my blogging hat back on x If you have any questions please leave me a comment and I'll get back, I'm a bit behind with blog comments, but I should be up to date within the next day or so, so please bear with me xx