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

Trimming My Stash - February 2022 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews* **

 Hi Guys x  I hope you all had a good long weekend and I hope that you haven't eaten too much chocolate ;) As well as chilling, spending time with friends and family, watching football and obviously gorging myself on chocolate and cheesecake, over the last few days I've managed to do quite a bit of blog prep, so I've got lots of content coming up for you including some beauty and lifestyle reviews, and the return of my Luscious Lips series! First up though it's time to take a trip back to February for the 2022 edition of Trimming My Stash.

Derma V10 Exfoliating Foot Peel Tea Tree & Peppermint - 1 x Treatment
MAD Beauty Ginger Snap Cranberry Hand Cream - 30ml
AVON Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo - 250ml
Beauty Pie Soul Providers Re-Energizing Dry Oil Sugar Scrub - 475g
Superdrug Nourishing Nail Polish Remover - Acetone Free - 200ml
Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Apple Shea Butter Hand Cream - 29ml
Jolen Face Wax Strips - 16 Wax Strips*

Total - 7 Items

After the disappointment of January's miserly total of 3 products, February was a much more successful month and I managed to finish a pretty respectable 7 items. I didn't really finish anything that exciting though just a few much loved and holy grail products, and a few festive thing, one of which really confused, but more on that later..

1. Derma V10 Exfoliating Foot Peel Tea Tree & Peppermint - 1 x Treatment

Strangely enough the first product in February's countdown was something that I also used and finished in February 2021. Total coincidence and not planned at all, but maybe February is the month when you first look down and see the state of feet that have been incased in socks and boots all winter - bleurgh!

My feet were pretty gross if I'm being honest, very dry, with flaky bits and cracked heels, and whilst my heels still need a bit of extra work, this foot pack has really improved the feel and appearance of my feet without a great deal of effort.

You can read a full review of them here if you're interested x Something to keep in mind though - don't use this immediately before a holiday, an event, or any occasion where you need to have your feet on show, because the dead skin will literally peel off them for WEEKS! This time around the peeling phase lasted for around 6 weeks! It looks disgusting with bits of skin flaking off with every step (sorry if that's a bit TMI), but if you have dry skin on your feet and a bit of spare time to flake and peel, then these socks are a really easy way of getting rid of it.

I've just actually bought a new packet, and the packaging has recently changed but you can usually pick these up for about a £1 from various retailers including Poundland, Savers, Wilko, The Range and Home Bargains.

2. MAD Beauty Ginger Snap Cranberry Hand Cream - 30ml

Next up the product that confused me ! I received this hand cream, and a lovely candy cane shaped nail file from my friend Helen for Christmas, and give the words 'Ginger Snap' printed in large type on the front of the tube, and the pictures of a gingerbread house, I expected this hand cream to smell like gingerbread, but look a bit further down the tube and in smaller type it says "Cranberry Hand Cream". If I'm being honest it doesn't take a lot to confuse me at time but mind blown! LOL!

Anyways despite my initial surprise that it didn't smell of cookies or baking, it did indeed have a lovely, tart, fruity cranberry type scent that reminded of some of The Body Shop's old festive cranberry scents.

Containing shea butter, this slightly off white cream, had a lovely rich and creamy texture. A little went a long way, and it absorbed pretty quickly leaving the hand feeling smooth and hydrated, with a slightly matte finish.

Whilst there are other hand creams in the MAD Beauty range, this one appears to have been a limited edition Christmas product, which is a shame because I love the scent and the texture.

3. AVON Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo - 250ml

One of my biggest gripes with the beauty industry and with AVON in particular is that they keep discontinuing things! There really is nothing worse than when you fall in love with a product or 
a shade and then with no warning the brand or the product that you love disappears into the ether! 

Well I was recently looking for something in my unopened beauty stash, and I discovered several products from the AVON Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil range - a line that surprisingly now been discontinued.

The first product that I finished from the range was the shampoo. Designed for all hair types but especially for dry hair, this shampoo contained Argan oil, Pro Vitamin B5 and Vitamin E, and was designed to moisturise the hair and leave it feeling smooth, silky and detangled.

With a gorgeous fresh, fruity scent, this shampoo was pearlised white in colour and had quite a thick rich texture. It foamed up really well, rinsed away easily, and left my hair feeling smoother, and less dry.

Thankfully I love all of the shampoos that I've tried from the AVON Advance Techniques range, and this one was no different. I really can't recommend the Advance Techniques range enough for quality, performance and for value for money and whilst it's great that I like the new products in the range I just wish they would stop discontinuing things.

4. Beauty Pie Soul Providers Re-Energizing Dry Oil Sugar Scrub - 475g

Next up a product that you've seen before and that you'll more than likely continue to keep seeing on this blog! I don't think that I'll ever stop buying and trying new body scrubs, but whilst this one is still available and I can afford it, I'll continue to buy it. It might be a little bit scratchy for some people but for me it's perfect - you can read my full review here. If you're a bit wary about trying Beauty Pie, honestly give it a try, you have nothing to lose. I've been really impressed with most of the stuff that I've tried. I'll be sharing a few reviews with you soon but in the meantime if you're interested in finding out more about Beauty Pie for yourself then please click on my link to find out more x 

5. Superdrug Nourishing Nail Polish Remover - Acetone Free - 200ml

Although the packaging has changed several times in the intervening years this next product itself hasn't really changed at all and it's probably been on my most bought beauty products over the last 10 years or so.

It's acetone free, it contains Vitamin E, and aloe vera, it's cruelty free, and for a nail polish remover it actually doesn't smell too bad, on and it works on even the most stubborn of polishes. You can read a full review here.

For a decent nail polish remover it's also really affordable retailing at just £1.99 for a 200ml bottle, and if you know anything about Superdrug you'll know that they love a special offer, and this particular polish remover is currently on a buy one, get one half price offer. I've already got a couple of bottles on standby and it's another product that I'll continue to use for as long as it's available, even though I seem to spend more time removing nail strengthener, and toe nail polish, than I do the polish on my finger nails.

6. Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Apple Shea Butter Hand Cream - 29ml

Next up another hand and nail related product, and it's another hand cream, this time from Bath & Body Works. From their fall / holiday range, I bought this hand cream, and the matching hand soap from NEXT Beauty and had I known better I would definitely have bought some back ups!

The smell of this hand cream was just so damn mouthwatering, it had a gorgeous spicy fruity scent. With apple and vanilla, and the warm spicy notes and cinnamon and clove , it took all of my willpower not to taste it! 

Containing shea butter, this ivory coloured cream, had a gorgeous thick and buttery texture. Despite the richness and thick feel it actually absorbed into the skin really quickly and left my hands feeling smooth, protected and moisturised, but not sticky or tacky, making it a perfect hand cream for the colder months.

I've only tried a few of the Bath & Body Works hand creams (My Mam loves the Rose one), but I'm so impressed with texture, the moisturising benefits, and the scents. The one drawback is the UK pricing with an average 29ml hand cream retailing at around £8. Alas this fragrance I believe was a limited edition but my fingers are tightly crossed that it will make a triumphant return later on in 2022, and believe me I will be buying a few back ups this time ;)

7. Jolen Face Wax Strips - 16 Wax Strips**

Finally another product that you've seen before, and whilst this one is quite a new one to me it's something that I will definitely be repurchasing.

For the last 12 months or so I've came to rely on the cheap as chips Nair Facial Wax Strips that I used to pick up on every Poundland trip, but then I was kindly sent 2 boxes of these babies, and it was love at first rip! You can read my full review here x I think fate really has played its part here though as my local Poundland no longer seems to stock the Nair strips, so I now have a ready replacement, and since these ones are the same price I have no complaints.

February was a definite improvement on January's pretty dismal total of 3 products, so overall I'm pretty pleased to have finish 7 items in February and maybe in March as well ;) My March empties posts will be up soon, but in the meantime you can keep track of how I'm doing in the sidebar and if you have any questions or any of the products that I've mentioned in this post then please leave me your thoughts in the comments section below x

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

**Press Sample 

PR / UNPAID AD - Tackling That Tache - Facial Hair Removal By Jolen*

I can pretty much guarantee that this won't be the prettiest blog post on your feed today, and I can also guarantee that it probably won't be at the top of your mental to read list, but life and beauty isn't all about pretty pictures and beautiful insta worthy products.

Ever since puberty kicked in with a growth spurt something else started to grow as well, and no even though they did indeed grow, I don't mean my boobs, I actually mean my hair, and sadly not the hair on m head!

As my grandma used to say, and my mam continues to say, you can't have hair on your head and not have it anywhere else! Body hair was never really too much of a problem for me, I just shaved it, creamed it, waxed it, or epilated it away, but my facial hair was a whole different gravy!

From the minute it started to grow it was dark and thick, and it was really obvious against my pale skin. The first thing that I ever tried was facial bleach and whilst it helped to disguise the hairs, it didn't get rid of them, so I moved to other things trying everything from tweezing, to various forms of electronic removal methods, to facial and body hair removal creams, and even epilating before finally settling on regular waxing treatments, which at last seemed to the get the little wires under control, at least in the short term!

As I've said before I'm pretty happy with the products that I've been using, but I was recently given the chance to try a couple of products from facial hair specialist, Jolen.

Like so many others my very first foray into facial hair management was with Jolen's famous Creme Bleach. With over 150 years of experience in helping people deal with their facial hair, it wasn't really that surprising that my mam who had already been using the product for years, bought me my first pot, and with those two little pots, my facial hair journey had officially begun!

As I say as time progressed I gradually moved onto other methods, and whilst Jolen have remained true to their Creme Bleach roots, they've moved on to, and have expanded their facial hair range to include two new products, a Facial Hair Remover Kit, and Face Wax Strips, and I was very kindly sent out a few packets to try,

Jolen Facial Hair Remover Kit*

Perhaps on the of the most popular methods for removing excess hair, hair removal creams are pretty simple to use, they can be a bit messy and smelly, but you just pop the cream on, leave it on for a few minutes, then you rinse it off, and voila hair be gone! 

Obviously you should always patch test any product that you use, but it goes without saying that the skin on the face can be a little bit more sensitive, and that can be one of the reasons that people often shy away from facial hair removal creams. If you've been a bit wary of creams in the past though Jolen have included something that might change your opinion, and ally some of your fears.

As well as full instructions the box contains a 19g tube of hair removal cream, and a 1.9g stick of Skin Guarding Balm, which contains beeswax, apricot kernel oil, aloe vera, cucumber extract, chamomile flower extract, safflower oil, and coconut oil, and is designed to be used before and after hair removal, to both protect, and nourish the skin.

Starting off with clean, dry skin, you apply a thin layer of Skin Guarding Balm to the areas that you are going to treat, before massaging it into the skin in circular motions, for around 20 seconds. It comes in a twist up style bullet so it's really easy to apply it has a balm like texture, and little to no scent, and it almost seemed to melt on contact with the skin.

After you've applied the Skin Guarding Balm, it's then time to apply the hair removal cream itself. The angled tip of the tube made it really easy to apply without a spatula, but you could of course use a spatula or even your fingers to apply an even layer of cream

Before 

On Application - Skin Guarding Balm

The white cream was of a good thickness so it didn't slip or drip. Unusually for hair removal cream it had quite a pleasant scent with only a small hint of ammonia. It initially felt quite cool on the skin but as time progressed the area did feel a little bit warmer, but there was no burning, tingling or stinging.

On Application - Hair Removal Cream

The instructions advise to leave it for between 5 and 8 minutes. I checked it by removing a little bit after 5 minutes but the hairs were still holding firm, so I ended up leaving it for the full 8 minutes. I actually used a spatula to remove the excess before washing the rest off with a muslin cloth and lukewarm water, before applying a little bit more Skin Guarding Balm.

After 

I'm going to be honest with you, I gave up using facial hair removal creams quite a while ago now. My upper lip hair especially was just too thick and dark to remove it effectively, so much so in fact that I actively switched to using body hair removal creams on my face (I know! I know!), and I only switched to waxing because I was having to leave it for longer and longer, and my skin was starting to get irritated.

It wasn't therefore too much of a surprise that there was a few hairs and a little bit of stubble remaining. To give this cream its due though it did remove quite a bit of all be it, quite long hair, which you can hopefully see below.

So if you want a completely hair free, smooth upper lip, and you have dark, wiry hair like mine, this particular product probably isn't for you, but if you have had a bad experience with facial hair removal creams in the past, particularly with regard to sensitivity, and you have lighter, or finer har growth, then this product could be something worth trying. I don't know whether it was down to the Skin Guarding Balm, but my upper lip area didn't feel dry or uncomfortable, and as I say I didn't experience any burning or stinging.

I did have a little play with this product though and I tried the hair removal on its own, without using the Skin Guarding Balm, and I actually managed to remove more hair and I ended up with a smoother finish. My skin did feel a touch more sensitive and tingly, but if your skin is stronger and your hair is thicker or darker then maybe skipping the first application of Skin Guarding Balm could be something to try.

The Jolen Facial Hair Remover retails at around £4.99 from Boots.

Hair removal is always a personal thing, and what works for one person, won't necessarily work for another, and so on, so for me it's always worth giving things a try. If you're still not convinced by hair removal creams, and if like me you're a waxer, don't fret, Jolen also do Facial Wax Strips.

Jolen Facial Wax Strips*

There is so much that I love about waxing, that every time I whip those hairs away I always wonder why I didn't start waxing my tache sooner! The finish is smoother, and compared to around a weeks smoothness with hair removal creams, even with my wires I can still get 3 or 4 weeks of smoothness.

The box contains an instruction leaflet and a total of 16 wax strips, which contain smoothing and nourishing chamomile and grape seed oil, and are dermatologically tested, and are suitable for even the most sensitive of skins.

Like with most wax strips, each strip is stuck to another one, so it initially appears as though you only get 8 strips in the box, and your first task is to slowly separate them out. The key thing with wax strips for me is to try and keep them in a warm place, because if they are too cold, it can be quite hard to separate them evenly.

I took the picture below after a period of illness, where I never left the house, so there is about 6 weeks worth of growth here, and hairs as you can see are pretty long and thick!

Before

All you do is apply one strip at a time to the area that you want to treat, rubbing it in the direction of the hair growth before taking a deep breath, holding the skin taut, and pulling the strip in the opposite direction to the hair growth, and then you repeat, repeat and repeat until you're done!

On Application

The strips themselves were nice and sticky and they adhered really well to the hairs and the skin, removing even the roots of the majority of hairs, and leaving very little wax residue in the process.

After I'd waxed my entire upper lip and chin, I washed my face with a tiny bit of tea tree wash, and some water to remove any excess wax, before dabbing the area with very cold water to close the pores and calm the skin.

After 

There are a couple of blood spots but that's not unusual for me and it was hardly surprising when you look at just how much hair I actually removed! My skin felt a touch tender which again is pretty normal for me but as a seasoned self waxer this was a quick and pretty painless experience.

I was so, so impressed with these strips, my upper lip was left feeling really smooth and with no obvious stubble, and they were also really easy to use. There was hardly any excess wax left on my skin and they remove even the longest hairs and even the roots, and as you can see below, from another session they also removed really really short hairs as well.

It might take a bit of practise to get your angles right, and at first you might need a little bit of Dutch courage to pull of that first strip, but there really is no need to go to a salon when it's so cheap and easy to wax your own chin and upper lip with these strips in the comfort of your own home.

I'm officially a convert to these babies and I've already stocked up on another 4 packets to take me through to the summer and beyond! The Jolen Face Wax strips come in a pack of 16 and are available for £1 from Savers, and for a little bit more from other retailers including Ocado and Express Chemists.

As I say this won't be the prettiest post that you'll ever read but it will probably be one of the most real. If you're happy with your facial hair all props to you, but if like me and you just want it gone, there are lots of products and methods out there for you try, including these two products from Jolen. If you have any questions or comments then please let me know x 

*Press Samples