Trimming my Stash - October 2017 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

In this world of flatlays and perfectly posed blog and Instagram pictures, props are everything and at the moment I'm loving using my brightly hued, autumnal toned fabric leaves. Here's the question though when does Autumn end and when does Winter begin. Hmm I can't decide so some of my up and coming pictures feature leaves, and some like the ones below don't. November is a tough one, whilst the weather is decidedly autumnal at the moment, winter is definitely on it's way - is it Autumn? is it Winter? I have no idea at the moment!

November is a funny month for me but I have to say it's started well (when I've been awake that is - my mum has nicknamed Sleeping Beauty this week). October was such a busy month for me, that I never seemed to get a lot of stuff done but already in November, I'm feeling motivated and enthusiastic that this will be the month when I sort my shit out.The pre Christmas declutter is in full swing, and I've already filled up 4 charity bags since Thursday! Go Me! When it comes to beauty decluttering though October wasn't the best of months

Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes
Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes
Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream - 30ml
AVON Senses Mystique Sensual & Romantic Shower Gel - 250ml
Yes To Carrots Nourishing Shampoo Normal To Dry Hair - 500ml

Total -5 Items 

Try as I might I only managed to finish 5 items last month and two of those came in the last two days of the month. Still 5 things are better than none and I did manage to finish a couple of bits that had taken root in my shower, so lets quit it with the negativity and focus on the products that I did manage to finish.

1. Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes
2. Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes

I'm not going to lie I have used these on my face a couple of times this month - I know, I know but when you need to leave the house at 7am after precisely no sleep, you need something quick and something that (whispers) you can do in the taxi! Okay now that confession is out of the way I can safely admit to using most of these wipes in the last week, for in between clean ups  after doing a ton of swatches. I've got a load of make up posts coming soon including some bargain basement buys, some Christmas gift ideas and maybe a little Christmas giveaway and it's all needed swatching - now I just need to edit the 300 or so photographs argh! #bloggerproblems 

3. Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream - 30ml

I'm not going to beat around the bush this product isn't cheap - this little pot of moisturiser retails at £50 but there are ways of getting it without spending quite so much - If you're an Elemis fan and you're in the UK, Next Sunday QVC UK will be featuring the big Elemis Christmas Today's Special Value, for £44.96 and postage you'll get a pot of this heavenly cream, a couple more full sized skincare products and around 3 full size body products. That doesn't make sense I hear you cry and you're right based on the RRP of this cream it doesn't but the buying power of QVC means that it's real and it will be happening so if you love this product the kit is well worth buying. Personally though I think it's worth buying whatever the price, I love the smell and the cream, gel texture is perfect for all skin types, it's moisturising without being thick or heavy, and it makes your skin feel like silk.

I love it and so does my Godmother who is 87 - it's brilliant and well worth trying!

4. AVON Senses Mystique Sensual & Romantic Shower Gel - 250ml

I've lost count of how many AVON shower gels that I've bought over the years - They are cheap as chips and a lot of times they actually smell a lot more expensive than what they actually are. This one is a case in point describe as sensual and romantic, it actually reminds me a little bit of a high end fragrance. If you like the original Michael Kors scent this this smells pretty similar. Typically though this particular product appears to have been discontinued but AVON do still seem to sell a Senses Mystique Shower Creme which I assume would have the same scent.

5. Yes To Carrots Nourishing Shampoo Normal To Dry Hair - 500ml*

This was one of the many Yes To products that I reviewed for My Pure - You can read my full review here x It was a winner for me I really liked it and I really enjoyed using it. It was SLS free and it was a nice, creamy gentle shampoo, and although I still can't describe the scent I really liked it. My shampoo mountain is going down very slowly but this is definitely one that I would consider repurchasing. 

So they were Octobers famous five, fingers crossed I can do better in November, and finish a few more items to boost my yearly total in the last couple of months of 2017. If you have any questions on any of the products that I've finished then leave me a comment below x Thanks for reading x

*Sample

Yes To Carrots Nourishing Shampoo - A Review For My Pure*

Last week for the first time since Christmas I braved my local hair salon. I wasn't brave enough for colour but I had a long, long overdue haircut. The cut had done me the world of good and at last (fingers crossed) I feel as though I'm turning the poorly hair corner. As I said in a previous post though I'm doing my best to take care of it and I'm trying to stick to a more natural, SLS free shampoo and conditioner routine. The current communal, bathroom shampoo, although decent isn't SLS free, so I thought for one of this months My Pure reviews I'd try out one that was.

There are lots and lots of shampoos on the My Pure site, and there are quite a few that I haven't tried yet, but I decided to go for one from a brand that I'm already familiar with - Yes To Carrots.

Yes To Carrots Nourishing Shampoo is free from SLS, SLES and a new one on me, ALES, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate. It's specially designed for normal to dry hair, and contains both carrot extract, for nourishment and pomegranate, which is a natural anti oxidant.

The product comes packaged in the familiar chunky, Yes To bottle. Personally I found this one a little hard to squeeze at first, but the plastic does seem to be softening a bit with continued use, if it's a bit hard for you though, you can always screw the flip top cap off.

The shampoo itself is clear, but slightly opaque in colour, and is of a medium consistency, and it has an almost silky feel on the skin.

It smells like every other product that I've tried in the Yes To Carrots, and I have to say it's a smell that I love. It's a bit fresh, a bit floral and a bit fruity, I'm useless at describing fragrances but Mummy Lou says it definitely has a bit of parma violet about and do you know what? I think she's right.

A little goes a long way so the huge 500ml bottle will last for ages. As with most sulfate free shampoos, add more water than shampoo to help it foam. There is always a temptation to use more shampoo, but usually adding a little bit of water does the trick.

It was easy to use and rinsed out with no problem. I have to say on a few occasions I used this shampoo without any form of conditioner, purely for blogging reasons, and I have to say I was really impressed. Unusually for me lately my hair felt and looked pretty smooth, and pretty free from tangles. I'm stroking my hair now, after another conditioner free wash and I'm surprised at how hydrated and moisturised it feels.

This shampoo has actually really impressed me. Usually shampoos for dry hair, have a thicker almost creamy texture, but whilst they moisturise, they can often weigh the hair down. When I saw the texture I didn't hold out much hope but I have to say I'm happy. My hair doesn't feel stripped, or dry, and it certainly doesn't feel, heavy or weighed down, and it didn't make my often oily roots worse. Another Yes To thumbs up from me and I will definitely enjoy using the rest of this shampoo up. The Yes To Carrots Nourishing Shampoo normally retails at £8.99 for a 500ml bottle from My Pure. Any questions please leave me a comment x  Thanks for reading x

*Sample

Yes To Tomatoes Purifying Shower Gel And Yes To Carrots Hydrating Shower Gel - A Review For My Pure*

Over the last week and a bit the warm weather's meant I've embraced the salad big style, I love salads all that fab crunchy fresh veg, raw carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes - yum...OK I know tomatoes are technically a fruit but you get the idea ;) We all know how important it is to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, the vitamins and minerals that they provide are essential for our bones, our skin, our hair and our general well-being, but in this era of chemical, high tech ingredients we often forget that fruit and vegetables can work wonders in our skin, body, and hair care preparations.

US company Yes To Inc have used humble fruit and vegetables as the basis of their skin, haircare and body care lines. They have ranges of products based on blueberries, cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes tailored towards different hair and skin concerns. My first foray into Yes To was with the Yes To Carrots C Me Blush Lip Tints (click here to read my review), I have to be honest and say it really didn't rock my world but I would never let one product put me off a brand, so last month I went for two products from the Yes To stable to try out for My Pure.

I really couldn't decided what to choose so in the end I went for two body washes, one from Yes To Carrots and one from Yes To Tomatoes. Both of the body washes are formulated for different skin types and skin concerns and contain different active ingredients, but they both stay true to the Yes To philosophy and are free from parabens, SLS, and petroleum.

Yes To Tomatoes Purifying Shower Gel

The first shower gel that I tried was from the Yes To Tomatoes brand - This product is described as a purifying shower gel which is ideal for combination skin. The key ingredient in this shower gel is obviously the humble tomato, tomatoes are really good for the skin, they contain huge amounts of lycopene which is an anti-oxidant which can help soothe, and smooth the skin. It also contains loads of other natural ingredients including watermelon extract which can help with clogged pores, green tea, red pepper extract, jojoba and sweet almond oils, and dead sea water.

The first thing you notice about this product is the size of the bottle, it is huge you get a massive 500ml of product - you can see the size of the bottle compared to my hand here!

The bottle has a flip top cap, so all you need to do it give it a little squeeze and the product dispenses quite easily. The gel itself is quite runny in texture and is a pale pearlised pink in colour.

You can use it in the shower where is produces a soft, gentle foam or in the bath where it produces loads of soft, silky SLS free bubbles.

This product feels great on the skin whether its used in the bath or the shower. I probably have normal skin on the majority of my body but my back is prone to a little bit of oiliness and I really think that this has helped. Don't think that if you have dry skin you wouldn't be able to use this, it's a brilliant, gentle shower gel for all skin types. I've really enjoying using this shower gel not only because of the feel but also because of the smell - OMG -  you not going to smell like tomato sauce, it actually has a beautiful soft fresh powdery smell, if you love Elemis Milk Bath or even the Ahava Salt Scrub I reviewed a while ago you will love this!!! - Great product, great smell!

Yes To Carrots Hydrating Shower Gel

Since we allegedly heading into summer I thought I'd try another shower product this time something to counteract summer dryness. Yes To Carrots Hydrating Shower Gel is marked towards people with normal to dry skin.

 As you would expect one of the key ingredients in this product is the humble carrot, carrots of full of beta carotene which is a great ingredient for drier summer skin. It also contains dead sea water to help lock in moisture, as well as moisturising ingredients such sweet almond oil, jojoba oil and olive oil

It comes in exactly the same packaging, and in the same massive size. The product itself is similar in texture, but this time it is pale orange in colour.

Again you can use it in the bath or shower, it produces the same soft foam when you use it in the bath, and again a lovely creamy lather when you use it in the shower.

This gel again has a light scent but this one is a tiny bit fruitier. This product, is a great cleanser and it's very gentle. I showered with this after a day in the sun and it caused no irritation or problems - another thumbs up from me x

I have to I loved both of these products - they were both super gentle and they left the skin clean and delicately scented but not dry or tight. If I was pushed I would probably say the Yes To Tomatoes Shower Gel is my favourite based on the scent but I would willing buy both products in the future. If your looking for great value SLS, paraben and petroleum free shower products then I would definitely recommend the Yes To Line - even Jasper approves - well they are cruelty free after all ;)

Yes To Tomatoes Purifying Shower Gel 500ml and Yes To Carrots Hydrating Shower Gel 500ml both normally retail at £7.99 each from My Pure but there currently on special offer at only £5.99 each :) If you have any questions please let me know xx

*Press Samples

*As of May 2018 Yes To is no longer stocked on the My Pure website and these particular products also appear to have been discontinued and very hard to find elsewhere