Polish empties

 Hello,

I haven't done one of these is a long time and even this post is long overdue since I finished them up a while ago. During this Summer I liked to wear barely there shades or muted blue with a spark of lavender thrown in the mix.

I'm still on the cream and blue kick so you can expect some more empty nail polish bottles in these colors.

First is this lovely bottle of L.O.V. nail polish in the shade Pure Expression. I remember when I first tried it out I complained this to be too sheer... now I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I didn't shake it enough and the pigment settled on the bottom so I wasn't getting the right results? With me anything is possible but with each use I liked it more until it become my favorite. It is a creamy and milky color which was super easy to apply (wide brush which hugged my nail beds perfectly), the formula was smooth and fast drying. No chipping or tip wear for a week and the color was super flattering on me. It was an all and all perfect nail polish but sadly this brand is no longer available here so now I will have to find another perfect cream color to replace this beauty.

Next is super duper old Essence Nail Candy varnish in the shade Soda Pop & Candy Shop (I bought a bunch of these years ago and now I have two full bottles left). This is similar to the first one except I need three coats at least for an even application with a hint of slight pink hue. It is less pigmented and looks more natural than the first one. Mostly I used it as a base coat under other nail polishes.

One of my favorite shades to wear on my nails is Lavender and this one was that perfect shade for me. It is Avon gel finish in the shade Lavender Sky. This is one of my favorite polish ranges and it applied smooth as butter. I will miss it but I have another lavender shade to go through.

The very last one is from H&M Beauty and it is called Slate. Lovely dusty blue color for whenever I felt moody :) I personally like shades like that (give me lavender, blue or gray or any kind of mishmash of these colors and I'm happy, especially if they are on the lighter, pastel range of color). It had super flat and wide brush, a bit too big for my pinky but for the other fingers  it was great, it made application super fast. 

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

I'm back with a reasonable sized empties post. 

First is a hand cream which is a must in my pockets, drawls or purses. It is Avon care antioxidant moisture with Pomegranate hand cream for all skin types. It smell fruity, not too intense. The formula absorbs quickly into my skin but the most important thing - restoring moisture... not the best. It is not bad but when my skin is on the dry side it just doesn't work that well. I prefer the Jasmin, Banana or the Coconut ones from care line.

Next is Avon Planet SPA Korean charcoal cleanse & refine (deep cleansing face wash). It is grey (just like the bottle) and the texture is very lotion like. It doesn't emulsify which I find odd. If I use just this all over my face covered with make-up it doesn't remove it, if I use it after oil did its magic on my face it also doesn't remove anything... I started mixing it into other face washes just to finish it up because on its own it does nothing for  me.

Pretty bottle is Salvatore Ferragamo perfume named Amo Ferragamo. Sweet Orange scent was nice but I didn't use it on myself but rather on my bed before sleeping. I used it daily and I'm super excited to finish it up. During the last two years my fragrance collection grew in size and I have no more room to store so finishing up a bottle is huge for me. This scent will not be repurchased but I enjoyed using it while it lasted.

Bioderma Sensibio anti-redness face cream is a staple for me. Lightweight cream which I use at night time, approximately every second day and my face is way more even, less red. I can't imagine being without it so I already have two backups, just in case :)  I find rose oil just as effective but this is not as greasy so I prefer it.

Next is my must have Catrice HD liquid camouflage foundation in the shade Light Beige. A perfectly buildable formula with very close shade match. I love everything about it, the packaging is perfect for this texture, coverage can be full, shade match plus the price tag is super affordable. I already have two backups but I heard that they changed the formula... I have not tried it out but I sincerely hope that it is still relatively the same because it is already perfect.

The last item is the 'new' Avon Supershock volume light mascara in black. It used to be in the all black packaging but now it is offered in this half pink tube with slightly different formula. The brush stayed the same, it is still huge. I think this mascara used to be known for combing lashes end elongating them, it didn't clump or add much volume. This new formula feels more liquid and therefore it is prone to sticking lashes together. When this tube was still relatively new I had to be careful while applying it but as the time passed by and the formula started to dry it seems like it is more similar to the now 'old' formula that I loved so much. I think I will buy it again but make sure to dry it out a bit to hit that sweet spot when it is the best.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

it is the end of the month and I'm back with a short little post about my empties.

When I purchased my bottle of Bvlgari Aqua Divina fragrance it also came with these two miniatures, body lotion and a body wash which I took with me on my trip. This fragrance smells like a spa to me. Fresh, relaxing, calming, salty but cold. Like a walk down the beach in the Spring time, before the sun lotion is in the air and I also smell grey stones in here. The kind of stones they use for a massage... Very interesting scent and I made a significant dent in my fragrance bottle but I decided to completely finish up these two minis. The body wash smelled a bit oilier and the lotion came off a bit fresher. I enjoyed using them up and if I could get them separate I would.

Next is another body wash and this one is from Balea, soft-öl dusche body wash. Creamy in texture and in the scent, very pleasant but the texture was a bit too liquid for my liking since I used it up way too fast. I probably won't buy it again because I prefer to use body wash that is a bit thicker so majority doesn't get spilled into my drain. 

The last items are two dry shampoos. First is Batiste Fresh. Fresh scent indeed and I  liked it very much, my hair got visibly refreshed and the scent didn't interfere too much with my fragrances so I already repurchased it.

And the last one is dry shampoo from Langhaar Mädchen, floral and powdery. Quite strong scent  but since I like it it didn't bother me. I actually finish another bottle before and I really liked it, but now I feel like I won't buy it again since the white residue bothered me. I don't know if previous versions weren't as white or I just didn't notice it... it started to bother me so I will buy dry shampoos from other brands.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

I just got back from a short trip to the beachside and managed to finish up some SPF lotions, unfortunately none of these will be repurchased since I found others to suit me better.

First item is this large, 400 ml bottle of Ziaja Orange butter body lotion. It took me months to finish it up and I'm still not sick of it. Love the convenient pump and the lotion type of this moisturizer, it spread easily and nourished my skin (no dry or itchy skin) and the scent is mild but very lovely orange blossom type. Very nice to go to bed and sleep well with it. I will repurchase it.

Next is another Ziaja product but this one is sun cream for the face with high SPF 50 in a light shade. Surprisingly the shade is not orange at all and I can see people actually match this shade, for me it was still too dark but I'm pretty pale. Putting shade aside the formula was a bit weird. At first it looks nice but since it is a bit greasy (still it is a chemical sun protection with ingredient called Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzonate) it takes some rubbing to get it around and then the tint starts to separate and I just couldn't get an even application no matter how much I tried. There were areas full of tint and some without, it looked weird so at the end I just used it all over my legs and even then I had to be careful not to rub them together (since the tint would lift and start flaking) or rub it against some fabric. It did survive swimming in the ocean since after an hour of being in the water the tint was still there, uneven but still. 

Neutrogena Hydro boost city protect fluid with SPF 25 intrigued me since I love their oil free face moisturizer which comes in the same packaging... I thought that this might be similar but with added SPF, a quick check at the ingredients list told me I was wrong and also the formula feels very different. It feels like a cream but doesn't absorb quickly, it also leaves a greasy residue which I don't like on my already oily skin and it is just slightly tinted light blue. It is a chemical sun cream and contains Octocrylene. I haven't used it on my face more that three times since I didn't like the feeling on my face but I used it on my body and I had no reactions or sun burns.

My tube of Skinfood Tomato sun cream with SPF 35++ is very old. I used to love to use it on my face but I was never able to finish it up, so this year I just took it with me and layer it over some other sun creams all over my body. It is a true mineral protection with Zinc Oxide and cast a white layer all over. At first it is pretty greasy but over a few minutes it tones it down (it was not matte but not overly greasy). I always put some BB cream over it (I like a little coverage even at the beach + some tint helps with a white cast). This never cause my skin to break out so I thought that it will be forever repurchased but since I found something better with no white residue so I won't buy it again.

Next is one of my favorite deodorants and it is Nivea deo beauty elixir deomil fresh option. I had different one before within the same line and would get it again but they discontinued this line of products and I was only able to get one bottle of this fresh version. It is very similar in term of scent, creamy and some what fresh, like clean laundry. Since it is a deodorant it didn't stop me from sweating but I'm okay with it as long I don't stink. This really was nice (love the creamy non-irritable texture and pleasant scent) so I was disappointed when I couldn't find it anymore.

And the very last item is The Body Shop tea tree anti-imperfection daily solution. I love tea tree products since my skin likes them and my acne not so much :) I loved using it in the evening under my moisturizer. It is a watery serum which absorbed quickly into my skin. Did it make my skin drastically different? I honestly don't know but the psychological effect felt real. Give me products with tea tree scent and I will apply them regularly with joy ;) I might repurchase it since the easily absorbed formula felt good.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

this post is prepared a bit in advance since I'm on a vacation. These are all the products that I finished before my trip to the beach and after I come back I will probably have a lot more empties, especially products with SPF.

First is Aveno body wash with Tiare flower and Coconut water. Very inexpensive but for me these are hit or a miss, scent wise. Unfortunately this one landed on the miss side after trying it for the first time. It has this typical tropical scent but on me it turns a bit plastic and I don't like it. I did finish it up since the scent doesn't last, it did foam up and make me feel like it did clean my body so it wasn't a big deal (if it would be a lotion then probably I wouldn't be able to finish it up). I won't repurchase it again, maybe I will get some other scents but not immediately. I will take my time off and maybe after a while I will forget :)

Next is Melvita's floral Lavender water face mist. I used to love these (Lavender in particular but also Rose was close) but now I don't use them as regularly as I used to. First, the mist on these bottles is amazing, so I'm keeping the bottle and reusing it, second, the blue color is lovely and third, the product itself is great. I like using it on my face after I'm done applying my cream make-up (concealer and foundation) to melt everything together and make it one with my skin and afterwards I'm applying powder. That is my secret when my skin feels a bit dry. I also use it on clean skin in my skincare routine but I feel like it is really great with my make-up. At the moment I have some other ones but probably I will return to this one.

Next is super old Avon planet SPA Heavenly Hydration with Mediterranean Olive oil face mask. It is more of a gel texture mask which you are supposed to apply on clean face for 20 minutes (I once made a mistake and left it on for way longer, it is a moisturizing product what can go wrong? The moisture disappear and the texture becomes thick which makes it hard to take it of, I had to scratch it to get it off my face) but if I stick to the instructions it was okay. I didn't notice any difference so at the end I was just using it to finish it up, I will not be buying it again but I remember the body butter and hair mask from this Olive line being amazing.

Second to last is The Body Shop Strawberry body yogurt and I have to say that the scent is amazing. Very realistic and juicy, plus the scent lasts. The texture is jelly like and fun to use, it absorbed super fast but it is not very moisturizing on its own. I had one before and still have one left (I purchased three at the time all in different scents). They do recommend to use them in the Summer time when our skin isn't so dry and I would agree but then again why buy something which isn't as nourishing or hydrating as it can be? Probably for the scent because that is what all three have in common and are a joy to use. I will finish the last one but at the end I probably won't buy more of them, I will rather spend a few Euros more and just get some of their lotions or butters.

I finished up one more lipstick :) It is the last one I have from this Catrice limited edition, collaboration with Peta that they did a few years ago, this shade is called Have Mercy, peachy nude with shimmer, it can look very natural with just a hint of flush but if I'm reapplying it all day long than shimmer becomes a bit too much for me and the color build up also doesn't look too appealing on me. I like this lipstick in a small dose and it looked nice, I will miss it but also at the same time I have so many that it is a relief to finish some.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

this time around I have some more empties and some of them are my holy grails... the rest are all nice products, nothing terrible in this bunch...

This is definitely one of my favorite shampoos and this time I have finished a big bottle of it. It is Ilirija Birch shampoo for all hair types. This magical potion cleanses my hair and leaves them shiny and smooth, just what my hair need. It can be a bit too drying but nothing a little bit of hair oil can't fix. I will definitely repurchase it again and again.

Another one of my favorites is this REN flash rinse 1 minute facial  with vitamin C. I already used up a few tubes of it and already have a backup. It is a slightly grainy product which feels like a scrub but after massaging it with dry hands, then add a few drops of water and it turns instantly into an oil type of a product and then it can slightly burn over more sensitive areas (I guess the vitamin C is then activated  and it can sting) the magic is that my skin doesn't turn red even though it is very prone to redness and is super sensitive. The next day my skin is baby soft and pimples are reduced. Even my sister with perfect skin is a loyal fan.

I finally finished up a Labello original lip balm. I remember having it before and loving it but now I felt like it was just okay. It was greasy (which is a plus in my books) but I felt like it just sat on top of my lips instead sinking in and working its magic. Maybe they changed the formula or I got a different batch this time? It wasn't bad but I also didn't feel like it did much.

Another lip balm is presented in this tube with a convenient pump and it is Blistex conditioning lip serum. I liked it for the night time since it did leave a bit of a white trace but it was nourishing and my lips looked nice in the morning. I'm more inclined to repurchase this one than the Labello one.

Next is a pot of hand cream but honestly I used it as a body moisturizer. It is Avon planet spa Blissfully Nourishing with African Shea Butter hand, elbow and foot cream. As mentioned I used it all over my body since I was trying to just finish it up. It was heavily fragranced and I have to admit that in small dose it is gorgeous but all over the body it was sometimes a bit too much. I still wanted to finish it up since it is pretty old and I was scared that it might go bad, plus the 75 ml packaging is somewhat small for the entire body. The texture was quite thick and it took me a long time to finish it up. If I ever get it again I will start using it immediately but only on my hands and little by little.

This next serum tried to replace mine The Ordinary 10% Niacinamide and 1% Zinc serum (whenever I try to order it it is sold out...) it is from a SI brand Miss Alice (Milnica) and is named Face it, you love me serum (I really do love the name ;), it has Niacinamide, Collagen and firming Peptides in the formula (how much of each is undisclosed). It was a nice serum but I think I seen better results with  previously mentioned The Ordinary serum so probably I won't repurchase it again unless I will notice my skin misbehaving now since I'm out of it. 

The very last item is another hand cream but this one I did use as a hand cream. It is from The Body Shop and it is their limited edition Joy and Jasmin scent. It is floral but also pretty green smelling, the scent alone is not my favorite but I could handle it, even men in my life liked it since it wasn't too floral but it is quite strong and the scent does linger. I won't repurchase it in this scent but I'm willing to try some new editions since the cream does absorb pretty fast and makes my hands feel soft.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day

Empties

 Hello,

it is the end of the month and I expected to havemore finished items... probably I will finish a whole lot more in the next couple of days.

First is Avon's care revitalising with Banana hand cream (one of my absolutely favorites). It is lightweight and it does its job done. My hands are soft and supple even after washing, that for me is the ultimate test and this one succeeds. This particular one is in the limited edition packaging but is it exactly the same. I already have a new tube waiting to get used.

Next is another hand cream and is also a gem. It is Neutrogena's unfragranced hand cream which has a very interesting formula. Like a thick gel, perhaps? A little goes a long way and I agree, this tube lasted me more than a year (I didn't use it all the time but still it lasts way longer than any other hand cream that I tried). I like that it isn't sticky or tacky (well, it can be if I put too much on at once but if I apply little by little it is okay). I also already repurchased it but I think now I have the fragranced version.

In the middle is a Rosehip face cleansing oil from the Q + A brand. I recently discovered this brand and I bought a bunch of their products, this oil is just the first to be finished. I liked the packaging (the bottle has a nice and precise pipette and it doesn't leak) but I expected this oil to be more Rosehip... in fact there is Sweet Almond, Rosehip, Hemp seed, Avocado, Argan, Kernel, Castor and Sunflower seed oil. It was on the thicker side and it definitely leave oily residue but that doesn't bother me too much since I double cleanse if my first step is oil. The one thing that is making me rethink is that it didn't completely remove my eye make-up, in the past I had some other oils and were better at removing my eye make-up so I won't repurchase this one again.

The last are two bottles of the same Cucumber toner from Milnica (I ordered 100ml bottle but apparently they were out of it so they send me two smaller bottles). The packaging has a big opening and since I am a very clumsy person I often spill... my solution was to pour it in a spray bottle and use it as a mist to refresh in the evening in the middle of my moisturizing routine or on days with no make-up or even on top of freshly applied make-up to make it melt into my skin better (but always setting with a powder on top). It was a nice refreshing toner, I didn't noticed any big difference but I like spraying my face :) my favorite still remains Lavender... I still have a few toners left that I need to finish before buying more but honestly I don't think I will repurchase it again, I might get the Chamomile one next.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day