Following on from last month’s Favourites, here are my Empties. It’s quite a random collection of products and many of these things I have talked about before so I will try to keep this one short and sweet!

SKINCARE

NUDE PERFECT CLEANSE OMEGA CLEANSING JELLY $38/£32

Ingredients: Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Coco-Caprylate, Water, Glycerin, Sucrose Palmitate, Sucrose Laurate, Arctium Lappa Root Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Iris Florentina Root Extract, Bixa Orellana Seed Extract, Tocopherol, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Fragrance, Limonene.

I absolutely love NUDE’s Omega Cleansing Jelly and this is my second empty, so it’s definitely become a staple product for me. It is such a lovely cleanser that doesn’t leave the skin feeling stripped or coated, just clean, soft and hydrated. I love this type of cleansing formula because it starts as a gel-like balm, then turns into a light oil when you massage it in to your skin and finally becomes milky when you add water and then just rinses away. I love that I don’t always have to use a washcloth (although you should for makeup removal) and that I can use this for either my first or second cleanse, or even my morning cleanser, if my skin is feeling particularly dry. My only issue with this cleanser is the packaging. With both bottles, it got increasingly difficult to get any product out and towards the end, I was struggling a lot. I would have to really wrestle with the tube to get any product out and a lot of the times it would shoot out and land in the sink or far too much would come out and I would be left with more than I need. With the first bottle, I cut it open to find so much product still in there but as soon as I did that, the product turned a funny color and texture and I couldn’t use it anymore. With that bottle I estimated I lost about 3 weeks worth of product so with this one I waited until the very last moment to cut it open and this time there was definitely less in there but the same thing happened, as soon as the product came in to contact with air it was unusable, which is really disappointing. Despite that, I still love this cleanser – for the most part it works perfectly well and overall it’s a great product.

Repurchase? Yes, although I am currently using my travel sized version of it.

PIXI BEAUTY GLOW TONIC x2 $6-$29/£18

Ingredients: Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Extract, Aesculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut) Seed Extract, Glycolic Acid, Ammonium Glycolate, Glycerin, Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, Urea, Dextrin, Alanine, Glutamic Acid, Hexyl Nicotinate, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Biotin, Polysorbate 20, Fragrance.

Ah, the infamous Glow Tonic – loved by many, regarded with disdain by others and for me, a product that has lost it’s original charm. I have used Glow Tonic for years and used to love it but now it has been replaced with Bravura’s Ginseng Revitalizing Toner, which in my opinion is the superior of the two. The smaller version of this was in my October Empties so you can read all about it there (as well as the mini controversy with the new labelling), so I won’t say much more about it here other than I believe I have one more bottle to use up and then I am all done with my once beloved Glow Tonic stash. I think Pixi have come out with much more exciting products that go beyond the one that started it all and those I can’t wait to try.

Repurchase? Not for the foreseeable future.

ASTER AND BAY BRIGHTENING TONER $26 (discontinued)

Ingredients: Distilled water, aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, glycrrhiza glabra (licorice) root extract*, lactobacillus/kelp ferment filtrate, dead sea salt, vegetable glycerin, zingiber officinale (ginger) oil*, citric acid. *organic.

I just wrote about how much I love this  toner in my 2015 Favourites, so this is a very sad empty. I used it practically every day over the summer and I am so disappointed that it has currently been discontinued. It had an excellent blend of simple but potent ingredients and I really miss it. Hopefully, Aster and Bay will figure out their sourcing issues and bring this back but until then, check out the Rosewater Toner, which I will probably get as a temporary replacement.

Repurchase? If I could, I would!

BODY, HAIR, MAKEUP AND SUPPLEMENTS

HAND CHEMISTRY RETIN-OIL $20/£20

Ingredients: C12-15 alkyl benzoate, ethoxydiglycol, ascorbyl palmitate, hydroxypinacolone retinoate, tocopheryl acetate, oenocarpus bataua fruit oil, euterpe oleracea fruit oil, algae extract, caprylic/capric triglyceride, dimethyl isosorbide, C12-15 alcohols, ocopherol, fragrance (parfum), alpha-isomethyl ionone, benzyl benzoate, benzyl cinnamate, benzyl salicylate, citral, citronellol, eugenol, geraniol, hydroxycitronellal, limonene.

I don’t really post about my bath and body products on Instagram but I have been using this for almost a year now and I love it. I wrote about it here in my Summer Favourites but now the weather has significantly cooled down, I am enjoying it even more. It’s an incredibly light “dry” oil that contains 1% retinoid to tackle skin tone, wrinkles, and even stretch marks. It has a lovely tropical scent (although sometimes I do find it a bit much) and absorbs really easily leaving the skin feeling smooth, soft and hydrated. As with all Hand Chemistry products, there is a strong urge to put this on my face but because of the scent, I’m not sure if I could handle that. I would definitely recommend this if you suffer from dry skin because it’s one of the best body oils I’ve ever used.

Repurchase? Yes, already have!

REVOLVER ALL-NATURAL DEODORANT $3.49

Ingredients: Coconut Oil*, Carnauba Wax*, Cornstarch*, Baking Soda, and Proprietary Blend of Essential Oils*   *Certified Organic.

Quite a random find from a Whole Foods in a town I can’t remember, but a product that really impressed me because it worked so well. Finding a plant based deodorant has been pretty difficult and there have definitely been a few duds but this was a surprise success. I initially picked it up for the cute dinky size but it held up amazingly well throughout a lot of hot summer days and long haul flights so I’m definitely impressed.

Repurchase? Yes.

COLAB DRY SHAMPOO $3/£2

Ingredients: Butane, Isobutane, Propane, Alcohol Denat., Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Parfum (Fragrance).

My sister picked this up for me on one of her trips to London and it was an instant love. I rarely use dry shampoo because I just hate how they made my hair feel but this one was completely different. It was light, non-drying and made my hair feel refreshed without being weighed down with an excess of product. It smells amazing and I would definitely keep this around for any travel hair emergencies. This will be excellent during the summer to combat sweaty hair days and I definitely plan on trying out the different scents while I’m here.

Repurchase? Yes.

BARE MINERALS BLEMISH REMEDY CONCEALER $22

Ingredients: Polyethylene, Squalane, Methyl Dihydroabietate, Soybean Glycerides, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Octyldodecanol, Populus Tremuloides Bark Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Barium Sulfate, Kaolin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Water, Micrococcus Lysate, Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Stem Extract, Serenoa Serrulata Fruit Extract, Propylene Carbonate, Limonene. May Contain (+/-): Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499).

As you may have noticed from my instagram, I don’t wear makeup on a regular basis, partly because I am trying to transition to more greener brands and partly because with my great skincare products, I don’t really “need” it. Even so, there are some days when I do feel like a bit of coverage and that’s where this comes in. It’s a lovely light and creamy medium coverage concealer that blends effortlessly and doesn’t feel heavy. I found this works great under the eyes for a very natural look and is excellent at covering any PIH marks or blemishes. I love this because it is part of the brand’s Blemish Remedy range which means it contains tea tree oil and salicylic acid to treat any breakouts instead of just covering them. This took over 6 months to use up and it worked perfectly all the way to the end. I love that it’s a stick for ease of use and to keep things hygienic I just give it a wipe after each use. It’s extremely handy for travelling and on the go touch ups and I would really recommend it for those who only want to use concealer, instead of having a full face of makeup. I only wish they had more colours in the range because it’s a brilliant product.

Repurchase? No, only because I am now using the Bareskin Serum Concealer.

BARE BIOLOGY LION HEART PURE OMEGA 3 FISH OIL CAPSULES £28.50

Ingredients: Omega 3 (TG) 1,460mg (Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) 860mg, Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) 440mg, Other Omega 3s 160mg) Vitamin E 6.4mg.

This is another category I don’t talk enough about on Instagram and I really should because it is probably the most important skincare product I use. Great skin truly starts from within and fish oil is my number one supplement for keeping my skin clear, hydrated and less prone to inflammation and these capsules from Bare Biology are the best you can get. I was lucky enough to be in London when they launched in Space NK and since then I have been addicted. The quality of these capsules are like nothing I have tried before and the difference in how pure and fresh they are compared to the many others I’ve taken is immense. These are truly the best you can get and more potent that the vast majority that’s on the market. I want to do a full post on these because I think they are such an important supplement to take and not just for your skin, but for overall better health and wellness, too.

Repurchase? Unquestionably, YES.

Looking back, this was definitely a random selection of empties but it’s made me realize that I need to share more about my non-skincare products so expect some upcoming posts dedicated to just that.

Arly

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