Blog: What She Said

Empties: Binning but Winning

I thought I’d let all you cool kids know that I’ve decided to introduce a new segment to my blog (cue cheer, applause and general hysteria). It will be called ‘Empties’ and that is what it shall feature!

It won’t necessarily be a monthly thing but will just appear in your life (on my blog) when I’ve rounded up enough things that are both empty and worth discussing! Hopefully it’ll be a good opportunity to show you products I would and wouldn’t buy again while also conducting mini reviews of products I may not normally dedicate a whole post to! So now you know, here we go!

My first 2 cans of emptiness are deodorants. I’m ever so slightly obsessed with anything pomegranate scented (see my rave about my Dr Organic’s Pomegranate Body Wash) so when I saw Dove’s new Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena Deodorant it was pretty much in my basket before I had even smelt it. The combination of pomegranate and lemon gives it a fresh and subtly fruity scent. I like that it doesn’t have that overwhelming citrus scent which you might except it to or that horrible chemical tang that often wafts around your head when using spray deodorants. Aside from the scent, being a Dove product it’s super moisturising, gentle on your underarms and easily lasts all day. Available from Boots for £3.40.

Moving on to my second empty deodorant which is the Bionsen Japanese Spa Minerals Deodorant. The scent is nice enough, kind of like (and I’m aware this sounds odd) spa products and talcum powder! However the main reason I love this – if you have sensitive underarms then this product will win you over. It’s super gentle but still has staying power and again easily lasts all day! Available from Boots for £3.29. I’ll definitely continue to repurchase both of these for the foreseeable future.

Moving on to probably one of the most talked about products in skincare, it’s the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser! This is a firm favourite among beauty bloggers and it’s easy to see why. I’ve been repurchasing this (and the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic) since the first time I bought it back in 2010. I love that it’s made from natural ingredients which means it’s gentle enough to use on your skin everyday while still being incredibly effective. I also love that it’s one of those ‘does it all’ products – the hops extract cleanses your skin, the muslin cloth helps exfoliate and the coco butter, vitamin B and beeswax helps to moisturise. We all have those drunken lazy nights where we can’t be bothered to properly cleanse our skin but for all those other nights Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish is my ‘go to’ product! I tend to always follow my Cleanse & Polish with the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic. It’s the most gentle toner I’ve ever used and ensures that very scrap of dirt, make up and general mess is off your face. It’s not too drying but it’s important to follow any toner with a moisturiser. I use Elizabeth Arden’s Visible Difference.

Next up is the iFoam Body Wash from Soap & Glory! If you follow my blog regularly then no doubt you’ll have seen my Top 3 Favourite Shower Gels post from earlier this year and know that this didn’t make the cut. I love Soap & Glory products but I won’t be repurchasing this particular one. It’s good but nothing to write home about and as you’ll see from my ‘Top 3’ post there are just other shower gels I love more. If I was to choose a shower gel from Soap & Glory I think it would probably be Clean On Me anyway as I prefer the scent. You have to work hard to get this to lather up and although it claims that the harder you work to lather it up the more moisturising the product becomes, I think it sounds like a bit of a gimmick and to be honest there are other bath/shower products out there that are more moisturising and work! AANNDD as I go to search for the price I find it’s been discontinued…! Good job. Didn’t like it anyway.

The Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick (limited edition packaging) is one of my favourite lip products. I got this one for my birthday last summer and have recently bought a new one. Although the RRP is slightly on the pricey side at round £20 (which I don’t know that I’d repeatedly pay) it’s often available on discount websites. Currently available from StrawberryNET for £11.50 with free P&P! It’s got a shine to it but not an overwhelming one like Carmex or Vaseline. I also find that this actually sinks into my skin whereas other lip balms can just sit on my lips. This keep my lips feeling soft and supple all year round and also contains SPF 15.

I received the Molten Brown Skinboost 24hr Moisture Mist as a gift and as much as I loved it it’s definitely not something I’d repurchase, not because the product isn’t good but purely because of the price. It used to retail at around £40 and although it (for the second time in this post) appears to have been discontinued it is still available on discount websites for around £25. I love using a moisturising mist especially at the end of the day when my skin is feeling a bit zapped. This is the perfect product to carry around in your handbag for whenever you your skin is feeling tired and in need of refreshing. However my argument is that essentially this is no different to say, Mac’s Fix+ spray which costs just £12.50!

Speaking of Mac and moving on to one of my all time favourite make up products. It’s the Mac Paint Pot in Bare Study. I wear this everyday, have repurchased it time and time again and believe one of these belongs in every girls make up bag. It’s a gorgeous golden champagne, light bronze, metallic kind of colour in traditional paint pot consistency and looks gorgeous on its own or as a base for other eye shadows in the same colour range. Available from Mac for £14.50

From my favourite eye shadow product to my favourite nail polish – Malaga Wine from OPI! This is the perfect dark red wine colour. It appears darker in real life than it shows in this photo (google for swatches) and is just gorgeous! It’s just one of those colours that looks great on everyone, works for every occasion at any time of year! I’ll definitely be buying another bottle of this in the near future. Available from Beauty Bay for £10.50.

Last but not least of all the beautiful products to end up in my bin it’s my nail wraps from Rebel Nails. I originally bought these in a metallic gold shade and absolutely loved them but haven’t been using nail wraps since I started getting gel nails put on late last year. I’m planning to get my false nails taken off at the end of the month though to try and give my nails a break and during that period I’ll definitely be back on the Rebel Nails website! Various designs available from Rebel Nails for £7.99.

I hope you enjoyed my first post in the empties series and liked the whole idea of all the above stopping off on my blog for a mini review while on route to my bin! Let me know if you’re a fan of any of the above products or just tell me what you can’t bare to throw away! Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend.

xCx