Empties: November 2019

A quick second post today with some of the skincare and makeup products I’ve used up in the last couple of months, a quick review of each, and whether or not I would repurchase!

Moisturisers

• Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream – A nice thick moisturiser for dry skin which I would usually use as a last step in my evening skincare routine. This was nothing special and I would not purchase it again at this price (£50 for 50ml), so I’d have to give this one a pass. I much prefer the Avene Skin Recovery Cream for my nighttime moisturiser, which is far more gentle as it has a minimal ingredients list, and is much better at healing dry patches, irritation, and just generally moisturising and plumping my skin. In comparison, this retails for £16.50 for 50ml and is often on offer at Boots in a 3 for 2 deal. I haven’t finished one of these moisturisers recently as I have been using others up, but I continually repurchase this one. The Avene cream is still fairly thick but sinks in much more easily whilst still soothing the skin throughout the night.
• The Body Shop Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream – Probably around the same thickness as the DE Lala Whipped cream. It is much better at curing dryness, but the downside is the fairly heavy fragrance. While it has not irritated my skin and is not unpleasant, it is unideal and unnecessary to have fragrance in skincare. I have already repurchased this one, and I will use up my remaining tub, but afterwards I probably won’t be rushing to buy again as I will stick with the Avene. A 50ml pot retails for £14.
• Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre – This is not an empty, but this heavily fragranced moisturiser seems to be breaking me out in spots, so I will likely pass this one on. Therefore an obvious pass. It has a very greasy yet thin texture which may work for dry skin under makeup (how I intended to use it), but the fragrance is way too much. Retails at £20 for 75ml.

Lip Balms

• L’Occitane En Provence Natural Shea Ultra Rich Lip Balm (stick) – Quite a dry formula – did not moisturise or hydrate my lips as they often felt dry by the end of the day. I am eczema prone, especially on my top lip and I found this was not helping at all. I almost finished this but will be tossing the last little bit. Definitely a pass. £9 for 4.5g.
• La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Levres – Possibly the most nourishing and reparative lip balm I have tried. Equally hydrating, emollient and occlusive, and works wonders when my lip dermatitis is acting up. Have repurchased and will continue to repurchase. £7 for 7.5 ml.

Miscellaneous Skincare Products and Tools

• COSRX AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid – Does exactly what it says – whiteheads and closed comedones be gone! This worked wonders on the closed comedones I had on my forehead. It does a great job of healing spots, sloughing away rough texture and dryness, and every time I use this I wake up with extremely soft, glowy skin. It is quite potent (7% Glycolic acid at around a pH of 3.8-4.0, plus extra AHAs in the apple fruit water base), so I only use this twice a week to avoid over-exfoliating, but I have yet to find a more effective AHA product (I’ve tried Drunk Elephant, SR Good Genes, other lactic acid toners, Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel, Paula’s Choice 8% AHA Gel, etc., still yet to try Biologique Recherche!). I am on my second bottle of this (this product lasts forever) and will continue to repurchase. Prices vary around the £20 mark, but it tends to be much cheaper on Yesstyle.
• The Body Shop Skin Defense Multi-Protection Essence SPF 50 PA++++ – An excellent lightweight broad spectrum SPF that is on par with many Japanese and Korean SPFs and easily accessible in the UK. Doesn’t upset my skin and sits nicely under makeup. I don’t have one of these currently, but will definitely repurchase. £21 for 60ml.
• Good Molecules Daily Brightening Serum – Beautylish’s in-house skincare brand, with prices and formulas on par with that of The Ordinary. This product didn’t really do anything for me unfortunately – I was hoping it would help with the dullness around my mouth and nose. Nothing negative to say on this one, but a pass for me. $9 USD for 30ml (plus import tax and duties for shipping to the UK, calculated by Beautylish at checkout).
• Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm – I’m a huge fan of using cleansing balms to remove my makeup in the evening, and this sample was as nice as others I have used. May repurchase, depending on how the price compares to similar versions from Clinique, Banila co, Good Molecules, etc., although the frangrance may end up irritating my eyes with this one. £24 for 50ml or £32 for 90ml.
• The Face Shop Charcoal & Konjac Cleansing Puff – This was the first konjac sponge that I bought, and I loved using it with cleanser in the morning to gently remove any dry patches without harshly exfoliating my skin. The shape of this one is nicer than the circle ones imo, but I’d happily use any kojac sponge, especially as this brand is not easy for me to get. Unfortunately this has come to the end of its life and is breaking at the top, but I have repurchased a replacement from another brand.

Makeup

• Tarte Shape Tape Contour Concealer, Light Sand – This one took me a long time to use up – in fact there is still product inside if I were to pull out the stopper, but it has dried up now and I have backups to be using. As you know, this is a holy grail concealer for me, and I will continue to repurchase. £23 for 10ml, and I only need a tiny bit due to its high coverage and blend-ability, so definitely worth the price for me.
• Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place High Coverage Concealer (pot with mirror) – I loved this concealer for spot concealing, touch-ups, and hiding the deepest parts of my under eye circles, but sadly this has been discontinued. Cue Mr Krabs “Oh, boo-hoo! Let me play a sad song for you on the world’s smallest violin.” (no, really, it is the world’s smallest violin).
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Medium Brown – My go to brow pencil – great pointy tip, not too firm or soft, amazing ashy colour (and generally a great colour range), and lasts all day as long as I don’t wipe my eyebrows (read: not waterproof or transfer-proof). Have repurchased many times, but more recently been gravitating towards the dark brown colour. An everyday essential for me. The only cons: the spoolie breaks every damn time, and the price has been increasing rapidly over the years, and given how quickly I get through these it ends up being quite expensive. Still yet to find a better alternative though. Currently £23 for 0.08g.
• NYX Micro Brow Pencil – bought this after hearing the shade Ash Brown was a good dupe for the ABH Medium Brown. I found the colour of the NYX pencil to be too warm for my liking, and the product fades throughout the day, so it’s sadly a pass. £9 for 0.09g is much more affordable though.