A few empties

These are the empties which I have used up over the last few months. 

Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm - I have posted about this previously and this is my second 200mls pot. I like this as a makeup remover, it is a soft gel in the pot which needs to be scooped out, it is not so soft that it melts into an oil like say Emma Hardie Moringa Balm, but neither is it as as solid to get out of the pot as say Sunday Riley Blue Moon Tranquility Balm. It massages into the skin and when water is added it becomes a thicker cream. To my nose the scent of geranium is quite strong and that is probably my only slight criticism. It does the job effectively but it does sting my eyes - not the fault of the product, but the fault of me who can't be bothered to use a separate cleaner for the eye area. Whilst I am unlikely to repurchase again soon, I will repurchase again at some point because of its effectiveness.

Zelens PHA+ Bio-Peel Resurfacing Facial Pads - I have tried many facial exfoliating lotions as can be seen here

And they have all been and indeed are effective, but at the moment my skin needs something gentler but with a bit more ooomph than Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion. The Zelens Pads are of a gentler weave all together and I think that that allows my general heavy-handedness to not result in sometimes worked over feeling skin, and post use my skin feels comfortable without the immediate need for moisture. I have already re-purchased.

Sunday Riley Bionic Cream - Bloody hell £90 for a moisturiser, but a bit of careful use of codes and Ndulge points reduced the initial outlay somewhat. I bought this because of the reviews on the SpaceNK website, I wanted a nighttime moisturiser and this was what I chose. It has a sweet almost bubblegum scent which is a little over powering for me. The texture is, well bouncy for want of a better word, there really is an elasticity to the texture. It is very moisturising and my skin feels a bit sticky post application but I like that, I don't want my nighttime moisturiser to sink without a trace. As I have said before, I have a bit of a thang for Sunday Riley products and I enjoyed using this very much, it suited my skin through this last winter with occasional supplementation of oil or serum and was a pleasure to use. I have too many other moisturisers waiting in the wings to re-purchase this again in the near future, but it remains on the radar.

MV Organic Skincare Gentle Cleansing Cream - Lovely lovely lovely. This is not a bog standard cream cleanser but a richly textured gently scented comfortable comforting cleanser. The cream is thick, it does emulsify with water, but again throughout the winter it cossetted my skin like nothing else. Am/pm, any time, I absolutely indulged in this cleanser. I have repurchased and am using currently.

MV Organic Skincare Rose Soothing and Protective Moisturiser - I found this perfect for over the winter. It is thick in texture and has an almost mattifying effect on my skin which I did not like to start with and coupled with a rose texture was almost ready to give up, but the texture sinks in gently and it really makes my skin feel comfortable and calm. I used it day and night and it worked equally well whatever time of the day. I am missing it already.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue Cream - I enjoyed using this eye cream very much. The texture is a light cream, perfect for around my eyes. There is no scent that I can smell and there is enough of a texture to feel that it is doing something. Sadly for my eyes the rot has set a long time ago, and my eye woes are too far gone for creams I fear, but this one left my eyes feeling moisturised and looking a bit less crepy than before applying and I can't ask for more than that. I have too many eye creams to go through to currently buy again, but it is certainly one that I would repurchase in the future.

What I have used up in January 2016

I was going to upload a video but chickened out, maybe next time. So what I have I used up this month?

Starting at the top left Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Cream. I bought this back in May of last year, and no it did not last this long, it took me a little while to get started with it.

The texture is quite thick, I have scrapped the last little bit out on my hand to show below.

There is a slight opalescence to this cream. It applies beautifully to my skin and does not feel thick or claggy or oppressive in any way, it lays beautifully over my serums and feels like a cloud of comfort on my skin. I will buy this again when I have used up my next day moisturiser.

Moving on in a clockwise direction, MV Organic Skin Care Energising 9 Oil Skin Tonic. I have never been particularly sure that I am using this in the correct way, it is I suppose a treatment cleansing oil. I apply it in the evenings after my pm cleanse and then leave it on whilst I get in the shower, and then remove. I use it when my skin is feeling a bit in need of a purge, a good deep down cleanse, but with that little bit of added comfort. This product gives my skin a thorough cleanse with an extra bit of care, effective, but gentle. I have a back up.  

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner. I was a bit late to the party with this exfoliating toner, I think because I believed that I needed a product with more oomph. But this is lovely, it has a texture more akin to a serum and I suppose at a push one could apply with fingers. I tend to only use exfoliating toners in the evening, but if I was to use one twice a day this would be my am one of choice. I reviewed this in more detail here

Ultrasun Face Anti-Ageing & Anti-Pigmentation Sun Protection SPF50+. This product is a given for me, everyday, rain or shine, this is the first product to go on my face after I have cleansed in the morning. It has lessened the appearance of my hyperpigmentation and I would not be without it. A more detailed review here

Minatures

I have a thing about minatures, not samples but minatures of the full size product, down to the glass jar (thank-you Omorovicza and Oskia) or glass bottle (thank-you Aurelia). 

Sometimes the minature is an improved version on the full size - Sunday Riley Start Over Eye Cream I am looking at you with your metal applicator missing from the full size.

Above is a small selection of some of my gift with purchase products.

MV Organic Skincare Gentle Cream Cleanser

Another day, another am cleanser. This is the Gentle Cream Cleanser from MV Organic Skincare, an Australian brand which I stumbled upon after reading this post by Sali Hughes, and I love a good organic skincare range, and the idea of rich and unctuous appealed, my skin maybe oiler but it is thin and ageing and reactive and sometimes all it wants is uncomplicated comfort.

This 70ml cleanser came as part of a travel set which had an offer on at the time on Cult Beauty, and in the set were the 70mls cleanser, 70mls of the Rose Hydrating Mist and 70mls of the Rose Soothing Protective Moisturiser.

The texture is delightfully thick, obviously not so thick that it cannot be pumped out but it comes out in a satifying dollop.

And it is beautifully soothing and comforting. The scent has some rose but it is more gently citrus to me, I have used it to remove makeup and it does that with a second pass, but it is more an am cleanser for me. I like to apply dry hands dry face, massage in to allow to sink in which is does, and then to re-activate with the addition of some water, massage again and then remove with a cloth of some sort. 

I have gone on to purchase the 120mls size.

Now in the kit was a little tool to enable one to get the last dregs of product out when the pump no longer works, and this is a godsend to all products with pumps. I hate products with pumps because invariably they cease to work with a good couple of days worth of product left - this little tool is perfect, and effective.

Ingredients - Water, Camellia (Camellia Oleifera) Oil, Ceteary Glucoside, Cetearyl Alcohol, Vegetable Glycerin, Olive (Olea Europaea) Fruit Oil, Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Vitamin E non GM (Tocopherol), Honeysuckle (Lonicera Caprifolium) Flower Extract, Honeysuckle (Lonicera Japonica) Flower Extract, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, with essential oils of mandarin, chamomile and rose geranium.

£34.50 for 70mls or £54 for 120mls