Empties #1 – Woo!

I am SO excited to finally be writing this post as I remember when I first started blogging, I made a point of collecting empties so I could write a feature on them, but due to where I used to live before my big move in January, I was limited in where I could store the empty products and I kept losing all of them other than a tub of Clinique’s Moisture Surge, which I would look at every so often, then the light in the room would darken and I would quietly utter the word “soon”.  Or not.  Either way, this post is a long time coming and look at all my empties! No sad, lonely jar of Moisture Surge here!

I use a cleansing oil as part of a double cleanse almost every night, so I have quite a few on rotation and rarely finish any of them (as is often the case with my mass stash of beauty bits) but I was determined to finish one so I could feature it in my hugely over-hyped Empties post.  The oil in question is the bareMinerals Oil Obsessed Total Cleansing Oil, which is a joy to use – it’s light and slippery (erm, like an oil) whilst smelling lovely and fragrant, but most importantly, it does a fab job at removing all make-up, including heavy duty mascara, without irritating sensitive eyes.  It’s £22 here – link. Next up are my two most favourite Omorovicza products, both of which I finished at roughly the same time, starting with the beautiful Thermal Cleansing Balm (£48 here – link) which is one of those products that deserves every bit of praise it gets; it’s a mud-based balm that means it offers a really deep cleanse without the clay-like dryness, and the balmy texture feels amazing on the skin – if you haven’t tried it already, make sure you get your hands on some ASAP.  The Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask is probably the second most talked about product from brand (after the aforementioned Thermal Cleansing Balm) as it’s kind of like a mask version of the balm, thanks to it’s slightly creamy texture that houses the Hungarian Moor Mud.  This is the mask I turn to most often when my skin is out of balance and needs the benefit of a deep cleanse with a gentle touch.  It’s here – link – for £60.

I think we’ve all heard of La Roche Posay’s Serozinc, a spot-fighting spray on toner that I go through like water. What’s strange about it is that I can’t quite work out what I like about it; I think it’s the fact that it’s a mist-style toner for spot-prone skin, which is rare – most toner mists are full-on hydrating which can sometimes be a bit too heavy for my skin – and it’s also designed to sooth which is great for use after acids.  Whatever it is, I like it enough to continually replace it when I run out, especially since it’s relatively cheap at £8.50 here – link. Near the end of last year I was introduced to the Indeed Labs Hydraluron Moisture Jelly and I’m on my 5th jar already – I only use one pump each time, but I use it religiously as it’s just the most perfect, balancing hydrator that feels light on the skin, but still hydrates to an impressive level.  I love, love, love this stuff and think it’s relatively well priced at £24.99, although it’s currently reduced to £16.66 – link …which is annoying as I just repurchased at full price…

Another regular feature in my skincare favourites is the Skinceuticals Phyto Corrective, which is just the most gentle and soothing gel-serum that does it all; it hydrates, soothes, balances and is anti-inflammatory, so it’s great for spotty skin.  This works well either under other products or on it’s own, and it’s great for use after treatments like acids or laser.  If you’re looking for a product that’ll just quietly and calmly settle your skin, this is it – I’m on my third bottle.  It’s around the £50 mark, but I’ve found it here – link – for £36.  The Elemis British Botanical Hand & Nail Butter has a gorgeous fragrance and a light yet nourishing texture.  I made a point of getting through this and committing to using it as I have soooo many hand creams hanging about that I keep using a few times then forgetting about, so I’m really pleased to have finished this! It’s £18 and will be available here – link – soon.

Green colour correcting products are one of the few things that I use up really quickly, and one of my favourites is the NYX HD Photogenic Concealer Wand in Green, which is the perfect thick but slightly creamy consistency, but most importantly, it’s the ideal green for cancelling out red, but it isn’t so neon that you’d struggle to counteract it with foundation.  It’s also a bargain at £6 here – link.  Another great CC product is the Boots No7 Airbrush Away Colour Balancing Primer, which is a vivid green product that works as a great all-over base if you’re like me and have quite a bit of redness that needs addressing.  When I’ve got time to do a ‘proper’ face of make-up, I’ll use this to start with, then follow with the above NYX wand on any bits that are still looking too red, before finishing with foundation.  It’s £16.50 here – link.  The final product in my mammoth Empties post is the brilliant Oxygenetix Oxygenating Acne Control Foundation, an horrendously expensive product that’s worthy of its price tag thanks to it’s ability to give you a finish that basically suggests you have really good, glowy skin, rather than good make-up.  It’s one of the products I always come back to (and panic when I’m running out of) as it’s unbeatable for it’s flattering finish, breathable formula and solid coverage.  It’s £59.50 from Cult Beauty here – link – and if you’re keen to try or stock-up, they’re currently running a 15% site-wide (!!) discount with the code SPRING15, but you only have today (11.04.17) to use it.

*A mix of PR samples and purchases