Not all products make it as far as an ‘Empties’ post and not necessarily because they’re not good products. I may have just decided I don’t like it for whatever reason, I may have just not reached for it and it’s gone past it’s best (I’m working on reducing that by trying to use products up before opening a new one!). So these are the items that over the last few months haven’t made it as far as ‘Empty’.
Urban Decay Full Spectrum Palette
The Full Spectrum Palette from Urban Decay is a rainbow of eyeshadows which initially appeared to have a great colour payoff. That said, the colour was more intense (as expected) when used with a wet brush. I quickly gathered that a wet brush was the only way to get any pigment from most of the shadows! Unfortunately the formula of these eyeshadows are too chalky and don’t have a good pigment to them so I wouldn’t be repurchasing this one which is a real shame as the colours are great!
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick
The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks are amazing! I absolutely loved this blusher/highlighter. I have had this one for literally years!! The reason it is in my ‘Not Empties’ is purely that I’ve had it for too long! The brick is starting to crumble and the colour payoff isn’t really there any more but that isn’t a sign of the quality of the product, I have just had it open for too long. I would definitely purchase one of these again … I do have another that I got as a Christmas gift and I also have a miniature one too.
Clarins Lip Oil – Tangerine
Another product that I have simply had open for too long is this Clarins Lip Oil. I love these lip oils and do have another (the mint green one). They are not too sticky and don’t dry my lips out so I do highly recommend these and would repurchase and just make sure I used it more often as I am doing with my mint one!
Sephora Lip Gloss
As above, this lipgloss has just been open for too long and I haven’t reached for it often enough! I would however repurchase and in this shade as it’s a lovely light pink colour … it’s not too sticky and also has a plumping action to it when applied. Another recommended product and a shame it’s not been used enough.
Milk Makeup Cooling Water Stick
There’s a common theme here … products I’ve not reached for so have gone past their best! Little did I realise that this Milk Makeup Cooling Water stick has a shelf life of 6 months once opened and I have had it open for around 18 months. I LOVE this stuff but I forgot I had it so I feel it is a total waste! Blog posts like this really open my eyes when it comes to wasting products and spur me on to get using what I have open! The Cooling Water is for all skin types but is a great refresher and hydrator! I love the way Caroline Hirons suggests that you’re meant to ‘apply this sparingly but you’ll find it hard to stop rubbing it all over your face like a baby with ice cream!’ Haha! It’s so true!
Stemm Density Stimuli
The Stemm Density Stimuli is a leave-in hair serum full of peptides, amino acids and vitamins designed to improve hair volume and shine. This little bottle kind of hid behind an array of skincare products so again was open for too long. I don’t want to risk my hair using something that has been open as long as this has! I wouldn’t mind trying this again however I have a new hair serum that I will make sure I use and review soon!!
Antipodes Grapeseed Butter Cleanser
Unfortunately this is one product that I just didn’t get on with. I have received and reviewed Antipodes products before and have found them all to be pretty good, except for this. I do love balm type of cleansers however this was super thick and greasy. I found that it removes makeup fine but leaves a film on my skin that I don’t like. I always remove cleansers with a flannel and even with a second cleanser my skin didn’t feel free from the grease. It’s such a shame! I think from that synopsis you can tell I wouldn’t purchase this!
Pixi Sun Mist
This is described as a ‘Sheer Sunscreen Mist’ … however there’s nothing sheer or mist about it when it comes to the spray! The pump doesn’t always work and when it does, it fires out huge blobs of the product which isn’t great, especially when it comes to reapplying! I won’t be repurchasing this!
La Roche Posay SPF50
I’m really wishing that these SPF sprays worked better. This is another spray where it doesn’t always work, but in contrast to the Pixi Mist above, when this does spray, you can’t tell that there is anything coming out of the can. This makes me feel that I’m not getting the protection from the SPF. I end up using so much of it that I end up with a white cast on my face, which isn’t good either! I love the concept of this as a great top-up during the day but unfortunately it doesn’t work well for me so I won’t be repurchasing!
The Ordinary AHA 30% & BHA 2% Peel
The red peel from the ordinary is a great chemical exfoliator for a once a week peel. I have used this a handful of times, starting with a leave-on time of just a couple of minutes and built it up to 8 minutes. My skin felt clean and clear after each use of this peel but as I used it so infrequently I’ve just had it open for too long which is a shame. Some weeks I don’t use any exfoliation and focus on solely hydration so as a little goes a long way I just haven’t managed to work my way through this within it’s shelf-life. I would purchase this again but not until I have used up all other strong acids that I have open!
Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water
The only reason this is in this post is because I forgot I had it. It sits at the back of my desk and is used infrequently as I only use it to tidy up eyeshadow mistakes and very very rarely to remove my makeup. It only has a 6 month shelf life and I know I’ve had it open for much longer than that! That’s the only reason why it is in this post. I would repurchase as I think it is super handy to have!
That’s it for my latest ‘Not Empties’ post…as I always say, just because it didn’t work out for me, doesn’t mean it won’t for you so this post wasn’t intended to put you off or stop you from buying, it’s just my opinions on those products!
I have also recorded a video on YouTube with my opinions on these products (Minus the Pixi Spray and Urban Decay palette as I had misplaced these before recording the video, then found them again after!!)
Disclaimer: Some items in this post were gifted for review. All opinions expressed are my own and it was my choice to add links to any websites throughout this post. Any website links included are not affiliate links and I will not earn commission through you using any link in this post. This post is not an advert for any brand and as such am not being paid to list their products in this post. Any gifted items are marked as (gifted) where applicable.
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