Empty Products: The March Edition

Another month has been and gone and finally the sun seems to be rearing its head, hurrah! Read on to see what I loathed and loved this month.

Skin
La Roche-Posay Physiological Cleansing Gel- I have been using LRP products for about two years but hadn't yet used this cleanser. I picked this one up when I was skint and couldn't afford the cleansers that I really want to buy.  A thick gel in consistency, this needed two pumps to cover the face and wash it effectively. It did wonders for keeping my skin calm as it is super gentle, I barely got any spots the months I was using this but did notice my pores weren't being cleansed as effectively as I like. The annoying thing about this packaging is there was product left at the bottom that I wasn't able to get out through the pump! Grrr...

Will I buy this again?
Probably not.


Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic; I ended up only using this sporadically as I don't think it did diddly squat for my skin, I just love the smell, it's like baby wipes.
Will I buy this again?
I cannot justify buying this just because I love the smell!

Shower


LUSH 'Twilight' Shower Gel- This was limited edition in December and after buying a small size I went back for more as I loved it so much. It is scented with lavendar and malt and is fairly strong but therapeutic. I never thought I particularly liked lavendar but I found this really relaxed me and helped me switch off if I used it at night. But as always, Lush really irk me with their 'natural' almost organic approach to their products yet the majority of them contain parabens which I can't help but find contradictory. All in all though, I did like this body wash.
Will I buy this again?
No, it is no longer available.

L'Occitane Bonne Mere Gentle Body Wash- This would have been perfect if it had been SLS free as it was really long lasting with a fragrance that was subtle. Creamy and foamy, a lovely body wash and definitely got our moneys worth as it has lasted really well.
Will I buy this again?
No.

The Body Shop Ginger Sparkle Shower Gel- My friend bought me this for christmas as she knows I normally love the christmas shower gel that TBS release every year. Last years was pumpkin pie and I adored it, but this years just seemed a bit poor in comparison. I like ginger but I didn't like that it had glitter in it. It was a warm winter scent that I enjoyed using, but it wasn't the best.

Will I buy this?
It's no longer available but if it was I probably wouldn't.

& Other Stories Lemon Daydream Body Wash- This was a sample I received with a top I bought. I love the aesthetics of the & Other Stories website, clothes and beauty packaging and am looking forward to visiting the London store next week. This sample disappointed me though, I found the lemon scent to be really deep and actually really masculine. It smelt like aftershave and for that reason I wouldn't buy it full sized.

Will I buy this?
No!


Hair & Makeup

Batiste Dry Shampoo mini- Cherry- I have been carrying around a mini dry shampoo recently as some days my hairs gets lank in the middle of the day and needs a bit of a boost. I have spoken about this one time and time again so I will bore you with no more details!
Will I buy this again?
This didn't last as long as I wanted it to, I think I will stick to full size in future.

Benefit 'Stay Don't Stray' - This was a sample of Benefit's eye primer. I haven't actually used many eye primers so I find it hard to compare it to others but overall I am impressed by it. It definitely makes the pigmentation of eyeshadows more intense and prevents colour from creasing. I only need a tiny bit of this each day so this sample has lasted me absolutely ages. I've still got another one to get through!
Will I buy this?
Perhaps oneday when my samples run out however I would like to give the Urban Decay primer potion a go as they are meant to be fantastic.

Fragrance

Marc Jacobs 'Dot' EDP - Just over a 1ml sample, this fragrance was nice enough but not very memorable. It's fruity and playful.  It's the newest fragrance and while I always find them pleasant I rarely love them enough to buy them full sized, I always hate the clumpy, gimmicky packaging (except the 'Lola' flower I can cope with) and everyone wears them.
Will I buy this full sized?
No.

Britney Spears 'Midnight Fantasy' EDP and 'Believe' EDP- You would be ashamed of me if you knew how long I had been stashing these in my perfume collection. I recently had a spring clean and decided that I have no need for empty bottles just wasting space so have included them in this empties post even though they've actually been empty a while. I used to love 'Believe' when I was younger but I couldn't even describe the scent to you now. I loved the soapy, sweet scent of 'Midnight Fantasy' but I wouldn't buy it again because let's face it, it's never about wearing a fragrance that is constantly on sale at Boots.
Will I buy these again?
They served a purpose and I loved them, but I wouldn't repurchase either now. 

Thanks for reading!

E.

L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil.

L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil, £17.50 for 250ml.

Following on from my post about chemicals and ingredients in skincare last Monday I thought it best I review a product that is free from all of those I listed. L'Occitane Almond Shower Gel is easily accessible- it is available from L'Occitane shops & their website and is also stocked in larger Debenhams stores and online too.

It is a luxury showertime treat, being fairly pricey at £17.50 for 250ml, however I imagine this is partly due to the ingredients- it is free from SLS which is a very cheap 'bulking' product to make bath time products foam and is normally second on the ingredients list of most shower gels (proving it's high content.) The absence of SLS leads me to think the ingredients including in this shower oil are premium or of good quality and therefore worth paying a little extra for.

Lets get down to the details. In my head I was expecting what is the often assumed almond scent in artificial products- that potent smell like amaretto or marzipan. It's a smell I love but I appreciate that the scent of this almond oil is more true to life and less synthetic, it is very subtle and almost nutty, a lot more elegant and a lot less overwhelming. An element of sweetness remains but this isn't overpowering, resulting in a product that both males and females can use without worrying about an after-scent seeming either too masculine or too feminine.
The oil in consistency is runny, as expected. Both it's liquidity and colour could easily be likened to olive oil! I was worried about an oil feeling heavy on the skin or leaving an icky film behind but thankfully this product does neither of these things, it lathers up in a natural, not overly bubbly way and washes off easily leaving skin feeling cleansed and smoothed.

Something I have noticed since using this is my skin seems calmer. I have never thought that I experienced skin sensitivity, particularly on my body but I had noticed recently that after showering my back and legs would become so itchy. This had just become the norm and to be honest I hadn't put two and two together (duh!) and am now certain that something in my old shower gels was irritating the skin in these areas.

I know this product has a certain amount of 'blogger fame' and while I am always a bit wary of such claims I can honestly say that this is worth the hype. It is lovely to use, though understandably a higher price tag than many would like to pay for a body wash. However if you are concerned about SLS, parabens and so on, I would urge you to give this a go- I love it.

Let me know if you have used or continue to use this product. If you can recommend any other shower products that are free from SLS etc then please do let me know as I am really keen to try more!

Thanks for reading,

E.