February + March empties

Dear diary,

With so many blog challenges that I was following I'm a bit behind on my empties series, so here I go and show you two months worth of products that I've used up.

This Caudalie grape water mist I had for the longest time. A friend gifted me this and I didn't really had a use for it until I got convinced into using a toner. I have a very oily skin and the toners I had tried in the past left my skin feeling sticky. This spray is very refreshing, has a hint of a grape seed scent to it and doesn't interfere with my oily skin. I love the convenience of spraying it on your face, so quick and easy.

I asked the same friend to get me a Caudalie hand cream but they were out of it and instead she got me the body butter which she claimed was the same thing. It smells the same, it has a nice and subtle fruity scent, but that's about it. It's more sticky than the hand cream and doesn't absorb very well. I haven't tried it as a body moisturizer, though.

Who doesn't have at least 3 or 4 backup bottles of the Batiste dry shampoo? I have 6. I can't believe what a life changer this has been for me. I used to wash my hair every other day, now I only have to wash it twice a week and only because it gets really flat on top.

By Sunday I will have completed my 3-month no-poo challenge, you can read more about it here.

A serum by L'Óreal: the Age Perfect Cell Renew. It has an overpowering fragrance and I'm not particularly against scented creams and such but this one was a bit over the top. I had loved the Youth Code serum so I thought this one might be even better, but no. Not going to repurchase this.

My Clinique rinse-off foaming cleanser. I got this by mistake, a friend needed it so I went and bought it for her at a discount and when I told her she had already gotten one herself. So I ended up using it myself and I have to say it has lasted me a very long time. You only need the smallest amount and it foams up like you wouldn't believe. I used this in the shower after having removed all my make up first.

I have a post on my morning and nighttime skincare routine in case you want to give it a read.

And you can find out why this tube is cut open here.

I like taking some extra vitamins or supplements at intervals. Cod liver oil is supposed to be good for your hair, nails and teeth (among other things). Luckily they come in gelatin capsules because it tastes and smells disgusting.

Babaria nail polish remover. Just the cheapest brand at the drugstore, nothing to comment here. I don't like it that much as you really need to keep rubbing until all the nail polish has come off, but as I said, it's cheap.

Uriage Micellar Solution face wipes. I don't use face wipes very often but I got these as a present with my ELLE magazine subscription. I really loved these, apart from getting all the stubborn make up off, they felt refreshing, nourishing and they smelled amazing. They contain thermal spring water, plant extracts, shea butter and is paraben-free. Now I want to give the Ole Henriksen wipes a try.

For the sake of researching for the #BOBBlogChallenge-Pamper products post I tried these two face masks:

• Lancôme Blanc Expert Ultimate Whitening Bio Cellulose mask. Radiance, anti-dullness, luminosity. Even days after having used this I got complimented on how well my skin looked liked. 
• Shu Uemura deepsea moisture replenishing mask.    

And to finish this off: Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme global anti aging cream. What to say about this product? It is a rich formula so I have used it mainly during the winter although I purchased it just before summer last year. I also preferred to use it as a night cream to fully benefit from it's anti aging ingredients as they say skin regenerates at night. The golden packaging is gorgeous and luxurious. I prefer a pot container where you can get up to the last drop of product even though it's less hygienic.

So that's it for now. I have some more empties waiting in my basket but I'll leave them for my April post.

For the love of trying out new products,

January empties

Dear diary,

This month has really flown by and I have a bunch of empty packages to share with you.

My vitamin supplement for hair, skin and nails:

I usually take this as a one-month treatment three times per year: right after summer when my hair is falling out like crazy, during the colder winter months and just before summer to prepare and strengthen my hair for the burning hot summer months.

Pomegranate energizing shower gel by Yves Rocher:

Has an amazing fresh scent perfect for making me feel more awake and charging my batteries for a long day at the office.

Anti-cellulite treatment stick by Thiomucase:

I read somewhere that the use of anti-cellulite products is someway culture related. I don't remember any blogger/vlogger that I follow mentioning the use of these so I suppose it's true. European women seem to regularly use anti-cellulite creams whereas the rest of the world don't bother so much. Is it because they don't have cellulite problems or what? I sure do and this one has worked amazingly well. It came in one of the last glossyboxes I was subscribed to before they increased their price in 50%. I'll be repurchasing this in springtime for sure, for now I'm trying out a NIVEA one in gel form.

Double serum complete age control concentrate by Clarins:

The first and the last applications where more on the oilier side so I've only been using this at night just to be safe. The new formula was supposed to be less oily but even so I think it's still too much for my skin. Maybe I'll repurchase it next winter if I can't find anything better.

Yves Saint Laurent Teint éclat de soie radiance smoothing foundation with SPF 8 in number 4:

I got this from a friend of mine and haven't liked it very much. It's the perfect shade for me in the winter but it made my skin feel oily after just a couple of hours. Anyway I have been using this in the winter and put a mattifying powder on top, I just hate wasting good products even when they don't work for me. Unless it breaks me out of course, but I still haven't found the product that does that.

 Not one but two mascaras:

The Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara that has only lasted me two months before becoming clumpy and dry. Before that it was just too wet for my taste, so no luck there. You can read a full review and mini giveaway here.

I got the Eylure Lash voluminous false lash blending mascara for free as part of a 29 pounds-worth kit for a purchase over 30 pounds in cosmetics I made at Look Fantastic. After 3 or 4 applications I just gave up. It didn't do any voluminizing at all and it smells really really bad.

My favourite eyebrow pencil by Integrate (Shiseido brand):

I bought this on my trip to Tokyo and I adore it, it matches my brows 100%, it's a dark brown/grey tone, sorry but I can't read Japanese so I don't know what the packaging says. Luckily I found a web site where I can repurchase it, I already have two back-ups.

Lipium lip gel:

This homeopathic product I discovered when I worked at a Pharmacy a long time ago. It is a gel that completely dries after a few seconds and doesn't leave any sticky residue on your lips. I use this as a protective barrier when I'm using a drying lip product as I have severely dehydrated lips. It keeps your lips soft and prevents them from flaking as they'd normally do after using a dark toned lipstick.

Collistar anti-age hand treatment:

It's a thick/dense white cream that feels very nourishing and absorbs very well into the skin not leaving behind any sticky or greasy feeling at all. As for its scent, nothing to comment, just a neutral cream smell, not bad, not amazing either.

For the love of sharing,

December empties

Dear diary,

Here are the products I've used up this past month.

My favourite NIVEA moisturizing body lotion, this product is great. It saves you a lot of time when you're in a hurry. You just apply it once you've rinsed off your soap/gel. I turn the shower off, apply it all over and rinse. It leaves your skin super smooth and hydrated. It penetrates your skin immediately and you don't have to wait for it to dry before getting dressed. It costs around 5€ for a 400ml bottle, so not bad.

Mavala protecting base coat for nails. I've run out of this very quickly as it was only a 5ml bottle. I purchased it some time ago and it came with some other Mavala nail products in a nice manicure bag.

Lina Bocardi's nail polish remover, I got this at my mom's so I'm not sure where I can purchase it as I liked it a lot. It's nicely scented, not so overpowering as others and it really gets the job done effortlessly.

Loved this hand cream from the Italian brand Collistar. I've never purchase anything from this brand before but I have to say the hand cream is great. It's a very dense/thick cream but it really penetrates well and leaves no sticky residue. It's great for the cuticles as well, I've notice a big difference.

I'm sad this bottle is empty. It came with a night cream when you purchased over 30€ in Clarins products at Douglas in The Netherlands. My mom was visiting some relatives over there and I asked her to get me two Beauty Flash Balms as I wanted to try it after reading so many good reviews.

I really liked its scent, as it contains orange extract you immediately know it's going to smell just like that but I tell you it smells even better. I'm using the L'Óreal Micellar water now as it is way much cheaper and it doesn't have any scent at all so if you have a problem with perfume you can never go wrong with the L'Óreal one. I'd heard the L'Óreal is a dupe for the Bioderma but I can't comment on that as I haven't tried the Bioderma yet. For now I'm happy with the L'Óreal as I think it's sold at an unbeatable price of around 3€ for a 200ml bottle.

My last product is the Maybelline Lasting Drama Eyeliner in Ultra Violet. Not that I've used it up but it has sadly dried on me. I bought it from Feel Unique and I think it already had already gone bad when they send it over as I noticed a huge difference in texture comparing it to my black one. After using it three or four times it started to flake. I've heard talk about the Bobby Brown's being really great but I'm not sure I want to spend so much more when I'm really not much of a gel liner user. I'll stick to my black one for the moment.

Can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for me. I'm excited to share my new findings with y'all.

For the love of sharing,

November empties

Dear diary,

December is finally here, I'm so excited for Christmas this year that I've already started decorating the living room and putting up the tree and the nativity? Sorry I don't know the word for "Belén". The rest of the house I leave as a Christmas-free zone, one because I don't own that many Christmas decorations and two because I feel it would be a bit too much for spanish standards.

This year I'm particularly fond of candles, mainly because all my youtube make up gurus swear by them and have them all year round. I find that Christmas is the perfect time of year to go nuts and have a lot of candles with lingering scents all around the house.

Well, I'm getting a bit off topic with this intro, I only wanted to share the products I've used up this last month.

My first dry shampoo ever:

A 200ml spray bottle with a nice fresh scent. I bought it at my local drugstore Druni at just below 5€. It worked fine but I had nothing to compare it to so I recently got the Batiste one and can say that the latter is much much better that the Schwarzkopf one. As for the price difference there isn't any so I'm continuing with the Batiste even though it comes in a 150ml bottle as I feel I don't need to spray that much product to get better and more lasting results. I have very oily and thinning hair and had to wash it every other day, which is very bad for your hair as it strips it from it's protecting oils, so now I can go for 3 or even 4 days without washing my hair without it looking greasy and gross.

Next is nothing beauty related, well I suppose in a way it is that's why I've listed it here:

My daily mouth wash, this was a sample I got at the dentist when I finally finished wearing braces. It's very soft, containing no alcohol, but still leaves a very fresh and clean breath.

Mary Kay TimeWise Repair with volu-firm skin care treatment:

It comes with an eye cream, which I'm still using, and a serum. The serum only lasted me a couple of months and was empty before I started blogging so I didn't keep the bottle to post a picture.

I bought it with a discount around Mother's day, I think it retails for 200€ and I got it for 120€. Even with the discount it was a pricy product but taking into account that you get 4 full size products I felt it wasn't so bad. The day and night cream come in 48gr and I loved the packaging, it has a sort of pumping device: when you open the lid you don't see any cream at all, what you have is a plastic lid with a pump on one side and the cream comes up the other side when you press the pump down. It's a very clever way as to keep the product from getting any germs and bacteria.

I liked that the day cream has a SPF 30 but the downside was that it had a very sunscreen-like scent, which I really hate.

As for the product itself, I haven't seen any improvement in the way of a more firm or tight skin, it's a bit too dense and thick for my taste as I have oily skin, didn't like the scent either so I won't be purchasing it again.

My favourite drugstore mascara to date:

The Falsies from Maybelline is highly recommended by Tanya Burr http://www.tanyaburr.co.uk so I purchased two: one for me to try and another as a present for a friend of mine. I got them for 9€ at https://www.perfumesclub.com/es/

I love that it holds my curl perfectly for hours and hours, it doesn't leave my lashes clumpy at all, I really hate it when mascaras do that, and it has never smudged on me, something a lot of other mascaras I've used always did.

MAC PRO Eye make up remover:

Sorry for all the MAC lovers out there but this is a never ever again product for me, it stung my eyes like crazy, it left them all read and irritated.

The Nude Magique BB cream from L'Óreal:

I didn't like it at first as it's light coverage but I've been using it almost daily this last month and I'm really loving it now that it's empty ha ha ha. I'll probably purchase it again in the future but I want to use my other foundations and BB creams, first. Even though I hate to have a shiny face this product leaves a beautiful glow, so no shine, glow is the key here. It has a scary color at first, it's a sort of taupe-grey, but when it blends into the skin it leaves a very natural and healthy looking finish. The only thing I didn't like from the beginning is the low SPF, I think it's 15 or 20, it doesn't say on the bottle: another thing I hate. Oh, and it's 30ml for just below 10€.

And last:

No, I'm not showing you my hand wash, I use this to clean my brushes and make up sponges. It's antibacterial and has a very nice flowery fresh scent, it says it gets rid of 99.9% of all bacteria, is antiseptic and contains aloe vera and milk proteins to soften the skin, in this case, the brushes.

I will talk about my brush cleaning routine in my next post.

For the love of sharing,

October empties

Dear diary,

I've been busy and lazy this week so it's high time for a new post.

It's time again for my monthly empties:

This is a face after sun cream that I like using when I've spent too many hours sunbathing so it has lasted me a long time. I normally only go for 2 two hours on the weekends but when I'm on vacation or are really having a great time at the beach I like giving my face a special moisturizing and calming treatment, even though I always put on a 50+ sunscreen and reapply every 2 hours. I think it cost me about 20€ but I have not repurchased it as I like trying out different brands. It was alright though, it has a thick consistency and is very moisturizing, about the calming properties I cannot say as I haven't burnt my face in a really, really long time...

This is a sort of silicone based heat and color protecting serum for the hair. I've had it for the longest time, I have had a love-hate relationship with it and just when I was beginning to really like it it died on me. But I'm happy again as I'm loving my Macadamia Natural oil luxe travel kit I got for free when making a purchase at Look Fantastic.

I finished my cleansing face wipes as I only had a few left and I don't like to leave them dry out. They come in handy when I'm really tired but don't use them very often. They aren't special, just a cheap supermarket brand. I don't need to repurchase them as I got a pack of Uriage micellar thermal water wipes for free when I bought a one-year subscription to ELLE magazine.

My favourite deodorant to prevent BO: it only costs 2€ and is very gentle on the skin, it doesn't leave any ugly marks on my clothes, and most important I like the scent.

My face wash: the 3-in-1 cleanser that says to cleanse, softly exfoliate and refresh the skin. It's a very gently cleanser even though it contains a few exfoliating granules, I use this on a daily basis, normally in the morning, I have a different one for my evening skin care routine. It cost me about 25€ if I'm not mistaken but it has lasted me over a year, you only need the smallest amount. I'm trying out a different brand now but I'll definitely repurchase it in the future.

And my last product is a body lotion I use at night time, it's not sticky, which I hate and is quickly absorbed by the skin, it leaves a faint fresh grassy-like scent. I've already repurchased it and has cost me  2,59€ for a 400 ml bottle.

For the love of sharing,