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[Experiment627]

This is "Beauty addicts anonymous", a wonderful community of beauty product addicts & we have been going a hot minute... some may say we are enablers... many would say that they are much more intentional about their stashing and usage since joining this sisterhood.

I think the greasies are dependent on lots of causes, and finding the cause is half the battle - finding appropriate treatment is another. I always had toddler-fine hair, but lots and lots of it, and historically it always tended to be dry. When I began perimenopause it changed to greasy. I was washing my hair every day and my scalp became irritated and I had what felt like a painful, scalp - almost pimply at times, and by the end of the day, my hair felt waxy. I had similar symptoms on my eyebrows. My hair began to thin out significantly and I tried every kind of otc shampoo to help. I used every kind of “no sulfates, no parabens, no fragrance, no essential oils, no fun” shampoo & conditioner, every kind of expensive “treatment” for it, Nizoral 2.5% and Selsun Gold (smells like egg farts), coal tar shampoo, etc, and nothing really changed. Eventually (over ten years into this situation)I went to a dermatologist whose specialty was scalp problems. I had a couple of biopsies to look at the scalp and also had to collect all the hair that was in the shower every day and my hairbrush, clothes and car - it was looked at to see where in the hair cycle it was falling out, and the root bulbs, etc…. I was diagnosed with female pattern baldness (my mum, aunt and maternal grandmother also had visible scalps post-menopause) and telogen effluvium along with seborrheic dermatitis. was prescribed oral Minoxidil for the hair loss and Spironolactone to help with the negative side effects of that. It cured my seborrheic dermatitis (proving that it was caused by hormonal imbalance) and the rosacea I had battled for years disappeared really quickly too. (I suspect it was also related to seborrheic dermatitis.) I can use any shampoo these days too.

My July empties!

Not a big month for beauty this month but hit through some hair care.

OGX damage remedy coconut oil this made my hair gel flake off so a big no no for me. Didn't finish it

LARRY KING city shampoo loved this! I like the packaging even though you can't get the last bit out and it doesn't easily stand up. Needed very little and it made my hair quite soft. Smells quite unisex and pleasant. RP for me!

DAVINES Nounou hair mask loved this! Used as a conditioner and it really did soften my hair. Lovely scent and simple packaging. Lasted ages. Defo RP

UMBERTO GIANNINI banana butter smells delicious. Hair felt a bit waxy but it did soften my curls. Trying their twirling and styling defining cream next for a comparison. Would RP

PERCY AND REED WONDER BALM a hair primer that I used as a leave in balm. It's ok. Got a bit left to try on daughters hair before using straighteners.

WILDSMITH SKIN copper peptide cream loved the slightly medicinal smell to this. It was whipped well with a gorgeous texture. Left my skin super soft. Would RP

DR BARBARA STURM super anti aging serum this was alright. No comment really. My skin was amazing combined with the copper cream above. Would like to try with other moisturisers. RP

Thanks for the share @Fraaahnces I really admire your tenacity in seeking out a solution for you. I suspect I should do what you did and see a dermatologist but for now I am just trying to get a regular HRT course of action sorted. The shampoo and conditioner I use does make a big difference & I am lucky to have found a few recently that really "help" that said I always want to try new things...

I finally ditched the Poundland skincare yesterday and moved on to Boots N07... my skin has been doing a happy dance since 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽... sorry if I already mentioned this - I am just so happy!

@Experiment627 I'll look forward to your review on No7 as I'm a huge fan of the range and think it is very underrated in general.

@ponks so far so good! I got just enough to have a complete routine & stuck mainly to the lower priced end of the range (cos some of the range is super expensive now!). But am already loving the cleansing balm. I also got two sets of those capsule things - which were really not too pricey but feel very high end. Everything feels nice on! But am thinking there may be serious duty amounts of silicone in everything and maybe that is why.
Anyhoo, for now, all is good in the hood.

Oh that's interesting @Experiment627, I ordered a set of those capsules yesterday as they were in the £10 Tuesday deal. Something with ceramides. Keen to hear what you think!

@Maranello I got the Ceramides ones as well as the Vit C & E ones - using Ceramides in the am and the others at night. So far so good. Let me know how you get on. Thanks!

@Experiment627 I'm just trying some of the no7 capsules (hyaluronic and camellia) and they feel very siliconey which is disappointing, I was hoping for a more oily capsule.

By the way everyone, Cult Beauty have advertised the contents of the 2022 advent calendar ... looks amazing. I'm hoping to get a calendar of some sort this year, never had one of the luxury ones.

Thanks @Ponks

By the way everyone, Cult Beauty have advertised the contents of the 2022 advent calendar

As have Decleor and Jo Malone. Useful link at beautyadventcalendar.net

While I wait for the Boots goodies - and I will let you know how I get on @Experiment627 - some more empties. Have been piling them up!

Clinique all about clean rinse-off foaming cleanser
For some reason I carried on with this even though it made me break out along my jawline. Wouldn't use again!

Elemis pro-collagen marine moisture essence
Love Elemis and was looking forward to this. It did … nothing? It did leave my skin feeling a bit tacky, though.

Eve Lom TLC radiance cream
I put off using this as I was sure I'd had it before years ago and it was far too rich. Either it's changed or my older skin now needs it because this was gorgeous.

Balance apothecary hand cream
Got this free from M&S on a rare useful Sparks bonus. Really nice.

Sisley black rose facial oil
I know it's spendy but I hated the smell. Felt nice enough on my face and I think I have another in the stash that I'll probably use at some point but do not love.

Kate Somerville exfolikate cleanser
Second one of these I've had and still really like it. Might buy once my cleanser stash is smaller.

La Roche-Posay cicaplast baume
Just the best thing for angry/stressed/random outbreak skin.

Floral Street perfume
From the JL advent, I think. Nice but not at all distinctive.

Dr Barbara Sturm anti-ageing body cream
Actually really liked this but the non-freebie version is laughably expensive so no more.

Time Bomb over-exposed sun damage rescue
Not an empty but a chuck: had a tint that didn't suit me at all so couldn't see any point to it. Goodbye!

A couple more empties:

75) Oskia cleansing gel - not bad, but not something that I would bother to rp.

76) Rodial vit c eye soufflé - this is a lovely eye cream. Perfect consistency. All the Rodial products that I've tried so far have been good.

Total for the year 76/125

Only three advent calendars worth! 😂

My Clinique Take the Day Off (the big pot) was scraped clean last night.

A sad day.

@Experiment627 Boots cancelled my order! I will have to experience the ceramide capsules vicariously via you

That's terrible. Did they give a reason?

@OchonAgusOchonOh out of stock, apparently. Which they can't tell when you're ordering it? It was in the £10 Tuesday offer so I expect it was popular but that's precisely why I wanted to try them!

That's annoying.

How annoying @Maranello ! although all I can tell so far with the capsules is that they contain A LOT of silicone... so they feel nice going on but who knows if they are doing anything much? Too soon to tell!

Estee Lauder advanced night repair. Loved it, going to move on to Clarins next. Not sure which one better. Probably much of a muchness.

Elemis papaya enzyme peel - don’t think did much.

MZ skin eye masks - really don’t think do anything, always seem to be in beauty boxes so I’ve 2 others to use.

95/120

10 samples.

🆘 mahoosive spot on chin 🆘 probably from all the No7 silicone!!

Hidden forest hand cream. This was fine. Not great but ok as an everyday, hands not to dry, one.

Elemis papaya enzyme peel (snap @PomRuns). I agree - doesn't do much.

Diptique shower gel. It's a shower gel. It got me clean 🤷‍♀️

Prai upper arm cream. I was very bold and used it on other parts of my body too. It was a nice, nourishing cream but I find the notion of creams for different parts of the body a bit bizarre.

I still have loads of stuff left and we're coming into advent season. I can't use things up any faster than I am. I really shouldn't get a calendar (or two...) but I know the FOMO will kick in.

@OchonAgusOchonOh the FOMO for me will be too great too! Also I love opening up the calendars!!! Really need that JOY in my life!

I agree with you re the joy. Plus the threads on here are great.

I was telling DH how much joy I am still getting from the previous two years calendars. I've logged them all in a spreadsheet recently, gone back to where I got everything from and when so I can put them in date order (about 80% successful) written reviews for the stuff I've used snd colour coded gif future purchase/avoids. Next I want to log the active ingredients and quantities in them so when I'm making purchasing decisions I'm understanding what I'm buying.

It beats playing on my phone

Wow. That is seriously hard core! Respect.