Feel the temptation to indulge in beauty treats? Is your collection overflowing with treasures? Come unite with fellow beauty enthusiasts in this lovely group!

[Experiment627]

Are you a beauty product addict? We are your PEOPLE!!!!

I have finished a tube of tretinoin cream tonight. It’s a metal tube and I use one of those keys like on a sardine tin to get every last precious molecule out. You all know I repurchased it today so I won’t be without…
I had a putter around the chemist while I was there. I thought it might be smart to reacquaint myself with drugstore skincare. Gobsmacked at the prices here!!! Olay, L’Oreal and even bloody Neutrogena on par with the most expensive products from Korea, only less impressive ingredients or k-style copies. I’m sticking with k-beauty!

Can't remember what I last reported but here's what I think are the latest empties:

• MZ Skin Hydra-Bright Gold Eye Mask. Gave this to my niece as I find them a bit pointless.
• Vaseline tin. Already rebought, vaseline is the only thing that doesn't make my lips peel and is cheap as chips to boot!
• Aldi six wick Winter Spice candle. This is a dupe of The White Company's Winter candle. It's ok but not a patch on the original. DH and I are in agreement that we'd rather pay the extra for the real thing.
• Cien anti-dandruff shampoo. Useless, won't rebuy.
• Diptyque Coton votive. Nice but don't need another.
• Diptyque Santal votive. Ok but not my favourite.
• The White Company Advanced Hydration Moisturiser 50ml. I really liked this, don't need moisturiser just now but would rebuy.
• Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Serum 1ml. Only lasted two uses so no idea if it's any good or not, I'm not a big fan of retinols anyway.
• Cowshed foot scrub. This was another surprise hit from the 2022 Cowshed advent calendar. Don't need another scrub yet but would rebuy.
• Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion 15ml. Have had this for ages and finally managed to use up. It's fine but probably wouldn't go out of my way to rebuy.
• The White Company Highland Escape Botanical Candle. Love this and it's DH's favourite. It's definitely a winter scent though so won't rebuy just yet.

I finally filled the pretty bottles with the skincare dregs that I will probably use up before my new bits and pieces arrive. (They still haven’t left the bloody warehouse yet 😵‍💫) When I bought the blue bottles and jars I didn’t realise that the new ones were almost identical (but glass and different colours.) I can see myself continuing to do this. *NB I never repot sunscreen. It alters its efficacy. They packaging is all specifically designed for each formulation.

@Fraaahnces I thought this would be a better thread to ask you advice than the buying ban one I started typing it in😀

My birthday is coming up and my mother was asking what I wanted so I suggested some Korean skincare which I will order. She also thought it sounds very exciting and wants me to get some stuff for her too.

I will order her the Rohto Mentholatum vitamin C and the Jumiso snail mucin with peptides. I am assuming she won't need a separate serum if she is using the snail mucin essence.

I need advice please on an eye cream please. She doesn't sleep brilliantly due to chronic pain so tends to get puffy eyes so she's looking for an eye cream or gel. She's also started using Bakuchiol recently which she likes.

She's in her 80's and has dry, fairly sensitive skin.

I was looking at BLITHE - Pressed Eye Cream Caffeine 1.0 or Haruharu WONDER - Black Rice Bakuchiol Eye Cream but am open to your wonderful suggestions.

The Haruharu line is very gentle and has a lot of hyaluronic acid. I would probably chose the Heimish Marine Care Eye Cream. It’s a higher-tech (and less wanky) version of the La Mer one. Quite thick, but cooling and soothing. If Bakuchiol is an absolute requirement, the SKIN1004 Madagascan Centella Bakuchiol Eye Cream would be lovely too. Also super-soothing.
Another thing your mum might like are these things… There are other brands and sometimes they’re known as “Warming Eye Masks”. They’re soothing and lovely when you’re over tired and feeling blah… This brand has lots of different scents to choose from as well.

Steam Eye Masks

Thank you so much @Fraaahnces I will check them out.

I also noticed that cosrx do a snail mucin eye cream. How would you rate that in comparison to the Heimish one? You can tell I'm currently very enthusiastic about snail mucin. I got dd a hand cream with snail mucin and she's raving about it.

I think at 80 your mum might get more benefit from the Heimish one. It’s a thicker, more luxurious cream. Definitely not an ointment but a cream for sure. Also comes with a nifty spatula that has a heavy, cooling massager on one end.

Brilliant. I'll order that one then. Thank you @Fraaahnces .

I have an empty to report:

• Nivea micellar water soothing 0% residue: for me this is just as good as the Bioderma Sensibio and way cheaper.

Wow this feed really is keeping me focused on using up products and not buying more!

Three empties for me...

Mac Skin Finish Mineralise - Medium Deep - My long time love affair 😍
I swear by it and it lasts for ages.

Iconic Illuminator - Blush - Get so many compliments on my highlighter, so would defo recommend

Dr Jart+ - Cicapair Calming Gel Cream - I got suckered in to buying this in an airport, but glad I did. Very moisturising whilst being light. It isn't cheap for £30 for a tube, but little goes a long way... Would use again.

Looking forward to seeing more of your empties and tips!

I learnt about Snail Mucin today!
Do people notice a difference with it?

I will let you know when it arrives. It appears to be travelling rather slowly, as you would expect for snails.

Elemis eyemasks - good, but I prefer patchology.

Tocca hand cream - smells amazing! I used it as a perfume substitute when out and about.

Ted Baker body lotion - smells ok. I buy it now and again on Boots 70% off sale.

Moroccanoil styling cream 10ml - lasted quite a long time actually. Reminded me of vaseline texture wise. Not sure if worth the money.

Maroccanoil mask - pff.. good I guess but I expected more. Similar products available for less.

Maroccanoil treatment - I liked it, but it’s not magic. Smells nice and is not overly heavy. I will rp if on sale, otherwise I’ll stick with Agadir argan oil.

Redken acidic bonding - I think @Experiment627 summarised it really well in her video - it probably did work but there is no real way of measuring that. It has to be used as part of a hair care “system”.

Clinique eye cream - really liked it, but now tempted to try the one recommended on here with retinol (korean, I think).

Aveeno body cleansing oil - actually bought this by accident thinking it was moisturiser. Finally got round to using it and actually really liked it.

Davines nounou shampoo - fine, didn't think it was anything special.

amika perk up dry shampoo - I liked this, but too expensive when cheaper ones work as well.

Mauli grow strong hair oil - wasn't that keen on the scent but I think it was good for my hair (not so much my pillow). Wouldn't buy.

Some empties
From left
vilhelm Peony Couture LOVE this from Liberty AC 2022, this is a RP and I have one more
Tridh Mcevoy mascara really like this
Sarah Chapman night serum, really good, think it was a GWP but may RP
Aureliae eye serum just ok
Barbara Sturm moisturiser in last years Liberty AC hmmm ok
Lumene primer found it in a make up bag and used it, like it
Hourglass mascara, crap, smudged immediately, binning it after a week

@ItookYourJob thanks for watching my video! I am currently trying the Loreal Elvive bonding repair - pre-shampoo, shampoo, conditioner and serum and am really liking BUT I have gone off-piste with the preshampoo (instructions apply to wet hair for 5 minutes before washing out and shampooing & I have been applying and leaving on for way longer with a towel turban on and then following on with the next steps - result = amazingly soft hair). I do wonder if I would get similar with the Redken treatment... overall though I seem to be in a much better place with my hair than I was say 4 months ago. But hard to actually pin point what is the key factor as have changed up so many things.

I have an empty to report:

• Wild natural deodorant refill Pomegranate & Pink Peppercorn: really could not smell any fragrance. Much prefer the sea salt one which I am moving on to now.

@OchonAgusOchonOh that has made me giggle 🤭

@Experiment627 - I have recently started following Abbey Yung on YT. )She’s a trichiligist, btw… ) She recommends using the prewash as a mask too. It’s on my list to buy when I run out of other products.

@Fraaahnces I follow her too!! I love how she often highly rates drugstore haircare.

Same! Am going to try and find the coconut oil today.

@Fraaahnces I have not used the one she talks about but I do have a hair oil that I sometimes apply a little while before washing hair and I think it does protect the lengths somewhat. Once I get through the one I have I will try the one she suggests (which I think is OGX). I keep the oil well away from my greasy roots.
I used to wash my hair every day and now am able to get to one day yes, one day no - which is awesome!

Some more empties

Radox feel revived lemongrass and mandarin shower gel - Love this - reminds me a bit of the satsuma showergel the body shop did in the 1980s.

L'occtaine verbena hand cream - nice staple will probably RP at some point

Charlotte Mensah hair oil - This was in the Liberty AC and I love it. DD says it smells of Christmas and it does have cinnamon in it. Will certainly be on an RP list at some point

OUAI Melrose place body cream -Another for RP. when I'm feeling flush might buy myself a pot for my birthday. Loved the smell, the texture and the result - somehow managed to make my trousers feel lighter on my legs.

REN gentle cleansing milk. This was in a Liberty beauty drop box and again will probably be on a list for replacement at some point - left my skin feeling clean and soft

Small tube of shower gel from some hotel or other - meh

Patchology serve chilled rose face mask. My initial impression of this one was very very wet - was OK but probably not an RP (forgot to photograph this one)

26/100

forgot photo

20/100

Blistex intensive moisturiser is a HG product for me, I have a few others in the go in various pockets and bags.

Codage shampoo, this range pops up in nice hotels in Paris and it's one of the few hotel minis where I grab all I can. I love the smell and it's great on my fine hair.

Bio-oil - this has been sitting around for a while so I made an effort to use it up. I really like it. The smell is a bit non-descript but it's a fab non greasy body oil. Not an immediate RP as I have several body oils in the stash.

Some empties today.
No 7 Radiance Daily Energising Exfoliating Cleanser - didn’t like this, found it drying, not really exfoliating and not sure if it has micro beads or not.
apothecary Meditate black pepper and mandarin shower gel - fine but quite a strong fragrance.
Radox Black pepper and ginseng muscle therapy bath soak - fine, I like the smell of this one, cheap and cheerful Radox does what it says on the tin really.
Head & Shoulders Scalp Care conditioner - don’t know why I bought this as I don’t put conditioner on my scalp. Creamy formula, was nice enough as a conditioner for lengths and ends but would not RP. Btw, someone asked what the Lush Tofu shampoo was like, after several uses I’m on board, strong scent but makes hair soft and doesn’t irritate scalp. Would RP.
Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - not great, I prefer a thicker balm to take off makeup and then use this for final traces but really I’d prefer a basic cucumber toner which does the same job. Would not RP.
Stash going down slowly but surely, I liked buying a replacement bubble bath knowing I actually needed one, guilt free! Also enjoyed shopping my stash for a replacement conditioner I’d forgotten I had.