Tempted by beauty treats? Addicted to buying beauty products? Is your collection bursting with favourites? Join fellow beauty lovers in this supportive group!

[Experiment627]

Welcome to this beauty product lover's haven! If you're constantly tempted by the latest beauty treats or find your collection overflowing with cherished products, you're in the right place. Whether you're looking to share your latest finds, swap tips, or simply indulge in some beauty chat, this is the perfect spot for you. Let’s unite, inspire, and celebrate our love for all things beauty!

This thread has been going for YONKS! Many have been "cured" of their beauty product addiction from the support this group gives... We share reviews and our empties/chucks - so when we do decide to buy something again, we can do so armed with collective wisdom.

Empties:

31. Larry King City Shampoo - OK, nothing special. I had hoped that it would make my hair less greasy, but it didn’t

32. Aurelia eye and lash cleanser - OK but you can get cheaper brands which are just as good

33. Omorovicza Silver Skin Saviour - I’ve had this ages. Kept it for when I get hormonal breakouts. It seems to work, but I would repurchase as it’s too expensive for what it is.

34. Glow Recipe BHA AHA Salicylic Serum - Also use this serum when I get hormonal breakouts. Seems to help. Would RP.

35. Elizabeth Arden Lip Protectant - have bought this for years. It’s the tinted version, which I tend to use as a tinted lip balm instead of lipstick on wfh days

Total 35/110

I managed the first 6 months of the year without buying any beauty products, but have now broken my no buy with a JL beauty box and 2 fragrance advent calendars! Need to work on those empties!

I have an empty to report:

• Sanex calming shower gel: this smells really nice - agave & did not seem to irritate my skin further. I went through it quite fast as I sort of apply it like a lotion in the hope it will calm my super unhappy skin. Really hope medical profession determine cause soon as it has been over 6 months of extremely itchy skin. At least the nights of waking to apply ice packs or take a cold shower to ease the itching seem to be behind me. Really hope I am not jinxing things by saying that!

I was trying to figure out what an eye and lash cleanser was and should I have been shampooing my eyelaahes all this time when I realised it's just a fancy name for an eye makeup remover.

I just use me cleansing balm as I have yet to find one that doesn't sting really badly, even the ones for sensitive eyes.

@OchonAgusOchonOh

😂 yeah, it’s just a posh name for an eye makeup remover! They think that if they call it that and put it in a glass bottle then they can charge 4x the price.

To be fair, this one is very gentle, but probably not quite as good as Nivea double effect as far as makeup removal is concerned. However, I don’t have particularly sensitive eyes, so the gentleness is a bit lost on me. I might just as well use Nivea.

More empties

Margaret Dabbs Foot Lotion - Really like this. Going to acquire more but first I must finish off a Beauty Pie one I don't like as much.

Beauty Pie Le Masque Micro Caviar - I've not found many products from Beauty Pie I really love but this is one of two. It's a fab overnight mask which I think is a bit of a dupe for a very pricey Dior product.

Leaves my skin looking and feeling lovely the next day. At £29 members price it's not to expensive, on a par with the Laniege overnight masks which I also rate.

My membership runs until November but not sure I can justify renewing based on the couple of products that are standouts for me (other is their huge bottle of Happy Face centella gel cleanser £12). I will probably just stock up let it lapse then rethink again in a year or two.

Diziak travel size shampoo and conditioner - From the recent Liberty Beauty Drop. Was excited to try these but they were very meh. Didn't do anything for my hair and smelt a bit herbal like which I'm not keen on.

A for information post because I think more than just me is a fan of the Laneige sleeping masks. They have reformulated the Cica one and the Water one (explains why we've seen a few of the old Water ones in edits recently).

I noticed the packaging had changed but didn't realise it was reformulation too. Not sure how I feel about this as I really liked the old Cica one. The new one has had niacinamide added amongst other things.

I have one jar in my stash of the old formula. I'll give the new one a chance but if anyone spots the old style Cica jars reduced in TkMaxx or similar I'd really appreciate the heads up.

Images attached of the old and new jars (image with writing is new packaging)

New formula ingredients : Water / Aqua / Eau, Glycerin, Squalane, Butylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, 1,2-hexanediol, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Hydrogenated Coco-glycerides, Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Panthenol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/ Vp Copolymer, Cetearyl Glucoside, Lactobacillus Ferment, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate, Propanediol, Niacinamide, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Allantoin, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Sodium Metaphosphate, Madecassoside, Ectoin, Dextrin, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Beta-glucan, Asiaticoside, Madecassic Acid, Asiatic Acid, Tocopherol, Centella Asiatica Flower/leaf/stem Extract, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, 7-dehydrocholesterol, Inonotus Obliquus (Mushroom) Extract

Old formula ingredients: WATER / AQUA/EAU, PROPANEDIOL, CETYL ETHYLHEXANOATE, SQUALANE, HYDROGENATED POLY(C6-14 OLEFIN), GLYCERIN, PANTHENOL, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER, GLYCERYL STEARATE CITRATE, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, POLYGLYCERYL-3 METHYLGLUCOSE DISTEARATE, POLYGLYCERYL-10 STEARATE, HYDROXYETHYL ACRYLATE/ SODIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE COPOLYMER, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, DISODIUM EDTA, ASIATICOSIDE, MADECASSIC ACID, SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE, ASIATIC ACID, MELALEUCA ALTERNIFOLIA (TEA TREE) LEAF OIL, AUREOBASIDIUM PULLULANS FERMENT, CHAMAECY-PARIS OBTUSA LEAF EXTRACT, CYMBOPOGON MARTINI OIL, TOCOPHEROL

@OvaHereI have not tried the Cica one but what does occur to me: if ain't broke, don't fix it! Hopefully it still works for you xxx
i am still devastated by the reformulation of Arpege in the 1990's which completely altered how it smelled 😭

That is awful @Experiment627 . I hope you get to the bottom of it. It must have been really uncomfortable to make you go and shower in the middle of the night to try and relieve the symptoms.

It sounds to me like urticaria of some sort. Are you taking any antihistamine to help from within?

That is awful @Experiment627 . I hope you get to the bottom of it. It must have been really uncomfortable to make you go and shower in the middle of the night to try and relieve the symptoms.

It sounds to me like urticaria of some sort. Are you taking any antihistamine to help from within?

Sorry posted twice 😬

@Thereislightattheendofthetunnelthe Dr did prescribe an anti-histamine but basically, even when we upped the dose it did nothing 😢 apart from cold showers, applying ice, and the soothing shower gels, the only thing that works is applying high dose steroid cream and using Balneum Plus Cream twice a day. The strange thing is that the itching moves around - so initially it was my feet, then my lower legs, then my bum and inner thighs. For the past few weeks it has been my lady garden and around my stomach.... that is still on going & in the past few days my boobies and back have joined in! Previous itchy areas come back to join in again, from time to time 🙈 I am knackered with it. Still waiting in CT scan results.

I have an empty to report:
Badedas 3 in 1 shampoo, shower gel & conditioner: not sure at all about the conditioner part but I love the fragrance. This got mainly used on my son - and it works well as a shampoo for him.

Oh I have dropped off so so badly! No idea of how many empties this year but here are more:
The best things here are the amazing bioeffect serum, really made my skin feel soft, the KS goat milk cleanser and the Nest fragrance, which I liked tho it didn’t last well.

Also the CT cream was nice. I like the bumbum scrub but what a tiny pot!
beauty of Joseon spf was good and cheap
SR Luna night oil nice but I prefer Aurelia one

@Experiment627 wow, that sounds pretty bad! The only thing I can think of that MIGHT help is Bioderma sensitive shower gel- if you haven’t tried it already. It has calmed my skin at times. Mine only has a drop left, looks like this:

@ITookYourJoobthanks so much. They have a shower oil too - which I probably should try. I do have prescribed emollients but I am not a fan of using them in the shower...

i haven’t tried the oil, but yeah - probably not the best time for trying new products 😬 E45 is generally safe, I use it for my son who has unpredictable skin and it has never caused anything but it doesn’t necessarily solve anything either. Hope you find something soon!🙏

A heads up for anyone on this thread mourning the imminent loss of REN skincare - popped into TK Maxx this morning and they had loads of it. Tempted to go back for some Evercalm serum.

I have an empty to report:

• Clinique long last lipstick in Paprika: I liked the colour and the moisturising of this lipstick. Of course, I have it it for yonks - and I think it was a freebie! I did think I could treat myself to a new lipstick but I have at least another 15 to use up first!

Thank you @MotherWolI’ll go there tomorrow. I’m really going to miss the evercalm and Moroccan rose products.

More empties:

36. Tropic Rainforest Dew - liked this. Nice and hydrating after a shower.

37. Soap and Glory Body Lotion - Not bad

38. Rose Inc Lip and Cheek - I think this came in a Space NK advent calendar one year. I don’t usually like lip and cheek products as I feel that they’re a bit unhygienic, and too sticky to put on cheeks, but the colour of this was good for me.

39. Rituals Sport Shower Gel - Not bad. Gives that tingling sensation like a mint shower gel

40. Formula Absolute Sleep Cream - this was a bit too thick for me. I think I should have saved it for the winter months. I like very light/gel creams in hot weather.

Total 40/110

Forgot pic…

I have two more empties to report:

• elf Holy Hydration daily cleanser: probably one of my fave from this range. Mild and non-stripping facial wash.
• Aldi Lacura intensive hand cream: given the colour scheme I would say this is their riff on Neutrogena. Was lovely and soothing on very dry skin. Lots of lovely glycerin.

I thought I’d commented on here, heaven knows where my empties post has ended up. For completeness 73/100

Empties:

Clains Hydrating Toning Lotion - 100ml. I think the scent of this made me think it was more astringent than it really was, it was actually pretty gentle. There are various Korean toners I prefer though (using and loving the Anua heartleaf one at the moment).

Some By Mi Beta Panthenol Repair serum - 30ml. Thought this was a bit meh at first but ending up really liking it. Felt like it was actually doing my skin some good.

Jorgobe Niacinamide serum - 15ml. A really thick gel formula, but it still worked with other skincare without pilling. Not sure there’s any need for a separate niacinamide serum, seeing as it seems to be in every toner and sunscreen.

Elemis Superfood Midnight Facial - 15ml. The fruity scent is a bit much, but otherwise good.

Perfumes minis/samples - Shay & Blue Pineapple Ice, Miller Harris Le Jasmin and 7 Virtues Candied Lychee. The 7 Virtues was too sweet for me. Weirdly, the S&B pineapple one was more white floral than the Miller Harris jasmine, which actually smells of citrus and something herby/mossy.

Tree cell Day Collagen shampoo - 50ml. Didn’t like this, left my hair feeling coated and was too strongly scented (jasmine type scent).

Grow Gorgeous thickening hair mask - 200ml. From a bargain Next beauty box. Really good hair mask, left my hair really soft. Not sure it had any thickening effect though.

Dr Teal’s Prebiotic Lemon Balm sugar body scrub - 538g. Prefer the almond version.

Organic Shop Coconut Panna Cotta body mousse - 450ml. Perfect body lotion formula for me, wish all the lotions from this brand were like this. Definitely one for the coconut scent lovers though, very strongly scented.

I keep losing my post. Went to Aldi to replace one moisturiser instead ended up with this lot