Can’t stop buying & hoarding beauty treats? You’re in good company here!

[Experiment627]

Welcome to our little corner of beauty bliss! If you can’t resist trying the latest beauty launches or your shelves are bursting with favourites, you’ve found your tribe. This is the place to chat, share reviews, swap tips, and celebrate all things beauty — from budget gems to luxury treats.
This thread has been around for ages, and many of us have even tamed our beauty-buying habits thanks to the wisdom and support shared here. We post our empties and chucks, helping each other make smarter, more satisfying choices next time we shop.
All beauty product addicts welcome!

@TragicMuse I feel your excitement! I’m waiting to finish my EL serum from the Liberty AC so I can open the one we got on Xmas Eve!

Oh that one is lovely! I’ve been using it for morning, with a different night one.

I opted for a Sunday Riley sachet of A+ high dose retinoid, I’ll get 2 from this I think. Possibly 3 with my tube squisher to extract every bit!

I'm using the full size of of the SR A+ at the moment. I do really like it but I also love the Medik8 Crystal Retinal and I can usually pick those up a bit cheaper so probably won't buy it again for a while as I've got 3 x Medik8 CR in the stash - 2 sixes and a ten. 😳

I’ve got another night retinoid open, but it’s a ‘use rarely’, so not a daily addition to the regime. Think it’s Skin Rocks. Purple container. I don’t like the smell, it’s quite…industrial-cleaner, to me anyway. That’s going to be a long plough through!

L’oreal kids strawberry conditioner. Works fine. Plenty others to use up.

Te chai exfoliante shower gel Deliplus. This was so yummy, it had cinnamon star anise and the smell was amazing. As a scrub was not great but I would only repurchase because of the scent.

Huggies wipes, a staple.

Sanex shower gel Deliplus. Does the job, nothing exciting.

Biore nose strips. They remove blackheads like a charm, so much so that I almost cried unsticking this from my nose. I chose the men version so it may explain things…

Head and shoulders classic clean. Another staple.

colgate sensitive instant relief. Terrible. Minty and salty? I have a few more to go through unfortunately.

Acqua di gio edp giorgio armani. Inoffensive and pleasant.

M and S ocean musk a knock off of cool water by Davidoff. Great stuff

And a sample a drop d’issey by issey miyake. If you are into lilacs, this is your perfume. I like it very much and own a bottle.

the fuzzy duck ginger and lime soap. Quite meh. A baylis and harding brand…

Evening ladies. Well sorting through some of my stash today and quote honestly I am ashamed perfumes esp tester mine and perfume parlour dupe oil minis are my main thing and its scandalous the amount I have then its hand creams and honestly I would have to be a 200yr old octopus to get through them all so little self care packs are going to be made up I will find somewhere hopefully that will take them it would be doing me a massive favour and giving someone else a little pick me up at same time. Thats it nothing more is coming into this house until I have mad a sizeable dent in the silly amounts cluttering up space

Nothing for ages and now I have 2 empties in the same evening.

Cerave oil-free gel cream. I don't know what I was thinking buying this. I know I was thinking 'need something really moisturising, your skin is drier now' and then I came home and realised I'd clearly bought the wrong product.

Anyway if you have oily skin this would be an excellent product. As I don't anymore it was just not enough. And I've just started tret so it really really wasn't enough. Aestura Atobarrier is loads better for that hit of ceramides.

Tropic hyaluronic eye mask. This was a secret Santa so a bit of fun. Feels nice and cooling going on, ended up a bit sore - probably my fault from the tret. However an hour later I think my under eyes look exactly the same.

Having a sort out and got rid of a load of half used items which I’ve had for a v long time! Also finished
elemis ultra smart pro collagen eye cream- liked this but not as much as others so won’t rp
elemis ultra smart pro collagen moisturiser- intersperse this with others, have already rp!

Le Labo Rose 31 shower gel- my favourite fragrance and was bought this as a gift, love but expensive so won’t rp!

@2025istheyeari I think i have the elemis cream from the harrods elemis advent.
I presume you liked the elemis if youve repurchased. How did it compare to other moisturisers you've used? X

Wisdom renew interdental brushes. They are good. Will rp.

liz esrle light cream. I don’t love it but it’s ok. Have others to use up.

L’occitane almond body cream. Smells amazing, absorbs well and it’s a shame it’s expensive.

Random bath salts were fine. Did the job. I love the lavender scent.

jojo mamam bebe body wash. Nothing fancy. Dd used it. Won’t rp does not lather well

4 empties

Frank Body Vit C Mask, I liked this, if I didn’t have so many toiletries to use up I would rp

Nougthy lip balm, would not rp, didn’t like the texture and I think it’s contributed to an annoying hard lump on side of my mouth

Clarins body scrub, felt somewhat pointless tbh would not rp (technically I didn’t buy it as it was a freebie a friend had received)

Sea Magik conditioner, got in hope it would help with mild psoriasis on my scalp, made no difference would not rp (still using up the shampoo)

No pics, but this month I've managed to use up a tube of Clarins night cream (the red one for 'mature' skin) a Rituals canister of shower cream (freebie - can't remember the scent...purple colour...liked the texture but was too floral for me) and a canister of Allpresan foot cream. The last is formulated for diabetics, but I've been using this up. It is really good.

I'd buy the Rituals again, but would want a different scent.

Help! I’ve been thinking of subscribing to a beauty box sort of thing but I don’t NEED it! I want it though! Something to look forward to and little treats to try. Are beauty subscription boxes worth it???? Does anyone get any and what are they like?

Feel free to tell me that I am trying to reduce my stash and not add to it!!

I liked it and buy it normally on the qvc offer, I am still trying to figure out the best moisturiser for my skin tbh! I loved skin rocks that I got in an advent in 24 and currently using medik8 that I’m really liking. I really didn’t like AB The Rich cream. I don’t know if this helps at all😬

I tried Glossybox and Lookfantastic. I would say no to both, LF was the slightly better one and I kept that for a year before cancelling. I just ended up with a lot of stuff I wasn't interested in and the odd thing I was pleased to get. I found monthly was a bit too often.

Now I just have Liberty Beauty Drop which is a quarterly box I look forward to and I use the vouchers like a savings account. I may not keep on with it forever but enjoy it for now. The frequency is enough that I don't feel overwhelmed by it and the products generally are more premium.

I would definitely go with the liberty beauty drop over glossy box,look fantastic, roccobox, etc. 🥰

How do the vouchers work for Liberty? How much is the box and do you get much in it? Thanks @OvaHere

Its £25 a month and £20 of that goes to your account as credit to spend. £5 a month admin. Used to be no admin charge but I think its worth it.
You also get 10% off liberty beauty edits and the advent. Ill take a pic of the most recent contents and put on here.

Most recent box.

To add to what @Doglover73 said when you sign up they do send the most recent box straight away ( well, within a couple of weeks) so you wouldn't have to wait until the April box.

@Mackemlass79feel better soon xxx

@LondonToSurrey2024I totally missed your posts about your daughter. . Have you had advice about the scar massage? I wonder if a castor oil pack at night would help.

@ThereislightattheendofthetunnelI adore nose strips but it has been a while since I used any. I might try the men's one!!!

@2025istheyeariDossier do a dupe for Le Labo Rose 31 - you might want to give that a smell. I have tried a few of their dupes and they seem to be pretty close.

A good amount of empties to share

Bio effect Hydrogel face mask and 2 sets of Imprinting Eye Masks - Liked these a lot. Too pricey to purchase often but will look out for them again in edits.

Elemis Pro Collagen eye mask - Not a fan, felt they dried out quite quickly.

Rituals Sakura Body Oil - Nice, would use again but not in any hurry to RP.

Elemis mini cleansing balm - Always happy to use these.

Tatcha Indigo Cream mini - A fave product. Expensive but lovely to use.

Christophe Robin hair mask - I've only had these in advents but I do like it a lot.

SKII Pitera Essence - I've been a convert to this for about a year now. My skin seems to do well with ferments. It's not cheap and only a couple of K beauty sites seem to ship it to the UK but I stock up when I see an offer and a 70ml bottle lasts quite a while.

SKIN1004 Centella Cleansing Oil - A nice oil, not very effective at taking off make up so I used it on no make up/sunscreen only days as a first cleanse. I'm not the biggest fan of face oils but I have a few more different types to use up.

Naturium Multi Peptide Moisturiser - Big fan of this for a relatively inexpensive product. It's both lightweight and moisturising enough for dry skin. Packaging is great for travel as it's a tube but also has a pump end so not messy. I won't be RP just yet due to the stash but fairly sure I will at some point.

Valentino Born in Roma Extradose 2ml - Lovely but very strong. Probably a bit strong.

AB The Rich Cream 50ml - My favourite night cream. I've got a few to go at through various deals and advents so I'm good for a while.

Pixi Lavender Sleep Mist - I use a mist after cleansing to rehydrate and tend to use whatever comes my way. This was in a beauty box. It's nice, not remarkable but can't say anything bad about it.

Grace and Stella eye patches - still got a few of these to use up so they'll be in my empties for a while. Fine but not wow.

I see that John Lewis do a £5 voucher on 5 or more empties. But it’s only usable on a £50+ spend on B corp company products…

We accept clean, empty tubs, tubes, caps and lids, shampoo/conditioner bottles and caps, non-pressurised hairspray bottles, lip products (tubes, lipstick, lip balm), mascara tubes, eyeliner pencils and cases, eyeshadow tubes and palettes, concealer and foundation tubes and sticks – including testers. However, we can’t accept aerosols or glass containers.

B Corp certified Beauty Brands we stock at John Lewis
Arkive, Aromatherapy Associates, Aveda, Chloe, Clarins, Elemis, Evolve Organic Beauty, L’Occitane, Le Labo, Liz Earle, Lumene, Medik8, Neom Organics London, Pai, Rituals, Sunday Riley, The Inkey List

My emptied to report are :

Simple Glow Facewash - will be buy in this again as it’s less abrasive than a face scrub but more substantial than a face wash in its own, I tend to use this every other day and it’s on offer at Superdrug for £3.99 ( usually around £6)

Garnier Ultimate Blends Argan Oil Shampoo - my older DD left half a bottle of this in the bathroom before going to uni. I have sentimentally used this to be reminded of the smell of her hair. It’s a nice shampoo and will replace when she’s home for Easter.

I sat on it and decided not to go for a Beauty Box type subscription, I really do have too much stuff and I don’t need any more beauty things! I did however take out a food snack subscription and I will now get a monthly snack box of treats from around the world! Dopamine hit, a monthly treat and my family and I will eat it all so I won’t end up with a stash of stuff I’m not using!! 🤣