Beauty addicts thread: share empties, chucks and mindful buying tips

[Experiment627]

Welcome back (or welcome in!) to our little corner of beauty bliss, where shelves are full, wish lists are longer than ever, and there’s always something new to try.
This thread has been around for ages (since at least 2015), 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!

@SheilaFentiman I've not found anything that's good for rosacea, but I have ruled out vit c products, for me they're too acidy and irritate it too much. The only one that's ok is the medik8 but I use it sparingly. Like @OvaHere says, if I keep a consistent skincare routine, I can keep it from flaring up.

I have a led mask that I got from a clinic when I had treatment. I was really consistent with it daily but then wasnt. 🙄🤔
I need to find it and use it again. It definitely helped x

Empties!

1. REN brightening dark circle eye cream. I’m not sure this did anything for my circles but it was a nice non stinging cream with a clever pump that meant I got it all out
2. LRP toleraine SPF 30 - by contrast, the pump on this wasn’t great and there was stacks left when I cut it open. product was fine though
3. Wake Up Hand Cream - Cath Kidston - fine, vaguely minty, using SPF hand creams in my bag at the moment though.
4. L’occitane cherry blossom shower gel - nice but tiny
5. cath Kidston fig tree body lotion - another tiny one, nice smelll
6. not pictured - tester size Vanilla Vibes from Juliette Has a Gun. I liked it but not as much as others so won’t RP

Hmm didn’t post all the pics…

I have some empties to report:
Arkive The Reset dry shampoo: smells lovely - their Smells like no one Elsie, best dry shampoo I have ever used however still leaves some texture and residue which I hate. TBH just seems easier to wash hair...
Pantene instant frizz tamer: alas this is discontinued- such a good balm to apply on day two
Calypso invisible sun stick SPF 50: so handy to have in handbag & great for applying to children but these sticks sure do use up fast!

It's been so long since I did my empties I've accumulated an absolute load. Too many to list each and every one otherwise I'll be here all night. So I'll just mention faves and hates but happy to take questions about any product you spot.

Photo 1 - eye masks and face masks plus a few samples

Enjoyed
111Skin, AB, MZ Skin eye patches. Grace and Stella/Patchology are just okay.

Reome, Sulwhasoo, 111Skin Face masks

Glossier perfume

Tatcha eye cream

Sisley serum

Goldfadden overnight treatment

Reome Active Broth

Didn't like/Meh

Lancome Genefique Mask - this claims to be a whole bottle of serum in one mask - I don't need that, it's too much slop.
ReVive mask
Decree eyemask
Beauty Pro eye patches - these feel like sticking plasters

Photo 2

Like/Love
Oribe Gold lust Conditioner
Shiseido Essence
Medik8 Peptide serum
U Beauty compound
Lancome cream
La Prairie cleanser
Dermalogica Serum
YTTP cleanser

Hated the Grown Alchemist exfolliant hand wash and threw most of it. I just don't get on with the brand. Didn't like the Jurlique spray either.

Everything else pictured was just okay.

Photo 3

Honestly I really like most of these items. Some I love and would or do RP. Special mention to the AB Retinol, Kerastase Hair oil, Summer Fridays Cushion Cream and Tirtir setting spray.

Only meh/just okay items are
Oribe Gold Lust night creme x 2. I love the shampoo and conditioner in this but don't feel night creme did anything.
Elemis cleanser and essence - just nice
Amika mask - just fine
Tatcha longevity serum and cream - fine but the cream texture is weird, a bit like bouncy slime. Much prefer their other products.
Glow Recipe Vit C - it's fine but prefer others

Blimey @OvaHere !!! That is a whole lot of empties!

I know. 😂I don't think I've posted any since about April so they've built up!

So many empties @OvaHere I haven’t used up anything like that much in the time, I wonder if I’m being too sparing with the amount I use 🤔 it feels like I’ve years worth of wash off cleansers in my stash it takes me months to use one container as I don’t use much product in one go.

I agree with you about masks that say they have a whole bottle’s worth of serum. It feels wasteful as my skin can’t possibly absorb that much in one go.

I'm very generous with cleansers and moisturisers. If I ever get the stash down to an acceptable level I may start being more frugal. 😄

@SheilaFentiman if you are struggling with rosacea you need to get a prescription for Soolantra. Unfortunately rosacea is caused by mites and this is the only thing that gets rid of it.

I have finally finished the small Laneige water bank. It’s not for me - supposed to be light and gel but feels greasy on me. So no a rp. Next I’m stash-shopping and trying one that came in the first StyleKorean pharmacy box!

Agree Soolantra is game changing. It cleared the worst of mine up, scabs, pustules and thickened flaky skin all disappeared fast. I'm still prone to the redness, although nowhere near as bad as it was a decade ago.

Thank you @Beautyfox That’s very kind of you to think of me. I’ll check that out. However, I am rather cack handed. I managed to do my toenails, but they aren’t great!

@Doglover73 – your nails look great! @LightandBreezy I appreciate the feedback on this brand.

One of my friends is actually quite good with nails, so I might buy the kit and get her to do my nails? Sounds like a plan I think.

I have some empties to report, but need to gather them up. We were away at a wedding for the weekend. I probably overdid it and ended up going to my bed earlier than planned. However, we had a lovely time and caught up with friends. It was good.

Not empties but a couple of chucks!

Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream - I didn’t like anything about this, the smell, the texture, the packaging, so I threw it out.

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder - I didn’t like the way this sat on my skin, I also found the application messy. I much prefer my Saie Slip Tint Setting Powder so I decided to get rid of the LM.

Feels good to clear those two out as I just never reached for them.

Empties

1. Rituals SPF30 spray - from the Boots Here Comes the Sun box, loved this, great handbag size, the dispenser can be twisted shut so no leakage or lid to lose. Would RP
2. Lumene SPF 30 glow boost - this made my skin sting when I layered it with the Lumene vit C serum so I used it up on hands and neck. Slight shimmer which fades fast. Won’t RP because the serum is my priority
3. Bio oil - bought on holiday, finished up, perfectly fine but I have scented body oils I prefer (when they aren’t jumping off the bathroom shelf trying to kill me - looking at you, hefty glass Saltaire bottle!)

@SheilaFentiman I’m glad you survived the body oil incident! How was the saltair body oil? I really like their deodorant so would be interested in trying more of this brand. However, I am a massive fan of clarins body oil and can’t find one that I prefer but I can always be tempted.

@SheilaFentiman Would also like to know about the Saltair body oil. Have one on my SNK Wishlist, nearly bought it the other day but held off for now😂

Empties sorted into would/wouldn’t RP.

Would RP:
•Avon lipstick in shade Country Rose. Have rp at least 5 times
•Korres shower gel. A regular staple for me.
•Lancôme Hypnotic Noir mascara. Amazing product!
•Seated Queen Cold Cleanser. After several samples I grew to love this product. No longer for sale so may have to search eBay.
•Philip Kingsley smoothing serum. Effective at smoothing my damaged hair.
•Decleor neroli mask. Been buying for years. Great for dehydrated skin.

Wouldn’t RP:
•Ted Baker body spray. Vile, cheap stuff. Did not finish.
•Vihelm Sparkling Jo perfume. From the Liberty AC. Didn’t dislike it but it’s very expensive.
•Dr Sebagh Serum Repair. No idea what this was supposed to do. Was a hard slog using it up!
•Davines nourishing shampoo. Did really like this; just have others I prefer more.

@Beautyfox @Caggie09 I have only just started using it but I lovvvve the smell, which seems to linger well. Mine is the Coral Coast one which smells of tropical fruit.

Emptied a few more things, mainly minis:

Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser - 59ml. It’s a good cleanser but I wasn’t keen on the scent.

Kate Somerville Exfolikate Cleanser - 30ml. Not as good as the Murad exfoliating cleanser (nothing is).

Curel Hydrating Water Essence - 30ml. Ok, nothing amazing.

Boots Ingredients Deep Moisture Spray - 150ml. Got through this pretty fast as it felt like I needed a lot, so it probably wasn’t doing much. Definitely no deep moisturising going on.

Lancome Génifique - 30ml. One of my favourite serums. No idea what it’s actually doing for my skin but it feels so nice to apply that I don’t really care!

Laneige Cica Sleeping Mask - 8ml. Nice texture but it didn’t give me the super soft skin in the morning that the Water Sleeping Mask version does.

Tocobo Cica Calming Sun Serum - 50ml. Felt lovely to apply but left my skin a bit greasy and shiny.

Perfume samples - Kayali Capri Lemon Sugar, Kayali Marrakesh Orange Blossom and Creed Eladaria.

M&S Sweet Pistachio EDT - 30ml. Presumably a dupe for the Kayali Yum Pistachio. It actually lasts better than the original.

Daeng Gi Mel Ri Vitalizing Conditioner - 300ml. Love this, makes my hair so soft and smells gorgeous. Have already RP this and the matching shampoo.

Victoria’s Secret Midnight Bloom Starlit Body Lotion - 236ml. Got a few of these in various scents in the Next sale. Quite a light lotion formula but I prefer that, particularly in summer.

Parfums de Marley Delina Body Cream - 50ml. Beautiful scent and actually a properly moisturising lotion, unlike most of these perfume gift set lotions.

Future Primitive Body Creams in Lemonade Lounger and Four & Twenty Blackbirds - 50g each. Love these little pots as hand cream, have several scattered around the house.

Accumulated lots of samples and sachets, so trying to use them up this month.

Perfume samples. Dior Paradise. Didnt like this, gave me a headache.

134/135. SNK Caribbean Shores scrub and wash. The scrub was creamy, which I'm not a fan of. The body wash was okay. I prefer their Parisian Gardens scent.

136. Mitchum roll on. Will always RP this.

137. DDG Texture Renewal serum. Not the nicest of smells. It's quite a small bottle, I didnt notice much difference in my skin. The serum itself seemed to be very light and absorbed well.

138. NYX Blade & Shade brow pencil. The colour is a perfect match for me, and fills my brows nicely. Have RP.

139. Ultra Violette Fave Fluid SPF. My only negative for this is that it went super gunky around the lid a lot. Nice and light on the skin, no pilling with my makeup, and no greasy-looking skin.

140. Pixi Eye patches. My favourite. Gone through multiple tubs. Have already RP.

141. LRP Spf sample tube. I liked it, but thick for me as i prefer fluid SPF for face.

142. Sunday Riley A+ sample. I like this, it makes a visible difference to my skin. Looks smoother and brighter.

143. Simple Sheet mask. Would RP.

144. Tatcha SPF sample. Nice, but not payibg Tatcha prices for SPF.

145. Amika Soulfood mask. Pretty good, sure I've had a full size before. I want to try a Kérastase mask next, once I've whittled down my stash.

Back with more empties. Things I would buy again:

Face:
OBVIOUSLY REN Ready steady glow AHA tonic. Keep seeing this, thought the brand had gone. Am being lulled into a false sense of security...
Skin & me x 2 - I'm actually starting to use it on a regular basis! The heck.
Hourglass hydrating skin tint - took me a long time to figure out how to use this, it seemed to be far too moisturising for my skin and I worked it out right at the end. I have obviously forgotten what the trick was since. I'm sure it was good though. I will buy it again and go through the whole process once more!
Hiding on the edge of the picture is Dermalogica Dynamic skin recovery cream - this is wonderful and as I was applying it I KNEW I couldn't afford it. SO good. Dammit.

Bath/body:
Lush Yummy custard - what a lovely treat. Loved it.
The mango and berry bath blends from the Body Shop were really nice and felt like a treat.

Hair:
Aveeno oat milk shampoo & conditioner - finally found a medium price point product for my thirsty locks. In your face, Beauty Pie. Well, I still miss the hair oil from BP and will no doubt RP that soon.
Drybar Triple sec - So good. Makes my hair a little crunchy (? is that the word? I don't eat it?) but gives it a lot of much-needed texture and the scent is gorgeous.

Things I definitely wouldn't RP:

Alpha H Vitamin B serum with our friend, niacinamide. I really liked this but my face got slightly more sore every day and since I stopped using this (and, in fairness, started using lots of soothing products instead, so I'm talking shite really) it doesn't hurt anymore.
Hmm. Maybe it wasn't the serum. I don't know.