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!

67/100

Graff perfume - this was from Harrods FAC 2024. I love it, so much so that I have two more from Vinted waiting in the wings.

AB eye cream - fabulous product, sorry to see the end of it.

Elemis cleansing balm - lovely, I have two diff cleansing balms queued up

living proof shampoo - others in the queue but I very much like this for being lightweight

68/100

one more, this REN product has perished and leaked so binned.

Some more from me -
2 x chantecaille biolifting serum sachets - so tiny I couldn't tell what it was doing really gel texture and absorbed easily. All their formulations seem good to me.
MZ skin reviving bio placenta serum 50ml - I like this, altough the smell isn't great, makes my skin look plump but the normal price is crazy so no RP unless it's in another FtF edit soon
Maison Crivelli Musc Narasana 5ml - a colleague said I smelt amazing so that's nice! Have a lot of new fragrance so no RP there either.
Aveda leave in conditioner 5ml sachet - hair felt really soft, may rp when I've used up the moncho mareno I have at home
Davines oi leave in conditioner 135ml, gives me good results but not mad on the strong smell.
Augustinus Bader retinol serum - 5ml - liked this, have another 5ml to use so hope to get a better idea of what it's doing by the end of that one.
Suquu Aquafons toning gel 5ml - I bought a bunch of these off of vinted when they were featured in a Liberty BD box as they are good formy home laser treatments - no time to actually do the treatments atm but have been using this at night to seal everything else in. Will RP eventually
Being away from home is forcing me to stick with the products I've got and notice what I'm actually using
113 products used so far this year!

Few more empties to report
Omorovicza rejuvenating night cream- didn't really like this, didn't like the scent and it stung my face after a while.

Ethique tip to toe solid shampoo and shaving bar- not pictured. I used this as a shaving bar as I wasn't brave enough to try it on my hair, it was ok, nothing really to be excited about.

Colgate max white optic travel toothpaste- I don't usually count toothpaste in my empties, counting this one as I bought it for holiday. Usually I keep my minis until I'm travelling again but have nothing planned. It was ok, not sure if it made my teeth any whiter.

Bath&Body works oh cherry body mist- I liked this as I love anything cherry scented, although sometimes I got an alcohol smell when I first sprayed it, possible rp.

SDJ brazilian 4play shower gel, travel size- this was ok,didn't like the scent as much as I thought I would, probably not a rp.

Beauty pro brightening face mask- this was nice, gave me a nice glow.

56/100 slowly getting there. Trying hard not to buy an ac this year, thankfully nothing stands out just yet.

I've got so many empties to do but just not found the time. You will get a bumper post at some point. 😂

Hello ladies! I fell off this thread after getting trapped under an avalanche of beauty products!

Have been on a strict no beauty buy this year, so mostly avoiding the beauty related threads, but I have managed to survive an entire year without buying any beauty products at all. Not even a shower gel. Somehow, I still have huge stash of products, but at least I know that I haven’t added to it!

I have managed to get through 59 products so far this year. Hoping to get through at least 100 by the end of the year.

Here are the latest empties:

A few more recorded empties from earlier in the year

One more!

Might treat myself to a beauty calendar for being good all year, but I need to be careful not to fall off the wagon 😂. Still have loads of stuff open and on the go!

I have an empty to report

• OGX Rosemary Mint shampoo - I think this is supposed to be a dupe for Redken Amino-Mint shampoo. It is quite different - much thicker consistency, different smell. But actually works quite well on my greasy roots and is definitely way less cachinga. I would RP.

Well done @MidnightMeltdown thats an impressive haul. I did fall off the wagon and ordered a self assembly Rocca box of things I fancied trying. No cleansers or body lotions though as that’s what I have most of in my cupboard.

Gosh that's inspiring @MidnightMeltdown! Not sure I could go a week without buying something at the moment.

Four more empties

• Schwarzkopf Oil-licious dry oil mist. I bought this ages ago, didn’t really like it so didn’t use it. Past few months I’ve made a concerted effort to use it up and now have a more complicated view. Pros it’s good at defrizzing and leaves my hair looking good, cons my hair doesn’t hold a style when I’m using it. I’ve too many other hair products and container lasts too long to have for occasional use so not a RP but I did grow to like it
• HaruHaru black rice daily spf 50 sunscreen. Love the feel of this on my skin but it smell faintly of vomit when I put it on 🤢 Tube lasted all summer of daily use, sometimes several applications. Probably not a RP next year due to smell but it soaked in like a face cream rather than sit on with a white sheen and worked well as a sunscreen so might RP
• White company white lavender shower gel, last in a pack of several which were a present. Nice to have a variety of scents and posh shower gel. My sons never know what to buy me, I would request this as a present
• Estee Lauder perfectly clean toner sample, GWP from ages ago. Loved this, loved how clean it felt but didn’t leave my skin feeling dry & tight. If I was still buying Estée Lauder products I’d RP but I’m not so won’t.

This takes me to 111 products used up so far this year which is both good and a bit horrifying. Lots of samples/travel size items I’ve had for years and it was past time they were used.

Thank you @TryingToFindMyStyleand @DidILeaveTheGasOn

It actually hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it might be. When I stop looking at beauty related content, I stop wanting it. It’s very much out of sight out of mind. If I am tempted, I go and check my stash and remind myself how much stuff I already have that I’ve forgotten about. I think I’ve reached a saturation point where my desire to use stuff up and reclaim space is greater than my desire to buy.

I have a lot of serums, face creams and face masks as these are things that I don’t seem to get through very quickly. I must remember to use face masks!

I have an ongoing war with myself re: face masks. I feel I should save them for a treat evening, glass of wine, long bath etc, but actually would benefit from using them regularly as an ordinary thing, not a treat. Maybe I need to put a little selection of them in a basket in the bathroom. Hmm.

@DidILeaveTheGasOn i try to do one on a sat or sun each week. Don’t always do it but it’s a good goal!

Ooh I like that @SheilaFentiman, going to adopt that and see how I go!

Any facemask recommendations for a deep cleansing, but without to omany actives? DD and I like to do a face mask occassionally but she's only 11 so on her skin we only ever use a basic hydrating mask. But I'm noticing she's starting to look like a good deep cleanse would be helpful - she's at that age where she's starting to use products, but inconsistently, and I think if she does put somethign on her face, she's not brilliant about proper cleansing. I guess that's the boring bit so they dont' care as much!? :)

I have a few empties but my cleaners keep tossing them. Just finished the medik8 Crystal10. Will repurchase but the £90+ price tag is really putting me off. But I don't know what other good retinols at that level are out there.

I'm also almost finished with my Ordinary Vitamin C powder stuff so this is when I would be trying to Ole Henrickson one but... again, cost is putting me off (especially if I have to buy the Medik8 retinol). Might have to RP the Ordinary one. it works. It's cheap. May as well.

The same l'oreal shampoo as @MidnightMeltdown above. I like it, but don't love it as much as the l'oreal series professional one I used to use. Not surprising.

I also have a couple of trinny samples I'll have to report back on soon.

@MsMarch maybe Bubble? https://hellobubble.com/products/come-clean-clay-mask?_pos=1&_sid=a0e54fa3f&_ss=r

Good suggestion. I should have said in my post though that she doesn't like the clay ones. She likes the ones you can just put on your face vs ones you have to put on an dwash off. Although to be fair, she's a bit older now and we haven't done it for a few months so I should perhaps suggest we try something different. They change such a lot at this age, don't they? Because yes, I think a clay mask could be the way forward and you can get those once off ones that are pretty simple but good too.

@MsMarchI haven’t tried the professional series. Am intrigued, but will have to wait until I’ve got through my current stash of shampoo (so about a year then! 😂).

I have heard that they’ve changed the formula for the Elvive colour protect and people no longer like it. I still have a couple of the old formula in my stash.

I think the reality is that the professional salon quality shampoos - of any brand - are always a bit nicer than the stuff you buy on the high street?

The professional series has, I'm convinced, changed the formula, so I stopped using it. And money is tight so I did use a Redken one for a while, but am back to high street stuff. But I am not convinced. It feels like it might be a false economy so I'm considering buying the redken one again. I get 15% off at Sephora so it might be worth it.

Tbh, I think whether or not it’s worth it depends to large extent on your hair type, and whether you’re trying to solve a particular issue. For example, if you’ve got particularly thin hair, or damaged hair, then I can see how spending a bit more on a quality shampoo might make a difference.

However for me personally, it usually makes no difference at all whether I use a cheap shampoo or an expensive one. My hair looks exactly the same. The only one I’ve found that makes a difference is the Christophe Robin scalp scrub. My hair tends to get greasy quickly and this is the only shampoo I’ve found that can make it last a little longer between washes.

Tresemme also makes a difference, but in a bad way! I really dislike that stuff.

I really like the Dr Sebagh Skin Perfecting Mask. It’s clay based but never feels drying. It’s one of my go to masks as it’s not harsh in any way so I can slap it on regardless of my routine. It’s a little pricey but lasts forever.