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!

Empties:

Curel Makeup Cleansing Gel - 30g. A gel cleanser that you apply to dry skin like a balm. It did an ok job on mascara but I felt like I needed to use a lot of product compared to a cleansing balm.

Some By Mi Vitamin C Glow Serum - 10ml. Didn’t notice any glow effects but it did feel nice and hydrating.

Celimax Noni Cream - 10ml. Smelled of tea tree, which was a bit off putting. The name did make me laugh though (Mumsnet legend of ‘my yoni says noni’ 😂)

Anua Heartleaf Sun Cream - 50ml. Has a lovely slightly glowy but non-greasy finish on me. It’s a bit temperamental though and pills on top of some serums.

No 7 eyeshadow in Cornflower. A matt ivory shade, which is pretty much the only eyeshadow colour I ever manage to use up as good for setting eye primer.

Lancome La Vie est Belle perfume - 10ml. It’s ok but not a love, so no RP.

Le Monde Gourmand Fleur de Blonde EDP - 30ml. From last year’s Look Fantastic fragrance advent. Too sweet for my liking but it was ok as a bedtime scent.

Lush Shower in the Disco shower gel - 120g. Inherited from DD as the scent was too Haribo even for her.

Lush Watermelon Sugar body scrub - 295g. Liked this, the scrub texture was lovely.

Lush Zesty body lotion - 90g. Nice citrus scent but the lotion itself was a bit heavy and greasy.

John Frieda Frizz Ease Daily Miracle Leave In Conditioner - 200ml. Worked well and a good cheaper alternative to the Pureology Color Fanatic. Thanks for the recommendation @Experiment627.

184. Batiste dry shampoo. It does the job, i do prefer Living Proof, but when the beauty budget is blown this will suffice.

185. NEOM perfect night sleep body butter. I loved the scent. Really relaxing. I was expecting it to be thick and greasy, but it wasnt. Possible RP.

186. 3 eye cream samples. My favourite was the Kiehls. Im well stocked up on eye cream though, otherwise i would of purchased.

187. DE Whipped cream. Meh, not fussed.

188. Cream Skin toner mini. I just used this to top up the Cream Skin mist, the same product. I do like this a lot and have another in backup, but I will probably stick to the Byoma mist over this, as I do not see much difference in the long run.

189. Cerave hydrating cleanser. A great budget friendly cleanser. Hydrating, and leaves my face feeling clean too. Will RP.

190. Christophe Robin volume shampoo. I liked tge. light rose scent, but my hair felt dirty after using it, which is not great when I have just washed it. I did not notice any volume, and I just do not think this is the right product for me.

191. SDJ Brazilian body wash. Its nice and creamy, and leaves my skin feeling moisturised after the shower. But if im buying any SDJ shower product it would be the Delicia drench oil. I would be happy if i recieved this one as a gift though!

192. Kiehls mega moisture body cream. It was OK. I wouldnt mind the body butter from Kiehls but have a mountain of body stuff to get through🫣

@Caggie09 the Arkive Dry Shampoo is quite decent. You can get it in Boots and isn't a lot more than Batiste I don't think. It's on offer quite often.

Oh great, ill keep and eye out for it. Ill be popping in at some point to recycle some bits.

I’ve not posted in a while because life has got in the way. Sadly I think I’m buying much more than I’m using because I just can’t miss a bargain so I need to focus on using. I have the following empties mainly from my holiday so no photos:

AB essence- I have no idea what essence is suppose to do and seems a pointless addition to my routine however it was fab for getting the little bits of rose petals off that were left over from my toner.

Fresh Rose toner- OG. Love it. It feels like a supportive comfort blanket. My fav morning toner. Already RP.

AB the serum- it’s great for my combination skin however whilst on holiday the air conditioning meant that I needed something heavier. I already have a large bottle that I purchased in the sale but otherwise a bit pricey to RP.

Medik8 B serum- this gave my skin more support in air conditioning than AB. It’s a wonderful serum that I’ve already RP

AB the cream- great for my combination skin would RP but I seem to get lots of samples from places.

Sisley rose emulsion- love the smell and it’s a great summer light weight moisturiser. I purchased another one in the SNk sale.

Medik8 press and glow toner- OG my favourite nighttime toner regularly RP.
first aid body scrub- this is great for harsh scrubbing of places like your back but quite rough To an all over scrub. It was effective though and I did like using it. I have more samples to get through.

clarins tonic body oil- OG have never found a better body oil. Regularly RP.

clarins body fit body serum- l quite like this. It absorbs well but I’m not sure I love it enough to RP. I have some to use in my stash.

Davines natural tech nourishing conditioner. I like this. It does feel more like a mask that conditioner but it leaves my hair lovely and soft. I have soo many conditioners to try in my stash before I decide if I will repeat.

I have a few more small empties. I did buy a beauty box as a treat 😳 however unboxing is tinged with guilt now. I need to not buy another until I’ve used up more of my excess.

• Dry skin foot mask, didn’t do much not a RP. I found 2 more in the cupboard I’ll use those up but won’t bother after that. I’m behind on using the foot moisturisers as it took so long for my feet to finish peeling from the feet exfoliating socks
• VO5 hot oil, not a RP I used to love these but better products available now. I still have at least 5 left in the cupboard so will probably use one a week until they are done
• Elemis hand cream sample, meh not a RP also the sample tube could have held 10ml but only had 5ml. Labelled accurately (I checked when so little product came out). 5ml belongs in a sachet not a single use plastic tube
• Hand Cream cherry, was in a gift box of several different scents, quite good hand cream
• L’Occitane sample almond oil, nicer to use than I expected but body oil is too messy to be a RP

This takes me to 116 this year, I’ve definitely used more than I bought but progress will be slower when I finish using up smaller items ( the smaller items have tended to be older as they have often been samples/GWP so not something I use and I’ve kept them for the travel and I don’t do that much travel so working through them)

I would be interested to know more about the feet exfoliating socks that made you feet peel. Was the peeling intensional?

The brand I used was Derma V10, I’ve attached the pic from that batch of empties which was taken 3rd August so I used this then or just before. The pack contains 2 plastic sealed ‘socks’ that you put on your feet. These ‘socks’ contain a blend of exfoliating acids that chemically loosen dead skin cells to deliberately cause a peeling effect. It took a couple of weeks of nothing much happening then flakes of skin started to come off my feet for the next month. I’d mostly find the skin flakes in or beside the bed 🤢 you can speed it up by soaking your feet and vigorous towelling also by wearing socks.

It wasn’t sore, before the skin started to flake it felt tight and a bit itchy for a week or so. It worked but I’m not sure I’d do it again unless I got an exfoliating pack in a beauty box and if I did I’d definitely do it in plenty of time before I wanted to wear sandals.

Forgot to add, you wear the ‘socks’ for about 40mins from memory then wash acid off

Thanks. They sound a good way to get rid of dead skin. My heals are a bit cracked at the moment so I might wait for that to heal and try some. Although peeling for a month sounds challenging.

My timing was poor, I found I needed to wear socks to both speed up the peeling and hide my feet and weather was warm. I’d expected to be able to wear sandals with nice feet 4 weeks earlier than I could 😂

And using moisturisers on feet slows the process down apparently. I get fidgety feet at night and find using a cream on my feet helps with that (and I’ve lots of body lotions to use up).

The acid worked by dissolving the bonds on that top layer of skin so it’s painless but you have to let it do its job.

Just popped back in and for some reason I hadn’t posted this. It was just sitting there like a frog on a log!

Sorry I have been awol for a bit. I don’t have much to report. Empties have been boring ones lately. Things like toothpaste, deodorant, hand soap. Seriously not worth reporting.
I am admitting defeat on a cleanser though. I actually like the product - mostly. It’s the TONYMOLY Tony Moly Wonder Ceramide Mochi Mask To Foam Cleanser. Weird texture which is a bit like the soggy, slimy feeling of soap left in a damp dish, but it’s very hydrating. My issue is too thick to be squeezed out of the tube and now it has been put in a pot, it’s getting even thicker. (*maybe it IS soap!) I tried using it on my body but it made certain parts very itchy. Bin!

@Beautyfox I have used a few of these foot peeling masks. Some are better than others and you do shed a tonne of skin. (I left mine on for twice the recommended time.) Meanwhile, you think it did nothing and then a week or two your feet start catching in your socks. I would absolutely recommend you avoid them if you have a special event coming up as they time until peel and the time of peeling is unpredictable and the results certainly don’t come close to a decent pedicure. (It’s pretty satisfying peeling layers off your feet though.)

@Beautyfox & @TryingToFindMyStyle I see you two had the foot masks covered already! Sorry if I sound like. Know it all!

@Francestein not at all, your comments are useful. I hadn’t realised some were better than others. I was on the fence a wee bit as to whether it’s a RP and had leant towards probably not but have now swung back around to probably and try a different brand next time. But definitely do a couple of months before I want summer ready feet

@TryingToFindMyStyle I haven’t used the. In years and years or I would try and recommend some. I have found that a soak in Epsom salts then urea cream & socks overnight for a few days suits me better. I’m not good at not picking the skin though.

I have used those socks too... but I had the peeling start really soon after use. Sorry cannot recall the brand I used... will have a think.

I got sent a micro needling at home kit which I tried for the first time last night... had to really work up the courage!

How did you find the microneedling? I’m quite tempted by the TRINNY kit

@Beautyfox it is too soon to tell if it has done anything - I only put my big girl pants on yesterday evening. I have another serum to needle on in 2 weeks time. The kit I am using is from Qure Skincare. The stamping was ok although some areas were quite painful, face was red and tender after - but this morning feels ok.

A few empties:

Laniege Blue Hyaluronic Cream - I’ve used this as a day cream and I like it. It leaves my skin very fresh and soft. I have a refill to use but will probably RP in the future.

Zelens Melatonin B12 Overnight Repair Mask - This seemed to do a good job but I found it boring and I didn’t look forward to using it.

Skin Rocks The Eye Cream - Again, this seemed to do a good job but I found it boring. I have a backup which I will use but won’t RP.

It’s hard to explain what I mean by ‘boring’ but they both kind of reminded me of Aqueous cream or some other basic drugstore cream so didn’t feel very exciting!

I haven’t posted here in ages! Was away for ages. I also find when I’m feeling a bit low, my routine goes out of the window. Any way, back on it now.

Empties:

Kate Sommerville goats milk cleanser - a staple. I have a back up full size to use next. Once it’s finished I need to find a k beauty equivalent as I can’t find KS where I live. I have my eye on the innistree yam root milky cleanser as a possible replacement.
Softymo speedy cleansing oil - cheap and effective. I wouldn’t buy anything else
Cosrx ceramide barrier mist - love this. Use it daily as a first step and my dry/dehydrated skin loves it. Will maybe rp but only once I’ve used up my Laneige cerapeptide mist which is also great. I love a mist. It’s a shame there isn’t a refill available for the cosrx though as the mister is great and the bottle opens easily.
Curel face mist - also great in an aerosol type of delivery
Sunday Riley Autocorrect eye cream - used
to love this but it’s just fine. I realised it’s a bit ‘glowy’ tinted like those face tints that gives an illusion that it’s brightening up the skin but not sure it actually doing much else beyond the temporary brightening. So I’m over that one.

Also used up lots of perfume samples but no loves so not worth reporting.

I’ve decided I’m going to start using up make up I have as I have some lovely bits and can still make it a ‘natural look’. I’ve recently got my hourglass palette out which I bought end of last year which is lovely and few other bits like an ilia liquid eyeshadow thing which has been languishing unloved for a long time, but it’s so pretty on! In a taupe sort of colour. So hopefully I’ll have makeup empties to report going forwards.

I’ve always wanted to do one of those foot peels but I really can’t because I’m diabetic!

I was away at the weekend so took some little sample sizes with me (my sponge bag was still ridiculously heavy!). So my recent empties are:

137: Prettyskin no-sebum SPF 50+. I love this! It’s more matte than shiny which I prefer. And lasts really well. I have another in stash and will rp.

138: Trinny The Elevator. HG product already refilled from stash. Definite rp.

139: Byoma Hydrating milky toner. Nice. Gentle. And goes a long way. Would rp if I didn’t have others to try. And there are others I like better.

140: Gatsby hair styling wax. This was a rec from a woman I follow on insta and it’s really good! It’s lasted months and I have a second ready to go. Definite rp.

141: Sulwhasoo first care activating serum vi. 8ml. Not really enough to get a proper idea of whether it was doing much. No strong feelings either way.

142: Trinny Bounce Back moisturiser sachet

143: Trinny Bounce Back moisturiser sachet

144: Trinny Elevator neck concentrate sachet

145: Trinny Elevator neck concentrate sachet

146: Trinny Better Off cleanser sachet. Not bad. Mascara was a bit stubborn but eventually came off.

147: Trinny Overnight Clarity serum sachet. Felt slightly itchy so not a FS purchase.

148: Avène Eau Thermale spray 50ml. I’ve quite got into sprays, originally for refreshing during the day but more recently as part of my face routine, and this one was very nice and cooling. Rp would depend on price, the Evian ones are under £5!

The drive to get through the stash is really helping me control my spending! Which is just as well, the car insurance is due!

@TragicMuse you're not missing anything not being able to do one of the foot peels. It’s a utilitarian process that’s a bit of a faff rather than the spa-like experience I was hoping for. If I used them again it would just because because it’s a cheap way of removing hard skin.

@Experiment627 I have recently purchased a microneedling kit too. I have used it once. I’m going to get a PDRN gel cream to use with it, I think. I’ve just started using an azelaic acid cream as well as my usual tret. Of course the weather is changing and I don’t know what will work and what won’t here.
I was forced to do a sniff test when I pulled a lipgloss out that I hadn’t used for a while. Pity. It had been a favourite. I chucked out four Peripera glosses that all looked or smelled weird. The rest are getting the same treatment tomorrow. My blush is useless as it hard-panned, so it went in too. I have a couple of new ones coming soon and some lip stains.
I have finished a Dr G Redness Relief cleansing balm. Was fine. Did the job. A tube of Dr Althea 345 Cream. Also fine but not quite enough. I suspect tomorrow I will have finished an APLB niacinamide & glutathione SPF too. (I really like this, btw.)

72/100 - including three full size products

creed millesime imperial - loved this

Aveda rosemary mint body wash - great product, fresh herbal, ideal for morning

REN - rose otto bath oil, my favourite REN scent now sadly discontinued

Penhaligon’s Opus 1870 - shared with Mr Shoe and if I see it again on sale I’ll buy it. Gorgeous scent, clean and elegant.

A few more from me, 117 total
Bamford body wash 100ml - Lasted ages, strong aromatherapy smell which I like - I rely on getting this kind of thing in edits, won't RP specifically.
Tatcha the Dewy Cream 50ml
Is Clinical Extreme Protect spf 30 - not a very nice smell. Must improve my spf usage
Garneire Coconut Hair Mask - bought as I'd accidentally left my spendy hair mask at home
Ex Nihilo Lust In Paradise 10ml - I liked this and the same colleague that said I smelt gorgeous wearing the Maison Crivelli Musc Narasana said it again when I wore this too - at least someone appreciates my fragrant presence 😂