Tuesday 1 October 2013

September Empties


Lordy, how the months are flying! September has gone by in a flash and here we are in October - one of my favourite months (not just because it includes my birthday!). I have been up to a few different tricks over the last month - trying a few newbies in order to get my skin back under control. And so, without further ado, let me introduce to you, The Beauty List's September Empty List.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair: This sample sized (7ml) bottle came in an Estee Lauder gift pack that I had received on a purchase earlier this year. Obviously I didn't use this every single night, but I continued to go back to it as a nightly serum and just love it. Being a uni student, you use every last morsel of product before going to get anything else and this was certainly the case with this baby. But it wasn't all sadness when it ran out near the start of the month. I just went and made another trip to the Lauder counter and grabbed the......


Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair II: I guess it's little odd to include a tester in an empty post. But as this tiny little sample lasted me a good fortnight I think it warrants a place. I absolutely love the new formula for the ANR and have since gone out and gotten myself a grown-up sized bottle of this lovely little serum. If you haven't tried it yet and are interested, go down to your closest Estee Lauder counter and ask for a sample. They are always more than happy to give you a chance to try first and, like I said, it lasts you blooming ages. I have also posted a review of it here if you'd like to read more.

Estee Lauder Advanced Repair Eye:Yeah, I like Estee Lauder, alright? But seriously, this stuff is amazing. It is a very light and thin formula which makes it barely noticeable once applied. Yet, every time I put it on it feels moisturising and soothing. I never realise how much the eye area needs the attention until I put the back on. It takes a long time to use up and, luckily, I have two more sitting ready to go! I'm not obsessed, not at all. This is the travel/sample size that comes in gift packs etc.

T.N. Dickinson's All Natural Witch Hazel: I switched to this baby the other month after realising that the toner I was using was waaay too strong for my skin. I knew that my sister used this and asked her whether I could grab a portion to try out first, it's a decent sized bottle (240ml) to buy only to realised you don't like it. She had about half a bottle and gave me the whole lot. I love this stuff. It has a smell that took me a little to get used to, nothing too over-powering though. When I put this on, it feels like I could just be wiping water on my face, that's how gentle it is. It does leave the tiniest amount of tightness to the skin, but not in a bad way at all - just clean and toned. I really like this and have gotten myself a new bottle after using it up. I use it morning and night at the moment and my skin is loving it.

La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water: This is a travel sized can (50g) that I used religiously day and night while it lasted. I found it perfect as a pre-moisturising step. It has no scent that I could tell and feels a lot like plain water. This isn't really a 'toning spritz' - it's more for hydration and soothing the skin. I used it occasionally for a pick-me-up throughout the day. It would also be really handy to keep aside for sun burn etc. as it's super soothing and contains anti-oxidants. I want more of this stuff, but have others to get through first!

Nivea 'Stress Protect' & 'Double Effect' De-odorant: The first of these that I used up was the Double Effect. I love the soft scent of this - it reminds me of a school camp that I went on when I first used it. I didn't find this to be the most effective anti-perspirant but it did smell good and I think it's going to be one that I occasionally go back to. It just smells good! On the other hand, the Stress Protect is the ideal anti-perspirant. It is aimed at kicking in when you become particularly sweaty in stressful situations. There are two types of smelly sweat; the first is normal sweat that isn't washed away and grows bacteria (lovely) and the other is the sweat produced when you are under stress. This was the concept Nivea worked on when formulating this baby. I've found it pretty effective and smells light and fresh. I definitely will be going back to this one.

Loreal Resist & Shine: This nail polish was a staple once upon a time. I heartily apologise for not being able to list the name of the colour - I had it in the photo and only realised upon writing this that the name has worn off. Well loved, I call it. What I can say is that it wouldn't matter if I could anyways as it's been discontinued. I think I picked this up in the specials at my work some time last year (it could have been the year before!) and it was the only one of its kind there. It's a gorgeous orange-red that has a way of lifting my mood on every application. I'm so sad that this has come to the end of its life.

Montagne Jeunesse Face Masks: On top of my much loved Decleor Clay Mask, I've given these a go as they've sat in my cupboard for quite a while. The Chocolate Masque smells so much like chocolate and feels amazing as you put it on. This is a clarifying, 'deep pore cleansing' mask and therefore sets as a clay would. I can't be absolutely sure, but I do think it made some difference. I think more regular use is needed for any kind of noticeable results. I also tried the Very Berry variety which included blueberry and cranberry and was a moisturising and cleansing mask. When I put this on, it looked quite fake. It almost reminded me of plastic once I applied it to my face, but it felt very moisturising and didn't irritate. These are natural products so that's an added bonus!

Clearasil Daily Clear 'Vitamins & Extracts Daily Wash: Again, I know it seems a bit pointless to put such a little tester in a post, but I just felt like I wanted to share my thoughts on this. As soon as I see the word 'Clearasil', I think of teenagers at the beginning of puberty, particularly boys who tend to assume the more they use they better it will work. In other words, I think of a product that's meant for super oily skin and doesn't matter too much if it's used up in half the usual amount of time. So I was surprised with myself when I even pulled this from a magazine page and gave it a go. I was even more surprised by what I thought of it. This cleanser was light, fresh and did not feel harsh at all. I could really smell the avocado in it, which you don't take as something with a strong scent. The 'key ingredients' that are listed are avocado and pomegranate, which effectively calm, sooth and clean the skin. Do not take this for an all natural product though - despite it's name it still contains some heavy stuff that's going to irritate some of you more sensitive-skin peeps out there. If you are one such person, I would leave Clearasil all together. All in all, I don't think I'll ever be caught buying Clearasil myself, but I am surprised by what I got out of this little sample. They are not as stripping and nasty as I thought - at least this product wasn't.

So there is everything that was finished in September. I'm super excited for October and all the goodies it brings. Have you used any of these products? What did you think of them?

Rachel x

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