empties #6

I've started chucking all my bottles and tubes of empty products in a little Avene bag, and er... well it's overflowing, so here's a very long empties post so that I can finally chuck everything in the bin. Make yourself a cuppa, you might be here for a while.

First on the list is the Natio Renew Radiance Foam Cleanser, which wasn't that much of a foam cleanser at all. I'm trying to steer clear of foam cleansers so it's probably a good thing that it didn't lather up too well. Everything about this cleanser was average - it had a half-hearted attempt at removing my mascara and left my skin feeling a little taut.
Repurchase? No.

The Bluemandarines SkinLife Energetic Cellular Cream came in a recent Birchbox and I managed to squeeze out a week's worth (morning and evening) of use out of the 10ml tube. It felt nice and light on my skin as well as providing enough hydration, and I was all set to buy the full size until I saw the price. The rest of the Bluemandarines range that the Birchbox website stocks is in the £15-£20 range, but for this particular cream they want £35 for a 50ml pot. No thanks.
Repurchase? Nope.

More skincare minis (get used to it, that's basically all these empties posts are constructed of), in the form of that little REN travel kit that came with Red magazine a few months back. It contained the Vita-Mineral Day Cream, Rose Centifolia Cleansing Gel and the Frankincense Revitalising Night Cream, and as a proper first introduction to the brand they didn't fare that well. I got a distinct feeling of average about them, which I was not expecting from a fairly pricey brand. The moisturisers moisturised and the cleanser cleansed (albeit not too well, especially against eye makeup) and that's all they did. Nothing special.
Repurchase? No, no, and no.

I haven't been using the Weleda Aknedoron Purifying Lotion as often as I should have, which resulted in it taking far longer to use up than I was expecting. It just doesn't seem to give me the instant gratification results that I want, and (as far as I've seen) in the long run doesn't prevent blemishes from cropping up either. For some reason I still get the feeling that it does something, I think it helps with those little bumps that appear on my jawline that never actually turn into blemishes as such.
Repurchase? I'm going to see if my skin starts missing it and if it actually made any difference, but so far, no.

Another bottle of perfume from my stash finished! My goal is to use up all of my perfumes, and then only buy two or three that I really like and have good staying power. Britney Spears Cosmic Radiance is a typical fruity floral teenager scent, one that if you walk into high school changing rooms you will most likely smell (as well as breathing in more Impulse than air) regardless of whether it's Britney Spears' offering or the dozens of other perfumes that smell alike. Despite being an Eau De Parfum, the lasting power wasn't that good.
Repurchase? No.

I'm sad to see my little bottle of Bioderma Sebium H20 Micelle Solution all used up, I tried to ration it out but eventually I had to admit that it was empty. This stuff removes makeup - even stubborn mascara - like a pro. Whack a bit on a cotton pad, rub it around yo' face and that's it. Of course you have to follow up with a proper cleanser to, y'know, actually cleanse your skin, but this is a great makeup remover. Luckily I have a backup, but it's the Sensibio version (the one in the red packaging) and after trying that one out I think I prefer the Sebium formula more.
Repurchase? Yes.

The Elemis Pro-Collagen Body Cream came in a beauty box over a year ago, and I've only gotten around to using it up now (if that doesn't say something about the enormity of my body lotion stash, I don't know what does). The cream is fairly ordinary, it's got shimmer which I'm not a fan of in body products as it aggravates my skin but I was so surprised by the price. Elemis can't be seriously charging fifty quid for a 200ml bottle of this stuff. £5 yeah, £50? You're having a laugh.
Repurchase? No.

I had another mini of the Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Facial Hydrator in a previous empties post, and there I mentioned that the price is extortionate. Well, I still stand by that, but this time round I've convinced myself that it's worth the money. This moisturiser is so lightweight, with an almost whipped consistency and absorbs into the skin quickly, leaving a perfect base for makeup. It delivers just the right amount of hydration, it isn't greasy and overall I love it. Now I need to summon up the courage to part with £40 over a little pot of cream collect enough Birchbox points.
Repurchase? Yes.

My hands have been more dry than they usually are, so I've been toting a hand cream around with me as I can't stand the feeling of taut skin on my hands. The Balance Me Super Moisturising Hand Cream does the trick and absorbs quickly whilst not leaving a greasy residue behind. The tube lasted me ages too, but is still small enough to be handbag friendly - the only problem is the price. The 30ml size is only 50p less than the L'Occitane hand cream,  so I'm afraid that there's no competition as L'Occitane in my eyes is the king of hand creams
Repurchase? No.

A 30ml sample of the St. Ives Apricot Invigorating Scrub has been used up too. I try to make sure that I always have a manual exfoliator in my skincare routine as sometimes a chemical exfoliant isn't up to the job; surprisingly enough this scrub wasn't too abrasive for my skin, although my face did look a bit red after using it.
Repurchase? Perhaps, after I get through the slew of exfoliators I'm yet to use up.

Not pictured is the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub, which needed to be gotten rid of as it was near its expiry date - I ended up using it on my body in the shower for the sole reason of using it up. It really isn't that good and barely exfoliates.
Repurchase? No.