Empties | April 2015

Yep, another month over, another payday has rolled around (and not a moment too soon!), and I'm here right on cue with another installment of my beauty empties! If you want to have a little peek at the products I've finished off in April and what I've thought of them, keep reading... April has been a pretty quiet month for me, I've mostly just been working and trying to keep up with my running/gym-going - serious training has now commenced for Total Warrior in June! I'm trying to save up to buy a car so I've been pretty boring this month really, I've been to a pub quiz with some friends (don't ask, it was dismal) and I met up with a friend from uni who I've not seen in three years yesterday, which was lovely - that's about as exciting as things have got, though! Have you done anything exciting this month!?
Asda SkinSystem Oval Cosmetic Cotton Wool Pads I am so disloyal to cotton pads, I will honestly pick up any old ones, wherever I happen to be shopping - these are from Asda and I wasn't keen, the oval shape made them seem a little too big somehow, I just felt wasteful. I'd avoid these in future for that reason, although if the standard small round ones were an option I'd definitely pick those up as they were nice and soft.
Repurchase? No.
Naked Soft Touch Silky Smooth Starflower Body Wash I'm sad to have finished up my last bottle of this, it's not available in my local Boots any more which is a real shame as it smells gorgeous and my skin was really happy with it. I have got some other SLS-free body washes to try so I'm looking forward to trying new things, though!
Repurchase? I would, if I could get hold of it more easily.
Boots Botanics All Bright Purifying Facial Scrub I mentioned this scrub in my post about the Botanics brand at Boots; I really like the All Bright range, but this wasn't a favourite for me, as I just felt it was a little too harsh. I've always been a lover of a good scrub, but recently I've been moving more towards much gentler manual exfoliation teamed with a good chemical exfoliant, and whilst this was nice, it was just a little too much for my skin - it's very similar to the St Ives Apricot scrubs, so if you like those, you'll probably enjoy this! Botanics do do another facial scrub in their Shine Away range which I love.
Repurchase? No.
The Body Shop Chocomania Sugar Body Scrub I picked this up in the post-Christmas sales and have tried to resist eating it every time I used it since... It smells so good, chocolate-y (duh!) and indulgent and really right up my street. Lovely. In terms of exfoliation I wasn't actually super-keen - I found the sugar granules dissolved too quickly to get a proper good scrub, though obviously that's down to personal preference and how much of a scrub you like! It also left a bit of an oily residue on the skin, although obviously that's good in terms of hydration...
Repurchase? Probably not.
Mitchum Powder Fresh Roll-On Deodorant I've used Mitchum deodorant since I was a teenager, I find it pretty effective and I really like the smell of the Powder Fresh variant; I'm not a fan of aerosol deodorants as they often trigger my asthma, so the roll-on or stick deodorants are usually my choice.
Repurchase? Yes.
The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector A new handcare favourite for me, this has worked so well to hydrate my poor dry, eczema-prone hands and keep flakiness to a minimum; as I mentioned in my review, I've been keeping a tube in my pocket at work and it seems to be just the ticket. My boyfriend also requested his own tube after trying a little bit of mine, which is high praise from him - you can take my word for that!
Repurchase? Already have and will do again!

Boots Botanics All Bright Cleansing Toner Another Botanics product! I've been using this for quite a few months now as my evening toner after my double cleanse; swept over my face on a cotton pad, it removes any last traces of make-up and cleanser, and the inclusion of AHAs means it works to dissolve any dead skin cells and other miscellaneous grime to keep my skin looking smoother and brighter.
Repurchase? Already have!
The Body Shop Almond Body Butter One of my absolute all-time favourite scents from the body shop, this is like spreading gorgeously hydrating marzipan on my body - I just adore it. This is so intermittently available now, I think it may have been discontinued but sometimes seems to pop up in the sales... If I see it again I'll definitely be repurchasing as this was my last tub!!
Repurchase? If I can find it!
L'Oreal EverStrong Fortifying & Vitality Shampoo I wasn't particularly keen on the scent of this shampoo (or its matching conditioner which I'm still trying to finish up!) - I found the rosemary a little overpowering and there are certainly better products in terms of leaving my hair feeling clean. Overall I was disappointed by this duo and won't be buying them again - the search for the perfect SLS-free shampoo continues!
Repurchase? No.
OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Conditioner This took a lot more using up than the shampoo (which I shared in my March Empties), but I got there! I love the smell of this duo, it's a really lovely scent which lingers on the hair beautifully, and it did leave my hair feeling soft and silky. However, the inclusion of silicons in the formula is a bit of a problem for me, as I'm pretty sure they're responsible for the massive breakouts I've been having on my shoulders and chest recently.
Repurchase? Probably not.
The Body Shop Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask You can't beat a good face mask in my book and I've really enjoyed this little number from The Body Shop for drawing all the gunk out of my skin and really leaving my face feeling super-clean and smooth. I've been using this a couple of times per week lately as it had started to dry out and become a little difficult to work with, but bearing in mind I've had this tub for going on for a year, I don't think it's done too badly!
Repurchase? Probably at some point, although I have plenty of facemasks to use up in the meantime.
Yves Rocher Long Lasting Moisturizing Hand Cream* This has been my bedtime handcream of choice over the past couple of months and as I said in my review, it smells lovely, absorbs quickly, and works well to hydrate my super-dry hands. It's an absolute bargain product, especially given the quality of the ingredients list.
Repurchase? Yes, I'd definitely consider adding it to an Yves Rocher order, though I don't think I'd place an order specially...

Have you tried any of these products? Did you like them? I hope you've had a lovely April, and here's to an even better May!

xo

[*Product provided for consideration.]