February Empties (And a Challenge Update)

Sorry I have been absent from the blog for a while, this change in season (and probably the germy children I work with) have made me unwell! I finally caved and had a day off today and am already feeling more rested and a little brighter. But for the last week or so have just been laying low and having early nights.

I decided having recently posted an All Time Favourites that a February Favourites would be a little redundant... But I have quite a few empty products that I thought I would share with you and give you my thoughts on. Now the following photo may appear like I am a bit of a Lush junkie but I am actually just really bad at keeping empty products (still getting the hang of this whole blogger thing...) and the only products I do manage to keep seem to be Lush products because I return them to the store, that being said, I do very much like Lush so calling me a Lush junkie wouldn't be an outrageous claim.

 

 

The Body Shop Earth Loves shower gel in Apricot and Basil- This shower gel is great, I love the smell, it's sulphate and paraben free and the packaging is 100% biodegradable, good for you and the environment! I would definitely re-purchase this, the only reason I didn't is that I am trying to avoid shops and just bought a Burt's Bees body wash on line, but I think when Summer comes around this will be back in my shower!

 

The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream and Night Cream- These two products were quite nice, they didn't break me out and did an ok job of moisturising. I won't be rushing out to buy them again, I just like some other moisturisers more. But nothing really bad to say about them either!

 

Nivea Milk and Honey lip balm- I'm pretty proud of myself for finishing this, I feel like I never finish lip products! This is really nice, it's been living on my bed side table for ages as my before bed lip balm, I would re-purchase this but I feel like I'm overflowing with lip balms so will be finishing off quite a few others first.

 

Lush Ultra Bland- I adore this balm cleanser, I think this is my 4th or 5th tub, I use it to remove my make up before cleansing, and also sometimes as a cuticle balm, it's great, I definitely recommend this and will most certainly be re-purchasing!

 

Lush Aqua Marina- This is a cleanser that I tried a while ago, it felt quite nice on the skin but I didn't love it, I found the smell a little off putting and the consistency a little messy, I also didn't feel that it cleansed my skin thoroughly. I think this would suit people with ultra sensitive skin.

 

Lush Cosmetic Catastrophe- This is the only fresh face mask from Lush that I have tried and I love it, they have a program where if you take back 5 Lush pots you receive a free fresh face mask (hence my pot hoarding...) and I will definitely be getting this one again, it has blueberries, calamine and chamomile, it calmed any redness in my skin and cleared up my spots, I highly recommend this when your skin is in 'catastrophe' mode.

 

Lush Ocean Salt Body scrub- I think this is advertised as a face and body scrub but I only ever used it on my body and I even found it a little harsh for that. I find that because I have dry skin sugar scrubs seem to work better than salt scrubs which i find strip my skin if a little too much moisture, this is a fun product, it's bright blue and smells great, but just wasn't for me.

 

Lush Therapy massage bar- Sorry I can only show you the tin I had my massage bar in, but it isn't very exciting to look at. I quite like this product although I found I didn't reach for it all that much because body lotions are just easier! You melt the bar either in between your hands or directly on the skin, it leaves a kind of greasy film, which I didn't mind because I only ever used this before bed. It did leave me hydrated, but overall I just found this product a bit too much work. Also, I left it in my car one day and it melted everywhere, just something good to know...

 

 

I also wanted to update you on my challenge! Read more about it here, I think one of my favourite things about blogging is the support I get from all of you and announcing my little challenge got such positive feedback, it really made me commit to my shopping ban and streamlining off all the stuff I seem to have accumulated!

 

These are the only products I have left that I'm trying to use up, I got through heaps this last month! I will confess I gave a few away because I tried them and they just weren't for me, but I don't think that's cheating, they've gone to a good home and are helping me clean out my clutter!

 

The above products are all I have left and I am happy to say they are all being used, and what's even more crazy, is that I don't want to go out and buy more! I think my make up/skin care shopping ban may last for quite a while... I told my friend Megan this revelation over dinner the other night and she almost choked on her Singapore noodles. But I'm determined to not impulse buy or spend money recklessly, and it feels good!

 

How was your February? Did it fly like mine? I hope you're all enjoying March, I love Autumn so I'm pretty excited, just need to get rid of this cold...

 

Zoe xx