An obsession with skincare, makeup and all things beauty. Honest reviews and opinions.

Tuesday 1 September 2020

August Empties 2020


*Unpaid AD info - this post contains PR products and affiliate links. 
Space NK UK 
Hi guys! It's time for August empties already. This year is flying by, it'll soon be Christmas (I know, I know). 

Kana Vita Premium CBD Face and Body Lotion (PR, available HERE for £52-74) - This is a gorgeous lightweight lotion containing CBD which is brilliant to help with inflammation, Edelweiss flower extract to plump skin and jojoba oil to hydrate. It has a subtle fresh scent. I found this nicely hydrating. I preferred it as a body lotion.   
Marks out of 10: 6/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? No.


Sebamed Intensive Hand Cream (PR, available HERE for £5.29) - This is a lovely hand cream. It's not overly thick so it absorbs well and doesn't leave skin greasy. It's very nourishing and hydrating. Unfortunately I really struggled with the scent of this. It's pleasantly fragranced but it's overpoweringly strong. I get migraines with certain scents and this one was just too strong for me. It's purely personal though.
Marks out of 10: 6/10
Do I recommend it: Yes
Will I repurchase? No.

 
Talika Skintelligence Anti-Age Night Cream (PR, available HERE for £44) - This is a beautiful, rich night cream that contains peptides and niacinamide. It's such a gorgeous texture, almost balm like. It melts into skin really well. I found this a bit rich for my acne prone skin. I definitely think it would be better suited to those with dry skin. 
Marks out of 10: 7/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase it? No.


Hada Labo Super Hydrator Anti-Aging Lotion (PR, available HERE for £16.95) - You can read my full review of this HERE but to recap - this is a fantastic hydrating serum. It contains 4 types of hyaluronic acid. It's a thin, runny liquid that absorbs quickly into skin, leaving it deeply hydrated. It's not sticky or tacky. Plus you get a huge 150ml bottle so it lasts ages and is amazing value.
Marks out of 10: 10/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase it? Yes at some point. This doesn't quite beat my favourite Medik8 Hydr8 B5 Intense but it comes at a very close second. 


Antipodes Kiwi Seed Gold Luminous Eye Cream (PR, available from Look Fantastic for £45.99) - This is a gorgeous lightweight eye cream. It absorbs well and leaves skin hydrated. It's a beautiful golden colour so you get a brightening effect. 
Marks out of 10: 7/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? No because I prefer the Murad Vita-C Dark Circle Corrector instead.


Drunk Elephant F-Balm (bought myself, available from Space NK and Cult Beauty for £44) - You can read my full review of this HERE but to re-cap - this is a lovely overnight mask. It's creamy and hydrating. I find it works best added on top of moisturiser.
Marks out of 10: 7/10
Do I recommend it: Yes
Will I repurchase? No. I no longer support Drunk Elephant after their behaviour in relation to the Black Lives Movement after they had been deleting customers comments on their social media. It's a shame as I love their products. If you Google Drunk Elephant drama - there's loads of blog posts, articles and YouTube videos explaining the numerous things that DE have done over the years. No shade to anyone that continues to support them, it's obviously a personal choice!

 
Diptyque Satin Oil for Body and Hair (bought myself, available HERE for £36) - I bought this purely because it contains Jasmine which I love the scent of. Unfortunately I didn't think it smelt of Jasmine that much. It has a light, musky scent. Very pleasant but nothing amazing. It's quite a lightweight oil that absorbs easily. 
Marks out of 10: 5/10
Do I recommend it? Yes although I do think there's plenty of other body oils that are better.
Will I repurchase? No.


Fudge Rough Up Texture Junk hair crème (bought myself, available HERE for £7.49) - This isn't technically an empty but as I didn't have my hair cut for ages during lockdown, I'd not been styling my hair either. When I eventually got my hair cut and came to use this, it had dried up! It had been sat their for months though. It had gone really thick and didn't spread easily anymore. Prior to that, it was a fantastic hair crème. It's a fibre crème with a slight shimmer so it's not dull. It gives me flexible hold without it looking greasy.
Marks out of 10: 9/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? Already have.


Skin City Skincare Retinoate Supple Body Oil (PR, available HERE for £25) - This is a fantastic body oil. It contains a Retinol derivative which helps to smooth texture. It's a very hydrating oil, that absorbs quickly and easily. It's not greasy. It's unscented too.
Marks out of 10: 7/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will  I repurchase? Yes at some point. 


Bioglan Beauty Collagen Gummies (bought myself, available HERE for £18.99) - I have these on subscription so I get them a bit cheaper. They're my favourite collagen supplement. They're easy to take as they're basically a sweet! Taking collagen makes a huge difference to my nails - they're much stronger and grow longer.
Marks out of 10: 10/10
Do I recommend them? Yes
Will I repurchase? Already have. 


SkinMedica Hydrating Complex (bought myself as part of Skin City's Advent Calendar, available HERE for £64 for full sized) - Unfortunately I really didn't like this. It felt like pure silicone! I'm not against silicone in skincare, far from it. However I do find anything that it too silicone-heavy feels heavy on my skin which I don't like. So I used this once! It was nicely hydrating.
Marks out of 10: 4/10 purely personal preference though.
Do I recommend it? No.
Will I repurchase? No.


YSL All Hours Foundation (bought myself, available from Boots, Look Fantastic and Feel Unique for £35) - I've not really used this foundation that much but it's well out of date so it's got to go! It's a lovely foundation, medium - full coverage, with a matte finish. It's very longwearing, even on my oily skin. I bought this just as I started to realise that I preferred dewy foundations, rather than matte, hence this not being used much! I used to save it for nights out. This is shade BR10 which was a good match for me.
Marks out of 10: 7/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? No.


Beauty Pie Great Skin foundation (bought myself, available HERE for £7.94 for Beauty Pie members) - If you're not familiar with how Beauty Pie membership works read all about it HERE - that also contains my original review of this foundation. This is a fantastic foundation, especially for the price! I find it to be a dupe of Armani Luminous Silk. It's a medium coverage foundation, fairly long wearing with a natural finish. I'm getting rid as it's out of date.
Marks out of 10: 9/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? No because I prefer lighter coverage now.


Skinceuticals Advanced Brightening UV Defence Sunscreen SPF 50 (PR, available from Skin City and Look Fantastic for £45) - You can read my full review of this HERE but to recap - This is a gorgeous SPF. It's super lightweight, no white cast, doesn't sting my eyes and works well under makeup. It's also contains Niacinamide and Tranexamic Acid to brighten skin.
Marks out of 10: 9/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? Yes.


Drunk Elephant Marula Oil (bought myself, available from Space NK and Cult Beauty from £34) - This is a beautiful oil. Lightweight, not greasy and very nourishing.
Marks out of 10: 8/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? No as per above re not supporting the brand anymore.


Trinny London BFF Eye (bought myself, available HERE for £26 - You can read my full review of this HERE but to re-cap - This is my holy grail under eye concealer. It's a skincare / makeup hybrid. It's so lightweight, you don't get any creasing at all. To say how light it is, it still gives good coverage. Plus it keeps you under eye area well hydrated throughout the day. Love it!
Marks out of 10: 10/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase it? Already have. I'm on pot number 3 now.


Jean Paul Gaultier Classique perfume (bought myself, available HERE for £46) - Up until this last year or so I suffered with migraines triggered by fragrance. For about 10 years I literally could only wear this perfume! Luckily I don't seem to be as sensitive anymore and have found other perfumes to wear instead. It's nice to be able to switch it up! I'll always love this perfume though, I guess it's my signature scent. Plus I wore it on my wedding day so it has sentimental value too.
Marks out of 10: 10/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase it? Definitely at some point!


REN Moroccan Rose Gold Glow Perfect Dry Oil (bought myself, available from REN & Space NK  for £27) - This is a lovely body oil with a light rose scent. It's not greasy and leaves skin soft.
Marks out of 10: 7/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase it? Probably at some point.


Paula's Choice Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment (bought myself, available from Paula's Choice, Space NK, Cult Beauty, Skin City & Feel Unique for £53 - shop around, it's often on offer) - You can read my original review of this HERE but  to re-cap - this is a fantastic retinol serum. This was my 3rd bottle of it. It's one of the strongest retinol serums I've tried, so definitely not for retinol beginners in my opinion. It very effective for keeping lines at bay and my acne under control.
Marks out of 10: 10/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? Yes I should think so. I'm currently testing out Medik8 Crystal Retinal 10 instead so it depends if I end up preferring that instead. The PC serum is a fair bit cheaper though. 


Nuface Gel Primer (bought myself, available HERE for £27.50) -  This is the conducting gel to use with my Nuface Trinity microcurrent device.
Marks out of 10: 10/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? Already have.



Kate Somerville Vitamin B3 + Vitamin C serum (bought myself for £19.99 from TK Maxx in store - currently not available elsewhere) - I've not totally finished this bottle, I got about 3/4 the way though it. It didn't wow me to be honest so I'm passing it on. It's a milky serum with a slight silicone feel to it. It was nice enough but nothing special.
Marks out of 10: 5/10
Do I recommend it? No I think there's better options out there.
Will I repurchase? No.


Clockface Beauty Lip Balm (PR, available HERE for £7.95) - This is a lovely hydrating lip balm. Very nourishing. 
Marks out of 10: 6/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? No as I tent to avoid minty lip balms as they can cause irritation.


A.Florence Hydrating Gel Cleanser (bought myself, available HERE for £23) - This is one of my favourite cleansers, especially for use in my morning routine. It has the most beautiful consistency - it's super thick and silky. It hydrates skin so well. I like to leave it on as a quick mask whilst I clean my teeth.
Marks out of 10: 10/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? Always! Already have. 


Verso Super Eye Serum (bought myself, available from Space NK, Cult Beauty, Feel Unique & Look Fantastic for £80 & Skin City for £78) - This is a fantastic eye serum. It's pretty potent and very effective at tackling fine lines. This lasted absolutely ages too! You only need a small amount. 
Marks out of 10: 9/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase it? I'm actually using a small tube of Verso Eye cream at the moment which I prefer to this as it's a beautiful balm consistency. So I'd be more likely to buy that instead. 


This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray (bought myself, available in the large size from This Works & Space NK for £35, or the original size from Look Fantastic for £18 & Feel Unique for £19.50) - You can read my full review of this HERE but to re-cap - THIS WORKS! Literally. I use this pillow spray every night without fail, hence buying this large size bottle. It's a blend of essential oils including lavender that's designed to help you relax and drift off to sleep quicker. It definitely works well for me.
Marks out of 10: 10/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? Already have. 


Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair (free sample, available in full size from Look Fantastic, Feel Unique and Boots from £60 depending on size) - This is the recently updated formula. I remember trying the original ages ago and not being too fussed with it but was curious about the changes they had made so thought it was worth a try! I'm so glad I did. This is such a gorgeous serum. It's hydrating and soothing. The day after using my skin just looks better that usual. So much so, I ordered the full sized version!
Marks out of 10: 9/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? Yes, I've bought the full sized bottle.


Alpha H Vitamin B and Copper Tripeptides serum (gift, available from Cult Beauty and Beauty Bay for £39) - You can read my full review of this HERE but to recap - This is a fantastic Niacinamide serum with the addition of copper peptides.
Marks out of 10: 10/10
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I repurchase? Yes




Next are a load of samples I used when I went away for the weekend - I'll keep these reviews brief as they're only based on one use.

Kate Somerville Goat Milk cleanser - I actually have this in full size. It's a beautiful cleanser, one of my favourites. Highly recommend. 


Kate Somerville +Retinol Vitamin C Moisturiser - lovely and rich, very hydrating.


Votary Super Seed Serum - this is a milky / creamy serum that felt really nourishing.


Clark's Botanicals Anti-Puff Eye Cream - didn't make much of an impression. 


Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel - I love these peel pads, they're fantastic. They're pretty expensive though and single use which is wasteful.


Clinique ID Dramatically Different Hydrating Jelly - this seemed nice, very soothing and hydrating.


Oskia Citylife Cleansing Concentrate - this was nice and gentle.


Missha Dry Ness Off - Did the job at removing makeup. 


Decree Peptide Emollient Veil+ - this was quite lightweight. 


Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer - really liked this, gave a lovely finished. Tempted to buy full sized. 

 

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser - this performed well but I don't like the scent of cucumber.


Sunday Riley Tidal - Such a lovely moisturiser. Very lightweight and hydrating. I've had a mini of this before and would buy it full sized.


Argentum Nourishing Oil Milk Cleanser - This felt very luxurious and was lovely to use.


And that's it for this month! Thanks for reading.
Cult Beauty Ltd.
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