Beauty Empties | November 2023

Here’s a roundup of products I finished by the end of November. I posted reviews of some of these products already and have linked the review to the product name where applicable, so please click on the product name of whichever product you’re interested in reading more about.

Side note: I took these photos in non-natural light in the evening so they’re not as clear as usual – natural light is definitely kinder to me and my product shots so I’ll try to beat the sun next time; just a little difficult in winter with daylight savings.

Skincare

Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm

I love the lime scent of this cleansing balm its sweet zingy yet refreshing but the thing is I’m not usually fond of strong scented things on my face. It was a decent cleansing balm that I’d recommend to anyone with dry skin who only wears light or no makeup. I definitely don’t recommend using it to remove eye makeup as it always left a stringy white film in my eyes.

Heimish All Clean Balm Mandarin (mini)

Now this is a superior cleansing balm as it is pretty decent at clearing clogged pores and removing makeup. My only qualm again is the scent. Although quite lightly scented, the herby botanical mandarin peel scent isn’t what I was expecting from this. I fully thought I was going to be getting a light sweet fruity mandarin scent. So I prefer the original one’s scent over this however I’m hoping Heimish comes out with an unscented version some day with the same feel and effectiveness – that would be perfection!

Rovectin Clean Green Papaya Pore Cleansing Foam

An enzyme wash and foam cleanser in one sounds like a dream for my clogged pores, but this one often left my skin feeling quite tight and dehydrated in the winter when my skin leans a lot drier. I didn’t realise this when I first started using it because that wasn’t the case in warmer weather when it cleared more pores and felt gentle and comfortable. It very much is dependant on your skin’s condition at the time of use. It was also quite a light, airy, wet foam whereas I prefer a rich pillow-like foam.

AHC Essence Care Cleansing Foam Emerald

This was quite a luxurious feeling cleansing foam that removed impurities well and didn’t leave my skin feeling dehydrated after. The only thing that it could do without is the scent in my opinion, otherwise it was great.

I’m From Pear Soothing Pad

I really enjoyed the soothing and refreshing nature of these toner pads. The natural cotton pads were also quite aesthetically pleasing and the large size was great for DIY sheet masking. I have another tub in my stash which I’ll crack open sometime next year.

Rovectin Activating Treatment Lotion

It took me so so so long, in fact, too long, to get through this bottle of toner. Its one of those humectant rich gloopy ones that plump up your skin but it was always a touch too slimy and sticky for me, much liked the cult favourite Hada Labo Goku Jyun ones. Its a holy grail for many but I’d prefer something more quickly absorbing. If the texture doesn’t bother you, this is a really great hydrator and brightener.

Vegreen Mucin Essence Toner

Vegreen’s cruelty-free answer to snail mucin, using yam root mucin instead. This had a runny yet slightly slimy texture and I found one layer to feel quite comfortable, any more would leave an uncomfortable tacky residue. I did find it to feel quite thirst-quenching for my skin and it gave my skin a temporary plump appearance, which is great however I did notice it would often break me out. I use a lot of skincare products so sometimes its hard to tell what’s breaking me out, so my husband and I both tried this with a super basic routine and both broke out, then after taking this toner out and keeping the other products in we didn’t experience any new breakouts.

Nature Republic Hyathenol Hydra Toner & Emulsion (minis)

I didn’t enjoy the perfume scent these had. They were indeed hydrating and plush but also quite forgettable.

Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop

A 5% vitamin c serum that I actually enjoyed as it didn’t sting or smell bad and it is quite lightweight. It took longer than others to oxidise/ change colour but eventually it did start turning yellow and leaving that typical metallic scent behind on my hands. So with that in mind I’d say it is important to use this consistently as soon as you purchase it and don’t let it sit longer than 6 months in your collection. I currently on my second bottle of this and still enjoy it for the healthy brightened appearance it imparts on my skin.

Vegreen 730 Daily Moisture Cream

I wanted to like this cream so much, and initially I did as you can see if you read my full review, but recently it started feeling a bit too heavy for my even in the winter. Its quite likely my skin has changed and not anything to do with the cream itself. My view now is that this simple nourishing cream is more geared towards a true dry skin type.

Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream

One of my favourite creams for nourishing and calming my skin. It has a medium to thick consistency but doesn’t feel heavy or clammy on the skin. I love the natural blue colour of the cream too.

it Cosmetics Confidence In A Cream

This was quite a nice standard cream that moisturised my skin really well and left it feeling quite soothed and refreshed at the same time. You know when you apply something and you’re like “ahhhh I needed that”, well that’s how I felt with this little pot of cream.

Farmacy Honey Halo Ultra Hydrating Ceramide Moisturizer (mini)

Not an empty but I can’t even finish this cream sadly. Its super thick so great for dry skin, not so great for my combo skin and a no go for oily skin, but what makes me not want to put it on my face or even use it up on my body is the heavy honey scent. It smells more like honey than any other honey product I have in my collection, sadly not even in a good way. I’m passing it on to my mum as I think the ceramides in it could do well for her extremely dry hands and strengthen her skin barrier.

Haircare

Moremo Hair Treatment Miracle 2X

This hair treatment leaves my hair sleek smooth and soft without weighing it down. It also smells delicious!

Wella Fusion Intense Repair Conditioner (mini)

This freebie was a surprising find, because it actually worked quite well in my hair, making it light, airy and soft. It didn’t give as much sleekness as the product mentioned above, but it was still great at making my hair look healthier.

Philip Kingsley Bond Builder Restructuring Treatment (sample)

This was so lightweight and runny that it wasn’t very easy to distribute through my hair. After washing it out my hair didn’t feel or look particularly healthier, in fact, it was somewhat drying.

Makeup

Charlotte Tilbury Setting Spray (mini)

This setting spray is everything. You know when you think does a setting spray even do anything? well, this one does! It’s got such a strong hold on your makeup that everything stays put all day. I recently bought a spray from another brand which ended up not doing anything but rehydrate my skin like any other skincare mist, and it made me truly miss having the Charlotte Tilbury one in my collection.

Other

The Face Shop Trendy Nails Nail Color Remover Strawberry

A good nail polish remover that removes all types of colours and glitters well without staining.

Asahi Mintia: Wild & Cool, Calpis, Aqua Spark, Green Tea, Cold Smash

This is not a beauty product but I want to mention it here anyway, If you’re ever in Japan and in need of mints Mintia is the way to go as there’s so much variety of flavours from different types of mints, fruity, juicy, candy and refreshers. I got 5 flavours: Cold Smash was the most intensely minty and seriously gives you a “cold smash” in the throat especially if you try to drink cold water after it – that hurt!, Wild & Cool was the most standard gentle yet effective mint and probably the one I’d recommend if you want something basic, Green Tea Mint had a slight earthy hint coming through the mint but I quite liked it and would get it again too, Aqua Spark isn’t minty and is more of a refreshing hydrator – I wasn’t fond of it, and Calpis again not a mint but just a Calpis flavoured candy which was nice but I’d rather just drink the actual drink.

Uru Shot UDCA (sample) x2

This was such a random sample to receive from Olive Young; it’s tablets containing Iron, UDCA, Vitamin E & Vitamins B1 B2 B6 that are meant to give you energy, however I couldn’t see any energy improvements because a 2-day sampler isn’t going to show anything and I’d have to regularly take it to build it up in my system before seeing results. I suppose the sample allows you to see if it is easy to swallow and if you have any reaction to it, which I can see was all perfectly fine for me.

M&S Green Fig Refresher & Burner Oil

This is a pretty old fragrance oil that I’ve had for several years and moved along with me to multiple countries. The scent is quite a mature and sophisticated green fig that I used to love but recently it started producing heavy fumes that attacked my lungs. I’ve developed a persistent cough for over 5 weeks which isn’t normal so I’m seeing my GP about it, for now I’ve been advised not to use essential oil aroma diffusers as they can potentially damage the lungs and cause asthma attacks.

The Body Shop Frosted Cranberry Home Fragrance Oil

For the same reasons as above I’m letting this home fragrance oil go. Although the fumes were not as strong and the scent is still a beautiful fruity warm cranberry perfect for a cold winter’s day, I’d still rather not risk using it especially as it’s really old too and just has a few drops left.

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That’s all the empty products and a few discards I collected in November. Have you tried any of the products mentioned above? I’d love to know what you think of them 😀