Nothing more dissatisfying than a poor lather!
Happy end of Summer everyone! (She says, with grey clouds and the rain pouring outside her window and one very disturbed cat cleaning himself of every raindrop that treacherously dripped onto his fur). If you've be reading my little posts for a good past few years you'll know a big ol' empties post is one of the most consistent things around here! And I mean big! With my vegan beauty switch taking place this year there's going to be a lot of not-to-repurchase items so this empties may be styled a little differently and a little more concisely than some of my previous ones. Hold onto your hats my friends; you'll be finding out how this post goes with me as I ain't a clue how we are going to write this one out!
Let's split this into three categories shall we? Non-vegan and non-cruelty free; cruelty free; and vegan and cruelty free. We'll keep it short and sweet for the non-vegan cruelty free items, highlighting a few show stopping key points but alas letting them pass for the time being (whilst we wait in anticipation for the whole beauty world to go vegan, or at least cruelty free!). For cruelty free we shall celebrate all they have to offer and again cross our fingers that these brands will also head towards the vegan side sometime soon. For vegan (which I'm not sure if there may be any actually :'( , however please remember that these are empties of products I've been using up in anticipation of the vegan beauty switch, we shall celebrate them for all their glory and, if not, let the world know how they performed so they maybe work for another lovely person.
Non-vegan and Non-cruelty Free
Now hold on to your hats my friends (even your socks!) because I'm actually as shocked.... There's a tiny amount of non-vegan and cruelty free empties compared to vegan! Yes you heard right; before I went vegan I was already pretty vegan without realising! The few non-vegan and cruelty free products here include...
- Sephora's Creamy Body Washes
- La Roche-Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel
- Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm
- L'Oreal's Infallible 24H Stay Fresh Foundation.
Now none of these brands appear to state they are cruelty free or vegan and likewise some contain animal derivatives, like the honey in Boots' Coconut Body wash. Despite this however I'm not too sad to be saying goodbye to these products on their non-vegan basis as none of them changed my life, or my skin or makeup game for that matter. I must say, I did thoroughly enjoy the Sephora body washes as they had delicious scents that were pretty powerful. Makeup-wise, I absolutely hated the Nivea Balm as primer. It had a very sickly aftershave smell and didn't appear to make one bit of difference to my makeup longevity! I must admit I did accidentally pick up the alcohol free version, which may play an important role in its highly praised adhesive properties however the smell was just so sickly I would definitely not recommend purchasing this product! For L'Oreal I actually also very much disliked their foundation at risk too, finding it awful for wearing off, sheering out and disintegrating on my skin. However, applied with a beauty blender it had much better coverage and longevity, so there's a suggestion if you're trying to get a foundation to work for you. Try all the tools! I promise I'm not bashing these products because they're not vegan or cruelty free! Neither of them just did not blow my mind or leave me at a loss, like with other products in this post.
My skin is very hard to please; unlike myself whereby food, love and hugs meet all of my lifelong requirements.
Cruelty Free
For cruelty free but not vegan I was left with a few items, consisting of...
- The Body Shop Aloe Calming Foaming Wash
- Seventeen Miracle Matte Pressed Powder
- Natural Collection Liquid Concealer
- Boots Extracts Coconut Body Wash
- Boots Extracts Strawberry Body Scrub
- Zoella Beauty Shower Shake Moisturising Body Wash
- Zoella Beauty Hungry Hands Hand Cream
- Zoella Beauty Let's Spritz Body Mist
- Zoella Beauty Blissful Mistful Body Mist
I must say I was a little confused with The Body Shop's Aloe Face Wash as the Aloe Toner is vegan according to their website's vegan search results however the face wash isn't listed. If I get to the bottom of that I'll report back however brilliant I heard that that Body Shop are working to create more vegan beauty products in their ranges! I'll skip Seventeen's powder as the brand is being discontinued, Natural Collection however still remains but I did not enjoy their concealer! With their palest shade being as orange as the sun under my ghostly eyes and being sheer enough to just tint a piece of paper (just about) I shoved this concealer in the empties after a few disastrous attempts because I just couldn't make it work. Out of all the body products, Zoella's were definitely my favourite! And that hand cream; heart eyes emoji please! Hands down ;) the best hand cream 110% for long lasting hand nourishment, dry skin banishing and the dreamiest scent going <3 ! The only pointers I'd suggest for Zoella's products would be making the body mists significantly more long lasting as they barely last a minute post application and giving the body one a good wack more lather as it wasn't very soapy.
In my dreams I wish all of the Body Shop and Zoella Beauty were marked and 100% vegan because they are hands down two fabulous brands of beauty products and their fomulas and scents are some of my absolute favourites!
Vegan and Cruelty Free
Okay, let's split this into Skincare, body care, hair care and makeup because girl... there is a lot of stuff here! I just cannot believe how many empties turned out vegan! Look at these lists!...
Skincare -
- The Body Shop Chamomile Cleanser
- The Body Shop Deep Cleansing Gel Wash
- The Body Shop Vitamin E Gentle Facial Wash
- Dr Organic Skin Clear Organic Tea Tree Deep Pore Cleansing Face Wash
- Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Face Wash
- The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner
- Lush Tea Tree Water
- Dr Organic Vitamin E Pure Oil Complex
- The Body Shop Vitamin E Eye Cream
- Dr Organic Hemp Oil Intensive Eye Serum
- Crazy Rumors Bubble Gum Lip Balm
Now the Chamomile Cleanser I'm unsure if I've featured before however I felt an update was required as I'v really grown to actually dislike it! Although decent as disintegrating makeup pre face wash it leaves a horribly stubborn oily film which is exceptionally hard to wash away. I've also found it really aggravates my eyes and stings if it gets in them,which I think is a tad annoying seen as it's designed to remove makeup. All the face washer however, from both Body Shop and Dr Organics, were pretty decent. The Body Shop Vitamin E, which claims to be non-drying, moisturing and soft, definitely lived up to its claims, leaving me with noticeably nourished skin without any nasty films or residue. From the Seeweed and Dr Organic Tea Tree wash I was really expecting a bit of acne banishing however neither really helped my problematic skin at all. I must note, the Dr Organic Tea Tree wash barely lathered and made it hard to achieve a good satisfactory face wash so I shan't be repurchasing that one. A good lather is what I like in a wash; it just makes me feel clean. Properly clean if you get what I mean! Nothing more dissatisfying than a poor lather! The Mineral Face Wash however had an outstanding lather and for that I loved it! At the moment I am edging towards more moisturising washes though as this did leave my skin a little dry and taught.
Toning, again, I expected some great miracles for my acne with Lush's tea tree and The Body Shop's aloe. Being a calming toner the aloe didn't appear to create any noticeab;e calming of my skin or redness sadly. Likewise the tea tree toner had little effect on my reoccurant acne but I must note that it had a divinely fresh, spa-like scent and feel to it! We've got to love a spray as well. If you've got a good lather and spraying skincare you can't go far wrong in life!
And in celebration of everything I'm looking for in my skincare currently let's sing the praises of these absolutely fabulously performing nourishing products! First off I'd like to present to you all a miracle in a bottle called Vitamin E Pure Oil Complex by Dr Organics. This oil was just a miracle for my skin. It didn't cure my acne but my goodness did it help and help my skin all round! If applied at night, each and every morning I would wake up with the smoothest, most calmest skin I've ever had as the result of a skincare product. Redness SIGNIFICANTLY reduced! For anyone looking for a good night oil I would most certainly recommend this one! For the eye, both the Hemp and Vitamin E nourished my delicate around eye skin so beautifully, leaving now residue but simply plump and happy skin. Then trying everything together I couldn't be done without the best lip balms I've ever tried. This was Crazy Rumors Bubble Gum balm and my goodness it smelled delicious <3 ! I would and mostly probably will repurchase Crazy Rumors' lip balms for the rest of my living days! They are just beyond better than any other lip balm you could purchase both at the drugstore or high end makeup counter!
Body care -
- Weleda Sea Buckthorn Creamy Body Wash
- Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Body Butter
- Ren Moroccan Rose Otto Body Lotion
- Ren Neroli and Grapefruit Body Cream
Sorry I'm getting excited and rambling I know. Short and sweet. Here we go. Sea Buckthorn wash by Weleda. The most unique and soul relaxing scent <3 ! Poor lather however but lovely nourishment and great gentle lasting scent. On the lack of lather though, I'd say no repurchase. Ren's body lotion and body cream. Not really any noticeable texture or effects in terms of formula however again lovely scents. Nothing that got my heart racing though but I must say the Neroli wash very fancy smelling! And a classic to round of the body care. The Righteous Butter! Thick, dreamy, signature scented and a bloody all time favourite heavy duty moisturiser! Everyone should repurchase this because their skin cells will simply rejoice! A body butter; another staple to add! Good lather, spraying skincare and a body butter!
I guess you're really starting to see a picture of me form now through this post, in the form of all my favourite types of skincare.
Hair care -
- Dr Organic Virgin Coconut oil Shampoo
Well I have confessed my utter love for the sheer magic Dr Organic's shampoos and conditioners are on many occasions and via many platforms however the coconut, it is the one! All are quite frankly the moist nourishing hair products I've ever come across but the coconut collection is the cherry on the cake of ultimate nourishment and softness. Not to mention the perfect yet uniquely balanced scent of coconut and lemon fit for any holiday or Summer day dreams alike. I've already repurchased about ten this year! Girl does not want to run out!
Makeup -
- NYX HD Photogenic Concealer Wand
And just as it was all going so well I've sadly ended of another not so favourite product. After hearing many YouTubers rave about the NYX HD Concealer I was expecting some wild coverage, especially so in green for my acne. Please do not be fooled like me however; it had such a sheer coverage! A formula that also sadly disintegrated an disappeared when applying foundation over it; something I'm sure nobody looking to minimise some acne would want in a makeup product. Sorry NYX but this one just wasn't for me or my skin I should say.
My goodness I am very sorry let us all breath now. I did not anticipate this empties being that long! I "tried" to be a little more to the point this time but I'm not sure if I was too brief and missed the evaluation of the products completely :'( . Please let me know if you got thoughts across or are just absolutely (but hopefully not) lost! Whether your going vegan or simply wanted to know how these products worked for me I really hope this post gave you some insight into products that I've had lovely experiences with and would highly recommend whilst also maybe being surprised by how accessible vegan beauty can be here in the UK!
Down below either tell me one of you most favourite vegan beauty products or what type of post you think I'll be writing next!
Now breath, again :'D .
Ellie Xx
( P.S I am still very much new to going vegan but I very much hope that all my vegan, cruelty free or non-vegan or cruelty free labels of these products are accurate and to guide me I have gone from the information provided by their websites. And for the Boots products via email queries to their customer services! If I have made an error however or, for example, you think a product may be vegan and not mentioned as please do let me know! We all need a little guidance in this lost world! )
Comments
Post a Comment