Well hello there! I sure did not lie when I said you'll be in for a beauty bonanza in my last blog post! This might just be my biggest empties review I have EVER done, or quite possibly the biggest empties review ever known to man. Brace yourselves and hold on to your hats because during this almost two-year blogging hiatus I have accumulated QUITE the monstrous collection of beauty empties and this is the post where I'm sharing them all! Reviews, would I re-purchase and shocking impressions, good and bad. Apart from four little extra's I couldn't not include, as I was just too surprised at their performance not to share and a couple of oldie goldies from back in the day,
this is an entirely vegan empties review!
Never in a million years did I think finding a vegan (vg) and cruelty-free (cf) beauty routine would be as easy as it has been and I cannot believe how many products are out there we are using and may not even realise are already vegan and cruelty-free.
You really do not have to miss out by choosing vegan and cruelty-free beauty!
Because this is such a ginormous empties blog post I am going to link each product section here, so you can skip exactly to the products you are interest in...
From primers to powder, face scrub to facial SPF, lip scrub to toothpaste and deodorant to hand cream, there is a whole plethora of products reviewed in this post so be sure to have a nosy at some of the sections you might not necessarily be interested too. There are so many thoughts on products tried and tested to see!
Here we go...
Makeup
Beauty Blender ~
Ahh the classic Beauty Blender. The last revolutionary invention of the beauty-sphere, in my opinion. I remember the very day I got this Beauty Blender; Christmas 2015. I did stop using it about a year and a half ago as unfortunately a large chunk fell off the bottom and it looked to have seen better days, to say the least. Despite that however, my Beauty Blenders have all lasted me incredibly well! Since this one I've only had one other Beauty Blender, which is still going strong. I wash them after every use (or before their next use as who has the strength to wash their Beauty Blender after 30-60 minutes of makeup application!). I was absolutely smitten with this, my first Beauty Blender, applying my makeup that very Christmas day in my sparkly dress. I remember being utterly impressed by how glow-y my foundation looked and since swoon over this effect the Beauty Blender gives foundations. With a little trial and error I've come to find the best way to use my Beauty Blender and for me it gives my bases their highest coverage application. I always dot my foundation and concealer onto the face first, then blend from these dotted areas outward, to create a high coverage and even base. Not only does the Beauty Blender give me the most coverage it is also my go to for when my skin has been on the drier and flakier side as it doesn't kick up nearly as much texture as brush application. It also gives the most flawlessly even coverage to any foundation I apply, completely streak-free. As mentioned, I have already re-purchased another and in the near future, when this one has seen better days, I will certainly be repurchasing another too. - No, the bug in the beauty blender video did not scare me off for life! - I haven't tried any other brand versions of the Beauty Blender but I am so faithful to undoubted efficiency of the original Beauty Blender I don't think I'd like to try another version.
The Ordinary High-Adherence Silicone Primer ~
My oh my do I have a love, hate relationship with this primer! When I first became intrigued by The Ordinary Silicone Primer and was looking at its reviews I decided to purchase it on the opinion that it was quite practically like glue for your makeup. With base coverage down to a T at the time, makeup longevity was my final hurdle I was struggling with the most so naturally all the hype around this primer seemed a dream. And the price. A bargain! I think I purchased mine from Feel Unique and as it was so cheap I decided I may as well get two and free delivery rather than one and pay a similar price for delivery. I don't remember being incredibly impressed on first use but it was good. I didn't really notice much difference to texture and pores and haven't done since, considering it is meant to blur and smooth. This is both before and after foundation application. Then, after my first uses it went straight down the pan for me and my makeup still seemed to melt off all the same. I was really disheartened, and really did not know what to do with the other one I purchased. I left it aside for a long time and simply left primer out of my makeup routine.
A good six months down the line I dug it out of my makeup collection and decided "why not give it a go again". I then began to find, what I felt was, a massive difference in my makeup longevity and continued using it on the regular again, even starting the new tube. Up to this point I've continued to use it and find it alright but not outstanding in locking down my makeup longevity. I do noticed a difference throughout the day wearing makeup with and without it but... it's definitely not the be all and end all of products for improving makeup longevity. I'm going to use up my current tube but will be looking to try different primers in the future, on the quest for the holy makeup glue! My skin is notoriously very temperamental so no hard feelings to The Ordinary - I think it's just my skin! (I'd say I'm dry, combination these days, with a little acne - basically a touch of everything!). I'd really like to try more The Ordinary products in the future though and was actually talking about this with a friend recently. I am most definitely intrigued to try The Ordinary Coverage and Serum foundations.
Makeup Revolution Eye Primer ~
Just like with my foundation, eye primer like glue is another holy grail and necessity in my makeup collection. With my Naked 3 Palette I was able to try testers of all four Urban Decay eyeshadow primers sold at the time and was absolutely blown away by the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Before repurchasing I wanted to see if there were any bargain dupes out there, especially as it a product I use with pretty much every makeup application, even on occasions not wearing eyeshadow. I actually got the Make Revolution Eye Primer in one of the advent calendars, which was perfect to add to my trial. I must say, for a little (actually pretty decent full-size) eyeshadow primer from an advent calendar it performed pretty decently. Although not quite as good as the Urban Decay Primer Potion, the Makeup Revolution offering does have good eyeshadow staying powers and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a budget eyeshadow primer option. I used the entire tube happily with all my eye looks, basic to glam and day to night, all with good performance. It doesn't have the greatest opacity; it's very much sheer. So if eye ball vein coverage is something your require in an eyeshadow primer this probably won't be the one for you. For now I'm not looking to repurchase but only because there are so many eyeshadow primers out there that I am yet to try! - That I can see on their website, this Makeup Revolution eyeshadow primer no longer seems available to try however from its performance I'd certainly recommend trying one of their other products, like the Makeup Revolution Ultimate Eye Base Eye Primer. As ever, always a bargain (+ vegan and cruelty-free).
NYX proof it! Eyeshadow Primer ~
This was an eyeshadow primer I purchased to try, on my quest to find a dupe for the Urban Decay Primer Potion. Again colourless, it is not one I'd recommend for eyeball vein coverage. The waterproof claims I think are the perk that grabbed my attention being a fellow hooded-eye eyeshadow wearer and makeup longevity enthusiast! As with the Makeup Revolution offering, the NYX proof it! Eyeshadow Primer performed well and actually very closely rivalled the effects of the Urban Decay Primer Potion. I wouldn't say it's claim to be waterproof is 100% reliable as I still had the odd bit of wear to my shadow over the day but only on occasions. It also held no power over what was my sometimes my inevitable facial SPF induced eyeball leakage and had no power battling my outer corner eyeshadow dissolution. None the less, no primer has tackled this issue to date yet and I feel this issue lies more with my choice of SPF and careful application near the eye area rather than any eyeshadow primer performance - although heavy crying would call for an absolutely immense waterproof eyeshadow primer! I was most impressed with the stay power of this NYX eyeshadow primer and would happily purchase again. It had a slightly similar texture to the Urban Decay Primer potion, in relation to its old thicker formula, and left a similar slightly tacky base but with a more velvety effect. I'd recommend trying this eyeshadow primer but for myself I'm still on the hunt for an even bigger bargain and better dupe with their being so many eyeshadow primers out their in the world to try.
Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation (not vg or cf) ~
Wowzers, this one has been in the empties bag A LONG time! Back in the day I remember doing a giant Drugstore Foundation Review and Comparison and I think this one of the picks I purchased. (I think this may have been my second tube - not as old as that post!). I can't believe how much some of my views on this foundation have changed over time compared to my initial review of it in that post! At the time, full coverage, acne defying powered foundation was my all or nothing that I was looking for in a base product. I can't remember if it was reviews that swayed me to try it as an excellent option for acne coverage or it was part and parcel testing it out in store and seeing how full on it was and finding it amongst reviews or the best palest of pale foundations in the drugstore. Two things I struggle with the most! The consistency of the Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation is akin to the old Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse but in a squeezy tube. It thick and I mean full on thick and gives quite the matte effect. Because of that, it is not the most forgiving in areas of drier skin and I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone but those with a little nourishment or some oiliness to their skin. It really did a marvelous job of covering my acne, although a heavy coverage, and was my go-to foundation for a long time. It gave very much that porcelain doll faced look in terms of coverage and the shade (010 Light Porcelain) was perfectly almost paper-pale for my super pale skin (I am nearing the colour of a white wall I tell you!). My only gripe was how heavy I began to find it really was on my skin and how badly it performed with and highlighted dry skin. I would agree though, applied to otherwise nourished or oilier skin it really does leave a velvety touch. It's lasting powers were okay - that I remember but my words speak very much otherwise in that initial blog post - but due to its thickness was a tad too noticeable in areas where it faded away. These days I like a combination finish, call it silky, or a dewier glow so I don't think it would be the one for me now. Despite this, I won't being trying this again as it is my golden oldie that isn't vegan or cruelty free.
Makeup Revolution Conceal & Define Full Coverage Conceal and Contour ~
A cult product right here! At the time I purchased this I think I'd gone back round to the mindset of trying spot concealing to aid my acne coverage as I had just hot a wall trying to find a foundation that would both last and actually cover my acne. My friend recommended I try the Makeup Revolution Conceal and Define and it had already been on my radar as one to try. Claiming to offer a full coverage conceal and seeing a thus believing the hype around this product from its application in many a YouTube video, I had high hopes for it!
My hopes were not dashed!
Hands down I'd give this concealer it's full coverage badge. To add, it is also the most beautiful silky but tacky enough for longevity power formula out there in a concealer, that really does not highlight dryness, offers a nourished finished but without scrimping on coverage. It really is a one of a kind concealer for me and I would hands down repurchase it again. This, the original formula is lovely, so I don't feel the need to try the Hydrate version (I'm not actually sure if they make it anymore) but I would like to - who can say no to a bit more nourishment! I did test the two formulas side by side in store, only on the back of my hand, but must say the original Conceal and Define does have a higher coverage. Although I purchased this originally for acne coverage my acne started to take a turn of improvement during the time I was using it and I also became much more comfortable in my skin an less concerned about covering every visible slight speckle of my acne. Due to that and it's nourishing silky formula I have used this concealer most as an under eye concealer and have adoreddd it for that! The shade I have is C1 and fits just find under the eye and to blemishes, with creating a dreaded spot highlight. There appears to be five more shades below C1 now, which is incredible, and the range goes far to suit everyone. I would 100% recommend trying this, for all your concealing needs!
Clarins Instant Concealer (not vg or cf) ~
This is another of the not vegan or cruelty-free empties but also not one I purchased myself. I remember my mum gave this one to me as she just didn't use under eye concealer (she is a big Clarins fan!). I was most grateful for the offer to try it and as I had heard great things about it from the old school beauty gem Vivianna Does Makeup, now known as The Anna Edit. Again, this was before I made the switch to vegan and cruelty-free beauty. To me Anna is renowned in my heart for being the goddess of glow and I remember her lusting over this concealer for the longest time, for its dreamy nourishing and brightening formula. Something lightening but with a little coverage under the eyes was what I was looking for in my makeup routine at the time, with the focus on nourishing as I think this was the era where I was really struggling with dry crusty under eyes (gross, I know) with my addiction to heavy under eye baking or very dry skin from my trial and not-so tribulations with Acnecide. After finding some satisfaction with some products of all out acne coverage I was longing for a more skin-like dewy glow in my makeup routine, rather than full on coverage with the only option being matte, matte and more matte. The consistency was lovely and light, refreshing really, but the coverage for me was pants and my under eyes aren't even an area of issue for me! The shade 01 is the palest in the range (only three shades broad which is not very good in my opinion) and was way too orange on me so unfortunately this just was not the concealer for moi or anyone looking for even a little coverage as I just felt it was too sheer to conceal anything, even building it up. It actually isn't technically an empty as the shade was just to dark and orange for me that I couldn't make it work with my makeup! I couldn't judge it's lasting power as it was just too sheer to begin with and obviously I was unable to use it more than a handful of times due to the shade. It did feel hydrating to apply but didn't serve the purpose of what I needed it too under my eyes, or as a concealer I felt. Although not vegan or cruelty-free I wouldn't purchase this either way and it's not a concealer I'd jump to recommend.
Makeup Revolution Pro Loose Finishing Powder ~
Another not so empty beauty empty! As I said above, with satisfaction with the acne coverage I was getting from my makeup dewier skin and long-lasting makeup was where my two remaining issues lay. On the hunt for a new super stay powered powder I was swayed to try the Makeup Revolution Pro Loose Finishing Powder after reading some good reviews on Superdrug's website, if I remember rightly. Again, vegan and cruelty-free it ticked all the boxes for me. I vaguely remember some of the reviews talking about issues with flash back and it being too pale but not being the one often be out and bout where there's flash photography and being as pale as Casper I wasn't to worried about this. The powder was extremely finely milled and dreamily felt just like velvet to the skin. Apart from this however the product was just really... strange. Where I would apply it (mostly with my powder puff I recall, I can't remember applying it with a brush) it just melted away all of my makeup underneath! When applying anything over the top, like highlighter for example, it also just caused my makeup to just wipe away, leaving giant streaks like I'd been in a close encounter with a makeup wipe! In addition to that I also realised, after purchasing, that the powder contains parabens, which is an ingredient I prefer to avoid (this is just my preference and feelings). Paired with what I actually really liked about the product - its beautiful velvety, finely milled formula - I found it dispersed very sparingly when applied and being so close to my old hooter (my nose) I was a bit worried about snozzling parabens on a daily basis. Thus, with a little trial and error but no success I decided to discontinue using the product and would prefer not to purchase again and wouldn't do so due to the formula causing my makeup to rub off. Just to make clear, my thoughts on using products with parabens in is my own personal preference and opinion and I do aim and prefer to use products with more natural ingredients (if that constitutes as the correct phrase). I would encourage you to read your own choice of reputable sources to learn more about parabens and devise your own preferences.
Makeup Revolution Bake & Blot Translucent ~
Another powder from the ultimate testing of the powders!
As you might be able to tell from the makeup section of this post, I am quite the fan of Makeup Revolution products.
Being such a bargain, cruelty-free and having a plethora of vegan products how can you resist! This was also quite bargain and a little cheaper than the Pro Loose Finishing Powder. I think this powder it had me at "Bake & Blot"! Oil control and bake it till the sun goes down was exactly the criteria I was looking for in a powder and, from what I can recall, the Bake & Blot powder did not disappoint! Applied in my preferred way, with a powder puff, the Bake & Blot powder really did give a doll-like effect to my base one powdered and I adored it! The shade I picked up was translucent as I wasn't looking to add any coverage to my base but I'd say the Bake & Blot maybe does give a slither of additional coverage. Being translucent, the powder actually unfortunately left a little bit of a darker yellow-toned tint to my skin (when I say pale as a wall I'm really not far off!) however it wasn't too noticeable that I couldn't make it work. It's lasting power and ability to aid my makeup's longevity was okay I'd say but I still found my oily worn away areas through the day that required touch ups. This powder for touch ups however,,, it was insane! My main issue with makeup wear-away is the blotchiness it leaves to my base but that little bit of coverage this powder gives PERFECTLY, for me, helped my touch ups to just merge merrily back into my base. I actually ended up keeping this as my on the go powder and the packaging perfectly accommodated a little powder puff inside. I remember thoroughly enjoying this powder but looking at it now I've just realised I didn't actually finishing it! Looking at the ingredients this one also unfortunately has parabens in, hence why I may have discontinued using it. Makeup Revolution, if you're able to make a paraben free version I'd flipping jump to try it! If parabens are not something you look to avoid however I'd highly recommend this powder for a beautiful finish and, although not the most revolutionary for lasting power, a great powder for touch ups and to keep in your bag!
NYX xxl Lush Lashes Mascara ~
My this feels like another long-ago throwback! I think at the time of purchasing this I had just finished my Soap & Glory Thick & Fast mascara, which I adored, and, being the beauty junkie I am, wanting to find an even MORE mind and lash blowing mascara! As with the Bake & Blot Powder, I think the name XXL mascara had me at first sight, although I did spend quite some time reading the descriptions for each NYX mascara on the makeup counter – these are soooo helpful! In all honestly, I can't remember much about this mascara and thus maybe it just didn't impress me much (na, na, na, naaa), oh dear Ellie. I can’t actually find this online anymore and its description isn’t on the packing so I can’t compare it to it’s claims however it doesn’t seem to be available any more. In short, it was a chunky plastic bristled brush, similar to the Max Factor False Lash Effect that I wrote about in my Max Factor False Lash Effect Review! and loved some years ago, with a tapered and rounded bristled top. I think I knew this one would be all about the volume so expected a little clumpiness to the lashes over length. Despite this however, I found it a little too clumpy in ratio to lift and found my lashes flopped really quickly throughout the day. Although full force it just did not perform therefore I wouldn’t purchase this one again. I’d be interested to try a completely different NYX mascara in the future but I was a little disappointed by the staying power. Who knows; here might by a NYX mascara treasure out there that I am just yet to try!
Soap & Glory Thick & Fast High-Definition Collagen Coat Mascara ~
A old holy grail, as noted above. Now I got the Thick & Fast mascara in one of my best Boxing Day Boots sale trips of all time, which saw me purchasing a giant half price Soap & Glory beauty box that included skincare, makeup and everything in between! It introduced me to so many new Soap & Glory products I hadn't tried; it was just such an incredible set. - I'd highly recommend the Boots Boxing Sale, it's one of my most favourites! - Back to the product in hand however! The wand is like a natural bristled brush, my preferred mascara wand, with one longer bristled side and one shorter. It's described as a "7-SIDED FAN FLARE-180™" on the Soap & Glory website, claiming to give "volume ... intensity ... [and] length". It also claims to have "NO FLAKE24 all-day wear technology" and give "TOTAL LASH LIFT-OFF!". At very first use I found the formula a little too wet and struggled to get and keep a lift in my lashes with it. I was a little disheartened, especially as it a more natural bristle style brush, but after a couple of uses the formula dried ever so slightly and created the perfect tacky combination that gave much to be impressed with! My favourite thing about this mascara is that it gives lift and definition but with the right amount of volume to avoid any unwanted spider-looking lashes. It holds its lift great, maybe not so much a curl but my lashes really are, in the words of The Anna Edit, elephant like and straight like a ruler. For me, the Thick & Fast mascara really does last well and doesn't seem to flake on me at all. If anything there's a tiny bit of lash drop by the end of the day but I'm talking a good eight hours in. Now Soap & Glory used to have a section on their website where they listed all their vegan friendly products. They answer the question as to whether they are cruelty-free, which is a yes for me in regards to what they write, but I cannot seem to find the vegan list anymore, it simply says to email a company. At the time it was up I recall the Thick & Fast mascara being in their vegan list but it might be worth tweeting Soap & Glory these days to double check it still is or message the company for their up to date list of vegan products. If still vegan I would highly recommend this mascara too all as it just gives the best of everything for your lashes in my opinion.
Mentioning my old Hidden Empties post down below, I just found I had tried and reviewed this mascara before 2016! I'm really surprised on my views on it back then but, and if I can remember rightly, it sounds like it had a completely different brush back then and possibly a similar but different formula. To date, and as noted in the product name, the Thick & Fast mascara now contains collagen pre-peptides, long-stretch polymers that create a film and lift effect to your lashes, according to Soap & Glory. I haven't the foggiest what theses are but these may be why I found it performed so much better this time round.
Now onto the mega disappointments - I was so shocked how these two worked for me!
MAC Prep + Prime Fix+ (not vg or cf) ~
Both this and the next setting spray are my two non-vegan or cruelty-free surprise performers that I didn't want to miss including, partly for my bamboozle-ment and partly to help anyone out there not vegan or strictly purchasing cruelty-free products and looking for some help as to whether these might be products for them. First is the MAC Fix + spray, the long time holy grail setting spray of the beauty world! At the time I purchased it MAC Fix + was heavily featured as a setting spray in a lot of makeup tutorials. Whether it be before or after base application, to wet Beauty Blenders for base application or wet eyeshadows for ultimate pay off. I was intrigued to use Fix + for all these things but most of all in the hopes of helping my makeup last longer. It was beautifully refreshing on application, albeit a little chemical-like in scent if that is the right phrase (maybe artificial). For eyeshadow application and packing-on it made no difference for me however this was possibly due to the shadows I was using at the time and maybe not being the best in terms of payoff. Having to re-spray my shadow brush each time to dampen the shadow made me a little anxious I was destroying my eyeshadows. I then tried wetting the shadow once applied to the brush to avoid soaking the eyeshadow but it didn't make a difference for me and I was still anxious that my shadows where getting damp in the pan. For the face it was nice at taking some of the 'powderiness' away from my makeup up but didn't blow my mind. And longevity... it did nothing! I was so dissappointed I didn't notice a change in my makeup considering that every man and their dog was using it at the time in their makeup routine, looking flawless without a hair out of place. Looking back over the product and reading it's description, I came to terms with that Fix + is more of a makeup finishing spray and is there to add some dew and hydration to your finished base rather than hold it down like the power of hairspray (my goodness I actually think I sued to do this back in the day for dance shows 😲). For all the hype I just wasn't impressed and even if I hadn't had gone vegan it's not a setting spray I'd be racing to try again. My apologies MAC, I have very temperamental skin!
Ben Nye Final Seal Matte Makeup Sealer (not vg or cf) ~
Now talking of holding your makeup down like the power of hairspray, this, the Ben Bye Final Seal, I had VERY high hopes for. On the height of the hunt for a setting spray to cure my lackluster makeup longevity woes, I came across this gem on Pinterest - follow me @EBandSparkles if you want to see all things beauty, vegan food galore, home inspo and fashion I pin on Pinterest. Shameless plug, I'm sorry. - According to the Pinterest pin this is the very setting spray Disney princesses (cast members I am assuming - incredible talents) use to keep their makeup on all day! Considering the hugs, kisses, cuddles and wishes these incredible princesses grant on a daily basis of course I thought this had to be the setting spray of all time for locking down makeup wear! This definitely wasn't as refreshing like the Fix + but that was no a worry to me as it was all the makeup setting I wanted. After a few uses I started to noticed it had quite a strong chemical, hairspray like almost, scent to it and did find it a but over powering at times - ensure to keep your eyes and cake hole shut a moment or two after spraying! I attributed that this might be too its incredible makeup locking powers it seemed to be renowned for though. A bit like hairspray it also seemed to leave a bit of a sticky layer to my face though and especially my surrounding hair. I really didn't like this. As fir makeup longevity, I wasn't noticeable blown away at first, I had to look quite carefully to see if I noticed a difference. Using the product up I really didn't seem to notice a significant difference to my makeup wear and I still got foundation wearing away as usual, in the usual areas. I was so disappointed the Ben Nye Final Seal didn't work for me as I thought it would be thee answer to all my makeup woes considering it is used by actors and performers. I do wonder maybe if the issues lay more with underneath my base and I was just getting too oily throughout the day, rather than wear to my foundation being caused by friction and what not. Never the less the Ben Nye Final Seal just was not the one for me!
Nails
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat (not vg or cf) ~
Now onto the one and only nail product here in this empties blog post. Flash black to the days where we could all memorise more than a handful of Essie shades names and lusted over the cutest polish names, Mind The Gap, Victoria and Porchester Square <- comment below if you know which brands these are without Googling! You're a beauty blogging/ Youtube golden oldie if you remember these! Do you remember when Lilly Pebbles had a nail polish collection as long as her door, with all the polishes sorted into little pocket holders hanging on the back of the door? Those were the days. ❤ At the time all my favourite British beauty YouTubers swore by this for keeping their perfectly painted manicures perfected and long lasting, without an after painting smudge in site. After a little searching around and mooch at reviews I was very much convinced this was the one for preventing my absolutely inevitable post-painting nail polish smudges. To my amazement it really was and it really did, as it claimed, dry my nails almost instantly! I swore by this top coat for every nail polish application and bloody loved using it! It really changed my nail game and completely blew my mind. After a few seconds to allow it to set I did sit their each time tentatively tapping my nails together to see if it really worked and every time I was giddy with amazement. Unfortunately Sally Hansen isn't cruelty-free or vegan, to my knowledge - this post was quite helpful in exploring that here -> Is Sally Hansen Cruelty-Free or Vegan in 2020? (Here’s What We Know!) - , thus I will be on the long hunt to find a vegan and cruelty-free dupe that matches this gem. I'll be sure to tell all when I do though!
The face that's key for the base! Onto skincare and in logical ordering I'm starting with all things cleansing!
Skincare
Yesto Cucumbers Calming Micellar Cleansing Water ~
As the first step to my double cleanse, which I've been doing for a long time now, micellar water is an essential for me. I used it both to remove makeup and to help cleanse away my daily facial SPF. Since switching to vegan and cruelty-free beauty I've been searching for a few different brands to try but haven't found many vegan and cruelty-free micellar waters out there. Yesto is brand that I have really enjoyed products from before so I was really looking forward to trying their micellar water when I came across their offerings. I found they had quite a few options but was swayed to try the cucumber micellar water first for it being the soothing option, hoping it would be a good match for my sensitive skin and keeping the balance rater than striping my skin. Frist thing I noticed and loved about this micellar water was its cucumber-y scent - beautiful and refreshing and not overpowering or chemical-like at all to me. I adore it and its such a lovely, relaxing way to start your evening cleanse. Out of the handful of vegan and cruelty-free micellar waters I've tried the Yesto Cucumbers is one that performs really well. I've struggled to find a vegan and cruelty-free micellar water that performs as easily and well as Bioderma or the Garnier micellar water. I found the Yesto Cucumbers takes a couple of seconds to soak on the eyes to clear my eyeshadow and a little bit of re-wiping over the face to clear the last remnants of my base but it is by far the best I've tried, is gentle and doesn't require any rubbing, even with heavier eye makeup. Overall it's a good micellar water. There are some traces of makeup left over after use but miniscule and, as I said, it's one of the best performing vegan and cruelty-free micellar waters I found so far. I know a lot of reviews for the Yesto micellar waters report people having trouble with the bottle dispenser, leaking and being wasteful when dispensing product, as it is a pump down bottle. On the odd occasion I do get quite the exuberant spurt of a couple of drips of micellar water but it's minimal and I'm quite at home with the pump bottle now I'm used to it. As long as I twist to lock, leaking is not something I experience with my bottles and it really has not been an issue for me as noted by people in the reviews. I've already purchased two more Cucumber micellar waters with the charcoal edition to try as it's a tried and trusted for me now and I know I can rely on it. In essence, a holy grail for now but I'm still eager to try more. It's highly likely I'll still return to using this one in the future though too.
Sukin Micellar Cleansing Water ~
Another vegan and cruelty-free micellar water I tried was the Sukin offering. I had heard good things about Sukin before going vegan, lots from Lilly Pebbles too who also has quiet sensitive skin I think. I love how basic their product ingredients are and was also incredibly impressed how affordable the brand was. This was £8 from Holland & Barrett I believe - somewhere I get a lot of my vegan and cruelty-free beauty from that's really accessible for me - and it's often on offer online too. For 250ml it might be a little steeper than your average Garnier micellar water but with their offers on I find it quite alright value from Holland & Barrett - it's currently on offer for £6.08 but out of stock. Again I also adored the scent of this micellar water. It smelt vanilla-ry, with an undertone of pears. It was a super gentle formula around my face but I did have a couple of issues with it around the eye area. I note that it does contain alcohol in in its ingredients but lower down on the list. My only other downside to the Sukin micellar water was that it felt like a bit of a drier formula and I felt as though I needed to use more product on my cotton pads for it to take effect. Although this may be partly attributed to my switch to re-useable cotton pads I didn't find the Yesto micellar water as dry. I have noticed a difference in how the re-useable cotton absorb product compared to disposable cotton pads though. Overall the Sukin micellar water performed alright but I did really enjoy how pleasant it was to use, apart from the ocassional string to my eye. I don't feel it was a powerful with heavy eye makeup as was the Yesto option. I'd be open to trying this one again in the future but as noted am still looking to try more options at the moment.
The Body Shop Aloe Calming Cream Cleanser ~
There's at least five bottle of this in my empties bag, more in my recycle at The Body Shop bag (I hope they are still doing this) and I also have four new bottles, one currently in use. It's safe to say The Body Shop Aloe Calming Cleanser has become a holy grail of mine! A I talked about my first try of The Body Shop Aloe cream cleanser in my previous post, My First Bloggers Event! | An Evening With The Body Shop Liverpool, I did not expect anything good in terms of results from using this cleanser. My preconceptions where that in now way, shape or form was a cream cleanser going to actually cleanse my face and thought it would cause havoc with my skin and a whole new cycle of acne. Again as explained in my last post, I didn't realise that the nourishing effect of the cream cleanser would actually help maintain restore its balance and keep the triangle of acne doom at bay - bacteria/ dirt, dry skin and over-production of oil from striping skin. And it makes sense to me now, seeing how happy it makes and how much it has drastically changed my skin and helped my acne! Rather than striping I'm washing but maintaining a moisture barrier, so I'm removing the dirt and aiding removal of dead skin both of which can contribute to acne whilst maintaining a happy moisture balance, which means my skin further doesn't need to over-produce oil and that in hand causing more acne. I still get the occasional spot and break outs but the contingency and pattern of my acne has improved so drastically since incorporating this cleanser into my skincare routine and removing foaming and lathering cleansers. It's super gentle and doesn't irritate my skin and I am able to easily and comfortably use it around and across my eye area. I wipe it away with a warm, damp facial muslin, which helps with a little gentle exfoliation to remove some dead skin too. It's a pleasure to use and has contributed to, as I said in my last post, what I feel has been the cure of my acne so much. I think I'll be repurchasing this till the end of time! It's normally costs around £8.50 which isn't the extreme but there's often really good offers on with The Body Shop and I usually get mine with a bit of a discount, say if I'm stocking up or buying a couple of other things. I would highly recommend this cleanser for all skin types and especially so those looking for a cleanser for acne. I know it sounds mad but it really is worth a good try for acne prone skin - it has CHANGED my acne!
Dr Organic Activated Charcoal Deep Cleansing Face Scrub ~
As I learnt from My First Bloggers Event! | An Evening With The Body Shop Liverpool I've been focusing on gentle exfoliation to help keep dead skin, one perfect acne ingredient, at bay in my regular skincare routine. I really wanted to try the Drops of Youth Youth Liquid Peel from The Body Shop but needed to save some pennies at the time (most of the time to be more accurate!). Thus after my skincare schooling from the skincare experts at The Body Shop, I decided to hunt for a more affordable vegan and cruelty-free gentle exfoliator. Dr Organic is a brand I used a lot when I first switched to vegan and cruelty-free beauty and still use to this day. For me, I think they have a really good drugstore price point but create some really lovely products, with a real variety that meets a lot of daily skincare needs. Naturally I was intrigued to try one of their exfoliators and thought a hint of charcoal wouldn't go a miss in keeping the acne-causing bacteria at bay! For a physical exfoliator I found it much on the gentler side. It exfoliated well and left my skin feeling baby smooth, refreshed but every so slightly tight. It does claim to be deep cleansing though so I'd agree it matches its claim and is just a bit more on the refreshing side of exfoliators that moisturising. Likewise it claims to be purifying. It also claims to be super-hydrating, which, as said, I would go that far but it does leave a subtle lightly nourished film to the skin post rinsing. As to the "Deep Pore Purification" claims I don't recall seeing a noticeable difference to my blackheads at all - pores maybe actually blurred a little when I think back - however I wouldn't hold any product to blackhead changing powers as mine are stubborn as mud and quite literally nothing will resolve them! It was gentle enough for me to use every other night, required no intense scrubbing and left my skin a happy bunny. As a staple every-other-day exfoliator I really enjoyed using the Dr Organic charcoal scrub and it 100% met my needs. I wouldn't say it single handedly improved my acne, more so that it did it's job in keeping my dead skin at bay to contribute to that happy acne fighting balance. Being a physical exfoliator I don't know if maybe those with younger skin would prefer it and I'd maybe avoid it if you have very sensitive skin as it does contain a few fruity and flowery extracts however it caused no trouble to my sensitive skin. As with numerous Dr Organic products the charcoal exfoliator says to be free from "Parabens, SLS, Synthetic colours, Phthalates, Petrolatum, Glycols, DEA, BHT, Isothiazolinones, Mineral oil, [and] Silicones", which I think is brilliant and even more fabulous at it's more affordable price of £6.99. Again, as with The Body Shop, there are numerous deals and offers at Holland & Barrett regularly so I've been able to purchase mine even cheaper at times, which is even better! My one gripe to note about this exfoliator is that it can be a little messy and have the tendency to travel around your bathroom being a charcoal cleanser however I find it really easy to rinse away and that doesn't bother me in the slightest.
Biore Ultra Deep Cleansing Pore Strips (not vg or cf) ~
Onto the last non-vegan or cruelty free shocker I couldn't not include of the night, tonight Michael, I will be (I don't know why but that line made me think of all things Stars in Their Eyes - anyone remember that show!?), the Biore Ultra Deep Cleansing Pore Strips. Wham bam this IS the be all and end all of the ultimate, old school "I desperately want to clear my blackheads and have tried every other possible solution, surely physically gluing the little buggers to a painful removal strip will pull them out and resolve all my woes". An old school classic I turned to for that very reason. Blackheads are something that have stuck around with me since my teenage years and since my acne started I think. They never worsen but never seem to go. Just always there and always noticeable to me. Quite a while back, before I went vegan, I tried the Biore pore strips as a last resort in the hopes of clearing these little clingers. As imagined, hey were a little painful to remove but not extreme. They were alright to apply but it took a bit of practice at first and your really had to ensure you had it all adhered in the right place and curated the right balance of a watery nose. I became quite obsessed with smothering the strips down to every inch of my pore blocked nose and probably left them on much longer than the advised 10-15 minutes - I do not recommend this and it didn't seem to make any difference whatsoever. On removal I'd find a few strewn extracted blackheads, to my disgusting skincare heart's content buttt... I really didn't notice a visible difference to my blackheads at all. For pore dirt removal I'd say yes because there was some visible learance of congestion on the pore strips; for oil I cannot say I noticed a difference however that was not a woe of my nose area. The collected culprits on the strips were exciting but few and far between. For best effect I wonder if I needed to use them more regularly but for the price, currently £5.99 at Boots, - although I cannot remember the exact price at the time I purchased mine - I was anxious to be sparing in their use and more so saved them for special occasions. After my latter uses of the remaining strips I became more conscious of the importance of being delicate with my skin too and better aware of the risk of potentially damaging my skin, causing micro tears or damaging capillaries, and for that reason I made my mind up that I'll be avoiding pore strips in the future.
I've learn to accept my blackheads. They cause me no trouble and thus, I will not trouble them.
Of course now I won't be repurchasing these as they are not vegan or cruelty-free but regardless of this I think for the price for the six strips and really their effectiveness (+ potential potential risk of damage to the skin), and especially being the Ultra Deep Cleansing version, they just weren't one I'd recommend.
Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner ~
As mentioned above, I was intrigued to try Sukin on my switch to vegan and cruelty-free beauty from Lilly Pebbles' fabulous comments on their products and especially so for sensitive skin. At one time I completely cut tonners out of my skincare routine as I didn't think they were doing anything for my skin - this was a time of great skincare experimentation, where I even madly cut out moisturiser at one point for just acne treatment too! The skincare lords wept. - Coming full circle, my desire for a toner in my skincare routine rekindled. I can't quite remember the exact reason why. Nevertheless I wanted to try something a little more gentle and nourishing, again rather than striping. Being alcohol free and aiming to hydrate and "soothe, tone and cool", as per it's description on the Holland & Barrett website where I purchased mine from, it sounded just the cup of tea to try. Niche to it's brand it was simple, gentle and not overpowering. It was fresh and felt natural. I didn't notice any changes to my skin while using the toner although so it wasn't a game changer for me but it was really beautiful to use. I found it much better value appliyng sprayed straight onto the face and allowing to absorb, rather than onto a cotton pad, which tended to soak most of it up. At £8.29 at it's usual price on the Holland & Barrett website, currently on offer for £6.21, I think the price is alright but better value for the amount of product (125ml) when on offer. My bottle lasted me well for what I can remember and, as noted, it has often worked out as a good bargain for me when there's an offer on and I'm purchasing with other products from Holland & Barrett. On Sukin's website it nods to tips of keeping the spray refrigerated and using it as a refreshing spray throughout the day, with a beautiful picture of a lovely lady holding up her product, practically glowing with goodness. For how gentle and blissful it was to use I'm really intrigued now to try it as a refreshing spray as a little skin-like dewy touchup to my makeup throughout longer days. This one I might just be repurchasing again in the future to try in new ways!
Dr Organic Skin Clear Organic Tea Tree Purifying Toner ~
With more nourishment and gentle products in my skincare routine, skin in a happier balance but acne still a little bit of an issue I thought pin pointing one product in my skincare routine would help curve the last of the acne cycle. Look for a new toner, the Dr Organic tea tree toner caught my eye in Holland & Barrett and adding a little touch of tea tree felt like a great way to try and subside my remaining acne. The natural AHAs the toner contains and claims to aid "skin cell renewal" and lemon peel oil also applied to the side of me eager to clear my well rooted acne scarring. The formala was fresh and had a refreshing more so lemony scent, with hints of tea tree. It was gentle to my skin and didn't cause any irritation what so ever. As the tea tree toner claims achieve clearer skin and deep pore cleansing I was expecting to notice a considerable change to my acne. That I recall however I can't remember it making any significant differences to my acne or pores. My skin leant a little on the drier side with it's use but not necessary dry, nor stripping. More so oil controlled. For those looking to better manage oily skin I think this would be an excellent product to try and really do feel would have a positive effect as it really did live up to its oil controlling claims. As for acne prone skin I didn't see many noticeable differences and with my skin leaning a little on the drier side post teens these days I didn't need it's excellence in oil control. For £6.99 I think the product is very reasonably priced and lasts well. Although pleasant to use this wasn't a toner made for me and my current skin but I'd highly recommend it to try for anyone struggling with over production of oil!
The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner ~
Back to The Body Shop Aloe range, the aloe toner was another addition to my skincare regieme following on from my quite miracle-like skincare consultation at My First Bloggers Event. As with the numerous other aloe products I tried this has, like my aloe cream cleanser, has also become a new holy grail of mine - she stares down to two empty bottle in her empties review bag and ponders as to how many more there are in her dressing table and bathroom draw - . The Aloe Calming Toner is aimed at sensitive skin, as is the entire range I believe, and claims to "remove... traces of make-up and cleanser and instantly soothe... skin". Simple, plain and easy. I find the formula works well with my reusable cottons pads and is distributed well across my skin and not absorbed greedily by the cotton pad. Scentless and upmost gentle, I would 100% this toner is soothing for me. It feels good to bring together the last steps of my cleanse and prepare my pores and face for my nourishing concoction, day or night, to follow without stripping or being astringent on my skin in any which so way. Although I prefer my skin to be fully cleansed rather than leave some of the cleaning up to my toner, I must say it really does live up to its claim of removing any last traces of makeup on my skin as I sometimes pick up little something from around my face I may have missed. It clears it away too; it doesn't smear it. I feel fresh as a daisy after using this and it just simply does the job of pulling together my skincare routine and creating a healthy nourished barrier to my skin. My redness calms merrily after using all of the aloe products and for that and its 'does what it says on the tin' performance I will continue to repurchase this toner. At £8.50 its price point isn't bad and it really works out well how long it lasts me - maybe between two to three months. A toner I'd definitely recommend for sensitive, dry and acne prone skin (don't think stripping, think gentle, simple and nourishing, the rest will come with other tweaks to your skincare regime my fellow friends with acne).
Dr Organic Hemp Oil Intensive Eye Serum ~
As I've mentioned in the post, one of the reasons I love The Body Shop and Holland & Barrett so much is because they aren't have really good offers on and I tend to stock up on and bulk by skincare products. In a moment just like that I was stocking up on some of my favourite eye creams, to get free delivery and best value for money most likely.
I very much enjoy adding up the cost of all my products at the end of my shop after I've applied an offer and seeing how much they each all cost. It's very satisfying I tell you.
My original holy grail eye cream was the Boots own brand vitamin E eye cream, this was long before I went vegan, but to my dismay they discontinued it. I can't remember what I used to bridge the gap in the eye cream department after learning Boots had discontinued their eye cream and before I went vegan and I think I may have even ditched eye cream all together at one point! The skincare lords wept again! Reaching my ripe young but more experienced twenties and coming full circle once again, somewhere along the way I thought it would be a good idea to start incorporating eye cream back into my skincare routine again and looking after my delicate structures for my looking glasses. All I've ever wanting in an eye cream is something hydrating, that doesn't cause trouble and in turn keep my delicate eye area skin happy and nourished. The Dr Organic Hemp Oil Eye Serum was pleasant to use and ticked all my boxes, hydrating and keeping my delicate eye area happy. Although it's named a serum, it very much felt like a normal eye cream but a lighter formula. It wasn't super hydra-quenching. It absorbed well and quickly and left a pleasant but lightly tacky base, as opposed to greasy. The serum claims to be "soothing[,] restoring [and] hydrating" and is very much aimed at simply just nourishing the eye area. I wouldn't say I noticed any soothing but the delicately lightweight formula, of which is ever so slightly runny, does have a pleasant refreshment to it. As for the hydration and namely it's intense title and restoring claims I wouldn't refer to this eye serum as a super-hydrator or all things healing. It was a nice eye serum to use in my bi-daily skincare routine and ticked my boxes but if your looking for something intensely nourishing and hydrating I'd look else where. For £9.99 I'd only really purchase this eye serum if it was on or part of an offer although the tube does last well, maybe two to three months.
Dr Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Eye Perfect ~
Another Dr Organic eye cream I purchased to try amongst others for my bi-daily skincare routine. Out of this and the hemp eye serum this was my favourite eye care product. The Coconut Oil Eye Perfect claims to be an "instant wrinkle filler" and is described to have a "smoothing ... [and] revitalising" effect, "plump", "hydrate, nourish and soothe" and "tighten and fill in wrinkles" on the Holland & Barrett website. At the ripe old age of 20 I wasn't purchasing this for its wrinkle relieving effects thus I cannot comment on its performance their. What swayed me to try it were its claims of nourishment and being coconut oil based. First of all I didn't notice any unpleasant tightening effects with it's anti-wrinkle claims. If it did anything for the structure of my eye area it was subtle and upmost gentle. It was certainly the more nourishing of the two eye products and thicker than the hemp offering, more like a cream. It's light though and also absorbs well but leaves a plump and nourished effect to my eye area. Soothing I didn't notice significantly but it's gentle on my eye area and calming to apply. I can't say this has revitalised my eye area but it's one of the best nourishing vegan and cruelty-free eye creams I've found and I continue to repurchase it and use it everyday. My all time favourite for nourishment was the Dr Organic olive oil eye cream but I haven't been able to find this available for some time. The coconut eye perfect is the next best thing and continues to serve my delicate eye area well. As this is also £9.99 I tend to hold out for an offer to bulk buy and re-purchase more but I must say the coconut eye perfect has unbelievable longevity and the little tube can last me a good few months! If you're looking for a simple, well nourishing eye cream this is certainly one to try that you just can't go wrong with in my eyes. If your looking to try the Dr Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Eye Perfect fir it's wrinkle-reducing effects, although I saw no difference, I'd definitely say its worth a try as if anything it's a lovely, gentle formula that causes no trouble and nourishes the eye area nicely!
The Body Shop Drops of Youth Youth Concentrate ~
The all famous Body Shop Drops of Youth Youth Concentrate and just as I said in my last post, My First Bloggers Event! | An Evening With The Body Shop Liverpool, here it is with a more in depth review. It took me about one to two months I think to use up my 50ml (the biggest sized)Youth Concentrate, using a a two to three drops once an evening. The concentrate is described to give a youthful glow, that absorbs rapidly and "replenish... moisture" according to The Body Shop Website. Its designed to be a more natural, plant powered product and is advised to be used day and night, also offering protection against pollution. I first tried the concentrate at The Body Shop event and was absolutely blown away firstly how gorgeous it felt on my skin and then secondly, taking a double look at myself in my front facing camera, how absolutely insanely like no other it made my skin look. As I mentioned in my previous post, my uni friends were absolutely gob smacked with my skin when I walked into our lecture and I couldn't believe how beautiful and radiant my base makeup looked that day. With the effect it gave my skin with just one nights use I decided it was well worth the value of purchasing the larger bottle and incorporating it into my regular skincare routine and also led to two of my uni friends messaging me about it and purchasing it themselves! This was the first serum-like/ concentrate I had ever used and I'd been wanting to try one for some time. Being a bit more on the pricier side serums and concentrates, I was anxious to be sparing in its use thus I only used my concentrate of a night time. As stated on The Body Shop's website, it does have a gel-like consistency and absorbs swiftly but leaving a pleasant plump and nourishing barrier. It was super gentle and did cause any irritation to my skin. I must say I didn't notice the awe-exuding amazement I did after The Body Shop event each morning after using this but it was still okay. After my full use of the bottle I didn't feel as impressed as I first did when I had this product applied to my face that evening. I didn't notice a dramatic change in my skin's condition in comparison to the other products I was also using (I didn't purchase this straight after The Body Shop event, I waited a little and had being using some of the more everyday essentials from the aloe range first, which aided dramatic improvements in my skin. I did feel as though my redness and acne scarring was mildly improved though. I also noted, although not something I had classed previously as an area of concern, the difference in the size of my pores was visibly reduced and I only saw the effect for good as they weren't bad to me at all in the first place. I'm undecided on the concentrate as it was really beatiful to use use, to me seems to be one of the best value for money concentrates out their, has a more naturally focused ingredient makeup and did make some slight but noticeable and appealing improvements to my skin however I just wasn't as wowed as I thought. I was planning to do a full review on The Body Youth Concentrate but coinciding with my bit of a blogging hiatus my thoughts and experiences don't feel fresh enough in my mind to do. Maybe as I was using the product more regularly than its single use that event night it was more difficult to see the differences it made. I really want to give the Youth Concentrate another try and maybe it will help if I keep a closer record of my skin, also aiding my to devise a full review on it too.
Sukin Facial Moisturiser ~
The Sukin Facial Moisturiser was another of Sukin's basics I wanted to try in my everyday skincare routine as a more affordable daily moisturiser. It seems to be usually £8.49 on the Holland & Barrett these days. I can't remember how much it was back when I purchased mine but it's currently on offer for £6.36 and, as I noted before, Holland & Barrett often have good deals on which to me makes this a good affordable daily moisturiser pick. Again, I was looking for something simple that would keep my face nourished and dry skin at bay but not clog pores or flare up my acne. The Sukin moisturiser claims to aid "skin renewal", "soften ... [and] soothe" and provide "deep penetrating hydration". It describes its self as a "lightweight" "fast absorbing" formula and appears to have a nice mix of natural ingredients for soothing, nourishing and moisturously plumpening. One of its ingredient is burdock which I imagine is the same ingredient found in dandelion and burdock, one of my most favourite drinks. Like others, the scent of this facial moisturiser was the first and one of the most beautiful things I noted about it. It has a spa like scent but in all ways natural and field-like (a little like the Antipodes Vanilla Pod Hydraing Day Cream but a bit less vanilla-ry - one I tried and talk about in an old Hidden Empties post); not perfume-like in the slightest. It was cooling, light and gentle to apply and left my skin calm. I'd agree it absorbed really well but still left a lovely gentle and light fatty barrier to my skin that felt as though it was locking in the moisture. This was undetectable throughout the day and my skin simply felt gentle nourished throughout. I wouldn't say it is the most super intense moisturisers on the planet but it is a very good moisturiser and does what it says on the tin. I can't say I noticed any skin renewal and likewise, at the time I was still very much in the mindset of 'what has this done for my acne and has it helped cure it in any way'. I can't say I noticed a massive difference to my acne however I was using this at a time where my acne had already improved greatly. It didn't cause any flare ups and most importantly had no trouble with clogging my pores. It did the job as a daily standard facial moisturiser, to me it's a good price and I would look to purchasing it again in the future when I'm looking for a new good value day cream.
The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Day Cream ~
This was another recommendation from my skincare consultation at The Body Shop event. Something soothing and hydrating but gentle for sensitive skin, with fragrance like the Vitamin E range, which may potentially be a bit irritating. After the amazing difference the skincare consultation had to my skin I was sold on the aloe day mosituriser. Since my first purchases I have used it almost religiously each day, as my day cream. Only now am I trying a few new creams, bar the couple of Dr Organic samples I am discussing further below, simply on the search for a more affordable option at this time. I found the aloe day cream more of a lightweight and almost water-based version to the slightly thicker and fattier, in essence, night cream. I think this is why I find it absorbs so well but regardless it does not scrimp on delivering the moisture! It leaves a beautiful lightly and silky nourishing film to my skin, I presume helping to lock moisture in, and greasy isn't even a word that would be seen with it! It excellent keeps my skin nourished for the day I find. On many an occasion it really has left me wowed and given me very much that glass skin effect and that is something I never thought my skin could achieve in a million years! I would certainly agree with its claims to be "gentle" and moisturise and soothe. Likewise, it also claims too "minimise the skin reactions of sensitive skin" and I really have found that both the aloe day and night cream do soothe my redness noticeably. Not completely as I do have some heavy duty acne scarring and the occasional raging spot but very much noticeably. At £14 I don't think the price is too, too extravagant. The little 50ml pot probably lasts as long as you imagine, about one to two months maybe. At the moment it is a little out of my price range and I'm sure it has crept up a little in cost over recent years, as have quite a few Body Shop skincare products I feel. As I've said before, They Body Shop often has good deals on so I likely will repurchase it again when there's a good offer on to ensure a good bargain. I really am however enjoying experimenting with and trying new drugstore moisturisers at current now my skin and acne is much less volatile.
To add and to note, facial SPF is something I aim to wear every single day. The nourishing formula and barrier of the aloe day cream did tend to sit nicely under my skin but could be ever so slightly too much on occasions, more so under a greasier facial SPF. It would be good to try again under my holy grail facial SPF I am using now and see how they sit together. I'd maybe recommend if you are quite oily or are using quite and oily or greasy SPF to try a less intense or slightly matter daily facial moisturiser.
Dr Organic Virgin Olive Oil Day Cream ~
This I bloody loved and this I have been bloody gutted on so many occasions that I can never find it in stock on the Holland & Barrett website! As I mentioned above, now my skin and acne have become much more of a happy bunny I'm excited again to being trying new face moisturisers, looking for the next best thing and the next best bargain in all things holy nourishing and glass skin-like. This and the below skin lotion came as a sachet sample in one of my Holland & Barrett orders. Normally it appears to be packaged in a glass jar, which looks beautiful in presentation and luxurious. At £9.29 on the Holland &Barrett website normally it's a saving compared to The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Day Cream and for the same amount of product. Similarly to The Body Shop Aloe Day Cream the Dr Organic Olive Oil Cream left a beautiful plump and nourished barrier to my skin post-application but not greasy in any which way at all. I can't quite remember if it definitely lasted all day but in my distant memory I do seem to remember my skin still feeling nourished with that barrier at the end of the day. It was completely gentle and scentless to apply to the skin and glided on beautifully. It's fatty-like formula left a beautiful plump and softness to my skin and my skin was most happy with it on. My acne was not aggravated nor was my redness. It did it's job as a day mosituriser and it did it's job beautifully. I really hope this comes back in stock some at point on the Holland & Barrett website soon or that I am able to find it elsewhere as I would really love to try the full size! - Side note, I've just seen on the Dr Organic website Holand & Barrett have discontinued the product but Dr Organic is looking to find a new supplier for the cream. This really was just as much a favourite of mine as is the Dr Organic Olive Oil Eye Serum. The face cream actually has a full 5-star review on the Dr Organic website and I can completely see just why it does.
That I can remember this day cream sat really well under my facial SPFs and had more of a tacky/ fatty/ set finish to it than the more water-based Body Shop Aloe Day Cream. For that, this is a moituriser I'd recommend for use under any facial SPF. I'm not sure how the olive oil cream would bode with oilier skin over the course of the day and in terms of oil control but I do think this would get on with oiler skin whereas the aloe day cream I'd be a little more cautious with. Both incredible moisturisers for dry and normal skin in my opinion and the Dr Organic olive oil for combination skin too.
Dr Organic Hemp Oil Skin Lotion ~
"soothing, restoring and nourishing the skin"
Likewise to it's eye serum, the Dr Organic Hemp Oil Skin Lotion has a similar extremely lightweight, water-like consistency, that absorbed quickly and leaves a nourished but lightly tacky base. It claims to be "soothing, restoring and nourishing" to the skin. I'd agree that it definitely nourishes but in a beautifully lightweight and absolutely non-greasy way - perfect for sitting under facial SPF. Although I sit on the drier scale of skin I think this would be perfect as a daily moisturiser for oily skin, whilst also merry for dry and combination skin and a good worker with other skin products. I'd maybe recommend something a bit more intense though for very skin skin and it doesn't leave that plump barrier like other more intensely hydrating moisturisers. As for restoring I cannot comment as I only had a small sample of the product. For soothing it was lovely to apply and causes me absolutely no irritation, perfect for sensitive skin, but I wouldn't say necessarily soothing. I'd more so describe it as not trouble-causing and does the job! Looking at it on the Holland & Barrett website now I am amazed that this is actually recommended as an all over body lotion and not simply a face face cream! Never in a million years, yet again, would I expect a cream aimed at all over body moisturisation to leave my face happy and not clog up each and every pore. It comes in a 'squeezy' tube and is currently priced at £7.99 for 200mls!
That's an incredible bargain for a day cream!
I hands down would love to try this moisturiser again and mostly certainly will be. As my skin tends to pull up on the drier side these days I think I will reserve this one for my Summer daily face moisturiser. See you in Summer 2021 Dr Organic Hemp Oil Skin Lotion!
The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Night Cream ~
Akin to the day cream this is the Aloe range's pairing for night time moisturisation and again one recommended for me and my skin at The Body Shop event. In difference, the night cream is a thicker formula than the day cream but not thick in an unpleasant way. It feels fitting more a more nourishing night time moisturisation while you sleep. The cream describes its self to be "velvety" which I'm not sure is exactly the right word but it feels like good stuff and a step up for your evening moisturisation. Like the day cream it is also just as gentle and I'd agree it definitely does sooth and make a difference to my redness. It's also feels a little cooling to apply, which is lovely post cleanse. As for restoring I'm not sure I noticed any long term effects from using the Aloe Night Cream but as a night cream I felt it performed all its duties and left my skin wonderfully nourished. I also felt like the Aloe Night Cream gave me a really nourished glow and again glassy skin effect to my face of a morning when I'd wake up and in whole just contribute to the much better condition of my skin. Even if your oily, I think this would be a great night cream for any skin type because it just does its job so well and leaves your skin absolutely beautiful. As I said before, I never ever thought I'd be able to achieve that glass skin look with my temperamental and acne prone skin but the entire Aloe range from The Body Shop has helped my acne so much and nourished me skin so excellently it really does leave me with that glass skin effect! A holy grail! I'm trying some new night creams and oils a little more in my budget at current, although like with the day cream I don't feel it is extravagantly priced, but I will more than likely be repurchaisng this one again in the future!
Superdrug Solait 50+ SPF Mattifying Face Fluid ~
Facial SPF is something I've been wearing everyday for sometime now. Being super pale I've come to appreciate in my latter teenage years how even more vital it is for me to protect my skin and being a much higher risk of sun damage I've come to value the importance of protecting it at all costs, to reduce the impact of aging the sun has on my pasty pale face and décolletage. At the time I purchased the Superdrug facial SPF I had already tried a few non-vegan and cruelty-free options prior to going vegan, which I reviewed some of in my Empties Post No.5, and one other vegan and cruelty-free option which I am not sure if I have mentioned before - it was the Dead Sea Spa Magik Sunsafe Oil-free Facial gel SPF50. The Dead Sea facial SPF was one of the only vegan and cruelty-free facials SPFs I could find as I really struggled to find any out their in the UK at all. A lot of reviews and recommendations online were for US available brands. Being pretty much my only option I took what it came with and it boasted the full SPF 50 with a non-greasy, shine control, oil-free formula and matte finish.
When it comes to SPF I just think go all the way or go home! Ain't nobody got time to be messing around with SPF 30!
For its claims were not the case however and I ended up absolutely hating the DeadSea facial SPF! It's not often I say that about a product but it just really didn't work well for me. It was a thick slimy, gooey mess, with a heavy silicone feel and left me an absolute grease ball beyond and was prone to leaving me with stinging eyes if it got any where near my eye area or melted that way. Alas I thought only the most mattifying of matte facial SPF would then do it for me, which led me to the search and discovery of the Superdrug Solait 50+ SPF Mattifying Face Fluid. First off can I just say, what a bloody bargain facial SPF! At £3.99 for 50ml it is one of the best bargain skincare products I have ever come across, in my opinion, and for an essential skincare product like facial SPF that's incredible! Oh and of course, it's vegan and cruelty-free! Props to Superdrug! Its got our full hit SPF 50, with a broad spectrum 5-star UVA rating, which means you've high protection for both the elements of damaging radiation and aging (do not quote me but that is how I understand the two UVA and UVB work - I actually developed my understanding of this from two videos by Caroline Hirons with a plastic surgery and reconstruction consultant - SPF WITH DR. MARKO LENS PART ONE | CAROLINE HIRONS | JULY 2014 and SPF WITH DR. MARKO LENS PART TWO | CAROLINE HIRONS | JULY 2014 - and from a slot on the program This Morning, some years ago, about facial SPF). Now I know there is a review of this on the Superdrug website explaining that it is not the best value for money as Superdrug recommends applying "2 tablespoons full for face, chest and hands", which I was under the understanding that it was actually a teaspoon for just facial application from the above literature I had watched. Either way, I personally estimate a full teaspoon amount on the back of my hand to apply to just my face. I can't hands down say the difference in quantity applied has made a difference in protecting my skin as that only time will tell but I've not had any issues with my nose burning that I can recall, on sunny days and holidays where I've used the Superdrug facial SPF. Up to this point all was well and quite frankly excellent with this product until it came to wear. Despite being a considerably lesser amount applied than recommended I did also find the Superdrug facial SPF offering quite greasy. I also had major trouble with it absorbing (I presume) its way towards my eye area and causing some mighty eye stinging and leakage, which routinely ruined my makeup for the day. It claims to have an "8 hour hydrating formula" that leaves skin "soft and supple", yet with "mattifying properties for a smooth complexion". Although it left a good film to the skin it was a greasy film and I felt it didn't really work at truly nourishing and hydrating. Along my use of the product I noticed a bit more breaking out than usual and put it down to it and pondered upon the thought that this was actually clogging my pores. As for matiffying... it's a 100% no from me. I was really sad the Superdrug facial SPF didn't tick all boxes for me in the end but still continued to use it as it was one of the only vegan and cruelty-free facial SFP options I could find out there at the time. Now I've found two other vegan and cruelty-free facial SPFs I am head over heels for I won't be repurchasing the Superdrug offering. If your really looking to avoid a greasy facial SPF I wouldn't recommend this one.
The Body Shop Skin Defence Multi-Protection Lotion SPF 50+ ~
Talking about those facial SPFs I'd fallen head over heels with... here's the first bad boy! ❤ Taking advantage of the great knowledge of the skincare experts I had to hand at The Body Shop Event (pop over to my post about the night here - My First Bloggers Event! | An Evening With The Body Shop Liverpool - for three more top tips from the skincare experts) and their incredible helpfulness in finding all their vegan friendly products for me I decided to take a chance and see if they had a vegan friendly facial SPF. They did! At the time of purchase the Defence Multi-Protection was an essence not a lotion. Since I purchased it, it had been long gone to my deep dismay for some time (I had to go back to the Superdrug offering) but I believe to be re-formulated. Prior to re-formulation I adored the Skin Defence Multi-Protection Lotion SPF 50+ (previously essence). It had the lightest, most airy consistency you could ever dream of, with a gentle yet lightly nourishing, what felt like, water-based formula. It glided onto my skin beautifully. It wasn't heavy. It didn't leave any films and was in no way greasy. It absorbed wonderfully but left me with a little nourishment. It didn't irritate my skin, nor flare up my acne or appear to block my pores and again had my coveted high SPF and UVA/UVB prtection. I had minimal trouble with eye irritation and leakage - only when my clumsy self occasionally rubbed my eyes and wiped SPF into them. My makeup was a happy bunny sat on top of this and it caused no interference. On makeup free days equally my skin looked beautiful and it actually gave a gorgeous freshness and glow to my face as a finishing skincare product! Hands down I was blown away by the Skin Defence Multi-Protection Lotion SPF 50+ (previously essence) and would class it as a holy grail of mine. Dry, oily or combination, perfect skin or acne prone, I'd recommend this facial SPF to anyone and everyone. Since re-formulation I haven't actually tried the product again as during it's unbeknown unavailability I have found yet another SPF that I am head over heels with for my face, that comes in a larger and slightly better value for money 200ml bottle compared to The Body Shop 60ml tube for £22. If it weren't for penny saving I'd really enjoy trying the newly formulated Body Shop Skin Defence Multi-Protection Lotion SPF 50+ but right now I've found another offering that's better for me at the moment. If your looking to rack up your Body Shop points or are a true Body Shop dedicate, or looking for a vegan and cruelty-free facial SPF readily available on the high street, I would definitely say try this one!
Woohooo! We've made it to lips!
Hold onto your bosoms because body care is up next!
LUSH Sugar Plum Fairy Lip Scrub ~
Oh sweet heaven, the lip scrubs made my angels themselves. ❤ I have adored the LUSH lip scrubs for many years and, being the basic girly girly I am, have loved the Bubblegum Lip Scrub for many years.
When I discovered the new Sugar Plum Fairy Lip Scrub of course I was head over heels and the scent did not disappoint! It's like dreamy mix of strawberry Calpol scent, sugar coated Ribeana, 'berrylicious' sweet heaven. Ahhhhhh. As with all the LUSH lip scrubs it smoothed and rubbed away the dead skin on my lips wonderfully and wiped off with a warm cloth/ towel left my lips sumptuously soft and plump. It's the perfect preparation pre-lippie application! It lasted a good year, like all my LUSH lip scrubs and great value for £6.50, before starting to smell a little funky and naturally so. Short and sweet, just like Sugar Plum Fairy, I'd always repurchase again!
The Body Shop Self-made Lip Scrub (Shea Butter and Raspberry) ~
As a long time dedicate to lip scrubs and a forever user of them getting to make my own at The Body Shop bloggers event was such fun! I shared the reasons why I've got a lot of love for a lot of The Body Shop Shea products in my My First Bloggers Event! | An Evening With The Body Shop Liverpool blog post and without fail The Body Shop 100% Natural Community Trade Shea Butter did wonders in this lip scrub. It was so simple to make and took a few minutes max. If you'd like to know how I made it it's all detailed in my Body Shop bloggers event post linked above. Just as good as my LUSH lip scrubs, it smoothed my lips and excavated any dead skin, whilst the shea butter left them absolutely beautifully nourished. Massively more so nourished than the LUSH lip scrubs I'd say! I always pair my lip scrub with lip balm to follow (oooo can you guess what's coming next...) so hydration in a lip scrub isn't a necessity for me, so long as it doesn't dry the lips out, but the nourishment the shea butter gave in this lip scrub was a pure added treat! I'd definitely make and use this homemade lip scrub again if I had some Body Shop Shea butter to hand and, as I noted in my Body Shop bloggers event post, I also think it would make a lovely handmade gift idea (and great value for money getting a little extra use of the 100% natural shea butter)!
Butter up and pucker up because it's onto the lip balms and there's more sweet scents galore!
Crazy Rumors Bubble Gum 100% Natural Lip Balm ~
Oh and old holy grail of my hear! Out of all the lip balms I have tried in my life, to me, the Crazy Rumors lip balms are hands down one of, if not the, best lip balms ever in this world! I think I spoke previously about them in my ??? and spoke similarly of their gorgeousness to use there. As you may have already been able to from my love for the sweet scents above or if you just know me too darn well you can never go wrong with a touch of bubblegum and me. The Crazy Rumors Bubble Gum Lip Balm had the most gorgeous light but sweet bubblegum scent that had such a natural ring to it and no chemical-likeness in sight. You'd very much expect that being a 100% Natural Lip Balm! The Crazy Rumors Lip Balms nourish my lips like no tomorrow a leave such a silky, gorgeous smooth and velvety feel to my lips. It almost creates like a butter-wax feel and it is just dreamy in every way! The perfect lip balm and the perfect scent! Unfortunately Holland & Barrett no longer stocks Crazy Rumors for some crazy reason but you can order from their website. My only gripe is paying all that shipping for little lip balms although I can see my self placing an absolutely giant order and having a lip balm in every possible available place for ultimate all day lip nourishment!
The Body Shop Strawberry Lip Butter ~
I can't recall ever trying any of The Body Shop lip balms before and I'm not sure why they hadn't tickled my fancy previously as I really love many a Body Shop product. I think I purchased this and the below lip butter with in order to enable me to get free shipping. If I can remember rightly I had a bit of trouble trying to find some small priced vegan options to bump up my order for free delivery. If I remember rightly, and this was back when I was only just switching to vegan and cruelty-free beauty so I wasn't very experienced, I found the strawberry lip butter under the vegan section on The Body Shop website and presumed the Mango lip butter would be too. When the lip balms arrived however I unfortunately realised the mango lip balm contained beeswax. Checking both on The Body Shop website now they have both unfortunately been updated and both contain beeswax now so neither will be lips butters I'll be repurchasing. The strawberry butter had a thicker feel to it and a more natural strawberry scent, very much like a Petit Filous yogurt. It was really lovely and I adored the scent but it did go a little chemical like on wear. Both the lip balms were also a bit unpleasant to taste if you accidentally got a tipple of them from your lips post application. The formula had a bit of a bumpy almost curdled effect to it and I eventually stopped using it part way through. I'm not sure if I just got a bad batch. Overall the lip butter was okay but I didn't feel it really moisturised my lips so with that and it now not being vegan friendly I wouldn't repurchase again. A rarity, it's not one I'd recommend from The Body Shop from my experience but it may have been a dodgy batch and the new formula might be better and good for those just looking to try cruelty-free skincare. I personally would still prefer a more natural lip balm/ butter like the handful mentioned in this post.
The Body Shop Mango Lip Butter ~
The Body Shop Mango Lip Butter performed very much similarly to the Strawberry Lip Butter. It actually had a lighter and thinner consistency to the strawberry but likewise wasn't the most intense lip moisturiser. The Mango Lip Butter actually had a bit more of a chemical-like scent to it from the get go and it put me off using it a little. As noted with the strawberry lip butter, The Body Shop Lip Butters didn't quite work for me or fit my liking in a lip balm/ butter and I wouldn't repurchase or recommend if your needs in a lip balm/ butter are akin to mine.
Pura Cosmetics Pick-Me-Up Peppermint Lip Balm ~
When I found the Crazy Rumors lip balms I thought that was it and I'd never find another lip balm just as good. Alas, they were rivalled! After Holland & Barrett discontinued selling the Crazy Rumors lips balms I was at a loss at where I was going to get a lip balm just as good a little closer to home, in the UK. At one of the Liverpool vegan fairs last year I came across Pura Cosmetics. The girls were so lovely but I was most bamboozled by the incredible selection of fragrances they had and when I released they made lip balms and lip scrubs I was in beauty-eyed heaven! Seriously, check out their lip balm fragrances, they are insane - https://puracosmetics.co.uk/collections/lip-balm . They are one of the only other lip balm companies I have come across that do such an incredible selection of sweet scents. There's also lots of alcoholic picks too, which is fab for gifting I think and something Crazy Rumors doesn't offer that I know of. So the scents of Pura Cosmetics lip balms were a win win and for their performance... My goodness they stand set to rival Crazy rumors! My love for the two brands are equal as they equally perform as incredibly as each other. The Pura Cosmetics lip balms and a little lighter and oilier in formula, stored in a tin, but in no way greasy. The Pick-Me-Up Peppermint Lip Balm nourished my lips so beautifully, as has their Strawberry Daiquiri lip balm I also purchased. They leave a lightly nourishing barrier that locked in the moisture to my lips and, like the Crazy Rumors lip balms, actually fix my dry lips! The Pick-Me-Up Peppermint lip balm was the scent I picked as it was Christmas time when I placed my order and my goodness was it the most perfect merry pick-me-up! It smelt like the most refreshing crisp mint and the very best peppermint candy cane you could imagine. I really enjoy tailoring my scents to the season! In addition to all their goodness, one last thing that absolutely makes me swoon over the Pura cosmetics lip balms is that they contain the most minimal of ingredients and the Pick-Me-Up Peppermint had just eight in total! No crazy chemicals to be found! At the moment Pura Cosmetics lip products can only be purchased online from their website but they have free delivery over £30. Although again I'd preferred not to have the added cost of delivery for lip balms (not too bad though from Pura Cosmetics actually at only £2.99 and pretty decent if you purchase a few balms) as they are just so tiny - and tiny priced too! I've actually purchased a bundle of products as presents in the past to make it up to free delivery and added on a couple for myself and my daily usage. They've made a really touching and exceptioanlly good value for money gift. perfect with though but affordable. That reminds me, I need to stock up on more for the new year! If you do have anosy at their sccents drop a comment below of any recommendations you think I should try!
Body Care
Original Source Lime and Coconut Milk Moisturising Shower Milk ~
With our heads a glowin' we can't forget the rest of our shell and there's a whole plethora of 'shell care' in this body care section. Starting with the limbs! Finding a more natural vegan and cruelty-free body wash can often be a tricky thing on the high street and I haven't really had the opportunity to delve further into that world thi year. It has very much been shower, sleep, work, repeat! One really accessible body wash and brand I find so easy to pick up with my weekly shop though is Original Source. Not to mention the scents they curate that we all adore! ❤ While on offer, I chose to try one of the moisturising shower milks with the anticipation it would hold less harsh lathering powers and chemicals for that matter. Unfortunately the Lime and Coconut Milk Moisturising Shower Milk still contained Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which is a shame considering the name shower milk. Otherwise however it is gladly vegan and cruelty-free. I still found the moisturising milk didn't lather as much as a regular body wash but enough to provide a thorough and fresh clean. It irritated me skin in o ways and didn't leave me dry. The scent was a beautifully refreshing creamy but sweet coconut scent, that was vry holiday like. Often on offer for £1 in ASDA or Superdrug or another offer it's a good affordable bargain vegan and cruelty-free body wash but in the future I'd like to try and find more affordable more natural vegan and cruelty-free body washes.
The Wright Gift Organic Honey & Oatmeal Body Butter ~
Ahhh another holy of the holiest grails of mine! The Wright Gift Body Butter! ❤ Now The Wright Gift is a brand that keeps their ingredients as natural as possible and truly harness the power of mother nature for an almighty moisturise! I'm not sure if I've spoke of The Wright Gift body butters here on my blog before but my goodness are they something to behold! I believe I've tried at least two now and the Honey & Oatmeal scent did no disappoint! a creamy golden porridge like scent, with a sprinkle of golden sugar and spa-like heaven! As for the body butter its self, I hold my claim that these are the best body butters, to me, that I have ever, ever used and some of the very best of the best out there! Scooping their creamy buttered consistency out of the tub is a dream and on application to the body they give the most calm indulging warm effect to the skin, with a beautifully rich oily nourishing barrier. It's light post application and absorbs well, leaving a lightly nourishing oil-based film that is not greasy in any way but just leaves my limbs glowing like a Hollywood movie star. I absolutely hands down adore The Wright Gift Body Butters and they are such good value, in my opinion, at £8.00 per 200ml. Likewise they last well, maybe scooping out a little quicker, say in one month, if you're absolutely obsessed like myself and apply to every possible square inch of your extremities. One I'd recommend to every man and his dog, both for yourself and as a gift to any loved one.
Georganics Natural Toothpaste English Peppermint ~
Onto the old gnashes now, we can't forget those! Looking towards steering to more natural vegan and cruelty-free beauty and being a long time lover of one of the best zero waste shops in my eyes, Waste Not Want Not (they also have a website where you can shop online but it is currently awaiting re-launch following the grand re-opening of the new shop), I decided to try their Georganics Natural Toothpaste on one of my regular zero waste shops. I'd heard a lot of talk about fluoride previously and wasn't sure if it was an ingredient I should be avoiding - please make your own opinions from your own reading and learning as I am really not too sure and in no way qualified to advise on this, it is just my personal opinions. - Side note - I have actually returned back to using fluoride containing toothpaste now. The NHS information page on Fluoride was a good resource about Fluoride in my opinion. - The Georganics toothpastes are non-foaming mineral-based toothpastes that use natural ingredients like calcium carbonate to protect enamel - Georganics, Our Ingredients. They aim to be good for the planet and better for our bodies. The English Peppermint scent does not contain Fluoride that I can see and neither do their other toothpastes I believe. As foaming agents can sometimes be formulated with potentially harmful chemicals I was swoon by it's not foaming formula, and for though of not choking on toothpaste foam each morning and night for that matter! Does anyone else hate the taste of toothpaste? I remember whiffing all the Fragrances Emily (Waste Not Want Not) had in store and I picked up the English Peppermint scent for lovely of how strong, fresh and natural the mint scent was and in hopes that it would mask any 'toothpaste-like tastes'. I think, if I can remember rightly, the English Peppermint had a bit more of a sharper minty hit than the Spearmint, which I like and again thought would best ward off any unusual tastes. Likewise being the first natural toothpaste I'd ever tried and coming in jar for with a tiny spatula to decant I was really preempting it to have a horrible or unusual taste! On first use it was the strangest thing wiping my little spactula'd blob of toothpaste onto my brush. The non-foaming sensation was crazy. It was like the toothpaste was there but not there at the same time. I found it so much more incredibly pleasant to use than ordinary foaming toothpaste and it actually tasted so much nicer than ordinary toothpaste. A little like that post polish dentist taste but not as bitter. On the whole I really enjoyed the Georganics English Peppermint Toothpaste and even though priced at £8.90 on their website their the 120ml jar lasted me well, at least three months I think. My only gripe was that over time I felt like my teeth just weren't getting properly clean and that I was getting a bit of a build up of plaque. As advised by my dentist, and as noted in that NHS resource above actually, I don't use mouthwash straight after brushing (I don't use it at all really) and don't rinse post brush to ensure toothpaste leaves its protective layer on my enamel, so I've been told by my dentist. I'd love to use the Georganics toothpaste but out of worry for my teeth health I have gone back to fluoride containing toothpaste now.
Green People Natural Deodorant Aloe Vera ~
Next up is a whole wealth of natural vegan and cruelty-free deodorants. I think the big question we all ask and was certainly the pinnacle of my deodorant exploration is does natural deodorant really work? That has been a tough quest and especially as I have many ordinary deodorants do absolutely nothing for me. I think the Aloe Vera Green People Natural Deodorant was one of, if not thee, very first natural deodorants I tried. Both this and the below Dr Organic Manuka Honey Deodorant I've kept for quite some time as empties as I had quite a few thoughts on the both of them, being some of the first natural deodorants I'd tried. For £10.50 for 75ml on the Green People website I'd say it's definitely a tad pricey. Strangely for an aloe vera scented deodorant it actually had, and a very pleasant, liquorice-like scent. It was most unique to any product I had smelt before and I did quite enjoy it but being so unique I can see some people not being a fan of it. It definitely lingered around a little which to me is ideal, if you like the scent, as I'd rather be sweet smelling than sweaty smelling! Although holding a bit of lingering power, lasting power it did not. After a few hours of light daily exertion I started to notice some light sweaty odours and it exacerbated a bit more as the day went on. By the end of the day it really had no deodorising power left to its name and sadly did no wonders or me. No hard feelings to the Green People as my pits are very hard to please! On the bright side the natural deodorant displays a long list of harsh ingredients they don't contain, including "no pore-clogging aluminium", and I did not realise "10% of net profit is donated to charity". That's three absolutely brilliant things! As for its "effective odour control" and "longlasting effect" claims I couldn't agree for me and for that it won't be one I'll be repurchasing.
Dr Organic Manuka Honey Deodorant ~
Following on from my trial with the Green People deodorant and with my new found love for Dr Organics I was more than open to the idea of trying one of their deodorants. I think my mum actually bought this one for me to try and on my hunt for a natural deodorant she actually also started to look for one for herself. I don't think she new atthe time that it contained honey or wouldn't be vegan if it contained honey so we'll call this one an accidentally non-vegan empties. Again with a list of goodies, or baddies maybe should I say, on the bottle not to be contained - "aluminium ... SLS ... Paraben ... [and] alcohol free" - my boxes were ticked. It also claimed to "nourish & restore", which I thought was really nice, and penultimately be "a fresh, totally active chemical free deodorant that works", as claimed by Dr O. This natural deodorant had very much that Royal Jelly scent like the Royal Jelly range from M&S that all nan's a like adore. I wasn't a big fan of the scent and didn't like the small amount of time it lingered. As for deodorising power and its "deodorant that actually works" claims, it really didn't work for me! Within moments I'd be smelling odorous under pit and it was certainly not the choice of deodorant to wear when I was dashing for the train on my way to uni. I'd say the formula did do a nice bit of nourishing to my under arms but as a deodorant it was absolutely pants for me! I won't be repurchasing as obviously this one contains honey but as for just a cruelty-free natural deodorant I wouldn't recommend.
Native Unearthed Natural Deodorant Balm Activated Charcoal ~
After some dismay with the first vegan and cruelty-free natural deodorants I had found I hit gold! My hairdresser Cat (she does the most incredible rainbow hair and runs a completely vegan, cruelty-free and almost if not 100% zero waste hair salon, check it out - CSaw Hair) recommend the Native Unearthed deodorants to me, when talking about my trials and tribulations with natural beauty and deodorants I think. She sang their praises and now, so do I! The Native Unearthed deodorants are balmy deodorants in jars, which I thought would be really strange to use at first but I quickly got used to it and loved it. They contain coconut oil which is most likely why I find them so beautifully nourishing and gentle on my pits. The jar recommends to "rub a pea sized amount between fingers and apply" but I have found a 50p coin sized amount a better spread for myself. Like other natural deodorants they are "paraben and aluminium free" and contain a natural and very minimal ingredients list. They Activated Charcoal edition contained 14 ingredients. I believe the Activated Charcoal was the first of the Native Unearthed deodorants I tried, I think presuming the Activated Charcoal would be a good match for battling perspiration. It had a slightly greyed tint to the formula but I had not issues with it getting on our staining my clothes. My only very small gripe I'd say is that I found the oily formula wore onto the under arm areas of my clothes and left a slightly subdued scent, which I didn't like as it didn't feel fresh tow ear the next day if clean otherwise. Any residue washed away wonderfully though and it caused no issues to my clothes. The power of the Native Unearthed deodornats at the time where by far unmatched by any other natural deodorant I had tried and certainly rivalled and performed almost, bar a small pip to the point, as well as my long trusted Mitchum Powder Fresh roll on deodorant. The Native Unearthed Activated Charcoal Deodorant banished away my malodourous perspiration for very much the longevity of the day and performed well under pressure. They still allowed a little odour through at times though in moments of intense perspiration (running for the train, amoured with a bag for the and extra winter layers) but the odour did unfortunutely linger around a bit on those days which was a slight lacking in their performance. I felt as though the Native nearthed Deodorants allowed me to sweat but in a controlled manner with the oils in its ingredients, so as to not blocking any pores but masking odour pleasntly. When working, I imagine activating with heat, y under arms did become moist but with the oils of the product and they resolved shortly following and left a nourishingbarrier to my under arms. I sang the praises of the Native Unearthed deodorant so highly for how well it worked for me my boyfriend, the man who despises a roll on deodornat for the sanctity of his hairy armpits, asked if he could tried it and used and really ike it while we were away onour trip to Amsterdam on New Years all wrapped up! He loved it so much I actually bought him one for his birthday I think. The Activated Charcoal scent was fine and pretty neutral if you prefer a more scentless option. I'd highly receommend these to anyone looking for a good vegan and cruelty-free natural deodornat that actually works and they are readily available onthe high street and to buy online from Holland & Barrett. Easily recylable and does the job of deodorant well, whilst being made up of natural ingredients.
Native Unearthed Natural Deodorant Balm Sage & Lavender ~
I loved the original Activated Charcoal Native Unearthed Deodorant so much I ended up trying their other scents. Both performed equally as well at banishing malodourous perspiration. The lavendar scent was true to its name and pleasant to use but I must admit I did sometimes end up smelling a little like a Linda McCartney Red Onion and Rosemary Sausage to my imagination sometimes!
Native Unearthed Natural Deodorant Balm Coconut & Vanilla ~
Again just as good as its other fellow Native Unearthed balm deodornats, the Coconu & Vanilla Native Unearthed deodorant performed exceptinally at banishing perspirant malodour. The Coconut & Vanilla scent was my most favourite of all three, light airy and deliciously delicate,and I'd go as far to say I think it was actually a little strong inmasking any malodour. I hands down would recommend all three to anyone looking to try a new deodorant, especially so the Coconut & Vanilla scent!
Fit Pit Natural Deodorant Peppermint ~
Although I thought I'd found the one with the Native Unearthed deodorants they was still an inckling within my they was itchingto see if I could find a natural vegan and cruelty-free deodornat that was even better and went all the way in high intensity deodorising, just like my long time loved Powder Fresh Mitchum. Although I could often get a good deal with Holland & Barrett bulk buying my Native Unearthed deodornats it would have been nice to find something a little more easily accessible for me although ordering with Holland & Barrett really is just as easy and accessible as in person shopping for me I find. Again, singing the praises on the Native Unearthed deodornats to Emily who runs the zero waste shop Waste Not Want Not she advised trying the Fit Pit Natural Deodorant she stocked if I was looking for similar results. As I very must trust Emily's opinion when it comesto all thing zero waste and vegan and cruelty-free beauty products (she's shown me some gems I tell you!) I thought I'd give them a whirl and started by trying the small Fit Pit Natural Deodorant Peppermint. Like with the Georganics toothpaste I thought anything strong and minty would be spot on to mask malodourous perspiration! Likewise the jar says to "apply a pea sized amount" but for me I found a, and smaller than I needed for the Native Unearthed deodorants, a 20p coin sized amount worked best for my under arm surface area. The Fit Pit deodornat had a little bit more of a velvity feel to it than oiler,which I actually found luxurious to apply and a little less oilly on actionthan the Native Unearthed deodornats. Again, similar to the other natural and possibly even beter for ebing organic, they are "100% organic natural deodorant[s]". They are also "handmade by The Green Woman".I do not know who The Green Woman is but supporting women is another plus for me in a beauty product! Whole heartedly the Fit Pit Natural Deodorant performed just as good and actually even a little bit better than the incredible Native Unearthed deodorants for me! It ticked all the boxes that the Native Unearthed did but performed just that little bit strong in more demanding sweaty scenarios and didn't leave me quite so oily under arm on activation. Oh, and it's "100% reusable and recyclable"! The Peppermint scent really was a dream and I really think its potent mintiness really did help in banishing nd smelly odouors. I ended up purchaisng a larger jar, which was around £10 for 100ml. Although pricier than your adverage drugstore deodorant my hars last me incredibly well, at least two to three months, and for their perfrmance, outright naturalness and all other good benefits, to me, they are 100% worth it! I'd highly, highly recommend the Fit Pit deodorants to anyone and everyone. I think you can purchase them from The Green Woman Website or in store or online from Waste Not Want Not, the zero waste shop.
Fit Pit Natural Deodorant Man ~
As Emily was currently out of stock of all other Fit Pit deodorants at the time (they must be popular and I can see why!) I had no trouble picking up the Man version for very much the same, arm pits. I'm not sure why there's a men's and woman's version as I'd merrily use either but I can understand as a marketing technique to draw in a wider maybe more skeptical audience. The Green Woman, if that's so, I see what you did there! 😉 The Man scent was pleasant and fancily aftershave like but not over powering. It's called a "Cypress scent" but I'm not too sure what that realy is. It smelt nice though! Compared to my peppermint jar, the Man scented jar claims to be "tough odour protection" and "deters excess perspiration". I wouldn't say it performs any different to the Peppermint scent; I'd say they both equaly match up to theses claims! They are just excellent! So if you findyour favourite scent out of stock don't hesitate to give the man scent a go. I promise I didn't grow a beard!
And lastly, to the humble hands...
Superdrug Hand & Nail Cream ~
Hand cream is a beauty product I always have stashed and use it pretty much every single day and have done so regularly for a least probably five years! I'm an avid and washer and although my career may have changed recently there' still plenty a reason for regular hand washing! Like my mum, I find my hands are quite prone to dryness and sometimes crack and bleed on really busy washing days. On the hunt for a more budget vegan and cruelty-free hand cream option, I decided to try the ginormous 150ml Superdrug Hand & Nail Cream. The nail strengthening and hand moisturising version I picked up notes to contain "Pro-vitamin B5 and Sweet Almond Oil" and aims to, take a deep breath here, "soften... hands and smooth... cuticles", "nourish and moisturise", "strengthen nails", and "protect nails from splitting, flaking and breaking", all with a "non-greasy" and quick absorbing formula. Wow, tht's a lot! First off I thought it had a little bit of a medicinal smell rather than something cosy and luxurious to apply. To be fair it is a basic bargain hand cream and expectional value for £1.99 usually on the Superdrug so I can't complain. I do just like to have a little moment of indulgence with a sweet scented hand cream. It was definitely fast absorbing, water-like in feel, and did moistuise my hands a little but not as intensely as I wanted my hand cream to. It wasn't greasy but for my preferences in a hand cream, and although exceptional good value for money, it just wasn't the one for me and I wouldn't repurchase right away. Maybe good as an emergency work hand cream though as they get used an awful lot and you need a good bottle that'll last you a while and whilst your frequently washing your hands you don't get time for super deep moisturissation any how. More so needed as a quick fix, busy in-between hand washer hand cream for work.
The Wright Gift Cherry Blossom Hand & Nail Cream ~
Well my goodness, The Wright Gift does not fail to delivery holy grail beauty products! After falling head over heels in love with The Wright Gift Body Butters and on the look out for vegan and cruelty-free more natural hand creams to try I though why not give The Wright Gift Hand Cream ago, when they uploaded it to their store. Again handmade, it's just as incredible as the body butters. Creamy and lightly thick but not watery, nor greasy. Fast absorbing yet deeply nourishing. And, the most beautifully naturally smelling cherry blossom scent, not overpowering or chemical-like in any way! Like my favourite Pura Cosmetic and Crazy Rumors lip balms The Wright Gift Cherry Blossom Hand Cream just fixed my dry hands. t really hand lasting power to and it performed very well at helping keep my hands supple and avoiding them reaching their dry cracked state, without any changes to the frequency of my hand washing. I remember my hand cream arrived at the time I was going to my first ever gig for Blossoms and being Cherry Blossom scented it holds a special place in my heart of that memory. Unfortunately Claire (the maker of The Wright Gift products) is taking a break from her shop but when she's back I really hopes she gets more of her hand cream up for sale too as I'll be right in there to order. I would love to try more scents of the hand cream in the future if Claire made them too. Claire, I hope you return to The Wight Gift soon! My holy grail hand cream that I'd recommend to all and repurchase as soon as humanly possible!
LUSH Dream Cream Hand and Body Lotion ~
A dreamy hand cream next up you could say and by George was it dreamy! ❤ Now I can't remember if I actually got the LUSH Dream Cream in a LUSH gift set as I'm not too sure if I have yet to purchase one on their own. As they are a little on the pricier side, £4.50 for 45g or £16 for 240g in the Dream Cream, I think it's a great way to try and test them out in their gifts sets! Such a beautiful gift idea too that I have been very blessed to receive in the past. There's a little Christmas gifting idea for you all! Actually I'd say there could be quite a few in this post if you know a fellow beauty addict like me! With notes of lavender potent but not overpowering, just almost sleep inducing, this was the most luxurious hand cream to apply. It had a similar consistency to that of The Wright Gift Cherry Blossom Hand Cream but smoother and a little more water-based. It absorbed quickly but left a very much non-greasy but fatty-like protective barrier to lock nourishment in and, just like The Wright Gift Hand Cream, it really did fix my dry hands. It also was excellent at keeping my dry, cracked skin at bay. The little 45g tub lasted me well for it's size I felt. I can't quite remember how long exactly. I could easily see myself swooping through a tub of this over a few months, each night, and would 100% love to have this hand cream again.
Now a lovely lady I follow on Tiwtter, @missmolliequirk , recently shared that the LUSH team actually put little secret messages under the stickers of the personwho makes your product! As a long time LUSH lover I did not know this! IT'S TRUE! Mine says "dream a little drem of me"! It took an almighty bit of sticker removal I must say.
Natura Brasil Maracuja Hand Cream ~
This and the following were two vegan and cruelty-free hand creams and a brand I had never heard of before, until I very gratefully received them as a Christmas gift from my mum from her trip to New York! I'm not sure how accessible they are to get in the UK or ship from the Natura Brasil website but my goodness did hunt so hard to find them online because they were hands down the most incredible hand creams I had EVER tried! If I can remember rightly, it was the Maracuja that was my absolute favourite (or was it the Cacau? Oh geez I need to try them both again!). Like thick, clotted, buttered cream the Maracuja hand cream glided onto my absolutely cracked and blood shredded hands like gold and just soothed every possible bit of wear and tear. And not to mention the scent, like nothing else I have ever smelt before! The scent of both the Maracuja and Cacau hand creams were just irresistibly, decadently, luxuriously gorgeous and all over soothing for the soul. If my memory is correct and it was the Maracuja that was my favourite of the two, and it was by a pip at the post honestly, it gave the most insance buttery, fatty nourishing protective layer to my hands that literally filled in the cracks and smoothed my hands like velvet. It fixed themalmost instantly. They both did a beautiful job of calming my sore hands too. I'd agree with its claim that the Maracuja hand cream is lightweight but in a beautifully non-greasy, yet not quick to disappear, buttery richness and ultimately instant healing way. without a shadow of a doubt did it leave my hands "soft and smooth", literally like pure velevet. The Natura Brasil Maracuja hand cream was such a luxurious hand cream to use and for the small gift size 40g they both lastedd pretty decently for their size. All I needed was a marrowfat pea size for each hands ad both the back of my hands and wrists were ensured to be covered. I would jump at the chnce to purchase the Maracuja Hand Cream again and it would be stuff made of dreams if I was able to get my hands on a big tube too! Looking on their website, standard delivery appears to be around five euroa and the 40g Maracuja hand cream ten euros, all together coming to a proce around possibly £13 at this time in writing. For a 40g hand cream it is a little on the expensivve side for me but for hhow it performs and how baeutiful a product it is I'd say it's verty much worth it for a treat. If you're able to purchase Batura Brasil hand creams in your local shops (I know I have a fair few American and some European readers - hello there from over the pond!) you are a very lcky bean and I'd highly recommend trying them!
Natura Brasil Cacau Hand Cream ~
As said, I found both the Natura Brail hand creams just as immensely beautiful as each other and I loved the Cacau all the same. If I remember rightly, think the Cacau had a little more of a lighter more floral slightly and ever so very, very slightly thinner, a little more oilier formula. It still lived up to all it's claims though and certainly "soften and smooth..." my hands all the same and "provides protective barrier against the elements". As I said, using both I felt like my hands had a layer of protection that helped prevent them becoming dry and cracked in between useage and meticulous throughout the day hand cream reapplication was not required. Just a soothing ritual of applying a little to my hands before bed was everything theses little hand creams needed to soooth, heal, restore and continuously protect my worn out hands and wrists.I loved the Cacau scent too but the Maracuja just pipped the post in being my favourite - there was definitely something a little chocolate-y about it!
Soaper Duper Deluxe Shea Butter Hand Cream ~
Next up is a big, big vegan and cruelty-free beauty staple dupe! Last Winter I found my hands were getting absolutely shredded in work with all the hand washing and I think I even possibly developed some contact dermatitis, possibly not helped by gloving up all the time. At that time I was also spending a lot more time staying with Connor as his new flat was up ad running so on my days at home I often found my beauty collection a bit sparse for having a lot of it hanging around Connor's flat! My hands were so bad they would crack, bleed and sting until they made my eyes water and desperately looking for some emergency hand cream to throw on my mum gave me some of her Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Intensive Relief Hand Cream.
Three words - smelt, like, chocolate. And with that, my heart was a taken.
Oh my had I ever smelt a beauty product ever so good! It was thick and creamy, just like Christmas brandy cream and melted me and my hands into absolute chocolate-y heaven bliss! Palmer's Cocoa Butter is a scent that throws me right back and it's something my family used to use many a time on holiday. I adore the scent but had never come across another product that smelt like it. With that and the pure immense healing properties the Palma's Cocoa Butter Formua Hand Cream had for my shredded, bleeding hands I was desperate to see if there was any possible vegan and cruelty-free dupe out there. I really did not have high hopes that I would find one but alas, out of pure amazement I stumbled across the Soaper Duper Deluxe Shea Butter Hand Cream when searching for the options of vegan and cruelty-free hand reams on the boots website. It is a shea butter hand cream but smells resemblant of the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Hand Cream, with those sweet chocolatey notes. It has a similar thick consistency but more water-based. It's fast absorbing and not greasy but still nourishes and soothes my hands. It's a little lesss intense and buttery as the Palma's hand cream but still wonderful at fixing my broken hands. It requires a little moe regular application than the likes of the Natura Brasil hand cream, post washing, but is still most effective at cuing my cracked, crusty and dry hands. I like to keep a tube in my dressing gown pocket to have around the house wit me and apply where needed to pump up the moisturiastion and have already purchased a second tube earlier this year, which has only in recent months finished (this is with the use of other hand creams in between, say my work hand cream or desk hand cream). To my heart's heavy dismay though, I have just gone to check the Deluxe Shea ButterHand Cream on Soaper Duper's website and the Boot website and it appears to be currently discontinued!
Soaper Duper, how could you do this to my heart!
If and I hope when Soaper Duper bing back their Deluxe Shea Butter Hand Cream I will more than likely be repurchasing one for my dressing gown pocket and I'd highly recommend this hand cream to everyone and all. For fast absorbing busy hands and those neededing some tender loving care, or jusy looking for some chocolatel-y hand cream indulgence this is the hand cream for all!
And lastly we come too...
The Body Shop 100% Natural Community Trade Shea Butter ~
"intensely nourished, softer, more supple and smoother"
The final box in my empties bag, The Body Shop 100% Natural Community Trade Shea Butter. After my first bloggers event at The Body Shop I had my eyes locked on trying this baby at some point. As a super hydrating healer it sounded right up my alley as how can I nor anyone resist as much hydration as sinly possible right? On the hunt for a selection of vegan and cruelty-free hand creams to try and in a bid to save my cracked bleeding hands at all hours around the clock I decided I'd give the multipurpose Community Trade Shea Butter as a deeper and more intensely nourishing night time hand repair. s the packing says, it's a "multi-purpose butter" and aims to leave skin "restored with moisture", whilst it "relieves and soothes the feeling of dryness, itchiness and tightness of sensitive, very dry skin". It sounded just the tonic I needed! For application I would scoop a god maybe one to two 50p coin sized scoops out of the pouch it came it. I did note though the pouch seems to be plastic, which I appreciate may have been the only or best option to store the shea butter in, butit would hae been nice to see it packaged in somethting a little more sustainable like a tin maybe? It took abit ofwarming between my hands for a minute first becfore it was malablee enough to smooth across my hands but spread well. It left a highly, highly oily finish to my hands, I wouln't say neccesarily greasy as ut was nourishing and not sticky but maybe be perceived by greasy to some. If you prefer your hand creams to be fast absorbing this is not the hand treatment I recommend for you. As notedit's a multipurpose product and thus not designed strickly for hands thus this was to be esxpected. If your wanting a deeply oily hand treatment to lather on of a night time however I think it'd be really lovely worn with gloves on and that was one thing I didn't try with mine. I did find it a little tricky avoiding touching my hir and clothing in bed and did find the oiliness transfered onto surfaces a little, plus wiping off the needed areas, my hands. On first application and with its oily richness I expected the multipurpose shea butter to be super itensely nourishing. It filled in broken cracks well but the oily barrer was on the thinner side. By moning I didn't feel my hands had received that super nourishment that I expected from the intenseness of the shea butter and that some other hand creams, like the Natura Brasil or LUSH Dream Cream hand creams, would leave me. I still had some dry rough areas but did have some moisture restored and red angry skin resolved. On the whole, I really like the multipurpose idea of the Community Trade Shea Butter but for intense hand nourishment I didn't feel it was worth the faff and oiliness. As I said, I didn'ttry mine as a hand treatment withgloves so if you do have the Community Trade Shea Butter and would like to try it as a hand treatment I'd really recommend trying using gloves to lock in the nourishment and reduce oily transfer. For now I wuldn't repurchase the Community Trade Shea Butter for hand care purposes as I've found products that just work better specifically for my hands.
And my goodness, if you have just read through that entire post and made it here to the end...welcome to grey hair and your early 70s! I highly doubt many people have read all the way through this post and have more likely pin pointed and gone to the areas and products they are interested in hearing my thoughts and views on. If that's you let me know in the comments below which products you were looking for a review of and your thoughts! As I noted above there is very likely something for everyone in the post of a plethora of mini product reviews and you never know which product recommendations you'll be searching for in time to come so why not save this post somewhere safe and refer back here as you need to.
If it is acne coverage or acne treatment you are looking for, or almighty hand repair and super powered odour deterring deodorant you are looking for there's sure to be some thought on products in here you'll want to know! And if you have been a champion complete reader of this post why not share it and help your beauty junkie product hunting fellow friends out? Until next time - and until both me and you have had a breather! - ,
Ellie Xx
- Something you want to save? Pin me! -
Such a great post! It looks like you tried out some great products! I have been wanting to try those georganic toothtabs....
ReplyDeleteJenna ♥
Stay in touch? Life of an Earth Muffin
Oh thank you Jenna! That is very kind you! That means so much to me, thank you dearly. 😊 Yes, I think I have also seen these at the zero waste shop and I’ve seen LUSH’s version of them too. I’ve always been really curious how they work but the idea of chewing them and tasting anything to do with teeth cleaning cringes me out a little. Haha! If you try the tabs in the future though let me know what you thought because I am most intrigued by how they work!
DeleteEllie xx