let’s dig through some empties

The working title for this one was “Cut my life into pieces, this is an empties post” but we pivoted.

My first empties post since January! And there are quite a few things to get through, so I won’t faff around.

Bliss Bright Idea Vitamin C & Tri-Peptide Serum

All of my everyday products ran out at exactly the same time before Christmas, and I didn’t have the means to replenish my usual Vitamin C. I did a bit of Googling around affordable Vitamin C serums, and this €25 one from Bliss had excellent reviews. I really liked it; the gel texture, the soft glow it gave on application, the way it behaved under my moisturiser and makeup. Vitamin C is a funny one, since it’s not about instant results – you see the effects (brighter, more even skin) over time. I definitely notice how dull my skin gets without it, though, so I’ll always have it in my routine.

REN Clearcalm Clarifying Clay Cleanser

I’ve often mentioned having a specific Shower Cleanser here, but I’m laughing now at how clearly delineated they are in my brain. Anything foaming or clarifying is obviously meant to be a Shower Cleanser! Anything creamy or gentle is clearly a Sink Cleanser! You’re just going to have to go with it. This is very different to any other cleanser I’ve tried – I was afraid the clay would dry me out, but it actually left my skin feeling surprisingly soft. I tended to use it as a mini-mask, leaving it to sit while I conditioned my hair. I don’t think I will repurchase as I have others I prefer, but it did the job.

The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser

I’ve seen people talking about this a lot, but I really didn’t find it all that great? I used it as a first cleanse to take off makeup and SPF, which it claims to be able to do, but I didn’t feel as “clean” as I did with other cleansers. It definitely did not want to completely remove my mascara. Perhaps it would be more suitable as a second cleanse, but I don’t fancy buying it again to find out. I’ve moved on to The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm, which works a lot better for me.

Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream

This is a fairly basic moisturiser that does exactly what it’s meant to. It contains several of the Big Hydration Boys (trademarking this) – hyaluronic acid, glycerin, Vitamin E – and yes, my skin did feel smoother after use, though I don’t think that’s a result exclusive to this moisturiser. I do think it’s wildly expensive for what it is (€82 for 100ml!) and I’ve used cheaper moisturisers that are just as nice, such as…

The INKEY List Omega Water Cream

I love her! I love her. With moisturisers, I don’t need fuss. Does it stop my skin getting dry? Great. No need for mad packaging or outrageous claims about 270 hours of hydration or supercharged crystal particles or whatever. This has ceramides and glycerin, both great hydrating ingredients, and feels lightweight but nourishing. It just works for me! I’m already on another tube. 

Hello Sunday The Everyday One SPF50

Here’s the news: I’ve gone off the Skingredients SPF. It’s just not moisturising enough for me at the moment, and the peachy tint is settling weirdly on my drier face. I know! It’s devastating. I struggled for so long to find a good replacement, and now I have several on the go. This is a fairly affordable option (€21) that has no white cast, and it made my skin look so radiant and dewy. I don’t think those with oilier skin types would get on with it for that reason, but Hello Sunday makes every type of SPF imaginable, so you’ll probably find one to suit you.

The one thing I didn’t love was the 50ml size – for an everyday product that you’re encouraged to use a lot of, it’s just too small, and I flew through it. Despite this, I bought another with the intention of bringing it on our honeymoon, but THEN I found the excellent Bondi Sands Daily Moisturising SPF50 and the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence, so it’s been pushed to the back of the cupboard. Sorry gal.

Pestle & Mortar Essentials The Body Cream

This and the Omega Water Cream were little holiday empties, hence their absence from the photos. It’s always very satisfying to finish stuff while you’re abroad (even as I was rapidly refilling my toiletry bag with K-beauty). I got this as a free gift with a purchase ages ago and squirrelled it away for the moment I’d need a travel-sized body cream. Essentials is P&M’s line for sensitive, dry, eczema-prone skin, which basically describes me right now – it worked just fine, but I prefer La Roche-Posay Lipikar for that heavy-duty moisture. 

Skinceuticals Hydrating B5

If I had to choose only one skincare brand to use forever, it would probably be Skinceuticals. Skincare backed by science! Those words entice me like a moth to a flame. So yeah, if I had unlimited funds, I’d be buying this hydrating serum, the CE Ferulic, the Phyto-Corrective stuff… but alas, I am not in possession of Roy-style money (maybe not being a Roy is good, though). In fairness, I’ve always said you don’t need to spend a ton on hydrating serums, so maybe I should listen to myself. It’s great, but could I really tell the difference between this and a good €20 serum? Probably not.

Laneige Time Freeze Sleeping Mask

This is the second of the set that came with three minis of Laneige Sleeping Masks – I definitely preferred the Cica one, which was richer than this and as such, felt like it was doing more. The Time Freeze mask is specifically concerned with anti-aging and skin elasticity, but I can’t speak to anything other than it being a nice night cream. 

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask

And the last of the minis! The Laneige Water Sleeping Mask makes regular cameos on this newsletter. What can I say? I’m a big fan. It’s a lovely, lightweight gel that sinks in overnight to leave you with soft soft skin. Actually, I just remembered I have yet another mini of this. Delighted! Let’s keep the party going.

The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream x2

Neither of these are actually empty but both are DEAD TO ME. I bought one to replace the No7 Protect & Perfect eye cream from my last empties post. Then, I found an INKEY List set in my local pharmacy with the eye cream, Omega Water Cream, and Oat Cleansing Balm for €15. Great value! So now I had two Caffeine Eye Creams, which was good because I’d used it before and liked it. Right? Wrong.

This time, my eyelids and undereyes started looking red and dry after a few uses. I wondered if I had a faulty product and switched to the second tube, but things only got worse from there on out. I ended up needing hydrocortisone and Silcock’s Base to combat what became a painful, flaky bout of eczema. I don’t blame the eye cream entirely – our wedding was two months out and I was stressed – but it certainly got things going. The La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo eye cream has really helped with the residual dryness and discomfort. Perhaps they reformulated – I purchased both recently enough but the packaging is different, so it’s a possibility – but whatever it is, the Caffeine Eye Cream is not for me any more.

JVN Hair Complete Air Dry Cream

Like, obviously Jonathan Van Ness was going to create a beautiful hair care line. It was predestined. As regular readers will know, I hate to blow dry my hair and because of this, I am always drawn in by products that claim to help with air drying – and this one has genuinely impressed me. It gently defines my natural waves without any crunch, it doesn’t weigh down my hair, and it smells divine. I also think it’s reasonably priced for a celeb line? I bought a replacement tube as part of a Space NK set with a travel-size shampoo, conditioner, and hair mask for €18. The full size products range from €21-€27 each, so I would be tempted to buy the shampoo and conditioner as well (I don’t really review shampoos here as my hair looks the same with everything, but safe to say they’re nice). I’d also like to try the Shine Drops, so… congrats JVN, you’ve got me. 

Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

I don’t need to say much more about this, only that it’s my favourite foundation of all time – but this bottle was fairly old and I wanted to replace it before the wedding. I’m glad I did, as I could see from comparing the old and new that it had oxidised, so it definitely wasn’t performing to the best of its ability. The new one is stunning and gorgeous, as expected. A forever repurchase!

Sculpted by Aimee Brighten Up Concealer

Another favourite! I adore how this feels so light yet packs in a decent amount of coverage. I fell super in love with the Lancome All Over Concealer, so I haven’t been paying as much attention to this recently, but it’s still a lovely one for brightening and perfecting the undereyes. I think I’ll buy it again at some stage, but for now I have enough concealers to be getting on with. (I did however buy the new HydraTint which is really, really nice. I need to do a faves post soon because I have so many new things I’m loving!)

Jo Malone Fig and Lotus Flower Cologne

Weirdly, I have not one but TWO perfumes in this empties roundup. I know some girlies like to liberally spray their scents but I am not one of them. Four spritzes sometimes seems like too much, but I was the child who hoarded stickers because she was afraid to “waste” them by actually sticking them on something. I am less and less into keeping stuff “for good” as I age, but old habits die hard. This was a favourite of mine for quite a while – fruity and floral and rich. Towards the end, I found it was getting too sweet for me, as my perfume tastes have been leaning more and more towards the woody and leathery and smoky. Still, an underrated one from Jo Malone.

La Librairie Neroli Divine Eau de Parfum

I believe La Librairie is a Boots-owned brand of affordable perfumes, with very chic gold-capped bottles. I got this at a Boots press day ages ago, and if Fig and Lotus Flower was too sweet for me, then this is a sugar bomb. I used it more like a body spritz on days where I wasn’t really concerned with wearing perfume, and sprayed more generously than I would with my preciouses. It is a nice scent, but not very “me.”

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