Empties #2

Hello readers, I'm back with another Empties post (here is a link to my previous one) because I have used up a few products and I wanted to share them with you so I could throw out the products.

1. Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion

Pros:

- didn't cause irritation

- cleansed my skin well

- inexpensive

- pleasant but subtle scent

Cons:

- none to be honest!

Repurchase?

I have repurchased this in the past, and I will repurchase this in the future. I'm not sure if I've sung my praises about Simple before, but I think all of the products by them that I've tried are such good value for the price. This for me is a staple, if I'm not feeling adventurous and don't want to try new products then I will probably always return to this product - does the job and it's inexpensive which is all I really ask for in a product.

2. Boots Essentials Cucumber Facial Toner

Pros:

- nice scent

- inexpensive

Cons:

- not very strong cleanser

Repurchase?

I have repurchased this in the past and I will probably repurchase it in the future because it's usually under £2, but I think I prefer Simple's toner to this. I do like the Cucumber scent, but I feel like the Simple toner cleanses my skin much more than this one.

3. Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser

Pros:

- sinks in quickly leaving a near matte finish

- not too greasy

- inexpensive

Cons:

- none!!

Repurchase?

Definitely. This is one of my favourite moisturisers of all time, it's inexpensive and sinks in so quickly so you can apply it and then a couple of minutes later be ready to put on makeup!

4. Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner

Pros:

- long lasting

- dries quickly

- inexpensive

Cons:

- nib is thick making it hard to get a thin line

Repurchase?

I will definitely repurchase this (and have done in the past). I'm yet to find a liquid eyeliner that works as well for me as this, however I am still on the search for a perfect thin nibbed good formula liquid eyeliner so if I ever find 'the one' I will reject this eyeliner.

5. Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash

Pros:

- nice smell

- does the job

- large quantity

Cons:

- not cheap

- doesn't lather up amazingly

Repurchase?

I got this in the Yule Monty so if I buy that (although it was given to me when I got this) then I wouldn't have an issue with it. Although it's not as good a body wash as everyone says, I want to try out all of the other Soap and Glory body washes before returning to this one me thinks.

6. Beauty Formulas Mud Mask

I was naughty and re-used a photo from this post - sorry! It was only because the lighting when I took all the other photos is not as good so I thought I'd re-use a good photo rather than take a bad one, am I forgiven?

Pros:
- inexpensive
- good value
- makes my skin very soft

Cons:
- none to speak of!

Repurchase?
To quote an internet meme.. 'YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS'! I love this face mask with a passion, so inexpensive and does the job too!

7. No7 Essential Moisture Night Cream

Pros:

- strong moisturiser

- made my skin noticeably softer

Cons:

- packing makes it harder to get all the product out

Repurchase?

Probably not because it is essentially just a heavy moisturiser and as it's No7 it's not likely to be cheap, plus I'm not sure if you can only get this in a box set or not.

8. No7 Essential Moisture Day Cream

Pros:

- sinks in quickly

- made my skin very soft

Cons:

- packaging is restrictive so it's hard to get all the product out

Repurchase?

Probably not because there are cheaper alternatives to just a heavy moisturiser, but I wouldn't be opposed to using it if I received it because it did make my skin very soft.

9. No7 Protect and Perfect Night Cream

Pros:

- did the basic job of a moisturiser

Cons:

- difficult to work into my skin because it would start to peel

- restrictive packaging!! (get on top of that No7!)

Repurchase?

No, again this is just a heavy moisturiser but this one began to peel on my face after being applied which is gross.

10. Collection Matching Perfection Concealer

Again, I've been a bit naughty and recycled a photo from this post - I just don't want to force bad photography on you!

Pros:
- high coverage
- lasts a long time (not 16 hours though mind you!)

Cons:
- limited shade range
- sometimes doesn't blend in amazingly (I have a love hate relationship with this concealer)

Repurchase?
Probably not unless they increase the shade range, a mixed race girl has to put up with a lot of problems - limited shade range in concealer and foundation is one of them! The shade I picked up (warm medium) isn't too bad but sometimes it is a tad too light and the dark shade emphasizes dark circles on me which defeats the point. So to re-use the wise words of Simon Cowell, it's a no from me.

Thank you so much for reading/watching!

Have you tried out any of these products?
What products have you used up recently?

Current night-time skincare routine

Hello there readers! You already know what to expect in this post by the title of it so I won't bore you by explaining what it is.  So skincare, very important stuff, I don't change up my actual skin care routine too often but I change around the products fairly often so I thought I'd do a post on what I'm currently doing.

Step 1: Remove the make up

The number one rule of make up and skin care is to remove make up and skin care to maintain good skin, so that's my first step. I use baby oil to remove it currently because I keep forgetting to buy a proper one (however I'm planning on buying the Garnier Micellar water soon which I believe removes make up). I use a cotton pad and add a bit of baby oil to it, and then hold it on my eye for a second and rub it off, and repeat until it's done trying not to drag my eye too much. After removing all the eye make up, I swipe it around my face to remove any foundation or concealer. 

2. Use a hot but not skin burning temperature flannel to wipe the baby oil off

After using baby oil to remove my make up, I find that my face is left quite oily (who would've thought baby oil makes you oily?) so I use a hot-but-not-boiling-temperature flannel to wipe away the oil. The hot temperature water also opens up the pores so I can thoroughly clean out my pores.

3. Use cleansing lotion

After removing traces of baby oil, I take some cleansing lotion and squeeze some of this onto some cotton wool. I usually alternate between using the Simple Cleanser and this Boots Cucumber Cleanser, both are as good as each other in my opinion. Plus they're under a couple of pounds so they don't break the bank. When I have some cleanser on the cotton wool, I move it around my face until there are no longer traces of cleanser on the wool but dirt and foundation that wasn't quite removed before.

4. Use toner

After using a cleansing lotion, I like to use a toner afterwards just to remove any other impurities in my skin and to leave my skin feeling fresh. I'm currently using the Derma v10 one which was under £2 in Savers (I usually choose what cleanser or toner to buy based on which one is reduced - keeps life a bit more interesting). Honestly, this isn't my favourite toner. It smells a bit like alcohol and feels a bit like alcohol, it does clean my skin so it's good on that level but given the option I'm not sure whether I would repurchase it again. I use this the same way as I use the cleansing lotion, by squeezing some onto a piece of cotton wool and moving it around my face until I feel the toner has been used to the best of its ability.

5. Cleanse with flannel once again

After doing all the cleansing, I like to use a hot flannel again to wash my face, and then straight after I use a cold flannel as this closes the pores up a bit so I hear.

6. Use moisturiser 

After closing up my pores with a cold flannel, I like to use moisturiser to replenish the moisture that I cleansed out of my skin. I'm currently using the Simple moisturiser, and I love this but I feel like my skin is dryer now so I might need to switch to the Simple rich moisturiser rather than this one. I squeeze this out onto my hand and massage it into my skin and my eyes even though I don't think it helps with under eye circles, I still need to take care of my eyes.

That's all folks - hope you enjoyed reading about how I keep my skin clean!

What skin products do you use?