2016 Empties - Second Quarter

I finally feel like I'm making a dent in my backup stash of beauty and bath products, and with much more room for storage in the cupboards of my spare rooms I'm a lot more content with things in general. Let's have a look at what I've finished up so far this year!

SHOWER

The Dirty Works Life's A Beach Coconut Scrub* took me a while to finish as it just wasn't scrubby enough to make me want to reach for it, whereas the Cocoa Brown Tough Stuff Scrub* I eked out bit by bit to make it last longer. As an aside, you should all follow Marissa Carter on Snapchat (cartermarissa) as it led to me gaining a deep admiration for her as a person and her brand  - her product tips are pretty spot on too! Also used up were a variety of shower gels, most notably a hotel sample from our honeymoon in Hawaii which brought back beautiful memories and the new Cherry & Nettle Original Source which was just heavenly.
HAIR

Mister Bovary finished up his beloved Muk Hard Muk Styling Mud that was featured in his recent post here, while I finished off a pot of my favourite hair mask, Dove's Intensive Repair. I tried out some new anti-dandruff shampoos that were just okay, and emptied out a bottle of coconut and lime conditioner that was also hoarded from our honeymoon in 2014.
SKINCARE

I'm probably most proud of using up two cleansers, my unofficial goal for the year is to work through the cleansers in my stash and use them up entirely so I can justify trying newly released cleansers on the market. I finished the Paula's Choice Hydralight One Step Face Cleanser that I won from The Belle Lumiere and a tube of the Natio Facial Cleansing Balm which I'll have a full review of up soon (spoiler alert: it's great!) I also finished up some travel and sample sized products: Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub (contains microbeads, not effective) Simple Kind to Eyes Eye Makeup Remover (not effective) Natralus Paw Paw 95% Pure Moisturiser (no petroleum, yahoo!) and Kate Somerville Exfolikate Cleanser (instant love)
MAKEUP & PERFUME

I'm still not using up as much makeup as I'd like but at least my samples are getting a workout, right? I used up the Rimmel Lasting Finish Powder Foundation* by using it as a pigmented setting powder, and a tube of my Face of Australia Face Base Primer which I recommend to everyone. Also gone are a sample vial of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and sample sachets of Too Faced Shadow Insurance (great stuff!) and Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer (was glad to try because of the hype, would like to trial properly one day!)

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I look forward to the days of having a curated stash, but for now I'm content with delving through my old hoarding efforts and coming up with new products to try out and use up. I've curbed the habit of flip-flopping between skincare and body products leaving a tonne of half-empty bottles in my wake and that has to count for something, right?
-Emma x

*Marked products were provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

The Scrub Selection

Body scrubs would have to be my favourite body product, followed closely by body lotions thanks to their ability to perfume the skin. I love how clean a good body scrub can make you feel after a shower, and following a wonderful full body scrub experience at a spa in Bali on my recent holiday, I rounded up the body scrubs I've been using lately which are all quite different to one another, and put them on trial.

The creamiest of the lot, the Palmolive Body Butter Peppermint Crush Exfoliating Body Wash ($7.48) is more of a luxurious body wash than anything that would provide an adequate scrub in my opinion, but it's worth noting that I'm partial to a coarse sugar or salt scrub and so I begin with a bias. That being said, I adored this and liked that the small scrubbing particles weren't annoying in any way, and simply provided a touch of mild exfoliation when I used this in conjunction with my shower puff.

This Kmart branded Jasmine Paradise Body Polish is perhaps the most enjoyable scrub for me in the traditional sense of the word, with the strong jasmine fragrance also being pleasant (I'm yet to try the other scents in the range, but look forward to it!) Polish is the perfect word for what this does to the skin, and the oil to scrub ratio is pretty spot on for a product that sits around the $3 mark (though I did get a bit of shower water in it at some stage, and at the start it is quite dry and needs a-mixin'!)

Dirty Works Life's a Beach Coconut Scrub* ($8.80) was the tropical hopeful in my shower caddy, and is a gel formula with sparse scrubby bits scented with artificial 'coconut' (I don't actually get much of a coconut scent from this at all!) I quite liked the Soap and Glory-esque packaging and the fact that it is available at Coles is also a big bonus, but truth be told I'm going to try the other body scrub in the line (Buff Your Stuff!) and leave this one for those who like gentle, daily scrubs.

Cocoa Brown Tough Stuff* ($15.95) is a pretty pink concoction that seems to be pretty big across the UK, and is finely milled and quite scrubby considering the fluid formula. Technically marketed for fake tanning ladies of which I am not one, this gel texture scrubs really well because it's designed for removing the old and grotty tan residue when you want to start afresh. The scent of this is the main drawcard in my opinion - a floral melon scent that is so, so delicious. I sadly dropped and broke the top of this when I first used it so have taken to pouring out of the top after screwing the flip-top lid up, but it hasn't bothered me too much as I really like the scrub.

Clockwise from the top left:
Palmolive Peppermint Crush
Dirty Works Coconut Scrub
Cocoa Brown Tough Stuff
Jasmine Paradise Body Polish

What scents tempts you most when it comes to body products? Are you a lover of strong scents in your scrubs and lotions, or do they turn you off a purchase? Do you like gentle or more abrasive formulas?

-Emma

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.