Monday 4 February 2019

January Empties

Hello February! We survived the first month of 2019! 

This month makes six years that we've been living the FIFO life.

I've been in declutter mode for the last few months. I'm going through my clothes, make-up, skincare, the kids toys and anything else that comes into sight. It's fun and satisfying. I've still got a long way to go, but every little step makes a difference.



BX Earth Bodywash
Regular readers have probably had enough of seeing this in my empties. It's a staple in our house. We love that it's gentle, non drying, smells great and isn't expensive. 

Tarte Drink of H2O Hydrating Boost 
This is a gorgeous product for adding a light but hydrating layer in summer. I used it on hot days in place of moisturiser. Whilst it wouldn't be hydrating enough for winter it works very well in humid summer weather. 

Palmers Facial Cleansing Oil
I enjoyed using the Palmers cleansing oil, but it's not a favourite and I won't repurchase because I can't use it on my eyes. I like a cleansing oil that I can use all over, this one irritated my eyes so I won't buy it again.

Lush Rose Jam Shower Gel
I'm thrilled that Rose Jam is now permanent, I used to buy it and hoard the bottles when it was limited edition. This is one of my all time favourite scents, I have the fragrance spray too. If you like rose scents, this is worth checking out. 

Black Chicken Axilla Deodorant
All the hype about Axilla deodorant is right, it's a great product. If it came in a tube it'd be perfect. I use the sensitive version, there's a regular version for those that don't have sensitive pits. I love that this also comes in a small size, which I carry in my bag so I can reapply in summer. 

The Physic Garden Soothing Skin Salve 
A few months ago I decided to add a retinol product to my routine. Despite starting slowly and only using it once a week my skin was not happy. It took two months for the dryness to go away and the product that got my skin back to normal was my Soothing Skin Salve. I'd apply a layer every night and slowly but surely my skin got happy again. This is great for sensitive or irritated skin and something I'll always have in my collection. 

Baby Bum SPF 30 Sunscreen
Now that the weather has warmed up my empties posts will feature lots of sunscreens. Baby Bum is what we use on Eljay's face. Like me, he has sensitive skin and most sunscreens irritate him. Sun Bum is one of the few he can use. He prefers Baby Bum over the SPF 50 Sun Bum because he says it feels nicer on his face. I'd prefer that he use a SPF 50 sunscreen, but getting sunscreen on him is such a struggle that I compromise and let him wear this one on his face.

La Roche Posay Anthelios XL Ultra Light Fluid
I didn't mind this so bought the full sized bottle, which I've since given away to my SIL. Whilst it's a good sunscreen I really don't like the chemical smell. The scent does fade quickly but is noticeable for long enough to put me off.
That's a shame because it's quite a nice sunscreen. It's light, absorbs quickly and doesn't irritate. I do find that it's very dewy, to the point that if I don't powder over the top I look like a grease ball. Given the dewy finish I'm not sure how it'd work on someone with oily skin.

Skinfood NZ Exfoliating Scrub
I was sent a range of Skinfood NZ products to try and loved them all. It's a gorgeous range of natural products and most of them smell like coconut. Their exfoliating scrub is gorgeous. It has a creamy base with enough exfoliating particles to give a good scrub. The particles are round so don't scratch and irritate skin. I'll happily purchase this when I've gone through my current stash of exfoliants.

Simplicite Hydrating Floral Toning Lotion
I have no idea why I stopped using facial sprays, I've always loved them but for some reason I just stopped using them. Now that I'm using my facial sprays again, I have no idea why I stopped. The Simplicite facial spray was sent to me a while ago and it's one that I plan to purchase. I like the light, natural scent and how hydrated it makes my skin feel. 

Glow Lab Facial Serum
If I was younger this would be a great serum, however I need serums that do more than just hydrate. If you're after a hydrating serum, you'll probably love this. 

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Fluid
Yet another sunscreen I can't use on my face. I used it on my chest and arms, it did the job.

Sun Bum Sunscreen
Eljay and I both use this, it's one of the few sunscreens that doesn't irritate us. I don't use it as my daily facial sunscreen due to the scent, I'll use it when we're swimming. If they made a fragrance free version I'd happily use it as my daily facial sunscreen.

Avene Eu Thermal Facial Water
I've started using facial sprays again, they make a big difference to my skins hydration levels. This is a good, non irritating one that's easy to find. 

Olay Daily Renewal Cream
Whilst I found Daily Renewal Cream pleasant to use, it isn't amazing and I won't purchase a full size. There's nothing wrong with it, it hydrates and kept my skin feeling soft, but I just didn't love it. 

Danearth Antioxidant Rich Moisturising Serum
You know a product is great when your skin goes to crap after you stop using it. That's what happened when I finished my precious Danearth serum. I didn't make it to the markets to get another bottle, so now I have to wait with rough, unhappy skin until the next markets. 
I purchased this after seeing the difference it made to my sisters skin. She was glowing and her dark spots were significantly lighter. It can be used as a moisturiser if you have oily skin, I use it underneath moisturiser as I have dry skin. 

The Body Shop Banana Body Butter
I'm so sad I finished my Banana Body Butter, it smelled so good. I love how quickly this absorbed, it was great for my scaly legs. What's with that? My legs aren't usually dry but this summer they've been terrible. Anyhow, I'd happily repurchase this but it's no longer available. Eljay loved it too and keeps on asking me for the banana moisturiser.  

Glow Lab Gel Cleanser
I'm a bit annoyed that I didn't pick up another one of these during the Priceline sale. It's a lovely, gentle cleanser. I use it as my second cleanse, having said that, it easily removes my make-up and doesn't irritate my eyes. I love that it has a pump top, all cleansers should have a pump.




Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrogel Mask
I've never used a two piece mask before, what a brilliant idea, they fit so much better! Hydro Boost is a great mask, as the name suggests, it's very hydrating so great for dry, parched skin. I didn't experience any irritation or redness, just soft, moisturised skin. 

Wrinkles Schminkles Chest and Decolletage Smoothing Kit
I've already replaced my Wrinkles Schminkles. It's one of those products that works instantly. When I don't use this I wake up with chinkles (chest wrinkles), when I use it, I wake up wrinkle free. Brilliant.

16 Brand Sage Tea Mask Pack
I had a reaction to this and had to take it off after about a minute. 

Palmers Zero Break Pre-Shampoo 
This was a Chemist Warehouse purchase which I got to qualify for free shipping. It's quite a nice product, you put it in before shampooing then wash it out. I got four uses out of the packet. It left my hair feeling very soft which was nice. My hair is in good condition so I won't repurchase again, however if my hair needed help I'll definitely buy it.

Tatcha Polished and The Deep Polish
I'm not sure what the difference is between these two, they seemed very similar to me. They were both nice to use, I managed to get the water to powder ratio right and my skin felt very smooth afterwards.
There are plenty of cheaper powder exfoliants, so I won't be purchasing either of these. 




This is the result of my pencil and red lip declutter, plus I've been going through my use it or lose it pile.

I tossed my Herbs and Heart Face Mud, it'd gone all hard and unusable. It was about ten months old, so I'm not sure why it went bad but I didn't really like it anyhow. Last year it was all over Instagram and everyone was raving about it, now I don't see or hear anything. I suspect that they were sending it out to influencers and now that's stopped no-one is talking about it. Funny how that happens. If a product was that great people would keep using it and keep talking about it. 

Lush Tooth Fairy had to go because it's started to irritate my gums. I've used two tubs of it before so I'm not sure why it started to irritate, but it was making my gums itchy and that's not a nice feeling. 

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