May - finished products!

I know this type of post isn't original but I love reading them, and it's also reassuring for me to see that I am actually finishing quite a lot in the space of a month. I actually only started making a note of this during the last half of May so there were probably a lot more this month, such as travel items I used on holiday, make-up removing wipes etc!


So here are my May empties! There's quite a lot of skincare & hair care and no makeup.

Tresemme moisturising conditioner 900ml

I bought this after a visit to a hair salon in February 2011. I've only just finished the bitch. It's not a bad conditioner, there's just too much of it - nearly a litre! I'm never buying this size of any shampoo or conditioner again as it takes me so long to get through, and using the same product for that amount of time leads to me getting a horrible build up on the roots and crown of my hair. I also find it takes me a lot longer to finish a conditioner than the shampoo, I had the matching shampoo for this and finished it after about six months. I don't think I would buy it again unless it was the travel size!


Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Night Treatment Gel 75ml

I've had this for a couple of years - I used to love this range and had a lot of products from it. I went through a fair few bottles of their foaming face wash too. I decided to try and use the last bit up so I could finally get rid of it. I do have problem skin but I've started thinking that this stuff has little effect on improving it and is possibly even making it worse. I'd moved on to nicer products and had seen an improvement. When I returned to this to finish the last of the product up, I even had a breakout! I'm sick of the smell of this range and also don't like the way it feels on my face. It doesn't work for me and I'm fed up with this kind of drying, medicated smelling cheap teenage skincare. I could have just chucked it but I really hate waste unless it truly is awful! I think it's an OCD thing. I'm still haunted by a few atrociously bad foundations from the past that got rubbished... anyway, I wouldn't buy again.


Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Exfoliating Face Scrub 150ml


Much the same as above. The scrub is ok for everyday use as its not too rough but I won't buy again for reasons already explained :)


Boots No7 Pore Refining Serum 30ml

I quite liked this serum, I definitely noticed a difference to my skin with prolonged use and it felt nice to apply. It wasn't specifically a primer but I found it to be fairly beneficial under make up. The only gripe really is that the nozzle on the pump got clogged if I didn't use it every day and would mean I got little gooey lumps when I pumped the product out. I don't know if I would re-buy, as I have similar products to try out, including the new No7 Beautiful Skin serum for oily skin and of course, The Porefessional!


Atrixo Enriched Moisturising Hand Cream with Camomile

I used this at my desk at work. I found it too thick, and it left my hands feeling greasy and somehow chalky at the same time! I won't re-buy as I prefer something that absorbs easily and has a girly fragrance - not that this smells particularly bad, just boring.


Lee Stafford Argan Oil Deep Nourishing Treatment 200ml

I feel compelled to mention that Mr BNH thought this said "Derp Nourishing Treatment" - methinks someone has been spending too much time reading rage comics on the intuhwebz! Ok, I'm gonna come out and say it: I bloody love this stuff!! It makes my bleached, dry, damaged, over-processed split ends look and feel so much better. Even when I'm washing it out I can feel the difference immediately, and it makes styling easier. I love Lee Stafford hair care and I'm hooked on both his treatment tubs and the Argan range, so this tub of joyousness is a double-win for me. I've got another full pot in the bathroom already and will buy this for as long as they keep making it! It also smells gorgeous and lasts forever.


Palmers Original Cocoa Butter 50ml

This is another of my wonder-products - I love absolutely everything about this. The most obvious quality would be the fragrance - it's chocolatey without smelling too sickly or artificial and lingers for a long time. When I use it I smell so delicious I could gnaw on myself! The formula is really good too - it's the perfect consistency; not too runny, not to thick, and not oily or greasy. It absorbs quickly, and leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated for hours. A little goes a long way too. I took this mini bottle on holiday with me and used it as an aftersun every day. I came back with some left and I even cut the bottom off to make sure I swiped every last morsel out! Which leads me to say that I have only one problem with this product, which is that I found it rather difficult to extract the last dregs of lotion. I'd say around a quarter was stuck to the inside hence why it was cut open - but this is more of a niggle with the packaging than the product itself. I'm not surprised as the bottle is so stiff and tiny. When I purchased a large bottle I chose the one with a pump so I hopefully won't have that problem. Deeeeelish!


The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Face Mask 100ml and Nose Pore Mask 50ml

Ugh, enough of the tea tree! I still have 5 more ghastly products to finish with that stuff in... This mask used to be pretty good in it's heyday. It is however, terribly old, and I've dug it out of the darkest corner of my cupboard to finally say goodbye. There is still a little product left in it so it's technically not empty, but it is unusable and congealed. Gross I know - I didn't realise it was still knocking around, so out it goes! Same for the nose pore mask - this was applied only to the nose to shrink pores and remove blackheads. I would like to try something with the same effect that wasn't necessarily tea-tree - it was pretty effective and there was an obvious visible difference after using it, from what I can remember. The problem with it that I had, was it was tricky and painful to peel off - I'm very sensitive around my nose and anything near the nostrils makes my eyes water. I'm cringing just thinking about it! I'll probably try some nose pore strips one day - I've used Diadermine ones before but they were a bit pants.


Veet In-Shower Depilatory Hair Removal Cream Lotus Milk & Jasmine150ml

I bought this in Spain to avoid getting razor rash shaving my legs. I usually use the sensitive version which pongs a bit,  with this one the fragrance was nice but it really stung, whilst it was developing I felt a nasty prickling sensation on my legs, and tenderness afterwards. I finished it while I was back here in Blighty and it seemed like a different product, much more gentle. Maybe it was something to do with climate and the way my body reacts in the heat (I do suffer from heat rash when I go abroad to hot countries). I love the little sponge it comes with, which is a nice alternative to those funny little scrapers! I found I used this up very quickly, after only two applications. I think I'll stick to my usual big tube of sensitive. In fact, I bought a humongous sized one with a pump the other day that I hadn't seen before, which is a good idea. I hate faffing about with the screw caps and this one is a whopping 400ml which should last me a while, hopefully. It was about £11 which might seem like a lot, but I'm usually forking out £7 for the large  tube which has a lot less in it so in the long run it'll be more cost effective.


Boots Holiday Glow Gradual Tan Body Lotion 250ml

This is a nice gradual tanner in terms of colour and evenness. Application is good if not slightly on the runny side, but it remains sticky and takes a long time to absorb. I bought a load of these when they are on offer - I have one more to use up but I feel like trying a different gradual tanning moisturiser after that's finished. I hated Johnson's Holiday Skin, I'm not a fan of the Garnier one which is very runny and sticky, but I love Loreal Nutrisummer, even though it can be a tad costly. I once used a firming version of that which was fab! I'd like to try the Dove one as I've used their face one, which smelled great.


Mark Hill De-Frizz Shine Serum 55ml

I prefer this serum to frizz-ease but I have others which I adore (will mention in future posts). It smells great, doesn't weigh my hair down or make it feel sticky, and the packaging is so gorgeous and begs to be shown off on a dressing table. I chucked the lid though as it wouldn't stay on! I would consider buying this again as an everyday serum or for dry touch-ups but I do have other wonder products to fulfill that purpose too. I wonder if you can get a mini size? 55ml might not sound like much, but it's lasted me bloody ages! It's worth trying when boots do their special vouchers.


Home-Made "Blemish Blaster"

This was a product of my own creation! I will make another batch and reveal how I do it sometime soon... ;) I'm sorry but for now it's just a picture of an empty pot... typically for me it is Hello Kitty!


Sticky Kisses!