March Empties 2020

Hillary Temmuz 19, 2021

I think it is safe to assume March has been the strangest month of all of our lives. In a way it is very unifying as we are all as unprepared and as unaware about what is going to happen as each other. For years people have prophesied that a virus would come and begin to kill us all. Personally I was preparing for a Zombie apocalypse but even that was more of a mental preparation than a physical one and I don't think anything could have quite prepared me for what has actually happened.

There have previously been brief periods of times when I have been confined to the house, normally if I have a traditional cold I will isolate myself but I don't think any of us will have faced a forced lockdown to the point where we can't work in an office, it is actually crazy.

To fill my time, when I haven't been working, I have been writing for my blog and playing the Sims. I would be really interested to find out how many people have downloaded The Sims since the pandemic started because everyone I know has started playing it again. I have to say I have never appreciated having my blog this much before as it is definitely keeping me sane.

As I have been confined to my house and I refuse to do Skype meetings with video, I have not been doing my hair or makeup so even though this is an empties post there are no where near as many products as last month. In addition there aren't many makeup pieces as I have not been using it. Instead you will see an increase in bodycare as I am trying to take this time to take better care of myself, which is something I think all of us should be doing.

Bodycare

This month I have officially doubled the amount of Body Yogurt I have used. From the start of the year I have been really bad at applying my body moisturiser simply because I have been too busy but now I have the time, I have been making a conscious effort to take the time to moisturise.

The Body Yogurts from The Body Shop are my favourite body moisturisers as they are a gel product so they are incredibly light and sink in super quickly. I hate how long it takes for a traditional body butter to sink in so these are great for me. Not only that but they give a light scent so even though you are at home, you still have a lovely smell which certainly makes me feel better about myself.

This month I have finished two tubs which are both difference scents: one is the Warm Vanilla scent which was one of their Christmas limited editions and Cactus Blossom which was their limited edition Summer scent. Warm Vanilla was a brand new tub at the start of the month whereas the Cactus Blossom had already been half used so it wasn't that I went completely crazy on hydration this month, it was just that I had already started it.

Thankfully I am so obsessed with the Body Yogurts I seem to have an endless supply of them so even though I finished two tubs this month, I still have 3 tubs left. Hopefully that is enough to get me through the lockdown but I do have other products I can use if somehow I manage to get through them all. They are all different scents so I have tubs of Rich Plum, Cactus Blossom and Almond Milk & Honey. I have started with the Almond Milk & Honey Body Yogurt so I am sure that will be in my empties next month.

Skincare

Skincare is consistently the largest section of my empties posts and that does not seem to have changed this month, at least one thing has stayed the same! However even my usage of skincare seems to have decreased this month as I have only finished 3 products and two of them are facial sprays. This month has been all about hydration as my skin recovers from a major breakout at the start of March.

Caudalie - Beauty Elixir

I bought my first ever bottle of the Caudalie Beauty Elixir just before Christmas and from the moment I started using it, it was love. I included it in my January favourites and when I sprayed the last drop of this bottle, I could have cried. The Caudalie Beauty Elixir is a cult classic skincare product and is better known as the ultimate princess product. This is because it is the type of product you do not need, it is a luxury, but my good is it a beautiful luxury.

In fairness this does give a light hydration whilst adding a glow to your skin but it does not work miracles. I just love the freshness it gives and the scent is amazing. It is almost homeopathic in the way it smells, to me it smells like zen which is something I need at all times of the day. The best thing about this spray is the mist, I've never used a spray which actually creates such a fine mist that doesn't make your face wet or distribute massive droplets on your face. This is the sole reason that this product has jumped up to rapidly become my favourite facial spray.

Thankfully one of my best friends is an absolute gem and somehow managed to buy me the full size bottle of the pink limited edition version I bought before Christmas. The product itself is the same but the bottle is an ombre pink with a stunning floral print on it. God knows how she got this bottle because I had been trying to buy it and I couldn't find it anywhere but I am so incredibly grateful for her buying it for me (she gave it to me as part of my Birthday present). We have been friends for the longest time so she definitely knows me well and she is a great present buyer.

I haven't opened the large bottle yet as I wanted to finish the other sprays I have open but it is worth the wait.

Alpha-H Face Wash

At the beginning of March I was really struggling with a breakout which had popped up all along my jaw line and they weren't small spots either. They were big, painful and puss filled spots. Yeah it was not good. I started to incorporate Salicylic acid into my routine where I could and made sure to hydrate well towards the end of my routine. In the end this seemed to work and my skin is now on the mend. One product that deserves part of the accolade for saving my skin is the Alpha-H Tea Tree Face Wash.

I put this in my shower to use in the mornings as my part of my morning routine and it was a lovely wash. It contains Tea Tree which is know for its antiseptic properties and makes it a popular ingredient for spot products. You cannot ignore its presence in the product as it is the scent of the wash so if you do not like that smell, you will not like this product. I quite like it and much like the Caudalie scent, I find it quite relaxing.

The texture of the wash is very runny, it runs out the tube like water so you have to be careful when you are putting this in your hand. When you rub it into your face, it creates a light lather but nothing over the top and it is more of a light foam rather than bubbles. In general it feels very light on your skin and if anything it feels quite cooling. I received this sample size as part of my ASOS Advent Calendar and after trying it, I would be tempted to buy it for when my skin is struggling.

As I am unable to leave the house, buying new products is out of the window. Thank god my skin is in recovery from its breakout! Instead I have moved the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser into my shower which is actually lovely for the mornings as it is a light gel texture and it has a rose scent.

Fresh - Rose Toner

I mentioned at the start of the skincare section that I finished two facial sprays this month and the second is the Fresh Rose Toner. I bought this in London when we were there for my mother's Birthday last year and I have been using it ever since. I was really excited to start using this as I already had the Rose Deep Hydration Toner from Fresh but I wanted something that I could use throughout the day to refresh my face. I thought this would be great but I have to say I was disappointed. I should have stuck to the Deep Hydration Toner which is beautifully hydrating and is best used in your evening routine.

Back to the Rose toner, the product itself is nice. The toner has a very light Rose scent rather than being overwhelmingly rose scented which would make this perfect for anyone who isn't a massive fan of a rose scent but the spray is rubbish. Whereas the Caudalie spray is an incredibly fine mist, this is a forceful squirt of water which is not what I want on my face. I had intended to use this when I was wearing makeup as this is a lovely travel size but it completely ruins your makeup because the water literally drips down your face. Who the hell wants that in a facial spray?

Needless to say I am sort of glad to be rid of this and I cannot recommend it. Perhaps if you could transfer the liquid into a new spray, it might not be as bad but this is an expensive product and you are better off going for the Caudalie one. This is one of the sprays I wanted to finish before I opened the large Caudalie spray and the other one is a mini MAC Fix + which I will definitely finish soon.

Makeup

I never finish that many makeup items anyway but this month I haven't been wearing any makeup for me to finish it. At the start of the month I had eczema around one of my eyes which stopped me from wearing eye makeup and now that Covid-19 has struck and I'm not leaving the house, I am definitely not wearing makeup. I did finish two makeup items this month and they sort of come as a duo so I am going to speak about them at the same time.

Soap and Glory Brow Products

I wouldn't typically include my brow pencil in these posts as I do get through them quite quickly and I always end up buying the same one. Luckily for me they are quite often on 3 for 2 so I just buy 3 at a time so that I am less likely to run out, which might have worked in my favour in this apocalyptic society. If we do end up being stuck in the house for months on end at least I will be able to do my brows. I might not have been able to buy any toilet rolls or pasta but I've got brow pencils.

Poor humour aside, during March I finished both of my brow products so I thought I would remind you of my favourite brow products and explain why I love them so much. For the longest time I have gone to Soap and Glory for my brow products. I know Soap and Glory are mostly know for their bath stuff but their brow range should get more hype, it honestly rivals Benefit. Admittedly I do prefer Gimme Brow to the Volu-Boost Brow Gel from Soap and Glory but I always buy the Soap and Glory gel because it is cheaper.

Lets start with the Volu-Boost as I have already started talking about it. It is a brow gel with a small wand, just like Gimme Brow and I find this smaller brush helps me shape my brows better. It does pick up more gel than Gimme Brow but I just wipe the wand on the side as I take it out of the tube. I find the gel helps to shape my brows, fluff them up a bit but also gives a bit of colour. I use the brown shade which works well for me. That would be my only criticism of the range is that there are only 3 shades. I find one of these will last a good number of months whereas Gimme Brow will only last 2-3 months. I will eventually buy another one of these, when I can get back to the stores, but for now I have a Glossier Boy Brow which I am using and loving.

Before I use Volu-Boost, I always pencil in my brows and I will forever use the Archery 2-in-1 Brow Pencil. On one side it has a spoolie and on the other it has the pencil which is very fine and perfect for drawing hair like lines. This was the first pencil I used that stopped my brows from looking like blocks and I have stuck with it ever since. When you first use a new pencil it is quite stiff but as you use it more, it becomes a bit softer and gives you a bit more colour. Once again I use the brown shade and it is perfect for my brows. On my last trip to Boots before the lockdown I actually bought 3 pencils so I am fully stocked up on pencils.

I still wanted to do my empties this month, even though there aren't that many products because I wanted a sense of normality in this crazy time. A lot has changed recently but my blog is one staple that I can hold on to.

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