Product Empties - Spring/Summer 2018

Rather than doing individual products I have been hoarding lots of empty bottles in order to give an accurate representation of what I ACTUALLY use up. I try a lot of products so if something is empty it means its good, or at least I've given it a bloody good test.

Lets start from the top. A lot of these products will have been reviewed or featured in other posts and if that is the case I will link them for you!

Row 1

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo +

Reviewed in my Roaccutane Survival Guide but in summary, a triple whammy of spot fighting ingredients in one handy cream/serum. LOVE IT. I will always have at least 1 of these on the go however after the Roaccutane and getting my skincare routine down, I find that I have less need for this am am using instead Paulas Choice 4% BHA serum as a once a week treatment on clogged areas or as a more specific spot treatment if one appears.


Ren Vita Mineral Eye Cream

Came as a freebie with something. I'm not even going to bother linking it as it did sod all from my under eye area. I have done a post all about my feelings on under eye care so have a read of that for much better options

Monu Skin Recovery Balm

Again, another gift with purchase. This was...OK. It was too drying to be classed as a balm, yet contains oil so isn't suitable for acne prone or oily skin. Hence I won't be using it again, in fact I used up the rest of the tube on my hands. Nuff said. 

Hyaluronic acid capsules

Love these. I have in fact gone through far more bottles than shown here. There is no need to buy fancy ones, similarly, there is also no point buying them in combination with anything else as there will always be better sources of - for example - zinc, or if combined with collagen you will simply pee it out as the collagen molecule is too large to be absorbed from the digestive tract. 

I have (of course) done a post all about my favourite supplements so head over and have a read if you want to cut the crap and see what really is worth your time , money and digestion. 

NIOD Multi Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Complex

This is the Ferrari/Lamborghini of the hydrating serums. Thin, watery, rapidly absorbed with no pilling. You can therefore use a much smaller amount of this than cheaper and thicker serums so yes, this is pricey but it lasts far longer than say, The Ordinary version. Different molecule weights of hyaluronic acid mean all the layers of the epidermis can be targeted as different weights mean different sizes which can pentrate to different extents. Which is exactly what you need for well hydrated, bouncy, glowy skin. The fact that it is so light yet so effective means I am often able to skip moisturiser and go straight to SPF, which is amazing in this weather. It was also a god send during Roaccutane treatment. 

Row 2

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Moisturiser
Fantastic oil free moisturiser. Super lightweight, great for men. The only issue I have with this it is SUPER fragranced , enough to cause sensitivity if you are prone. It did sting on me on occasion especially around the eyes so I will not be repurchasing, there are far better light yet hydrating, oil free options. Guess what....there's a post on that too


Footner exfoliating foot mask/socks

My second box. I have done a full post here. 

Boots Sun Swim Gym protection mask

I probably get through one of these every 2 weeks. I put it in before swimming (EVERY TIME) and without fail will have incredibly shiny, none damaged hair afterwards. Amazing. Washes out super easily too. Swimming post here

Dirty Works Buttery Salt Scrub. 

At any point in time I have at least 5 of these in my bathroom cabinet. The best body scrub I have every tried. It actually scrubs without scratching, leaving oily residue or generally making a mess. Great before fake tan, to remove fake tan, for bumpy arms or legs, before shaving etc. Wouldn't be without it, plus, its only £3!!

Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Pads 60 packs extreme
These are a fantastic affordable daily peel pad. Yes you can buy a lotion (like Pixi Glow Tonic), however I like these as they contain glycolic, lactic and salicylic acid which is ideal for all skin types but especially those struggling with blocked pores especially at this time of year. I wouldn't bother with the daily version of these as even those these are labelled as "extreme" they are still only a low percentage of AHA/BHA.
Learn about acid toners/peeling here


NeoStrata Skin Active Retinol Plus NAG Complex 

This is extremely pricey and extremely strong. Although it is only 0.5% retinol it performs in the same way a much stronger percentage product would. Everyone who uses this experiences peeling. In my case I could use twice a week, and without fail on the third time I would wake up with a burning red face which would peel off 2 days later. Not pleasant. It contains NeoGlucosamine™ (which is the NAG bit) which supposedly reinforces the skins protective barrier, however no amount of this could protect my skin. I used it up because of the price tag but will definitely not be buying again. I now use Retriderm Max 1% retinol. Amazing effects, absolutely 0 irritation. 

Ameliorate Transforming Body Lotion

This was my 4th tube and I will not be without it. With a lactic acid complex not only does it really hydrate, it also exoliates. Great for bumpy skin on the back of the arms, amazing for use on legs particularly after hair removal. Cannot race enough about it. It also comes in a cream form and fragrance free. Perfection. Look out for it on offer at Escentual as they often to 1/3 off.
(Yes, its so good I cut the top off to get the remnants out)

No7 Laboratories LINE CORRECTING Booster Serum

Second tube. Will be buying more immediately. Find out more here but if you are a wash and go kinda girl but you want to have a dabble in anti ageing without the faff - this is the one for you. You can use all over or on targeted areas
Row 3

Colab dry shampoo spray hype galactic 200ml

I mentioned this in my hair care post. Smells incredible, not great oil absorption but great if your hair feels "too clean" or if it just needs a bit of oomph/texture or to use almost as a hair perfume


CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser

I am currently working through my second bottle of this. Fragrance and nasty-free cleanser. Will not remove eye make up but will happily remove light foundation, spf, grime etc. I always do a double cleanse when wearing make up so this is simply just to clean the skin itself. Non stripping, non irritating. I am fairly fickle with my cleansers so will keep you posted. 

Listerine Total Care Zero Mouthwash

If I am fickle with my cleansers then I am an absolute floozy with my mouth wash choice. Mouthwash for the most part should simply be used as a top-up of fluoride or freshness. Not to be used within 30 minutes of brushing. I use this if I have had a lot of citrus and cant brush just yet, or have been on the garlic. As long as it is gentle (no alcohol if possible) and contains a decent amount of fluoride I will simply buy whatever is on offer. 

Xentan dark lotion

I cannot rave enough about this stuff... so to save you from boredom..head to my summer survival post. Already have another one on the go and one in the spares box.

Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Body Milk

This. Smells. INCREDIBLE. Like coconut, sugar, and almond with a tiny hint of lime. Extremely moisturising. Love it. The matching body wash is also completely yummy.

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% and Zinc 1%

I absolutely adore most of Deciem's products and am constantly trying more every week. This however has been a stable. I feel no need to buy any other brand or spend more money to get better results as this works perfectly. See my post on niacinamide for why....and also I have done a review of The Ordinary products I have tried so far (there's a lot)



Top 5 of my empties that you should try:

1) Dirty Works body scrub combined with the Footner mask because feet need extra help (yes that counts as 1!)

2) The Ordinary Niacinamide and Zinc for the reasons mentioned here 

3) XenTan Dark Lotion (the original not Luxe). Best body fake tan hands down. I never have any streaking, and it doesn't fade leaving you looking like tiger bread

4)Hyaluronic acid supplements to keep all the good stuff trapped in and retaining all that lovely dewy moisture in your skin. As a side effect it also helps joints etc

5)Sun Swim Gym protection mask. Without it my hair would have turned to straw and fallen off years ago.
IF YOU DON'T SWIM (bonus product)
5) Nip Fab exfoliating pads. Great entry level into AHA and BHA exfoliation. Very affordable. Work amazingly well especially in the heat

Niacinamide...why I love it plus a bonus pigmentation lesson

I started using niacinamide (topical vitamin B3) when The Ordinary first brought out their products and I practically purchased all of the range.

Little did I know, I had actually been using niacinamide for far longer, I just wasn't aware of it because it wasn't "trendy" a few years ago. I had actually been using La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo Plus which has the triple whammy of salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide and niacinamide. This tackles acne from all angles - unclogging the pore, reducing inflammation and improving the health of the skin and its ability to heal, as well as improving any pigmentation caused by the acne.

Why I love it

1) It is amazing for acne - it helps to regulate the oil flow in the skin, thus, allowing your protective barrier to remain in tact (the barrier can be damaged by harsher products like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide), but also reducing the risk of pore clogging leading to comedones and spots. I particularly like The Ordinary's formulation as it is combined with zinc, another great anti inflammatory product which is an amazing gentle help for acne

Which leads onto point 2...

2) Niacinamide boots the production of ceramides ( a natural fatty component of skin which almost acts like scaffolding to hold the skin cells together). If you imagine your skin as a sieve, throughout the day and night your skin wants to leak all the lovely things that keep your face looking plump and hydrated. This leads to dryness, dullness, and loss of plumpness. Thus, we need to do as much as we can to close the holes in the sieve in order to keep all the good stuff in. Niacinamide is awesome at that.
Because of this, it is also great as a buffering agent underneath any product that may cause irritation, such as peels, retinols etc. It is also compatible with pretty much every other skin care active (ignore the historic belief that vitamin C and niacinamide should never meet), making it great for layering.

3) Pigmentation buster.

Pigmentation can be tackled at 3 points.

• Prevention of production of melanin by the production cells - known as melanocytes. The melanocytes are stimulated by UV rays and in some cases, even by heat and visible light, mainly delivered to the skin via infra red rays 
• This can be done by:
• Blocking the UV rays from stimulating the melanocytes (i.e. sunscreen - see my favourites here) and blocking free radicals which cause DNA damage via antioxidants such as vitamin c (best as Ascorbic acid)
• Via agents such as hydroquinone (or natural derivatives such as arbutin), kojic acid, and azelaic acid which block the action of tyrosinase (the enzyme responsible for kick starting the melanin production process)
• Prevention of transfer of the melanin to the surface of the skin (the keratinocytes)
• Removal (exfoliation) of the pigmented area from the surface of the skin using AHA's and retinol to boost the turnover of the skin

Niaciamide acts on the second aspect. Whilst it has no activity on the melanocytes themselves, it can stop the transfer of the melanin to the surface of the skin, thus blocking pigmentation. In fact a study in the British Journal of Dermatology found that niacinamide at only a 2-5% concentration gave a 35-68% inhibition of melanin transfer, leading to decreased hyperpigmentation and increased skin lightness in only 4 weeks. 

4) Decrease of lines and wrinkles - Niacinamide boosts collagen (plumpness) and elastin (firmness) so you tackle this from both angles. As mentioned above, it also allows your skin to tolerate stronger active ingredients, especially higher concentrations of retinols, so this allows a double whammy on anti ageing front

5) Skin dullness fixer - as an antioxidant, this can work in the same way as vitamin C to restore brightness to the skin

Simple.




Mentioned paper

Br J Dermatol. 2002 Jul;147(1):20-31. The effect of niacinamide on reducing cutaneous pigmentation and suppression of melanosome transfer.

The Ordinary product review. Nothing ordinary about it.

I genuinely believe this is the best range I have ever tried. The carrier systems and feel of the products may not be the most sophisticated but I love them as:

 1) you know what concentration the active ingredients in (which quite frankly is the only bit of the product I care about)

2) the active ingredients are in a stable form – you can find plenty of products on the high street with active ingredients such as vitamin c (cough Aldi cough), but as soon as you mix them with water the ingredient is no longer active and effective

3) the packaging is appropriate for the product i.e. dark glass for vitamin c products to avoid UV oxidation AND mostly recyclable due to the use of glass vs plastic

4) they are mega affordable so if you skin does not agree with a certain ingredient you have only lost a fiver

I have tried A LOT of products from the range so will do a quick rundown of my favourites, and some that I have used but may not be repurchasing

Product	Pros - Why I liked it	Cons
Hyaluronic acid and B5 serum	Cheapest way to get good quality hyaluronic acid into the skin	It is a bit sticky. This is not a problem if you only layer a moisturiser over, but I have found if you layer it over niacinamide or use a vitamin c powder mixed with the moisturiser it will causing some pilling
Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12%  Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution	Pleasant to use, no stinging, no grittiness so good to apply makeup over. Dark bottle to avoid oxidation	I did not really see any results from either of these products so swapped to a higher concentration
Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F	Feels lovely to apply.	Oil base so this was donated to my mum who has a drier and non acne prone skin
Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%	Great for resurfacing and brightening	Doesn’t feel great to apply, gritty. This does go after 5/10 mins as it absorbs and warms to the skin, but you would probably want a primer if applying foundation over
100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder	This is my current form of vitamin C. You can make it as potent or diluted as you like. Minimal tingling. No gritty feeling.	I find it works better mixed with a moisturiser vs a serum as sometimes it does not dissolve fully in a serum and leaves white patches on the skin. The problem completely disappeared when I mixed with moisturiser.
Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion	Lovely product. Lovely lightweight serum, did not cause any peeling or irritation. I did not even need to use a moisturiser over this	None I prefer this formulation to the Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane
Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane	Great product, you skin feels like silk in the morning.	This caused absolutely no irritation or breakouts on my skin however I had to switch to oil free products for my comedones, so this got moved to use on my neck only. My neck cannot seem to tolerate the higher strength retinols that I use on my face, so this is perfect
AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution	This may well be my favourite product from the range. The concentration of the acids is great and is the highest performing mask of this kind that I have tried. Glass skin ahoy	It burns and tingles. Beware if a first-time user of acids. Start with leaving it on for just 2 minutes and work up slowly. When you’re mad like me, you can even run your foreo over it at the end of the 10 mins to activate it further
2% Salicylic acid serum	2% is the percentage you need for it to have a true pore cleaning effect, so this is perfect	I prefer my la roche posay effaclar duo as it provides the triple spot fighting whammy with salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide and niacinamide so I stick with this to avoid having to apply 10 different products
100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil	Lovely texture, absorbs quite quickly but can also be layered to do a massage or for a healing boost. I had a burn from a product (too strong a retinol) on my neck and this was the only thing that solved it and stopped it being sore and itchy. If you do not have any pore blockage issues this would be great to use on the face too	Doesn’t smell great, which actually is fine by me because I do not want added fragrance in my products.
Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA	Lovely simple moisturiser. No oil, no fragrance. Great for cuticles and nails too (tip from Mr Truaxe himself)	None
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%	Great concentration of the actives. The added zinc is also great for my acne prone skin. No irritation	If you layer this under hyaluronic acid, make sure you only use a small amount of the niacinamide otherwise the hyaluronic can leave little white patches, however these disappear as soon as you layer over a moisturiser.
Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG	If you are at all prone to puffiness – going through a break up, massive Chinese food binge – slap this on the night before and again in the morning and it’ll disappear. The other wonderful benefit of this product is it can be mixed into other things. For example, when I’m on a real summer kick, after dry body brushing my legs (which I do daily) I mix a good squirt of the caffeine solution into my body cream and slather on for some skin firming action	This is drying (it’s kind of the point of the product) so I apply this onto clean, dry skin, let it absorb for a couple of minutes while I brush my teeth etc then layer my eye cream or moisturiser over the top
Lactic Acid 10% + HA	Lovely texture, easily absorbed, good resurfacing	For some reason this worsened my acne. I am lactose intolerant but that is a digestive thing so shouldn’t have affected the skin but either way, I stopped using this and donated.

In summary, my must haves are the aha bha peel, the caffeine solution, vitamin c powder and niacinamide. For beginners, I would definitely get the hyaluronic acid serum and the retinoids.