Products I have used up #4

Body Shop raspberry shower gel // Botanics microdermabrastion polish // B gel melt cleanser // Botanics night cream // Max Factor Facefinity // Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream hand treatment // Blistex Lip Conditioner // Collection Extreme 24 Hour felt tip eyeliner

I've been making a conscious effort to keep hold of my empty products to share on the blog; I had amassed a fair few as everything always seems to run out at once so I thought I'd talk about the ones that I particularly rate. 

I wouldn't usually include a shower gel, but this raspberry Body Shop one is amazing. It smells so good; this is the second bottle I've gone through and I reckon I'll buy it again, it was in the sale after Christmas and cost about £3 I think. I am hoping that because it was in the sale, this doesn't mean it'll be discontinued!

In terms of skincare, I seem to have finished up both my favourite exfoliator (Botanics) and a melting cleanser (B) which figures as I seem to alternate their usage. the exfoliator is more a microdermabrasion polish; it's fairly inexpensive and I think I picked this up to try out because it was on offer. It certainly helps to renew the skin and slough away dead cells but it is incredibly hard to get off; so many times I've gone to moisturise after using it and felt the little grains of exfoliator still on my face despite washing it over and over! The gel melt cleanser is also pretty cool; again I bought this because it was on offer and I liked some products I used from the 'B' range so I thought I'd give it a go. It comes out of the tube like a gel, but once you massage it on to your face it turns into an oil, which is really clever and helps to melt off your makeup with minimal scrubbing.I love the idea and have enjoyed using it; I might re-buy it but I seem to have a lot of skincare in my armory at the moment so I need to use a few things up before I buy more!

I mentioned that I had finished this Botanics night cream in a haul post of new items because I actually replaced it with a Time Delay one. This is probably the third or fourth Botanics night cream I've finished up and I think it's good to change up your skincare now and again to prevent your skin becoming too used to one brand or item. I'd noticed that I wasn't feeling the benefit from this cream that I had been, so I've come away from it for a while, but I'll definitely go back to it in the future.

In typical fashion, when I think I've found the perfect foundation, I then go and find another I prefer even more. I am making myself finish the ones I've got, before buying yet more, but as soon as I'm done with my current one, I'll treat myself to this Max Factor Facefinity one; I love the fact that it is a primer, concealer and foundation in one, it cuts the prep time in half and applies really nicely, it works better if you only use a tiny amount and this little tester has lasted ages. I think the full sized product is about £11 so that's not too expensive, either!

The final 3 products are my makeup bag icons; I'll always have these on hand because they are literally can't-live-without products. If I had to take 3 items to a desert island, it would be these three-Elizabeth Arden's 8 hour hand treatment, which worked absolute wonders on my dry, chapped hands and smells amazing; Blistex lip treatment, this pot of which I've had for years and it's only just run out, it's a really wonderful lip balm; and my forever repurchased eyeliner, the Collection Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner, which is the best eyeliner I've ever used, and I have used many. At £2.99 this is something that everyone should have in their makeup bag.

XO Amie