Trimming My Stash - October 2019 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews*

Right, only two catch up posts to go and then we can finally say goodbye to October x First up October's beauty empties

Elemis Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm - 105g
Kueshi Double Effect Make Up Remover - 100ml
Woo Woo Cranberry Wipes pH Balance For Intimate Use - 12 Wipes
Natura Potato & Parsley Infused Under Eye Mask - 1 x 3g Pair
The Body Shop Vanilla Pumpkin Shower Gel - 250ml

Total - 5 Items 

To be fair after the highs of finishing 11 items in September (read my post here), October was nearly always going to be a disappointing month, but I've got to say that I'm actually not that disappointed. 5 items is still a pretty respectable total, and even if you ignore a few recent buys,  I still have 5 less skincare, and body care items to use up, so I guess it still counts as a win.

1. Elemis Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm - 105g

First up one of my favourite cleansers of all time, from one of my favourite British brands of all time. I am a huge fan of British brand Elemis, and this award winning product is without a doubt one of the best products that they, and believe me they make a lot of fabulous things so that's a pretty high accolade.

This semi solid balm contains a whole load of good for your skin ingredients including mimosa, and rose waxes, starflower oil, elderberry, coconut oil, Shea butter, sweet almond oil, vitamin E, as well as the key ingredient in Elemis Pro Collagen range, Padina Pavonica which is a type of seaweed. It also contains some gorgeous botanicals including orange, clove, eucalyptus, lavandin, mint, and chamomile, which give it a beautiful, if slightly strong, spa like, aromatherapy based scent. 

Massage a tiny bit into dry skin, and the balm melts down into a oil, add a touch of water, and it turns into a milky cream, remove your make up with a warm muslin cloth, or flannel, rinse and dry and your skin is left feeling clean, soft and hydrated.

If you have an oily or combination skin like I do, don't worry this will still work for you, it doesn't leave my skin feeling oily or greasy, in fact it almost seems to help balance the oil production, and help with dry patches. I only use it at night, as I prefer something a bit lighter in the morning, and with the texture, ritual and scent, I think it makes a lovely pre bedtime treat.

As I say the scent can sometimes be a little bit strong for me and I because of the aromatherapy oils I don't use it on my eyes, but other than that it's a fabulous product that I will continue to use, and I already have a pot or two in back up.

This particular size retails at around £44 direct from Elemis, but it's also available on it's own and in sets from various other retailers including Look Fantastic. Feel Unique, Debenhams, John Lewis, and from where I get most of my Elemis products from, QVC UK.

2. Kueshi Double Effect Make Up Remover - 100ml

This was the first of three items, that I received in subscription boxes. It was so long ago now that I can't really remember but I think that this came in a Glossybox.

I can't find too much online about them but I believe that Kueshi are / were a Spanish brand. Containing Aloe Vera and Chamomile this was a dual phase eye make remover comprising of a blue, and a clear liquid. The blue liquid was a gentle, refreshing lotion, and the clear liquid contained oils that were designed to remove even the toughest eye make up. All you do is give the bottle a good shake to combine the two phases, then as usual you apply it to a cotton pad.

I have quite sensitive dry, but watery eyes, and I'm wary about trying new eye make up removers but this actually wasn't bad. It removed everything that I threw at it from notoriously hard to remove mascara and water resistant liner, with no irritation and no rubbing. My one issue was that despite non greasy claim I did find that it left a slightly oily residue on the eyes, that you had to rinse away, other than though it was decent and it did the job.

I can't find this particular product on any UK based websites, and I can only find it on a few European sites such as ekosmetik all be it in a slightly larger size, and slightly different packaging for around €15.99.

3. Woo Woo Cranberry Wipes pH Balance For Intimate Use - 12 Wipes

Next up another subscription box item, and something that I received the July 2019 edition of Pink Parcel. You can read my initial thoughts here, but basically what they were, were intimate wipes, containing Aloe Vera, and cranberry extract. With a lovely fresh, fruity scent they weren't the thickest wipes that I've ever used but I don't particularly mind that because they are biodegradable and flushable.

As I've said before I can take or leave specific intimate products, I wouldn't buy these all the time but these wipes are good for that time of the month, or for when you're on holiday or on the go, and you went to freshen up a bit. This pack of 12 retails at around £2.25 from Superdrug

4. Natura Potato & Parsley Infused Under Eye Mask - 1 x 3g Pair

We've reached product number 4, and that was another product that I received in a Pink Parcel. This cooling mask came in the September 2019 edition of Pink Parcel, and you can read my full review here. They did what they promised and cooled and soothed the eye area, my skin felt refreshed, and looked less puffy, and felt more hydrated, and moisturised. A pack of 3 pairs retails at around £5.95 direct from Beauty Pro and from various retailers including Feel Unique.

5. The Body Shop Vanilla Pumpkin Shower Gel - 250ml

Finally an autumnal limited edition from The Body Shop's Vanilla Pumpkin range. Containing Madagascan vanilla extract and pumpkin fragrance, this is a rich and creamy shower gel, that I would personally describe as a shower cream. You only need a tiny amount to produce loads and loads of soft creamy, moisturising bubbles. It leaves my skin feeling soft with a light warm, sweet, vanilla based scent that smells good enough to eat.

I absolutely love this scent and I was fully intending to stock up on it this year but by the time I made it into The Body Shop, a couple of weeks ago, they only had the new festive scents and Vanilla Pumpkin was long gone. A sensible person would have left the shop but old habits die hard, and I ended up picking up a few Juicy Pear products instead, which after such high hopes is the only Christmas limited edition that I actually like this year ho hum! Anyways I have a scraping of Vanilla Pumpkin Body Butter left, and about 2/3 bottle of shower gel remaining which I'm going to really enjoy using, before moving onto some of the older festive limited editions from The Body Shop that I still have in my stash.

So they were my 5 items, despite a couple of beauty buys this month so far, I've already finished a couple of items already in November, so here's hoping that I can punish on over the next two months and finish 2019 Trimming My Stash on a high! Any questions as per usual, leave me a comment and let me know xx 

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