Hey everyone, I hope you've all had a good week, I'm still a bit sniffly, and recovering from a dentist visit, but the show must go on, and today I've got a two in one trimming my stash post for you x
AVON Advance Techniques Reconstruction 3 Magical Minute Hair Mask - 150ml
Sunday Rain Polishing Body Scrub - Mango + Coconut - 265g
AVON Advance Techniques Anti Hair Fall Shampoo - 250ml
Frank Body Original Coffee Scrub - 20g
Eness Exotic Africa Argan Oil Nourishing Hand Cream - 100ml
Total - 6 Items
January and February are normally pretty lean months when it comes to beauty empties, but January especially didn't turn out to be too bad a month. With nowhere to go and nothing really to do 2021 so far has been all about self care, so January's items were all about basic maintenance and pampering, with a mic of intensive hair and body treatments.
1. AVON Advance Techniques Reconstruction Hair Resuscitation Spray - 100ml
First up a hair product and this is the first of several products in this post from AVON. From their Reconstruction range, which is specifically designed to repair and reconstruct damaged hair and split ends, this spray contains AVON's unique Keratin Panthenol Complex.
Designed to be used alongside the other products in the Reconstruction range, this lightweight spray has been created to make the hair look and feel stronger and healthier.
You can use it in two ways - you can spray it on to damp hair before styling, and you can also use it on dry hair. It has a lovely fruity scent, and it feels really light and almost water like. It doesn't make the hair greasy, and it doesn't weigh it down or alter the texture in anyway.
Since I've been using it (as instructed) alongside other products in the Reconstruction range, it's difficult to say how well it works, and even whether it actually does anything at all. My hair does seem have responded well to the whole range though, so I've already bought another bottle. I love the scent, which lingers slight on the hair, and it certainly isn't doing my hair any harm, so I'm going to keep using.
The AVON Advance Techniques Reconstruction Hair Resuscitation Spray retails at around £5 direct from the AVON website or direct from your local representative.
2. AVON Advance Techniques Reconstruction 3 Magical Minute Hair Mask - 150ml
Next up another hair product from AVON and it's another product from the Reconstruction range. The 3 Magical Minute Mask again contains the exclusive Keratin Panthenol Complex, as well as avocado oil, and Vitamin E.
Again it is for damaged hair and is designed to restore vitality and strengthen the hair, and again it's designed to be used alongside the regular Reconstruction shampoo and conditioner. This is an intensive weekly treatment, that is white in appearance with a creamy texture, and it has the same fruity scent as the other products in the range.
All you do it apply it to clean, damp hair, and leave it for 3 minutes before rinsing. Whilst it feels nice and creamy, it isn't too thick so it spreads nice and easily through damp hair, even with a comb. It then rinses easily way leaving the hair feeling silky smooth and tangle free.
Since I've been using this alongside the other products in the range, again it's hard to say how affective it actually is on its own, but my hair did look and feel marginally better when I added it into my haircare regime. I loved the scent, it made my hair feel better, and it took no longer than a regular conditioner to use. I have quite a few intensive treatments and hair masks to use up but I would definitely consider buying this one again. The AVON Advance Techniques Reconstruction 3 Magical Minute Hair Mask retails at around £5.50.
3. Sunday Rain Polishing Body Scrub - Mango + Coconut - 265g
From haircare to body care, and next up the first of 2 body scrubs in this post. You should know by now that I love a good body scrub, and whilst I've found some gems over the years, I'm always on the lookout for new brands, and new products.
You may have seen a couple of mentions of the Sunday Rain Scrub Away Charcoal + Bamboo Exfoliating Cubes in previous empties posts, I love them and I love the concept but instead of repurchasing them I fancied a change, and I decided to try something else from the brand instead.
If you aren't familiar with Sunday Rain, they are a US based, vegan friendly body care brand. This is one of their more conventional salt based body scrubs, which contains creamy and softening mango butter, and moisturising coconut oil.
Peachy / orange in colour it has an almost granular, dense paste like texture. The salt particles are fairly fine but it's still a nice, scrubby scrub, that rinses away to an almost milky like lotion. The really selling point of this scrub though is the scent. When you first open the tub, it's like you opened a carton of mango sorbet! It's fresh, fruity and mouthwatering! As you start using it though the coconut starts to come through, it isn't quite as nice as the initial mango hit, but it's still very pleasant on the nose.
I would definitely consider using this scrub, and other products from the mango and coconut range in the future. This scrub does seem to be out of stock in a lot of places including ASOS and Beauty Bay, but it is currently available for £6 from bubu and Oliver Bonas.
4. AVON Advance Techniques Anti Hair Fall Shampoo - 250ml
With arginine, wheat protein, and peppermint, my hair really liked this shampoo, and I love the fresh and fruity, mint tinged scent. This is obviously long gone from both the AVON website, and their catalogues, but as I say the replacements are just as good. I think I have one more bottle of the conditioner and about a half a supersized bottle of the shampoo left, and then it really will be time to say a fond farewell to the Anti Hair Fall range.
5. Frank Body Original Coffee Scrub - 20g
So instead what I've decided to do is pick out some of the best products, and post in depth reviews as and when, over the next few weeks and months, and I will of course be featuring the odd thing in upcoming empties posts, like this one.
If you want to see the full contents of the calendar, then have a little look at my Instagram highlights to see a full day by day unboxing of goodies from brands including Fenty, The Body Shop, HUDA Beauty, Lime Crime, and Iconic.
In the meantime though, back to my empties and on Day 11 of the 2020 Glossybox advent calendar I received a 20g Deluxe Mini size of the Frank Body Original Coffee Scrub.
The product that I received was one their original products, the Original Coffee Scrub. Both vegan friendly, and cruelty free, as well as paraben, and phthlate free, the scrub contains Robusta coffee grinds, cold pressed sweet almond oil, vitamin E, sea salt, orange oil, and soybean oil.
Designed to even out, and smooth skin, as well as fading scars, and marks, breakouts and cellulite, the scrub as you would expect looks like slightly damp, coffee grounds, scattered with small crystal like particles of salt.
The smell I have to say was amazing, it had an almost coffee, chocolate, orange scent. The scrub has a nice scrubby texture, you could definitely feel the grains doing their thing, but it wasn't harsh, scratchy or uncomfortable. It didn't cling to the skin and as a result it was pretty easy to rinse off. After rinsing the softness of my skin was really apparent. My legs and particularly my thighs and bottom felt silky smooth to the touch.
Like other coffee and tea based scrubs that I've tried it was pretty messy. It got everywhere and the bottom of my shower basically looked like I'd emptied out a coffee maker, so you do need to make sure that you give your bath or shower a good clean afterwards.
I absolutely loved how soft this scrub make my skin feel but I would definitely feel the wrath of Mummy Lou (aka the bathroom police!) if I bought it again which is a real shame.
Glossybox placed a value of around £1.40 on this 20g size. It normally retails at between £12.95 and £13.95 for a 200g pouch from various retailers including direct from Frank Body, Boots and Look Fantastic. If you fancy trying it first though with a smaller size, Cult Beauty, and Selfridges sell a 100g pouch for between £6 - £6.95, and if you want to go all out you can buy a huge 600g pouch direct from Frank Body for £24.95.
6. Eness Exotic Africa Argan Oil Nourishing Hand Cream - 100ml
The final product that I finished in January was another body product and it's the first of 2 hand creams in this post. Operation nail growth has recommenced! After looking at those gorgeous nails in my recent nails of the day post, and the nails in the post I've got coming up next for you, I'm determined to get my claws back. I've been liberally applying OPI Nail Envy, cuticle oil, and hand cream, in an attempt to at least get some some length back, and so far so good, so you can expect to see a lot of hand and nails care posts in some future empties posts.
I believe that this particular hand cream came in a subscription box. It's from an ethical and cruelty free British brand that there was quite a buzz about amongst bloggers in around 2016 and 2017. As well as selling online, they also had a flagship store in Birmingham city centre, but like so many brands in such a competitive industry it seems as though that they couldn't keep the initial hype going, and the only trace I can now find of the company is a liquidation entry on the Companies House website.
It's a real shame because this was a nice hand cream. Containing argan oil, avocado oil, and ylang ylang, it had a lovely tropical flower scent, and it had a lovely thick and creamy texture, that left my super dry hands feeling silky soft, and looking more hydrated. I enjoyed using it so much that I have definitely considered repurchasing it x
Despite being only 2 or 3 days less than any of the other months, when it comes to empties February always seems to be a pretty barren month, and even though I managed to do a lot better in February 2021, it was still a bit of a struggle.
Wishful Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub - 20ml
Primark PS...Cuticle Oil - 10ml
eos Shea Better Hand Cream - Eucalyptus - 74ml
Derma V10 Exfoliating Foot Peel - Tea Tree & Peppermint - 1 x Treatment
Primark PS...Cuticle Oil - 10ml
eos Shea Better Hand Cream - Eucalyptus - 74ml
Derma V10 Exfoliating Foot Peel - Tea Tree & Peppermint - 1 x Treatment
Total - 4 Items
So, yeah I managed to finish 4 items which isn't too bad I guess for a lockdown month. Again nothing too interesting mainly hand and foot products, with one skincare product thrown in for good measure.
1. Wishful Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub - 20ml
First up the solitary skincare item, and it is something that I reviewed on the blog quite recently, the Wishful Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub. I got this little tube in the September 2020 edition Glossybox UK, and you can read my full review here.
This was my first experience with Huda Kattan's Wishful skincare range, and based on this experience it certainly won't be my last. I loved how my skin felt after using this product and it's something that I would consider buying it in the full size.
2. Primark PS...Cuticle Oil - 10ml
I really though that I'd finished my stash of this, but whilst I was tidying the monstrosity that is my desk, I found a half finished bottle that I then demolished in less than a month.
I loved it, it was a bargain and much as I like the replacements they aren't quite as good as this, but who knows, it's been so long since I've been to Primark now, when they eventually do reopen they will probably have something entirely different.
3. eos Shea Better Hand Cream - Eucalyptus - 74ml
Sticking with hands and nails it's time for the second hand cream that I promised you, and this one was another bargain buy, this time from Poundland.
Now we all know eos or Evolution Of Smooth for their famous dome shaped lip balms, but did you know that they also have a pretty decent hand and body care line? Well they do, and although it's available from various retailers, if you look hard enough in your local Poundland you might find the odd thing like this hand cream.
Vegan and dermatologically tested, this hand cream contains sustainable shea butter and shea oil, as well as cocoa butter, avocado oil, aloe vera and eucalyptus. White in colour it has a thick and creamy texture but it still absorbs quite quickly into the skin, leaving the hands smooth and hydrated, if a tiny bit sticky.
What I really love about this hand cream though is the scent, it has a lovely eucalyptus scent, apparently also with undertones of oak and peppermint. It's fresh but not too much of an assault on your nose, and it great not only for your hands but also for your nose if your feeling a little bit congested.
For me this one is definitely a night time hand cream, pop it on with a pair of cotton gloves, fall asleep and let the aroma and all of those moisturising ingredients do their thing. I really liked using this hand cream and I've actually already bought another tube.
If you're lucky enough you might still be able to find this in your local Poundland. If not though it is still available for the full price of £4.99 from HQ Hair, Beauty Expert and Look Fantastic, and for a slightly cheaper price of around £3.96 from Amazon.
4. Derma V10 Exfoliating Foot Peel - Tea Tree & Peppermint - 1 x Treatment
If you haven't heard of Derma V10 before, they are one of the leading manufacturers of beauty and personal care products in the UK. All of their products are budget friendly and they aren't tested on animals, and this particular product is also suitable for vegans.
Before
When you open the pouch you are greeted with a pair of plastic socks, each sock is sealed so you need to cut along the dotted line to open them up. The plastic material was quite sturdy, and the socks were lined with a paper / fibre inner sock which is soaked in a water like solution containing alcohol, lactic acid, salicylic acid, peppermint leaf extract, and tea tree leaf extract.
The socks do have a slight mint and tea tree scent, but the overwhelming scent is more alcohol, and chemicals. All you do is put the socks onto clean dry feet, adjusting them with the attached sticky tab so they stay on your feet. Then all you do is sit back and relax for 90 minutes x
They were quite cool when I first put them on but they gradually warmed up to body temperature. As you would expect they felt quite wet and squishy. I experienced a tiny bit of tingling on a cat scratch or two, but it was nowhere near as bad as with some similar products that I've used in the past.
Something that was different about these socks though was that you didn't need to rinse your feet when you removed them, all you needed to do was towel dry your feet. My feet initially looked a little bit pink, and wrinkly, as though they had been immersed in water but there was no immediate difference.
To see the real benefits of socks like these you need to keep soaking your feet, and no matter how dry they feel you need to stay away from the moisturiser, which I must admit is sometimes easier said than done.
Within a week the tops of my feel started to feel very dry, and a little bit sore, but my soles and heels didn't really start to truly dry out till about a week and a half in. In the before picture I don't think my feet actually look too bad, just the odd dry patch here and there, with my heels being the worst, but the amount of skin that actually came off was actually pretty terrifying. My feet just peeled, and peeled, it looked awful and way too disgusting to actually put on the blog!
By the time that I took the picture at 3 weeks that you can see below the bulk of the dry skin had gone, but you can still see a patch on the middle of my foot and the odd flake on the side.
After 3 Weeks
After a full month had passed my feet definitely looked smoother and aside for my terminally problematic heels, there were no other patches of dry or hard skin. I have to say after using a lot of similar product for the price, these are one of the best pairs that I've used, and my feet definitely looked better after using them.
If I was to use these again (and I probably will!) I would probably put a thin layer of vaseline on the top of my feet to protect my more sensitive areas, and to stop them peeling, as it was a touch uncomfortable and irritating, but if you can deal with that, and you can keep your feet covered up for about a month, then these are definitely worth buying if you have dry skin on your feet.
You can pick these socks up for around £1 from various retailers including Poundland, Savers, Wilko, The Range and Home Bargains.
So they were my January and February empties, not a bad result but fingers crossed I can do even better as the year progresses. If you have any questions on any of the products that I've talked about in this post, then leave me a little comment below and I'll get back to you x
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