little white truths

AHC Hollogram Collection Whitening Serum

Another Memebox product. Full review here. While this product looks fancy and awesome, it unfortunately reminds me in every way of the White Glo stuff that I use occasionally to bleach my teeth: the smell, look, texture and feel are all the same. Which begs the question: am I putting bleach on my face and do I really want to be doing that? After some research I discovered that this product contains a large amount of alcohol, which can be irritating to sensitive skin, so I quickly moved it to the body cream section and mixed it with my regular body cream to make the latter last a little longer. Purchase? No.

Natio Rosewater and Chamomile Gentle Skin Toner

Full review here. I didn't love this as much as I thought I would unfortunately. It didn't seem to tone that well and it stung my skin if eg my nose was a bit red or I had a dry patch on my face. I'm surprised because Natio is a decent brand and I've generally had a good experience with its products. I do wonder whether it might have been a little old because I bought it from the clearance bin at Priceline, but in any event, I won't be buying it again to find out. So repurchase? No.

Milk & Co Body Scrub

Full review here. Man am I glad to see the back of this one. It took so long to get through, in part because there's so much of it, and in part because I much preferred reaching for other scrubs over this one. It's an ok product but not great - it doesn't feel harsh/scrubby enough for me, nor does it foam up and feel like it cleans well. Lasses with sensitive skin who prefer gentle scrubs might love this, but for me, the experience of using it was all a bit meh. Repurchase? No.

Happy Skincare Good Vibes Omega Facial Oil

Full review here. As you may know, I love Happy's products and this one is no exception. It's officially the last Happy oil I had on the go and I'm sad to see the back of it, but I'll definitely be restocking once I get through the oils I have on hand (and only two are left now, thank god!). This remains my favourite facial oil and I love it for so many reasons. The smell is so calming and beautifully herbal without being overpowering. The oil hydrates, nourishes and plumps without leaving your face looking greasy. I not only use it as part of my skincare routine, but also to 'un-dry' my skin (eg if I've applied a makeup setting powder that has enhanced my wrinkles, I'll pat a bit of this over the top and take a few years back off my face). Repurchase? Yes.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo Plus

Full review here. My journey with this product was a long one. It took me a while, but I did find a way to make it work for me. I have dry skin and I can't use this in winter (when my skin's drier), plus I can only use it once a day, rather than twice - otherwise my skin dries out and I get wrinkles I never knew I had. But if I stick within those limits, I'm happy with the results. My skin cleared up after using this and I'll need to repurchase it (or something similar) if I get more breakouts because I don't have any products on hand to manage that. Repurchase? Yes.


Neutrogena Makeup Removing Cleansing Towelettes

Full review here. In short, these are decent face wipes but they don't hold a candle to Essenzza Fuss Free Naturals (review here), so I won't be buying them. These came in Marie Claire's The Parcel and while I'm glad I've tried them, I'm also glad this was only a small pack so I can go back to using my Essenzzas. Purchase? No.

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Full review here. This is one of those products that I really loved (such a wonderful smell!) but I just wasn't using. I use rich handcreams and I don't feel I need this extra step for my cuticles, so in the end I used it as a foot balm and it was wonderful for that purpose. While I love this product, I wouldn't buy it because I won't use it. So purchase? No.

Revlon Uniq One All in One Hair Treatment

Full review here. I didn't love this one and ended up using it as a hair mask on the ends of my hair in the shower, just to make sure it got used. It worked well for that purpose. The reason I didn't like it as a leave-in treatment is that it weighed my hair down and left a film over it, making it look dull and reducing the time between washes. Purchase? No.

In sum

A mix of products in here - some I loved and some I didn't. My favourites would have to be the Bodyography primer, the product from La Roche-Posay and the Happy oil.

I'll check back in soon with my second empties post for the month : )