little white truths

Hello and welcome to my first empties post for October. I photographed two lots of empties yesterday so expect to see another one shortly, and I'll likely have a third lot before the end of the month because I'm already halfway there. We'll see.

In any event, I'm certainly aiming to have as many empties as possible for the remainder of the year because I'm keen to start 2019 from an even better position than I did this year: that is, with not much back-up skincare stock and a makeup collection that's becoming more streamlined by the day. Fingers crossed.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit in Surreal Light

Full review here. I panned this edit recently (hooray!) although thankfully I have a back-up for it, which I'm pleased about because I absolutely love it and I'm so glad I own it.

All five shades work for me and the highlighter is my favourite Hourglass highlighter to date in terms of colour, so I'm glad I have another one to use because I miss it already. The formula is the same as Hourglass' regular line-up so all the products blend and apply beautifully, and they airbrush the skin so I look younger when I wear them. Love. Repurchase? Already have.

Giorgio Armani Si

I don't normally review fragrances on this blog because scents are so personal and I don't feel comfortable recommending perfumes - even if I love something and you have similar fragrance tastes to me, this doesn't mean that any perfume will smell the same on you. Yes I suppose you could say the same about makeup and skincare, but I reckon fragrance is even more personal than those.

My husband bought me this because he loved it, and while I didn't mind it, it was too sweet so I wasn't using it enough. In the end I left it by the front door so I would remember to spray myself with it during the week, something I haven't done since I've had children (I tend now to save perfumes for weekends and events). Still, if you like the scent, I didn't need much per application and it lasted well so it has that going for it. Repurchase? No.

Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Highlight 01

Full review here. This is a lot of people's HG highlighter and while I can see why because it blends and applies well and it also doesn't emphasise texture, it was too frosty on my very warm skintone so it wasn't flattering on me personally.

In the end I worked on it via Project Pan, and once I'd finished half of it and was thoroughly sick of it, I crushed up the rest and added it to four separate eyeshadows that weren't working for me, so I now have four new eyeshadows that are working better. Hooray. Repurchase? No.

Burberry Complete Eye Palette in No 07 Pink Taupe

I'm feeling a bit annoyed by even looking at the photo of this palette, I must say. I panned it via Pan that Palette this year and it just didn't work for me. I even gave it a 'disappointing products' tag. What a waste of money. I've reviewed it here.

There was one shade in this that I liked and I've kept that one (the dusty rose), but the others have all been panned and I'm not sad to see them go. The highlight shade had no pigment so it didn't show up, the green was a muddy grey when applied (a huge disappointment) and the brown was a flat, uninteresting colour that I didn't enjoy using. Good riddance. I'll keep the pretty packaging for display purposes though, so at least there's that. Repurchase? No.

Marc Jacobs Enamoured Hi Shine Lip Lacquer in Want Me?

Full review here. This is my second one of these glosses and I don't plan to buy any more because they don't work for me. I know, I know, I feel like the only person on the planet who's ever said that.

What I found with both shades I owned is that they dried my lips out, settled into lip lines (so they weren't flattering at all) and also travelled outside my lips so things looked very messy, very quickly. There just wasn't anything redeeming about them in my case so I wouldn't buy another one. Repurchase? No.

Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolour in 710 Desert

I've tried three of these now and while one of them didn't work for me because it travelled up lip lines and looked awful, the other two worked beautifully (including this one) so let's call Vineyard a dud and say that otherwise the range is decent. I've reviewed this shade here.

I like that these are lightweight and hydrating enough to wear without a balm underneath, and I also like that they're not super pigmented so they give you a natural but still polished look. Plus they had a flattering finish that was shiny without being overly so, and they were comfortable to wear. The only bad thing about them is that you only get a measly 1.7g of product so they don't last long with frequent use. Repurchase? Yes, but only on sale.

Hask Macadamia Moisturising Shine Oil

Full review here. I had to put this product into Project Pan because I just wasn't using it. While I've tried other Hask oils before and loved those, this one didn't hit the mark so I wouldn't buy it again.

What I found was that it weighed my hair down and also reduced the time between washes, no matter how little I used. It also gave my hair that dull look and it didn't do anything for detangling or overall condition either. It worked ok as a pre-wash treatment, but I'm glad that it's done. Repurchase? No.

Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Pencil in Rich Brown

I've been through two of these now and I'm onto my third, so you know I must like them. They also last me around a year and they're cheap anyway so they're good value. I've reviewed one here. 

It's fine as an eyeliner and while it doesn't adhere to the waterline as long as I would like, it's not too bad and I've certainly used worse. It's also a twist-up arrangement that doesn't require sharpening, which is a huge plus for me because I'm lazy. So while I'm sure I could find another eyeliner that lasts longer in the waterline, finding non-shimmery browns that aren't too dark to be natural isn't that easy so I'll stick with this for now. Repurchase? Already have.

Bio Oil

No doubt you've seen this show up in my empties posts before because it's an old favourite and I always have one in the bathroom. Full review here.

It's a staple because it hydrates well and a little goes a long way so I don't get through the product too quickly, plus it has an impact on reducing scarring etc. So many things claim to make a difference and so few things do. This one does. Love. Repurchase? Yes.

L'Oreal Pure Clay Detoxifying & Brightening Charcoal Mask

Full review here. This is the third one of these masks that I've tried and none of them has worked for me so I can't recommend them.

I found this one to be drying and it stripped my skin so I didn't like how my face felt after use, plus it didn't do anything good for me either (like help with congestion) so there was no benefit to using it for me and I ended up getting through it by using it on the body. Blurgh. Repurchase? No.

In sum

That's all from me. I'm happy to see three makeup compacts in this round of empties: it hasn't been a bad panning year so far and there are more makeup empties on the way. Woot woot.

The best items in this lot were the Hourglass palette, the Revlon lip gel, the Bio Oil and the Rimmel eyeliner. Everything else I can take or leave.

Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x