December/January Empties

I can't believe it has been almost a week since my last blog post. The past few days were hectic with work and then I had minor surgery yesterday. It just didn't seem like the right time to be writing blog posts as I had other things on my mind. The surgery went fine and I'm at home now so over the next while I'll have plenty of spare time on my hands to write regular blog posts. I was planning on watching some of my favourite TV series too but it seems most of them are on hiatus in the States, I'm so disappointed. I've decided to start watching Pretty Little Liars, I never really got into it before but I've decided to give it another go. I really like the books so I'm surprised I never liked the series from the start, hopefully I'll manage to get through a couple of episodes this time around. So if I'm not writing posts on here you'll know what I'm doing. When I'm not blogging I actually really miss it alot, I have a couple of ideas jotted down in my notebook. Let's just say I'm not short on topics I want to discuss in the coming weeks. Today's post is going to be my January Empties, I didn't do one last month as I hardly had anything to show you guys. Surprisingly I only finished one product during December so I didn't think there was really any point on doing a post centred around one empty. It just wouldn't make sense at all but this time around is different as I have quite a few products.

I'm going to start off with the haircare and shower bits that I finished up this month. I feel like I fly through shower gels regularly. I can't take full credit because if I leave it in my shower someone else is bound to use it. Not going to lie it drives me mad, looking for my favourite shower gel and finding it half empty. My shower gel empties this month are from Lush and Bath &Body Works. The latter is a Secret Wonderland travel mini that Chie sent me over in one of our swaps. I adore the light floral fruity scent and I'd definitely repurchase this if we had a Bath & Body Works store here in Ireland. The travel minis are the perfect size for the gym and travelling, I actually got a lot of use out of this small bottle. The other shower gel I used up is Lush's Snow Fairy. I bought this ginormous bottle before Christmas and I can't get enough of this scent. My Mom loves it too as it's  nice, sweet and of course pink! It's definitely one of my favourites from their range of shower gels available. Unfortunately this is a limited edition scent that  is only released at Christmas time and I didn't stock up on it this year. I have one or two minis that will last me a month or two at the most. When I finish them off I'll have to wait til the end of the year to pick them up again. The haircare duo I finished this month is from Ojon. This is a one of those brand that I'd heard a lot about but never tried myself. Last year they had a one day Trade In event in their stockists where if you brought in a empty shampoo bottle they gave you the Damage Reverse Shampoo and Conditioner. This was a deal that I'm glad I took advantage of as I really enjoyed using these two products.  I have quite damaged hair after years of straightening it. I've laid off using heat styling tools on my hair in favour of the natural look but the damage had already been done. After using this for a while I did see a big different in the condition of my hair, it seems a lot more nourished and glossier. I can see myself buy these again in the future when I finish some of the haircare products I already have. I know Ojon products can be expensive but I feel if you find a range that works you may as well splash out on it a little. I've seen quite a few amazing reviews on their Rare Blend Oil, I'm really tempted to give it a try too. Hair Oils are being talked about all over the blogosphere lately so I'm hoping to find a good one for my locks, if you have any suggestions let me know.

I finished numerous makeup products this month which usually never happens. My favourite out of the bunch is Rimmel's Stay Matte powder in Transparent. I've lost count of how many of these I've gone through. There super affordable and keeps shine at bay which is exactly what I look for in a face powder. A foundation that has made it into a couple of my monthly favourites posts is Urban Decay's Naked Skin (2.0). I love this stuff, it a nice light formula that's quite buildable. I used my Real Techniques buffing brush to apply this and it leaves my skin looking flawless. I can see myself repurchasing this again, it was a bit on the pricey side but it did last for ages so I can't complain. Another product that was influenced by other bloggers' reviews is Bobbi Brown's Corrector. I bought this and the creamy concealer as a birthday gift with a Brown Thomas gift card I received last February. I got the shade Light Bisque which the ideal match for my skintone. It's the perfect size for my makeup bag, has a small mirror in the lid and it's great for hiding those pesky dark circles I get under my eyes. How I wish I got more sleep! I do like this product but I want to try the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot. I've wanted to purchase this for a while but never got around to it and it's that little bit pricey. Seeing as February is my birthday month who knows I may treat myself. I want to use up the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit first though. A primer that I used up is Too Faced Primed & Poreless. I've had this for ages and bought it after I finished a sample size from a Too Faced gift set. It does remind me of Benefit's Porefessional which I also got on with well but both are on expensive. Since I finishing up my Primed & Poreless, I've started using Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch primer which I love. Again this comes in at the €26 mark but one tube of this has been lasting me ages and I'm extremely happy with it. Next up I have a Kiehl's #1 lip balm. I love these a lot and I find they work great on my super dry lips during this time of year. I already repurchased three in a cute tin before Christmas as I knew I was running out. This particular scent reminds me of holidays as it smells like coconuts. If the scents aren't your thing you can buy the original version which is scentless. There's also a tinted version available which would be perfect for those days when your not in the mood for lipsticks. I always throw one of mine in my bag for if I need them on the go.

Lastly I have some skincare empties. Liz Earle came out with this special edition Cleanse & Polish *last year in aid of the Prince's Trust. A young entrepreneur Rebecca Taylor put a twist on the original version and added rose and lavendar essential oils to the mix. The end product was a success and I myself loved it. I used this to remove my makeup at night as I found the scent really relaxing. The packaging is also gorgeous, it was a nice change to the duck egg green packaging. I'm going to keep this on my new desk which I'm getting for my birthday in a few weeks as I think it looks so pretty. £2 from each Cleanse & Polish sold went to the Prince's Trust work with young people. It was nice to know you were making a difference in someone elses life when you purchased this product. From what I know of this isn't available anymore but hopefully Liz Earle may do a campaign like this again in the future. I've never been too fond of MAC's skincare, I used it before I started blogging over two years ago and I never really got on with it. When they brought out their travel sizes a while back, I decided to give their Cleanse Off Oil and Fix+ a go. They weren't too pricey and I knew they'd be great for travelling. I used Fix+ none stop and even bought a full sized bottle. However I quickly forgot about the Cleanse Off Oil until last month. This removes every last trace of my eye makeup amazingly well and I absolutely loved the stuff. This small bottle did last me a good while but I have a feeling I'll purchase the full sized product the next time I'm at MAC. I'm just not too sure how much it is but I'm guessing roughly under the €20 mark I hope. Last but not least I used up all my Beauty Fixation Makeup Removers. This box contains 24 applicatiors which are basically cotton buds that have makeup remover in them. You snap the end with the blue line on it which releases the formula inside the tube. I thought these were really great if I made a mistake with a particular eye look for a night out. I didn't have to wreck the whole look using a cotton pad soaked with makeup remover. Saying that I think these cost around €8 and think you could just buy cotton buds and soak them in some eye makeup remover to get the same results. It may take a little bit longer but it would indeed be a much cheaper alternative.

Do you do monthly empties on your blog?

Laura<3