little white truths

Hello and welcome to my second empties post for the month.

I'm hoping to get three empties posts done this month, but we'll see how that goes because I'm not sure whether I'll have enough products for a third one. I certainly hope I do because I need to keep getting through some of the older items in my collection.

So without further ado...

Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Toner

Full review here. This is my HG budget toner and it's been a favourite since the first time I used it. It doesn't matter how many new toners I try, I always come back to this one and I miss it when it's gone.

It's hard to describe why it's so good, but part of my love for it definitely comes from the refreshing smell: something about it wakes me up and makes me feel cleaner and better. It's also great at gunk removal so it's a good one to use not only all over the face, but also down the neck and dec (where perhaps your cleanser hasn't quite reached). The makeup pad always comes away dirty when I use this so it does the job and it's cheap to boot. Repurchase? Yes.

Alpha-H Liquid Laser Concentrate

This product was sent to me and it's a huge 50ml in size so it took me absolutely ages to get through. Yes that's a good thing - especially with a product that you like - but by the end, I was more than ready to finish it and try something else. I've reviewed it here.

You use this on alternative evenings to Alpha-H's Liquid Gold, and while it does similar things to that product (so it resurfaces, hydrates, brightens and plumps), I reckon Liquid Gold is the better product so I'll probably try something else next time and won't come back to this. Yes it was good, but I'm used to excellence from Alpha-H so if it's not excellent, then I try something else from the range. Repurchase? No.

Full review here. I absolutely loved this night cream and I'm sad I've finished it, although it had lasted me a long time so I'm glad I was able to move it out within its short shelf-life (six months after opening).

It indeed smells like avocado and pear, and it's super rich without being too greasy - plus it applies and melts into the skin so beautifully and feels super cooling and nourishing at the same time. I'll miss it. Happily it's not too expensive and it's even better-priced if you can buy it during one of Priceline's big sales, which is what I did. Repurchase? Yes.

Sukin Micellar Cleansing Water

I didn't like this product much, and the more I used it, the more I disliked it: it was rubbish at makeup removal (being its main job) so I felt I had to really soak the cotton pad and rub harder than I would like in order to get the stuff off my face - and even then it left a lot of gunk behind.

I've reviewed it here. While I do like Sukin as a brand, I don't think they nailed the formula with this product and I've seen plenty of people make the same complaints that I have. Sure the product's cheap and you do get a lot in the bottle, but that doesn't help me if it doesn't work properly. Repurchase? No.

Skinstitut Vitamin C 100%

Full review here. I didn't like this product at all. Not only did it not do all the things that a vitamin c should have done (so brighten the skin, target pigmentation etc) but I also believe it was responsible for causing white patches to appear all over my face - that is, hypopigmentation, being the opposite of hyperpigmentation.

I have seen people rave about this so it must work for some, but for me all it did was occasionally sting my skin when I used it and it never yeilded positive results. Boo. What a waste. Repurchase? No.

Alpha-H Balancing Cleanser

I've used and reviewed this product before (see review here) but I don't remember liking it this much when I've used it in the past. I've tried it a few times before because I often receive little samples in Alpha-H sets or as GWPs, and while I always felt it was ok but didn't do much, this time I really enjoyed it.

It's a cream cleanser that feels hydrating and soothing on my dry skin, and it's gentle while still being effective. It was one of those products that I was going to give away because I've used it before, but I'm so glad I didn't because it's now on my radar and I'd like to try it again. So either Alpha-H has reformulated this or my preferences have changed. Purchase? Yes.

Project Pan empties

As always I'll go through these quickly because I've already talked about them at length via Project Pan and I don't want to bore your socks off.