January Empties

So despite having had my blog for 2 years, I've never done an empties post, but always enjoy reading them - so I thought I'd start a new monthly series of it on my blog. Without further ado, here's what I finished up last month:

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic, £12.50 for 200ml
We'll start with the two most well-talked about products - the first one being the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic, which I reviewed in full after I'd bought it back in August here. This has taken me 5 months to finish, which is good in terms of product longevity but if I'm honest I have switched up my toners a few times between then so I'd say if you used this daily it would really only last 2 or 3 months - but for the price, that's not bad. It's a lovely, fresh (if slightly 'mature') floral scent that helps to calm my redness issues and for that reason it's something that I probably will repurchase when I next make a Liz Earle order. It's not revolutionised my skincare routine by any means but it has its good points! This also makes a great make up cleaner (by that I mean grubby NARS packaging) but then again, so's a cheapy make up wipe or a bit of water!

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Rose and Lavender Hot Cloth Cleanser, £19.75 for 150ml (Limited Edition - Sold Out)
I always feel a bit guilty posting about something that's sold out/limited edition, but less so with this because really it's just a slightly glorified Cleanse & Polish. This is great - nothing wildly different to the original formula bar the smell, and I actually prefer the original - a perfect, gentle everyday cleanser that gets rid of even the heaviest of eye make up. I'll definitely carry on buying Cleanse & Polish, but wouldn't bother with the limited edition when the original is so brilliant (and £7 cheaper).

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Santa Fe, £30.50 for 30ml
My staple foundation for 3 years (in fact it's nearly our anniversary!), I can't say enough positive things about Sheer Glow. Coverage strong enough to cover my awful redness but light enough to look natural and fresh, I've never found a foundation that comes close to this one. My only bugbear with it is that it has no SPF so I tend to use YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat (review here) during the day and save this for evenings - and you don't get any flashback because of said lack of SPF. This must be my eighth or ninth bottle and I've already bought another (and noticed that NARS' prices have gone up - this used to be £29.50)!

OPI Start to Finish - FFF (Formaldehyde-Free Formula), £13.95 for 15ml
This is the only real 'meh' product of my empties this month. The concept of OPI's Start to Finish is that it acts as both a base coat and a top coat, as well as naturally strengthening the nails. They offer this in a simple "Start to Finish" and then a "Start to Finish - Formaldehyde Free Formula", which I think is a bit odd - both are the same price, so why would you not buy the FFF one? Anyway, I digress. This did the job of a base coat perfectly well, but was lacking the shine that I felt a top coat really should. I also didn't think it did that good a job of strengthening my nails - not like OPI's Nail Envy products do, anyway. For those reasons I won't be buying this again; it wasn't bad, I'd just rather use Nail Envy and a specific base and top coat.

Caudalie Vinexpert Night Infusion Cream*, £35.10 for 40ml
I got this back in the summer, so 40ml has lasted a long time! This has quickly become a Holy Grail for me. It's officially part of Caudalie's anti-ageing range Vinexpert, which has their patent ingredient Reservatrol-Oleyl as well as shea butter and is the most beautiful, buttery formula that leaves my skin super smooth and plump in the morning. I honestly couldn't be without this stuff and so have already raided the cupboard at work for another! A full review on this is much-deserved so will be on its way very soon.

L'Occitane Angelica Hydration Cream, sample size, full size £29 for 50ml
I wouldn't normally include a sample in an empties post but because it's such a brilliant product I thought I only should. I've also used up 2 sample pots so feel like I've given it a good road test. This is a gorgeous, fresh-smelling light cream from L'Occitane that contains 'organic Angelica' and is meant to stimulate your skin's 'aquaporines', improve its elasticity and prevent damage from nasty free radicals. Jargon aside it's a lovely everyday cream that works wonders for my dehydrated skin so I will be picking up a full-size of this when I'm next in L'Occitane.

L'Occitane Shea Butter Mango Flower Hand Cream, £8 for 30ml
For me, L'Occitane are the big daddy of hand creams (and anything bodycare for that matter). I got this full-sized hand cream in a magazine - I forget which one - a few months back and have absolutely loved it. It is beautifully scented with mango and a really rich cream, although it sinks in nicely and leaves my hands soft for days. I've already bought another of these to keep in my handbag and can't see my affections for it waning any time soon.

Have you done a January empties post? Like I said I love reading them so leave me your link if you have!