Now that my exams are over, I have to start thinking about packing up my room and heading back to London. I have already arranged to have two suitcases checked in, so I have a fair bit of room, but I still need to be brutal when I'm packing my suitcases over the next few weeks. Whilst sorting through my stash, these were the products that kind of fell into the
'maybe/not coming with me' pile, so I have set myself a mission; to use or to lose. It's simple really, as none of these are guaranteed a spot in my suitcase, I'm going to use as much of them up as I can, and if I change my mind about them, then great, they can come, but if I decide that I was right about them, to the rubbish bin they will go. So, let's take a look at the products that have found themselves on the chopping board...
Sephora Waterproof Makeup Remover:
I'm really not a fan of this - it's super oily, stings my eyes and just generally doesn't do as good of a job as my beloved
Camomile Waterproof Makeup Remover from The Body Shop. I'm going to try and use as much of it up as I can, but I will be binning what's left when I leave.
Balance Me Radiance Face Oil:
There's nothing wrong with this at all, but I just prefer other oils that I have. I feel bad throwing it away because it honestly is quite nice, so this might be one that I will sneak into my luggage if I have space, and then perhaps give it to one of my friends or family.
Balance Me Super Moisturising Hand Cream:
For me, this is a pretty average hand cream - it smells nice and it's fairly moisturising, but I find that it takes far too long to sink in and can leave that
'sticky' feeling. I only really use this before I go to bed because it takes that bit longer to sink in - so it's on my bedside table at the moment - but it isn't something I would go back to.
Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream:
I wasn't really sure about this new 'miracle' cream, as many of the other creams in the past that have claimed to do the same thing have always disappointed. However, the other night I had a sneaky bit of eczema develop, and in the mentality of
'use or lose', I slapped some of this on before I hit the hay. Lo and behold, when I woke up the next morning it had practically disappeared! I have never been so impressed with a multi-purpose cream, and I plan to purchase the full size back in the UK next time I have a pesky skin problem.
Boots Vitamin E Night Cream:
I had high hopes for this cream living up to the lovely
Body Shop Vitamin E range, but unfortunately I've been sorely disappointed. Apart from the lovely clean smell of vitamin E products in general, the two don't share any other similarities. This cream
- despite being intended for nighttime use - is barely nourishing enough to be used during the day. I'm using it for now as I've run out of my daytime moisturiser, but it certainly hasn't won a spot in my suitcase home.
Boots Vitamin E Eye Cream:
I don't know if it's just me, but I just don't get eye creams. Trust me, I've tried and tried to like them, but they just never show any results worthwhile enough to add that step permanently to my skincare regime. I actually find them a bit annoying - I find that if I apply them before bed, they can make my eyes water and then they end up actually getting in my eyes. As with the Boots night cream, this isn't anything special in general, so it's a no-go for me.
Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Stick:
Despite having super dry skin, I find that this leaves me a gross, oily mess. I've never experienced this before, and after hearing people say how well they've got along with it, I'm very disappointed. Needless to say, this has already lost and has found a new home in the bin.
Dr Lipp Nipple Balm for Lips:
I do not understand the hype around this one bit - as far as I'm concerned, it's ridiculously overpriced
Vaseline. It feels like Vaseline, it smells like Vaseline, and it gives the same effect as Vaseline. Why people pay over £10 for this is beyond me - I would only really turn to this if I needed a balm and had no other options. Lucky I got this in a beauty box and didn't pay for a full-sized tube, eh?
Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish:
This cult favourite is good, don't be mistaken, but it's never really been at the top of my list. It does the job perfectly well, but I just prefer other cleansers to this, hence why it's still around. I'm going to definitely try and use this up, as to me throwing it away would be a waste of a good product.
The Body Shop Vitamin E Sink-In Moisture Mask:
This is something I definitely am going to use, it's just something I haven't gotten around to using yet. I find these sachets all a bit annoying and fiddly, but it will be used up before my flight because I love
The Body Shop Vitamin E range, incase you hadn't figured that out!
Philip Kingsley One More Day Dry Shampoo:
I haven't really heard any rave reviews about this one, and I don't really use dry shampoo, so I doubt I'll get much use out of this. I'll have to give it a go before I leave to make sure that it isn't really a hidden gem, but I doubt it'll be coming back to London with me as I'm already quite loyal to my
Dove one.
This is only the first of this series as I want to give my beauty stash a huuge clear out when I'm back at uni in the UK. However, next time 'lose' will be split into either headed for the rubbish bin, or selling/giving away. Look out for 'Use or Lose #2' in the next month or two...!
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