April empties - Origins, L'Occitane, Saaf, Korres, The Bath House, The Body Shop

Body Shop massage oil – I wanted to like this, but I was disappointed. It sounded promising and exotic, but it smells too much of ginger. It might as well be called Ginger massage oil. I would not repurchase as there are other oils in the range.

Saaf face oil serum – love a facial oil. My face is dry and needs hydrating throughout the year. Have already repurchased. I’m very interested in this range of products. 

L’Occitane Jasmine and Green Tea soap 100g – love this and I’ve already repurchased, it looks like it’s discontinued but it sometimes crops up during sales so I stock up whenever I see it.

Origins Night-A-Mins 30ml sample – I've been using silicone-free products lately so this feels way too silicone-y for me and I didn’t really notice much difference after regular use either. I wouldn't repurchase. 

L’Occitane Verbena shower gel 500ml – this massive body wash came as part of a gift set of Verbena products from L’Occitane. I love the authentic fresh fragrance of this body wash, but don’t love the drying sulfates, would repurchase only if L’Occitane ever decide to reformulate to remove the SLES.

L’Occitane Mango flower hand cream 30ml – this is one of the really thick formulations that I prefer to use in cooler weather (the summer ones have more of a gel consistency). I’m not crazy about the fragrance. I have other hand creams in the stash.

Korres Guava Lip Butter – I really like this. I don’t wear this during the day as this guava one turns your lips white, but I use it each night as an overnight treatment. I used to wake up with parched lips each morning and the first thing I’d reach for would be a lip balm, but this works at keeping the lips hydrated. I’m not keen on the ingredients though, looks like there’s nothing but a bunch of plastic in there. I have the Pomegranate one to try next.

Pretty Perfect Orange Blossom shower gel – a sulfate-free body wash bought on clearance from TKMaxx. Great scent, quite unisex with sandalwood. Would repurchase, but I believe this is discontinued. The Bath House offer several other fragrances.

Pretty Perfect Delicious Orange Flower Body Wash from The Bath House review

Pretty Perfect Delicious Orange Flower Body Wash 260ml - a body wash picked up at TKMaxx. This satisfyingly thick gel is sulfate-free and scented with orange blossom, sandalwood, lily, neroli, tuberose, amber and vanilla. This fragrance is discontinued, but The Bath House offers several other fragrances.

Here's a list of the ingredients:

Aqua, Sodium Cocamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Lauryl Glucoside, Coco-glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Glycerin, Parfum, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Olea Europaea Leaf Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum Peel Extract, Vitis Videra Leaf Extract, Thymus Vulgaris Leaf Extract, Foeniculum Vulgare Seed Extract, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Asorbic Acid, Limonene, Linalool, Hexyl Cinnamal, Alpha-isomethyl Ionone, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol.

February empties - L'Occitane, Weleda, Neal's Yard Remedies, Origins, Naked Bodycare

Take Care Naked Sensitive Skin Bodycare Orange Blossom 250ml body wash – I have a ton of these. This has always been my favourite frangrance of all the Naked body washes, it has not “parfum” or artificial fragrance, just the natural fragrance of neroli essential oil which is one of the most uplifting fragrances and has long been a favourite for both men and women. I guess means that they’ll probably pop up each month in my empties for the rest of the year. And maybe the next…

Weleda Rosemary and Ginger conditioner 250ml– I really liked this, a good silicone free conditioner which I'd buy again but I think Weleda have reformulated and no longer make this.

Phytorelax Lavander Body Lotion 500ml – I picked this up at the TKMaxx clearance shelf for £1. It’s not the most natural product (you can’t see the ingredients on the back label as they’ve been rubbed off with oily hands) but at least it doesn’t have any silicone. I really liked using this at night time as the lavender helps lull me to sleep.

Naked Bodycare Star Flower 250ml body wash – I don’t like it as much as the Orange Blossom, but this is still a good sulphate free body wash which doesn’t dry me out. Plus, I have the body butter to match. I think it’s the patchouli essential oil in here which I’m not a fan of. I have a couple more in the stash as I pick these up whenever they go on offer at Boots and I want to use up my points.

Neal’s Yard Remedies Almond Moisturiser 50ml – this was a good basic day cream, a silicone-free basic moisturiser This is one of NYR’s least expensive creams at £18.75 for 50ml.

Naked Bodycare Star Flower body butter 300ml– found this in one of those bargain beauty shops you can find in shopping centres, it was £1 so I bought three. Not my favourite scent, but satisfyingly thick and just what my dry husk of a body needs in winter.

Origins Checks and Balances face wash – this is a GWP 30ml sample.  Already repurchased as I’ve bought the full size.

Origins Drink Up Intensive overnight mask – another GWP 30ml sample from Origins. Already repurchased. Twice. They had a great GWP offer that week. Don’t judge.

L’Occitane Almond shower oil 2 x 35ml. Love this, but don't love the ingredients. I've purchased the full size 250ml bottle as well as the 500ml refill. I had a voucher. Again, don't judge.

Take Care Naked Bodycare Orange Blossom sensitive skin body wash review

Naked Bodycare Orange Blossom body wash – I have a ton of these. This has always been my favourite frangrance of all the Naked body washes, it has no “parfum” or artificial fragrance, just the natural fragrance of neroli essential oil which is one of the most uplifting fragrances and has long been a favourite for both men and women. 

I wasn’t seeing it stocked at my local Boots, but when I checked if it was still available on the Naked website a few months ago, it was on offer at £1. Since I figured that they had discontinued the fragrance and they offer free delivery when you spend £20, I ended up buying twenty of these. That’s right, twenty! Turns out they were just clearing stock as they had slightly changed the top of plastic bottles and they’re still offering the Orange Blossom through the website so I needn’t have hoarded like a shelf-clearing extreme couponer. 

"This gentle foaming body wash helps sooth sensitive souls with delicate skin. Neroli oil from orange blossom is known to be calming and soothing for dry and irritated skin and this bodywash is great for all the family to use. "


The 250ml plastic bottle usually retails for around £3.99 and has a lid which is seperated in two so you press down one side and the other side pops up to release the gel. Here are the ingredients:

Aqua, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, Sodium cocoamphoacetate, Coco glucoside, Glyceryl oleate, Chamomilla recutita extract, Citrus aurantium amara (Neroli) oil, Aloe barbadensis extract, Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, Citric acid, Glycerin, Potassium sorbate, Sodium benzoate.

Mäurer & Wirtz's 4711 Eau de Cologne review

4711 is a traditional German Eau de Cologne by Mäurer & Wirtz dating from 1799. This is the original aromatic cologne which inspired Acqua di Parma, Roger et Gallet's Jean Marina Farina and, more recently, Tom Ford's Portofino.

"The precious ingredients are carefully harmonised. Bergamot, lemon, and orange provide a uniquely revitalising effect. Lavender and rosemary have a calming and relaxing effect, strengthening the nerves. Neroli, extracted from the blossom of the bitter orange, has a calming effect in the base note, creating a positive mood."

The only way I could love the original 4711 cologne any more is if it lasted more than twenty minutes on my skin. It’s inexpensive sure, this 50ml bottle cost me about £5, but having to reapply throughout the day means you get through a bottle quickly. I splash it on my hair and around the neck of my t-shirt to help the fragrance last. I used to only wear this in the summer, but this year I’ve been using it in the cooler weather too and it’s equally as gorgeous. Always have this EDC on hand, recommended.