Beauty products used up in March 2014 (empties)

I love April, and not just because it is my birthday month. First of all, there are a tonne of holidays. Secondly, really nice things have happened to me in Aprils past overall. Right, not-so-nice things such as walking into a wasps' nest, peritonitis and emergency surgery, a fractured nose and a bad motorbike accident have also happened just before previous birthdays, so much so that my family always views the first two weeks of the month with trepidation and tells me to watch my step. So here's hoping I - we all - have a hassle-free and superb month (and year) ahead!
Now for the empties from March. As usual, I finished up more skincare than makeup. But unlike February, this time, there were more products I really liked, although there were some serious duds.

Here are the beauty products I used up in March 2014 and my quick thoughts on each.

The Body Shop Lemon Body Butter
I love body butter for the drier bits such as knees, elbows and legs and body lotion for the upper torso. This was a very good body butter but you must have read my post here about The Body Shop, where I specifically mention this particular jar. As a result of my conclusions in that post, I will not be repurchasing TBS body butters and lotions until I find out more.

Nourish Lavender and Vanilla Body Lotion
I had picked this up among a bunch of the most adorable Nourish soaps, all of which have been used up now. This was a thick body lotion which hydrated nicely and smelled amazing. Plus, no parabens! May repurchase once current stock of body lotions runs out.
Gaisie Body Essentials Vanilla Body Scrub
This was from my September SAHSHE box. I loved this scrub. But then I have a whole tub - 300ml - of Soap & Glory Flake Away to finish and I love the latter a bit more. Please click on the pictures to enlarge them and view the ingredients' list.

Lush Jungle Conditioner
Brilliant stuff! This thick, solid conditioner made my hair smell just like sandalwood and gave a healthy shine. I will repurchase once I run through quite a few bottles of conditioner and figure out where the nearest Lush counter is (they all closed down late last year).

Lush Buffy The Backside Slayer
Before you tell me there is a chunk left, I cannot use it - the moment the weather turned warmer, this bar squished up so badly, leaving streaks of product on my back. Yuck! I'm going to have to bin this bit, but this is my second bar and I have used up enough of the stuff to make the skin on my back quite smooth.

Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot, reviewed here
The exterminator of my cystic acne. One bottle was enough from December till date. I have already repurchased this.

I finished up three sample tubes of cleansers in March.

Clinique Liquid Facial Soap
Part of the three-step regimen, this did not work for me at all - it felt rather like menthol on my skin and my sensitive face did not like it one bit. In fact, I attribute the one comedone I got in March (chin, where else?) to this. It felt too harsh, as though my face was being stripped of everything good, and left my skin feeling tight. The three-step routine has never worked for me, and the only thing I like is the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion. Will never repurchase the cleanser.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel
This was gentle enough but did not do anything else either - nothing for my acne or pores. In fact, there was still grease after washing my face.The Effaclar system simply does not work for me and I have a tube of the gel left unwanted. No repurchase.

Ulta Foaming Face Wash
Now this was good! It removed grease and makeup without being too harsh and worked brilliantly with the Konjac Sponge - it did not soapify the sponge and I did not have to wring out the lather. It has SLS but I have read that SLS is drying for the hair and may be used on the body without problems. But I have quite a few face cleansers to finish, so will add to my list of good products that worked (Excel-maniac) instead of repurchasing rightaway.

Sunsense Ultra SPF50 
From a Glamabox. Decent sunscreen. A little too runny but was absorbed quickly and did not leave me feeling sticky. As summer is here now, I can tell you that this worked quite well. I am now using Estee Lauder Sunscreen which I love more, so will not repurchase.

Castalia Helioderm SPF 30
A PR sample from the Greek girls who conned me in the beauty box swap. I did not finish it as the product has separated, but that is because the crimp says "2011" - whether this is manufacture or expiry, it is 2014 now, and probably late. I don't want to get into another harrangue about this or my swapping experience, so I'm moving to the next product.

Brilliant Loveheart Sparkling Powder Facial Kit
From my Wish Box 14. Now this was interesting. Basically, you mix both powders into a large tub of water until they really fizz up and then dunk your face inside, for a deep-pore cleansing facial. All that fizz felt really good on the face, and my face was refreshed and squeaky-clean. I will repurchase from Wish Trend.

Sella Natural Cleansing Bar
This miniature soap bar came in my Memebox. I loved it but it melted off too quickly - I barely got four uses out of it, and normally a mini soap bar lasts me around a week.

Skin Food Gold Kiwi Sun Cream SPF 36
Nothing special, just a sachet of decent sunscreen. Will not repurchase; there are plenty of other options.

Leaders InSolution UV Moist Sun Gel
As above, from Memebox 5. Sticky. Didn't like it.

Skin & Lab fre-C Sun Protector
As above. I actually liked this a little better than the Skin Food one, but will not repurchase.

Mioggi Hex Magic Foremilk Cleansing Powder
Both these sachets came in one of the Glamaboxes and were good for two uses each. You mix the powder with a little water, make a paste and cleanse the face. This was formulated with foremilk itself. I have no idea where they sourced it from. The idea was a bit gross for my face so I used it on my feet. They looked the same as usual. Foremilk. What next?

Physiogel Cleanser
From Memebox 5. I am a huge fan of any cleanser from Stiefel (I love my Brevoxyl Creamy Wash) and really liked this. I will do a detailed review soon.

And finally, I used a sheet mask every 10 days. Here they are:

Beauty Clinic Medi Heal PumpkinAde mask
From Glamabox. The only thing I liked about this mask was the packaging which is cute. Apart from that, the mask itself reeked of something pungent, nothing like pumpkins, and felt sticky/tacky and gross on my face. I removed it without bothering to wait it out, as it also felt heavy, and anything that feels heavy on my face tends to break me out. Awful!

Dermal Bee Venom Collagen Essence Mask
Prince Charles's current wife (yes, I am a second-generation Diana fan. My Mum is from Princess Di's generation and has actually met her, so my sympathies are right there - I hope we leave the Commonwealth if she is crowned queen. Right, no more politics here) loves bee venom treatments to her face. I don't know if the bee venom does her face any favours, but it certainly did not make any difference to mine, for better or for worse. Meh.

It's Skin Aloe Calming Mask
From my Rose Rose Shop Secret Beauty Box. This is for the whole family, despite the picture of the bloke. I liked this mask, it was the most hydrating of the lot and had oodles of serum. If I did not already have my own weight in sheet masks, I would consider repurchasing this.

So those are my empties for March 2014. I suppose I will be showing you the April empties very shortly, given the way time flies. Oh, by the way, I may have begun using some of the larger containers a month or so earlier - these are only the items I finished up in March.
Click here to check out my international giveaway, ending in April.