If you're a fan of Beauty Youtubers, you know what "Beauty Empties" means. Basically youtubers will go through all the empty products they've used up in X amount of time and give a mini review of them. I like watching these as I think it's a good indicator of what people actually use (because they test so many products!). However I thought I'd put my little eco friendly spin to the concept...
Since I started this blog I've been slowly trying to use up products to eventually replace them with better alternatives, as I think dumping and replacing everything all at once is a ton of waste (and would cost a fortune). I've been keeping my empty bottles and packaging to go through them all here. The idea is that for each product, I will have a look at the ingredient and point out the ones you should be concerned about or if the product is safe for you and the environment. I have have a personal list of big ingredient no-nos that you can find here, but there's even more to watch out for. After that, I want to examine the packaging of the product, because I'd like to go for sustainable alternatives as much as possible. And in the end, would I repurchase them? That will be my small review part.
Again, I just want to specify that these were products I was using BEFORE I switched to a sustainable lifestyle, and the amount of toxic ingredients and plastic packaging involved is pretty disheartening.
Disclaimer : Some of the links below are affiliate links, you can click here to read my whole policy and what it means. I'd also like to mention that these are my personal opinions and experiences with the products listed. If I didn't like a product it doesn't mean that I don't like the brand, far from it! If one of your favourite products didn't work for me, don't take it personally! In fact if you have advice on ways to make it work, I'd love to hear it.
YESTO - CARROTS DAILY FACIAL MOISTURIZER - £7.95
INGREDIENTS : I don't see any problems with the ingredients of this! PACKAGING : The bottle is made of plastic with no identification number, and no recycling instructions are written on the packaging. No good at all for a natural brand. WOULD I REPURCHASE : I have a full review of this product here, but spoiler alert, NO. It didn't work for my skin at all, and since that one is not empty, I will try and find someone to pass this along to!
L'OCCITANE - ALMOND MILK CONCENTRATE - £42.00
INGREDIENTS : Chlorphenesin and SLS. PACKAGING : I only had the small sample size so I can't really say much about that. It has no specific recycling indications. WOULD I REPURCHASE : No because of the ingredients! It did feel nice on the skin though so I will keep the Almond Milk idea in mind!
CLINIQUE - PEP START EYE CREAM - £19.75
INGREDIENTS : PEG ingredients. PACKAGING : The small tube has no indication about recycling or the environment, which is quite sad. WOULD I REPURCHASE : Yeah, I did like this product! I will however keep trying better eco friendly options before I do.
YES TO - BLUEBERRIES AGE RFRESH EYE FIRMING TREATMENT - £15.29
INGREDIENTS : All the ingredients in here seem good and legit! PACKAGING : The bottle is made of plastic with no identification number, and no recycling instructions are written on the packaging... WOULD I REPURCHASE : I have a full review of this product here, but spoiler alert, NO. It didn't work for my skin at all, and since that one is not empty, I will try and find someone to pass this along to!
FRESH - ROSE DEEP HYDRATION FACE SERUM - £41.25
INGREDIENTS : PEGS, Tetrasodium EDTA, Laureth-7 and BHT. I was so badly surprised when I started researching the ingredients of the Fresh products I have... PACKAGING : No recycling prompt and no plastic identification code, I'm not impressed. WOULD I REPURCHASE : I loved using this product but now that I know what's in it, I will not buy it anymore.
SUNDAY RILEY - TIDAL BRIGHTENING ENZYME WATER CREAM - £92.99
INGREDIENTS : It was all good until I saw the last ingredient....Chlorphenesin. It's on my personal list of no-nos. PACKAGING : It comes in a plastic tub with no identification number and no recycling indications, pretty bad! WOULD I REPURCHASE : This has to be the most expensive beauty product I ever bought, and it did last a while. I enjoyed using it but it did nothing miraculous and I prefer to move on to something with better ingredients!
L'ORÉAL - ELNETT SUPREME HOLD HAIRSPRAY - £5.00
INGREDIENTS : PEGs, the rest is actually not that bad from what I understand. PACKAGING : Recyclable aluminum can! WOULD I REPURCHASE : I know a lot of people love this but.... IT SMELLS LIKE BUG REPELLENT. There. I said it. I really can't stand the smell of this and would rather pass on the hairspray than use it.
HERBAL ESSENCES - UPLIFTING VOLUME DRY SHAMPOO - £4.58
INGREDIENTS : All the classic aerosol bad ingredients. PACKAGING : Nothing is specified but it's a metal can so it should be recyclable easily. WOULD I REPURCHASE : This is my favourite aerosol dry shampoo so I might, but I've been testing and going towards regular powder options that are better for the planet.
TRESEMMÉ - TOUCHABLE FINISH ULTIMATE HOLD - £7.88
INGREDIENTS : PEGs and the regular aerosol bad things, the rest is decent. It does have a scary "Solvent abuse can kill instantly" message that's a bit scary. PACKAGING : Made of a recyclable steel can ! WOULD I REPURCHASE : I like this hairspray but I will keep going in my quest to find a more eco friendly alternative! I don't have anything bad to say about this one though.
BOURJOIS - HEALTHY BALANCE UNIFYING POWDER - £5.96
INGREDIENTS : This powder contains parabens. PACKAGING : It has no recycling information and no plastic identification code. WOULD I REPURCHASE : It's a good powder but I think there are better options both ingredient and packaging wise!
KEVYN AUCOIN - THE VOLUME MASCARA - £21.00
INGREDIENTS : Parabens... PACKAGING : Nothing on the tube mentions recycling and it has no plastic identification code, that seems to be a trend with mascaras. WOULD I REPURCHASE : This was a good tubing mascara but it didn't wow me, the mascara quest continues...
TARTE - LIGHTS, CAMERA, LASHES! MASCARA - £21.99
INGREDIENTS : Cyclopentasiloxane and Chlorphenesin, which I didn't expect to find because Tarte is a somewhat natural brand! PACKAGING : I only have a deluxe sample so I can't say much about it. It had no recycling indication or plastic code on. WOULD I REPURCHASE : Tarte mascaras make my lashes look amazing but they don't last on me. I'm also not impressed by the ingredients so I'll keep searching for something better.
LIZ EARLE - CLEANSE & POLISH HOT CLOTH CLEANSER
INGREDIENTS : Everything in the list passes my test! PACKAGING : It comes in a well identified PP(5) plastic bottle. I have since switched to the bigger 200ml one to try and reduce the impact as much as I can. WOULD I REPURCHASE : The picture says it all. I will repurchase this product until the end of time. This is the only cleanser I ever found that I can use everyday without breaking out, so it will stay in my collection until I find something better!
NIVEA - PEARL BEAUTY ANTI-PERSPIRANT DEODORANT - £4.94
INGREDIENTS : Let's face it, aerosols are never going to be eco friendly. The rest of the ingredients of this deodorant are not too bad though! It does contain aluminum, but for reasons I will discuss in a later post, I need that in my underarm products. PACKAGING : According to this website, aerosol cans are widely accepted for recycling so that's good news. WOULD I REPURCHASE : I have switched to stick deodorant since then so no. If I was stuck and HAD to purchase an aerosol one though, it would probably be this one!
DOVE - INVISIBLE DRY AEROSOL ANTI-PERSPIRANT DEODORANT - £4.97
INGREDIENTS : All the same aerosol-typical ingredients and BHT which is high on my forbidden list. PACKAGING : Labeled as recyclable aluminium so easily recyclable with other household items. WOULD I REPURCHASE : No, BHT is a deal breaker for me and I've gone to stick deodorants now!
DOVE - NOURISHING CARE SHOWER OIL - £10.00
INGREDIENTS : Sulfates and BHT, that's not great at all. PACKAGING : The sticker label says it's PP(5) plastic but the code on the actual bottle is PETE(1) so it's a bit confusing... both are recyclable though. WOULD I REPURCHASE : I squirted some in my eye by mistake one day and it hurt SO SO MUCH. It contains ingredients I don't want to use so I won't repurchase.
L'OCCITANE - ALMOND SHOWER OIL - £21.00
INGREDIENTS : Contains sulfates and propylene glycol. PACKAGING : Comes in a plastic bottle made from PET(1) plastic so recyclable. WOULD I REPURCHASE : There is definitely a cult following for this oil, which is what prompted me to buy it in the first place. It does smell good, but even if I ignored the not-so-great ingredients, I didn't enjoy it that much. Also after a few weeks it started...clotting and thickening? Which isn't a really nice texture at all!
SANCTUARY SPA - LONG LASTING MOISTURE SHOWER OIL - €9.00
INGREDIENTS : Contains sulfates, PEGs and Propylene Glycol so definitely not the best option out there. PACKAGING : Comes in a plastic bottle made from PETE(1) plastic, so easily recyclable at least. WOULD I REPURCHASE : The consistency and smell were quite nice but no because of the ingredients, there are better options out there. I've also been switching to bar soap anyway.
ORGANIX - COCONUT MILK SHAMPOO - £4.66
INGREDIENTS : PEGs and Tetrasodium EDTA. PACKAGING : The label says to "Reduce Reuse Recycle" and has a "earth friendly" logo on it that doesn't seem to mean much. It comes in a less common HDPE(2) plastic bottle which is recycled where I live but not everywhere! WOULD I REPURCHASE : Since I finished this bottle, I have found better natural options that I'm going to stick to!
ORGANIX - KUKUI OIL CONDITIONER - £6.75
INGREDIENTS : Cyclopentasiloxane. PACKAGING : The label says to "Reduce Reuse Recycle" and has a "earth friendly" logo on it that doesn't seem to mean much. It does come in a PETE(1) plastic bottle which is the most commonly recycled plastic. WOULD I REPURCHASE : This is the conditioner that works the best for me in humidity. However I've been trying to find a better natural alternative and my hair seems to like that, so for now I will keep going the natural way!
KIND NATURED - ARGAN & KUKUI OIL SUPER SHINE CONDITIONER - £4.99
INGREDIENTS : All good to me! PACKAGING : It comes in a plastic tube with the prompt "Please recycle where possible" but I can't find any plastic identification. It would be better if they made it more clear! WOULD I REPURCHASE : Maybe. I bought this one to try to replace the one from Organix and it was quite nice. I did prefer the Bamboo and Sea Kelp one though so that's the one I would repurchase first.
KIND NATURED - BAMBOO & SEA KELP LOVE CURLS CONDITIONER - £4.99
INGREDIENTS : All good to me! PACKAGING : It comes in a plastic tube with the prompt "Please recycle where possible" but I can't find any plastic identification. It would be better if they made it more clear! WOULD I REPURCHASE : YES. Their products are pretty cheap and my hair looked great when I was using this conditioner in particular. I also had a friend stay over for a few days and she told me the same thing about it!
