Empties Vol. 2- Rituals, The Body Shop, Lumene, Trader Joe's

I don't know why I do this to myself. I have these ideas of grandeur, of treating my content as investigative journalism, when it's only beauty musings and nothing at all serious. Because I don't receive or purchase vast quantities of product, in order for me to form and opinion and compare an appropriate amount of products, it takes a long time, years, to go through them, by which time I'm overwhelmed. I wish I could just buy something, comment on it and move on, but oh no, I collect trash for over a year and THEN possibly write about it.

It frustrates me when I have empty tins and bottles laying around, and also, when there's something I'm still using that's so close to being empty, so close, and feel anxious about waiting for it to be gone to include it in my stupid empties. But no, not this time. I'm going to share with you products I've used up, some of them a very long time ago, and will try to not care, that next week, there might be another bottle empty, that would have fit into this lineup.

As if my first empties didn't teach me anything, primarily, that stockpiling trash is not the wisest behaviour, I again have a large bag full of empty beauty stuff, that I should have gotten rid of ages ago. In order to not cry and pretend this pile doesn't exist, I've split the contents into a few categories. Today, I'll talk about body care etc.

The reason I've put off writing about these things is that nothing here is neither terrible nor great, everything is okay. My logic was to keep trying similar products until I came up with something I did love so that I could recommend that in place of these, but it hasn't really happened, and it might not for anther year, but holding on to this stuff any longer is ridiculous.

I had been using The Body Shop scrubs and body butters for years and while I like the formulas, I don't have a scent that I really like, they all smell a bit artificial and strong to me. Around a year and a half ago I started noticing the brand Rituals, which has a higher price point, but really nice looking packaging and an overall pleasing aesthetic. First, I tried the Sakura Scrub and Foaming Shower Oil (same idea as the L'Occitane one). I quite enjoyed the scent at the store, but in practice, the more I smelled it, the less I liked it. There are notes that for some reason just feel too intrusive. To me the Sakura line smells exactly like a Japanese soft drink with bits of aloe in it. I also tried the Tao Wai Wang and Himalaya scrubs. They have more scents but most of the ones I haven't tried were ones that I could tell immediately I wouldn't like (they were too reminiscent of the inside of a crystal and yoga shop).

I hadn't tried oil, sugar and salt based scrubs before Rituals, and I was quite excited about potentially finding something more natural to have in rotation, but actually, the scrub I liked the best, was one that had none of the above, the Tao Wai Wang. I felt like the sugar and salt melted immediately upon application and did little to nothing to exfoliate my skin. I didn't like the oil medium because it left a residue and I felt like whatever dead skin did come off, would stick to the oily film on my skin and not wash off. My favourite scent was the Himalaya, it was truly like a spa experience, invigorating and relaxing, however, if you, like me, shave in the shower or have any micro cuts on your skin, using a salt scrub in excruciating! The Wai Wang is a creamy formula with ground scubby bits, which works really well to exfoliate and washes off nicely. The scent however is meh.

I also tried Rituals' mini room fragrances, in Spring Garden, Lotus Secret and Under a Fig Tree. The last one, though empty, is still in my bathroom, keeping up appearances. The fig is an interesting, more masculine scent (it also comes in a brown bottle unlike the other two). My overall favourite would probably be the fresh smelling Spring Garden. Lotus Secret smells exactly like the Wai Wang scrub, I neither like nor dislike it, which means I just don't particularly care for white lotus.

I like these little room scents, I like the look and attention to detail they add to a space, but they're quite expensive for how quickly they run out. It's a water and alcohol based formula, and they claim one will last for 2 weeks. You can stretch it to 3-4 weeks by neglecting to flip the skewers over, but if you want that intense fragrance, I actually think you would run out in 7-10 days. The fragrances themselves are nicely curated, they're complex and not overpowering. I'm sensitive to scent and none of these gave me a headache. I will however be taking a break from purchasing these, mostly for budget reasons. I've kept the bottles and will try to experiment with making my own for now.

I haven't really fallen in love with anything I've tried from Rituals, but I like their aesthetic enough to keep trying their line here and there.

A while ago The Body Shop came out with their Spa Of The World collection, and I tried the Dead Sea Salt Scrub and the Camellia Body Butter. These were the nicest Body Shop jars I've ever had, really lovely packaging. I LOVE the scent of the scrub, it's so beautiful, but I have the same problem with the formula as I did with the scrubs from Rituals. It didn't feel exfoliating and the oily film left of the skin just feels really uncomfortable to me. I have the opposite opinion of the Camellia Body Butter. Immediately, it feels like any other Body Shop body butter, but it absorbs very quickly and leaves next to no residue, I really enjoyed that, but the scent, while nice when I tried it in store, was so much stronger in reality. I couldn't sleep after applying this before bed, because the smell was so disturbingly strong. So, while the formula was nice, the headaches and insomnia were not. I wouldn't reach for either of these again any time soon.

Then I tried the Lumene Arctic Spa Body Butter, which was just okay. I can't recall what fragrance it had, if any. All I can tell you is that it was average in terms of moisturizing, the lid would twist on in a very flimsy manner, feeling quite cheap, while the product, for 100ml, was quite the opposite of cheap. If it cost around or under 5€, I might recommend it for travel, as it fits the limit nicely, and it's about enough product to last you two weeks, so think holiday. Otherwise, no, would not recommend.

And finally, whilst in the US a few months back, I picked up Trader Joe's Coconut Body Butter. Typically a body moisturizer will last me around a month, so if I'm traveling for more than a week, I'll definitely need more than the hand luggage 100ml allowance will last me. I'd heard about Trader Joe's body butters on YouTube quite a bit. As it happened, there was a Trader Joe's a block away from my hotel in New York, so that was literally my first destination after checking in. I really like the packaging, the way the lid flips open, so you needn't fuss about with greasy fingers trying to close it when you're done. It's a nice formula, nothing amazing, and the scent is like sweet yoghurt, it doesn't smell of coconut to me. I'd definitely buy it again when in the US. It's a great price point for what it is, and if you go through body moisturizers as quickly as I do, you'll appreciate a product that works and doesn't cost an arm and a leg to replenish.

So that about rounds up this post. There will be more empties/mini review categories to come, albeit probably not before 2017, but I do promise to make an effort and not drag old trash into the new year. Hope your holidays were peaceful, and let's hope the new year will be kinder.

XO-Or.