Empties #1: September 2013

My first empties post! I had a little weird sense of happiness as I wrote this; there’s just something great about completing a product, or dumping something out. A quick little overview below on everything that I have used up; I think this should serve as a nice reminder for myself of what I have loved, and what I didn’t, when I have to replenish my beauty stock.

1. Sally Hansen Moisturizing Fast & Gentle Polish Remover
I really do generally like Sally Hansen’s polish removers – I find that they remove polish effectively without really drying my hands.

2. Gillette Satin Care Dry Skin
3. Lactacyd Pro Balance Daily Feminine Wash
A couple of ladies products that I am sure nobody wants to read about. Or rather, I really don’t have that much thoughts on them.

4. Lush Coco Lotion Hand & Body Lotion
An overpriced body lotion; at 225g, this is a reasonably large bottle but as the expiry date was really short, I couldn’t finish it on time before it turned into a weird sour milk smelling gunk. It doesn’t have added fragrance, but does have a light natural scent that I cannot describe. It does quite a good job at moisturizing my really dry legs but at its price, I expect better and will not repurchase it. Thank goodness I got this in a sale for half price.

5. Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme Makeup in 250 Medium Beige
One of my favourite foundations! It looks really natural on and has medium coverage; I don’t really need concealer except for really bad skin days. The downside is that I can feel it sitting on my skin, and it can sometimes feel a little too much under Singapore heat – and I have very dry skin so I can’t imagine what it’s like for oily skin! I am also not particularly a fan of the packaging. But, I still love how beautiful this makes my skin looks!

6. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Plus
Favourite powder! I have tons of powders but I find myself reaching back to this whenever I have a major event that I have to look flawless for. It never looks cake-y on my skin and sets my makeup beautifully. I have already bought a new one because I just don’t feel safe without it.

7. Manicare Cosmetica Powder Brush
In my over-200 count of makeup brushes, I have to say that this is the worst brush I have ever bought. It’s very scratchy, the hair never stops falling out, and the last straw came when the handle broke! I have other Manicare brushes, but the Cosmetica line is the worst. Will not purchase another.

8. Supernail nail polish thinner
9. Ichikami Hair Treatment
The supernail nail polish thinner was rather forgettable – somehow it managed to evaporate even though the cap was tightly screwed on, and I have barely used it a couple of times. The hair treatment was pretty good – I managed to get about 3 uses out of the sample size and my hair did feel really soft after each use; would probably purchase the full size to test it out further when I finish up my hoard of hair products.

10. Sulwhasoo Essential Firming Cream
A rather thick cream that I slather on at night; despite its texture it sinks in rather quickly. I do like it and am quite obsessed with the signature ginseng smell of Sulwhasoo’s products. Not sure if I would repurchase this but I will definitely be checking out more of Sulwhasoo’s products!

11. Bioderma Photoderm Spot SPF 50+
A pretty good sunscreen in my opinion; I love that it has SPF50 and it doesn’t clog my pores. It does feel a little thick and sticky on application, but my dry skin soaks it all up within a couple of minutes.

12. Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Gold Ultra Restorative Capsules
My most loved serum/oil! I use this like a moisturising oil at night in place of a cream about once a week and I always wake up to freshly plumped skin with a beautiful glow. It is pretty expensive, but I have an endless supply of samples courtesy of Mum who is also obsessed with this; she buys the full size and asks for lots of samples for me. If my supply ever ends, I would gladly pay full price for it.

13. Bobbi Brown Extreme Party Mascara
I got this as part of a box set gifted by the bf. I’m not a big fan of this; I have a lot of rather long and dark lashes, and this doesn’t do anything for them. I wouldn’t call this “extreme” anything, but it’s ok for an everyday natural look. Definitely not for an extreme party. Won’t repurchase.

I’m kind of in shock at this moment that I have managed to use up 13 products! Okay, I didn’t really use them all up in 1 month – I have tons of products that had only little remnants left in them and I just decided to start clearing them out. Have you used up any items this month too?

Midweek Peek #1: Cleansing on Holiday

I love holidays; I think everybody needs a holiday once in a while to relax, recharge and have a good look at something different. But holidays also often play havoc on my skin because I’m usually more bothered about convenience than packing proper products for my skin. Cleansing on previous trips meant a pack of cleansing wipes and that’s it, leaving me with clogged pores and breakouts, as well as dull skin, even after what should have been a good rest.

I just came back from a 20-days holiday from Italy and this time, I made it a point to actually pack proper skincare products, particularly because it was such a long trip and my skin would not have survived 20 days just on cleansing wipes.

A quick midweek peek into some products that I brought! I ran out of cotton pads mid trip and had to pick up some from the local stores.

To remove my makeup, I start off with the Silkygirl Gentle Eye & Lip Makeup Remover; I had a small sample bottle which amazingly lasted me the whole trip and did a great job at getting rid of waterproof eye makeup – I was really pleasantly surprised. I did bring along a pack of Garnier Gentle Facial Cleansing Wipes (not pictured) for a quick all-over wipe to remove most of the gunk on my face, followed up by the Bifesta Sebum Cleansing Lotion to make sure there were no residual makeup hiding in any pores.

For daily face wash, I had a Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Purifying Cream Cleanser; I should have brought a cleanser that I have tried and tested but I was too lazy to bring my usual huge tub; this was utterly useless for removing makeup and does not lather up, but I did like that it does not make my skin feel tight. After that, I follow up with either the Sulwhasoo Essential Balancing Water or the Belif Bergamot Herbal Extract Toner; I’ve only just started to use toner (*shock, horror) so I’m not really fussy about it.

And there you go, some midweek peeks into what I’ve been using on holiday! When I came back, I thought that my skin was so good – perhaps even than before I left! Are you guilty of only using cleansing wipes on holidays too?

About Me

Part time nerd, full time beauty hoarder.

On the wrong side of 20s, have way too much make up for one face, taken too many exams for my own good, and own far too many books. I live in the perpetually humid and sunny Singapore most of my life; sometimes I miss the days when I wasn’t, but when I am away I miss the food back here. I count for a living, but somehow fail to keep track of my beauty expenses. I don’t take things too seriously, because I think being happy and true to yourself is the the most important thing in life.

For reference, I have dark brown eyes and naturally reddish dark brown hair of huge volume and thickness. I have very dry skin with occasional hormonal breakouts, but otherwise not acne-prone. I have an illness that renders me highly sensitive to sunlight and frequently causes a inflamed angry rash on my cheeks. My skin tone is light to medium, NC30-35 in MAC foundations and 52-53 in Bourjois foundations.

I’m starting this blog because I own too many things, and have too much to say about them. Join me on my crazy little journey. 🙂