Empties #19: March 2015 – Part 2

After a very small Part 1 empties blog post earlier, here’s a much bigger Part 2! Most of these are smaller items or mini/travel sizes of skincare, plus a good number of sachets. I also managed to use up a number of makeup items and that makes me really happy – I always finish up skincare but it’s much harder to use up makeup as I love switching them up!

Random Thoughts: A Tale of Sadness, Pride, and A Need to Start Living Fully

This is not a makeup related post.

If you’ve been reading the news, you’d know that the founding father of Singapore – Mr Lee Kuan Yew – died this week. And today was his funeral. For most people, this is not a big deal. Honestly, as a Singaporean, I didn’t even give it much thought before, when he was still alive.

But after he died, a lot of things came to my mind.

Like how lucky I am to be a Singaporean; and I wouldn’t have what I have today if not for him.

Empties #19: March 2015 – Part 1

After the largest empties post last month, this month’s empties post feel a little… empty. I was thinking of doing it in one post, but it’s still quite a bit to run through! Plus life has gotten a little bit busy, and by a little I actually mean a lot, so it’s easier for me to sit down and run through 10 items at a go than to go through over 20 items. I love doing empties post, but they really take a lot of effort.

Unboxing: Bella Box March 2015 – “Fifty Shades of Pink”

It’s unboxing time! It’s another Bella Box and this month’s theme is “Fifty Shades of Pink” – I’m not quite sure why because none of the products are really pink… it was like they were trying to jump on the whole “Fifty Shades” hype but kind of failed. The positive side though was that this month’s box was packed full, totally up to the brim! As usual, these costs S$19.90 per month. Anyway, let’s get cracking on and see what’s in this month’s box!

Unboxing: LookFantastic Beauty Box March 2015

LookFantastic’s Beauty Boxes are now the beauty box that I look forward to the most every month; they’re usually packed with a good mix of skincare and makeup items, spread across a good variety of brands so it’s often both useful and interesting! Let’s see if this month’s box continue to be as good!

Midweek Peek #21: This Week’s Day Time Skincare

Since I just did a Night Time Skincare post last week, I thought I would just follow it up this week with my Day Time Skincare. I have a few similar products for the day as what I use in the night, as I’m trying to stick to the same products and use them up before moving on to others. Also, it’s easier to tell if the products are really effective if I stick to the same products!

Products I’m using this week:
1. Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner to prep the skin
2. It’s Skin Power 10 Formula WH Effector for whitening
3. Primera Watery Cream Alpine Berry to moisturize though I don’t use it everyday
4. Lancome Renergie Yeux to prevent any crows feet
5. Kiko City Filter Suncreen Primer SPF50 for sun protection

I don’t do the moisturising step everyday, as the weather in Singapore too hot and my makeup would slide off with moisturiser under, unless my skin is feeling particularly parched and really need the extra help. But SPF is a must have – I truly believe in using sun protection.

What’s your skincare routine like?

Review: Aesop Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste

I love a good face scrub but a good face scrub is also one of the hardest thing to find, at least for me anyway. Because I am very particular about the size of the granules, the hardness of the granules, the ratio of the cream and the granules. In short, I am a very fussy face scrub buyer. Too hard, and it will be downgraded to a body scrub. Too soft, and I don’t get what the whole point is for.

I picked up this Aesop Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste some time ago after the salesperson practically dragged my arm across the sink and insisted that he tried it on me. I wasn’t even looking for a scrub but 10 minutes and a hand scrub later, I had a scrub in my bag and S$67 poorer.

Midweek Peek #20: This Week’s Night Time Skincare

My skin has been feeling a little on the dry and sensitive side lately, as well as lacklustre, so I’ve been using minimal but highly hydrating products to help it through the night and looking good the next day. I usually try a lot more products simultaneously or pile on multiple serums in a night, but since it’s feeling more sensitive than usual, I’m letting my skin take a break.

Products I’m using this week:
1. Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner to prep the skin
2. It’s Skin Power 10 Formula WH Effector for whitening/brightening
3. OST Vitamin Sleep 9 to 5 Cream to moisturize the skin
4. Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate Oil to really boost skin moisture and lock it all in
5. Lancome Renergie Yeux to prevent any crows feet

I’m still trying to look for more effective products, but so far these works pretty well when my skin is acting up. What about you? What’s on your skincare rotation at the moment?

Unboxing: Bella Box February 2015 – “Fresh Beginnings”

I haven’t gotten a Bella Box in a while, as the ones I’ve gotten had let me down pretty bad. But I’ve been looking out for more beauty boxes that I could get here in Singapore after Memebox closed their doors to international customers, plus recent reviews for Bella Box seems to show some improvement, so I thought I’d give them another try. They cost S$19.90 regularly inclusive of delivery. This month’s box was titled “Fresh Beginnings”, let’s see what’s in this month’s box!

$avvy $undays: The Best Investment that You’ll Ever Make

I had another post planned for today’s Savvy Sundays series, touching on how to make a budget for beginners, since I have been promising that for a while now. But many things have happened over the last week or so for me, and I thought this was a more appropriate topic for my mood today.

I can talk a lot about how to make a budget, how to save money, how to make that last dollar last a little longer. But no matter what you do, I think the best thing you could do monetary wise is to invest in yourself. Because ultimately – you need to earn money to save money, and the way to earn more is to invest in yourself to make yourself better.  The more you can earn, the more you can save.

I just got into a Masters programme in one of the schools at the top of my wish list last week. It’s going to blow a lot of my savings away, a lot of time and a lot of energy. I may have to quit my job for a short while to pursue it. But at the end of it, I think it will be worth it. Plus, I actually enjoy going to school.

I’m not saying that everyone should go back to school, take on more debt to study in order to earn a/another degree. There are many vocations out there that does not require one. What I mean is to invest in Yourself – so that you are better at what you do, what you know, and worth more.

Investing in yourself does not have to be expensive. It could be going on Coursera for free courses, or even spending an hour every evening to read up on something that you don’t understand. I love beauty so I read a lot on makeup and skincare, but I also read a lot of newspapers and on current affairs.

Beyond “investment in real assets” – putting money in savings, or in stocks, or property, I think the truly best investment that you could ever make… is in yourself. Set aside a little time this evening, to read a book, to understand how many people there are in the world, what are the countries that you’ve never heard of. Simple little things that you never bothered to find out.