Empties #22: July 2015 – Part 1

It’s time for July’s empties! O. M. G. This is insane! I probably say this every month but time just flew by. Sometimes there’s a positive side to time flying by – because there’s less time to harp on nasty things. I’ve been working like mad to avoid the fact that I don’t enjoy my current workplace. I have made plans to move on but I’m working on them – I just need some time to make sure everything is in place, which means I just have to bear with it for a few more months. Anyway, let’s get to the empties!

Midweek Peek: The Best Advertising Mailer

Because of the number of beauty brands memberships I have, I receive tons of advertising mailers. But this mailer from Sulwhasoo is the best that I have received in a while! Most mailers invites you to some event, or allows you to exchange it for a tiny sample if you go down to their boutique – I hate the latter because I have to make my way down for some tiny samples, and they will ‘force’ you to purchase something on top of it; it’s rarely a good experience so I usually don’t bother.

Unboxing: So Susan Lip Love Bag – July 2015

Oh hi! It’s yet another unboxing! And it’s also another lip bag! July has turned out to be the month that practically rained lip products! I’ve received 2 sets of Lip Monthly and 2 sets of So Susan Lip Love in July! I only just received the June bag about 2 weeks ago, because of some delay – but this month’s was extremely on time (considering the shipping time from the UK to Singapore)!

This month’s theme: “July celebrates life in the most joyous ways… Summer picnics with best friends, running barefoot across the lawn, ice creams & balloons, a cold drink under the hot sun, and most of all, being able to say I am here, I am happy and Life is beautiful…”

Unboxing: Lip Monthly – July 2015

I don’t know what happened but I thought I just unboxed a Lip Monthly bag? Then I realised actually last month’s bag came really late – I only received June’s bag in the first week of July. So I’ve actually unboxed 2 lip monthly bags this month! I’m not complaining though – I’m needing some cheer-me-ups at the moment and unboxing surprise boxes usually does the job!

Unboxing: LookFantastic Beauty Box July 2015

Hi everyone! It’s time for another LookFantastic Beauty Box unboxing! This is the 2nd last box in my 6-month subscription and now that it’s about to end, I’m not quite sure if I’ll actually continue it. I’m in a major de-stashing mood and I have more than enough beauty samples to last me a long time. But that’s a discussion for another day – let’s dig in to this month’s box!

Midweek Peek: The Minimalist Skincare Routine for the Very Busy Bee

Along with being stuck in a makeup rut when I’m super busy, I also tend to tone down my skincare. I still make sure that I remove all traces of makeup carefully, but I use a lot less products when it’s a choice between that and sleeping an extra 10 minutes.

After cleansing, I’ve been using the Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner – this feels quite mild after I’ve been used to Liquid Gold. I then follow it up with Hydraluron, which I’m very nearly done with. Then a good strong moisturizer – the Aesop Perfect Facial Hydrating Cream, and an eye cream – For Beloved One Polypeptide DNA Resilience Lift Eye Cream.

There’s 4 products – to some people that’s quite a lot but I’m a skincare junkie and that’s about half of what I would do if I had the time and energy. Surprisingly, my skin has been behaving relatively well! It’s not at its best but not as bad as I imagined. Phew!

Haul: Saving on Necessities

A quick haul post today! There was an incredible sale going on at John Little and I just had to stock up on some necessities! Because I am ‘blessed’ with tons of hair everywhere *ahem*, I had to stock up on Gillette Venus Embrace and Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel in Wild Berry; shavers and shaving stuff are usually very expensive so I always grab them when they’re on sale – especially if it’s 25% off! I’m also running low on cleansing waters so I took the chance to try the Bourjois Micellar Cleansing Water and Bourjois Micellar Cleansing for Waterproof & Long Lasting Make-up – with 20% off they cost S$12 and S$13.50 each respectively!

This must be the most boring haul ever but I mean, if I save money on necessities, then it means I have more to spend on the ‘fun stuff’ right?

EOTD: The Weekend Blues

A very quick eyelook for today – I haven’t done one in ages! I’ve been stuck in a neutral-eye rut for ages so I decided to do something fun and different – not too crazy because I’m going out for lunch with my parents and godfamily. Because I have asian eyelids, when I have my eyes wide opened, nothing much from my eyelids actually show – but sometimes I like it because people get surprised when I blink and they realise that I’m actually wearing something else on my lids!

Review: Ciracle Red Spot Cream

If there’s one really bad beauty habit that I would like to stop but can’t, it is picking at pimples. I know, it’s horrible; I always tell myself not to do it but when it ‘matures’ and looks ready for the popping, I just lose all self control! But doing so leaves me with scars, so I’ve been looking for a really good acne scar cream. I saw this Ciracle Red Spot Cream being recommended by a korean youtuber sometime ago – if a korean approves, I’ve got to try it – and I quickly hunted one down!

Midweek Peek: The Rut

Lately work has been piling on and I haven’t really had the time to think of makeup looks. You could say that I’ve been in a rut – using the same things over and over again. I didn’t even realize it until I saw the huge dent in my Chanel Les 4 Ombres in Poesie! It’s a neutral palette, but so easy to do a good eye-look in just under 5 minutes because all the colours in the palette are so beautiful, blendable and work so well together that there’s really no thinking involved. Just needs a little NARS Pro-Prime first to prime the lids, and a little LA Girl Endless Semi Permanent Eyeliner in Very Black to finish up the look. To round it off, I add some MAC Powder Blush in Small Vanity on my cheeks and I’m instantly looking more polished – I’ve had this for awhile and it’s a very beautiful neutral ‘dusty rose tan’ blush that’s really hard to screw up with. Neutral shades are just so easy to get stuck in a rut with because they are so simple to work with but can still look great without much thought!

I’ll probably be switching up my makeup now that I know I’ve been doing the same thing for a while, but I thought it was interesting to share! Have you been stuck in a makeup rut as well?