Empties #16: December 2014 – Part 2

Now for the final part of empties for December 2014! The last of my trash for the year 2014, and now I will be throwing it all behind and hopefully leaving all the nasties and terrible days behind together with it. What a year. Anyways, let’s check out what was in the trash!

Rating system:
♣ No idea as it’s too small, no opinions or have no impression of.
♥♥ Dislike.
♥♥♥ Neutral/ok; will not repurchase.
♥♥♥♥ Liked; but may or may not repurchase.
♥♥♥♥♥ Holy grail; will repurchase or have repurchased.

Empties #9: May 2014 – Part 1

This is starting to look like a trend – but once again I have used up so many items that I had to split it up into 2 posts! Don’t ask me how I do it – I’m amazed at how I could continually finish so many items in a month! I do think that my huge empties posts are coming to an end as I’ve cleared out most of the half empty bottles, but I’m also less incline now to start using a new bottle if I have another half empty lying around. Anyway, let’s get cracking!

1. Shiseido Tsubaki Damage Care Conditioner
Bought this with the shampoo which I used up much earlier – I tend to use up shampoo much faster. I quite like this conditioner; it’s great for when my hair feels really dry – this smooths my hair with just one wash, but the downside is that it feels heavy and weighs down my hair.

2. Biore Cleansing Oil Cotton Facial Sheets
As mentioned in last month’s empties, this used to be my favourite cleansing cloth so I stocked up on them – but now I find the very small size sheets pretty frustrating for my big face and not quite economical so I most likely won’t be repurchasing after using up what I have.

3. Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream
This is a rather heavy cream, which feels really nourishing and calming when my skin is really dry. And I’m obsessed with the Ginseng scent! Love!

4. Murad Essential C Day Moisture SPF 30
Already used up a small sample of this previously; I’ve grown to like this even more with this second sample plus I’m biased towards citrus scents.

5. Vitacreme B12 Regenerative Cream
6. Skin Food Goldkiwi Toner
7. Cleansing Express Sebum Cleansing Lotion
A few small skincare samples that I bring to the gym – I don’t have many thoughts on them as I just need to clean my face and have some skincare on my face after bathing at the gym, which I remove when I get home.

8, 9, 10. Bioderma Sebium H2O Solution Micellaire
Reviewed here. Don’t think it’s suitable for my skin type.

11. iderm Placenta Serum
This was not what I expected a serum to be like – it’s clear and very fluid so it absorbed really quickly into the skin. However, it feels a little greasy, which I was quite surprised about as the texture does not feel like an oil. I don’t think my skin feels any different after using this for about 2 weeks.

12. Sebamed Feminine Intimate Wash
Not much to say about this. Keeps things nice and fresh?

That’s it for the first part of my empties post! Stay tuned for a longer part 2!

Empties #3: November 2013

Another month has gone by so quickly. After I stopped buying so many new products to try out every month, I find that I have been accumulating empties at a much faster rate. You know you’re an addict when you feel a sense of happiness as another bottle bites the dust!

1. Bifesta Brightup Cleansing Lotion
Reviewed here. Will definitely repurchase!

2. Tsubaki Damage Care Shampoo with Natural Tsubaki Oil
A great shampoo; I find it makes my skin very nice and smooth, without making my hair greasy despite the “oil” in its name. Will repurchase.

3. Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum Complexion Correcting
A good sized sample that I received from one of the beauty boxes but after using it for a couple of weeks, I didn’t find that my complexion was any better. It’s quite light in texture and absorbs quite quickly. Won’t repurchase.

4. The Body Shop Nutriganics Smoothing Day Cream
Received this free with a magazine. It’s quite light in texture, which is expected as it’s a day cream, but I find that it breaks down my face makeup way too fast in the usually hot Singapore climate, even for my very dry skin, and there is no SPF. However, it’s also not moisturizing enough for me to use as a night cream. Won’t repurchase.

5. Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector
Reviewed here. A really lovely tinted moisturiser.

6. Revlon ColorStay Lipliner in Rose
I’ve had this for a while and finally finished it. I like it; it’s a nice rosy hue, kind of like my lips but better. It’s very pigmented, glides on easily and affordable. It’s quite soft though, so it tends to break easily.

7. Bourjois Healthy Balance Unifying Powder
One of my favourite face powders; it smells amazing, like some sweet fruit similar to its other Healthy Mix foundations. It’s quite light, and does not look powdery or cake-y on the skin. This is actually the second one that I have run through, and will definitely be repurchasing.

9 & 10. 2 x Eucerin DermoPurifyer Active Concentrate
Bought this, 1 for the bf and 1 for myself, at about S$30 each, after a blogger raved about it. I totally regret it – I later realised that the blogger raves about everything sent to her1 This was an utterly useless product; didn’t do anything for my dry skin or my bf’s acne-prone oily skin.

8. Garnier Clean Sensitive Gentle Facial Cleansing Wipes
9 & 10. 2 x Sulwhasoo Snowise EX Whitening Water
Some useful gym skincare items. Used up another packet of Garnier cleansing wipes, which I really enjoy for its convenience and removes makeup easily. I also bring along little samples tubes of the Sulwhasoo Whitening Water which I use as a hydrating toner; I love the smell and it seems to bring back some moisture to my skin post a hot bath after gym.

11. Shu Uemura Skin Purifier Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/O
Not really a fan; I feel like the texture is a bit too heavy – like I have to rub extra hard to spread it over my face. It makes my eyes blur up for a few seconds – it does clear up but I don’t like that feeling. It does remove my makeup very easily, even waterproof ones. I won’t be repurchasing this one but I’m looking forward to trying out the Ultime8 version.

12. Nuxe Gentle Toning Lotion
I really liked this toner – it smells amazing; the rose scent is quite obvious but not overpowering. It feels rather refreshing but does not dry out my skin. Don’t see any skincare benefits but feels great. Will repurchase!

13. Essence Colour & Go Quick Drying Nail Polish in 47 Red-dy to go
14. Revlon Luxurious Color Eyeliner
I’ve had the Revlon eyeliner for so long that I didn’t even realize that I still had it; I must have loved it because it’s quite used up, but decided to trash it since its so old. The Essence Nail Polish also dried out so I had to throw it.

15. PureDKNY Perfume Vial
I’m not usually a perfume wearer but I really enjoyed this! It’s quite a light scent, and does not choke me like most perfumes do. I’m not good at talking about scents but I like how ‘clean’ and fresh it smells.

16. Too Faced Perfect Eyeliner
Blogged about here. I loved this and will repurchase.

And that’s it for another month of empties! It’s quite surprising to me that I have averaged more than 10 empties per month over the last 3 months. I hope you have enjoyed looking through my empties as much as I love reading other people’s empties post!

Review: Bifesta Brightup Cleansing Lotion

Another skincare related review; I hope I am not boring everyone! But as I get older I’m finding it more important to have good skin. Don’t get me wrong; I love make up, but having good skin makes everything so much easier. And of course, what goes on must come off. For someone who uses full makeup on a daily basis, removing it all is equally as important.

Previously known as Cleansing Express, Bifesta is Japan’s 1st water-based makeup remover brand. There are four different types of cleansing lotion from the brand to suit different skin types – Age Care, Moist, Sebum and Bright Up; I chose the “Bright Up” version that is meant for dull skin.

I love cleansing waters as a quick way of removing makeup when I’m too tired to go through double cleansing, or just as a last step after using a cleansing oil to make sure that there are nothing left at all and for that totally clean feeling before I go to bed.

I like how the Bifesta cleansing lotion comes with a pump which makes it very convenient to use. The bottle is also clear so it’s easy to see if it’s nearing the end and it comes in a good size of 300ml for $18.90. I don’t detect any scent in this at all.

In terms of efficacy, I would say this is one of the best cleansing waters that I have tried. It removes face makeup very easily without having to rub or tug on the skin, and can remove most eye makeup by soaking the cotton pad and pressing it onto the eye for a few seconds before wiping it off.

But like most cleansing waters, I don’t think it removes waterproof eye makeup very well; there’s always some residue left that I have to ‘tug’ on in order to remove, so I prefer to use the bi-phase eye makeup remover for removing my eye makeup first and followed up by the cleansing waters.

I like that this doesn’t dry out my skin like some other makeup removers and takes so little time to remove an entire face of makeup. I don’t, however, think that it brightens up my skin as expected from its name. Will I buy it again? Definitely; even without considering the price, I already think that this is a great product, and at $18.90 this is a great product at a terrific price!

Rating: 4/5

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?