Empties #22: June 2015 – Part 1

I’m back with another empties post! It’s gonna be a quick one today – I “lost” the close-up photos of the items, but I’ve already packed them into the kitchen garbage… and no way am I digging them out! So this sole surviving photo will do! Let’s take look at what’s in Part 1 of June’s empties!

Empties #21: May 2015 – Part 1

I’m a little late to this month’s empties post – but it’s better late than never! I have finally managed to fix my laptop’s faulty keyboard – something to do with the auto-updates so what I have done is to reset the factory settings as a temporary patch but I’m afraid that the next auto-update will bring on the same issue again. So I’d better get going with as many posts as I can before it happens again! Let’s take a look at what’s in my May’s empties!

Empties #20: April 2015 – Part 1

April was… oh, actually I have no idea what this past April was like because I was so crazy busy that I can’t remember what happened! It’s really been an insane month – tons of work, wedding planning, lots of gym sessions so that I can fit into my gowns later; I was so shocked when I saw my empties bucket filled – I thought there was no way I could have used up so much stuff in such a short time, then I realised that it’s the end of the month already! Anyway, let’s take a peek at what’s in there!

Empties #18: February 2015 – Part 1

This is an insane month for empties; whenever I embark on some budget plan, I tend to end up with tons of empties because I have to force myself to use what I have, which is the whole point of having the budget plan so I guess the plan is working quite well so far!

Empties #4: December 2013

The last empties post for 2013! I think 2013 really just ran past in a blink. This month’s empties is actually for a shorter period, because I had to write this post a week early since I was going on holiday, plus I really wanted to throw away all the empties before the year is up! So here we go!

1. Garnier Ultra Dolce Shampoo
Bought this during my Italy holiday. I think it’s good for a clarifying wash – it gets all the gunk out of my hair, but I find it too drying for daily use.

2. Dove Beauty Nourishing Body Wash
Quite a good body wash; very creamy in texture and feels quite moisturizing. Also very affordable and smells quite nice. Will repurchase.

3. Australis See Ya Later Nailpolish Remover
One of the worst nailpolish remover I have ever tried; I had to use so much energy and remover! Massive fail. Will not repurchase.

4. Vichy Purete Thermal Demaquillant Integral
One of the older style cleansing milk. Now that I’m used to cleansing oils and micellar waters for removing makeup, somehow cleansing milk never feels quite clean enough. Won’t repurchase.

5. Essential Damage-Care Nuance Airy Shampoo
This is actually quite a good shampoo if not for its smell – it makes me think of liquid antibiotics! I feel nauseous every time I used it. Otherwise, it makes my hair quite smooth. I won’t be repurchasing, as I can’t bear the smell.

6. Kiehl’s Mightnight Recovery Concentrate
I love this oil! Mentioned it here. I will definitely repurchase!

7. Biore UV Bright Face Milk SPF 50+ PA+++
Really enjoyed this; this feels really lightweight and did not break me out. I find it also even out my skin texture a little, and I love the high SPF in it.

8. Watsons Nail Polish Remover
Another bottle bites the dust! I seem to be running through my nail polish remover quite fast. This is really affordable and removes nailpolish quite easily. It’s also acetone free. Will repurchase.

9. Eucerin DermoPurifyer Hydrating Care
Like the serum that I threw out last month, I really did not like this. This was not hydrating at all and I ended up using it on my legs so I won’t waste it.

10. Avene Thermal Spring Water
I started using thermal spring water after toner and before moisturizer after watching this korean beauty show, Get It Beauty, showing its benefits. I spray this on a cotton bud before wiping my entire face. It feels refreshing, but I haven’t really seen any real impact on my skin.

11. Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Purfying Cream Cleanser
Mentioned it here. I think it’s an alright cleanser – it doesn’t really do much, but it’s not awful and doesn’t dry out my skin. Won’t repurchase.

12. Mamonde Total Solution Smart Moisture Cream
Received this as a gift-with-purchase. A gel-texture moisturiser that feels really good on the skin. I love how smooth it makes my skin feel, without being oily. I’d love to buy the full size but can’t find it anywhere!

13. ELF Eyelid Primer
Reviewed here. A well loved item!

14. Maybelline Pure.Concealer Mineral in 01
An okay concealer; it works fine for undereye circles but doesn’t really cover blemishes very well. The staying power isn’t great though.

15. Dr Ci Labo BB Perfect Cream
Quite a thick cream and feels slightly heavy but it does have quite a good coverage. Color was a bit too light for me. Won’t repurchase.

16. Shiseido White Lucent Intensive Spot Targeting Serum
17. Narciso Rodriguez for her perfume
A couple of items that I didn’t really pay attention to. I kept them either in my work or gym bags because they were travel size and convenient.

18. Pupa Multiplay Triple Purpose Eye Pencil in Black
Mentioned this here. Love this! Will definitely repurchase.

And that’s all for my empties in December 2013! Surprisingly there are even more empties this month! I wish everyone a great new year, and may 2014 be a fantastic year for all!

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: Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector SPF 26 PA+++

The Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector  – I’m not sure what to call this; I am inclined to call it a tinted moisturizer as it does not call itself a BB cream, but yet it claims to be a “all-in-1 moisturizer with a BB finish”. What on earth is a BB finish? So it is not a BB cream but it has a BB finish? Never mind, I shall stop ranting about it and see what the brand has to say for themselves.

Claims from the brand:
The 1st BB moisturizer from Garnier that gives you an amazing fairness and provides total solution for fair and perfect skin in a flash. Enriched with BB mineral pigments for a nude coverage and natural long-lasting wear. Skin benefits: 1. More radiant 2. More even-toned 3. Less dark spots 4. Less visible imperfections 5. Reduces redness 6. Smoother 7. More hydrated 8. Less visible lines 9.  Less visible pores 10. Reveals its healthy glow.

So apparently it is a BB moisturizer. Wait, what is a BB moisturizer?! I’m so tired of brands randomly sticking the “BB” on everything (Bourjois, I’m looking at you and your BB glosses). If it is a tinted moisturizer, why not just call it a tinted moisturizer? And what is with the long list of 10 benefits to your skin claims where some of them are practically the same?

If not for the name and all its crazy claims, I actually really liked this tinted moisturizer (yes, I am going to call it a tinted moisturizer). I find that it gives a really nice natural finish and dries down really quickly with a very lightweight feel. It also has a good amount of coverage; it covered most of the discolouration on my face, and all I need is a concealer for spots. I think there is only 1 shade, which blended in perfectly with my NC25/30 skintone.

It’s actually rare for a tinted moisturizer to make my skin feel good and soft without prepping with another moisturizer, but this actually did the trick. On my very dry skin, I find it lasts about half the day, before breaking down quite rapidly to nearly nothing. I usually wear it on the weekends and I love it for a no-makeup makeup day because it’s so natural.

I bought a trial size of it from Watsons for S$2.50 and it lasted me a pretty long time. I actually did the math and if you can find it, it’s better to buy 2-3 tubes of the trial sizes, which gives you more product than if you bought the full size and comes to less than half the price. Just saying.

Rating: 3.5/5

Empties #2: October 2013

This is only my 2nd empties post but I am loving this! It feels weirdly good to know that I have been using up the things that I bought, rather than just hoarding them. Now I know that I have put them to good use! Without further ado, let’s see what I have used up this month and some quick thoughts!

1. Garnier Clean Sensitive Gentle Facial Cleansing Wipes
Bought a few packs of these when it was on sale. I like it; I only use cleansing wipes before my gym session, and this is really convenient and removes makeup quite easily. I do find that it doesn’t clean my waterproof eye-makeup thoroughly, but I haven’t really found a cleansing wipe that can. It’s not too dry or wet. Would repurchase.

2. Essence Pureskin Anti-Spot Toner & Powder
A really cheap toner that does its job. I found regular use to be too drying for my dry skin, but if I just used this for a few days before my PMS, my hormonal breakouts seem to less severe.

3. Darlie Double Action Enamel Protect Fluoride Toothpaste
4. Watsons Nail Polish Remover
Not much thoughts on these 2 items; bought the Darlie toothpaste because it was on sale – it’s okay, the smell and taste is not too minty which I like. As for the nail polish remover, it’s cheap and I think it does its job quite efficiently – have already repurchased!

5. Alpha-H Balancing Cleanser with Aloe Vera
6. Lancome Maqui Blanc Miracle Liquid Foundation
7. Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Eye Contour Cream
A few items that were not that memorable. I used the cleanser in the gym, and carried around the foundation just for ’emergencies’. I brought the eye cream on holiday and had a bit left.

8. Rimmel Glam’Eyes Professional Liquid Liner in 001 Black Glamour
Not a fan – I received this free with purchase of other Rimmel products so I actually have a few of these stashed away. I find the wand to be too flimsy and skinny to draw a line, and deposits too much so it takes too long to dry.

9. Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Gold Ultra Restorative Capsules
Talked about this in my last empties post as well – favourite serum/oil!

10. Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
The worst smelling top coat ever but also the one that gives the best results! I really love how shiny and long lasting this makes my nail polish looks, but I’m now looking for something else because the smell of this always gives me a headache.

11. Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Lip-drain Serum
As my age gets nearer to the big 3-0, I’ve been looking around for products that prevent parts of my body from sagging. I don’t really know if it works but I do like its thick creamy texture – I don’t think a small tube like this would show results so I have already bought the full size.

12. L’Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream
Reviewed here.

13. MAC Navy Stain Powerpoint Eye Pencil
I loved this – I went through a phase of rocking a navy blue eyeliner. It glides on very smoothly without tugging on my eyelids. Sometimes I just blend it out with another black eyeliner for a dark blue smokey look.

14. Okuma Cover Control Concealer in 01
This is actually not used up – I loved it at first, but I think the product is now ‘spoilt’ as it goes on a perfect shade and then oxidises very quickly to a dark orange-tone, which didn’t happen when I first bought it. Weird.

And that’s it! I said good bye to 14 products this month! I can’t wait to see what else I can use up for next month!

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?