Empties #16: December 2014 – Part 1

Holy crap, time flies so quickly, and now I’m at my final empties post for 2014! Where did the year go? So much have happened in 2014 that I really felt like the year just disappeared. Anyway let’s see what I’ve used up in the last month of the year!

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.

Review: Make Up Store Blush in Spice Muffin

A recent rummage in my stash brought out a little gem – one I have totally forgotten that I had, and it is the Make Up Store’s blush in Spice Muffin. Make Up Store is a leading Swedish makeup brand that I feel is really underrated – I don’t often hear about this brand, but they carry a huge variety of blush, lipsticks, nailpolishes and also make my favourite brush cleansing soap (reviewed here). So do they deserve more attention?

Review: Make Up Store Home Spa Brush Cleansing Soap

Cleaning brushes used to be such a chore – if you use brushes to put on liquid or cream foundation, you will know how painful it is to clean them, especially after some time. I used to lug all the brushes I’ve used over 2 weeks to deep clean at one shot, which means bending over the sink for over 2 hours trying to get all the gunk out. But everything changed since I bought this Make Up Store Home Spa Brush Cleansing Soap. Unlike its really long name, this product makes cleaning brushes so quick and easy!

The soap comes in a little black plastic case, and is shrink wrapped. The soap itself is a thick round block weighing 120g, with its logo imprinted on it. To clean the brushes, all I do is slightly wet them, and swirl it on the soap. If it’s too dry, just add more water and continue swirling. Then rinse.

I find the soap cleans so quickly – it takes less than a minute to clean a brush, and my whole cleaning session for 2 weeks worth of brushes is done in half an hour, as all it takes is a few swirls on the soap followed by rinsing. Something in the product just removes all the gunk in record speed time!

My white-bristled brushes also swiftly turn back to white, which was nearly impossible or took so much effort when I was still using baby shampoo or Daiso detergent! For brushes with more-than-two-weeks foundation lodged in them, I do the same – swirling on the soap – then followed by more swirling on my palms to sud it up more.

Before I bought this, I was using the Daiso Detergent for Puff and Sponge; back then, I thought it worked very well in getting rid of products from my brushes. But after a while, I found that my brush hairs were getting a bit scratchier and definitely drier. I’ve been using the Make Up Store soap for a while, and did not notice any of my brushes’ texture changing.

This soap costs S$25, which is really expensive for a bar of soap. But honestly, it was S$25 very well spent, and I would spend it over and over again. It takes me more than 3 months to use up the soap. Brushes can be really expensive, but with good care, they can actually last really long. Not to mention all the time that I have saved on cleaning brushes!

Rating: 4.5/5

Empties #8: April 2014 – Part 1

I had to split up this month’s empties into 2 posts because there were just too many products – which is a good sign! I could be typing forever if I did it all in 1 post! I tried to split them by type, but thought if I tried to show all the bath items in 1 post then it would be pretty boring. So, random it is!

1. Petitfee Collagen & CoQ10 Hydro Gel Essence Mask
2. My Beauty Diary Birds Nest Mask
3. Clearderm Herb Essence Mask
4. Dermal Royal Jelly Collagen Essence Mask
5. Dermal Grape Collagen Essence Mask
6. My Beauty Diary Earl Grey Tea & Macaron Sheet Mask
Used up another bunch of sheet masks. I love using sheet masks! They’re so convenient and relaxing, great for an after-work quick pampering.

7. Pangea Organics Japanese Matcha Tea Facial Mask
I like the scent and how it works both as a mask, and as a scrub upon removal. However, I don’t like how it claims to “do everything all at once” (including deep-cleanse, detoxify, exfoliate, tone, hydrate, prevent wrinkles, nourish, protect and balance), and then ask you to follow up with a moisturizer and oil. I thought it’s supposed to do everything?

8. Ciracle Good-bye Blackhead Blackhead Off Cotton Mask
This is a really weird mask – it’s actually a sheet mask for the nose, and then followed up with a cotton bud to wipe off excess sebum, and then extract the other blackheads. The mask is suppose to dissolve blackheads to make extraction easier, but I’m not a big fan… it smells strongly of chemicals and I don’t feel that it is good for my skin.

9. Clarins Extra-Comfort Cleansing Cream
Reviewed here. A nice comfortable cleansing cream, but not one for makeup removal. I like using it when my skin is feeling extra sensitive.

10. Make Up Store Brush Cleansing Soap
The second one I’ve used up; I’ve just repurchased another two and I love it! It’s my preferred method for cleaning brushes; review will be up soon!

11. Love More Deep Hydrating Aqua Brulee
Reviewed here. I like the texture but find it not moisturizing enough.

12. L’occitane Shower Gel 3 Essential Oils
Just a little shower gel that I bring along to the gym; took it from a hotel stay – nothing special about it, and I won’t pay to purchase it.

13. Sally Hansen Mega Shine Extended Wear Top Coat
14. Sally Hansen Complete Care Extra Moisturizing 4-in-1 Treatment
A couple of nail items that has dried out. I don’t think they did very much; the top coat did not give enough shine, especially as compared to Seche Vite, even though it claims to be “mega shine”. And I just don’t use the treatment consistently enough to see a difference in my nails.

15. Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Facial Toner
Reviewed here. I really liked this; simple, affordable and does the job well.

16. Tsubaki Head Spa Shampoo
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this item before but I do like this; it’s not an everyday shampoo, more of a weekly deep cleansing for the hair to get out all the gunk for the week. It’s too drying to be used daily, but I love how clean and light my hair feels after the weekly cleanse.

That’s it for the first part of my empties post! Stay tuned for part 2, which has more makeup items, soon! 🙂

EOTD #2: Neutral Eye with a Green/Blue Pop of Color

A quick EOTD for the day. I woke up late and my hands automatically reached out the usual neutral shades, and before I knew it I was half way through a neutral eye. But I decided to jazz things up a bit, so I added a little green and blue – I think it makes a nice contrast without too much extra effort. That said, I should have spent that extra 2 minutes blending out my eyeshadow as I can see some harsh lines, but I really couldn’t be bothered since noone can tell when my eyes are open…

Products used:

1. Too Faced Shadow Insurance; all over lid, crease and browbone
2. Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in 35 Rives; the beige shade all over lids, white shade to highlight browbone, the darkest brown shade to run along the lashes
3. Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in 654 Aurora; the brown shade on outer third of lids
4. Burberry Pale Barley, in the crease as transition shade
5. Rimmel Scandaleyes 014 Bright Blue, to line outerhalf of undereye
6. Make Up Store Metallic Crazy Lazy, to line innerhalf of undereye
7. Essence Liquid Eyeliner, to line along upper lash line

The colours are appearing a bit more dull than in real life; it was a cloudy and rainy day when I took the picture. Hopefully after the monsoon season and the sun comes back I can get some good pictures with better lighting!

Empties #5: January 2014

I have a ridiculous amount of empties this month – way more than I ever expected to be able to finish! Obviously, I did not use up the entire amount in just one month! With Chinese New Year here, I wanted to spring clean so I made extra effort to use up all the already-opened and half-empty bottles. So let’s not waste time and dive right in for some quick thoughts!

1. La Roche Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Spray
2. La Roche Posay Hydrating After-Sun Melt-In Gel
A couple of items that are not empty but I had to throw out as they have expired. I do love La Roche Posay’s sun protection series, but I just don’t go under the sun enough to complete them and I only use these on my body. I will repurchase them again for my next summer or beach holiday!

3. La Roche Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Melt in Cream
This I did manage to complete. I’m actually a vampire morbidly terrified of sunlight, so I slather this on my face every day religiously. This has not broken me out and dries very quickly without messing up my makeup.

4. Plante System Rosakalm Cleansing Micellar Water
Reviewed here. Not a fan; won’t repurchase.

5. Himalaya Herbals Purifying Neem Face Wash
Although this was meant for normal to oily skin, I did quite enjoy it. The texture is like a gel; my skin felt nice and clean without being too dry.

6. Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser for Face & Body
7. Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel Avocado Twist
A few bath items. I only use the Cetaphil on my body as I didn’t think it did anything for my face; won’t repurchase. I did like the Gillette Shave Gel, but I’ve not actually seen a shave gel that doesnt work anyway.

8. My Beauty Diary Rose & White Peony Brightening Mist
This does smell nice and I appreciate the good spray nozzle, and does feel refreshing. It doesn’t have any real impact on my skin though.

9. Make Up Store Brush Cleansing Soap
I love this brush cleansing soap; it cleans very well – even week old foundation washes out easily to reveal the original brush hair color – without drying out the brush hair. I also like how easy it is to use; just sweep the brush back and forth on the soap itself, then rinse off. Will repurchase!

10. Beauty Blender Sponge
I don’t really understand all the raves for this. I was sucked into the hype and bought two! Since it was so expensive I continued to use them anyway, but once they’re all spoilt, I won’t be buying any more.

11. L’Occitane Pivoine Flora Eau de Parfum
I quite like the scent; it’s very feminine and floral, but also very light.

12. Biore Cleansing Oil-in-Cotton Wipes
13. Sulwhasoo Snowise EX Whitening Water
14. SkinFood Fresh Apple Sparkling Pore Toner
Some useful skincare items for the gym. The Biore wipes is a regular item that I bring to wipe off all makeup before I exercise. I also like bringing little samples of skincare to the gym; after sweating it out, it always feel good to do some basic skincare steps. I’m not too concerned about what I bring though, as I usually clean my face again when I get home.

15. Poretol Pore’s Care Cleanser Pack
This was supposed to be a pore clearing wash off mask; I really didn’t like it. It was messy, and did nothing for my skin. The texture is rather gritty, which I guess acts as a scrub as you slather it on. I liked the light fresh tingle when it first go on the skin. Will not repurchase.

16. Avene Skin Recovery Cream Calming Formula
Reviewed here. Really enjoyed it and will be repurchasing!

17. VMV Hypoallergenics Hydra Balance Smart Moisturizer
Hated this. This was supposed to be a “smart moisturizer” that keeps dry areas moisturized, without adding shine or clog pores. My skin is very dry, and I’ve rarely seen a moisturizer that can make me shiny; this is a really weird moisturizer that while its texture felt light, it made me feel unbearably oily the entire time I had it on. Will never purchase.

18. SKII Facial Treatment Clear Lotion
19. SKII Facial Treatment Essence
I used to love SKII items, but I find that with prolonged usage, the effects become less apparent. Maybe my skin are used to the ingredients? I haven’t used these for a couple of years, and after using these sample sizes my skin seems clearer, so I might pick up a few full sizes to see if they will work again on my skin.

20. Good Skin Labs Smooth 365 Intensive Peptide Serum
I quite liked this; it goes on slightly tacky feeling, but the tackiness just goes away after letting it dry for a couple of minutes leaving a very velvety smooth texture. The sample is too small for me to tell if it made a difference to my skin, but I did liked it while I used it so I might check out a full bottle.

21. Lancome Genifique Yeux Eye Illuminating Youth Activator
An item that I thought was pretty gimmicky with its rotating applicator that you use to roll under the eyes to apply the serum. I didn’t think that it did much for me. Will not repurchase.

22. Lancome L’absolu Rouge in 365
A really great find; got this as part of a Christmas Purchase-with-Purchase set. It was my go-to red lip for a while; goes on smoothly, very comfortable and is on the sheer side so I can use it everyday.

23. Too Faced Primed & Poreless Bronze Tint SPF 20
Another item that has expired. I barely used it as I’m too lazy to bother with primers, and I don’t really want to bronze my entire face.

24. Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in 15 Bling Bling
I think Essence has a really nice affordable line of eye pencils. While they’re not the most long lasting, they do go on smoothly with good color payoff and a little eyeshadow on top will extend its wear.

25. Bourjois Volumizer Mascara
Another gimmicky item; this mascara has 2 “dials” – step 1 is supposed to give defined lashes, while step 2 is meant to give dramatic lashes. I ended up only using step 2 as I didnt think step 1 did anything for my lashes. I liked the effect of step 2 though, my lashes were nice and big!

26. Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15 PA+ in 3 Beige
One of my favourite foundations! It’s just amazing; it gives about medium coverage, and feels so light on. I really like how natural it looks on and I can layer it for better coverage without it looking like it’s caked on. I will definitely be repurchasing this.

The scariest thing about clearing out that much makeup and skincare products is when you realised that even after throwing out 26 items, it still did not make a dent to my collection! And I need to work on using up more actual makeup too! If you’ve managed to read through all I have to say about my trash, I hope it didn’t bore you out! 🙂