Midweek Peek: Once Again, Sulwhasoo Shows Who does The Best Advertising Mailer

Just last month I received an amazing mailer from Sulwhasoo advertising some of its new skincare, and this month I’ve received another wonderful mailer from them again! This month’s mailer is to advertise their Perfecting Cushion Brightening. I seriously look forward to receiving their advertising mailers because they’re always packed with great goodies!

Midweek Peek: The Exfoliating Toners in Rotation

Toners – they used to be the second step to cleansing. I remember when I first started being interested in skincare and makeup, makeup cleansers had a cream consistency which I use with some cotton wool; I had to follow it up with an astringent toner to remove the remains of the lotion and remaining residue. Nowadays, cleansers are so different – with the no-need-to-rinse-off micellar waters, cleansers are doing such a good job that toners have had to evolve too. And evolve they have.

This week I wanted to show a little peek of the exfoliating toners I’m currently using. These toners do more than just simply cleansing or freshening – they help to exfoliate the skin. There are many more types of toners – anti-spot, moisturising, clarifying, soothing, but today’s post is all about the exfoliating toners. I love them before and after my monthly periods when my skin feels more congested; they help to keep breakouts at bay – I still get pimples but not as bad as when I’m not using them.

First up is the Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner, which I’ve shown in another midweek peek. I really need to get cracking on with a review for this – this is great but a little milder than the next. Alpha-H Liquid Gold with Glycolic Acid is the one I reach for when I need a serious boost in my skin condition – my skin looks really great if I’m consistent with using this, but I can’t use it everyday as it makes my dry skin even more dry. The Pixi Glow Tonic with Aloe Vera & Ginseng is something that I picked up after reading Caroline Hirons recommend, but sadly this did nothing for me.

What exfoliating toners do you use?

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.

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!

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?

Midweek Peek #22: The Chosen Neglected Lippies for my Handbag and the Clear Out

I’ve never been really a lip product kinda girl but recently I realised that I have a ton of lip products! I really only put on lip products, other than lip balm, during special occasions, so I don’t know why I have accumulated that much. So to reduce my stash, I’ve drawn out a few lip products that I’ll bring out everyday and try to use up in the next 3 months! A few of them are pretty old, but they still smell and the texture and consistency are still the same, so I’m comfortable with using them.

First up, a No7 Sheer Temptation lipstick in 40 Lovely; I love the smooth and light texture, and easy to wear light pink tint. MAC Cremesheen Glass in Astral is such a lovely juicy-looking gloss that I’m not sure why I don’t use it more. I’m nearly done with the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in 025 Peach Parfait, a really glossy and comfortable sheer lipstick.

I actually really love the MAC Lipglass in Ready to Roam – a really full-on red gloss that’s really eye-catching and not too sticky; I’m just not too comfortable with that much colour but I guess I can sheer it out a little to get myself used to wearing some colour on my lips. Last but not least, is the Fresh Sugar Rose Shine Lip Treatment; this adds just a little colour and I’ve been using it in place of a balm.

So this is it – the 5 items that I will try to bring out everyday and hopefully I will use up pretty soon! What about you? Do you have any strategies to use up neglected items more quickly?

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?

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?

Midweek Peek #19: Birthday Haul from Sephora

My birthday was actually last month, but I finally had the time for a quick sneak into Sephora last week to claim my birthday gift! This year it’s finally not a Sephora-brand item, which was what they gave over the last couple of years – but a little gift set from Benefit!

I love Benefit’s cheeky names for their products – this one is called the “Seal Turn-Ons!”, and contains a mini They’re Real! mascara and a mini Watt’s Up! highlighter. I adore their deluxe sample sizes – they’re great for a good many uses and comes in really pretty proper packaging.

Hope you like reading these midweek peeks! Short, concise and straight to the point. Do let me know if you have any comments – whether you like reading longer posts, or if you prefer them to be sandwiched with short posts like these!

Midweek Peek #18: Sample Testing with Astalift

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a midweek peek – my last one in this series was way back in November! Anyway I just want to show you a quick peek of the skincare that I’ve been testing over the past week – a little trial set from Astalift that I bought from Japan. I’ve tried a couple of items from Astalift before, but that was some time ago so I wanted to see if I still liked it as much as before.

The trial kit comes with a cleansing gel, a moisture foam, lotion, cream, essence, and a jelly aquarysta. The last one, the Jelly Aquarysta, is supposed to be the star of Astalift’s products, and its name is derived from AQUA and CRYSTAL, which symbolises the light as water texture of the clear jelly, and the crystal-clear, moisturised skin it brings.