Empties #19: March 2015 – Part 2

After a very small Part 1 empties blog post earlier, here’s a much bigger Part 2! Most of these are smaller items or mini/travel sizes of skincare, plus a good number of sachets. I also managed to use up a number of makeup items and that makes me really happy – I always finish up skincare but it’s much harder to use up makeup as I love switching them up!

Empties #15: November 2014 – Part 1

Feels like every alternate month, I have a huge chunk of empties! This month I will be adding a little system to make running through and doing short reviews on a ton of empties easier. Yes, I kinda copied or adapted this scoring system from someone else. Please don’t be mad with me if it looks similar to yours; copying is the best form of flattery! It just means that I think you have something great going on there! Okay, with that out of the way, let’s get on to my empties this month!

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 #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! 🙂

Haul: Magazine Freebies

A really quick and small haul post – I wanted to put this post up quickly in case anyone in Singapore is interested in grabbing this as well. I was shopping in Kinokuniya bookstore on Saturday when I saw that Cosmopolitan magazine was giving out sets of Skinfood skincare freebies with purchase of the magazine. Being me, I pounced on it. The bf was so shocked when I walked out of a bookstore with a handful of skincare products!

I received a total of 4 gift sets with an emulsion and a toner in each – 2 sets of Watery Berry, 1 set of Fresh Apple Sparkling Pore, and 1 set of Goldkiwi. I had to claim 1 of the sets (the extra Watery Berry set) personally from a Skinfood store with a free voucher included in the magazine.

If you live in Singapore, I believe the deal is still ongoing so grab yours quick! I think it’s a Kinokuniya bookstore exclusive. They’re really small gift sets, but it’s a good variety and I like reading Cosmopolitan anyway so the gifts are just extra perks!