EMPTIES: March 2017

From having a one quick glance over this month's empties I've concluded that stores here give me almost enough samples for me to live on :P

EDIT 10/4/2017 - forgot a few things so I added them on.

Sunscreen.  I think it's time I retire this sunscreen.  I used to use it thinking that the Watery Gel didn't suit my face because it dried me up pretty badly, but it turned out that that wasn't the case; my face was just trying to adjust to the retinoid I put on it. The Watery Gel works just fine now and I'm just going to stick to it and not this.  There's a lot more product for the same price in the Gel.

Facial Oil.  I used it up relatively quickly because I don't like it that much.  It just smelled a bit 'off', so I ended up putting it on my body too to use it up more quickly.

Body Scrub.  It's ok but it's a bit milder than what I'm used to in scrubs.  It's not bad but it didn't really wow me, so would probably not repurchase.

Hair Treatment.  Not much to say. I like the smell. I am not sure if I will buy the full size.

Makeup.  I enjoyed them while they lasted but probably won't buy either again.  Maybelline Fit Me concealer was considered holy grail by many, but it was just meh for me.  It's runny and doesn't provide enough coverage. I am loving their Age Rewind a lot more.

Hair Dye.  Yet another tub gone :D. I repurchased Rubine after this, because to be honest I'm struggling to see a difference. Will come back to this anyway.

Body Cream. I would not buy this, it's way too strongly perfumed and too thin to be really meaningfully moisturising.

Targeted Treatment. I have already bought a second tube because I took photos of myself on the first day of using it and on day 28 and I can tell that the loss of volume on my nasolabial fold and tear trough got shallower.

Essences.  I heard great things about the Benton essence but the samples I used are too small for me to be able to use for long enough to see any difference.  As for the Belif one, I don't know if it was just my eyes or using other products at the same time (like the Sulwhasoo sleeping mask everyday) but I felt like my skin was so glowy while using this.  However, I'm still not sure what it really is supposed to do.

Facial Cleansers.  I haven't used facial wipes in such a long time, but bought this one for travel.  I liked the other cleansers too, but won't repurchase the Innisfree ones because I discovered the importance of pH in cleansers, and through research found out that the pH of these Innisfree cleansers are too high.

Sheet Masks.  Used up fewer sheet masks this month than the previous two months, but still a bit more than I thought I would.  I guess I'd treat myself while I was in Sweden, considering how I used all the Hada Labo sheet masks I had. It does give a bit more of a luxurious feel than the cheaper masks, but I don't think it's enough that I'd pay so much extra for it.

Wash-Off Mask This was nice, and it was really good for my retinoid-dry skin at that time, but I wouldn't buy it on my own.

Face Creams.  I'm in love with the Honey Cera eye cream, and every other creams here did just fine. In fact I have the full size version of the Belif Moisturising Bomb.

HAULS: March 2017

Another month and it seems like my "low buy" promise completely went out of the window... Maybe I've gone complete crazy. My mum came back from Thailand and gave me a lot of skincare from Thailand.  And I dunno, I suppose I'm stockpiling for Sweden? In a few months I won't have as easy an access to most of these things.

I also learned earlier this month that Korean & other Asian skincare products in brick & mortar stores here in Singapore are sold at exorbitantly marked up prices, and that it's just cheaper to buy things online shipped directly from Korea, though of course it depends on knowing which websites to buy from. BAH! Anyway, I guess the good thing is that I can go to the physical stores, try on the products and then buy online :D. Best of both worlds!

LUMENE Hydration Recovery Oxygenating Gel Mask - Lumene is a Finnish cosmetics & skincare brand and from what I can see from their skincare range, they seem to blend western & eastern skincare concepts using Nordic ingredients. Interesting and I can really get behind this concept! Loving the look and packaging too.  I picked this up on my trip to Sweden.  This mask can be used as both wash-off mask and sleeping mask.  It was on sale at Åhléns for 159 kr (~SGD$25) for 150 ml of product, which is extremely generous considering most creams and sleeping masks that I can find over here are from 50 - 100 ml and many of those are more expensive!  I expect it to last a long time but I haven't tried it yet.

TONYMOLY I'm REAL Aloe Mask Sheet Moisturizing - FINALLY! Bought into this hype of Tonymoly masks. I've been wanting to get it for a long time and I can see why it's so popular - the packaging is so different and very attractive, not to mention that the illustrations are super cute and quirky! I don't really know why I haven't bought it until now, but maybe because I thought it was kind of expensive, but when I went to a Tonymoly store I saw it on offer, 10 for $12, so I got 10!

TONYMOLY I'm REAL Broccoli Mask Sheet Vitality - Yes the packaging is attractive enough for me to even pick up something that contains broccoli that will be marinating on my face! Yikes. I'm just trying to console myself by telling myself that sheet masks have 90% of the same ingredients and these extracts that they advertise are probably very tiny...

TONYMOLY I'm REAL Red Wine Mask Sheet Pore Care

TONYMOLY I'm REAL Lemon Mask Sheet Brightening - And even lemon! I heard that it's an awful idea to put lemon on your face since it's phototoxic.  

TONYMOLY I'm REAL Pomegranate Mask Sheet Elasticity

TONYMOLY I'm REAL Makgeolli Mask Sheet Skin Purifying - Had to look up what makgeolli is, apparently it's some sort of Korean alcoholic beverage.

TONYMOLY I'm REAL Avocado Mask Sheet Nutrition - sss

TONYMOLY I'm REAL Tomato Mask Sheet Radiance - sss

TONYMOLY I'm REAL Seaweeds Mask Sheet Skin Purifying - Yeah, again, I love seaweeds in food, but on my face...uhm. I tell myself that sheet masks are slimy anyway. Just hope I won't see seaweedy bits.

LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask - I'm so late to the party but better late than never, right? This is Laneige's iconic product and the product that I see bloggers rave about. In fact I've yet to see a negative review of it (though tbf I haven't look around very much) and I dunno, it's built up so much that I'm almost scared to try it. Like what if my expectation around it is too high now from all the hype?  Also it comes with literature which is always nice to read.  It mentions 'garlic acid' which I'm definitely sure is a typo of something, but I don't know what. I'm not taking the piss just really curious, like, could it be gluconic acid or glycolic acid?  Can't figure out from the ingredients list either.

ETUDE HOUSE Moistfull Collagen Facial Mask Sheet - On my way to trying everything from the Moistfull Collagen line! This is surprisingly expensive for such a seemingly basic sheet mask - $4.50! What!

ETUDE HOUSE 0.2 Therapy Air Mask - Lotus  - I haven't tried this particular one but all of the 0.2mm masks that I've tried are good.

ETUDE HOUSE Honey Cera Wrapping Mask - I bought this when Etude House had a 20% sale and I thought maybe I'd pick up something I'd never otherwise try and I thought this was a sleeping mask at the store but I was so mislead! Argh! Anyway I'll try it...

ETUDE HOUSE Moistfull Collagen Sleeping Pack 

BELIF The True Cream - Moisturizing Bomb - Picked this up, along with the other Belif products below when they had a 20% sale. I've been wanting these for a long time but omg the price is so eye-watering.  Even after 20% off it's still quite high, but I really wanted them.

BELIF The True Cream - Aqua Bomb 

BELIF First Aid Aqua Rush Mask - I would have never picked this up if it wasn't for the 20% sale.

PHYSIOGEL Daily Moisture Therapy Dermo-Cleanser - My mum gave this to me. 

KIEHL'S Rosa Arctica Lightweight Cream - My mum gave this to me too. It was actually given to her by my sister, which she got for free from an event she went to.  I was so curious about this for a long time. I see this sold in Kiehl's in Scandinavia but not here in Singapore, but couldn't justify buying it because it was so expensive (even by Kiehl's standard!) and it didn't smell so good from the sample I tried at the Copenhagen airport, so it was such a surprise to see it here.  The one that mum gave me doesn't smell bad at all - just faintly of lavender, which makes me wonder if it only smelled bad because it had so many fingers poking into it, introducing bacteria so it went a bit off.

INNISFREE Green Tea Moisture Skin - Bought this at the Singapore airport duty-free, which is about $5 cheaper than buying it at an Innisfree brick & mortar store in Singapore. Just nice to know that I'll have another chance to go through the Singapore airport duty free.

INNISFREE Green Tea Sleeping Pack - I meant to buy this one for my boyfriend. I ordered it from online which is cheaper, but the package was delayed so in the end I had to rush off to an Innisfree store to buy it on time for my departure, so now this is mine to use.

INNISFREE Green Tea Balancing Special Kit - At least one perk of buying at physical stores here is the gifts with purchase, but I doubt it's worth it.

WHITE FORMULA Super Moist Toner With Hyaluronic Acid - Got this when they're 25% off. Heard they're supposed to be dupes of Hada Labo. Anyway they're so cheap that I can just soak DIY sheet masks and cotton pads to make DIY lotion masks.

 WHITE FORMULA Super Moist Light Toner With Hyaluronic Acid

SNP (SHINING NATURE PURITY) 99% Snail Soothing Gel - for a product that claims to be 99% snail it has a surprisingly huge ingredients list. Do the rest fit in 1%? :O and also, it smells very strongly of alcohol (not necessarily a bad thing IMO - I'm not opposed to alcohol in skincare), so I can't believe that such a supposedly small amount of alcohol can smell this strongly.  But it feels very refreshing on my skin.

 ABHAIBHUBET Bua Pai Khao Day Cream SPF 30 - Given to me by my mum from her trip to Thailand this month.  Bua Pai Khao just means lotus, bamboo and rice respectively, signifying the main plants that are used as ingredients in this cream. Apparently they're supposed to nourish, strengthen and soothe the skin.  What makes me a bit anxious is that it doesn't state if it has a PA rating, if any.

ABHAIBHUBET Emblica Plus Facial Cream - Also given to me by mum from her trip to Thailand.

CRABTREE & EVELYN Lily Body Lotion - Given by mum again! So nice of her.

SCENTIO Avocado Sherbet Body Scrub - scrubadub

Palette of the Month: Too Faced Natural Matte palette

The eyeshadow palette I've been using this month is the Too Faced Natural Matte palette.  It consists of 9 neutral matte eyeshadows.  The colour payoff is moderate, with minimal fallout and it blends really well. Great as a standalone palette for quick, everyday natural looks for work or for school, or as a complementary palette to balance bolder shades.  It's probably the most fool-proof palette I've ever used, since it's so easy to blend and there is no overly dark or bright colours, so it's suitable even if you are an absolute beginner at applying eye makeup.  Can't really go wrong with this.  The off-white colour on the top left goes on pretty sheer.  I've also been using Sexpresso on the top left as my eyebrow filler. I can't recommend it enough!

Skincare For My Boyfriend, March 2017

I am visiting my boyfriend in Sweden in March, and in preparation for the visit I bought him a lot of things that can't be found in Sweden.  He's been complaining about how extremely dry and flaky his skin feels, and of course the long and harsh Swedish winters don't help any.  He also complains that all the moisturizers he has tried are either too greasy - sitting on top of the skin while skin still feels dry inside or feels sticky and 20 minutes later his skin is dry again.  So I curated a skincare routine for him based on the Asian skincare philosophy of applying multiple, light layers going from wateriest (hydrating) to oiliest (occlusive).  That way the hydrating layers can be absorbed deep into the skin while the occlusive layers prevent moisture from evaporating back out.  In fact, his problem is a part of what kicked my fascination with Asian skin care!

So here goes!

HADA LABO Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Cleansing Foam with refill.  A pH-balanced cleansing foam so that he can take the gunk off his face without nuking his acid mantle.  VURRAH important, apparently.

SKINFOOD Black Sugar Mask.  For scrubbing the flakes off his face.

BELIF Manology 101 Smart Recharger x2.  His favourite! It's the first moisturiser I heard him say he's willing to use again.  I bought him this the last time I visited, not really knowing what to expect and honestly mostly because it's marketed as 'for men' and turns out he loved it so much that he would use it on his body as well as his face, so this time round I bought 2 bottles so that it'll last until the next time I come, which would be the final move! YAY!

MEDIHEAL Dress Code sheet masks.  I bought these but only one of them is meant for him. The other one is for myself. I want us to have those super cutesy couple sheet mask selfie.  He's a surprisingly good sport about it LOL.

MY BEAUTY DIARY Hyaluronic Acid Moisturising Mask and Imperial Bird's Nest Mask.  I bought a pack each, and each pack has 10 masks, so I gave 5 each to Johan and 5 each to myself.

ETUDE HOUSE Moistfull Collagen Eye Cream.  I bought this for him because I'm using it and it works for me, but he still has the eye cream that I bought him the last time, which is Belif Peat Miracle Revital Eye Cream.

ETUDE HOUSE Moistfull Collagen Half & Half Cream.  I bought this for him because it contains 2 types of cream so that he can choose the cream he wants depending on his skin condition on that day/time.

INNISFREE Green Tea Sleeping Pack.  Figured he should try a sleeping pack as well for extra hydration!

SNP 99% Snail Soothing Gel.  Bought two of these tubs because Sasa was having this on 20% off.  One for myself and one for him.  Just in case he wants some light hydrator for his body skin.

QUEEN HELENE Cocoa Butter Face + Body Crème.  A heavier duty moisturiser that is inexpensive.  I bought a smaller tub for myself and so far it works fine.  He says it smells like candy.

SCENTIO Apricot Sherbet Body Scrub.  For the flaky skin on his body.

And here's him with most of the skincare I bought him! Isn't he just the cutest? :D ^_^ Having a photo like this was his idea btw!