2017 August Empties

Another month, another set of empties.

 Sunscreen:  Yet another trusty bottle of my sunscreen gone.

 Vitamin C serum: I think I won't buy this again because there are cheaper ones out there with more vit C concentration.

 Body scrub: OK. I'll buy again but I can take it or leave it.

 Toners:  Using up my samples.  I'll repurchase the Honey Cera toner and everything in the Moistfull lines because they smell so good!

 Hair creme:  I won't repurchase this because I feel like it doesn't do anything special for me.

 Hand cream:  I'll repurchase this.

 Creams:  I LOVE the Hada Labo gel-cream (the one on the right) it's so rich and dense and makes my skin dewy which is something I need in this weather.  Kiehl's one (in the middle) I can't stand because it smells so godawful.  Normally if I don't like a product I'd grudgingly use it up but I can't stand even this one, and to think of how expensive it is.  I'm glad I didn't have to pay a single penny for it.

 Sheet masks: These are OK but they're not that impressive, plus the sheets were quite difficult to unfold.

Makeup: This MAC concealer was a bit underwhelming, and I won't purchase it again but mainly because I'm trying to phase out non-cruelty free products.

EMPTIES: June 2017

I did exceptionally well with finishing off full-sized products this month and I'm very proud of myself for that! It feels so satisfying to get my money's worth of the products.  I'm looking forward to continuing this trend over the coming months.

Body Scrub:  I guess it's cool but now that I can't buy it here in Sweden, I'll buy something else instead.

Hair Dye:  I love this but I'm not sure where I can buy this in Sweden.  I have two more tubs which I'll use up and will figure out what to do with my hair after that.

Wash-Off Mask:  I'll not repurchase this as the fragrant is too strong. Shame though as I love its performance.

Makeup: It's so sad that my MAC Pro Longwear dried out before I can use it all up but I'm too lazy to salvage it.  Same goes for my Lipnicure.

First Cleanser:  I would purchase the full bottle of this.

Essences:  Out of all of these I only *might* repurchase the Hada Labo Alpha Milk (the red bottle on the left), everything else is just meh.

First Serums:  I'll repurchase The Therapy bottle as I love the scent, really not sure about the Muji one.

Body Lotion:  Out of all of these I will only repurchase the Crabtree & Evelyn one (the one on the far right).

Hand Creams:  The Urtekram one on the left belonged to my boyfriend.  I'm just using it because he doesn't use it; he said that it doesn't do anything for him.  I got to agree, but I'm the type to use things up grudgingly and he's the type to just stop using it.  I'll definitely not repurchase that.  I will however repurchase the Innisfree hand creams when I get the chance, and I'm glad I have more tubes stocked up in different scents.

Sunscreens:  I was so happy to have found a bigger tube of sunscreen but it feels like I still use it at the same rate as the smaller bottles anyway - at one bottle a month. Maybe I am using too much. Anyway, the Aqua Rich which served me so well in hot and humid Singapore (due to its high alcohol content) is really shrivelling my skin up here. Brr! Maybe there's something good to be said about those greasy western sunscreens after all.

Sheet Masks:  I'm actually surprised at how few sheet masks I went through this month.  I haven't been doing it because I was lazy and my skin didn't feel that bad until about a couple of weeks or a week ago when my skin started feeling dry despite my regular routine, and wearing a sleeping mask every night.  Bah to Swedish "summer"!  The cold and windy weather is drying my skin out I think so I'm starting to use this more often again, and I don't think I will repurchase the Aloe masks, because I don't feel like they're that moisturising or hydrating.

EMPTIES: May 2017

The photos for this post were done in two parts as I moved countries in the middle of this month.  Just super cool to see that I'm continuing to bust out more full-sized empties, and many of them makeup, too!

Cleansers: I don't have anything against repurchasing the Etude House cleanser but I won't repurchase the Innisfree Green Tea Cleansing Water, because it smells so strongly to the point where it stings my eyes when it gets near my eyes, and there are so many micellar waters in the market that have the same price point, work just as well and are far less irritating with less obtrusive scents.

Hand Cream:  I LOVE the hand creams from this range and in fact already have so many more tubes of it lined up!

 Facial Mist: I won't repurchase this Innisfree Sparkling Jeju facial mist again, because I just find it so...lacklustre.

Lip Balm: This balm took me ages to finish! It lasted a very long time.  I'm not sure if I'll repurchase this because I think I've tried enough Kiehl's products and can say that I find the brand to be mediocre in quality and overpriced. At least in Singapore, anyway - I've checked the Swedish Kiehl's website and the prices look considerably lower. However, they also test on animals so that's not very attractive to me.  Also, I think this is limited edition.

Sheet Mask:  I really like this hand mask because my hand often gets really dry and cracked  and wrinkly, but I only have one of it left. Now that I'm in Sweden it's not as easy as just going to the shops to buy it so I just have to take care of my hands better.

Makeup: I'm trying to phase out MAC because they're tested on animals, though I'm going to keep these MAC makeup empties (basically everything except the NYX one) and back-to-MAC them.  This was also my first experience with NYX Soft Matte Lip Creme. I like it but I don't like the shade, I don't think tangerine/salmon of shades suit me, though it was OK when there was so little of it left and I was scraping the bottom.

EMPTIES: April 2017

A LOT of full sized empties this month! Which is not surprising considered it's been many months since I started to really use full size products.

Face Cream: I vacillated between wanting to repurchase this and not and decided that yes, I will repurchase this, but not soon since I want to try out other face creams first. This is good as a basic face cream.

 Hand Cream: Sure, why not!

Vitamin C: I've noticed that my complexion is a lot more radiant and even, with freckles and PIH faded after using this. I will definitely repurchase this after my current Kiehl's has run out. It's also the fraction of the price of Kiehl's.

 Hair Serum: pretty good. I don't have any complaints. I might repurchase this but I want to try out other brands first.

Foaming Cleanser: I would not repurchase this because the pH is too high.

Makeup: This mascara lasted A LONG TIME. I bought this when I was in Sweden in September and I only finished this in mid-April!? So 7 months! I don't think anyone should be using mascara for this long though.

 Hydrating Toner: Maybe.

 Body Scrub: It's a good basic body scrub. No complaints. This is a repurchase and I will buy again.

 Sheet Masks: My face doesn't seem so dry this month so I haven't been using sheet masks as much. Also I've been using the Lumene gel mask which replaced a lot of the sheet masks.

 Shampoo: Will not repurchase.

 Body Moisturiser: Will definitely not repurchase the Queen Helene Cocoa Butter creme on the right, but maybe for the other two.

 Body Wash: Will not repurchase since the perfume is too strong.

 Hair Mask: Will repurchase this.

Sunscreen: I will repurchase both and in fact have the Biore watery gel stockpiled.

HAULS: April 2017

I guess I am in a stockpiling mode this month since I am moving to Sweden next month and everything shown here won't be available there.  Especially important are the Asian sunscreens, which are 1000x more cosmetically elegant than their western counterparts, and hydrating toners which is much harder to find a western equivalent of. Once you use Asian sunscreens, you'll not want to go back to greasy, white, sticky sort of western sunscreens again.  I bought this much skin/hydrating toner because I plan to lotion/ DIY sheet mask regularly (or even do a 3- or 7- skin method) once I'm there. I don't want to  bring so many sheet masks there since I'm starting to realise how much waste conventional sheet masking produces, and I'm trying to be a more conscious consumer.

A lot of these products came from Koreadepart.  The reason I used them is because I currently live in their "fixed-cost" zone, meaning that if I buy a certain amount then shipping is free, so I bought enough to get free shipping via EMS.  The prices are so much cheaper than getting the exact same products in brick-and-mortar stores in Singapore.  Shipping is quick, too. I placed order on 20th April, shipped 26th April and arrived on the afternoon of 28th April. Will definitely purchase again!

HADA LABO Gokujyun Hydrating Perfect Gel is marketed as multi-functional.  Here in Singapore, the product is marketed as 3-in-1; essence, moisturiser and sleeping mask. On the Hada Labo USA website however, it's marketed as 5-in-1; lotion, milk, cream, serum and mask.  One has to wonder why Hada Labo even bother to produce other products in that line? Might as well just produce this and be done with it. 

HADA LABO Super Hyaluronic Acid Premium Hydrating Lotion  OMG IT FINALLY CAME TO SINGAPORE! I did not hesitate to grab it the minute I saw them on the shelves of pharmacies here. I saw the glowing (heh) reviews on Fifty Shades of Snail blog and was kind of sad that it wasn't in Singapore considering how it's been out for quite a few years in Japan now and contemplated buying it and the milk online.

HADA LABO Super Hyaluronic Acid Premium Hydrating Milk

HADA LABO Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion and Gokujyun Hydrating Perfect Gel Bought these for my boyfriend to see if he likes them.  If not then I'm happy to use them.

SULWHASOO Overnight Vitalising Mask EX My second purchase! I don't wanna be without it.

INNISFREE Orchid Skin

INNISFREE Green Tea Balancing Skin

INNISFREE Jeju Lava Seawater Skin

INNISFREE The Green Tea Seed Serum

INNISFREE Special Care Mask (hand) I love these masks so much

BELIF Manology 101 Smart Recharger For my boyfriend because it's his favourite.

DAISO Makeup Brush Cleaner Not makeup nor skincare but closely related!  One of the Youtube beauty blogger raves about a Daiso brush cleaner. I'm not sure if this is the same one but I bought this just to see what it's about.

SEPHORA Sugar Body Scrub My body scrub for the month.

MUJI Anti-Aging Pre Lotion It was on discount so I'm buying just to test it out.  First time buying Muji skincare.

MAC Lipstick in Velvet Teddy I'm trying to phase out MAC because the brand is tested on animals but I had 6 MAC empties, so I exchanged them for this one.

BIORE Aqua Rich Smooth Watery Gel SPF 50+ PA++++ When Biore phased out this for their reformulated 2017 version I had to round up all of these that were in stores! I heard that their new formula is very bad in terms of sun protection. I think I bought enough to last me a couple of years esp in Swedish sun.

 

BIORE UV Anti-Pollution Body Care Serum Extra Moist SPF 50+ PA++++ Their new sunscreen, which is also a lot cheaper than their Aqua Rich series, also in a much larger tube (150 ml vs. 90 g).  It also gives nearly the same weightless feel. To be honest, if I knew about this I probably wouldn't have panic-bought all those Aqua Rich gels :/. Oh well! No regrets as I'm going to use them all anyway.