February Empties

Well now, it's that time of the month where I review what I've finished and what I gave away as they don't suit me.  Figured that if I can't use the item, it means I can also bless someone with it and not waste it :)

1. ianti luxe jewelry Clear Mask Pack
This one is a throw.  I totally forgotten about this product and I think it has sat in my shelf for at least 4-5 years.  That is seriously a long time, so off it goes into the bin instead.

2. Kose Softymo Speedy Cleansing Oil

You can read the review here.  I did not stock up on this because I find that it seems to be drying my skin these days.  Well, as the years passes by, I believe our skin does change as well, so I'm looking at different make up removers now to see which one suits me.  If you have any interesting ones, do drop me a note so that I can check them out :)

3. Galacto Myces 100% Pure Natural Skincare

I found this at Q0010.my.  It's listed to be similar to SKII and I thought why not give it a try.  Will write a review on it later.  Stay tune, folks! 

4. Skincerity Nightly Breathable Masque

Back a while ago, when my skin was breaking out like crazy, I was desperate.  Desperate enough to buy this item that costs me RM200.  It's a small bottle, but it did last me quite a fair bit.  Did it help?  I guess it did a little, but I just find it too expensive to continue at this point.  Plus, now my skin is well again, I'll give it a pass for now.

5. Maybelline Make Up Remover Eye & Lip

Sigh, I've not posted on this, have I?  Don't worry, it will be rectified soon.  Save to say, this is a must have for me.

6. Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Facial Wash

Another item that I bought during my desperate time in warding off all the pimples that kept popping on my skin.  Save to say, I'm glad I bought the small bottle.  It is a little harsh for my skin (combi T-zone oily and cheeks dry) and I only use it on alternate days, and it's only in the evening on days where I'm out the whole day.  

7. Maybelline Unstoppable Curly Extension 100% Smudgeproof Full Length Curling Mascara

I remember when I was purchasing this, I was debating whether to get the smudgeproof or the waterproof one.  Thinking that smudge proof would work, I grabbed it.  Instantly at the first use, I regretted it because I ended up looking like a panda.  I've since attempted to use it a few times, but it still smudged.  Sigh... It's been sitting on my shelf for a while.  Decided to pass it to a friend who uses mascara daily and she said she don't mind using this too.

8. Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Grey
See the size of it?  It's so short now that I wasn't able to sharpen it at all.  I have to say, I love it.  It stays on well and the smudging is minimal at the end of a long day (like 10 hours).  I can use this without any primer and it's good.  This was a mini eyeliner which I bought off my friend.  Will definitely try to get a replacement after I finish all the eyeliners I got from Korea.

9. Hanskin Natural Brow Mascara
This was a gift from my aunt, which she bought from Korea.  I like it cause it does make my eye brow looks natural and it's a quickie for me to use.  I tend to just grab this and swipe it on my eye brow when I need to make a quick dash or if I am late.  Not sure if there's Hanskin here, or if they have this product.  Save to say, I'll want to look for it when I'm out and about.

10. Eyeliner from Korea
I have no idea what is the brand of this item.  It's long faded and there's no way for me to identify it.  Save to say, I won't miss it because it pulls my eyelids when I use.  I'm glad that I finished using it.

11. Eye Palette from Daiso
I bought this during my initial times when I was attempting to try different colours on my eyes without incurring huge cost.  It's good for testing.  However, it does get chalky and it doesn't last long on the lids.

Nair Spa Clay Wax with Mineral-Rich Clay, Mango and Acai Berry

One of the things that captured my attention whilst I was walking in Watsons was the Nair Spa Clay Wax with Mineral-Rich Clay, Mango and Acai Berry.  I mean, wax is wax, but a clay wax?  Hm, I was intrigued.  Knowing myself, I couldn't resist and decided to buy it to try.

It comes with 20 Clay Wax strips and 2 aftercare wipes.  It is slightly pricier than normal, at RM23.90 for a box.  However, it is of course, much cheaper than going to a waxing bar (which ranges from RM30 to RM70 depending on location), given its use per box.
Here's the description that they included for Nair Spa Clay Wax:

I like that Nair will include a slip of information of how to use and what to look out for in their package.  Here's a view of it:

For those of you who needed to look at the ingredients and etc:

This is how each pieces look:

It comes in a set of 2.  I would suggest to use 2 at each time and not leave one behind as I find that it doesn't work that well in subsequent uses.

I like the fact that the colour looks like clay.  It does reinforce the idea that it is a clay wax.
To use this, one needs to warm up the strips before applying it onto the designated area.  For me, it's my lower legs.  What I do is I will rub both pieces with my hands until it's warm before separating the two strips.  After that, I will tend apply one piece onto the area where I want to wax, rubbing it in and making sure that it's sticking to my skin.  I like the fact that after I remove it quickly from my skin, it doesn't leave a sticky residue on my legs (some waxes are just sticky).  However, I do find that its grip on hair is not very good, and that may be caused by the fact that it isn't as sticky as other waxes.  This causes me to go back to the same area more than 2 times in order to ensure that the hairs are removed.  It's not a good thing to do because it reduces the usability of each pieces of the strips.  Usually, I can use 2 strips per leg but with this, I used up to 3 strips per leg.  After that, I still had to use my tweezer (it's much faster) to remove those hairs that weren't waxed.

Although it doesn't leave my skin feeling sticky after use, I do find it a little of a disappointment due to its lack of good function as a wax.  I don't think I'll buy it again for future use.

I'm loving Decanting!

This is a new love of mine which I discovered.  As I mentioned in my earlier post, I was struggling with big heavy glass bottles for my face lotion and I dread it even more as the product went down even more as it means more tilting!  Ergh...  Don't get me wrong, I like the glass bottles, but it does freak me out, knowing that I'm such a clumsy person.  Hence, off I went to Daiso (I totally love this place, don't you?) to find something that would suit my needs.


What I ended at home was two vacuum pumps bottles of 15ml and 30ml each, and a couple of atomizers (one in roller form and one in spray).  The two vacuum pumps bottles are in plastic so I don't have to worry about breaking it if they happen to fall on the floor.  Also, I love that it's frosty see through and it's plain in design.  I've seen some in MagicBoo but I don't really fancy them as they are clear see through with those metal type caps (I feel a little funny with metal scraping sound, so I try to avoid them as much as possible).  The design is space saving too, with it being lean and tall.

The main reason I chose these vacuum pumps is because the bottle itself is design to push all the liquid that's inside the bottle up so that there won't be wastage.  It does get annoying when you kept pumping those containers with a tube inside and it doesn't work.  I do feel that there are times that I ended up wasting quite a bit because the tube just doesn't suck the lotion or the gel up.  So with this, I don't actually have to worry about that.  Another plus point with this container, is that it can be easily washed and reuse!

What I did was I decanted my moisturisers from Etude House into the 2 vacuum pumps (30ml to contain my Etude House Aloe Soothing Lotion - 30ml) and the 15ml to contain my AC Clinic Daily Gel Lotion, which I will blog about later).  The reason for this is because I tend to use the Soothing Lotion more often.

As for the atomizers, I bought two by accident actually.  I was thinking which to get but I was decidedly rushing and ended up putting away the wrong product (which I don't remember what it was now, so I guess it's not really a need product... hehe).  I only found out about the error when I got home.  Nonetheless, it didn't go to waste because I decanted my miniature perfumes into these two atomizers!  Woo hoo.... I tend not to get the regular size perfumes because I don't use it often (or that I tend to forget that I want to put perfume cause I'm always waking up late and rushing off in the morning, or I remembered whilst I was putting make up and then totally forget about it once my done, sigh).  However, with miniature perfumes, I find their covers so hard to remove at most times, plus you have to keep tilting the bottles (you see a familiar dislike of mine here?) to get more of the products out.  With these atomizers, I don't have to worry about it.  I decanted the perfume that I use most often, which is Moschino Toujours Glamour Eau De Toilette into the roller atomizer and my DKNY Apple into the spray.  These atomizers are small in size, about 7ml each, so it is just the right size for my miniature perfumes.  Due to it's size, it's easily portable.  I would sometimes just pack them into my handbag and bring it along with me, applying it when I do remember to.

I truly like Daiso products.  They are well designed and I don't have to worry much about spillage of any sort.

By the way, if you do have containers or jars which are of a good size and easy to use, you can always wash them and decant your face creams over.  I decanted my face creams into the Himalaya Herbals Nourishing Skin Cream tub as well as the 10g tub of Arsainte Eco-Therapy Extreme Moisture Essential Cream.  Both these tubs are wider in terms of diameter, so it's a little shorter in height, making it easier for me to reach in.   wAlso, because the bottom of the tubs are curvy, I don't have to dig in to scrape all the creams out of them.  All I had to do is to follow the ergonomics of the tubs and the creams will come off easily.  Love them!  So, do think about reusing any containers which makes it easy for you to reach for the product.  Buy them only if you have to okay?

Have you have products which are still sitting on your drawers although you quite like them or love them because their containers are just, oh so unfriendly?  You should try to decant them.  I betcha gonna finish using them in a jiff.  Have fun!

Etude House Aloe Moistfull Soothing Lotion

I was walking around Paradigm Mall after dinner with one of my girl friends when we spotted Etude House having sale.  Us being us, we couldn't resist having a look at what's on sale when we saw the buy one free one sign.  I was facing some breakouts (this was back in early/ mid 2013) and was uncertain what was the cause of it but I knew I needed something to counteract it, so I decided on the products below:  

Today, I'll be focusing on the Aloe Moistfull Soothing Lotion.  

Packaging

First thing that I want to talk about is the packaging.  It comes in a glass bottle.  Yes, the whole bottle is glass.  Although it does lend a luxurious feel to the product, I have to say I was a little scared whenever I use it.  I worried that I would either accidentally dropped the bottle and it shatters, or I accidentally knock it down and it... shatters.... yes, it is quite freaky to me, me being clumsy and all.  Nonetheless, I do brave on and use it.... (and later on, I decanted it into a different bottle, which I will write about it in another post).

Also, because it is a glass bottle, it is quite hefty.  Now, I love the feel of it, but when you combine it with a big nozzle (yes, it doesn't come with a pump), I have to say, I dislike it.  Why?  Because I can't control the amount that I pour out due to the heftiness of the bottle.  A heavier tilt gives me too much of the lotion whereas the a lighter tilt does me naught.  

As this is a lotion, I tend to use it during the day, and on alternate use for night as my skin is not able to use cream on a daily basis.   Don't ask me how, but there's a tinge of green that comes with it.  Usually for me, I see aloe as something that's non-coloured, but here, it carries a light tinge of green.  It's okay, just, green... haha...

Texture
 In terms of texture, I like the fact that it wasn't too liquid nor too thick.  You can see from the picture.  That is from one drop from the bottle.  However, as I mentioned earlier, tilting it correctly will determine the amount of the lotion on your hand.  I do have to be careful whenever I pour it out due to the heftiness of the bottle.  I like its texture.  It feels liquidy upon application and gets absorbed into the skin fairly quickly, without leaving my skin feeling sticky.

Efficacy
Well, I'm fairly surprised that it does work.  Somehow, I think my skin gravitates to korean products, which caters for Asian skin.  It doesn't cause my skin to have oil seeds (it happens when a product is too rich) and leaves my skin feeling supple and nice.   Although I was using it with tea tree oil, I find that it's not as dry as before and my skin stopped feeling tight, and feels just right.  I also don't have to worry about over applying as it's more of a watery base and it wasn't too rich on my face.

I'm now left with only a little of the product and am looking to restock soon.  Hopefully, there'll be another promotion of a similar sort =D