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15 July, 2014

June's farewelled products (and beauty diet update)


And I thought June was going to be a slow month for empties. I'd better get this out before August rolls around...

 
Skin care
 
 
56) Kirkland Daily Facial Cleansing Towelettes (15 towelettes) - I bought a boxful of these from Costco a few months ago so expect to get bored by the repetition when it comes to cleansing towelettes. Click here for my initial thoughts on these. 
 
57) La Clinica White Brilliant Intensive Correction Serum Stage 1 (50ml/1.76 fl.oz)* - I've been using this serum morning and night as part of my current skincare routine.  It claims to promote more radiant looking skin and contains "Tyrosinase inhibitors" to counteract excess production of melanin and reduce pigmentation and "Biomimetic Peptides" to accelerate the removal of dead skin cells and promote new skin growth.  I still have pigmentation from previous years of sun damage but it's not getting any worse and my skin is definitely on the radiant side - I've been reaching for the bronzer lately! I find this serum leaves my skin feeling firmer too which isn't a bad thing at my age. 
 
58) La Clinica Rebalancing Vitamin A Facial Mask (100ml/3.52 fl.oz) - Ling gave this tube to me and I've been grateful for the introduction.  This gel-like mask really did rebalance my combination skin - and my son's too! I've used this for the occasional hormonal breakout on my chin and the next morning those potentially mountainous eruptions have - wait for the inevitable cliché - reduced to little molehills.  Love this stuff cos it works!
 
 
59) Face of Australia Gentle Make-Up Remover (125ml/4.23 fl.oz) - Great value for money at around $9AUD per bottle and as I've mentioned before it's oil free and paraben free too.
 
60) Lucas' Papaw Ointment (25g) - It wasn't that long ago this was bandied about as a cult beauty favourite but it's a little out of favour these days - plus there are a load of dupe products out there now.  I must admit I was surprised to discover last year that my precious papaw ointment contains a much higher percentage of petroleum jelly than actual fermented papaya fruit but I still have to say it works for all kinds of minor skin ailments - I use it for grazes and cuts as well as dry lips and cuticles. I'm sure I'll repurchase it again as a multipurpose product.
 
 
Hand and body care
 
61) OPI Expert Touch Lacquer Remover (120ml/4 fl.oz) - My fifth bottle this year.  A bit expensive but definitely effective. 
 
62) Butter London Powder Room Baby Powder Scent Acetone-free Lacquer Remover (59ml/2 fl.oz) - OMG! Baby powder scented polish remover?! I got this as a complimentary extra when buying two bottles of Butter London polish last year. It actually does smell very pleasant for a polish remover and it has a very gentle formula.  Unfortunately a little too gentle for me - I needed to use twice as much product to remove polish and I wouldn't even go near a glitter polish with it.  Also the bottle was decidedly leaky as I found out when I discovered it lying on its side in a powdery scented puddle in our bathroom cupboard - yes the lid was screwed on tightly.
 
63) Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat - My current favourite fast drying top coat.  Doesn't dissolve the colour underneath, doesn't smell too toxic, doesn't shrink, dries my manicure quickly and makes my manicure last. 

 
 
64) Natio Meditate Body Butter (Yoga Scent Pink Lotus Attar) - I loved this little tub of creamy, beautifully calming scented body butter but damn it's been discontinued.  At least I have two more tubs in other scents to console me I suppose.  I heading back to the Natio warehouse sale in a few weeks so I'll snap more up if I see them!
 
65) Dirty Works Glow Girl! Buttery Salt Scrub (300ml/10.1 fl.oz)* - I really enjoyed this beachy, salty scented scrub and my only criticism is the runny formula.  Click here for my full review.
 
 

Cosmetics
 
Now for this month's beauty diet update. Sophie has now joined  Anissa, Norlin and myself on this exercise in moderation!
 
66) Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - A very good colourless eye base for preventing creased eye shadow.  I don't know if I'd give it HG status though.
 
67) MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil (Bordeauxline) - My favourite MAC liner because it's purple! I'd normally run to the MAC counter for an immediate backup but I've decided to show my restraint by using the other two purple liners I found in my collection. So far the Physician's Formula twist up liner for green eyes isn't too bad at all either!
 
 
Culled...
 
Chanel Eye Colour Collection Quad (24 Interferentiels) - I'm sure this has been discontinued for over a decade! Anyway it lingered in my collection as my prized first ever Chanel quad and it's at least half empty as I'd finished the gold and pink duochrome shades years ago through daily use.  It was well loved but served its purpose. Farewell to my first Chanel...
 
 
Fragrance
 
68) Labdanum 18 Le Labo (samples) - Damn I thought I'd found my perfect resiny amber fragrance at Mecca Cosmetica but it was out of stock and then they rang to further disappoint me it was out of stock in the whole country! If you're curious the notes are:  french labdanum, castoreum, civetta, musk, vanilla, birch, resins, cinnamon, patchouli, gurjan balsam and tonka bean.
 
 
Until next month - actually now just a fortnight away!

 

(Products marked * were provided for my consideration.  All comments and opinions are my own.)

12 comments:

  1. Wow well done! Seeing that Chanel quad makes me so happy, a thing of beauty to see a well-loved palette like that! I can't wait to buy my first Chanel quad on our honeymoon (if I can make it that long without one, I have vouchers burning holes in my pocket!!!)

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    1. My first Chanel buy was very special (and a duty-free splurge too actually!) so it's taken me a long time to find the courage to say goodbye to it - of course I made very good use of it when I had it because shades were so soft and versatile :)

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  2. Yeah, I'm pretty happy to see Chanel empties too hehe :D

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    1. It took me a long time to finish - well half finish it at least!

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  3. Great job, Vita! It's so interesting to see the pan on your Chanel quad - I had no idea it looked like that! Also, I'm impressed by how far you were able to sharpen your MAC pencil - it seems that my last sharpening on my pencils is a bit higher up... maybe it's due to the actual sharpener?

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    1. Thanks Monika!

      I remember when I bought the quad and the Chanel SA said I'd tire of it before I ever finished it because Chanel quads last so long! I guess she wasn't expecting me to use it every day, lol! I guess you're right about the pencil sharpening thing - I just sharpen until I can't anymore :p

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  4. Goddamn - just when I thought your emptying powers were at their height. :O

    What are you going to get to reward yourself???

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    1. LOL! Thanks for the twitter shout out too lovely Liz!

      I'm currently in a bit of a slump when it comes to buying makeup - maybe this diet thing is working too well because I seem to have lost my mojo a little. When I do finally feel the "need" I'm going to check out Hourglass again though and treat myself with more from that brand as I've been happy with everything I've tried so far :)

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  5. Out of stock in the whole country! GAH. That would be so frustrating! LOL.

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    1. Godammit! I was SO DISAPPOINTED. Ah well, since then I've bought a bottle of L'Occitane Ambre & Santal to console myself and that's not at all a bad second choice - in retrospect I probably actually prefer it too!

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  6. Wow! You're doing really well with this beauty diet Vita! I haven't had any empties for makeup but I did have a few for skincare. Pity that doesn't count towards the rewards :p

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    1. Good job! Skincare takes forever to finish too Norlin!

      Maybe reward yourself with some luxury skincare? I love brands such as Shiseido and SKII when I feel like spoiling myself!

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