November's farewelled products

 

Ahhh...the second last empties for the year and I don't know how it happened but settle in because it's going to be a big one!! The thing that really pleases me is I even managed to finish some more makeup AFTER all of that overseas hauling a couple of months ago...

 

Skin care

 

120) La Clinica Anti Ageing Gentle Milk Facial Cleanser (10ml/0.35 fl.oz travel size)* - To change it up between other cleansers I gave this little tube a run and I enjoyed the soothing feeling of a milky cleanser.  I'll definitely be using my full sized version when the cooler months roll around again and my skin craves something a little more on the rich side.

 

121) La Clinica Firming Lift Helixer Facial Serum (30ml/1.05 fl.oz)* - This contains snail secretion filtrate which made me a little squeamish at first - I wasn't accustomed to snail slime on my face - but I got over that and found that this serum absorbed quickly and did feel firming on my skin. 

 

122) La Clinica White Brilliant Intensive Correcting Foaming Cleanser (200ml/7.04 fl.oz)* - This unscented foaming cleanser lasted several months in my shower caddy so I almost got bored with it! The foamy formula is very light and gentle, almost dissolving into the skin and rinsed off in a flash.

 

 

123) eos Lip Balm Sphere (Medicated Tangerine) - I'm biased towards these little balm balls so it won't surprise you when I say I enjoyed this medicated version. Tangerine with a slight hint of menthol, this balm went on with a slightly heavier feel than the regular version but worked well as an affordable overnight lip treatment.  My husband appreciated the flavour too!

 

124) Face of Australia Gentle Make-up Remover (125ml/4.23 fl.oz) - This isn't the first time and won't be the last time I use this colourless makeup remover.  It gently removes all eye makeup without any stinging or oily residue and doesn't cost a bomb either.  

 

Hand and body care

 

124) OPI Original Polish Remover (120ml/4 fl.oz) - I prefer OPI's Expert Touch because it removes my polish faster and with less effort but I bought this as my next best option when I couldn't get my favourite.

 

125) Dermaveen Everyday Intensive Hand Cream (100ml) - I turned to this old faithful in the colder weather when my hands were at their worst because it's formulated for sensitive skin and moisturises without aggravating my seasonal eczema.  I'm sure I'll repurchase it when I need to again.

 

126) Crabtree & Evelyn Summer Hill Hand Therapy (25g/0.9 oz) - Another mini tube of hand cream I carried around in my purse.  The rich but easily absorbed formula is as I've come to expect and the fruity floral Summer Hill fragrance balances perfectly on the edge of being potent without becoming overpowering.  I've got to say the C & E Iris scented hand cream I'm using right now is absolutely amazing and I'm tempted to rub it onto my pulse points!

 

Cosmetics

127) Essence lipstick (Fairytale) - I bought this lippy when I first started blogging over 3 years ago so I suppose it's a little bit of a sentimental empty - I don't even think Essence sells this lipstick formula anymore (in Australia at least).  Fairytale was a sheer but buildable mauve for a low key lip colour so it was well loved and even well travelled, coming along with me on my last overseas trip!

 

128) Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Eyeshadow Base - This tiny genie bottle tube came with the original UD Naked palette I bought last year.  A reliable choice if you're after a colourless base to hold eyeshadow in place, and my oily lids are thankful for that so I've finally bought a full size tube.

 

129) BYS Lash Extend Mascara (Black)* - This mascara came as part of a two-step lash pack with a scary dry fibre lash primer which I threw out months ago because of the fear of loose fibres getting into my eyes.  On its own BYS Lash Extend wears more like a black lash tint so I ended up hardly ever using it. 

 

Culled...

Maybelline Color Sensational Pop Stick (Raspberry Ice) - Surely this won the award for the lip product which did NOTHING.  No colour, no gloss, no moisturising properties. Nothing. I held onto it for so long because of the novelty of having a lip thingy which looked like a jello sculpture and THAT'S IT. It's time to go...

 

Invisible Zinc Tinted Daywear SPF 30+ (Light) - I bought this as a multi-tasking facial sunscreen for a tropical holiday a few years ago, wore it a few times then put it away and 'forgot' about it. Not really forgot - the problem was the overly greasy, heavy formula which I couldn't handle. Now the tube's past its expiry date so it's well and truly too late to figure out how to make it work. 

 

Fragrance

 

130) Chanel Allure Sensuelle EDP (50ml) - Damn I loved this fragrance! If I owned a vat of it I would wear it every day, but Chanel is one of those more expensive fragrance options so I'll just dream on.  This comes across as a crisp fresh citrusy scent at first but then enriches with a seductive patchouli undertone which envelops me - I could inhale it for hours.  So what are the notes?  Top notes contain bergamot, mandarin and pink pepper. Mid notes are composed of jasmine, rose, iris, candied fruits and vetiver followed by the base notes of French vanilla, amber, patchouli and frankincense.

 

131) Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise EDT (10ml travel size) - I packed this summery tropical floral for my overseas trip to wear when we got to Hawaii. The top notes are Eden mist, orange blossom, blue hyacinth, and Jaboticaba berry. The floral mid notes are laelia orchid, pink honeysuckle, Japanese mahonia, while base notes are Natal plum blossom, golden melaleuca, zebrano wood, ambrette seed.

 

 

So that's it until I do the final empties roundup for 2014 and then I have to consider if I'm making any beauty resolutions for the new year!  One resolution surely ought to be getting my empties posts out in a more timely fashion...

 

 

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

 

December's farewelled products (2013 edition)

So this is my final empties post for 2013.  To tell you the truth I'm a lot more excited about my 2014 beauty wishlist which I've also been working on so I'll try to keep the rambling to a minimum.  We'll see if I can reign it in!

 

Skin care 

 

139) Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser (1 litre) - The third bottle of my favourite in-shower soap-free body cleanser used up this year. Just realised this should be included in my hand and body category where it usually lives but I've slipped up here. Whoops!

 

140) Dior Instant Gentle Exfoliant (75ml/2.6 oz) - This was one of my skincare splurges in 2013 and it was well enjoyed too!  This creamy white exfoliant is permeated with the scent of pure lily extract so it was a sensory pleasure while exfoliating.  I used this twice weekly in the shower and it did a thorough but gentle job.  I'd love to repurchase this - when my skincare stash dwindles just a little!

 

141) Milk Beauty Wipes (25 wipes) - After all this time I think I have finally met the HG of cleansing wipes! These are extra large, alcohol and paraben free, and are beaded on one side for exfoliation - let me tell you they did a fantastic job of declogging the bumpy little pores on my chin! Great resealable packaging and a lovely gentle baby powder scent too. 

 

142) The Face Shop Real Nature Mask (Aloe) - This sheet mask was refreshingly aloe-scented and lightly moisturising.  Not the most intensively moisturising I've tried but not a bad skin pick-me-up for $3AUD either! 

143) Eos Lip Balm (Honeysuckle Honeydew) - Yup I finished one of these little spheres! I found this 'flavour' very silky smooth (smoother than the medicated Tangerine I'm now using) and pretty darn addictive.  I'm usually a single swipe kind of gal when it comes to balms but with this I would just keep swiping and sweeping it over the lips - I think it was a combination of the spherical shape and the super smooth moisturising formula.  In any case these aren't expensive so I can swipe to my heart's content - besides I have four more flavours to try in my little collection! 

Hand and body care

144) OPI Expert Touch Lacquer Remover (120 ml/4 Fl.oz) - Another bottle bites the dust! I've recently found out this formula is recommended for GelColor removal, hence OPI's  "superior performance" claim.

 

145) L'Occitane Ultra Rich Shower Cream (75ml/2.5fl.oz travel size) - I was pretty pleased to find this GWP lurking in my bathroom drawer because I love this for the ultimate creamy shower indulgence! I have raved about this previously - the only reason I don't repurchase all the time is the equally indulgent price for a product that gets washed away down the shower drain.

146) L'Occitane Dry Skin Foot Cream (10ml/0.3oz travel size) - I found this during the same purge of my bathroom drawers and put it to use immediately for an overnight foot treat.  It was fantastically rich and silky on application, not surprising given the 15% Shea butter content and scented with lavender which makes for slightly fresher scented tootsies! I plan on pricing this one for a future purchase.

147) Nivea Intensive Nourishing Hand Cream (75ml) -  This rich hand cream is targeted at dry hands with its Macadamia Nut and Vitamin formula.  I'm a fan of the classic Nivea cream scent so I loved inhaling it with every application.  Despite its claims of being quickly absorbed I did find it to be on the greasy side so I used it for my overnight hand cream. 

Cosmetics

148) Mirenesse Tight Liner Hydra Gel Eye Liner (Caviar Black) - I'm absolutely kicking myself that I didn't use this gel liner more often because it dried up on me and I really did love it. Oh well. See my original mini review here.

 

149) Rimmel 100% Waterproof Mascara (Black) - My everyday workhorse waterproof mascara and not bad for a budget product. See my mascara comparison post here for more about it.

150) Essence Glossy Lipbalm (Toffee Frappucino) - This lip gloss tube was on my hit list of products to use up in 2014 but I got there earlier.  These have been discontinued a while ago so I won't bother with an unnecessary review.

 



Fragrance

 

151) Dior - Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet EDT (1ml/.03fl.oz) - This didn't make a lasting impression on me - I can only remember the lightness of the fragrance.   From the Dior website: 
"Delicate and light, Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet is a tender, floral bouquet. The Sicilian Orange Essence top note comes together with a tender floral heart, unveiling dominant notes of Peony and Damask Rose. As a finishing touch, white musk delicately envelops this springtime composition..."

 

So that's it for another month and another year's worth of empties! Now onwards with the new year and my plans to reduce my makeup collection just a little to make way for a little more luxury beauty this year as per my Beauty Diet.  Knowing that I have quite a few well used makeup items - and knowing that I finished 23 makeup items (including 1 tossed item) in 2013 - I'm pretty excited I'll succeed and can't wait to finish my first 2 items so that I can earn my first luxury makeup reward!

 

Next post:  My 2014 wishlist!

 

Hong Kong 2013 vacation haul...

Oh. My. God. I really did need to do that empties post before I did this!  I don't usually do so much beauty shopping but I didn't want to suffer travellers' regret and leave thinking of what I'd missed.  I'd been looking forward to this overseas trip so much - and planned for the spend - although I admit I should have done more research on comparing prices - it means I would have purchased most of my beauty products in Hong Kong! That vibrant city really is a fantastic place for beauty bargains.

I've tried my best to organize the pictures into logical categories although there's some overlap here and there and some standalones too!

Nails

Clockwise from bottom left: 

I.Color (VN24), Dear Rus Nobless (NM21), Revlon (Whimsical & Girly)
Arezia (unnamed purple glitter & unnamed pink crème)
Sasatinnie Minis (SPN148, SPN125, SPN117, SME301)

Let's start with my usual focus: the polishes! I purchased all but two of these from Sasa. The I.Color and Dear Rus Nobless polishes were bought from Sasa's budget beauty competitor (I guess?) Bonjour.  As I pointed out in my Instagram pictures these two stores are never far away from each other, and seem to be on every city street corner in Hong Kong.  The temptation is bound to wear down any bargain hunting, beauty-obsessed woman!

 

Jill Stuart

 

Japanese beauty brand Jill Stuart is a highly collectible brand for me and I was excited to find a Jill Stuart counter in the huge (13,000 square foot or 1208 square metres) Facesss beauty department store in Harbour City.  I instantly fell in love with Night Jewel Summer Bloom EDT, a rose floral scent with lingering notes of amber and musk and - while I walked away - it was that scent which drove me back to the counter a few days later.  My other purchase was the limited edition Cocktail Dress eye color palette, with four cool, lightly sparkly shades for evening eyes.  The other items were all incredibly generous gifts with purchase:  phone jewellery, Jelly Lip Gloss (Baby Petal) and a sample pack of blotting sheets!

 

 

Lancôme & Tom Ford 

 

These two items are together simply because I bought them both from Lane Crawford - a rather luxe department store, and the only place to buy TF cosmetics outside of the TF boutique.  There was a crazy frenzy of excitement over Alber Elbaz collaboration with Lancôme (I mean the place was literally buzzing!) and the palette I was after was already sold out! Never mind, I've been a long time fan of Lancôme mascaras so I easily consoled myself with the Hypnose Doll Eyes Waterproof mascara.   I knew I was going to buy something from the Tom Ford counter so I bought a tube of Lip Color Shine in the orange-red shade Willful.  This is my first experience with the sheerer, shinier formula of these lip gloss-lipstick hybrids.

 

Canmake & KATE

 Clockwise from left:

Canmake Candy Wrap Lip Gloss (01), KATE Shiny Eyes (BR-2),

Canmake Colorful Nails (41 & 63), Canmake Cheek Gradation (05)

Canmake Cream Cheek (CL03)

Not pictured: Canmake Eye Nuance (24)

 

All of these Japanese drugstore beauty brand purchases are me making up for my travellers' regret at not buying them when I was in Japan 4 years ago! Sasa had a fantastic selection and I bought these cute items in two separate trips.

 

 

Demeter

 

Funnily enough, when I was able to buy Demeter fragrance in Australian department David Jones I never bothered! Anyhow...I chose White Bouquet, a very clean and crisp, almost freshly laundered floral scent. Yes, I know, they do also have a scent called Laundromat...   

 

 

Balms & Removers

 

More Sasa purchases:  I bought 2 eos balms because I forgot to pack my lip balm (I'm a lip balm addict among other things), then went back for 2 more! Okay, my picks were Honeysuckle Honeydew, Tangerine, Summer Fruit (LE) and Strawberry Sorbet (LE) - now I finally, totally get why people collect these!  I didn't forget my makeup remover but bought a few bottles (2 for 1) of Cyber Colors remover because I was on the verge of running out and the 59ml bottles were a handy little size. 

 

 

Liner pens & Dotting tools

 

And more Sasa purchases: Sophia (aka The Make-up Blogette) swears by Heavy Rotation liner pens so I bought these on her advice.  There was a wall full of liners to choose from so I hope I chose the right ones!  During the same time I spotted a dotting tool so I threw it into the basket for some upcoming nail art experiments...

 

 

 Sheet Masks

 

I was on the lookout for sheet masks and Sasa (to the rescue again) had a huge range of individual masks to choose from.  I think I've got masks for every possible need here!

 

 

 Wipes

 

These Sasatinnie wipes have already popped up in my empties post! I stocked up because I love them - especially the rose scented variety.  I have a strong feeling I'll be ordering more from Sasa's website in future.

 

Are you still with me?? Phew!!!

 

Let me know if you are interested in any reviews or swatches and I'll be happy to oblige!