Decluttering 104

So here comes to day 4 in my decluttering series, looks like I will need 5 days to wrap up my mini-series here. lol It feels good to purge out all my thoughts on these empties, plus, to finally being able to toss them away! 

Sofina SPF24 PA+++ - not much to say except this is my all-time favourite sunscreen. I believed the SPF24 has been discontinued and replaced with the SPF30 now. But in short, this milky lotion is light-weight, moisturizing and so easy to blend. Love it! =)

Lancome blanc expert ultimate whitening hydrating cream - I didn't use this cream continuously that I found any brightening results, it is rather moisturizing and I can only use it at night time. I found it leaves a slight greasy film on my face after I use it so that why I didn't care to use it in the day time. I don't think this is amazing and probably will not repurchase for now.

Korres wild rose vitamin C advanced brightening sleeping facial - I was not planning to get this cream but while I was at Sephora browsing the Korres section, the Korres trainer was there apparently and she demonstrated this cream on my hand. I was amazed because I saw immediate brightening result when she used a cotton pad on top of the cream and applied onto my hand for like 1 minute. Although this is quite an expensive cream ($62.50 CAD), I just could not resist getting it. Plus, it smells amazing!!!! It is very hard for me to use up a moisturizer: a.) I am not very loyal b.) I have too many moisturizers c.) I always try new things. For these reasons, I often do not stick with one particular moisturizer. But I managed to use up this relatively quick because I could not resist not using it. Originally I was planning to use it 1 to 3 times a week as per recommended by the trainer, but in the end I found myself reaching for this daily. I already repurchased this but I have yet to open it because I want to use up all my other creams first. And since there is vitamin C in it, I do not want to open the glass jar and risking the product not at its optimum stage. All in all, I love this moisturizer and it doesn't make me greasy. =)

Embryolisse lait creme concentrate - another moisturizer that I adore! I already repurchased and using my 2nd tube right now. Wonderful moisturizer that is easy to blend, non-irritating, basic, hydrating and perfect for underneath makeup. This has become my Winter essential. =) And omg, it is so affordable! My mum helped me to repurchase when she was in Paris and I could not believe who affordable this is there! (also for Bioderma!) I got this from a retailer in Hong Kong and it was about $23 CAD, and I believe my mum got this in France for 9 euro..!! Not that I travel to France routinely, so I probably will have to pay a higher price to get this cream, but it is well-worth it. <3

Bioderma sebium AI - this is a treatment that helps to eliminate spots. I actually quite enjoyed it but I wasn't sure if it was this product that helped to control my blemishes. So right now I haven't repurchased yet, but if I find myself needing a product like this in my life again, I will for sure consider getting this.

Dream Skin whitening serum - I don't have much to say about this, did not care for it and was simply trying to use this up.

Shiseido benefiance hand revitalizer - I got this as a gift while purchasing things in Hong Kong Shiseido counter. I don't think this product is available in North America but Shiseido does sell a similar hand cream here in Canada. (I think it is probably the same, but just marketed slightly differently) A very moisturizing hand cream that I find slightly greasy, takes longer to absorb. But it is great of bed time. Not my choice for day time.

Origins super spot remover - I believe this is already my 2nd bottle of it. Salicylic acid 1.5% treatment. I do like it but after using 2 bottles of it consecutively, I was in the mood to try something new, thus the Clinique spot treatment. By all means, I tried to stick with salicylic acid treatment rather than benzoic peroxide, just because I think it works better for my skin type.

Let the empties continue...

OK,
so let's just jump right in without further ado, we have lots of talk about!

(Left to Right)
My beauty diary peach soda eye & lip makeup remover (dual-phase)
MAC Fix+ skin refresher / finishing mist
Fancl mild cleansing oil (special edition bottle)

• My beauty diary peach soda makeup remover - I remove my eye makeup separately from my face makeup and I have come to the realization that dual-phase removers work the best. This is no exception. I like it a lot, doesn't leave a greasy film on my eyes yet effective! There isn't any special scent to it despite the name. It is pretty to look at though because the bottom layer is a pink liquid. =) I also like the scroll cap packaging, easy and do not have to worry about leaking. Good for traveling! 
• MAC Fix plus - a very popular product in the beauty community. It's an OK product to me, it works in terms of making your makeup looks more dewy and less powdery. Staying power? I am not 100% sold. I also am not too crazy about the mist, the packaging doesn't produce a mist that is fine enough. As opposed to what the salesperson said, I didn't think MAC Fix plus helps to fight humidity. I was using it during my stay in HK, where heat and humidity are all there is left in Summer months. Still, I think this is not a bad product and I might consider repurchasing for Winter. 
• Fancl cleansing oil - Holy Grail status in my book! My first cleansing oil and I always have this on hand no matter how many cleansing oils I try. 

(Left to Right)
Laneige water sleeping pack plus
Chanel Precision UV essentiel daily protection SPF 45/PA+++
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri anti-chip top coat
NUXE intensive firming cream
Origins super spot remover
Dior Miss Dior Cherie L'eau Eau de Toilette 

• Laneige water sleep pack plus - an overnight mask that gives moisture to your skin when you are sleeping. To be honest, I have used a few jars of it before even though I can't say I am crazy about it. However, I discovered it is quite good to use during long haul flights. May repurchase but I kind of want to try something else for the moment. 
• Chanel prevision UV essentiel daily protection fluid - big NO NO for me. Yes, you would think everything from Chanel must be good but I struggled to use this up. I hate sunscreen being thick and greasy and this is exactly how I feel about this. I used this up by applying it to my neck area. I do not recommend this at all. =(
• Sally Hansen insta-dri top coat - a great, affordable top coat and I did enjoy it a lot. Like the mega-shine top coat, it is no exception that towards the end of the bottle, the product gets too thick and goopy to use. Still trying to find my favourite top coat but I will certainly keep this in mind. 
• NUXE intensive firming cream - I love the smell of this cream! It came from a sample set and it claims to have bamboo, amazonian plants and kigelia africana in the product. Can't speak for the firming ability but I would repurchase just for the scent. However, I am unable to find this line in stores so I wonder if it's like a limited edition thing? 
• Origins super spot remover - I need to have at least one acne treatment on hand at all time and this serves the purpose. I actually already repurchased and am using the 2nd bottle of it. I find it hard to say if any of these acne clearing products really works, but my philosophy is to "keep holding on". This spot remover doesn't make my skin peels with 1.5% salicylic acid in it, and it works well underneath makeup which is critical to me. 
• Dior Miss Dior cherie L'eau EDT - I am trying to use up some of my perfume samples and this is first in line. I do not own the original Miss Dior cherie perfume so I am not sure how they compare. Scent is very personal and hard to describe but all in all, I am not intrigued to buy the full size. 

(Left to Right)
Prestige my blackest lashes mascara
Fairy Drops mascara
Lancome cils booster mascara base
NARS pro-prime smudge proof eyeshadow base 

Finally some makeup bits! 

• Prestige my blackest lashes mascara - heard a few people raving about this mascara, claiming it to be similar to the Makeup Forever Smoky Lash. First of all, my Asian lashes are extremely hard to hold curls so waterproof mascara is almost always a must. My blackest lashes mascara does not come in a waterproof formula but I was still intrigued to try this out. Well, my lashes went straight almost immediately after I applied this mascara... so needless to say, I won't repurchase this. 
• Fairy Drops mascara - a Japanese brand mascara and I often prefer Japanese brands when it comes to mascara. Maybe because our lash types are more similar. It has a very interesting wand with 3 "balls" on it and it was amazing at keeping my curls. I already bought a 2nd tube of this (with different packaging and slightly different wand) because I am a sucker for mascaras. Also, I found that with this mascara, it is best to wait for a period of time before it reaches its best performance stage (in other words, it might be too wet when you first start to use it). 
• Lancome cils booster mascara base - this was a gift from my friend, before I knew anything about makeup (I still don't know a lot of things of course). It was basically sitting in my drawers for years before I finally open it. Despite the fact that this is a "star" product, I can't say I love it. Again it made my lashes straight.... I don't know if they have changed the formula over the years (probably have) so I might try the new formula some day. 
• NARS pro-prime smudge proof eyeshadow base - got this sample size from Sephora in a mini NARS set. After finishing this little sample up, I ran to Sephora and bought the full size. It serves its purpose well and I think it performs even slightly better than my Two Faced Shadow Insurance in humid weather. The only downside is the packaging... it gets dirty so easily and I would prefer it in a tube like the Two Faced one or the newly packaged Urban Decay primer potion. 

Woooo, so this wraps up my super long and overdue empties post. I hope I can keep this spirit going and let's also hope that I won't accumulate that many to blog at a time again....-.-

Eye Creams

 I use eye creams on a regular basis and I think it is important to start preventing any skin problems around the eyes area at a younger age. I pretty much started to use eye creams a few years after I started to use skincare products regularly (as I recall =P).
To me, moisture is the key thing I look for in an eye cream since I don't want to put too heavy products around my eyes yet.

Here are some eye creams that I have used up recently, using currently, and want to try in the future.

Used up: It's skin --- Moisture System Eye Cream 

You may not be familiar with this brand "It's skin" because it is a Korean brand and my parents got this for me while they were at Korea last Summer. This is a HUGE tube for an eye cream and it seriously lasted me for soooooooooooo long!!!!!!
It is actually more of a gel texture rather than a cream and overall I think it is pretty hydrating. It doesn't have any overpowering scent (which is good) and I also like how it is in a tube. =)
I don't know if I am in love with it, it is a decent product but I find myself liking slightly more than a gel when it comes to eye creams. This It's skin eye cream is more than other eye gels I have tried but not to the extent that I would like it to be. However, that being said, I think this product is great for Summer because I don't know if I can actually put a cream under my eyes in such a hot & humid weather (especially when I travel back to HK)...=S

Currently using: Olay cucumber eye gel 

As I just said, I don't like anything too thick when it comes to Summer and this Olay eye gel is definitely light. I used to enjoy it more but as I get older now, I think I prefer something thicker than this gel. 

It is very affordable, especially if I get this from HK (which I did). But I probably would not repurchase this in a short while because I really want to try something new. 

The Olay eye gel is certainly a basic eye cream/gel and I  would recommend it to anyone younger and want to start using eye products. 

What I want to try: Origins GinZing & Eye Doctor

I have heard many good reviews on these products, especially the GinZing eye cream. But of course when it comes to skincares, you really have to try it yourself to test things out.
I actually want to try GinZing for my Mum as well because she told me that she has problems with puffy eyes and I think the caffeine content in GinZing may help.




Love,
Lorraine & Po Po