Product Empties #01

Remember when I wrote Project Empty back in January? Honeslty, I kind of forget about this project's existence until I ran out of a couple of products at once recently. I thought; well, why not? Beside, as someone who blogs about beauty, product empties are something worth celebrating, it's like we've managed to accomplish a noble mission.

Bobbi Brown Sheer Finished Pressed Powder in Warm Natural; I honestly didn't know what possessed me to get this powder. Okay, maybe back in my earlier day, I was so starry eyed by anything Bobbi (not that I'm not now). This powder is fine but nothing spectacular, and it wasn't particularly good at keeping oils at bay for a long time too.

Repurchase? No, definitely look for cheaper alternative with better oil control.

Bobbi Brown Corrective Spot Treatment; this thing was discontinued back in 2014. I had originally wanted their touch-up stick but for some reason they're not available in Indonesia (w.h.y.). The SA convinced me that this is similar with touch-up stick, and as much as I love her, it's a total no. I tried wearing this on top and beneath my foundation but they always turned out patchy and drying, which isn't how you wanted your spot-corrective concealer to work. I used it up anyways because I wanted to love this so much, buuuut; nah.

Repurchase? No, no, and another no. 

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit in Natural & pale Yellow; now, this is the real deal. This very iconic concealer deserves all the praises it got. Creamy, blendable, and not crease-y. It comes with powder to set the concealer under your eyes. This was the 2nd concealer I purchased (the 1st one was from Candy Doll), and it woke me up to the wonder of under-eye concealer. When I panned this, I literally panicked, and

Repurchase? Already do, it's in my everyday makeup pouch already ;)

Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara (travel size); out of all mascara I've tried, this mascara is definitely the one worthy of being called 'the best'. This mascara is very lengthening, and separates my lashes at the same time. Due to its rich color; very black, it also gives illusion of fuller lashes. Water-prood but easy to remove. What a masacara of dream.

Repurchase? Maybe, I'm still thinking between this or L'oreal, or just sticking to Majolica Majorca.

L'Occitane Shea Butter Lip Balm; my lips are very difficult to work with. I picked this up when I was desperate to find a lip balm that will actually hydrate my lips instead of just sitting there and do nothing but being tacky. This immediately become my favorite with its lightweight texture, yet very hydrating formula.

Repurchase? Maybe, but maybe somewhere next year.

Dior Addict Lip Glow in Pink; let me be honest, I love how it looks on my lips, but, I'm not a fan of how it feels. I know most people swear by the amazing formula of this lip balm, sadly, not the case with me. It left my lips feeling like 'there's something there', not in a good way, but in the 'i'm gonna sit pretty here, and do nothing, not even hydrating your lips'. In fact, my lips tend to flake after I used this.

Repurchase? Nope.

Laneige White Plus Renew Skin Refiner; after getting good result with their moisturizer, I had wanted to get their toner (which they call as 'refiner'), in hope it works as good at brightening my skin. This is not a particularly bad product per se, helps brightening my skin tone, sure, but I'm not sure if this product is to credit for, or it's all Kiehl's MRC doing, since I started using them around the same time.

Repurchase? No, already got myself Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Toner.

Living Proof Style Lab Straight Spray (mini); I knew of Living Proof from Mandy's blog, and just the day after, I went to Sephora to find them sitting pretty in the aisles. This helps my hair gets straight easier during blow dry while giving it heat protection as well. However, it's not enough to make my hair as straight as I want them to be, so I always need to flat iron them again. Lately, I felt like I don't really need to use this since I got more or less same result without using this when styling my hair.

Repurchase? No. But wouldn't refuse if someone offered to buy for me ;)

Shiseido Senka Perfect Liquid; I've talked enough about how great this makeup remover is in this post, so I'd save my gushing for now. It's truly the best makeup remover I've tried, doesn't break out my oily skin, doesn't make it dry, smells great, and feels refreshing after use. The best part is how cheap it is for such amazing quality, definitely recommend this makeup remover!

Repurchase? Yes! Actually, I already do.

Chloe Love Story EDP; This perfume is the most 'adult' fragrance I had in my collection, top it of with the golden packaging that screams luxury. It's empty, but I have it sitting on my dresser for decorative purpose. I'm horrible when it comes to describing fragrance, but according to the old and trusty Fragrantica, this perfume 'explores the note of orange blossom', with neroli in top notes, and jasmine in middle.

Repurchase? No, I've found my kind of 'signature' scent, and this isn't it.

Missha Line Friends Edition Love Secret Hand Cream in Blue Daisy; is lovely gift from equally lovely friend. The meadow seeds acts as moisturizer, and the daisy essence helps brightening my skin. The texture is not as creamy as my other hand cream, more runny and gel like, but it feels nourishing on the skin.

Repurchase? No, I'm more a fan of creamier, thicker hand cream.

Did you empty any product recently? Have you tried any products above?

acceptance over understanding
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What do I bring to Japan | Skin, Hair, Body Care Edition

Welcome to the second installment of What do I bring to Japan! As promised, this time it's going to be about skin, hair, and body care (in case the title is not self-explanatory enough). Like the makeup, I'm keeping everything simple by not bringing my complete skincare products, compromising in some area such as not differentiating day - night skincare. I mean, when you're traveling and tight on space, you just want to bring as compact as possible, right?

 

Skincare

Traveling doesn't mean I'm skipping my routine either, but I'm downsizing what I bring by, as mentioned above, compromising day - night routine. For me, cleansing is the most important part of the routine, so I'm not going to play with this one. I got the travel size of Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil a couple of months back, perfect for this chance but I know this won't be enough for 5 days trip so I'm planning to buy the full version of Shiseido Senka Perfect Liquid since I'm running out the one I have at home. For cleansing foam, I'm taking Shiseido Senak Perfect Whip with me. Now for the actual skincare, I'm going to bring Laneige White Plus Renew Skin Refiner as toner and Kiehl's Midnight Recover Concentrate in place of my usual moisturizer. I know MRC is supposed to be night-time skincare, but I tried using it in the day before and got no trouble at all so it should be fine.

 

Haircare

I thought it'd be impossible to compromise with this one because my hair is absolute mess with no styling, but I guess I actually managed to downsize the products from my usual routine (which includes three to four products aside from shampoo and conditioner). I bet it all on Living Proof Prime Style Extender, this does all from nourishing and smoothing, protecting my hair from heat, to maintaining my hair will stay in place throughout the day. To fix my hair in case of emergency, I will be using Jill Stuart Hair Treatment Mist which works both as fixer and treatment for my hair, I have the full-sized ones but this one is the travel size that I got after hauling Jill Stuart somewhere last year. Since I cannot live without hair straightener, of course I cannot leave my hair iron which is from Philips. It doesn't get temperature setting but it's compact and travel friendly, plus it got this cute hot-pink plate on it!

Body Care

Confession time, I'm utterly lazy when it comes to body care. I cannot count how many times I forgot using my body milk or lotion before I leave the house (or, really, sometimes I intentionally skip it). But I have this travel size of Jill Stuart Body Milk in Tuberose & Rose sitting very very lonely in the back of my drawer, and it's very light in texture, so I figure it'd be suitable for Tokyo in June. I'd love to bring my full size perfume but let's be real, they're in glass bottle, which is heavy, and I'm not risking that, so L'Occitane Roll on Perfume in Reines et Roses that is. Rose can be heavy but this one is fresh enough to be summer appropriate.

Some of these products will be deposited to travel size bottle that I have scattered around the house and packed inside the pouch I received from Zoeva, some other will go inside zip lock bag (because I'm that paranoid). The next installment will be about what I bring in my bag - travel edition, or something like that. See you next week!!

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What do I bring to Japan | Makeup Edition

As I’ve mentioned a few times before, I’m leaving for Japan next week! I’m so excited to meet my friends there, I met them May last year and there were some people I could not meet back then but this time, they have the time to meet this poor, undeserving me. I will be absent from blogging – even instagram – until June 24th, my posts after that will obviously about ‘Japan haul’ #winkwink, and three posts from now on will be dedicated for ‘What I bring to Japan’ (as if the title is not obvious enough), starting from the most excited part; makeups! The theme (if there was any) is fuss-free makeup. 

The Base

June is also knowns as tsuyu（梅雨）or transitional rainy season between spring to summer. The weather is going to be very, very humid, thus I suspect heavy makeup won’t do me good. Since I choose practicality over anything when it comes to traveling, instead of bringing heavy, sweat-proof makeup like good blogger does, the only base product I will take with me is my Laneige Pore BB Cushion. They’re light-weight and long-wearing, also comes with medium coverage that’s enough to make my face presentable. I’m skipping concealer and powder even, betting my life (face) on the line with this one. Another plus is bulky this might be, it’s not as heavy as it looks like – very travel friendly. I will also take Jill Stuart Fruit & Aroma Mist Refresh Oil Control to freshen up my (and Amez’s) face during the day in case the weather get too stuffy, it smells good and summer-y!

The Eyes and Cheeks

Staying true to ‘fuss-free’, I only bring three items in this category. I ditch mascara since I’m planning to buy a couple there (Japanese drugstore mascara deserve all award it could get, seriously). For eyes, I will go with Kiko Long Lasting Stick in 37 Burgundy and 05 Rosy Brown. These two were literaly bought for the sake of this trip, so it will be ridiculous not to bring them. One swipe, and I’m ready to hit the world (read: barrel through the rain), I can either wear each color alone or use the together with Burgundy on the outer-corner/crease and Rosy Brown all over my lids (or vice versa). For the blush, of course it’s gonna be Bobbi Brown Blush in Nectar, it’s not like I have other blush with me, right?

The Lips

After a lot of mulling over my lipstick stash (which is made from 7 lip products sans lip balm), I decided to go only with Burberry Lip Velvet in Oxblood. When I feel like sporting dark, bolder lips, I can swipe Burberry Oxblood on. But when I want something lighter, I can just pat this lipstick on my lips and gets brighter, red color which instantly brigthen up my face. Such a no-brainer lipstick, there’s a reason why this little, sexy baby is my holy grail. For lib balm, I’m sticking with L’Occitane Ultra Rich Lip Balm.

The Tool

a The only makeup tools will be Bobbi Brown Sheer Powder Brush, the all-rounder brush, my holy grail of brushes. I’m planning to leave this on the hotel where I stay and only take this along when makeup shopping is on schedule.

a In conclusion, I’m going to bring 7 makeup products + 1 tool with me for a five day trips. The number is roughly the same with what I always have everyday in my makeup pouch, and it’s for full-face makeup. For some of you, this might be too little but for me, these will be enough to ensure my face’s (makeup) survival throughout the trip! Stay tune for the next installment; skincare!

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Favorite Rose Scented Products

I happened to love rose fragrance more than I expected. Continuing the 'pink-themed' February, it's only fitting we talk about 'roses', isn't it? What other flower can be more appropriate with how closely related it is to 'love' and 'affection'? I remember the day when I almost obsessively track down every meaning of every roses out there and pink rose that speaks of 'admiration' has been my favorite after orange roses (happiness). Not just aesthetically pleasing, roses are also meaningful, and it smells really great; warm, romantic, and lady-like, which is probably why I'm attracted to its fragrance more than any other flowers. Here are some rose scented products I'm still using at the moment.

Liz Lisa eau de Linge Originale

Somewhere during my stay in Japan when I was pretty much attracted to Liz Lisa, I just know I need to smell like Liz Lisa. If you visited the actual store, you will know what I'm talking about; a warm, very girly floral scent that makes you feel like you are the most feminine and beautiful lady around. It just smells like warm winter, that's the only way to put it in my opinion. Needless to say this is a very winter appropriate fragrance for its warmth, comforting scent. There is no list of what kind of roses are put in there but they mentioned 10 essential oils being inside, I suspect some tea-tree oil is infused as well because there is that subtle hint of it. This works as all rounder fragrance; room, clothes, and body as well. Whenever it rains, I always make sure to spray this all over the room for a little bit of extra warmth.

Liz Lisa La Vie en Rose Body Lotion

Technically not a fragrance but this body lotion has some amazing long lasting scent going on, I swear it smells as much as it hydrates. It also has a very light and fast absorbing texture, something I appreciated from body lotion. This doesn't smell as heavy as it's eau de Linge counterpart, instead, I'd say this and that have entirely different perfume formula. Not as warm as the previous one, this body lotion is very appropriate for spring. It smells like a beautiful rose garden under the warm sun and crisp, fresh air.

L'Occitane Roses et Reines EDT

Since attending gym every morning, a need for portable and handy perfume rose (no pun intended) within me, and that's how I ended up with this roll on perfume. Between this one and Jardin Secret, I picked this for it's lighter and fresher scent. It smells very feminine with 4 roses; Bulgarian, Grasse, Turkish, and Moroccan, as its middle note. Guess what, it has bergamot as its top notes. No wonder I'm attracted to this lovely thing.

Jill Stuart Tuberose & Rose Hand Cream

The hand cream that I and my mother swear by. Coming from Jill Stuart, the packaging literally has nothing to fault at. The formula has me and my mother on our feet; it's thick but once you rub it it, it just melts and the residual stickiness only lasts for no more than 10 seconds before leaving your hand as soft as butter. Whenever I visit Japan, mom always make sure that I bring at least one for her. As the name suggest, this is more heavier on tuberose's side than the rose itself. Compared to the others, this smells the sweetest.

Jill Stuart Tuberose & Rose Body Milk

The body milk version of Rose & Tuberose Hand cream. The only difference is truly only on the consistency side being body milk and all. Compared to TBS' body milk, Jill Stuart's is runnier but the funny thing is it's not as sticky. Scent wise, this smells completely the same with the hand cream.

Those are my favorite rose scented product. Do you have any favorite rose scented product?

acceptance over understanding

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