Makeup and Skincare Empties + Review July, August, and September 2017 (Project Use Up All the Samples 2k17)

... Okay, this is a bit insane but I kept three months worth of empties. I was lazy okay (￣□￣) I couldn't fit everything into one photo so I don't have a photo of everything.

I got a helix piercing at the beginning of September because I had wanted one for the longest time. Since I have long hair and the jewellery is tiny, very few people have noticed it.

In this time period, I also went to Kcon and saw EXO perform live! I'm still a bit in denial, it was a dream come trueeeee. I was a bit bummed that my current bias D.O (Do Kyungsoo) didn't end up coming but I saw all the other members! Lay wasn't going to come anyway so I wasn't too disappointed at not seeing him.

I also won a Peripera Airy Ink Velvet lip tint in #4 Beautiful Coral Velvet from the beauty panel at Kcon (*adds more lip products to my collection*). 

BTS keeps on rising. I was slightly disappointed with DNA but it grew on me quickly. I love every song on the album and I have a deep appreciation of the hidden track 'Sea'. 'Mic Drop' and 'Dimple (Illegal)' are my favourite tracks. Of course, being Jimin biased, I love 'Serendipity' as well. Will stop fangirling now and move onto my unbelieveable three months worth of empties.

My friends and I also booked a holiday for next year. I'll be gone for most of February 2018! Super excited.

Samples

Makeup and Skincare Empties + Review May and June 2017 (Project Use Up All the Samples 2k17)

I'm so behind on blogging my empties. Whoops^^;; I've just been plodding along with life, wanting a bit more from work and my relationship(s). 

There's a lot here because I combined two months worth of empties. Let's go!

Makeup and Skincare Empties + Review December 2016 (Project Use Up All the Samples 2k16)

The year 2016 is officially over! I calculated I spent $662 on makeup, skincare, and hair care. This is compared to $550 I spent on makeup (including circle lens), skincare, and hair care in 2015. In 2017, I'd like to save money and spend less on 'fun' purchases in makeup and skincare.

Although the majority of my money is spent on transport and food (~$2000), my main goals this year is to just repurchase skincare necessities and spend less frivolously on makeup. I have enough in my back up box for all of 2017 and probably 2018.

Unfortunately, as I was taking photos of my empties today, I realised my Olympus 14-42mm lens is broken and it wouldn't zoom past 25mm. In my worry, I forgot to take a group photo of everything for the month even though I set it up that way ;( As something extra, I have posted a picture of some items that are not yet finished, but will be thrown away.

Makeup and Skincare Empties + Review November 2016 (Project Use Up All the Samples 2k16)

Can't believe this month is nearly over! I had an exciting and eventful November... I went out a lot. This month, I met Wengie in person. She was a lot skinnier in person than I thought she would be. Although I'm not a religious viewer of her Youtube channel and I don't read her blog, I thought she was very cool in person. She was very nice and offered me hugs:)

I also watched Chihayafuru part 1 and 2 of the live action. In the Christmas holidays, I plan to watch the anime to catch me up to speed now that I am interested in the storyline. I want to see if Chihaya eventually gets the Queen title.

Makeup and Skincare Empties + Review October 2016 (Project Use Up All the Samples 2k16)

This month has flown by! I'm not sure how but I think part of it was just constantly being so busy at work, and trying to keep on top of everything and not dropping the ball. I don't think I'm burning out, but I'm starting to lose that bright spark of organisational commitment I felt when I first started. Maybe I'm browning out?

I had a lot of fun with watching the Melbourne Cup with my colleagues. We went out for lunch, and after that, we all got an early mark to go home. Yay.

I'm glad that the festive season is approaching! I love Christmas decorations and the Christmas spirit. I'm not excited about the weather heating up again... I don't miss the 45 degree days. I have to be a bit more protective about changing up the storage for my lipsticks on hot days as I don't want them to melt or go bad in the heat. My MAC Lady Danger lipstick had a rough day yesterday and experienced a little bit of wax bloom.

I think I used up plenty of full products this month:D

Makeup and Skincare Empties + Review August 2016 (Project Use Up All the Samples 2k16)

Happy Father's Day! I wrote my dad a nice card, but we didn't end up doing that much today. He was going to paint the window sill in my room. That didn't happen as he realised that he needed two coats of paint, and each coat needed 10+ hours to dry. The paint project will be for next week.

I ended up accumulating *cough shopping* a lot during August. I have no idea how that happened. I received a package from beautynetkorea (ordered from beginning of July), ibuybeauti (ordered from beginning of July), package from Etude House (end of July/beginning of August), a 'package' from a reddit user, my first handbag, two Liz Lisa dresses (from Cathy), new pair of rocking horse shoes (from Cathy) and Liz Lisa shoes from ebay. I'll probably do separate posts for those...

Rose Rose Shop Haul and Review #3

Backlog haul:) This one is from Rose Rose Shop in July 2015. This was definitely an impulse haul. I had initially only wanted more Mizon stuff, namely the AHA 8% Serum and more moisturisers. I really wanted to try more hand creams so in they went. In the last minute, I decided to try the Cosrx AHA and due to the upper weight bracket I had to pay for shipping, I threw in a whole heap of other stuff I wanted to try.

Ordered: 26/7/15

Shipped: 28/7/15

Received: 6/8/15

Shipping was unexpectedly quick!

Sample review: The Face Shop Baby Leaf Green Tea Waterfull Serum

Is anyone else attracted to green tea as an ingredient in their skincare? Green tea in a serum is a double whammy; I love green tea and I love serums. I was really happy to try out a few packets of The Face Shop's Baby Leaf Green Tea Waterfull Serum.

What They Say: A serum containing young Green Tea Leaf extracts fully moisturises skin.

- Moisture complex (Xanthan gum + Betain + Gylcerin)

- Panthenol (anti-inflammatory, moisturizing)

- 3,000mg of organically grown Boseong green tea extract

- "5 free" system (artificial coloring, benzophenone, minerals,

 animal derived materials, alcohol)

How To Use: I could not locate any official instructions, but as a rule of thumb, serums are patted onto the skin after using a toner.

Contents: 1ml/ 0.03 fl. oz. I used around eight packets (four days worth).

Sample Review: The Face Shop Herb Day 365 Cleansing Foam Acerola

Back to some mini reviews to relieve stress from thesis writing and other projects. Today I'm going through lots of my old drafts and fixing them up so they are ready to post.

What They Say: For all skin types, produces whitening effects. A mild, natural cleanser, effective in cleansing and brightening (contains fruit acid and rich Acerola extracts with nine other herbs).

How To Use: Get adequate amount for form. Gently place it all over the face and rinse it off with clean water.

Contents: 1ml/ 0.03 fl. oz. I used around three packets.

Can you see the ingredients?

My Thoughts...

This cleanser has a mild, fruity scent. It did not foam up that well without a foaming net. I did not particularly like this as it felt quite drying on my skin, but please keep in mind, I have dry skin so this might fare better for other skin types. According to Testerkorea, this foam retails for 3300 won/ 200ml. From memory, it is around $12-15 at The Face Shop in Australia... that is a steep markup.

TL;DR: Wouldn't buy this as it is drying.

☆/ 5

Wearing my Alice dress...

I decided to do a little wardrobe test to see what I'd look like wearing the dress I made from the previous post.

I hate taking photos of myself on my cameraaaaa OTL. Not only is it hard without a tripod, I don't have a flip screen to see what I look like. Unfortunately, I also dislike doing photoshoots with photographers because I feel too self conscious. Guess it's back self-timer for me >_>

Urm, lots of weird mistakes with the photo (yes, there is a window on my left where the light hits). At least Rilakkuma is in focus! You also get a general idea of what the dress looks like when it is worn.

And, a selca of my makeup face! 

???

Here is a list of the makeup I am sporting on my face--

Jolse haul #1

Okay, so this was my first Jolse haul back in April (I know, I posted my third haul, then my second, my fourth, and now my first?!). I guess this is another one of those subtle introduction into the products I have used or currently own.

Ordered: 24/4/14
Shipped: 25/4/14
Arrived: 2/5/14

Asian Sheet Mask Haul (Etude House, The Face Shop, My Scheming, My Beauty Diary, Missha, Innisfree) and Quick Review

(31/8/14: Work in progress, I've picked up ten billion other boxes of masks since I've drafted this post in February. My favourites are Leaders Insolution and My Beauty Diary)

I love sheet masks. Unfortunately, it's an expensive habit I've developed for something a one time use item. They're fantastic for nourishment and for giving your skin a bit of pampering throughout the week. I used to think that $3 a sheet is a pretty good deal and the most I've paid for one mask is $4.50 (The Face Face Vita C Gel Mask).

Personally, I would not pay for more than $1.50 a sheet mask anymore, and you can easily find good deals around Sydney. Here are the masks I used last year (and some quick thoughts):

Missha:

My very first sheet masks of 2013! I decided to venture out and try them in around February. Missha has since closed down in the QVB. 

Sample Reivew: The Face Shop Face It Power Perfection BB Cream SPF 37, PA++ 02 Natural Beige

First of all, Merry Christmas everyone! Can you believe that 2014 is coming at us so quickly? I'm very excited for next year (because it will bring me my next makeup/ skincare haul hehe). Today I'll be reviewing a makeup staple; BB cream.

I love BB cream! I have worn it almost everyday since the end of 2008 when my cousin introduced me to it. I have ventured into the CC cream realm but my heart will always remain loyal to my BBs (I may also jump into the cushion foundation train in the near future). I feel very frustrated whenever I hear girls in Priceline dismiss BB cream as being inferior to foundation. NO.

Needless to say I was pretty happy when I got a few sample packets of The Face Shop's Power Perfection BB cream.

The Face Shop Power Perfection BB Cream in 02 (Whee sorting through samples)

Sample Review: The Face Shop Arsainte Eco-Therapy Crystal Water Super Gel

Arsainte Eco-Therapy Crystal Water Super Gel

A super duper refreshing and cooling gel cream from The Face Shop. It contains some star ingredients for the face such as arctic crystal water, hyaluronic acid, and xylitol. 

Another sample I picked up from my adventures at The Face Shop.

What they say: 'Containing 1,000mg of iceberg water from Newfoundland, Canada and 1,000mg of phyto- hyaluronic acid'.

It is suitable for all skin types and it is especially recommended for hydrating dry skin. This product is from the Refreshing Cooling Line. Apparently it also has some astringent properties.

Application: Use after your toner. You can place it in the fridge to maximise this gel's cooling properties. 

Contents: 1.2ml/ 0.04 fl. oz oz per sample packet (I used around 10 packets all up)

Sample review: The Face Shop Aloe Fresh Gel Cream

So I thought I'd finally get around to doing some reviews on the samples I've picked up this year! My blog is focusing much less on art/ drawings and cosplays than what I intended. *shrug* I'm going with the flow...

The first sample (and one of my favourites) I'll be reviewing is The Face Shop's Aloe Fresh Oil-Free Gel Cream.

Aloe Fresh Oil-Free Gel Cream

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a description of the product on the official The Face Shop website so you'll just have to run with my opinion and the teeny amount that was written on the packet. I guess it's for the Aloe Fresh line? Maybe suitable for sensitive skin (I dunno, just taking a stab in the dark guys...)? 

What they say: "Soothing and moisturising."

Contents: 1ml/ 0.03 fl. oz per sample packet (I used around 12 packets all up)

The Face Shop eyelash adhesive review

I wear fake eyelashes... a lot. Top and bottom at the same time. So it was imperative I found a good glue that doesn't run out on me that quickly. On average, my manicare glue lasts me for a month during cosplay/ Christmas/ New Year's/ going out periods. Not good.

So I've been using this glue for a while now. It's great! I used to only buy the manicare 1ml glue at Priceline (I think it's about $4 for 1ml). The Face Shop glue was about $6~$7AUD for 7g worth of glue (I heard this retails overseas for $3~$4?).

This glue comes out in a blue-ish tint that dries clear.

Pros:

- strong hold

- dries quickly

- good value

- little product goes to waste when you apply the lid back on the tube

Cons:

- can get messy due to its squeeze design packaging

- can pull out your eyelashes due to strong grip

- difficult to remove glue from the false lash

Rating: 4/5

TL;DR: pretty good glue. You should try it:D