Massive haul from Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (Etude House, Skinfood, Hada Labo, Nature Republic, 3CE, CLIO, My Scheming, My Beauty Diary, FaceQ, Naruko)

The Australian dollar is terrible at the moment, but I still managed to shop happily on an overseas trip. I truly think I would have been less restrained if the dollar had been better. Here are the things I purchased!

Skincare and haircare part of my haul! Most of this came from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Nature Republic: Hand & Nature (aka Nature Republic EXO's Hand Cream) Review/Chanyeol's Pick in Avocado

I love, love, love the Wild Cherry scent of this Nature Republic handcream! Unfortunately, I discovered it was discontinued late last year, and I was devastated because I love cherry flavoured things. Cherry Blossom just isn't the same.

Imagine my surprise when there was tubes of this stuff available in the Nature Republic Store in Mong Kok, Hong Kong during my February trip! I grabbed two more of the Wild Cherry (Luhan), one of the Avocado (Chanyeol), and one of the Grapefruit (Sehun). I purposely grabbed it in the old packaging because it reminds me of the 2013 campaign. Although I love the Apple Mango scent (Baekhyun) it is available in the new packaging so I didn't grab another. Although I stated I was going to buy the Raspberry (D.O) one, the scent just didn't appeal to me so I gave it a pass. I think that one has also been discontinued.

The first four on the left are new; the last two are old and have since been finished.

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).

Combined haul: Nature Republic, Skinfood, Etude House, Innisfree, Banila Co

Some goodies I picked up from a physical store in Sydney last year! These were from three separate trips in August and September last year.

Trip 1

1. Nature Republic 92% Aloe Vera Soothing Gel x 2 (two for $10)
2. Innisfree Soybean Energy Essence x 2 (20c each)
3. Skinfood Premium Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Soothing Pack x2 (20c each)
4. Skinfood Egg White Pore Hard Foam x 1 (20c)

It came in an Aritaum bag!

Etude House Look At My Eyes Cafe PK003 Berry Berry Soda

Is anyone else in love with the burgundy trend? Although 2015 is the year of marsala, I still think burgundy and dark pinks are oh so beautiful if done correctly!

I purchased this Etude House shadow in a physical store in Sydney. The store is a bit shady and have tried to rip me off at the counter several times so I won't be naming the store and I have decided to buying things from them.

This is the colour I picked up. It is in PK003 (Berry Berry Soda) from Etude House's Look at My Eyes Cafe Collection. How pretty is the colour and the cute heart imprint?

Rose Rose Shop Haul and Review #1

I'm sure most of you have heard of Rose Rose Shop (RRS). It took me over year to finally convince myself to buy something from them because of their higher shipping costs. Even though their product prices are often lower than other stores, the cost of shipping really detracts from their attractive prices. 

Anyhow, RRS had and currently still have a free shipping option for all Mizon items. You just have to pay $2.50 USD for a tracking number. I had previously tried a tube of the Mizon Blemish Mark-X and really liked it and saw that it was going for a very good price at RRS. I also really wanted to try the 8% AHA Peeling Serum, and off to RRS I went.

Paid: 09/12/2014
Payment Received: 09/22/2014
Shipped: 09/26/2014
Received: 7/10/2014

It took around two weeks (10 working days) for my package to be shipped from payment, and a month to get my package from the day I paid. I emailed RRS one working week after I had placed my order to ask if they have received the payment. They were very polite in responding and said that they will give me extra samples for taking so long to process my payment... they didn't. 

No fear if you live in a country that requires custom fees on packages... RRS marks your package to be $5.

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