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 April 2017 (Project Use Up All the Samples 2k17)

Lots of full empties this month! I think I'm getting better at using up my stash at the moment-- I think it's mostly just finding the beauty subreddits I like to hang out in 'boring'. I'm mostly on a discussion sub now, and scrolling through the front page.

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been putting more money into clothes... to the extent where I've spent the same amount on clothes this year as what I've spent on all makeup/skincare/hair care all of last year. Whoops. I am so bad and actually need to invest my money properly as a grown up.

The last thing I spent 'big' on in April was tickets to see BTS in Sydney! I knew exactly what I wanted and finished checking out and got my email confirmation at 2.02pm when the Ticketek website started crashing lol. Tickets were released at 2pm so *shrug*

Using my phone to take photos again. It's convenient but the quality isn't as good as my camera. I'm just so put off with using my camera after all those lens issues T^T

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

It's been awhile since my last empties post. I didn't think that I had accumulated quite enough empties (...rubbish) for the month of February which is why I decided to combine February and March together. Throughout the two months, I've mainly been enjoying my regular staple items rather than working through samples.

The thing that is worrying me this month is that I am using all the money I could have saved by not purchasing any makeup and skincare (I've been sooooo good about this) into buying clothes. So many clothes. Which I don't really have much of a chance to wear. WHY??? T^T

 

Nature Republic x EXO Natural Butter Lip Balm 01 Cherry (Baekhyun) & 02 Strawberry (Chen) Review

I saw Nature Republic released these lip balms on my birthday in December 2015. I lusted after these for the longest time, but then rationalised that buying the hand creams were better value. A single lip balm is 6000 won, but you get two tubes of hand cream and a photocard for 6600 won. So I decided not to get the lip balms.

Every time I went wandering around in the city, I would go into one of the many shops which sell Korean and Japanese makeup and look at their testers. I kept on swatching these lip balms and convincing myself that they weren't worth it (even though they smell really, really good). I love the Nature Republic Wild Cherry hand cream that got discontinued a year or two ago and kept on thinking maybe, just maybe, I should pick up the Cherry version of this lip balm because the scent was so similar. Baekhyun (who happens to be my bias) is also on the packaging.

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

Since my year of using up samples and documenting product usage went well throughout 2016, I have decided to continue this 'project' throughout 2017. I am really going to try and cut down my spending on makeup and skincare... but unfortunately, I think my spending has now migrated over to clothes (which is even more expensive orz). Better get that pay rise haha >_>

I got a new phone so I tried to take photos with it rather than taking out my camera (urghhh it breaks my heart that the lens isn't working properly). Honestly, I have no idea why my photos come out blurry and I didn't notice it until I looked that these pictures on the computer. Oh well. And I didn't colour correct the photos soz.

Not a strong start to the year in terms of empties, but it might because I spent a lot of time at home by myself over Christmas/New Year (that or I'm starting to run out of samples)!

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...

Nature Republic EXO Hand and Nature Hand Cream Review (D.O Shea Butter and Baekhyun Wild Berry)

EXO is my kpop weakness. Do I need more hand cream? Do I want this hand cream beyond the EXO branding, the packaging, and the photocards? Well...

The answer is no. I still purchased these hand creams anyway.

These Nature Republic Hand and Nature Hand Creams are from the same series as this set of hand creams I reviewed a few years ago. They were repackaged at the end of 2014 and got an EXO makeover at the end of 2015. You can purchase the regular packaging if you do not like the EXO branding.

I drafted this post on the 24th of April, but haven't posted it until the 24th of July. As a result, I have actually used up quite a bit of both hand creams and can give a more accurate representation of my opinions on both these hand creams.

The Backup Box (Small Items)

I spoke about the items I recently opened up from my backup box yesterday. I have divided my backup box into two sections: small items and large items.

 

Small items are products which actually fit inside my backup box. Large items are items which are heavy or too large and I have them sitting next to the backup box inside my wardrobe.

 

In this post I will give a short overview of the types of small items I have in my backup box. As you can see, have enough mascara and eyeliner to last me at least another year and a half.

 

 

Cosmetic-Love Mini Haul and Review

Nature Republic released another new EXO collaboration in mid December 2015 (pretty much on my birthdayT_T). I have been getting itchy about getting the lipbalms because it came in a Cherry flavour and it had a cute Baekhyun cartoon on it. Also the 2nd photobook/catalogue. After thinking about it for three months and checking out multiple online retailers, I decided to settle with two sets of the handcreams from Cosmetic-Love.

I like that Cosmetic-Love allows you to change the currency to something other than USD and KWN. I found it very helpful to see how much everything costs in AUD. There is also free shipping worldwide which I find to be a better deal when purchasing bits and pieces. However, I don't find the site particularly easy to navigate and I keep on missing out on the 'prices from' text on the bottom of selected items. 

There was a 10% discount on Nature Republic so I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to pick up some handcreams. I am currently on a self-imposed no-buy and I used this as an opportunity to celebrate my small win of getting some contract work. I consistently work through and use my handcreams so I wasn't worried about hoarding these.

Nature Republic By Flower Lip Balm EXO Suho Honey Lemon Review

I love love love lip products. And EXO. I had a hard time deciding whether or not to purchase this in my second last day of Hong Kong in February 2015. I was with my twinnie Gabriel who was visiting Hong Kong from Singapore during Chinese New Year. Most of the shops were closed but Nature Republic was opened and the EXO standees in front of the store kept on enticing me to come in and buy stuff so I went in and bought stuff:/

This By Flower Lip Balm is a clear lip balm that changes to a nature pink colour on contact with heat. It gives your lips a naturally pinkish red flush. Other than that, the main selling point is that there is a picture of an EXO member and their autograph when you open the lid! Etude House did something similar with SHINee's autograph a few years ago, but their lip balm was opaque which means you have to finish the entire product before you can reveal the autograph.

My favourite member is Baekhyun, but I also have extreme soft spots for D.O, Kai, Chen, and ex-member Luhan. I'm starting to have a bit of a soft spot for Sehun as well.

Nature Republic Moist Steam Cream Review

Steam creams were very popular back in 2013. I believe they are called 'steam creams' because of the process in which they are produced where the shea butter is supposedly melted into the cream. Nature Republic has three types in their Steam Cream line, all made from African shea butter:

1. Fresh Steam Cream (for oily skin)

2. Moist Steam Cream (for normal to dry skin)

3. Ultra Steam Cream (for extremely dry skin)

I purchased the Moist Steam Cream version to try out. I got it for 69HKD from Bonjour when I was in Hong Kong early 2015. 

Nature Republic Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel Review

The Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel by Nature Republic has been reviewed to death. It is also extremely popular due to its great value and multi-purpose function. I'll give you my quick two cents on how I feel about this gel. I feel a lot of things. I've finished using four tubs (and nooooo, I initially wanted to try this product before EXO started advertising for them).

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.

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!

Sasa, Bonjour, Mannings Hong Kong sunscreen and skincare haul

So this was a from end of July/ early August. My dad went to Hong Kong for business and he asked me what I wanted him to get me. I replied with 'Socks and lollies.' Then I wrote down a list of stuff I wanted which he passed onto his high school friend's daughter (who is also my friend who is a few years older than me) to get! I was really excited because this stuff is expensive in Sydney T_T

My friend got most of these from Sasa, Bonjour, and Mannings. She gave me the receipt but I just chucked it in a box somewhere after adding up the prices. Be sure to shop around in HK. Even different branches of the same store (I'm looking at you Sasa) have different prices. You can easily get ripped off.

Testerkorea haul and review #2 (Nature Republic EXO Standees, masks, photobook|| O HUI, Laneige edition)

*Sigh* I actually wrote this on 4th of September and it got deleted! The entire thing. Here is my review again that I managed to salvage as an image that I lovingly retyped -_-

This haul was from a while ago, so these are my thoughts on the old site, before Testerkorea had a total site overhaul in June, 2014. I have not ordered from them since. Unfortunately, my second shopping experience was not as fantastic as my first one, but it was still great service!

Order Timeline

Email for manual order: 11/02/14
Confirmation of order: 12/02/14
Payment sent: 12/02/14
Payment confirmed: 20/02/14
Items shipped: 25/02/14
Arrived: 04/3/14

As you can see, the order process was a pain. It took around a week and a half for everything to be shipped. The package arrived surprisingly quickly through standard shipping though (four working days)!

Oh, so many foam pieces!

2yearswithexo

Just dug up this photo from my hard drive to celebrate (and to procrastinate). Two years since EXO became life ruiners.

Some of my *ahem* EXO collection

From from left to right --> top to bottom

1. Sunny 10 Grape (D.O)
2. Sunny 10 Pineapple (Kai)
3. (Kris' pirate) Baby Alpacasso aka. "Ace"
4. XOXO First Year phone swing
5. Nature Republic EXO photobook + envelope underneath
6. Nature Republic Snail Solution Hydrogel Mask Sheet
7. Nature Republic Hand & Nature Apple Mango Hand Cream (Baekhyun's choice)
8. Nature Republic Hand & Nature Wild Cherry Hand Cream (Luhan's choice)
9. Nature Republic EXO Standees; Xiumin, Luhan, Kris, Lay, Chen, Tao, Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, Sehun (I'm sorry I cut you off ;__;)

A very tiny collection to celebrate their two year anniversary! Gonna stare at my EXO-K MAMA poster and regret my life decisions for not picking up their The Face Shop advertorial posters when I had the opportunity. Also making angry eyes at the website I picked the standees from-- I got them for 1500won each and now it's 9900won for the entire set. But it's still worth it to see these happy faces smiling at you when you're studying:)

:)

I'm pretty excited for their comeback and their solo tour! I wish my full time job was a combination of a fangirl/ TouhouPokemonVN gamer/ cosplayer/ Vocaloid karaoke singer. If only. Back to the terrible reality of 1000000 assignments and responsibility.