Thursday, December 31, 2015

Empties Galore Part 2: Makeup I've Used Up!

Alright, you've seen my skincare empties in the previous post, and now, we're moving on to the makeup items that I've used up in the past 6 months or so! (There's also a skincare item that I forgot about for the previous post - oops - but otherwise, all the other items are makeup!) I'm pretty excited to talk about some of the items here, because some of these items are really my makeup staples, and although I don't often talk about them on my blog, they are some of the day-to-day backbone-of-my-routine type products.


Makeup and skincare empties that I can finally say I've used up in 2015!

On reflection, it's pretty appropriate that this post is going live on the last day of the year, because it really has that "out with the old, in with the new" vibe. And while I'm excited for the new products that I will be buying this upcoming year, it's also weirdly satisfying to see that I managed to use up some of my older products, too.


All the skincare and makeup empties I've accumulated over the past half a year or so

So, without further ado, let's get started!

Monday, December 28, 2015

Empties Galore Part 1: Skincare I've Used Up!

It's been awhile since my last empties post, and since this is the end of the year, it seemed appropriate to have an "in with the new, out with the old" empties post! And since my last post, I have accumulated a good number of empties, if I do say so myself! I think I've even accumulated more empties this time round, as compared to the last post, so I consider this to be a "massive empties" acheivement unlocked!


All the skincare and makeup empties I've accumulated over the past half a year or so

While empties posts might seem puzzling to most people, as a beauty junkie with a fairly considerable stash accumulated over time, actually using up products can be a tad of a struggle sometimes. So when I do use up things, I always feel pretty happy - it's like I've successfully cleared space in my stash for more beauty products! And empties posts are always a great opportunity for me to reflect on which are the products I've liked, and kept using, and why.

Empties Avene Etude House Hada Labo Loreal Coastal Scents Laneige GOSH 1
Acheivement unlocked: lots of skincare and makeup empties from a variety of brands

And I do have quite a lot of empties this time round, from makeup to skincare and more, so I'm pretty excited to share my thoughts with you! At first, I tried to cram all my thoughts into one single post, but then I realized that it would be a pretty long post. So, I've decided to split this post into 2 parts! We'll take a look at the skincare I've used up first, since it's the foundation of any beauty routine, and then in the next post we'll look at makeup!

Friday, December 25, 2015

Etude House Snowy Dessert Swatches and Quick Reviews: Pudding Tint, Ginger Cookie Blusher, Contour, Play 101 Pencils, Scented Tablets

Etude House's Snowy Dessert Holiday 2015 Collection certainly seems to be a hit this year. Between the food-themed items, the absolutely adorable packaging, the attractive products, and the affordable prices, I think Etude House has basically ticked all the boxes for a winning Christmas collection! I've taken some swatches of the colour makeup, namely the Pudding Tint, the Ginger Cookie Blusher and Contour, and the new Play 101 Pencils, so without further ado, let's check out the swatches!


Etude House Snowy Dessert Collection

First up, though, I have to apologize for the swatches. I had some items from the collection but not all, so I tried to get the full range of swatches by going into the store to swatch the shades I didn't have, but I think the lighting in the store was less than optimal. Still though, I think the swatches are good enough to give you ad indication of the colour!

Sunday, December 20, 2015

The Face Shop Around The World Character Sheet Mask and Hand Cream

The Face Shop's Holiday 2015 Collection is called Around The World, and I've already reviewed the Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam and Real Nature Face Mask Rice set, and I'll be reviewing the rest of their Holiday products today! While I wasn't a fan of the Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam and Real Nature Face Mask Rice set, I have to say, the rest of their Christmas collection has been pretty great so far!


The Face Shop's Around The World Christmas 2015 Collection consists of various gift sets

In addition to the Rice Water Cleansing Foam and Real Nature Face Mask set, there are also super-cute Character Masks with special Christmas designs, as well the Protect Me! Hand Cream set, with 3 little cute adorable tubs of hand cream. So clearly the focus of these sets is on skin and bodycare.

The Face Shop Around The World Christmas 2015
Part of the Around The World collection includes seasonal Character Masks and the Protect Me! Hand Cream set

Without further ado, let's get around to reviewing all these sets! Of course, it's a given that they make cute gifts (for yourself too, not just for others), but what's in those products? We'll take a look!

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam and Real Nature Face Mask Rice Review and Ingredients Analysis

The Face Shop's Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam and Real Nature Mask Rice are some fairly popular products from the brand, and this year, they are banded together as a set for The Face Shop's Christmas 2015 Around The World collection! I have a few items from the Around The World collection, but I thought that I'd split my review of the collection into 2 parts, so that the post wouldn't be too long. In particular, I've noticed that the Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam seems to be quite widely used, so I thought that this set deserved a little more attention on its own!


The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam and Real Nature Face Mask Rice

Although both products are rice-themed, and thus actually quite compatibly packaged together, they don't actually come from the same skincare range. The Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam is one of several Rice Water-themed skincare items, including a cleansing oil and a cleansing milk. The Real Nature Face Mask Rice, meanwhile, comes from a range of Real Nature Face Masks - in addition to Rice, you have Real Nature Mask Aloe, Real Nature Mask Green Tea, Real Nature Mask Kelp, and quite a bunch more. In the Around The World gift set, you get one cleanser together with two of the sheet masks.

The Face Shop Around The World Holiday 2015 Collection
The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam and Real Nature Face Mask Rice: Comes in a set as part of the Around The World Holiday 2015 Collection

Anyway, without further ado, let's start our look at both the Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam and Real Nature Face Mask! Of course these are super cute and very gift-able as a set, but let's look at the ingredients in the product, and see how they work!

Sunday, December 6, 2015

The Body Shop Frosted Plum Review and Ingredients Analysis: Bath Fizzers, Body Butter, Shimmer Mist, Lip Balm


After my previous post looking at some of The Body Shop's Frosted Plum products, I'm back with the rest of the products! The Frosted Plum range is limited edition for Christmas, and in addition to the usual products - Body Butter, Body Lotion and so on - they also come in some very attractive looking gift sets.

The Body Shop Frosted Plum Collection
The Body Shop Frosted Plum Collection: Limited Edition for Christmas

Anyway, the Frosted Plum range seems to be pretty popular this year, and some of the shops I've seen could barely keep them in stock. I've intended to review the range for awhile, but better late than never, right?

The Body Shop Frosted Plum Skincare Holiday
The Body Shop Frosted Plum CollectionL The range includes an extensive line of bath and body products

Anyway, today's post looks at the Bath Fizzers, Body Butter, Shimmer Mist, and Lip Balm. The rest of the products I have (Sugar Scrub, Body Lotion, Shower Gel) were looked at in yesterday's post. So without further ado, let's take a look at the rest of the range!

Thursday, December 3, 2015

The Body Shop Frosted Plum Review and Ingredients Analysis: Sugar Scrub, Body Lotion, Shower Gel

The Body Shop's Frosted Plum range is new for Christmas 2015, and this is a limited edition range. As with previous scents, you can get this in the full range of products - body butter, body lotion, shower gel, fragrance, bath fizzers, lipbalm, and the list goes on. The Frosted Plum range seems to be really, really popular here - I've walked by local The Body Shop stores where barely any of the range is in stock, so I hope this review isn't a little too late!


The Body Shop Frosted Plum Collection: A sophisticated scent that is limited edition

Frosted Plum, as the name implies, is a sweet, fruity scent. Although The Body Shop's website states that it is meant to be a "truly sophisticated indulgence", this is really, to my nose anyway, more girly-fruity than grown-up musk. Nevertheless, the scent is appealing, and you can smell some of the plum. In that sense, it's in the same family of other The Body Shop scents, where they are mostly sweet, fruit-based concoctions. If you've tried and liked the other The Body Shop scents, then you'll probably like this too. The smell of the range is gorgeous, and really nice to luxuriate in. And there are many ways to bask in the scent, since the product range is so vast.

The Body Shop Frosted Plum Holiday Collection
The Body Shop Frosted Plum Collection: A sweet, fruity scent complemented by its purple packaging

I have quite a few products from this range - the Sugar Scrub, Body Butter, Body Lotion, Shower Gel, Shimmer Mist, Bath Fizzers, and Lip Balm. Since reviewing all of them in one post would result in a super long post (especially given my style or review - what with that ingredients geekery and other nerdiness, so I've decided to just do this in two parts. For part 1, we'll be looking at the Sugar Scrub, Body Lotion, and Shower Gel, while Part 2 will look at the rest of the products. So I hope you're settled in, and let's get started!