Mineral Oil Myths Explained: Cancer, Safety, and Skincare Benefits

It's been awhile as life has gotten busy! But I'm back with more skincare geekery - this time on mineral oil! I've wanted to write this post for awhile, because over my years being an amateur skincare nerd, I've noticed lots of fearmongering with respect to mineral oil. Some people believe that 1) mineral oil is bad for you because it prevents your skin from breathing, 2) mineral oil causes cancer, or that 3) you shouldn't use it because it is derived from petrochemicals. I'll be taking a look at these three myths in this post!

First though, a little bit of a primer into mineral oil itself.

What is mineral oil?
Mineral oil is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons (i.e. molecules comprised only of carbon and hydrogen atoms) obtained from petroleum, and consists of saturated hydrocarbons having carbon numbers predominantly in the range of C15 through C50. As seen in the bottles of baby oil, it is easily recognizable as an oily transparent liquid. It's manufactured by the distillation of petroleum, and then followed by refining of residual fractions to meet the standards for cosmetic grade mineral oil.

Peel-Off Masks: Why They're Bad For Your Skin

Recently, I've been seeing a lot of press about peel-off masks, and how awesome they are. I've blogged about somewhat dubious skincare and beauty product trends when I think the hype gets out of hand (I've always been kind of terrible as a shill that way, LOL), but this is probably one of the more egregious ones I've seen lately, so I'll get to the point - I'm really NOT a fan of peel-off masks at all, regardless of brand, and I highly discourage anyone from using them.

Unfortunately, they're really popular, and seem to be receiving a lot of mainstream press as of late. A quick google search turns up the following:

What a cursory search for "peel-off mask" returns

Why are these masks so popular? In a word, it's novelty. Prior to peel-off masks becoming popular, most masks have been clay or gel masks that you leave on and wash off, and can often get messy and drippy. By comparison, peel-off masks seem so much more fun and easier to use - the mask doesn't drip, and instead of washing off the mask, you get the satisfaction of peeling off the mask like this:

Part of the a-peel (see what I did there?) of the mask is that you peel it off (Source)

And, now brands are adding to the fun and entertainment factor of peeling masks by doing things like adding glitter to them, which while fun, doesn't really enhance the skincare value of the product in anyway. But, damn if it doesn't look like the most fun to apply and peel off though!

And yes, this is a My Little Pony mask collection (Source)

But as I've mentioned (right in the title, too), I'm not a huge fan of peel-off masks. I personally find them really bad for skin, and the general formula of these peel-off masks is such that by their nature, they're rather drying and sensitizing to the skin, and it's hard to escape that fact, no matter how much glitter you throw into them. We'll take a look at the general formula of such masks, and see how the masks work, and then check out the ingredients lists of some of the more popular peel-off masks, to see how much they adhere to the general formula. It's lots of ingredients reading. But it's fun! And worth it for better skin!

Givenchy Rouge Liquide Swatches and First Impressions

Givenchy's Rouge Liquide has just hit Singapore, and this is clearly a pretty big launch here, and is very on-trend with the popularity of liquid lipsticks. All 14 shades are being launched here (yes!!), and the selling point of the lipsticks is that the packing is pretty unique - it looks like an ordinary lipstick when you open it, but what you are seeing is just the flocked applicator. To apply the lipstick, you twist the base, and the liquid lipstick will move up through the hole in the applicator.

Givenchy Rouge Liquide - liquid lipsticks with a flocked applicator

Cool, right? Above is the lipsticks when the case has been opened (you can see the flocked applicator and the hole through which the liquid lipstick is pushed up). The applicators all have the same shade of red, so you can't tell what shade the Rouge Liquide is without looking at the base to see the shade name. Just a note of caution though - the applicators can be a bit tricky to use initially. As with most "twist up to push the product out" products, you do run the risk of the twist mechanism going "click-click-click-click - no product - click-click-click-click - no product - click-click-click-click - a whole globule of product emerges that's way too much for one application". So, twist and wait the first time you're using it! You only need a little bit to cover the lips, because the product is pretty dense and pigmented. This isn't an issue after the first time you use the Rouge Liquide however.

Alright, enough gushing about the packaging, let's get to the meat of the post - swatches!

Makeup Empties: Foundations, Cushions, Primers, Eyeshadows, Lips and Blush!

We did skincare in the last empties post, so today we're doing makeup - and sunscreen! Usually it takes me longer to use up makeup than skincare (probably because there are more makeup products than skincare products under rotation at any one point in time, and I vary my makeup routine more than my skincare routine). So this is sort of an achievement!

Alright, let's start!

Skincare Empties! Serums, Essences, Moisturizers, and All That!

Another few months have passed, and with that more empties! Yes I have been trying to use up my products instead of just accumulating them (because truth be told as a beauty junkie you do accumulate a LOT after a short period of time). Anyway over the past few months, I (with a little help from some of my family members) have managed to accumulate quite the literal pile of products. Behold! My empties!

As usual, I wait for months until my empties pile up to the high heavens before it occurs to me to do an empties post, LOL

Since these are a lot to get through, they're going to be split into two parts - skincare, and makeup. We'll start with the skincare first. Basically every face product you can think of - lotions, essences, creams, masks, eye creams, are all in this post. Except sunscreens, because they're grouped with makeup this time round (mostly just to prevent this post from getting too long).

Alright, let's get to it!

Chantecaille Summer 2018 Swatches: Bronzer, Eyeshadows, Lipgloss, Eyeliner

Chantecaille's Summer 2018 makeup collection has launched, and here are swatches of the entire collection! And close up product photos! I know these aren't exactly the earliest swatches, but I thought better late than never.

The collection is inspired by vacation and beaches, and has an appropriately themed colour selection with limited edition packaging (for the bronzers and eyeshadows). The rest of the collection (Lip Sleeks, Mermaid Eye Matte cream eyeshadows, Les Perles Metallic Eye Liner) are all permanent.

Let's take a closer look at the collection.

Marc Jacobs Shameless Foundation Swatches: All 29 Shades!

The Marc Jacobs Shameless Youthful-Look 24H Foundation SPF 25 has just hit our shores, and it comes in a whopping 29 (!!!) shades! Obviously, I absolutely just had to swatch it - you guys know that I do love swatching things, so I just couldn't resist!

The Marc Jacobs Shameless Foundation claims to be oil-free, and offers medium coverage, alongside a natural finish. I have to say though, when I swatched it, I felt like it did perform better coverage-wise than your average medium-coverage foundation. The Shameless Foundation shade range also boasts a pretty easy-to-navigate shade naming system. Basically, pink-toned shades start with R, and yellow-toned shades start with Y. And the higher the number, the darker shade. So for example, R440 would be a fairly deep shade with red undertones, but Y130 would be a light shade with yellow undertones.

Marc Jacobs Shameless Foundation: In 29 Shades!

Alright, so without further ado, here are the swatches! I have to say, I am also so proud of myself for taking such photos in a club (yes, literally in a disco-loud-music-dancing-strobe lights-type club), and I think patience and searching out for good lighting helped!

Pixi Beauty Glow Tonic Review and Ingredients Analysis

Pixi's Glow Tonic has been a cult favourite skincare product, and if you've heard about the brand at all, then chances are, you've probably heard of Glow Tonic. This cult product has raves from virtually every blogger out there, with people excited over how it is both cheap and effective, so I figured it's high time I got around to review it!

Pixi Beauty Glow Tonic: This is THE cult skincare product from the Pixi brand

In case you're wondering why the Pixi Glow Tonic is such a fabled product, in part it's becuase the 5% glycolic acid, which is pretty rare in a product at that price point. So I do get why it lives up to the hype, with people claiming that it works to give them that glow, even for sensitive skin!


Pixi Beauty Glow Tonic: I've been seeing so many rave reviews for it, so I've decided to see how it stacks up!
So, does the Pixi Beauty Glow Tonic actually live up to the hype? Well, let's dive in and find out! Of course, we'll start right at the ingredients list!

Tarte Shape Tape Hydrating Foundation and Hybrid Gel Foundation: Dupes or Not?

Tarte's Shape Tape Concealer has finally launched to much fanfare and - perhaps not too surprisingly in this day and age - controversy. I'm sure you'll have seen it if you weren't living under a rock. The Shape Tape Foundation - which was released in two forms, matte and hydrating - was very, very eagerly anticipated as the makeup launch of 2018, owing to the massive popularity of the Shape Tape Concealer. The main controversy with the Shape Tape Foundation was the lack of shades for darker skin, which was problematic for a brand that had previously claimed to champion diversity. I won't say too much more because that's not the focus of today's blog post, but should you be interested, you can google it; there are some very articulate and thoughtful summaries of the issue and why it is problematic.

Tarte Shape Tape Hydrating Foundation: Probably the hottest anticipated foundation launch so far this year, but pity the shade range

What today's blogpost will focus on is another issue with the Shape Tape Foundation, specifically the Shape Tape Hydrating Foundation. What's the source of the controversy with the Shape Tape Hydrating Foundation? Basically that Tarte was already re-releasing an existing formulation as a new product. The existing product in question? Tarte's Hybrid Gel Foundation, which has already been on the market for awhile. So, if this is indeed true, it means that all Tarte did was essentially repackage their existing product into a different container, and then tried to sell it as a different product. And that, of course, would be awful.

Tarte Shape Tape Hydrating Foundation is also claimed to be identical to the existing Hybrid Gel Foundation

So, in today's post, let's see how this little kerfuffle started, and take a look and see how similar the two products are, and whether they are really dupes or not!

Etude House Cherry Moisture Lip Glow Swatches

Etude House Cherry Moisture Lip Glow was launched in January this year, and it's a really cool product! Basically its sort of a cross between a lip oil and a lip gloss, offering both shine, as well as some colour, while claiming to moisturize your lips. I think it'll be a pretty popular product, owing to both the nice feel and colour, as well as that uber-cute packaging - check out the cherry on the tube!

Etude House Cherry Moisture Lip Glow: A cross between a lipgloss and lip oil

Well without further ado, here are swatches!

Fancl BC Night Intensive Cream and Essence Review and Ingredients Analysis

Check this out - an actual "proper" skincare review! I know I've not done one of these in awhile, but better late than never, right? Fancl's BC range, according to the Fancl website, provides "intensive treatment for aging skin needs". I'm actually not sure what the BC stands for, but suffice to say it's an anti-aging line. Recently (and by recently I meant "actually a couple of months before Christmas last year because I've been busy like that"), Fancl has added two new products to the BC range in Singapore - the BC Night Intensive Cream, and BC Essence. Existing products in the range include a facial cleanser, lotion, as well as eye essence.

Fancl BC Night Intensive Cream and Essence: The newest additions to the BC skincare range

As you can imagine, the products feature a lot of Fancl's typical brand claims - for example being suitable for sensitive skin, having a gentle, simple formula that works as it claims without any unnecessary frills, and also being what the brand calls "preservative free". Some of you may recall I was previously introduced to the brand's "preservative free" philosophy and have done a review here, where I examined whether it was really preservative-free or not. Much to my satisfaction, my assessment of the concept of a "preservative-free" formulation was retweeted by an actual cosmetics formulator, who called it "long but well informed". I won't deny it's long (if you haven't realized my ingredients analysis-type reviews tend to be), but I was happy that he found it accurate. Colin also incidentally runs the blog Colin's Beauty Pages, which I really value for its take on cosmetics by an actual person who knows his ingredients and formulations, and works in the biz!

Fancl Moisturizing Lotion I Review and Ingredients Analysis https://t.co/RCJmlACbL1 //A long read but well informed pic.twitter.com/683b79lkNk

— beautyscientist (@beautyscientist) March 4, 2017

Anyway, after being retweeted by Colin, whom I really respect and admire for his competency, I don't know if this review will live up to my previous one. But I can try! Or at least just do the best I can.


Fancl BC Night Intensive Cream and Essence: Claims to be formulated for sensitive skin, and to be preservative-free
Anyhoo, that was a really, really long introduction for a blogpost (which, by the way, is also going to be quite long). Let's just dive into the review already, shall we? And of course, we're going to start with the ingredients!

Empties: In With the Old, In With the New! Part 2

And this is the official last empties post from 2017! After the previous empties post part 1, which focused on cleansers, we're going to look at all the other various leave-on products! There's quite a lot to go through here, including masks, lotions, moisturizers, sunscreens, and more!

Aaaand, this is the last of the 2017 empties!

Truth be told, I'm always surprised by how much skincare I use up whenever I do one of these empties posts, especially because I don't think of myself as the kind of person who religiously masks her face every week or even slaps on serum every night! Believe it or not, when I'm really tired after a long day of work, I go to bed with no skincare on! The very horror! But sometimes you just gotta sleep, you know? In any case, I attribute my ability to use up my skincare to my large face, haha. I guess a larger surface area does use up more product!


There's a lot of empties here to round off 2017 - I'm surprised I used up all this!
So, let's get started, and finally wrap up 2017 in beauty on this blog!

Empties: Out With the Old, In With the New! Part 1

Happy new year everyone! First post of 2018 and it's an empties post! What better way to start out than by showing you my last set of empties that I've managed to use up in 2017? I figure all these empties officially give me a clear pass to keep hauling and procuring more makeup, skincare and beauty items in 2018! :P

Last batch of empties from 2017!

Anyway, like the previous empties post, this round of empties also consists mostly of skincare. I do realize that I tend to use up certain skincare items (lotions, sunscreen, serums, cleansers) much faster than makeup, particularly colour makeup. I guess there's only so much blush a girl can apply before looking like a clown, but you can slather lotion on your face until your skin is basically dripping in liquid, oops. (Not that I haven't done that at all, oh no, not me, I mean, that would be so weird, who does that... *looks away and whistles*)


Last round of empties from 2017: Mostly skincare, especially cleansers
So, without further ado, let's start on part 1 of this round of empties. Today, we'll be looking at the various cleanser and makeup remover products - I figure cleansers (what with washing old skin and makeup away to reveal the new skin underneath) are tangentially related to the new year and thus a suitable way to kick off the empties post!

The Body Shop Japanese Matcha Tea Mask Review and Ingredients Analysis

The Body Shop Japanese Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask was launched a couple of months back, and I'm finally getting round to reviewing it! I really wanted to review this mask because it seems to tick off all the right, trendy boxes at the moment - the website for the Japanese Matcha Tea Mask claims that the mask is "100% vegan" (which I interpreted to mean that it doesn't contain any animal-derived ingredients), and that it "purifies, gently exfoliates and liberates your skin from the weekly build-up of city pollutants and everyday impurities". For those of us (including myself) who live in highly urbanized, city environments, doesn't this sound great?

The Body Shop Japanese Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask: The newest mask claims to exfoliate and purify skin

As is typical of The Body Shop products, the Japanese Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask also boasts a few plant-derived ingredients, as you might expect from a "vegan" mask. There's "matcha green tea from Kakegawa, Japan, dandelion extract and soul-soothing Community Trade aloe vera from Mexico". Also, you can't tell from a first glance at the advertising material, but this mask actually has little scrubby bits - in this case, they are again derived from two plants, Luffa Cylindrica and Apricot Seed Powder. But the exfoliation offered by this mask is advertised as being gentle - this isn't one of those harsh masks.


The Body Shop Japanese Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask: In line with recent trends, it also claims to remove pollutants and impurities from skin
How is The Body Shop Japanese Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask as a clay mask? As an exfoliating product? Would it work for sensitive skin? And which ingredients are in there making the product work? We'll find out!

Anti-Haul Blogpost: "Not My Colours" Orange Eyeshadow Edition

Recently, I've been seeing lots of "anti-haul" posts on Youtube and elsewhere. Basically, in a nutshell, an "anti-haul" is just a list of things you didn't/aren't planning to buy - as opposed to a "haul" which is list of things you bought. From the posts I've seen, it seems to have been partly borne out of a bit of a backlash against Youtubers and "influencers" shilling all sorts of dubious makeup trends and products, so this trend helps people to articulate how they are saving money by highlighting what they are not buying, and what trends they're not buying into.

I'm all for it. I mean, as a beauty junkie and beauty blogger of 7+ years, of course I've hauled many a haul (and have the haul posts to prove it too! But I do agree with the general anti-haul sentiment that not every trend is worth getting into, and not every makeup product is for everyone - after all, not every "must-have" palette is suitable for every type of skintone, undertone, and colour preferences. And while I'm not about to stop hauling (oh no, not at all!), I do agree that I do enjoy my makeup stash best when my makeup purchases are thoughtful and curated, and when I don't just jump on every hype bandwagon. And, I get to save money! So for me, anti-hauling isn't at all "OMG DON'T EVER WEAR MAKEUP!!!111!!!11!", but more of "hey, not every makeup product/colour/trend is going to work for you, and you'll enjoy makeup more if you buy what you're happy wearing, and what looks good on you".

So, with that said, let's get into one of the recent makeup trends that just haven't been doing it for me - warm, orange eyeshadow! There have been a ton of warm and/or orange-y eyeshadow palettes released this season, and the orange eyeshadow was pretty much the "it" item of the summer, and still going strong. But for me, since I have an olive, neutral-cool undertone, the orange eyeshadow trend really just became the "swollen eye" trend. I do love some of these brands (and do indeed have other products from some of these brands here), but here are some of the recently-popular orange/warm/rust-toned eyeshadow palettes that just didn't do it for me.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix Review and Ingredients Analysis

Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix was launched a few weeks back, and of course expectations are pretty high for this new product, because it's an extension of the brands "Advanced Night Repair" line, which houses some of the most iconic Estee Lauder products, such as the Advanced Night Repair Complex, which has become something of a cult product in some skincare circles, with some people trying to find dupes or similar products for it.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix: The latest addition to the Advanced Night Repair line

The new Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix is an eye serum/concentrate that is added to the line, and Estee Lauder claims that the product will hydrate skin "for a full 24 hours with a 2X concentrated infusion of Hyaluronic Acid". Also, like the rest of the Advanced Night Repair line, this product also claims to have anti-aging benefits, to "dramatically reduce the look of lines, wrinkles, puffiness and dark circles." Despite the "Night" in the product name, the product is suitable for both day and night use, and you're supposed to apply the product by using the given massage applicator to roll the product around the eye area.


Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix: Claims to offer 24 hours of hydration, as well as various anti-aging benefits for the eye area
So, with that overview of the Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix, let's dive headfirst into the ingredients list, and see what is inside this product!

Su:m37 Water-full CC Cushion Perfect Finish Swatches

Su:m37 has finally come to Singapore, with a new outlet in Tangs Orchard, much to the joy of all kbeauty fanatics here! For those who aren't aware, Su:m37 is a luxe Korean beauty brand, with prices that are comparable to other luxe brands, such as SK-II, and the brand's selling point is that their skincare includes lots of natural ingredients, in particular fermented ingredients. The brand has quite the cult following for its skincare items, but I also found that their makeup items also aren't bad.

Su:m37 Water-full CC Cushion Perfect Finish: The brand has finally launched at Tangs

One of the makeup products the brand has brought into Singapore is the Water-full CC Cushion Perfect Finish, which is supposed to be a hydrating cushion foundation that provides a finish that's more on the dewy side. They have 2 shades, both of which I've swatched, alongside my first thoughts.

Vichy Mineral 89 Booster Review and Ingredients Analysis (and a pH test!)

Vichy Mineral 89 Skin Fortifying Daily Booster was just launched here, and this is one of Vichy's largest launches this year - so of course I had to review it! The Vichy Mineral 89 Booster claims to make skin "bouncy inside and glowy outside", which are definitely very popular themes in skincare in Asia - bouncy, glowy skin is definitely "in", with the theory being that bouncy, glowy skin looks younger (I don't disagree).

Vichy Mineral 89 Booster: Claims to give users bouncy, glowy skin

Interestingly, I noticed that Vichy gave slightly different names to this product - perhaps because what different markets expect and finda cceptable vary from place to place. Here, in Singapore, it's called the "Mineral 89 Skin Fortifying Daily Booster", because the concept of "booster" products (stemming from Asian beauty brands) has become fairly mainstream here. However in the USA, it's actually called "Mineral 89 Hyaluronic Acid Gel Face Moisturizer", perhaps because the concept of a "booster" might seem foreign to Western markets. But, it's the same product with the same ingredients list anyway. Just slightly different wording in the product name.


Vichy Mineral 89 Booster: One of the largest launches for 2017 from the brand
So, does this live up to all the buzz? Well, let's find out, by starting at the (surprisingly short) ingredients list!

Mega Empties Post Part 2: Masks, Serums, Essences, Sunscreens, Eye Cream and Makeup

This is my epic empties post part 2 (part 1 was written a few weeks back), and yes, we're going to do a quick-hits rundown of what I liked, what I didn't like, and why! And yes, there are some products I didn't like in part 2, unlike in part 1 where everything I did actually like. Which ones? You'll find out!

Yes, I am indeed capable of using up my massive stash of skincare products!

Today's post will focus on sunscreens, serums and essences, masks, sleeping masks, and exfoliating products, as well as the lone eye cream. Basically we continue from part 1 and cover all the product categories part 1 did not.

Instagram post of all my empties!

Well, we've got a lot of products to cover today, so if you're ready, let's get started!

Mega Empties Post Part 1: Acne Skincare, Lotions, Cleansers, Oil Makeup Removers

It's been a while since my last empties post in October last year, and since them, I've accumulated a loooot of empties to show you guys! To be clear though, not alll of these are my empties, there are a few bits and bobs in there that are contributed by my mother and sister, because they do help themselves to some of my skincare products from time to time! I'm happy to let them indulge though, because to be honest, I obviously have way more skincare than I can ever use up!

Oh yes, look at all the empties I've accumulated!

The products I (with a little help from mum and sis) have used up really run the gamut - every step of the skincare and makeup routine is covered here! But because this would be too long of a post, I've split it up into two. For today, we'll just cover the acne skicare (unfortunately this is all mine, my mum and sis have way better skin than me, sigh), lotions and toners, as well as cleansers and makeup removers.

Who's been a good girl and using up all her skincare before opening a new one? Yours truly!

So, without further ado, let's get started! I'm officially going to cram a bunch of mini-reviews together into this blogpost, so let's hope this doesn't end up being too long!