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!

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!

Skincare Empties Part 1: Cleanser, Makeup Remover, Lotion, Toner, Sunscreen, Moisturizer

Yes it's another empties post! And this post is pretty mega, hence the two-part split. And that's just for skincare - the makeup empties post is a separate post too, to make sure the individual posts aren't too long. So yes, I have indeed been a good girl and using up my products and not wasting them (a perpetual beauty junkie problem it seems)!

Tons of skincare empties this round to share with you guys!

Above you can absolutely see the mess of empties, running the gamut from sunscreen to serums. I could probably do all those empties in one sitting, but the post would just be very long. So this time, we'll just be focusing on oil cleansers and makeup removers, normal cleansers, face masks, sunscreen, lotions and toners, and moisturizers! In other words, we'll just be looking at the stuff in the photo today, which is still quite a lot.


Empties: cleanser, makeup remover, lotion, toner, sunscreen, and moisturizer
I realized that quite a few readers seem to like my empties posts (and you can see all of them here) - perhaps, it's because with all my science-y skincare reviews, some readers are curious to know what exactly remains in my stash and gets used up at the end of the day. I suppose the idea here is that if I used up something, then it must be really good! The truth is that it kind of depends - some of these empties I've had for a long, long time, and for various reasons take longer to use up, and some were very quickly made favourites or staples and get used up much faster. As we go through the products, you'll see which is which!

Stuff I've Used Up! Super Mega Empties Post: Skincare and Makeup

This is a pretty major empties post, because the last time I blogged about my empties was half a year ago in December last year (it was also a pretty large post, that I split into two parts, part 1 and part 2). This time around, I have even more stuff!

The nice thing about empties is that, for me, using a product up comes with a sense of accomplishment (as in, hey, I actually stuck to something long enough to use it up!) and also a sense of permission (as in, hey, I've used up a lipstick, now I can buy another lipstick)! So for a beauty junkie like me, it's both gratifying and enabling!



Obviously, there's a lot to go through, so without further ado, let's jump right in!

Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser Review and Ingredients Analysis

Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser is basically the oily skin version of its famous Gentle Skin Cleanser, and if you've read my previous review on Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, you'll know that I hold it in high regard for being exactly what it says on the bottle - a gentle cleanser suitable for sensitive skin. I've been trying the Oily Skin Cleanser lately, and I'm glad to say, it also lives up to its expectations too!

Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser: The oily-skin version of Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

I've been a diehard user of the original Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser over the years, and the Oily Skin Cleanser was a newer addition to my skincare routine. Like the original Gentle Skin Cleanser, the Oily Skin Cleanser also isn't harsh, and also a pretty good choice for sensitive skin, too. But, there are some differences between the two, which we'll explore in a bit more detail as we move through the review.


Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser: Like the Gentle version, it cleanses without being harsh
Of course, we're going to begin this review by looking at the ingredients list, in order to better understand what's in the cleanser and how it works!

Labo Labo Super Moist Review: Gel, Lotion, UV Cream, W-Washing

Labo Labo, a subsidiary brand of Dr Ci:Labo, is a Japanese skincare brand, with an emphasis on simple products that give results, driven by science. The brand also believes in minimizing some ingredients that could be perceived as problematic by customers, such as fragrance, colouring, and mineral oil. Recently, they've launched their Labo Labo Super Moist 5H5C skincare range, which is a moisturizing line that also targets the first signs of aging. The Super Moist line consists of the Super Moist W-Washing cleanser, the Super Moist Lotion, the Super Moist Gel, which is basically a lightweight gel moisturizer, and the Super Moist UV Cream, a sunscreen.

Labo Labo Super Moist 5H5C Skincare Range: Consists of a Gel, Lotion, UV Cream, and W-Washing cleanser

As you can tell, the range is pretty much a simple skincare routine unto itself - cleanse, lotion, moistuizer, and sunscreen. You'll notice that there's the tagline "5H x 5C" on the packaging of the products too. That refers to the brand's claim that the products have 5 kinds of hyaluronic acid (Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Acetyl Hyaluronic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid Hydroxypropyltrimonium, Hyaluronic Acid Dimethyl Silanol Hyaluronate, and Sodium Hyaluronate), as well as 5 kinds of collagen (Hydrolyzed Collagen, Water-Soluble Collagen, Succinyl Atelo Collagen, AMPD-Isostearoyl Hydrolyzed Collagen, and Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Collagen).

In addition to collagen and hyaluronic acid, the products also contain EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor, which shows up in the ingredients lists as rh-Oligopeptide-1), which is a kind of protein tht is thought to stimulate cell growth, which could be useful in topical applications, and could potentially be useful in wound healing. There are also 3 types of plant ingredients (Brown Algae, which shows up in the ingredients lists as Eisenia Arborea Extract, Glucosylceramide, and Millet Seed Extracts). So between the plant extracts, proteins, and hyaluronic acid, there's something for everyone in this range!


Labo Labo Super Moist 5H5C Skincare Range: With 5 kinds of collagen, 5 kinds of hyaluronic acid, EGF, and 3 plant ingredients
Collagen, hyaluronic acid, growth factor, and plant extracts - it sounds exciting, doesn't it? And of course, you're probably wondering, wht would this look like in the products, and how would they work? To find out, let's take a closer look! This is going to be a long review, with 4 products to look at in-depth, so I hope you're ready!

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser Review and Ingredients Analysis

Cetaphil's Gentle Skin Cleanser has been one of my staple products for awhile, but I've just never gotten around to actually doing a proper review until now! I'm sure you've heard of it, unless you've been living under a rock. It's pretty popular as "the cleanser for sensitive skins". One of my roomates back in University (a long, long, long time ago, before this blog was started even!), once commented when she saw the Gentle Skin Cleanser in my skincare stash, "Oh, you're using that! That's the one all the sensitive skin people use!" When you get to that point, you know the product has quite the cult following among its users. It's not just among users though, some of the dermatologists I've been to have also suggested this product as one of the affordable but easily available gentle cleansers for sensitive skin, which is how I started using the product in the first place.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser: One of the world's most iconic cleansers

Obviously, as you can tell, I've used the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser since before I even started this blog - and in fact, before I even started University (now that's even longer ago!), and it's still in my beauty stash to this day. There is one sitting right at my sink, in the largest size you can buy, right now. Yet, I've never actually written a proper review on this cleanser, although I did mention in this beauty box review that I've been using Cetaphil for a long time. I put it down to the fact that sometimes, simple everyday products often get less attention than the flashier, newer things, and with new skincare products flooding the market all the time, it's easy to often overlook reviewing the daily staples.


Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser: A famous cleanser that is also one of my personal favourites
Well, not any more! Finally (after years later), I am getting around to giving this a proper review. And as with always, I like to start with the ingredients list, to take a closer look at what's in the product.

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 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!

BonjourHK Haul and Mini-Reviews: DHC, Hada Labo, Dr Bauer and More!

I'm always discovering new ways to buy more makeup and beauty products from, and recently I was introduced to BonjourHK's onlince website! I'm actually somewhat familiar with Bonjour, as it is a chain of stores across Hong Kong selling beauty products at accessible prices, much like Ulta (if you're in the US), Watsons, Guardian or Sasa (if you're in Asia). When I visited Hong Kong 3 years back, I stepped into quite a few Bonjour shops, although I didn't buy anything (I ended up with the smallest haul ever - sigh!). But the thing I liked about Bonjour is the eclectic mix of brands and products - there's everything from mainstream brands to niche Asian beauty brands I've never heard of before.

My BonjourHK Haul: A whole bunch of skincare and makeup items from various Asian brands

I actually never realized that Bonjour had an online website, but they do! And the website has pretty cheap shipping (which is free if you buy above a certain dollar amount threshold), and they ship internationally, too. And of course, the range of brands and types of products are just as varied as ever - there's everything from skincare to makeup to skin devices, and the brands range from fairly mainstream Asian brands (like DHC and Hada Labo) to more niche ones (like Choosy and Yu Mei). I was super excited when the package arrived, right on time within the 7-21 days window stated on the website.


My BonjourHK Haul: Includes brands both fairly well-known, as well as some undiscovered gems
The mass of products above, as well as the fact that I actually want to do a mini-review for each product rather than just run through the haul, means that this post is going to be pretty long (and photo heavy). So if you're going to read onwards, don't forget to buckle up before you go! And if you're all ready, let's just head straight into my product-by-product quick review!

Bioderma Review: Sensibio, Sebium, Hydrabio, ABCDerm Micellar Cleansing Water

Bioderma's Sensibio H2O micellar cleanser is one of the more popular cleansing waters around, but did you know that Bioderma's H2Ocleanser range also includes other related products? I didn't know this, but apparently there is also Sebium, Hydrabio, and ABCDerm. Sebium is for oily skin, while Hydrabio is for dry skin, and ABCDerm? It's actually for babies. So there you go - basically a Bioderma for every need, beyond the classic Sensibio!

Bioderma Sensibio, Sebium, Hydrabio, ABCDerm Micellar Cleansing Waters: One for every skin type

I know you're probably looking at the clear, simple-looking plastic bottles of watery-looking liquid, and probably wondering: is there any difference between the two? Which one should I actually buy? And truth be told, it's a reasonable question to ask - after all, all of the liquids in the various bottles look like water (if you don't count the tint in the Sebium version) and feel like water, and to the eye, there is no discernible difference. But of course, if you're like me, then you know the best place to start with such an examination: the ingredients list!


Bioderma Sensibio, Sebium, Hydrabio, ABCDerm Micellar Cleansers - the options you have are many
Yes, this is going to be one of those ingredients analysis pots with all my geekery. But I thought before I do that, I thought I would answer the question: Why is a micellar cleanser called a micellar cleanser? What is a micelle anyway? Is it just a different name for the same old thing? So with that - let's recall something from our old school days: emulsions!

Kiehl's Oil Eliminator Review and Ingredients Analysis: Moisturizer, Face Wash, Toner

Kiehl's Oil Eliminator is the latest in its Men's Skincare range, and it consists of three products - a Deep Cleansing Exfoliating Face Was For Men, a Refreshing Shine Control Toner For Men, and a 24-Hour Anti-Shine Moisturizer For Men. And as you might expect from a range called "Oil Eliminator", the cleanser, toner, and 24-hour moisturizer are meant to keep your guy's skin (or your skin, if you are looking for oily skin products) oil free and shine free for longer. You may even have heard about the brand's advertising claim that they have NASA space technology in their products - in particular some technology called Aerolite, which is based on aerogel technology. In fact, Kiehl's did this entire advertising stunt where they literally sent their product into space, and this magical ingredient is supposed to absorb more than four times its weight in oil.

Kiehl's Oil Eliminator For Men Skincare Range: Now with aerogel technology inside!

Skincare for guys has always been tricky, and not just on the technical, "men's skin is different" front - my personal belief is that the factors that contribute to a good skincare regime (e.g. use a good retinol product, which I've blogged about before, use sunscreen, which again I've also blogged about, etc.) are the same, whether the skin belongs to a guy or a girl, because the skin is very similar. The only exceptions are that men's skin tends to be thicker and oilier than women's skin, so brands often have to accomodate this. (And as we shall see in this review, Kiehl's has done a really good job of doing so.)

But beyond that, men's skincare is tricky because men are also surprisingly picky about skincare. It turns out that guys are actually quite hard to win over as skincare users, as a number of company PR and Marketing people have told me at various blogger/press events. Turns out, guys are picky about their skincare in the aesthetic or cosmetically elegant sense - the moment they have to put something on their skin and it feels the slightest bit sticky or oily, or leaves a bit of residue, then most guys will not continue to use it. (I'm sure any woman who has had to purchase skincare for her guy, only to see it go untouched after the first few tries, knows what I mean.) So formulating a skincare that is aesthetically pleasing for the male customer is also important as far as men's skincare is concerned.

Kiehl's Oil Eliminator For Men Skincare Range: A set of three products for a complete guy's skincare regime

So with that said, let's see whether Kiehl's has managed to placate the ever-picky male skincare customer. I think in both cases - formulating for thick, oily skin, and making sure the skincare feels cosmetically elegant - Kiehl's has done a pretty good job. And we'll also get around to talking about that fancy Aerolite/Aerogel technology (exactly what is it, you must be wondering). But for me to explain that more fully, we'll have to start at my favourite place for skincare products - the ingredients list!

Origins Dr Weil Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Review and Ingredients Analysis, and My Top 3 Picks

Origins is famous for its plant-based skincare products, and indeed the brand was one of the first mainstream brands to heavily market itself as a natural skincare brand. Chances are, you've probably heard of any of their skincare ranges, with really cute names like Plantidote, A Perfect World, or GinZing. Despite being around since 1990, the brand is fairly new to me. I've never tried anything from the brand, so it was some interest that I started testing out their Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Collection.

Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief: Mushrooms and lots of other plants to the rescue!

The Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief range is a plant-based range and advertises itself as such, so I thought a quick summary of the science on 1)the oils in skincare in general, and 2) the oils in the product range, may help to set the stage.


The Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief range has a grand total of eight products to suit all preferences.

Kiehl's Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash Review and Ingredients Analysis

Kiehl's iconic Calendula Herbal Extract Toner now has a new friend - the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash! This is a flanker to the original toner, and as you might imagine, also boasts the presence of Calendula Flower Extract, just like the original. So, as you can imagine, this is a pretty hotly-anticipated product!

Kiehl's Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash: The latest product with calendula!

I was excited to see how this would perform - after all, the Calendula Herbal Extract Toner is easily one of Kiehl's most well-recognized products, complete with calendula flowers inside the bottle. The Kiehl's Dalendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash unfortunately doesn't have calendula flowers inside, but it does happen to have quite a few other traits to make it a welcome addition to your bathroom cabinet - starting right with the ingredients list.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream, Cleanser, Toner Review and Ingredients Analysis

Kiehl's Ultra Facial range has launched a range of summer-friendly skincare products for oily skin. There's the Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream (essentially a moisturizer but in a gel form), the Ultra Facial Oil-Free Toner, and Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser. With a cleanser, a toner, and a moisturizer, Kiehl's obviously has all 3 basic skincare steps down.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream, Cleanser, Toner: Just in time for summer

This is going to be a fairly long review, because you know how I get all long-winded with ingredients and stuff, and furthermore, there are three separate products to review! So, without further ado, let's hop straight into the meat of the review - we certainly wouldn't want to waste any time on more preambles now!

Biore Uru Uru 2-in-1 Instant Foaming Wash Review and Ingredients Analysis

Biore is one of the Japanese drugstore brands under Kao Corporation known for its skincare, particularly cleansers and makeup removers. And in addition to the slew of products they already have, Biore has added a new lineup to their line of foaming cleansers - the Uru Uru 2-in-1 Instant Foaming Wash.

As you know, Biore already has a couple of facial cleansers - there's the Marshmallow Whip Facial Wash, as well as its couple of variants (there's one with extra moisture, among others), so the Uru Uru 2-in-1 Instant Foaming Wash isn't by any means the company's newest foamy facial cleanser. It is, however, somewhat different from the existing foam cleansers, and in my opinion this is better. What do I mean when I say better? Well, now you get to find out!

Biore Uru Uru 2-in-1 Instant Foaming Wash

Vichy Normaderm Review: Hylauspot, Active Care, Cleanser, Toner

Vichy has launched their Normaderm range of skincare products, which is meant to help acne-prone skin (aka my type of skin!). It consists of four products, namely the Normaderm Deep Cleansing Purifying Gel, Normaderm Imperfection Prone Skin Lotion, Normaderm Tri-Active Anti-Imperfection Active Care, and Normaderm Hylauspot, covering all your skincare bases: cleanse, tone, moisturize, and spot-treat. As you can imagine, I was pretty excited to try this range. And after having used it for a few months (because I'm sometimes slow on reviews like that), I have to say I think the range is pretty effective at what it claims to do.

Vichy Normaderm: Hylauspot, Active Care, Cleanser, and Toner

In general, I found the entire range to be pleasing to use. In general, the products, sink into skin and absorb fast, and leaves skin feeling clean and dry but not stretched out or dehydrated. The fact that efficacious ingredients like glycolic acid and salicylic acid are included really help two - those two are some of my favourite ingredients ever for my acne-prone, oily skin bits. The range also strikes a good balance, using glycolic and salicylic acid to target acne and oily skin, but yet at the same time having rather moisturizing formulas. And, the packaging is pretty sensible as well - all plastic flip tops and pumps, or squeeze tubes or other form of tubes. You .

But now, let's go into each of the products one by one, and you'll see what I think about the individual products!

L'Oreal HydraFresh Review: Mask-in Lotion, Spa Water, Supreme Emulsion, Creamy Foam (With My Ingredients Geekery)

L'Oreal has launched its HydraFresh line, which is meant to restore moisture to the skin. The range contains French Grape Seed Extract, for 50X anti-oxidant power, French Vosges Spa Water, which has 16 minerals to strengthen skin’s moisture barrier, and Double Hyaluronic Acid.

The L'Oreal HydraFresh line: with French Vosges Spa Water and Grape Seed Extract.

I've been trying out the products in this line, and I have to say that the entire range is pleasant to use - most of the products in this line feel light on the skin, absorb fast, and do make my skin feel hydrated. The HydraFresh line also seems to be fragranced with a fruity-floral smell, that while a little on the stronger side, isn't unpleasant. I imagine some consumers would like the smell.

So now that we've done some of my initial thoughts on the L'Oreal HydraFresh range as a whole, let's do a blow-by-blow review of every product in the range! And because I'm a huge skincare nerd, you'll also get to see me talk about the ingredients in each of the products. So, here we go!

I Blind Test and Review 7 Micellar Cleansers: Dior, Nuxe, Caudalie, Avene, Bioderma, Vichy, and La Roche-Posay

Some of you may know that rather than evaluating a product based on the marketing or brand name, I always prefer to evaluate it on performance. And I recently got to do what possibly is the most scientifically sound test of not one, not two, but SEVEN micellar cleansers, and find out how they really performed!

Samples A to G: Which One is the best?

Basically, the idea behind this test is that I am given seven samples of micellar cleanser. They are all market Samples A through G, and are all packed in identical brown glass bottle droppers, so I didn't know which is which when I did the trial. (For those of you who did science in school, you'll know that this is a blind study. Properly blinded studies FTW!) My contact with Escentual, the people running the study, was entirely via email, and focused solely on the instructions (test out all 7, report findings by which date) - so although I'm sure Escentual knew which sample was which, effectively it's as close to a double-blinded study as you can get with a non-double-blinded study, because there's no in-person interaction so there aren't any facial or body micro-expressions that influence the subjects (i.e. bloggers like me). So, properly designed experiment FTW! (By the way, I do believe it is important to double-blind experiments. Really, really important.)

After all the results were in, Escentuals tabuaated the results (you can read them in more detail here). The results were released just a few days ago, so I thought now might be a good time for me to incorporate everything into one post for you all. I think this may be the first decent beauty study I've ever been asked to do, so kudos to Escentuals!

The samples I used were:
- Dior Instant Cleansing Water
- Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals
- Caudalie Make-Up Remover Cleanser Water
- Avene Micellar Lotion Cleanser and Make-Up Remover
- La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution
- Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution
- Vichy Purete Thermale Calming Cleansing Micellar Solution


The 7 samples are put to the test!
So, I put all the seven samples to the test. I've also taken some photos of my testing, because I know you guys will want to know what I did in detail. Well, maybe not, but I have photos regardless!

A Tale of Two Products: Neutrogena Deep Clean Revitalising PinkGrapefruit Ultra Foam Cleanser and Vaseline UV Whitening Body Lotion

Today, I have not one, but two skincare products to review for you! Yay!

The first product I have to review is the Neutrogena Deep Clean Revitalising Pink Grapefruit Ultra Foam Cleanser. Foam cleansers are such a trend nowadays. It all started with the Biore Marshmallow Whip Facial Wash, then other brands quickly followed suit. The next thing you know, it's like foaming cleanser this, foaming cleanser that...you get the idea. Anyway, let's try the Neutrogena version and see how it stacks up.

The first thing I noticed when I pumped out the cleanser from the bottle was the smell. I mean, I'm not really one to comment much on fragrance in my skincare or makeup products, but man, this totally hit me in that "KAPOW!!!" way I thought only existed in comic strips. The smell is very strong, and it smells like those scented dish soap I use to clean my plates and bowls! Sheesh Neutrogena, I know you're going for zesty grapefruit, but really, there's no need. My olfactory capabilities are all intact, thanks. You smell like a 13-year-old trying on perfume for the first time!


Anyway, scent aside, I actually didn't mind this product. It foams decently out of the pump, although the foam isn't as fine or as dense as the Biore version. The bubbles in the foam are larger. But it works. It cleans my skin and doesn't leave it feeling dry or tight. I would use this.

Next, we have the Vaseline UV Whitening Body Lotion. This, as the name implies, caters to the masses of girls out there who want fairer skin. It claims to contain Vitamin B3 to help whiten your skin.


I have to admit, I haven't used this long enough to comment on the whitening effect, but it's great as a moisturizer. I'm a longtime fan of Vaseline moisturizers, so this is right up my alley. I'm not gonna complain!


Anyway, there you go, your fellow skincare-usin', makeup-applyin', product-cravin' friendly blogger is working overtime to bring you two(!) new reviews in one day. If any of these products sounds like something you would use, do check them out - they're cheap, cheery, and they work.

(Product was hsent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

Enavose Floracomfort Micellar Cleansing Water Review: Feels Like Water, Cleans Like Oil

Micellar cleansers have been all the rage lately, so I finally got my hands on one to try! Micellar cleansers are supposed to feel like water, but clean as well as oil-based cleansers, which is why they have been so popular. Basically the technology involves suspending tiny oil particles in a watery base, thus giving micellar cleansers the best of both worlds.



After doing much reading up, I finally figured out what the difference between micellar and non-micellar cleansers is. An emulsion (in this case a oil-in-water emulsion) is defined by the particle size. There are 3 types - macroemulsions (particle size >1000nm), microemulsions (10-300nm), micelles (5-10nm), and anything with smaller particle size than a micelle is considered a solution. So basically, a micellar cleanser consists of many many really tiny droplets (micelles) of oil, suspended in water, held together by emulsifiers. Hence, you get the cleaning power of oil, but the nice light feel of water.


I recently tried Enavose Floracomfort Micellar Cleansing Water. Enavose is a Switzerland-based brand with some really good products - I previously tried their Black Tea Quench Mask with really good results. So, I had high expectations for their Micellar Cleansing Water as well.



One of the differences between Enavose and other brands' micellar cleansers is the natural slant to Enavose's product. Enavose's cleanser comes packed with a lot of botanical-derived extracts, so it's good for those who want something a little more power-packed. As with all Enavose products, the packaging is very clean, simple, and functional. The Enavose Floracomfort Micellar Cleanser comes in a plastic bottle. No fussy jars or breakable glass! And I like the pump top. Pump tops are my favourite type of packaging, since they're a lot more airtight than other alternatives.



The cleanser itself looks and feels just like water - it's a clear, watery liquid with no smell or colour. Very light-textured, too, in contrast to the heavier oil cleansers I've used.



So now on to the key question - how does this work at removing makeup? Well I've got a demo for you! Below, I've totally coveered my arm in all the most waterproof makeup I have in my arsenal - Bobbi Brown and MUFE eyeliners, Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge, Bobbi Brown No Smudge Mascara (serious - I wore this to a waterpark and it didn't budge), Benefit's Creaseless Cream.



Right, so let's see if the Enavose Cleansing Water removes all this! I poured some onto a cotton pad, and then swiped the cotton pad back and forth across my arm.

And...below are the results! Ta-da! Impressive right? I didn't expect it to, but the Enavose Cleansing Water removed all the makeup, and actually did so quite cleanly! And it didn't leave behind any weird sticky or oily residue, unlike most oil-based cleansers. I guess the technology behind this oil-in-water thing must be pretty darn amazing, to get something that feels like water clean like an oil!



So, do you need this? I think so, if you're still looking around for a cleanser that would remove your makeup fully, and is easy to use. If you like the cleansing power of cleansing oils, but find them to hard or time-consuming to handle, but at the same thing want something stronger than your average cleanser-type makeup remover, then this would be the jackpot for you. It combines both ease of use and serious cleansing power to give the beset of both worlds.

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)