Empties November 2017

Left to Right:

Labo Labo Super-Keana Lotion

This is a highly raved toner in the Asia market that targets enlarged pores and blackheads. It was recommended by a friend when I was looking for a clarifying toner that can help with my whiteheads and blackheads. The brand is quite a well-known Japanese brand and this toner was very affordable - only around $15 if I recall correctly. I really enjoyed using this toner. The way I use this toner is not to use every day, but to use it after a deep cleansing mask and a quick extraction of blackheads. After the extraction, I soak a cotton pad with this toner and wipe it across my t-zone then leave it on my nose as a quick toning mask for around a minute. I find that it shrinks my pores which are a bit enlarged after all the extraction and calms the skin. I understand it contains lactic acid, malic acid, hyaluronic acid and collagen. It is particularly nice to use in summer because it gives a cooling sensation upon contact with skin.

In fact, I might repurchase this toner. You can get it online here.

La Mer Treatment Lotion

I have previously reviewed this toner here. It is my staple and I already miss it now it’s gone. I will definitely repurchase it when David Jones has its beauty gift card offer. This toner/essence is so soothing and hydrating and I always come back to it when winter/autumn comes.

Mecca Cosmetics - To Save Face SPF 30 Mineral Gel

Mecca Cosmetics knows how to do sunscreen. This mineral gel was a relatively new addition to the “To Save Face” line-up of sunscreens. I bought it on a whim and to my surprise I really enjoyed it. Unlike other mineral sunscreens that are thick and leave white cast, this gel was very lightweight and slightly tinted. It was almost a bit drying if I didn’t use a proper moisturiser underneath, so I image people with oily and/or combination skin would really enjoy this. The tint goes on almost transparent once on the skin, just enough to even out my skintone. And it comes with a pump –hygienic and practical. The only downside is that the product goes off quite quickly. The texture of my tube changed towards the end of my use – not as smooth and slightly separated. Not sure if it was just my tube.

The Ordinary Advanced Retinoid 2%

I was a bit disappointed by this because I did not see visible results at all after using up the whole bottle. Retinoid is supposed to be quite an effective anti-aging ingredient so I do not know why this has not worked at all for me. Please let me know if you have used it and how you feel about it.

L’Oréal Gentle Eye and Lips Makeup Remover

A budget friendly and very effective eye makeup remover. It removes my waterproof mascara in a breeze. I dislike the packaging with a passion though. The lid leaks every time I try to pour to a cotton pad. Please change the packaging L’Oreal if you are listening…

Du’It Foot and Heel Balm Plus

This foot cream contains ingredients like 25% urea, AHAs and vitamin E which help to exfoliate the dead skin cells as well as moisturise. It is quite lightweight in texture – almost gel-lotion like. It does moisturise my skin but they didn’t leave my feet baby soft. I think I have used other more moisturising foot creams before so I will not repurchase this one.

Neostrata Bionic Eye Cream

This has earned its full review here. I love it for the price and the results. I have already repurchased.

Clarins Tonic Body Polisher

Full review here. A beautiful body scrub that leaves my skin smooth and moisturised. The essential oils in this product smells heavenly and very relaxing. I will repurchase this when Clarins has a GWP.

(Some links might be affiliated but this post is in no way sponsered. All opinions are my own.)

L’Occitane Immortelle Divine Eyes eye cream

L’Occitane Immortelle Divine Eyes eye cream

This eye cream claims to do wonderful things such as anti-aging, reducing dark circles and puffiness and smoothing eye contour. Unfortunately I was not able to experience any of these results because I had a terrible allergic reaction to it. More on that later.

What L’Occitane says/product description:

• With 3 patents, the Divine Eyes formula helps to fight visible signs of ageing.
• With daily use, it helps to:- Maintain the skin's youthful potential- Intensely nourish the eye area (74%)*- Visibly reduce puffiness (74%)* and dark circles (81%)*- Visibly smooth the eye contour appearance (91%)* and lessen the appearance of crow’s feet lines (85%)*- Visibly even out skin tone around eyes (85%)*
• Tested under dermatological and ophtalmologist supervision.*Satisfaction tested on 53 women over 4 weeks. **Upper layers of the epidermis.
• RRP: AU$95/15ml

My experience:

As a disclaimer, I should start by saying that I have slightly sensitive skin. I do not normally react to skincare products, including those containing fragrance or strong chemical ingredients. But from time to time, I do find myself reacting to certain products, often leaving me with a mild rash, itchy skin or just general skin texture/tiny bumps. In the past, I have had a similar allergic reaction with the Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil eye cream. Sadly, L’Occitane Immortelle Divine Eyes is another.

The texture of this eye cream is very light and serum like. The first time I put it on, it felt light and refreshing but it did not give me enough moisture for my 30yo eye contour…As a back up plan, I planned to use this eye cream as an eye serum, followed by another richer eye cream such as the Neostrata one which I really enjoyed. But to my horror I woke up the next day with red and swollen eyelids, and they were very itchy. I stopped using this eye cream immediately. In fact, I stopped using all my skincare products, and only used the Blackmores Vitamin E cream as a moisturiser and eye cream (I bought this on a whim for my daughter to use as a body moisturiser when we were travelling earlier this year). After about a week of using the Blackmores cream only, the rash on my eyelids finally went away. But I was stupid enough to give the eye cream a second try, and miracle did not happen. I was left with swollen and itchy eyelids yet again.

So it is safe to say that I did not enjoy this eye cream. Especially given the price, it is marketed as a high end eye cream targeting the mature aged group consumers. But I felt it was not nourishing and moisturising enough for its target consumers. I wish I could return this product back to L’Occitane but I did not keep the receipt either.

Lesson learnt – do not throw away my shopping receipts.

Update: I contacted L'occitane's customer service and they were very helpful. I was able to bring this eye cream back and exchange it for something else of the same value. I ended up exchanging it for a hand lotion, the Almond shower oil which I adore and the Almond milk veil...

Repurchase? Definitely no.

L’Occitane Shea Intensive Hand Balm

L’Occitane Shea Intensive Hand Balm

This is a hand cream I purchased on a whim. It was my birthday and I got an email from L’Occitane that said “happy birthday! Enjoy a free candle on us” or something along those lines. I said to myself “Cool. I will pick it up on my way home” and of course I picked up a hand cream, an eye cream and don’t forget the candle…so there you have it, story of my life :)

What L’Occitane says/product description:

• formulated with a very high concentration of 25% shea butter to provide intense nourishing care
• forms a protective film for skin that is very dry or uncomfortable due to environmental aggressions (cold, air conditioning)
• melts into the hands and nails from the moment it is applied and massaged in
• enriched with allantoin, it helps to immediately soothe the skin, bringing comfort and softness
• used daily, it helps to protect hands from dryness
• RRP AU$46/150ml

My experience:

L’Occitane is well known for its handcreams. This hand balm has the highest concentration of shea butter out of all the handcreams L’Occitane offers and should be therefore the most nourishing. I use it as my night time/bedside handcream and it ticks all the boxes for me.

Surprisingly, the texture of this hand balm is not as thick as I expected and it is easily absorbed into the skin after a quick massage. It is emollient and beautifully nourishing but is not sticky, tacky nor oily. I only need a little every time I use it because it spreads quite easily. I used it through this Sydney winter and my hands have not felt dry at all. And I don’t even use it every night because I either don’t remember to or just don’t bother sometimes…Still my hands are in good condition given all the washing up I do with a little one. My daytime handcream is the Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream which I adore and have gone through at least seven tubes. The Aveeno one has a gel-cream texture and is absorbed instantly. I believe that the combination of the Aveeno hand cream during the day and L’Occitane at night has kept my hands and nails in good condition.

The hand balm has a soft clean scent, similar to the regular shea butter handcream by L’Occitane. I am not sure if it is what shea butter smells like or it might just be the fragrance but I enjoy the scent very much. I prefer the scent to floral or fruity scented handcreams because it just feels more sophisticated.

It is not cheap for a handcream, and if your hands are not exceptionally dry you might just be as happy with the Aveeno Intense Relief one for around $6.

Repurchase? I might, if my hands suffer from extreme dryness.

Clarins Tonic Body Polisher

Clarins Tonic Body Polisher

I enjoy using body scrubs in general as I find the whole experience relaxing and almost therapeutic for me. I have to admit though nothing beats a pair of exfoliating gloves or dry body brushing in terms of the polishing/scrubbing effects. But body scrub is still a regular in my weekly routine because the whole experience is just really uplifting for me, especially after a long day.

What Clarins says/product description:

• features essential oils of rosemary, rosewood, mint, sugar and salt crystals
• feels luxurious as it smoothes away dry cells, flakes and impurities to reveal the glowing skin beneath
• leaves skin looking toned, radiant and sleek.
• RRP AU$48/250ml

My experience:

Clarins is a brand that is a bit underrated in my opinion. We don’t hear much about it on social media and often associate it with words like “mature”, “dull” or “old fashioned”. I happen to find Clarins products to be very reliable, especially its range of body products which I religiously used during my pregnancy and I have very few stretch marks now (also thanks to my mum). The Tonic Body Polisher is another one of those reliable products – it is not love at first sight, but I miss it when I don’t have it.

The polisher is a mixture of sugar and salt crystals that are quite fine. I personally like a rough body scrub so this one is on the gentle side for me. But it still sloughs away dead skin cells beautifully and my skin feels really smooth after. I can even skip the body lotion when using this polisher because the essential oils really nourish my skin. It doesn’t leave oily residues, just a thin layer of moisture that makes my skin looking radiant as claimed. I can’t say much to the toning claim because I did not see any. And I didn’t expect a body scrub to tone my skin anyways…

The scent of the essential oils is heavenly and very spa like. It is not overpowering, just enough to lift my mood and feel relaxed. It is definitely the reason why I kept coming back to this scrub. It is a great balance of exfoliation, moisture and beautiful scent. The price is a bit on the high end for a body scrub, but still reasonable and definitely worth its price (I have tried body scrubs that are more expensive but much less enjoyable than this one). Please let me know if you have found a great body scrub that is more budget friendly!

Repurchase? I still have so many other scrubs I want to try…but I can definitely recommend this scrub and will probably repurchase with a GWP.

August/September 2017 Empties

Emma Hardie Amazing Face Age Support Treatment Cream

I love the Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm so I decided to add this moisturiser to my shopping cart when I was repurchasing the cleansing balm. It has lots of promising ingredients such as moringa, evening primrose, rose hip, vitamin E and hyaluronic acid. But I was disappointed.

This moisturiser promises ultra-hydration and lifting/tightening effects but I saw none. It is actually quite lightweight and “fluffy”, lighter than an average face cream, just slightly thicker than a lotion. I opened this tub in the beginning of winter and it did not provide enough hydration for my combination to dry skin. I had to rely on other moisturising serums to tackle the lack of hydration. And it had a weird scent, almost sour to my nose so it was not very pleasant to use. (I am confused. Did I get a bad batch?) The packaging is also too bulky for my liking.

La Mer The Renewal Oil

I have done a full review of this beauty here. It is a bi-phase facial oil that is lightweight and hydrating at the same time. It improves the overall radiance and suppleness of my skin and is very versatile. Easily the best facial oil I have used. I have already repurchased.

Kiehl’s - Clearly Corrective Foaming Cleanser

A deluxe sample I received as GWP and I really enjoyed it. I used it as my morning cleanser and it was gentle yet effective. It didn’t leave my skin tight and brightened my face a little bit. I might purchase a full size when I run out of cleansers.

Curel Kao Makeup Cleansing Gel

This is a beautiful Japanese budget cleansing gel for sensitive and dry skin. It transforms from gel to oil with minimal rubbing and washes off very easily with water. It is very effective at removing makeup including waterproof products and is never too harsh for my skin. I go through a tube of this very quickly and this is probably my eighth. It’s a staple for me.

Kiehl's - Crème de Corps

A HG body lotion for many. And I can see the appeal – very moisturising, leaves a beautiful sheen on the skin, buttery melting texture and a cult following. One problem I had was the packaging. It was very difficult to use the last bit in the bottle without cutting open the bottle. It was a limited edition bottle so I didn’t want to cut it…but it also meant a lot of waste of product. Aah the dilemma one has to face…

The Ordinary Buffet (missing from the picture)

I have done a detailed review of this beautiful serum here. It is a lightweight serum targeting dryness, fine lines and wrinkles. I think it is one of the best products The Ordinary has to offer and definitely my personal favourite. I have already repurchased three more bottles when Priceline had its 40% skincare sale. Say no more.

Bifesta Mandom Eye Makeup Remover

If you are into the K-beauty/Asian beauty trend, then you might have heard of this eye makeup remover. It has won multiple awards and is cheap as chips. I have gone through at least five bottles and it is easily my favourite. It removes my waterproof mascara and eyeliner in a breeze with no rubbing. It outperforms many of the high-end makeup removers I have tried and comes at a fraction of the price. Please grab a bottle to try out the next time you visit Asia or you can easily find it online (I got mine from adambeauty.com, not sponsored/affiliated).