Empties August 2020

2020 is a very different year for me. Number one is I changed job after 11 years working in the same company, although I am still working in the same field. Number 2 is I moved from my parents' house because the new job is located at another state. A big changes for me.

The most obvious differences is no more prepared breakfast and dinner. Have to settle myself. In order to sleep enough and avoid waking up earlier, I actually trimmed down a lot on my skin care time. Previously, if good mood, I would apply toner, moisturizer, day cream and sun block, layer by layer, slowly because I knew that breakfast is prepared and what I needed to do was eat it. Nowadays, just toner and moisturizer and I am good to go. For night time skin care, normally also toner and moisturizer, if not so sleepy, will add night cream. I salute all those busy people that still manage to take good care of their skin, suddenly I remembered an old roommate that would wake up early to put on makeup if she slept too late the night before, I am totally opposite, I would never wake up early and would stay on the bed until the last minute. Hahaha!

Anyway, the photo above was taken on early August, I only finished few items only. Simplify the routine due to laziness also helps to save money. Planning to pay more home loan to help lessen the interest, my heart hurts when I see the interest rate.

Two body lotion finished. The already repurchased body lotion is the Nivea body lotion, I tried the "Rose & Argan Oil" of the Oil in lotion series, it is more good smelling than the blue bottle Nivea body lotion. Effectiveness wise, I think is the same. The second one is Asianic Rice Milk Hand & Body Lotion, well, I think it is too smelly because I don't really like the scent. It is too big to be used as hand cream as well (I normally keep one in office), I don't feel comfortable bringing a huge tube of non essential personal item to office. So, I actually took forever to finish this, actually it expired on early 2020.

For the toner, I think I will not repurchase the Chriszen Aloe & Rice Milk Facial Toner. It is far more viscous than I thought and it has a weird smell (For me la), actually I haven't finish it yet, but going to finish it soon. So, added this to the list. For the Simple Soothing Facial Toner (100% Alcohol Free), I think it's not bad. But how not bad don't know how to explain. It is quite affordable too, I think less than RM20 per bottle.

Next, Cosmoderm Vitamin E Cream 1000 I.U., I think it's my second tube. I normally use it on my neck area or as hand cream. It's quite oily in my opinion. The Naruko Rose & Aqua-in Super Hydrating moisturizer is a repurchase, my trusted moisturizer. Already finished bottles of this. Finally, the Mamonde Calming Hydro Sleeping Mask, well, it's just ok, I think it is too light and not moisturizing enough, using this didn't have any effect on my face. Maybe there are effects, but it is minuscule to be taken account. So, I think it is overly expensive for a mask like this. Not going to repurchase, I used it to finish it only!

Now I am waiting for big discount from Watsons to buy the next bottle of Naruko Moisturizer before I finished up another bottle. Hahaha. The end.

Empties 2H19

2020 is coming soon and Malaysia is not yet a developed country as envisioned by Tun M years ago. I still remember I was still very young when I first heard about this Wawasan 2020, I was very impressed by Tun M speeches and I couldn't imagine how it would be in 2020 then, I was just in primary or lower secondary school that time, what I remembered was that Tun M didn't need notes and he just continued his speech in English and Malay without stopping. I was so young then, it was so impressing and I did believe that Malaysia will become a great developed country by 2020. Now, I feel tired with the current political state of Malaysia. So negative. We all need to work together to make Malaysia a better place. 

Anyway, enough ranting. Time for empties. This is a record for myself.

1. Nivea Vanilla & Almond Oil Infused Body Lotion
As usual, Nivea didn't disappoint me, it is affordable and it works to combat dry skin. However, the smell takes sometimes to get used to. 

2. Clinelle Purifying Toner (Purify, Soothe & Protect)

I don't normally change my moisturizer, but I do change my toner a lot. This is my first Clinelle product. The smell is quite refreshing and non sticky. I tried to spray directly on my face and it was disastrous, my face until neck was all wet, so finally I spray it on cotton pad before apply on face. Overall, a so so product, not so cheap compared to other toners. Can buy if in deep discount.

3. Naruko Rose & Aqua-In Super Hydrating Moisturizer 
This is my staple moisturizer. Well, it is not so expensive and I feel that it is quite good, so, repurchase again and again.

4. Hada Labo Premium Hydrating Cream
Well, I don't like the smell, but it not not oily and quite moisturizing, so have to bear with the smell for first few days. After that, one would get immune with the smell. This cream is full of the Hyaluronic Acid, so I think Hyaluronic Acid smells like this cream. Plus, I bought another Dr Morita High Purity Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Facial Cream, both have identical smell. But in my opinion, the Dr Morita's smells better. Hahaha. I don't understand though on the packaging, it is only a 50g cream, but the bottle and box is so big compared to the actual volume.

5. L’Oreal Paris Hydrafresh Hydration + Antiox Active Night Mask-In Jelly
If the box for Hada Labo Hydrating Cream is big, then this L’Oreal Paris Hydrafresh  Night Mask-In Jelly is huge. The volumn is only 50ml, but the box is so much bigger than the bottle. I have to admit that when I was deciding which nigh mask to buy, the big box gave me an illusion that it is cheaper per volume. I didn't notice the actual volume is only 50ml. I just guessed from the box size. Anyway, this is not a bad night mask but I still think Naruko night mask is the best.

6. Special Biomedical Repair Cream 
My second bottle and it didn't solve my chin acne problem like the first one. I think that before I stopped using, there must be around half bottle left, but when I opened yesterday night, only a thin layer left. Anyway, time to throw.

7. Nivea Creme
Very cheap, affordable and versatile cream. Haven't buy a new one, but planning to get one soon.

8. Loshi Moisture Skin Cream - Horse Oil 
A very moisturizing cream. So rich until can use on body, I applied this on my feet to avoid crack feet. So unbelievable, 220g and I finished it.

9. Sukin Hydrating Day Cream with Rose Hip Oil (120ml)
This is quite cheap considering that it is a huge 120ml bottle cream. But the box is smaller than the L’Oreal Paris Hydrafresh  Night Mask-In Jelly, Hahaha. I have no luck with the Sukin night cream, but this day cream is not so bad, it has a pleasant smell, quite moisturizing. But I think I will not repurchase.

10. L'oreal Paris Revitalift Anti-Aging + Firming Aqua Milky Toner
I applied this after the Clinelle toner. I feel that actually this step can be skipped. But since I already bought this, have to finish it up. It is heavier than the Clinelle toner, but not as heavy as the normal moisturizer, cannot be used as moisturizer on its own.

11. Botaneco Garden Organic Chia Seed & Honey Hand Cream
A Guardian Pharmacy house brand. The hand cream from this Botaneco Garden range is really quite good. Initially I thought that this Honey Hand Cream would be too sweet, but no, it is not smelly and non sticky, easy to absorb. I put this in the office, whenever I felt that my hands were dry, I applied this hand cream. And one day, I lost the cap, and it didn't dry up. After one month I think, the cream texture is still the same. A very good hand cream. Now waiting to finish current stock, most likely will repurchase, unless Botaneco Garden comes out with new flavour, then maybe I will change. Hahaha.

Happy new year everyone! May 2020 bring you happiness, peace and prosperity. (sounds like Chinese new year wishes!)

Empties 1H19

I am getting lazier and lazier. Didn't touch this blog for around 6 months. However, I have empty bottles to throw away, so have to do this for my own record.

1. Palmer's Olive Oil Body Lotion

Frankly, I bought this during sales. It is much more expensive than my usual body lotion. There is another variant, the coconut oil body lotion, but since coconut oil is comedogenic and I have issues with body acne, I just chose this olive oil version with no paraben, no mineral oil, no sulfates, etc. It also contains shea butter, not sure the percentage though. This body lotion is more fluid than the normal Nivea body lotion, the smell is not bad too. I didn't feel stickiness when I applied on my skin. And I didn't feel itchy after that, so I guess this is a good moisturizer. Will definitely buy again if it is on sales.  

Palmer's Olive Oil Body Lotion

Empties for 2018

It has been a very busy year with work. To avoid keeping too many empty bottles, I summarized after a few empties.

 

1. Cosmoderm Vitamin E Oil 30000 I.U. With Rosehip Oil

This is a Vitamin E based oil with a bit of Rosehip oil (the Rosa Canina fruit extract is last on the ingredients list). Well, I used the 15000 I.U. version before and I like it. So, I was thinking maybe the higher concentration version will have better benefit and I bought this oil. I was strong. My face is not suitable for this, the texture is so thick until I felt that the oil just sitting on my face, finally I used this on my body. I think only those with really desert dry skin can use this. Anyway, lesson learnt, a higher concentration is not necessary better. One thing I didn't like about Cosmoderm is their packaging, the pressure pump cap design is not good, everytime I pumped, some oil would flow along the cap and contaminate the bottle outer area, so wasted. However, the latest design for the cap is improved a bit, the latest 15000 I.U. oil that I bought has a new design and the wastage is not that much.

2. Olay Total Effects 7 in One (Anti-ageing + fairness Cream) SPF 15

I like the Olay texture, it is quite smooth on face. I used this as sunscreen, but I feel that actually this is not so suitable to be used as sunscreen because it is only SPF 15 and after reading the ingredients list and compared to Google, only Homosalate is normally used in Sunscreen , but better than none, right? This uses the airless pump design, so, when the cream was used up to last bit, there was some sense of satisfaction, Hahaha!

3. Botaneco Garden Organic Argan & Virgin Olive Oil - Nourishing Hand Cream

A very nice and good smelling hand cream. It contains Organic Argan Oil from Morocco and Virgin Olive Oil from Spain and free of Parabens, Silicone, soap, colourant, Lanolin, Dea, SLS and SLES. So many oils. I really like this hand cream, this is a good and affordable hand cream and easily accessible from Guardian Pharmacy. Well, until now I never splurged on a L'Occitane hand cream, maybe if I get a really fat bonus, then I may get the hand cream. So, for now, pharmacy hand cream it is.

4. Lucas' Papaw Ointment

I read about this in many blogs. Many were singing praises for this and they used it on the whole body. Well, I read in one blog, the blogger used this as lip balm. When I saw this in a shop, I bought this to try, I was getting bored with Nivea Creme, It's good, but I wanted to try others. It's made in Australia and contains Carica Papaya (fresh fermented fruit), it is not papaya though. The thing that surprised me was the sentences printed on the packaging, which was "This is a traditional medicine" and "Diluluskan oleh KKM MAL 19962190T". This is categorized under medicine, and the packaging also mentions the this is traditionally used as a local topical application for symptomatic relief of minor cuts, wounds and insect bites. It didn't mention anything about lip moisturizer. However, some claimed that this is just a version of expensive Vaseline. Well, I am not compatible with Vaseline. This is still OK for me. In the Lucas Papaw website, they mentioned that they are using pharmaceutical grade petroleum jelly and wax. Since it's approved until the Health Ministry of Malaysia, it must have gone through some stringent tests, so it should be safer to use on lips? Compared to other lip balm? This tube lasts for a very long time, I think more than 2 years.

5. Hatomugi skin conditioner (ナチュリエ ハトムギ化粧水 スキンコンディショナー)

Another bottle is in my possession right now. This is a cheap toner, around RM30 and the volume is 500ml. So, one can be very generous with the usage and I poured this toner on the cotton sheet like this is water until the cotton sheet is soaked with the toner. Hahaha, and even with the usage, this bottle could last months. However, although the packaging remarked that this toner contains natural ingredients, temperature and other changes may cause sediment to occur, but I have never seen that. It maintains the same structure until the end. 

6. Nivea Body Milk Intensive Moisture (Dry to very dry skin) Vitamin E & Grape Seed Oil

I have gone through several bottles of this. It is a good body lotion. I didn't feel itchy at all when I was using this. However, only on my upper body, I still feel itchiness on my legs, I am not sure it was due to dryness or razor burn though. 

7. Uriage Eau Thermale (Thermal Water)

I have never use thermal water before, I read that it was meant as face mists. So, I sprayed this on my face after toner. Well, my only feeling was my face was so wet. Hahaha, didn't feel that it improved anything though. For me, not an important step. 

8. Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Premium Hydrating Lotion
Well, bought this for the 5 types of Hyaluronic Acid. Used this after the Hatomugi toner when I felt that my skin needed the extra boost. Now using another Hada Labo lotion. Almost finished trying all the lotion in the Hada Labo range.

9. Sukin Facial Moisturiser (Paraben Free)
Well, for a natural skincare, Sukin is a fairly affordable brand. This moisturiser is even cheaper than the Naruko Rose & Botanic HA Aqua Cubic Moisturizer EX. But in my heart, Naruko is better. Anyway, I bought this because Guardian was having really good sales and I bought this. Plus, this has no SLS, no SLES, no synthetic fragrances, no Animal derivatives, no "Harsh" detergent (means still have detergent?), no propylene glycol, no artificial colours, no Triethanolamine, no mineral oils, no EDTA, no Paraben and it is 100% Vegan. It sounds so healthy. Hahaha, it is not the best moisturiser that I tried before, but it is not bad and I am into my second bottle and a third bottle in my drawer. I couldn't resist a good sales.

10. Nature Republic Soothing & Moisture Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel

This is not a night gelly. Initially, I wanted to use this to skip moisturizer and sleeping mask. But, I feel that it's not that useful. I still need a proper moisturizer. So, it was left at a corner. I realized it's going to expire soon on October 2018, so I googled to find out how other people use this. One mentioned that she used this as a mask with a thickness of around 7mm, wow, it's very difficult to achieve that thickness, the maximum I could do was around 1 to 2mm only. I feel that if I added more on my face, it would drip down and stain my clothes and bed sheet. So, with a 1.5mm mask everyday, I finished this.

11. Loshi Moisture Skin Cream Coenzyme Q10 コエンザイムQ10配合スキンクルーム
I bought this for my feet alone. I tried all the skin cream range for this Loshi brand. I think the best is the purple colour one, the Lithospermum Root. This Q10 and the Urea one ranked low on the list. I think the thing that bugs me was the smell, not pleasant for me. But I have no crack heels when I was using this.

12. Mentholatum Botanics (Moisturizing & Brightening Face Wash)
I bought this because it contains rosehip oil and the weight is 150g. Definitely cheaper than the Senka Speedy Perfect whip and lasts longer, well, much longer. Of course, I have to make it into a lather, not as convenient as the Senka, but it's not a hard work.

Nivea lotion & Duplair toner

13. Nivea Cherry Blossom & Jojoba Oil (Oil in Lotion) for Normal to Dry Skin
I am a fan of Nivea body lotion. When I bought this, it was still fairly new to the market. The description on the packaging is 'indulging cherry blossom scent in a fast absorbing lotion', well, I have gone through 2 sakura season, and I couldn't smell anything under the tree. Anyway, I think the scent of this lotion is a bit too sweet for me. The moisturizing property for this lotion is ok for me, no itchy skin.
 
14. Duplair Ceramide Lotion (デュプレール セラミド化粧水)
I bought this for the size vs prize. It is so affordable. According to the description on the packaging, there are ample amount of ceramide to nourish skin, 3 types of collagen, locks in moisture with Placenta (I only realized that it contains placenta after I finished this). It is a fairly good affordable toner, but now I am torn whether I will repurchase this or not. I feel weird, why placenta is used in skin care products. I applied something with placenta on my face for months!

Sukin Facial Moisturiser & Cosmoderm Vitamin E Oil

15. Sukin Facial Moisturiser (Paraben Free) 
Same as item number 9. I bought another bottle when it was on sales.

16. Cosmoderm Vitamin E Oil 15,000 I.U. 
Although the dispensing head is different from the previous version. This new one is not really use friendly. The outer area is covered with oil after a few days. Everytime I pumped it,  droplet of oil will flow alongside the outer wall of the bottle. So messy. Product wise, it is OK. Finally, I have to conclude that for oil product, the pump type is really not a good choice.

Ellgy Plus Cracked Heel Cream

17. Ellgy Plus Cracked Heel Cream
I got these 2 tubes from other online skincare purchases. I always uses cream (body lotion or really heavy cream that is not expensive) on my feet. This is my first heel cream. Well, initially I did not like the smell, but gradually I began to like it. Weird, right? Anyway, it is a light and easy to adsorb cream. Compared to other body lotion, using a little bit of this heel cream feels enough to prevent cracked heel. Hehehe! Sometimes, I used this as hand cream too. But using as hand cream is a bit overkill though. In the introduction, this cream can be used for diabetics too. For this cream, the ingredient used to lock moisture is Saccharide Isomerate, quite different from the other face cream or body lotion.

Mamonde Rose Soothing Gel

18. Mamonde Rose Water Soothing Gel 
The packaging is not available now, the new design is tube type. I bought this to be used as sleeping mask because I thought the function is like the Naruko night gel. Well, it is not, and it is more like the aloe vera gel, best used after exposed to sun light. Hahahaha, however to finish this, like the aloe vera gel, I applied a thick soothing gel on my face every night, the smell can be overwhelming and this is not a night mask. The effect is not there. Anyway, better to read more before buying anything. One of my new year resolutions is say no to impulse buying!

COSMODERM Vitamin E Cream 1000 I.U. with Roseship Oil

19. COSMODERM Vitamin E Cream 1000 I.U. with Roseship Oil
The texture and feeling when applied on my face is nice. I felt that the cream is being adsorbed fast. The smell is so so, not so bad. However, after few days of using this, I got big pimples, the one with no head and took days to subside. So, I used this on my neck after that. Haiz, I still have another tube that I bought during sales. I think I will not buy this again.

Happy New Year! Hoping that 2019 will be a better year ahead.

Empties for 2017

I have been procrastinating for the past one year. I didn't read much, well, I read, but mostly the online novels. For others, I didn't have the motivation to do. Well, I have been keeping bottles of empties, so I told myself, before I finish typing this blog, I cannot dispose all those bottles, tubes, etc. It's really a burden to the eyes and to wean myself off the online novels.

Empties 2017

Well, below are my empties for 2017.

1. White Formula Super Moist Lotion with Hyaluronic Acid 白白肌ヒアルロン酸高保湿乳液
This is a very heavy moisturizer. Well, this is for normal to dry skin, I just didn't expect that it will be so moisturized. The texture is so creamy. However, I still mixed this with the Cosmoderm Vitamin E Oil, and I have to pat my face quite many times in order for this to be adsorbed. I think that this is a good moisturizer, I didn't experience any dryness on my face when I was still using this. The only thing I don't like about this is the smell, after applied on the face, I could still smell it for quite long. The time for acceptance for the smell was quite long for me.

This Super Moist lotion has 3 kinds of Hyaluronic Acid, macro (Sodium hyaluronate), micro (Hyalo-Oligo) and nano form (Syn-Hycan). I used a lot of products with Hyaluronic Acid lately. For this, although it is a Taiwanese brand, this is made in Korea.

2. Botaneco Garden Organic Trio Oil Body Lotion (Relaxing)
This is a brand from Guardian Pharmacy. And I really like this range, already repurchase a few times. This body lotion contains babassu oil, baobab oil and chufa oil. The smell comes from the essential oil of Lavender and Rosemary. For me, as long as I didn't feel itchy after I applied a body lotion, it is a good body lotion. I didn't feel itchy, so this is a good body lotion with great smell.

Toners 2017

I never skip toner in my skin care. In fact, I am quite generous with the usage. So, I gone through quite many toners in a year. All are Asian brands.

my pass and current toner (from left: White Formula Super Moist Toner With Hyaluronic Acid, 2 Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion, Silk Fibro Lotion & Hatomugi skin conditioner)

One of my pass toner was Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion (Gokujyun) 肌研極潤スーパーヒアルロン液, bought this because many people swore by it. Well, from the ingredients, one can see that it is very moisturizing, it contains 4 types of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) that have different sizes that can penetrate different layers of skin. The large HA forms a layer of barrier to prevent moisture loss. Medium HA has high water retention ability, able to hold moisture and maintain a longer period of lasting hydration. Next is super HA which able to mimic the natural moisturizing ability and finally, nano HA with tiny fine molecule size of 1/20 of HA that can penetrates and infuses easily into skin. Wow, reading the introduction really makes one has high hope on the moisturizing properties, all those humectants. Well, for me, it's kind of sticky. I use it after a more waterly toner. I only apply 2 layers of toners, I have no energy to apply until 7 layers of toners (Korean 7-skin method). I think it is similar to the Shiseido D-Program lotion, but with a much smaller price range.

Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Premium Hydrating Lotion; Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion

Hand Creams from Guardian Pharmacy And Watsons Pharmacy

Hand cream is part of my skin care must-haves. But I will not spend more than RM20 for a tube of hand cream. I used to get the Korean made hand creams, but that also become more expensive in recent years and apart from the packaging, I think it is not tally with the quality.

hand creams from Guardian and Watsons house brand

Then I remembered the blogs from a few Taiwanese bloggers. Quite a number of them recommended Watsons Olive Hand Cream. Many sing praises on the hand cream, claiming it's a good affordable hand cream. So, when I was buying stuffs from Watsons online, I added one "Olive Hand Cream" into my cart to try it out. It's from the range "Naturals by Watsons" and on the packaging, it stated that it's made of certified organic olive oil from Italy. It's free of colourants and Isothiazolinone. It also contains shea butter, grape seed oil, sunflower seed oil, etc. Similar ingredients with most of the hand creams.

Empties For Second Half '16

My current skin condition is back to my old self (serious chin acne) suddenly without warning, I was happy a few months back that I could finally focus on eliminate the scars, redness and wrinkles after the acne condition improved, however, now that I have the serious chin acne back, I am now fighting pimples instead of other skin conditions. I  didn't change the routine when my chin acne got worse, after that, I changed my products trying to improve it, still NG. Currently I try to sleep earlier and eat less oily food, it is not working for my face, but who knows, maybe my body is getting better. 

empties for 2nd half 2016

A. Avalon Organics -Hand & Body Lotion (Olive & Grape Seed)

Well, the body lotion smells nice, much nicer than the germanium version from the same brand. I applied this after bath and the moisturizing property is ok. I didn't feel itchy from dryness when I was using this. 

B. Cosmoderm Vitamin E Cream 1000 I.U. With Rosehip Oil
I came across this cream because I was searching for rosehip oil at an online store and the search result came back with this. I didn't buy this initially, but when I saw this in Guardian Pharmacy one day, I decided to give it a try. When I started to use this on my face, although the pimples didn't reduce, at least the swelling reduced a bit and I applied this diligently until it finished. Well, I think the cream is not stable enough, it's easy to dry out. When I opened the tub, some cream left on the cover already dried out. After the cream volume getting lesser and lesser as I was using it, the cream that remained underneath become harder and harder. Finally, some cream left inside the tub and I stopped using it. Before I dispose the bottle, I opened the cover and noticed that the cream turned into oil already. Since it didn't solve the pimples problem, going to find other product.

C. Loshi Moisture Skin Cream - Horse Oil
Horse oil. Mmmm, I had bashahi (raw horse meat) before in Japan, but I never used any skin care made using horse oil before. I bought this with high hope too and sadly, it didn't improve my acne condition, so I used this instead on my feed. It is really good with the rough skin, my feet become smoother with this.

D. Loshi Moisture Skin Cream - Hatomugi
I wasn't thinking properly when I bought this. Actually I bought this few days after I bought the horse oil cream, before I even start to use the horse oil cream. I bought this because in the Navermatome, it mentions that Hatomugi ハトムギ is a good moisturizer and can help for pimples issue. However, this is not compatible with my face. I applied this on my feet too. Hahaha!

E. Holika Holika The Moment Hand Cream - Cottom Bebe
It's ok, not a bad hand cream.

F. Thayers Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera
Not an expensive toner, but not going to repurchase.

G. Naruko NRK All-In-One High Potency Moisturizer
For a moisturizer, it is too light. Finally, I used it after toner and used another moisturizer after that. Not going to repurchase.

H. Petitfee - Gold & EGF Eye Patch
It's not something that I imagined before I bought this. Partly due to I didn't do any research on this before I ordered this. When I saw the packaging, I thought that it is something like eye cream. I don't know why I ignored the "eye patch" printed on the packaging. It's something like gel patch and when it's on the skin, I felt it's quite cooling, ok, but I don't like the scent.

the shape of the eye patch inside the tub

I. Nivea Creme

I used this on everywhere, my lips, my body, my feet. And I noticed something, it's not suitable on feet because after applied pressure, the cream will become liquid like and it's not suitable on something that will touch the floor. 

J. Nivea Intensive Body Milk Lotion
I tried many other brands, but I always go back to this lotion. It's good and cheap.

K. Exuviance Night Renewal Hydragel
It's expensive and didn't improve my chin acne. I really hope that it works! Actually I used it before and it's not working much. Haiz! It's like doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result.

L. Exuviance Calming Serum
This one was introduced by the beautician from the salon to reduce redness, not working as well. But the texture is quite good. 

Next, finally I decided to dispose the one that I kept for a long time and will not use products.

dispose

M. Some bathing products

It's gift from some purchases and it's few years old. Into the bin it goes.

N. Daiso Exfoliator Cream for Elbow and Knee

I bought it because it's only 100 yen and I have never use something like exfoliator for my legs. I tried to use it a few times, not a good exfoliator and it's difficult to use. After keeping it for so long, I think it has expired. I don't dare to use it anymore. 

O. Naruko Apple Seed & Tranexamic Acid (Black Spots and Lines Defying Night Gelly)

I am a big fan of Naruko night gelly. But this one really threw me off guard. Other night gelly from Naruko will only form a thin film on the skin and nothing else. For this night gelly, when I opened the cover, a layer of white precipitates already formed on the tub edge, I thought it's the plastic tub residue. So, I happily used this when the Naruko Rose and Botanic Night Gelly finished, to my surprise, after few hours, many white stuffs formed on my face, it's easy to clean off, but it's very weird. I tried to google this product, but people give nothing but praises and no one mentioned the weird white thingy at all. Initially, I suspected that the online shop I bought from was selling fake Naruko. So, I stopped buying Naruko product from the store. After that, I only bought Naruko products from Watsons although the discount was not so great.

P. D Program Deep Cleansing Oil

Never used it before, bought this because it's part of the items on the trial set of the Shiseido D Program.

Q. D Program Moist Care Lotion

It's part of the items from the trail set, however, before I finished this, I already bought the full bottle. It was meant for use during travel, but I never remembered to bring it out. Now it's covered with dust. So, bye bye too.

I forgot the R when I edited the photo.

S. The Face Shop Mango Seed Moisturizer 

There's no English word on the packaging, but I guessed it's moisturizer based on the texture.

T. The Face Ship Mango Seed Toner

I guessed this is a toner. For the Mango Seed toner and moisturizer, I only used it before I applied clay mask. And then I got lazy and these 2 free gifts were left gathering dust. I think it's also expired.

U. Curel Makeup Cleansing Gel

This's also a part of the Curel trial set that I bought. I used up all the other items and I tried to use this makeup cleansing gel, but I didn't do makeup, so I felt that it's a really wasted step, after a few times, give up.

V. Exuviance Matte Perfection
Bought this under recommendation from the beautician from the beauty salon. She kept mentioning that I needed to control the oiliness of my face, however, I finished one bottle of it and the face still remain the same. And I bought a second bottle (this one) before I finished the first one. After awhile, I feel tired with it and stopped using this. The texture changed, so time to toss it.

Overall, the biggest change was I stopped using sunscreen after my chin acne got worse. The chin acne still remain the same and I become lazy, so I only applied sunscreen if I knew that I would be out of the building during the day. If I stayed at home or office only, I didn't apply it. 

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion R & Thayers Alcohol Free Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion (R) and Thayers  Alcohol Free Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera are two very different kind of toners. For one thing, Aqualabel Moisture Lotion was made in Japan and the Thayers Witch Hazel Toner was made in USA, and on the label, it specified that "with only American Ingredients". Kind of funny, I think. 

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion (R) is called アクアレーベルモイスチャー ローションR （しっとり）化粧水 in Japanese, until now I couldn't understand why toner is called 化粧水 in Japanese, from the kanji, maybe it was meant to be used before any cosmetic is applied to the face. Anyway, for me, before I buy any Japanese skin care products, I will look for the word "しっとり", which means moisture. For Thayers toner, I bought this because I read a lot of good reviews for the witch hazel toners. Plus, it was in discount when I browsed the online store, so I bought my first Thayers product then. 

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion (R) and Thayers Alcohol Free Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera

By the time I took the photo, the Aqualabel Moisture Lotion R is finished, I used it until the final drop. This lotion R is good enough for me, I think it is quite moisturizing for me. However, although I didn't like the smell, I didn't hate the smell either. I used this by dropping a few drops (the instruction mentions around the size of 500 yen coin, so it is slightly bigger than the old version of Malaysian 50 cents) of the liquid to the cotton pad and after that, applied to my face. I didn't feel stickiness on my face after I used this, so I guess it's all right. 

Shiseido Aqualabel Moisture Lotion (R)

For the Thayers Witch Hazel Toner, number one thing that I noticed was the texture of the toner, it is so fluid. The second thing was the smell, I really dislike the smell. I still use it though because although it didn't improve my skin, it didn't make it worse. In terms of ingredients, I think the most interesting item is the un-distilled witch hazel. On the label, it even mentions that "THAYER'S proprietary Certified Organic Witch Hazel (derived from the bark) is not distilled, thereby maintaining all the beneficial natural tannins. Assay of hamamelitannin shows that Witch Hazel bark extract is 21 times richer in hamamelitannin than the leaf extract and 87 times richer than the stem extract (Resource: Vennat, Bl, "Tannins from hamamelis virginiana" Planta Medica 54(1988):454-437)". Hahaha, extract from a peer reviewed journal. I am not sure what is the use of hamamelitannin, but it certainly didn't make miracles on my skin. Too bad, I was hoping it can help tighten pores. Like the Aqualabel Lotion R, I applied this with cotton pad. I never tried to use with only hands though. I used this very generously to finish it fast, still I took nearly six months to use it up.  

Thayers Alcohol Free Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera

In terms of packaging, both plastic bottles were very sturdy. For the opening nozzle of the two toners, the opening of the Thayers is smaller than the Aqualabel's opening. It might be due to the viscosity of the toners, the Thayers has lower viscosity than the Aqualabel Lotion R, hence the smaller opening, since it is easy to flow like water. The Aqualabel has a bigger opening but still ok, it has higher viscosity, so I didn't face the issue of over dispense of the lotion. 

nozzle size of the bottles

As far as cost is concerned, Thayers is cheaper by volume wise. However, I think it will be in my not going to repurchase list. For the Aqualabel Moisture Lotion R, if it's in discount, maybe I will repurchase, there are so many selections outside!

Empties For First Half '16

The time flies, so fast and I am reviewing the empties for first half of 2016. Actually, I grew tired of keeping the empty bottles, so after collecting some, I took photos and discarded the bottles, tubes, etc. 

The empties were mostly repeated items. 

Empties by March 2016

1. Guardian Ultra-Hydrating Velvety Rose Hand Cream 

Well, although it's just a 40ml tube, I felt that it's very difficult to finish this. When I kept this at home, the volume barely changes, it only started to decrease after I brought this to office and applied every working day. I used this not only on my hands, but on my legs as well, a portion of the skin on my leg is scaly and sometimes, I would feel itchy on that portion, so I would apply hand cream on my legs during office time, hahaha! A moisturised skin can contribute to a job well done too, an itchy leg can really mess with the mind, cannot concentrate on the work. 

2. Exuviance Hydrating Eye Complex

My first eye skin care was Etude House Vanilla Moist Eye's Cream, I think it made the skin under my eyes more wrinkly. Maybe my method was wrong. This Exuviance Hydrating Eye Complex was my second eye skin care. Truth to be told, I don't think that it helps me to stay young too (around my eyes). I couldn't see the effect after I applied this, maybe I am growing older and it only helps to maintain the skin. Or again, my method is wrong or I applied too little because I felt that it's quite expensive, it's RM190 for 15g (I bought it a few years ago, it must be more expensive nowadays). Anyway, luckily I finished it around this time, it will expire on July 2016.

Nivea Creme (My lips' Savior) & Other Lip Balms

My current favourite cream is an old classic product, which is Nivea Creme. It helps me battled the dryness effectively, I used it on my feet, body and face. Very versatile and cost effective cream. 

I first knew about Nivea Creme from Naver Matome (a Japanese website which let users summarize or curate any contents and post it on the website, and the person who published can earn some money based on the number of page views). Normally I would only go to the girls and recipe section. Hahaha. I didn't go and buy a bottle of Nivea Creme after I first read about this, but it certainly stayed in my mind. Finally I bought one in 2015 when I was browsing in a pharmacy. I was thinking that if this Nivea Creme was not suitable for my face, then I would treat it as body butter.

I applied this after my moisturizers, to my surprise, I didn't feel sticky or greasy after I applied this on my face. It's a decent face cream and didn't break me out. I think the star ingredient "Eucerit" must have some benefits since this product remains in the market for so many years. However, I wanted to try other creams too. So, after awhile, I stopped using this on my face and occasionally I used it on my feet before I sleep.

Nivea Creme

Buyer's Remorse? Not Really. But I Should Have Spend More Wisely

I do consider skin care is one of the needs, not wants. So, I spend money on the skin care, although not excessively, I spend within my means and I think a lot before I put an item into my cart (online or offline). Yesterday I went to the Guardian Pharmacy and I was thinking whether to buy a lotion or not, so I walked around the shop for few rounds to clear my head until the staff asked me thrice what I was looking for. So, sometimes I like to shop online, no one to following me around, but online shopping also have another problem, after one searches for certain item in certain online shop, for the next few days, in whatever website one goes to, the side bar advertisements will show all the items one searched before, sometimes it's quite annoying. 

Most of the time, I think too much before I buy something. But, sometimes (not so often though) I bought something on impulse. Although I would end up using most of the items, I felt that if I have a cooler head when I saw those items, I might not even buy the items.

1) Heavily discounted near expiry date items
I am ok with near expiry date food items, sometimes I even bought the expired food items (it's cheaper) as long as the colour, taste and texture remained the same. I don't remember I had any stomach discomfort from the expired food. However, if the any of the colour, taste or texture are different, then it's not worth to put our own health to risk. Time to toss it. I am not so brave with the skin care items though, what an irony right? I am taking more risk with something that will go into my stomach then something applied on my face! Anyway, finally I bought two skin care items online when both were having huge discounts. I didn't even try the brand before. It's around 60% discount from the original price and the expiry date was eight months away.
So, I just bought it. I started to use these 2 items right after I received it and I was overly generous with the amount. So, I finished both in two months time. Certainly a record for me. To me, it is not a money saving tactic. Due to the pressure to finish it before the expiry date, I applied much much more! If the items were not near expiry date, I would apply the necessary amount of cream and not waste any drop of the cream and I would finish it in a longer stretch of time. 

Conclusion, buying hugely discounted near expiry date product will not help me save more money. Plus, to use these two items, I stopped using temporarily my half used cream and serum. It's quite annoying to see so many not finished bottles on the table. It's better to employ the first in first out method to ensure no wastage and have a less cluttered storage!

near expired items (manufactured in 2013)

Safi (Olive Oil Plus Rose Hip & Pure Olive Oil)

I use olive oil as my hair care product. I do not have a specific brand in mind, normally when I need it, I just choose the cheapest one available in the shop. 

Coincidentally, my latest two olive oil came from the same brand, which was Safi. I bought the Safi Minyak Zaitun Plus Ros Hip (Olive Oil Plus Rose Hip) from an online shop called Soukai (now changed to Hermiso) because I didn't want to pay for the shipping, I needed something to make the bill above RM99 to qualify for the free shipping, and this Olive Oil Plus Rose Hip was the perfect candidate, it's less than RM10 and it's something that I will use eventually. I did use it and it's almost empty now.

I bought the Safi Minyak Zaitun Sejati (Pure Olive Oil) from Guardian Pharmacy when this exact item was having sales, I forgot the price though. I felt funny everytime I saw the "sejati" on the bottle, why didn't Safi just use the word "tulen", instead of "sejati". To me, "sejati" is for "cinta sejati (true love)"! Hahaha!

Safi Minyak Zaitun Sejati & Minyak Zaitun Plus Ros Hip