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.

Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie

A children's book by Salman Rushdie. At first, I thought it would be like the Arabian Nights, it's not and it's actually set in a modern world, surprise!

In the story, Luka was the young son of a story teller, Rashid, The Shah of Blah. Unlike the "Big Fish" where the son didn't believe the father's stories, Luka believed and embraced the stories his father told him. They had a very good father and son bond. As a teenager, Luka went to school, played games and upset with his left handed hand. The way the mother comforted Luka was a very good word play. She said "maybe you are correct to believe that the left way around is the right way, and the rest of us are not right, but wrong. Let your hands take you where they will. Just keep them busy, that's all. Go left by all means, but don't dawdle; do not be left behind." Hahaha, left and right, wrong and right used beautifully. Initially, I thought the author wanted to highlight Luka was different from other kids from the left handed point of view. Then, at the final part of the story, I realized that it's a foreshadowed plot. 

Luka and the Fire of Life

In the story, Luka cursed the not ethical circus owner who abused animals and somehow the curse worked. The circus animals stopped obeying the owner and a fire destroyed the tent. The owner of the circus, Aag fled. Then, two animals from the circus showed up at Luka's house. They're a dog named "bear" and a bear named "dog". So, the dog and bear stayed with the family after Luka's father agreed to it.

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)

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Another book from Terry Pratchett. 

This book covers the origin of Carrot joining the night watch and how Captain Vimes met his future wife, Lady Sybil, so interesting! In this book, Lupine Wonse (the secretary of the Patrician) summoned out a noble dragon using a book stolen from the Unseen University. Since it's a noble dragon, the people of Ankh-Morpork would have to make it into a king. In his plan, a man (arranged by Lupine Wonse himself) would kill the dragon and claim the throne, and Lupine Wonse would become the advisor to the new king and controlled everything from the back. 

Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett