Emptyland: January – March

July 17, 2019 / lolitaland / Leave a comment

So, who remembers when I moved last May? Lo and behold… I moved again, this time in April. So technically this is another moving edition, but it covers my final full months in my previous room rental. What did I use up in January, February, and March? Keep reading to see what I used during the first quarter of 2019. Also I realize that this is extremely late. I thought I posted this 2 months ago, but I think my wi-fi was bad and it never went through… and I somehow didn’t notice until now. Oops.

I use cleansing wipes a lot! Not everyday, but I would say I use them on most days. You usually wouldn’t think of Costco for beauty products… but I love shopping at Costco for products I use a lot. Things like cotton balls, makeup wipes, shampoo, and more. Kirkland Signature’s towelettes are very gentle on the skin and have quickly become a new fave! I also got those Neutrogena makeup remover wipes from Costco.

Next up, we’ve got sheet masks plus a lip mask from Tonymoly! The Kiss Kiss Lovely Lip Patch is super cute, but I have no idea if it was useful. It was fun to apply, but I didn’t notice any benefit. The other sheet masks you may recognize from past Emptyland posts.

With wintertime comes dry hands, so I used up two tubes of hand cream. The Duft&Doft hand cream was a freebie I got from KCON forever ago. The Tocca one I got from a sample sale with a bunch of other Tocca hand creams. This Simone one smells delightful and refreshing!

For makeup, I used up my favorite BB Cream… the Perfect Cover BB Cream from Missha. I definitely want to get another one down the road, but I’m trying a different BB Cream at the moment. I also used up an eyeliner sample that I wasn’t a big fan of, a Stila smudge pot (not completely used up, but it dried up…), and I’m really sad I had to toss this Becca highlighter but I dropped it and it shattered.

For skincare, I used up an emulsion that I got for 50% off. I love sales! The Urban Eco Waratah Toner was also part of a free gift set I got from The Saem a year ago (I got a free toner and emulsion set). The It’s Skin ampoule was buy one, get one free and so I got two and used them both in a row. It was a nice ampoule but I’m not sure if I’ll repurchase. Maybe I’ll try a different one from It’s Skin in the future.

For body care, again, need to stay moisturized during the dry winter months! The Holika Holika Aloe gel I’ve had since college (it was a gift from my friend Terry, ). I keep forgetting to use it but finally used it up.

Last, but not least: hair care! Fantasy hair also comes with a lot of damages, so I’ve had to use lots of hair therapy like argan oil, keratin therapty, and more. Overtone is my favorite though since it also redeposits color into my hair! I don’t think it’s the most moisturizing, so that’s why I still use additional products in my hair after shampooing and conditioning. Even when I skip shampooing, I sometimes need to moisturize my hair with leave-in products.

If you have any recommendations for great products for damaged and dry hair, please let me know!

❥❧ Support me on Ko-Fi ~

❥❧ Pledge to me on Patreon ~

❥❧ Facebook: Cosplay and Fashion

❥❧ Instagram: PearlPeony and AliceinLolitaland

❥❧ Tumblr: Personal and Fashion

❥❧ Twitter: TreizeMacarons

❥❧ Youtube: Alice in Lolitaland

❥❧ WorldCosplay: Xiao

❀ For sponsor inquiries, please contact me at: missxiaorawr@gmail.com ❀

Emptyland: End of 2018

January 21, 2019February 13, 2019 / lolitaland / Leave a comment

This Emptyland post covers September, October, November, December! I know I’ve been getting lazy with my Emptyland posts as time has gone on. I’m still debating whether or not to continue with this series. I think I will, but I’ll keep it simplified like I have since the Moving Edition post for Emptyland.

How was the end of your 2018 year? I didn’t use as many products as I thought I would, but I’m sure I’ll use up more products in 2019! I also realized that I didn’t use up any makeup products during September through December… Maybe I need to take a second look and purge some items that have been open for too long (yes, I’m a makeup hoarder).

Skincare

Here, you see some familiar Empties like the Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch and the Neutrogena Make-up Remover Cleansing Towelettes. Did you know the first appearance of the Acne Pimple Master Patch in Emptyland was my first time trying it? And it showed up in my first ever Emptyland post! As for a new product I tried at the end of 2018: it was my first time trying the Speedy Perfect Whip face wash, but I wasn’t a big fan. I didn’t feel like the Perfect Whip face wash cleansed my face as deeply as I would like a foaming wash to do. I loved the Perfect Watery Oil as a first step cleanser though!

I barely used any sheet masks during the last quarter, even though I should have since the winter air is cold and dry. I think I was feeling really stressed and short on time, and didn’t feel like putting a mask on my face for ten minutes. This year, I’ll definitely try to find more me-time so I can use more sheet masks! During the last few months, I used sleeping masks more since they were really easy to use and didn’t take much time. No sleeping mask jars are empty right now, but I’m sure one or two will make it to the next Emptyland post.

I’ve used the Blistex Silk & Shine before, and the Blistex Five Star Lip Protection is one that keeps coming back. It was my first time trying the Blistex Triple Essentials lip balm, and it was decent, but not as moisturizing as the Five Star one in my opinion. Check out the Five Star’s first appearance in Emptyland here!

Haircare

Fekkai shampoo and conditioner, hask chia seed dry shampoo, olaplex no. 3, sheamoisture pure argan oil, overtone deep treatment, rose gold hair, pastel pink hair, rose gold for brown hair

I don’t think I’ve ever had this many hair products in one Emptyland post before. I used up my first Fekkai shampoo and conditioner set, a chia seed dry shampoo from Hask, Olaplex No. 3, my first SheaMoisture product (pure argan oil), 2 sample sized Overtone deep treatments, and 1 full size Overtone deep treatment. The Rose Gold for Brown Hair treatment was a hot pink, and kept my pink hair vibrant over the weeks that I used it. I started using the Overtone products during late summer/early fall, so I think these products are good value for how long they lasted me as well as the color payoff. I have no idea how well the Rose Gold one works on brown hair, since I used it on hair that was bleached and dyed pink, but I’d love to try Rose Gold hair some time!

Rose Gold for Brown hair applied to the top half of my hair, regular Rose Gold applied to the ends

For another pink hair color care product, check out my thoughts on an Aprilskin product in my Emptyland: Summer Edition post!

Bodycare

For Bodycare, I used up two hand creams and one body wash. I’ve had that L’Occitane rose hand cream since I studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland in 2015. I’ve been using it very slowly to make it last because I’m in love with the scent and it’s the best moisturizing hand cream I’ve ever tried. The Crabtree & Evelyn hand cream is nice but isn’t as rich. As for the Dove body wash, it feels moisturizing and is easy to use. A pouf or sponge is recommended, but I’ve used it with just my hands to lather it, and it works just fine.

Sample / Travel Size

From these samples, I don’t think I’ll be purchasing any full-size ones. Except maybe I’ll get another full size hand cream from L’Occitane… I love their hand creams! They’re expensive, but I find them to be the most moisturizing. And a little goes a long way (this tiny sample size lasted me almost a whole year in my purse).

I disliked the Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm from Bobbi Brown because it felt sticky and didn’t absorb well. It didn’t feel very moisturizing either… The Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet was light and absorbed quickly, but also didn’t provide much moisture for my dry winter skin. I had to layer on another cream after application to fight the dryness.

I like the Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil but can’t justify buying a full size since I didn’t see any positive changes when using it. It just smelled nice and felt nice (which is nice if I get another free sample, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase it).

I loved the Korres Wild Rose Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial, but there are so many sleeping masks and similar products I want to try so I’m not sure if I’ll get around to ever buying a full size of this one. It smells lovely though, and was an easy cream to apply during the last step of night-time skincare! I am a sucker for anything rose…

Did you have any favorites that you tried at the end of 2018? Any new products you’re trying in 2019?

Unrelated to Emptyland, but I’ll be attending Katsucon 2019 Friday through Sunday (will be arriving tomorrow afternoon or evening, and leaving on Sunday afternoon). To check out what I’m doing during the con, follow my Instagram PearlPeony. I’ll try to post on Twitter (TreizeMacarons) and my Cosplay Facebook too. Hope everyone has a great rest of their week!

Emptyland: Summer Edition

November 9, 2018 / lolitaland / 1 Comment

I’m calling this my Summer Edition of Emptyland because it covers all my empties from June, July, and August. To be honest, I’ve been lazy with skincare over the summer because I just moved, I had some tough times times with my chronic illnesses, and was generally short on time and sleep. And yet again, a very late Empties post; this series should be called Alice in LATE-land, haha.

I’m definitely trying to take better care of my skin now, and not skipping my skincare routine steps!

Instead of listing out every single product and rating each one, I’ll divide them into categories and highlight my favorites and point out if there’s something I’m tossing without finishing. Ratings will still be provided for samples and whether or not they will be purchased. This is in the interest of time, and also my own personal preference. I am keeping track of what I’m using up to hold myself accountable to actually using up products before opening up new items (and to halt my terrible habit of hoarding products forever).

Skincare

During a Buy One, Get One Free sale at the Saem store, I bought a bunch of products from their Urban Eco line. I love these products so far! The only thing I disliked was the cheap packaging; my toner bottle cap broke when I was only half way through the bottle (and I never dropped it).

In addition to these Urban Eco products, a calendula product from The Face Shop and my first Boscia product made their way to my Emptyland.

Above, you’ll see all the makeup wipes/cleansing wipes that I used up. These are all repeats since I’ve repurchased both of these products before. They don’t remove eye makeup that well, so I use both of these as daily cleansing wipes before I shower, and to remove BB cream or tinted moisturizer.

And of course, I need to group my lip care empties together! My mom gave me those Chapsticks a year or so ago, and I finally used them. They give average moisture; it was fine during the summer, but I don’t think they would hold up well in the winter when my skin is so much drier. The Blistex lip serum was a decent product, but I don’t think I’d ever re-purchase because I didn’t notice any significant benefits.

I didn’t use sheet masks as much as I usually do since I started trying sheet masks… I do want to use them more often, but it’s already November now and I can tell already that I’m barely using sheet masks as it is. I think part of the issue is time: I feel like I never have enough time. I’ve been using sleeping masks more often because I can apply them after my moisturizer at night, and wash my face in the morning.

And of course, you see my one empty packet of the Acne Pimple Master Patch from Cosrx. Love it!

Bodycare

For body care, a highlight is the Dove shower foam: I love the feel of this foam, and you don’t need a pouf or sponge! Also, Aveeno is a great body lotion.

Haircare

For haircare, I wasn’t a big fan of the Garnier Whole Blends leave-in conditioner. I used it up, but it didn’t do much for my hair pre-bleaching or post-bleaching.

For the Aprilskin Turn-Up Color Treatment: I thought it worked great for replenishing the pink in my hair color, but it was expensive (over $10 for a tube that only lasts 1.5 applications). It’s also not a dye, so it washes out. If you have longer hair, one tube may not even be enough for you to apply for your whole head. The second time I applied it, there was only enough for me to apply around my roots.

The results of the hair treatment

Sample / Travel Size

And the only empties from my samples are the Caudalie La Crème Yeux and the Dr. Jart Dis-a-pore BB cream. I didn’t finish the Dr. Brandt PoreDermabrasion product because it irritated my skin. It’s so hard to find an exfoliator that doesn’t irritate my skin… If anyone has recommendations, let me know!

Also, that BB Cream really needed to be tossed because I’ve had it since THIS POST from 2016. Took me forever to finish it since I was using other BB cream products too. Oops.

If you like my content, kindly support me with Ko-Fi! Thanks for reading.

signature