Emptyland: Nov/Dec 2017

Hey, everyone! My November/December Emptyland post is really short… Because these two months were really stressful and really busy for me, and I didn’t take very good care of my skin. Now that it’s 2018, I definitely want to purge products more often this year. I hoard products for way too long (and they are probably expired).

Here’s the rundown for what the stars represent: [ ☆ = Most negative/Not good at all, ☆☆ = Not that good, but okay ☆☆☆ = Neutral/No opinion/No answer, ☆☆☆☆ = Great, ☆☆☆☆☆ = Most positive/Fantastic! ] I’ll also include my experience with each product, but the detail I go into for each product may vary.

Skincare

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Belif The true cream – aqua bomb 

This was my first time using a Belif product, and I loved this cream! Usually gel-like creams don’t moisturize my skin very well, but this one worked great and soothed my stress-induced acne breakouts too. I’m interested in trying other Belif products! I wouldn’t call it a holy grail product, since I don’t think it would be moisturizing enough by itself (I used it after toner, serum, and emulsion). Sometimes I want to cut back on products and make my skincare regimen quick and easy, but I have yet to find the holy grail cream.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes!

Nature Republic Fresh Green Tea Seed Serum 

This serum had the consistency of an emulsion. I didn’t think it worked like a serum, but it didn’t have any negative effects on my skin. It was easily absorbed into my skin, and had a pleasant scent. I didn’t notice anything special from it though, so I don’t think I’ll repurchase it.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Repurchase? No

Blistex Five Star Lip Protection 

This lip balm will definitely reappear a lot! Check out its first appearance in this Empties post.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch

I love this product! You may be wondering why I haven’t given it 5 stars though. There’s one con to this product: sometimes they come off my face quickly, before I sleep. Even when I put them on before applying anything to my face. You can read my initial response to this product in my first Emptyland post.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes!

Sheet Masks

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Tonymoly I’m Real Aloe Mask Sheet

Relaxing sheet mask to use! It definitely made my skin feel softer/more moisturized.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

Leaders Coconut Gel Mask with Broccoli (x7)

I used all of these because they were expiring very soon (and at one point, recently expired). Check out the details for this mask in its appearance in this Emptyland!

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

Innisfree It’s Real Squeeze Mask Green Tea

I love this mask and hope to try more Innisfree masks in the future! The essence was very generous in the package and I was able to use the essence in the package for my body too.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

Makeup

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Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara

I have yet to find a mascara that actually has an effect on my eyelashes… I’m not sure if this was too old or what, but it was pretty clumpy. It came in a set with some other stuff from Sephora, I think. I wouldn’t normally buy this on my own. Didn’t finish using it, but tossing since it’s been over 6 months and I barely use it.

 Overall Rating: ☆☆ // Repurchase? No

Lancôme Hypnose Drama Mascara

This mascara darkens my lashes and lengthens them somewhat, but doesn’t curl them. It’s also slightly clumpy, though not as bad as the Too Faced one. This is going to sound odd: I love the smell of this mascara! It reminds me of jasmine. Not sure if that was intentional on Lancôme’s part. I didn’t purchase this; it came as part of a gift package.

 Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Repurchase? No

Body Care

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Bath & Body Works Spiced Pumpkin Cider Body Cream

I love the scent of this body cream! It smells just like Spiced Pumpkin… It reminds me of pumpkin pies! It moisturized pretty well too.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Sample / Travel Size

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Gucci Bamboo

This is a warm and light scent! It’s fresh, and I like that it’s not too strong. As you probably know from my previous Emptyland posts… I’d never buy perfume since it’s so easy to get free samples.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Purchase? No

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Emptyland: Sep/Oct 2017

I feel like my Emptyland should be renamed as “lateland” hahaha… Yet again, a really late Emptyland post. It’s already December, but it’s hard to find time to write these posts especially since the post cannot be started until the end of a month, and the end of the month is always the craziest for me at work too.

Here’s the rundown for what the stars represent: [ ☆ = Most negative/Not good at all, ☆☆ = Not that good, but okay ☆☆☆ = Neutral/No opinion/No answer, ☆☆☆☆ = Great, ☆☆☆☆☆ = Most positive/Fantastic! ] I’ll also include my experience with each product, but the detail I go into for each product may vary.

Skincare

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Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch (x2)

When will this item not appear?! You can read my initial response to this product in my first Emptyland post.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes!

Shiseido Ibuki Purifying Cleanser

This was a really nice cleanser, and it also lasted me a long time. I’ve been using it since my senior year of college, although during college, I did not use it daily.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Mary Kay Oil-free Eye Makeup Remover

This was part of a graduation gift from my friend Arien! This eye makeup remover works really well on most eye makeup, although it doesn’t get off my false eyelash adhesive (and is sometimes tricky with eyeliner). I have to peel that stuff off myself, which is no fun, but at least that means the glue is really sticky. Back to the makeup remover though: it stings if it gets into my eyes, which sometimes happens when I try to remove eyeliner.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Blistex Five Star Lip Protection

Another appearance in Emptyland! I’ve been repurchasing this same lip balm since high school, I believe. Might as well bump it up to 5 stars with this realization… I guess I am brand-loyal sometimes! Check out its first appearance in this Empties post.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

Crabtree&Evelyn Lily Ultra-moisturizing Hand Therapy

I like this hand cream, but the packaging isn’t my favorite. It’s the perfect size to stick into your purse for travel, but the cap is flimsy and broke after putting it in my purse for only a month. This scent is delightful, and the cream is decently moisturizing but not as creamy as I would have liked.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes, if it’s on sale

Sephora Express Cleansing & Exfoliating Wipes

I did not like the exfoliating side of this wipe, but the smooth side worked just fine for removing the makeup on my face.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes, if it’s on sale

Neutrogena Night Calming Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes

The mild fragrance of these wipes was definitely calming! It was relaxing to use these to remove makeup at the end of the day. I still had to use eye makeup remover separately, and I have yet to find a makeup remover wipe that can remove eyeliner without it smudging everywhere.

 Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Sheet Masks

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Leaders Coconut Gel Mask with Broccoli (x4)

So much fun to use!! There’s 3 layers, so you peel off the outside layer, put it on your face, then peel off the layer on the other side. The sheet of this mask is smooth and sticks to the face exceptionally well. It’s my favorite texture out of all the sheet masks I’ve tried! The essence in the packet is also super generous; there’s enough to scrape out and apply to your entire body.

 Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

A’PIEU Coconut Milk One-Pack

This was a decent sheet mask, but I wasn’t crazy about it.

 Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe (if it’s discounted)

The Face Shop Lily Face Mask

Another nice sheet mask! The scent is very mild, and it’s a pleasure to use.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

The Face Shop Brightening Character Mask

This is a fun mask, and I enjoyed the dog character printed on it. It looked a bit creepy… but it’s all good! I wouldn’t pay the full price for this mask though.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe (if it’s discounted)

The Face Shop Green Tea Face Mask

I love anything green tea… Drinking green tea, eating green tea flavored things, and yes, even green tea beauty products!

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Leaders Coconut Gel Mask with Tomato

This is essentially the same as the Broccoli one you see above, but with Tomato instead. It’s just as fun to use, but I didn’t buy a big box of them like I did for the Broccoli one.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

The Saem Natural Skin-fit Mask Sheet: Lemon

The masks from The Saem do not fit my face shape well, even though this series is called “Skin-fit.” Did not notice any brightening, but you probably need to use the masks more often to see an effect.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

The Saem Natural Tea Tree Mask Sheet

I was hoping this sheet mask would help calm irritation from acne, but I didn’t notice any effect. It was pleasant to use though! Maybe you need to use it a few times a week to see the positive effects against acne.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Sur. Medic Pore-less Carbonic-Peel Mask

I didn’t like how sticky this sheet mask was… It also smelled weird to me.

Overall Rating: ☆☆ // Repurchase? No

Tonymoly I’m Real Tomato Mask Sheet

Love these Tonymoly sheet masks!

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

Tonymoly I’m Real Red Wine Mask Sheet

It does not smell like wine, but that’s probably for the best, right?

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

Leaders Vita Brightening Renewal Mask

This was a nice mask to use with generous essence in the packet. I wonder if all Leaders sheet masks have so much essence inside…

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Leaders Illuminating Treatment Mask

Didn’t notice any difference from this one and the one above.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Leaders Pore-Scaling Black Aqua

I’m pretty sure I got this as a free sample somewhere, a long time ago. The sheet mask was a weird texture, but it was a generally pleasant experience.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Makeup

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Charlotte Ronson Lip Gloss

I’ve had this lip gloss for way too long… Since the beginning of college, I believe. It has lasted a long time, and I love it! The pink is very sheer, and the shine is not too much. It’s a nice natural-looking gloss with a bit of glitter. It doesn’t feel sticky, and doesn’t dry out my skin either.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Holika Holika Wonder Drawing Skinny Eyebrow

I didn’t like this one that much, but I used it all up. The spoolie it came with had really short awkward bristles and got clogged up with the eyebrow product within the first week. The pencil part of the stick was hard and this made it difficult to apply. I felt like I had to keep using a tissue or cotton swab to fix it.

Overall Rating: ☆☆ // Repurchase? No

Body Care

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Tonymoly Panda’s Dream White Hand Cream

I’m not gonna lie… I bought this because of the cute packaging. But the product inside is super-moisturizing and creamy! It smells so nice too. I’m keeping the empty container, washing it, and using it to store trinkets.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Yes

The Body Shop Smoky Poppy Body Butter

This body butter smells so nice, and it’s luxuriously creamy!

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

The Body Shop Moringa Shower Gel

This is a really nice shower gel, and you can use it with a pouf or just with your hands. I loved smelling it, and it didn’t dry out my skin.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Repurchase? Maybe

Sample / Travel Size

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Korres Black Pine Night Cream

This night cream was super moisturizing! I don’t think I’d buy it at full price though.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Purchase? No

O Hui Snow Vitamin Ex Brightening Foam

I couldn’t even finish using this… I’m not sure if I got a defective product or if it’s supposed to smell like this, but it smelled disgusting. Like stale crackers and plastic.

Overall Rating: ☆ // Purchase? No

O Hui Snow Vitamin Ex Brightening Cream

A huge contrast from the foam, this cream was lovely! Moisturizing and smelled relaxing. If the foam was defective, then it’s really strange since it came in the same set with these other Ex Brightening items.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Purchase? Maybe

O Hui Snow Vitamin Ex Brightening Serum

This container was so tiny… It only lasted me 2 weeks, and I only used it at night and just a tiny bit each time. I didn’t notice any positive effects from this.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Purchase? Maybe

The Face Shop Mango Seed Facial Butter

I usually love creamy face products, but this felt too heavy on my skin. It was definitely moisturizing though!

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Purchase? No

Tonymoly Floria Whitening Cream

I used to be scared of using whitening products, but I found out from reading K-Beauty blogs that most of the time, “whitening” just means “brightening,” and can be beneficial for fading acne scars, dark spots, etc. I didn’t notice any brightening effects from this, but also only used it for one day (morning and night).

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Purchase? Maybe

Tonymoly The White Tea Brightening Cream

This was a pretty nice cream, although the scent was nothing like white tea. I prefer the Floria cream over this one.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Purchase? No

Tonymoly The Black Tea London Classic Cream

I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between this cream and the one above. I used them two days in a row too.

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆ // Purchase? No

Versace Bright Crystal Absolu

This is a very fresh scent, a mix of floral and fruity. It’s more elegant than fun, and I like it! I have a bajillion fragrance samples and don’t think I’d ever buy a fragrance unless I’m absolutely in love with it (or receive it as a gift).

Overall Rating: ☆☆☆☆ // Purchase? No

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Lolita Fashion on Taobao (Part 1)

Hey everyone! One of my friends recently got into lolita fashion and wanted a guide to affordable lolita items. I still have my MBOK guide up, I wrote up my first experience with Taobao, and I wrote a post for a Lolita Blog Carnival prompt about Favorite Taobao Shops & Pieces, but I never created a guide to great places to get lolita items on Taobao.

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So, what is Taobao?

Taobao is like a Chinese eBay or Amazon. There are tons of different stores and sellers!

Since the pricing is all in Chinese Renminbi (also known as Chinese Yuan), you’ll need to check conversion rates to see how much it’ll cost in your own currency. Definitely keep in mind shipping fees and shopping service fees, if you choose to use a shopping service. I heard there’s a way you can purchase from Taobao directly now and have them forward packages to you, but I’m still most comfortable with a shopping service since they can help answer my questions about products and give me peace of mind.

In my own experience, I’ve purchased clothes (lolita as well as non-lolita), shoes, wigs, false lashes, cosplays, and accessories from Taobao. I’ve also purchased a bag from Taobao too (my beloved Japanese-style school bag that was my go-to convention bag for over a year)!

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Wig from Taobao (fashion wig I used for my Sara Crispino [Yuri on Ice] cosplay)

Taobao is a lot of fun to browse, but can get overwhelming. I’ve definitely spent way too much time browsing Taobao… For example, being on Taobao and looking at all the things I want to add to my wishlist, and then I glance at the clock and wonder how the heck it is already past 2am?!

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Wig from Taobao (photo by theamazingknight)

Another thing that took a lot of time to figure out is… navigating! I speak Teochew/Chao Zhou, but not Mandarin (and I never learned how to read or write Chinese; I only know how to read numbers and a few characters). It was really difficult at first and I literally put things through Google Translate. Of course, Google Translate only works so far (like how it translates “product” as “baby” since the character for “precious item” is also “baby,” and products are listed as such). And Google Translate does not work on text within images. Most of the time, sizing is displayed in an image, so here are some sizing-related translations to help (Chinese (simplified) is on the left, and English is on the right):

  • 尺码 — sizing
  • 高 — height
  • 胸 — bust/chest
  • 腰 — waist
  • 臀 — hips
  • 长 — length
  • 宽 — width
  • 围 — circumference
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Skirt from SurfaceSpell

Something else that confused me when I first browsed Taobao was the number of “deposit” or “reservation” items there were. I didn’t realize this meant they weren’t currently in stock. 定金 (deposit) and 预约 and 预定 (reservation) mean you have to pay a deposit to be able to eventually get the item. From my understanding, you need to purchase the item from the reservation page before you’ll be able to purchase the item on the 尾款 (post-reservation, I guess? the actual item) page. I’ve never purchased something from Taobao that was a reservation since I was always paranoid about not paying the shopping service in time for the post-reservation item page. If anyone has experience with reservation items on Taobao, let me know! I’m curious to hear what the actual process is like. I remember once I tried to buy an item from the 尾款 page and my shopping service said I can’t since I didn’t participate in the reservation.

Here are some useful terms you can use while searching for clothing and accessory items relevant to lolita fashion on Taobao:

  • Dress (OP): 连衣裙
  • JSK: 無袖洋裝
  • Salopette: 背心裙 or 背带裙
  • Skirt:  裙 or 裙子 or 半身裙
  • Blouse: 衬衫 or 女衬衫
  • Petticoat: 襯裙
  • Bloomers:安全裤 or 南瓜裤 or 燈籠褲 or 灯笼裤
  • Cardigan: 小外套
  • Bolero: 短外套
  • Capelet/short cloak: 短斗篷
  • Lolita shoes:  洋装鞋
  • Round headdress: 丸 型发饰
  • Bonnet: 系带帽子
  • Gothic headdress (usually with veils!): 哥特头饰
  • Flower crown: 花环 头饰
  • Beret: 贝雷帽
  • Straw hat:  草帽
  • Lace socks: 复古蕾丝短袜
  • Lace gloves: 蕾丝手套
  • Wrist cuffs: 蕾丝手镯
  • Parasol: 洋傘

When I search, I also add in “lolita” sometimes to see what shows up.

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Cutsew from Dear Celine

Here are some style terms that were fun to use for Taobao searches too:

  • Gothic: 哥特
  • Victorian: 維多利亞
  • Rococo: 洛可可
  • Country: 田园
  • Punk: 朋克
  • Steampunk: 蒸汽朋克
  • Retro/Vintage: 复古
  • Sailor:  水手服
  • Floral: 碎花
  • Oil painting style (those classical painting prints!): 油画风
  • Lace: 蕾丝
  • Tartan/Plaid: 苏格兰格子
  • Cross/Crucifix: 十字架 粉

If anyone wants stuff added to this list, just let me know! I’m happy to update this. Over the years, everything I learned about Taobao were from a trial and error through Google Translate and Chinese dictionaries, lurking on LiveJournal, reading blogs, and browsing Taobao-related things on Tumblr. I did pop over to CGL on 4Chan for a bit to see if I could learn about Taobao but 4Chan really scares me and the posting format confuses me so I spent barely any time on there.

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One of my fave purchases from Taobao: a JSK from Chess Story!

I will definitely write another guide after this one, so stay tuned! My next one will be simple: a list of my favorite Taobao shops that are relevant to lolita. I’ll note if I’ve purchased from them before, or not yet. Stay tuned!

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