Emptyland: January – March

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.

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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!

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Emptyland: Summer Edition

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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The results of the hair treatment

Sample / Travel Size

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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.

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Emptyland: Moving Edition!

This is a special edition of Emptyland because it covers March, April, and May! I moved in May, so I figured I’d prepare for a big Empties post before I move and also purge my old collection of half-used things that should have been tossed a long time ago (I am a makeup hoarder… I know, it’s bad!).

It’s already July, and I know this post is way over-due. What with starting a new role at work, dealing with health issues, a very busy schedule, and adjusting to the move, I haven’t had time to devote to my blog. For the rest of the year, I definitely want to blog more regularly! Feel free to let me know what you’d like to see too. ^_^

So here is the purge of things that have been used for a long time and I just held onto: most are unfinished, but some have been finished (like the BB cushion!):

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I’m pretty sure I’ve had that makeup brush set since high school… Yikes. I clean them (sort of) regularly, but it’s been many years and it was time for them to go. They were surprisingly good quality too! I got them from Costco forever ago (Kirkland Signature!). I wish I could use up that MAC highlighter too (literally the only MAC product I have), but again, I’ve had it for forever (since 2012 or 2013 I think), so even though I still haven’t used it up and I love the product, it’s time for me to let it go. I really need to learn to stop hoarding and start tossing. I don’t even want to share how long I’ve had those two Lancôme quad eyeshadow palettes… My mom got it from one of those gift sets when I was a little kid, but she never uses makeup, so she gave it to me toward the end of high school, and I’ve used them ever since. Same goes for that Clinique dual eyeshadow palette (again, a hand-me-down from my mom from forever ago). The Too Cool for School UV pact is something I didn’t use up but also didn’t really care for. I got it on clearance, but it was really cakey every time I applied it.

See below for sheet masks and more! Of course, those Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patches always show up. I didn’t use them that often since my acne hasn’t been too bad. I am pretty sure the two step cleansing has been helping! And maybe also stress management. I’m positive I get stress-induced acne.DSC_0552

Next up: cleansers! I didn’t finish using the Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser. I’m not sure if I got a defective bottle or if that’s how this product normally smelled, but it smelled horrific. I tried to use it, but could not stand the smell and had to stop. The other two cleansers were totally fine though!

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Check out more skincare items for this big Emptyland. I used all of these items up completely! The MVP I want to highlight here is Aquaphor. This ointment works so well on dry, chapped lips, and honestly, for any skin that feels really dry.

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The Innisfree items get their own photo since Innisfree has a program where you can return the empty bottles to earn points. Yay for recycling! I still need to bring these into the store to recycle… They’re currently stashed in my drawer at work.

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Stay tuned for the June and July Emptyland post, and I’ll hopefully be able to get back to regular blogging. I have a K-beauty skincare product review I wrote a long time ago that I realized I’ve never posted, so that will be posted soon enough. Also working on a new review, and I haven’t forgotten about the Taobao guide series. One of my friends also asked me to write a guide for ouji/kodona/EGA fashion. I don’t really wear those styles much myself, but I do stalk the designs quite often… I’m addicted to adding stuff to my online shopping cart and then not buying them (because they’re not in my budget TT_TT).

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