Things I Finished This Month...

Things I finished this month…

For me and my hoarding instinct, it is very difficult to finish cosmetics. I rarely, if ever, finished even a tub of lipstick or hit the pan on eye shadows. Yet I keep buying for more… look at that pretty color! What a cute packaging! Fabulous formula! Or simply, I think I need a back up blue-pink with little pearly shimmer gloss… haha…

This month, I finished…

Stila Lip Glaze in apricot 08

Yeah! A gloss finished! I know why I manage finish this one… this is my resident in-office gloss. The one and only gloss on the table. Apricot is sheer peachy-apricot with just a hint of shimmer. It doesn’t contribute any color when worn alone or on top of lippie. The finish is super glossy, yet the shimmer is not noticeable when worn. I find the formula to be a little thick, but not as thick as some MAC lipglasses I owned. In the beginning I love the click pen packaging, but come to hate it. Too much product this time. Now too little product! I really have to learn how to control the click pen.

Sample Sized Skin 79 BB Diamond The Prestige Beblesh Balm

I got this one in a box set of four. Been hearing a lot about Skin 79 BB Creams, but I dont think I want to commit to a full bottle, hence the set. As usual, BB creams has lots of claims: whitening, erasing fine lines, hydrating, protecting against environmental aggressors… and the list goes on. This one is okay, doesn’t address my problem (oily T zone), but I like the coverage just fine. It gives me natural look. But I wont repurchase or commit to a full sized product…

Biore make up remover oil

I forgot what is the exact name of this Biore make up cleanser oil. This was one of my first tries of oil cleansers. Good enough for light make up cleansing. It takes a little massaging and effort to remove my favorite MAC liquidlast. As I have found and tried quite a few other brands, this is no longer a favorite. I used it when I am having lazy days make up (bb cream, blush, eye liner). Easy to use, but wont repurchase

Crabtree & Evelyn Nantucket Briar Hand Therapy

Again, I got this one as part of a hand therapy set. I finished the other tubs. The main difference in Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Therapy range is just the fragrance. I don’t see difference in texture or ‘feeling’ when used this one or Rose or Summer Hill or other fragranced Hand Therapy. The cream is thick and creamy, gets absorbed easily. However, it does feel a little siliconey (it does list silicone products in the ingredient list). After washing/rinsing my hand, I do feel like there’s a layer of something on my hand. Which make me decide not to repurchase, even though I like Summer Hill fragrance so much…

Tony Moly Peach Anti Aging Hand Cream

Ah...part of my fruit shaped stash! Honestly, got this just because I havent got nice peach in my stash! The cream is thick and creamy, yet get absorbed easily. frangranced like peaches of course. I like the way the cream moisturizes my hands without leaving my skin feels like there's a film on top of it. Strange thing though, the cream starts creamy and easily absorbed, but as i approached the bottom, i strongly feel the cream is getting more dense and harder to absorb... it even pills (forms soft balls) on the last day i used it...definitely not gonna repurchase this!

Things I finished this month...

No doubt I am a self confessed product hoarder. I like to try new stuff and tend not to finish them. Yet, I also buy numerous repurchases of stuff I really like. So, when i do finish something, especially those random purchases, I am so proud of myself... So, drumroll please... These are stuff I finished this month!!!

Sasatinnie magic fairy aloe Vera and tea tree mask

okay, this is not thing I'm proud of, since a box only contain 3 sheets. The mask is traditional Asian sheet mask from non woven material, soaked in serum/ essence. The material in this mask is thicker than my usual My Beauty Diary masks. It smells like tea tree and feels soothing when worn. The mask contains ingredients like moisturizing aloe, blemish reducing-pore minimizing-sebum secretion balancing tea tree and pore minimizing-anti blemish-anti oxidation edelweiss. The aloe and edelweiss is claimed to be of organic origin. As with most oil balancing mask i've tried, this doesn't really help my oily t zone. But I do enjoy the soothing, cooling feeling when wearing this mask.

Cussons first years nourishing stretch mark cream

not like I need stretch mark cream. I got this as part of cussons first years box I purchased during a boring day. I do end up with most useless purchases during boring days... Anyways, it is light and easily absorbed. But not moisturizing enough for me. May be because it is designed for stretch mark, but not moisturizing? I do liked the fragrance in this cussons first years series thou.. Light airy fruity floral. Just enjoyable.

Tony moly red appletox honey cream

another purchase I made just because I can't resist the cute apple shaped jar. The cream contains apple, honey and collagen to Moisturize and enhance elasticity of skin.It is recommended for tired, dehydrated sensitive skin. Don't expect cream here, you are getting gel with honey consistency. It even comes with a tiny spatula to take the product from the jar. I find it too moisturizing, borderline sticky for my combination face skin. Since I don't want to waste it, I ended up using it for my hands. But it is not moisturizing enough for my dry hands. feels like the gel just sits on top and does nothing. I'm glad I'm done with the content and now, i can clean the cute apple shaped jar up and use it to store my tiny trinkets.

Kose Cosmeport Rose of Heaven Hand Cream

Seems like I finished a few creams this month! I still remember this cream being so fragrant, however, the fragrance doesnt last very long, as last I applied it, the fragrance has subdued to light sweetened rose scent. I do like the sweetened rose scent, but I expect longer lasting perfume on my hand creams. The texture itself is enjoyable, easily absorbed and moisturizing. But I wont repurchase this one.

L'occitane Amande Pomme Velvet Face Fluid

Been using this since my lazy days...this light yet moisturizing fluid is suitable for my combination face. Doesn't make my face too oily, yet provides enough moisture. It has SPF of 40 as well. However, won't repurchase, as nowadays I prefer separate moisturizer and sunblock. Right now I am using moisturizer still from Amande Pomme -the non SPF version.

Kao Essential Damage Care Rich Premier Shampoo

I had high hopes for this one, especially that is promises smooth & manageable hair. it contains honey, shea butter and sunflower oil. Sounds wonderful. however... it doesnt work on me as much as I would like it to be. Somehow it makes my hair tangle more- that's the opposite of smooth and manageable . I am so glad I have finished this bottle, surely I wont be repurchasing. I still have the conditioner and leave-on serum from the line which I havent try...lets hope the conditioner and serum works better.

Tony Moly Eggpore Tightening Pack

I’ve seen many egg shaped and themed things directed to eradicate blackheads and pores! This one from Tony Moly is no exception. The Korean brand has various creams, soaps and masks to kick blackheads ass! Lets try this one.

Eggpore is a release consisting of 3 product: the blackhead oil gel, tightening pack and pore concealer. This time I got myself the tightening pack, which contains egg and clay. As usual, the promise is refined pores.

Despite the big egg shaped packaging, it only contain 30ml of product. The product has sourish smell-but it doesn’t bother me much. It is a thick cream in egg shell color. you should directly apply it on your pore problem area, then let it sit and dry for 10-15 minutes. Wash afterwards. 

During the drying process, nose area skin does feel a little tightened. Unfortunately this feeling is gone after I wash the dried up mask (or as Koreans like to say it, Pack). 

So far, I didn’t see any improvement in my pore size after using this. Just like any other pore shrinking stuff this is just gimmick… but hey… it sells! I always picked pore stuff when I see one! Haha!

Tony Moly Appletox Smooth Massage Peeling Cream

Totally looks like apple, don’t you think? Complete with the stem and instructions (in hangu) as leaf. This really shows that not all fruit shaped cosmetics are alike... some brands, like Tony Moly, pays little more attention to details and shape!

I am not so sure when did the fruit shaped packaging craze started, nowadays, you cant escape them if you purchase Korean cosmetics. Tony Moly, is Korean and its shop is full of uniquely packaged stuff- like this apple. This one totally deserve its own ‘do not eat’ warning on it...

Enough about the package, lets see the product!

The English website promises :

Multi-functional cream that effectively removes Keratin and double up as a massage cream with a nourishing pack function. Containing Green Apple extract, AHA and Papaya extract, this Appletox pack provides excellent exfoliation of dead skin cells and aged Keratin. Skin is kept smooth and radiant.

Just slap this product on your clean face, then continue with gentle massaging to peel off the dead skin and dirt. With smell as fresh as crisp apple, who wouldn’t want to use this?

Even though it looks creamy and smooth in this picture... it is not. The white cream is little rough, filled with fine grains of scrbbies thats easy to work with. Just don’t use this everyday...1-2 times a week would suffice. Lithe warning, those with sensitive skin might want to massage really softly here.

After a while, it would turn a little hard and you can see the white cream would turn slightly greyish/mixed with dirt & dead skin. Rinse up with water , et voila! Cleaner, clearer skin! Just to make sure no product left on my face, I followed up with my regular cleanser and then slap on my favourite moisturizer.

I couldn’t be happier after scrubbing my face...

In summary...

Packaging: just like apple!

Texture: white creamy with fine scrubbies only felt when rubbed with fingers

Is it worth it?

Yes if ... you want effective scrubbing cream without needing to scrub really hard, you want clearer skin pronto

No if... you  have sensitive skin, you cant stand fragranced product, you don’t want to bother looking for the product via internet

Tony Moly Red Appletox Honey Cream

Okay.. actually I didn’t want to get this one... I wanted a tomatox mask... but when I saw appletox sold in package together with red fruit shaped container... I just grabbed it. by the time I have time to really take a look at it... if found out...

Haha.. it is the Red Appletox Honey Cream.

I wont go in to details about the packaging... what can I say.. it looks like apple, as big as apple and I hope it is as good as apple. 

Now...The nice thing is, it comes with a small spatula. I don’t really get the spatula part until I open the seal...

Woah... gooey golden honey-like cream inside! It smells faintly of apple, but on application the smell just dissipates.

The texture is just like how it looks.. ooey gooey gel-like stuff. Super moisturizing and cooling during application. I find it too moisturizing even for my dry skin, makes are of my face which is not usually oily-to feel oily. May be it is the humid air here... might be wonderful for drier climate...

In summary...

Packaging: just like apple!

Texture: ooey gooey honey colored gel

Is it worth it?

Yes if ... your skin is ultra dry, you live in drier climate

No if... you live in more humid climate, you don’t want to bother finding online retailer or buying marked up Singaporean price

Tony Moly Lovely Slim Lipstick Berryberry in Ruby RD01

Few months ago, I noticed a new Korean brand of cosmetic nearby: Tony Moly. Their cream bottle designs are so cute, but that’s for another occasion. I still have loads of creams I have not used. So, I picked this one up instead...

The brand is literally describing the packaging: slim lip stick. The color offering in the shop was rather limited: only 5 shades. I picked Ruby: a sheer metallic red.

The lipcolor is hard, but I don’t find difficulty gliding it over my lips. It has sweetened sour fruits fragrance, which I don’t care about.

One hour after initial application, my lip started to feel a little dry. This is a little unfortunate, since initial application was rather nice and it felt lightweight.

In summary...
Packaging: simple, light plastic
Color offering: 2/5
Price: SGD 10.9
Texture: hard, but slides nicely
Moisturizing: 2/5
Staying power: 1-2 hours
Will I buy more? Not really...

Extra rantings:
I was soooo soooo interested to check out Burberry’s Beauty line for a while by now, so, off to Orchard I went. I heard the news that the line is coming to Singapore in January from various blog & magazine. But...I found no Burberry Beauty in Orchard  The sales assistant plainly told me it is coming on March due to insufficient space in the beauty halls. *pout*