Empties #5

My empties basket has been overflowing for a while, so that means it's time for an empties post! Can't wait to finally throw out all these items!

First of all, I used up two green tea sheet masks, one from Etude House and one from Missha. Both these brands are big Asian beauty brands. These were quite nice and felt refreshing on the skin, especially the Etude House one.

I actually haven't tried anything else from these brands, but definitely want to try more, especially the Asian BB creams are supposed to be amazing! It's not very easy to find these brands in Belgium or other European countries. I purchased these sheet masks via this webshop Koreacute. I actually met the owner of the webshop on Made In Asia 2014, a big annual convention in Brussels.

I've finished these two skincare items: the Lancôme soft cleansing milk and the La Roche Posay Mat moisturizer. I liked the Lancôme milk, it was very soft on the skin and got rid of makeup beautifully. I wouldn't repurchase because I like a cleansing miccelaire water so much more. 

The La Roche Posay moisturizer is perfect for combination/oily skin, and I will repurchase, but for now I'm still using an acne clearing moisturizer since my dermatologist made me... and she's scary!

Yes, another one of these... The Batiste dry shampoo in Tropical! I promise, I do actually wash my hair... That's the only downside for me: I finish these dry shampoo so fast, they don't seem to last me very long. The coconut smell of this Tropical one had me trippin' though, I didn't like it very much.

I really like these Simple cleansing wipes for any days that I wear loads of makeup and I want to get rid of most of it before deep cleansing or - don't kill me - when I've gone out and I'm so damn tired. But this happens rarely since I have the party life of a goldfish. Simple, if you're reading this, COME TO BELGIUM!! I always stock up on my wipes when I go to the UK.

I also finished these two sample sizes of the Chanel Perfection Lumière velvet foundation. I really liked it and would definitely purchase the full size when I finish my other foundations.

Another empty product is the Collection concealer (the writing's rubbed off). It was nice, and I finished most of it, but it was getting pretty old and was starting to look caky underneath my eyes so I decided to chuck it.

The Hema brow gel is gonna get thrown away as well, since it's gotten quite grosse and I wasn't really using it anymore. It did it job perfectly though and it's very affordable.

I finished the Smashbox Photofinish foundation primer in Light. No words for this item. It has changed the foundation game for me. My makeup lasts up to 10-12 hours, which is about 6-7 hours longer (!) than without a primer. Amazing.

Also, I emptied the NARS Smudgeproof eyeshadow base, which is quite as magical as the last item. I have very oily lids and this doesn't only make my eyeshadow last all day (and night) but also makes the colors so much intenser. A must-have for me.

Lastly I finished the Labello Fruity Smile chapstick. This lip balm is quite nice, it moisturizes your lips and gives a hint of color. One downside? I've noticed, after using it for years since I was teenager, that it kinda makes your lips addicted to it. It doesn't moisturize, it feels moisturizing and then makes your lips crave more Labello. It the end they're just as dry as before, so I'm not repurchasing anymore.

Have you tried any of these products?

Xx Anine

Drugstore haul & review + cotton pad storage

Hey everyone! Just wanted to share some drugstore products with you that I picked up a while ago.

 

First: I wanted a new night cream since my skin tends to be really oily in the morning. I chose Oil of Olaz as a brand because I used to use the Oil of Olaz moisturizer and it worked really good. Recently I had found an extremely oil-free day cream/moisturizer (MAC - check my mac haul post!) so how impossible could it be to find a good oil-free night cream? Quite impossible, as it turns out. The first night I simply applied it and covered my face with the product. When I woke up about six hours later, my face was so incredibly oily and it stayed that way during the entire day. It was awful. The night after I applied it extremely thinly on my face. My skin was just as awfully oily as the night before, so I just decided this product did not work for me. I gave it away to my cousin (which she totally did not mind of course) and she loves it, so I'm happy she still gets some use out of it. 

Secondly: I bought these face strips, simply because it looked fun and I had used face strips before that worked miracles but that was ages ago and I totally do not remember what brand it was. Let me warn you, these don't do anything for your skin. I followed the instructions carefully and when I took them off, it had nothing on the sticky side. Usually, a big mess comes off and you know that the strips have helped. But they didn't stick, they didn't change anything at all so unfortunately they were kind of a waste of money. 

Thirdly: The labello fruity shine lipbalm. I love this! This is already the third one I bought because they make my lips so soft, so beautiful and they give off a nice berry-like color. It is my all-time favorite lipbalm.

Fourthly: I don't think these are of any particular brand. I bought them 70% off (I know right!) and they're bubble bath products in the shape of cupcakes. I'm going to give these for my friend's birthday as well (check last post). 

And lastly: how I storage my cotton pads. I have a pack of cotton pads in the bathroom, but since I take off my make-up in my room (because I'm too lazy to walk to the bathroom when it's already that late again) I have this little box of cotton pads in my nightstand. As you may notice, it's an old Ben & Jerry ice cream box. I think it's cute! Of course I washed it out very neatly after eating all of the ice cream. 

That was it for today, I hope you enjoyed reading this!

xX