Operation Use It Up

Here's the bucketload of products that I managed to finish in November. With only one more month to go until the end of 2012, it seems like my beauty stash is still nothing short of overflowing. Need to be more disciplined in 2013 for sure!

1. DiorSkin Forever Compact worked pretty well for me, especially for days when I don't have the time to apply liquid foundation. However, I still prefer the more natural and seamless finish of liquid foundation. I probably won't re-purchase this since Dior comes up with new foundations virtually every year. Full review here.

2. Paul & Joe Protective Foundation Primer UV is a favourite of mine for its natural finish and ability to smoothen out the skin surface. It also does not make my skin more oily than usual. The tube contains only 26.9ml but it took me over two years to finish as I didn't use it regularly until recently. Good grief! Full review here.

3. Lancome Bifacil Double Action Eye Makeup Remover works well for whisking off eye makeup in a jiffy although with stubborn Japanese mascaras, it takes more elbow grease. It's not something I would purchase though as L'Oreal makes a much more affordable version. However, I keep getting samples of it as gifts with purchase.

4. Shu Uemura puRENovate Clarifying Balancing Moisturizer felt too heavy on my skin during the summer, but as the weather turned dryer with autumn, I was able to use this sample tube up quickly. It's not bad as a basic moisturizer but it didn't wow me.

5. L'Oreal Gentle Eye Makeup Remover is a daily staple. I go through one bottle virtually every month. It never stings the eyes.

6. Coast To Coast Rainforest Clarifying Facial Toner helps to refresh the skin without stinging or leaving it feeling dry. It has a fairly strong tea tree scent. I didn't find this to be particularly effective in combating acne. Ingredients list below.

7. Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil sounds pretty good until you examine the ingredients list and realise that argan oil is pretty far down the list. It's full of silicones, which I don't mind. It helps to tame the frizziness and doesn't make my hair feel greasy. Nevertheless, I doubt I will re-purchase this.



8. Vidal Sassoon Premium Conditioner works very well with my dyed hair, leaving it tangle-free. I actually never comb my hair, which I wash and condition once daily. In the mornings, I just use a hair serum to keep it tangle-free. This is made in Thailand.

9. L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Gentle Conditioner isn't as hydrating as the VS Premium although it does have a nicer sweet floral scent. Not something I would re-purchase as it's just too pricey.

10. Percy & Reed Finishing Polish quickly became a daily staple for taming the flyaway strands of my fringe. The scent is also delightfully fresh without being generic. I'll definitely re-purchase this. It's available on ASOS for £10. Ingredients list below.

11. Jill Stuart Body Milk has a sweet white floral scent that is just too cloying and syrupy for me. This light milk also leaves a greasy feeling on my skin.

12. L'Occitane Delice des Fleurs Rose & Violette Body Milk has a much more pleasing and elegant scent. It hydrates well without feeling greasy. This was from last year's limited edition holiday collection.

13. Clarins Extra-Firming Body Lotion also has a lovely scent and absorbs readily into the skin. However, I did not notice any firming effect.

14. La Mer The Cleansing Gel is a good basic cleanser that rinsed off easily without leaving the skin stripped or flakey. However, it doesn't seem special enough to justify the exorbitant US$65 price tag.

15. Ole Henriksen Aloe Vera Deep Cleanser is designed for oily, blemish-prone skin. While it does feel gentle on the skin, I did not notice any reduction in blemishes. It also takes several splashes to rinse off completely so I would not re-purchase this. Ingredients list below.

16. Murad Vitalic Energising Pomegranate Cleanser is also extremely gentle on the skin. It dispenses as an ultra light foam that rinses off very quickly, taking all oiliness with it. The 50ml bottle lasted barely two weeks.

17. Body Shop Rich Plum shower gel is another limited edition product from holiday 2009. Despite its age, it showed no change in consistency or scent. The rich plum aroma is intoxicating and luxurious. Wish the Body Shop would bring this back!


18. Lush Rub Rub Rub is a sea salt-based scrub that provides good exfoliating action without melting away too quickly. I like the refreshingly clean scent as well. The consistency always reminds me of 7/11 Slurpee drinks.

Operation Use It Up

I managed to finish up several products since the last empties post back in May. It seems like the months keep slipping by more quickly as the year goes on.

1. Paul & Joe Pressed Powder 03 is a finishing powder that gives a lovely glowy effect. The glimmer is a touch more obvious than Guerlain Meteorites but not too over-the-top. This has since been discontinued and replaced with the Pressed Powder Duo which combines matte and pearl face powders.

2. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Rose is one of my favourite lip balms as it protects with SPF15 and never feels sticky on the lips. I just purchased the new Coral version which looks very promising.

3. Jurlique Citrus Purifying Mist is quite refreshing but I preferred the scent of the Rosewater version. It's also way too pricey for a face mist (this was a gift with purchase). I've switched to L'Occitane Angelica Mist which gives much better value for money (€12.50 for 100ml) and produces a finer mist.

4. Stila Lip Glaze in 08 Apricot has a glossy finish but does not feel particularly moisturising on the lips. It is also slightly tacky with an artificial fruity scent. The amount of product is so puny at a mere 1.5ml that it can be easily finished within 2-3 weeks with daily usage. Also, they are much cheaper than they used to be but the flip side is that these are now made in China.

5. K-Palette Lasting 2Way Eyebrow 01 is a daily staple, as it lasts much better than eyebrow powders and is a breeze to use. I go through one every two months and have re-purchased it too many times to count.

6. Sunsilk Hair Recovery Treatment turned out to be pretty average. It didn't weigh my hair down but I did not notice any significant improvement in my hair. Ingredients list is below.

7. Organix Moroccan Argan Oil also did not make my hair feel more hydrated or softer than usual, so it was a disappointment. The amount of argan oil in it is probably miniscule, given that it is tenth on the list of ingredients after silicones and perfume.

8. Percy & Reed Splendidly Silky Moisturising Shampoo had a lovely light floral scent. This did not leave my hair in tangles or feeling stripped, but it did not feel extra silky or glossy as promised. This contains sulfates.

9. L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Gentle Shampoo has a nice scent and cleanses well without stripping my hair. However, I find this too expensive to re-purchase.

10. Philosophy Tinsel Town has a delicious crisp berry scent. It lathers up very easily but my skin still needs moisturiser after using this, especially in the winter months.

11. Soap & Glory Flake Away is a body polish containing shea butter, sugar and peach seed. The scent is very strong and sweet, possibly too cloying for some people. It does provide excellent exfoliating action though.

12. The Body Shop Spa Wisdom Morocco Argan Oil & Orange Blossom Body Souffle has a wonderfully light texture that sinks into the skin without feeling greasy. However, it's just too pricey at S$39.90 for 200ml.

13. Paul & Joe Fragrance Body Cream 002 was part of a holiday set a couple of years ago. This felt slightly greasy on the skin and I didn't quite like the scent.

14. Lush Buche de Noel was a limited edition oats-based exfoliating face cleanser released for last Christmas. It reminded me very much of Angels on Bare Skin, except that this has a stronger cherry scent. This is gentle enough to use every day and rinses off cleanly without any residue.

15. L'Oreal Elseve Liss-Intense Serum Anti-Frizz used to work well for taming my hair but recently, it doesn't seem to provide the same sleekness as before so I won't be re-purchasing this.

16. L'Oreal Gentle Eye Makeup Remover is a daily staple that I've re-purchased many times as it does not irritate my eyes. The biphase remover takes off eyeshadows in a jiffy while mascara and eyeliner take a bit more effort to wipe off.

17. Pure Fiji Nourishing Exotic Oil in Coconut worked wonders with my hair, keeping it glossy and frizz-free throughout the day. The warm coconut scent takes a bit of getting used to though.

Operation Use It Up

Managed to finish up quite a number of full-sized products over the past month. As usual, I go through bodycare, haircare and skincare products much faster than makeup.


Nivea Intense Repair Conditioner left my hair soft and manageable without any build-up of product.

Percy & Reed Splendidly Silky Moisturising Conditioner contains blueberry extract, grape seed oil, sweet almond oil and aloe vera gel to help nourish hair. The fresh floral scent is uplifting and much better than the usual mass market drugstore brands. This left my hair soft and tangle-free. I would re-purchase this.

L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Gentle Conditioner has a lovely, slightly sweet cherry blossom scent. This does a decent job of leaving my hair soft and tangle-free but it does not feel as deeply hydrating as Tsubaki. This was a gift, which I would probably not re-purchase as it is too pricey for a 250ml bottle that barely lasts two weeks for me.

Like the conditioner, L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Gentle Shampoo has a nice scent and cleanses my hair effectively without stripping it.

L'Oreal Professional Tecniart Fix Move is great for taming flyaways and holding my fringe in place, without any crispy stiffness.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Astringent Lotion Micro-Exfoliating (CHF19) is designed for oily skintypes battling large pores and blemishes. It is supposed to help reduce pore size and fight against blockage, thanks to the combination of sebum-regulating, purifying and micro-exfoliating LHA active ingredients. LHA is β-lipohydroxy acid that is an effective exfoliant, similar to salicyclic acid. However, this did not seem to have a significant effect in fighting blemishes for me. Instead, it was too drying for my skin during the winter months, perhaps due to alcohol being second on the ingredient list.

Nuxe Bio Beauté Radiance Toning Lotion (CHF29) is an alcohol-free and paraben-free toner, with 99.3% of the ingredients being of natural origin and 73.9% from organic farming. Formulated with rosewater and orange fruit water plus blackberry, apricot and plum extracts, it doesn't have the usual rose or citrusy orange scents that one would expect. I didn't like the plum scent of this. As a toner, it helps to refresh and mildly hydrate the skin but other than that, it didn't do anything special.


Bifesta Sebum Cleansing Lotion effectively removes makeup with just a few quick wipes. It's a great, affordable alternative if you do not like cleansing oils.

L'Occitane Brume Mist is formulated with five essential oils (angelica, lavender, geranium, ylang ylang and sweet orange) plus honey and corn extracts to soft hold hair in place and preserve shine. I found this too watery and completely ineffective at taming and smoothing my hair or providing any hold.


The Body Shop Chocomania Shower Cream works alright as a shower cream that doesn't dry out my skin but the chocolate scent was not as yummy as I had hope for. Philosophy does much better chocolate scented shower gels.

I slap on Dove Intense Repair Leave-on Cream on days when my hair feels exceptionally dry and frizzy. This helps to tame my locks until the next wash but does not help cure the fundamental dry state of my hair.

Vichy Purete Thermale Waterproof Eye Make-Up Remover is a bi-phase eye makeup remover that does a good job of removing eyeshadows in a single swipe. Waterproof mascaras like those by Anna Sui and Majolica Majorca require a bit more soaking to remove completely. This did not irritate my eyes.

K-Palette Lasting 2Way Eyebrow is a daily staple, and I typically go through one every 2-3 months. I always use up the liquid side much faster than the brow powder side.


I have a huge stash of Archipelago Botanicals candles in travel tins, which I ordered more than four years ago while I was still living in Tokyo. I didn't use them for the past few years as they were boxed up in storage. Amazingly, they are still in working condition with good scent throw. Each travel tin burns for up to 55 hours. Archipelago Botanicals aren't available in Singapore but Yankee Candle is easily available in Singapore and offers a nice range of scents.

UK Magazine Freebies: Clinique, Soap & Glory, Leighton Denny, Percy & Reed

Whenever I visit the UK, I usually return with an armful of magazines, thanks to the amazing freebies bundled with UK magazines. They often also include sample sachets of the latest foundations or skincare products (but sadly, these are not included in the issues sold outside of the UK). While Japanese magazines offer branded freebies as well, these are usually accessories like pouches and bags or stationery, instead of the full size beauty products with a retail value a few times the price of the magazine.

Cosmopolitan was giving out two Clinique deluxe sample products with each issue. I picked the 7 Day Scrub Cream (30ml) and Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss 10 Grapefruit (7ml), which is a clear baby pink.

I love the Superbalm Moisturizing Glosses as they leave the lips feeling very soft and comfortably hydrated. I already have this in Black Honey, which I adore.

Elle was giving away this Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Mascara which normally retails at £10. The magazine was less than £4. The reviews on Beauty Bite and Princess Livia make it look pretty good.

The April issue of Marie Claire (£3.70) came bundled with a full size Neal's Yard Rehydrating Rose Daily Moisture (45ml) worth £12. I haven't started using this yet but the rose scent smells quite lovely.

Made in the UK, it contains rosa centifolia extract, damask rose oil, hyaluronic acid and calendula extract. It is free of mineral oil, parabens, silicones, phthalates, artificial fragrances and colors.


These Leighton Denny polishes in Crushed Grape (left) and Vamp were freebies with the March issue of Red. The polishes, which usually retail at £11 each, were only bundled with issues sold in Marks & Spencer and WH Smith at railway stations. I found these at the WH Smith in Victoria station. (See swatches of Crushed Grape and another shade, Lilac, on Le petit jardin de Liloo.)

Glamour (£2) was giving out the new Percy & Reed haircare range with each issue. With the four products (all 100ml sizes) worth £43 combined, I ended up buying four copies to get the whole set, and gave away the extra magazines to my sister-in-law. These also came with sample sachets of Estee Lauder's new Invisible Fluid Makeup in shade 2WN1.

So far, I've tried only the Splendidly Silky Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner. Both have a light sweet floral scent. Made in England, they leave my hair soft and tangle-free without feeling weighed down. The artwork is a quirky, eye-catching departure from the usual generic mass market brands.

The Finishing Polish is a styling cream (read a review on The Glossy Guide) while the Hydrating Mask is meant to be used as a 10-minute intensive hydrating treatment.