New-In: July 2017

So, what's new this month? They're all replacements for June's Empties, no new steps in my regime.

Clarins Multi-Active Skin Renewal Serum (discontinued, my last tube T_T)

Moroccan Oil Hair Treatment- this cute little bottle was part of the welcome giftbag at a close friend's wedding in Capri

Cow Brand Additive-Free Cleansing Oil

Scinic Snail All in one Ampoule

Teien Herb Garden Natural Body Soap- gifted for my birthday this year, I just love the geranium scent! I usually use a fresher or herby scent during the summer months and a sweeter, milkier scent when it's colder so this body wash is just perfect for the humid weather! 

Not a fan of Summer, lost track of the new types of insects I've seen so far in Japan. Can't wait for it to be over.

Empties: June 2017

6 months have gone by, I don't really feel that it has been half a year already if not for doing these monthly posts. I mostly share my thoughts on beauty on Instagram (username: xxenn) these days but I also repost them here.

Already Repurchased:
1. Scinic Honey All in one Ampoule
2. Clarins Multi-Active Skin Renewal Serum

Note: I would repurchase the Innisfree Green Tea Scalp Scaler, however it's been discontinued.

Empties- 6
Total Empties- 64

Empties: April 2017

Just a quick update! I forgot I had so many half-open products in KL and since I've been back, I've been making an effort to use them all up. So satisfying to see this huge pile of empties at the end of the month.

Already Repurchased:

1. La Mer Treatment Lotion

2. Clarins Contour Body Oil

3. Clarins Tonic Bath & Shower Gel

4. Clarins Shaping Facial Wrap

5. Elizabeth Arden Green Tea & Honey Drops Body Cream

6. Swisspure x Le Petit Prince Cushion

Planning to Repurchase (when I run out of a replacement):

1. The Body Shop Raspberry Body Scrub

2. Laneige BB Cushion

Empties-28!!!

Total Empties- 52 

P/S: Super excited that Y* is arriving tomorrow morning!!! #MrMrsKomai in less than a week!!!

Empties: March 2017

I haven't been using makeup on a daily basis since mid last year and it's becoming even harder to finish or even hit pan on makeup items. Will try harder for next month!

Will just be listing down what I've already and also those which I plan to repurchase in the future.

Already Repurchased:

1. The Saem Snail Soothing Gel (sorry still no review, this is my super love!!!!)

2. Clarins Renew-Plus Body Serum

3. Clarins Contour Body Oil

4. Clarins Blue Orchid Face Oil

Planning to Repurchase (when I run out of a replacement):

1. Caudalie Grape Water

2. Naturie Skin Conditioning Gel

3. Fujiko Mayu Tint in Chocolat Brown

There wasn't any bad product in this lot, just that I decided not to repurchase some as I've plenty of replacements in my stash and they weren't exceptionally good. The Cosrx Centella Blemish Ampoule was handed over by my sister, I finished it within 2 weeks but I can't attest to the blemish fighting properties as my skin isn't problematic at the moment. It did however leave my skin smooth and I could apply other serums on top without any issues.

Wedding in about a month! Getting so excited yet nervous at the same time!!!

Empties- 14
Total Empties- 24

Empties: February 2017

Didn't manage to finish anything in January, so skipped straight to February. Haven't been finishing any makeup items lately so I was quite excited to hit pan and also throw out some very old lippies. There's even an item contributed by Y*!

Already have backups of the following:
Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover
ClarinsMen Revitalizing Gel (for Y*)

I would consider repurchasing:
Moist, Diane Oil in Body Milk (review here)
Shiseido Fino Premium Touch

I also managed to finish up/hit pan/disposed of the following beauty items:
Isa Knox x Bambi Micro Foam Cushion Silk Cover- not bad! I still have a refill.
Sportsgirl Lipsticks in Bombshell and Fuschia Splash
Maybelline Lipstick/Gloss
Chanel Bronze Corail bronzer- I've hit pan!! Let's see how long it will take to finish it.

The 3 lip colours were thrown out because I finally found replacements, they are actually VERY VERY old but I kept them around to match with potential dupes.

That's all for February, aiming to live a more simplistic and hoard-free beauty life this year!

Empties- 10
Hit Pan- 1

Current Bathroom Products

Almost halfway through my current haircare and bodycare, they are all yellow and contain honey as an ingredient. I gravitate towards all honey products- skincare, lipcare, bath products, scents.. and yes, I also love eating honey. My favourite is Acacia honey, I like the light floral taste and it tastes so good in warm milk.

I picked up the Ahalo Butter Honey Milk Body Wash because 1) I like using warm, milky, slightly sweet scents in Winter, and 2) Honey and Milk are known to be moisturizing ingredients and I sure do need a boost of that in the colder months. I really liked the scent and one pump is all I need for a wash but unfortunately it wasn't as moisturizing as I had hoped. My forearms are always left feeling a littleeee bit tight after each shower but nothing a little moisturizer can't fix. Would be better for other seasons I suppose.

At one point I was drawn to Alice everything, I even picked up a BB cushion in her silhouette, and when I saw this Kao Essential Rich Damage Care set with a shampoo and conditioner, I just grabbed it without thinking or even reading the ingredients. I just figured Rich Damage Care would be great for Winter and great for my long hair. Turns out this range is formulated with highly concentrated Honey, Royal Jelly Extract and Protein. It has a light fruity floral scent which is alright and performance wise- it didn't weigh my hair down nor made it greasy but I still prefer the Lux Luminique range. Somehow my hair feels more "airy" using that and I really like it.

Am also using the Lebel IAU Hair Mask which I reviewed earlier but is not pictured. No repurchases from this season's picks and you can read about my previous bathroom products here. 

Review: Moist, Diane Oil in Body Milk (Chardonnay)

The first product I tried from this brand was the Extra Damage Repair Hair Mask which I loved and subsequently got my sister hooked onto it too. It was the best drugstore hair mask I used when I was living in Kuala Lumpur, lovely scent and left my long hair soft but not weighed down. Unfortunately they only carried the haircare line so I made it a point to check out their bodycare products when I travelled to Japan.

Now that I live in Japan, I'm spoilt for choice and have yet to repurchase that much loved Hair Mask! Mainly because there are so many choices here, and there are some really affordable options which I plan on checking out. I did however get my hands on some of the Moist, Diane bodycare products- one of which is the Oil in Body Milk, Chardonnay scented.

The formula contains a rich combination of 14 skin-friendly botanical oils with hydrating beauty ingredients. These include Virgin Argan Oil, Virgin Plum Oil, Rose Hip Oil, Marula Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Baobab Oil, Shea Butter, Rose Honey, Acerola Extract and Pearl Protein Extract amongst other beneficial oils. No artifical colouring, alcohol, silicon or animal-derivatives in here.

Despite the scent being named Chardonnay, it doesn't smell anything like wine, but more of a light muscat which I adore! It's so pleasing and soft. Even Y* comments how nice the fragrance is whenever I use it. I have been using this since last winter (I have another body lotion for warmer months) and am almost done. It's kept in the bathroom so I don't forget to slap some on after I take a bath.

What I like:

Love love love the scent! Also the light texture and how it absorbs well in the cooler and colder months. Moisturizes without any sticky or tacky feeling plus contains lots of great oils and ingredients. The sturdy textured plastic bottle allows me to keep it in the bathroom without worrying about it slipping when wet.

What I don't like:

I can't use this in summer at all, it just makes my skin sticky and slimy, but could just be me. The brand is a little iffy, the body milk is made in Japan but the shower oil is made in Vietnam. I feel like I have to check everytime before I buy from them now. It is also a little hard to find in drugstores, I got mine whilst visiting Hakata (Fukuoka) and have yet to see any whenever I pop by my local drugstore or even when I visit Tokyo. However, they do have links to online stores like Rakuten or Amazon Japan. 

Price:

A little less than ¥1,000 for 250ml

Repurchase?

Yes! When I get through my large box of bodycare products...

Wonect Beauty Review: Majolica Majorca Twinkle Body Jelly

Christmas is around the corner and many beauty brands usually release limited or repackaged items for the season which I look forward to. Sparkly, gold, glittery things everywhere we look! One of the items sent over this month was the Majolica Majorca Twinkle Body Jelly which is a limited edition body and hair moisturizer. They had a similar Body Jelly last year which sold out very quickly in a different scent and packaging.

This looks so pretty! I'm a magpie and love reflective shiny things. Gold and dark blue, very Christmassy and festive. Though the product comes sealed, the scent is quite strong and I could catch a whiff of the violet flowery scent even before opening it.

The lid if a flip-top so you can easily control and squeeze out how much you want to use. There's gold bits suspended in the jelly moisturizer, but it isn't scratchy or hard at all, just very soft and dissolves quickly once rubbed in.

Once blended out, the gold bits melt into the skin and leave no trace of glitter nor shine. No discoballs here! Although I liked the scent, which is a floral with a violet base (to me) it was a little strong for my liking. I generally prefer my lotions to fade away but if you like perfumed lotions, this is a great one which really lasts!

Once dried, it leaves no residue nor sparkly bits- just soft, moisturized skin. The difference between the moisturized spot and dry areas are so obvious! I also tried it on the ends of my hair, it dries quickly and left my hair fragranced.

A nice multi-use product to have, but it's only available for a limited time so grab yours at Wonect whilst you still can!

From now until end Jan 2017, cart out with the code "XEN<3" on any of the Wonect Starlets' reviewed items to receive 15% off!

Shop Here!