Recent Empties -Haircare and Bodycare

Every Colour Treatment in Grey
I colour my hair every 3 months to maintain beautiful ashy brown. It gets yellowy and brassy after a week, so I'd always used purple shampoo and conditioner to reduce the brassiness. But it didn't work as much as I wanted it to do, so I switched my purple conditioner to this one. This is not a tinted hair treatment, it's more like a rinsable hair colour. I picked grey instead of purple to maintain the ashy tone in my hair -and it does wonders to my hair. I apply it all over my hair once every two weeks, and put the hair up and leave it for an hour to two. You are supposed to rinse it off after 5-10 minutes, but I leave it as long as I can. It makes my hair look super ashy but not too green or grey. They have various colours you can pick depending on your hair colour, such as red, pink, blue, green and purple.  I of course repurchased and am currently using my 2nd tube.

Fearful Hard Keep Oil Spray
I've used up about 5 of this spray. I always get this small tin rather than the big one because it's handy to have in your handbag. It doesn't make your hair crispy at all but hold everything in place. I use it to  smooth fluffy hair, or lock everything in place when I wear my hair up. It smells lovely, and works really well. I repurchased another tiny tin, and then finally got a big one recently to use at home.

KEBELO Clarifying Shampoo 
I got it in my lookfantastic beauty box which is one of the best beauty boxes I've ever tried. This clarifying shampoo is very intense that you are supposed to use once a month. I use it once in every two weeks to clean my scalp, it's refreshing and soothing. I like the subtle grapefruit scent as well.

L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil Hair Mask
I LOVED this hair mask! It smells divine, and makes my hair feel so smooth without weighting it down. It's affordable and effective. There is no reason not to repurchase!

TRESemmé Perfectly (un) Done Sea Form
I got it as a freebie when I got ELLE magazine in the UK last year. I didn't expect it to be good at all, but it was actually impressively good. I take the foam on my palms, rub them together and lightly apply it on my hair focusing on the roots and sides around my years where I want the most volume when my hair is still bump. Once it's completely dry, you'd notice your hair is voluminous and kind of squeaky and tangly. It doesn't sound so good now that I described as squeaky and tangly, but believe me it does give the most natural volume. I use leave-in treatment in conjunction with this product though, to minimise messiness.

Bath&Body Works Hand Soaps
The only hand soaps I use are the ones from Bath&Body Works. I have at least 5 in stock no matter what. (For those who are wondering where I get them from, I usually buy them from Rakuten or Mercari) Lemonade one was OK, it smelt more like watermelon than lemonade. I LOVE Black Cherry Merlot very much that this was my 3rd or 4th bottle. I'm not a big fan of cherry scent usually, but this one is just heavenly.

Soap&Glory Clean on Me
I always want the bigger size, but my luggage is always overweight that I pick up this mini size instead. I simply love the smell of this shower gel, it's not overpowering but good enough to boost my  femininity. I have one more bottle to go, and will be repurchasing tons when I'm back in the UK -which is very soon!

Soap&Glory Breakfast Scrub
It's SO old that it might have been off. It's now a part of the smoothiestar range, but it used to be just Breakfast Scrub. This is the best smelling body scrub ever, that I hope they never stop manufacturing.  It smells like maple syrup, brown sugar and vanilla. It's also a very good body scrub that gets rid of dead skin cells without scratching the skin. The only downside is that it stings when my skin is a little sensitive, because it contains salt. I wish they would switch it to sugar, so that you can use it on damaged skin too.

Jo Malone Peony&Blush Suede
This is my signature fragrance for sure. I now have the big bottle and I cannot get enough of it. It's even more expensive in Japan than it is in the UK which is ridiculous, but Jo Malone is definitely the queen of fragrance. This scent is a mixture of femininity and masculinity. Who would come up with an idea of mixing peony and suede? Genius.

I hope you enjoyed it! One more empty post to go!

Recent Empties -Skincare

I had been accumulating empty products since December without paying attention to the magnitude of the situation. My big bag was full of empty products...actually it was overflowing. I finally took photos of them and started writing a blog post on my Japanese blog, Beau Tea Time, and realised nobody would read it if I tried to fit it into one post because it would be too long.

So I decided to write 3 separate posts about my rubbish.

Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean
I believe Peaches and Clean have changed its packaging and formula a couple of times in the past. I heard the 1st one was amazing, and then they changed the formula and made the package smaller, which was rubbish, so they changed it again and that is the one sold at Boots right now. Mine is rubbish one I believe -it's smaller and didn't do much to my skin. But I loved it. The realistic scent of fresh peach is always refreshing to use, and the texture is just perfect to use in the morning. The only downside is the pump. As you can see I still had 20% of the product left in the bottle but the pump stopped dispensing and it was paint in the butt to remove the pump and shake the bottle in the shower. I will definitely repurchase the newer version when I come back to the UK this summer.

RAFRA Balm Orange Yuzu&Honey 
RAFRA is my favourite balm cleanser. It's better than EVELOM and CLINIQUE, I absolutely swear by it. I much prefer the original version to this limited one. The scent is too subtle that it didn't WOW me at all, and everything else is exactly the same as the original -no point of buying the limited one.

Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm
Danielle from Famous in Japan kindly sent it to me when we did a parcel swap a long time ago. Unlike Japanese balm cleansers, western balm cleansers are pretty oily that you must use a muslin cloth to remove them. I personally am not a big fan of rubbing my skin with a cloth, especially around my eyes where I already have terrible pigmentation, but those oily balm cleansers remove makeup like magic. The cleanser itself is very good quality for the price point in my opinion, and I would repurchase it if I didn't mind using a cloth along with it.

The Body Shop Chamomile Cleansing Butter
It was my 3rd jar of this cleansing balm, and I felt like they've changed the formula. Maybe it was just me, but it felt a little oilier. I usually do not use a cloth to remove this cleanser because it rinses off perfectly without it. But this one left an oily residue on my skin which was uncomfortable. It might be good for dry skin, but having combination skin I wasn't a big fan of it. I might not repurchase it anymore.

ansage Arti Wash 
I used up this lovely face wash from ansage, which is called Arti Wash because it contains Artichoke extract. I liked it very much because it didn't strip off the natural oil on my face, and left my skin feel super smooth and refreshed. It's a very basic face wash I must say, but I really enjoyed it and would like to repurchase if I have an opportunity.

Kiehl's Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash
It took me more than 6 months to use up this bottle because a tiny bit goes a long way. It's a perfect cleanser for normal to combination skin in my opinion, as it leaves enough moisture while removing excess oil and dirt on the skin. It didn't remove my makeup at all, so I was using it as a morning cleanser and it worked perfectly. Definitely worth the price tag, and I will repurchase it for sure in the future.

Esteé Lauder Cyber White HD Lotion
First I thought it contained too much alcohol because it smelt and felt like pure ethanol,  but surprisingly it did not irritate my skin at all -it was actually very refreshing and I loved how it makes my skin feel. Despite the fact it contains alcohol, it did not dry out my skin either, and made my skin soft and supple. I loved the scent as well -just like other skincare products from the brand, it smelt divine. I am not sure about the whitening effect to be honest, but I enjoyed this lotion very much.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 
This cream is super unique. It's such a basic cream far from trend and fashionability that I first thought was too boring, but no other cream works like this product. It's got no scent and the packaging looks pretty boring. It's not a kind of face cream that excites you. But whenever my skin feels dry or unstable or too sensitive, I switch my day and night cream to this one. It's THAT reliable. I am kind of freaking out that now I'm out of this. I will definitely repurchase it -maybe at duty free in July- because this is one of the best face creams I've ever used.

Clinique Superdefense Age Defense Eye Cream  
Although I was using it every single morning before makeup, it took me a year and a half to use up this tiny tube. It's slightly tinted but not enough coverage to hide my dark circles. I loved the fact it had SPF20 to protect my eye area from sun damage -because I already have tiny dark spots there and I wanted to prevent more spots. The only downside is that it separates towards the end, it was really messy by the time I finished the tube.

Elemis Hydra-Balance Day Cream 
Thanks to lookfantastic beauty box for introducing this cream! First of all, the scent of Neroli is absolutely beautiful. Secondly, the texture is very creamy and moisturising which is perfect in a colder month. Made specially for normal to combination skin, this cream leaves enough moisture on the skin without being too greasy. I was using it during winter before makeup. Though I never skipped a step of blotting an excess oil of the cream with tissue before applying a foundation primer, I did't feel this cream was too heavy for my combination skin. It might be a little too rich during a warmer season, but I really enjoyed it in winter.

tatcha
Just to clarify -tatcha is not a Japanese brand, it's an American brand inspired from Japanese culture. Their branding, concept and packaging are absolutely beautiful that I was very impressed -it's capturing the essence of Japanese culture very well. But now I've used up 3 of their products, I am not sure if they are worth the price tag.

One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil was raved by Caroline Hirons, and she said 'this oil is too luxurious to remove makeup' and recommended to remove makeup with a cheaper makeup remover, and use this oil to cleanse the skin. I liked this silky oil too because it wasn't oily at all, yet left my skin lovely and supple.

Deep Brightening Serum is something I was a little disappointed with. It's not a bad product at all, but I simply didn't think it was worth $185.

Clinique All About Eyes 
A very basic eye cream that I would be happy to receive as GWP or something, but I don't think I would dash to the counter and buy another jar of it.

Esteé Lauder Advanced Night Repair SR Complex II
You all know it's a magic serum, don't you? It plumps up the skin instantly that you can see the difference in the morning when applied this serum the night before. I'm not keen on the smell -it's rare for an Esteé Lauder product not to have an amazing scent, but I can handle it especially because the result is fantastic. I just started using my 2nd bottle and I don't think I can live without it. I need 5 backup bottles!

Vitality8™ NightRadiant Overnight Creme/Mask 
This cream (also from Esteé Lauder) was nice but nothing special in my opinion. I've tried 3-4 different types of Esteé Lauder face creams but this one was my least favourite. It smelt lovely and felt nice on the skin, but I didn't feel like it was moisturising as it claimed. Apparently this cream would give nutrients to your skin, but I didn't see any positive nor negative difference after using it for a couple of months. I wouldn't repurchase it again, they have better face creams!

I believe you're super tired from reading my crap...but thank you! 2 more posts related to empties are coming up soon so stay tuned :)

April Empties

In April I've used up quite a few products. Or maybe since I started writing monthly empties posts I've been encouraged to finish up products rather than keep them all in my tiny apartment. It feels satisfying somehow to finish up beauty products and judge whether it was a good product or not. 

Redken Scalp Relief Dandruff Control Shampoo  (REVIEW)
This was my 2nd bottle and I'm so sad it's finished. I don't have dandruff but I have a really sensitive scalp which gets irritated quite easily by using shampoo which my scalp doesn't like. At worst it gets itchy that keeps me awake all night so I am very picky when it comes to choosing the right shampoo. And this shampoo from Redken is the best so far. It lathers well, it makes my hair and scalp very clean but doesn't make them dry. It contains glycerine which moisturises the scalp. It has a very subtle herbal scent which is pretty nice and I really enjoyed using it. I would love to repurchase again but as YEN is much weaker now I'm trying not to shop much on feelunique and lookfantastic lately...so when YEN gets stronger I'll definitely buy a new bottle.

The Body Shop Rainforest Shine Shampoo and Conditioner
Apparently this shampoo is a best-seller on The Body Shop UK website, but I absolutely hated this series. Before they changed the whole haircare series, they had shampoo and conditioner with honey and I loved the scent of them. So one day I went to the shop and asked for it then they said it was discontinued and instead they had new haircare series, and they recommended this one because it smells similar to the honey one I loved. But in my opinion it doesn't smell the same and the scent doesn't even stay on your hair. Also it's pretty drying and makes my hair frizzy and basically it doesn't do anything to my hair. I just don't like it and I'm not going to repurchase, ever.

LebeL Trie 5  Hairspray
I think I bought this about a year ago after my hairdresser used it on my hair at the hair salon. It smells like green apples which is brilliant but it doesn't do much on my hair. I don't think I'm going to repurchase it but I might have a look at a bit stronger hairspray from the same brand because it smells so good.

Terracuore Jasmine and Honey Body Scrub
Terracuore is a Japanese organic beauty brand which has fields in Italy to grow the herbs which are included in their products. Terracuore is my favourite Japanese beauty brand and their products are very good. Although they are pricey and I can't buy them often. This product was given to me by them when I had a business meeting with them but actually it's 5250yen which is about 35 pound / $52. It's ridiculously pricey but it's VERY good. It contains Jasmine essential oil which are derived from more than 13800 jasmine flowers. I was expecting a strong jasmine scent but it's much softer and sweeter, and surprisingly NOT overpowering. This creamy body scrub contains crushed apricot seeds which exfoliate your skin gently, and believe me it does make my skin so so so soft. And it leaves the pleasant scent on my skin. What more do you want? Another great product from Terracuore I've tried.

Jurlique Rose Moisture Plus Moisturising Cleanser  
This was sent from my lovely fellow blogger Mel from The Beauty Dispensary a few months ago. Since the day I received it I had been using this cleanser every single morning. It's such a gentle cleanser with pleasant rose scent. I think I should have used it in the summer time because foaming cleanser tends to strip natural oils on your face and obviously in summer your skin produces more oils than in winter. I really enjoyed using this cleanser, and also I loved the chic packaging so much. Thanks Mel!

Pangea Organics Facial Mask  (REVIEW) 
The best face mask I have ever used. I literally cannot live without it. Whenever I feel my skin is dry or dull, I use this face mask at night. Immediately I feel the difference on my skin and the next morning my skin feels glowing again. It smells a little bit weird but now I'm used it and I'm more into the result it makes on my skin. I cannot explain how and why it works so well, but trust me, it really does work. I introduced this face mask to my readers on my Japanese blog, and some of them actually tried and they all loved it. If you haven't tried it yet, you definitely should. It's amazing and of course I repurchased it again.

Jason Apricot Scrubble (REVIEW)
I loved this scrub! It's such a gentle face scrub you can use every day. I only used it 2-3 times a week but it was enough to make a huge difference on my skin. It makes my skin so silky and soft with such a fresh and sweet apricot scent. You would be very surprised to feel your skin after you've used this product, it's such an amazing face scrub. I love it but I'm not going to repurchase now because I have some other ones to use up. I strongly recommend this product if you're looking for a gentle face scrub.

Bourjois healthy mix serum (REVIEW) I decided to bin it although there's a bit left in the bottle because it's getting old. I used up like 80-90% of it and I liked it very much. Mine is shade 52 Vanilla and it's slightly darker but matches my skin tone OK. It doesn't feel heavy on my skin and I really liked it. I've got the new version of Healthy Mix Foundation and I'm totally in love with it. The review will be coming soon!

BIODERMA Sensibio H2O  (REVIEW)
I don't need to explain what it is because you all know what it is. I loved it, although I didn't like the weird smell at the beginning. It takes everything off without being harsh on my skin. It didn't irritate my eye areas which is great, and I'm dying to repurchase but for now I'm not going to just because it's expensive here. I will buy tons when I go to Paris. Someday...

Weleda Wild Rose Day Cream (REVIEW)
This product was sent by my another lovely fellow blogger Zanka from Zanka Talks Cosmetics. As the name is not in English, I don't know what exactly it says but I assume it's a day time moisturiser. I was using it in the morning before putting makeup on anyway, and it worked really well. It smells amazing, of natural wild rose which was pretty soothing in a busy morning. Thanks Zanka so much!

PAUCE Cleansing Butter
I LOVED this cleanser so much! It's got this buttery texture and it melts on your skin turning into an oil consistency. It removes all my makeup including eyeliners and mascara. I didn't even need my BIODERMA to remove my eye makeup because it took off literally everything. And it left an oily feeling on my skin even after rinsing it for more than a minute, and this oily feeling turned into a whole new moisturising feeling after I dried my face. It's such a good cleanser to take makeup off and I'd love to repurchase if it wasn't this pricey. What a shame.

Skin Repair Moisturiser™ Normal/combination
Another product I loved so much. Although I have dry / sensitive skin, this one worked really well during winter. I couldn't stand the smell at the beginning but I think it faded after a few weeks since I opened the jar because at some point I wasn't bothered by the smell anymore. Now I'm using a new jar and it stinks and I realised that it wasn't me getting used to the smell, it was the smell faded by time. Other than that it's such a nice cream which really is effective. I'll keep repurchasing their products until I find a better brand which I doubt :)

Phew, it has become such a looooong post, you must be bored. Thanks for reading!

March Empties

Although I was away for 2 weeks, I used up quite a few products during the month of March. Some of the products are talked about here in the past, some of them aren't, but anyway I'm going to get started!

Giovanni Smooth As Silk Deep Moisture Shampoo  
Giovanni Smooth As Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner
These are the samples which came with a book which was sent to my company. I wasn't interested in Giovanni though I have heard of many good reviews, but decided to give it a try. Although they're supposed to be "Deep(er) Moisture", they didn't feel like moisturizing at all. Maybe just because my hair was too dry and fine, but they tangled my hair and didn't give shine to it. The scent was OK but wasn't strong enough to stay on my hair which was disappointing. I didn't understand why people are raving about them, but please let me know if you know any other series of Giovanni which might be suitable for my dry, damaged and fine hair!

Leivy Double Moisturising Body Shampoo ( full review)
I loved this shower gel so much that I used it every day. At first I thought the scent was too old-fashioned as it reminded me of my grandma's makeup table. But once I was used to it, I was in love with it. Especially the scent left on my skin after having a shower was amazing. It smells fresh and clean yet powdery and feminine. Also it's pretty moisturizing which is perfect for winter. I got it as a PR sample and thought of purchasing it but I don't think I would any time soon just because I've got many other shower gels waiting to be opened.

Foot Scrub
I don't even remember the brand of this foot scrub but I'm sure I got it as a PR sample as well. I didn't like it at all as the texture was just weird. I can't be bothered to describe how weird it was because it was such a terrible product which is not worth talking about. I don't mean to be rude but it didn't do anything to my feet and didn't smell nice either. What's the point of using a body scrub which doesn't work?

Balance me Radiance Face Oil
The best face oil ever. Full stop. I got this sample when I purchased their body cream and eye cream on lookfantastic.com. It's such a light oil which sinks into the skin really quickly without making my whole face greasy. It's very moisturizing and makes my skin soft and smooth. Obviously I don't recommend using it in the morning before putting makeup on but it's a perfect oil to use at night. When my skin felt dry, I put one pump of the oil on my palm and gently patted on my skin and I could see the difference the next morning. Another good point of this product is that it doesn't have a weird smell. The actual product is 30pound for 30ml which isn't the cheapest in the world but I don't think it's overpriced as a little goes a long way. The bottle could last almost a year (only if it allows you to)! Now they have a special offer on lookfantastic.com where I put the link above, check it out!

"Balance Me Radiance Face Oil is a light, absorbent 100% natural radiance enhancer with powerful Amazonian buriti nut oil. Combats congested skin with conditioning moringa and camellia oils that work with calming Roman chamomile, yarrow and benzoin to enhance the radiance of skin of all ages and types. The perfect skin pick me up, this highly concentrated formula has a delicious orange blossom aroma, skin is left calmed and balanced."

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic
I loved this toner so much! I kept this small bottle for special occasions as it was kind of like my secret weapon! Whenever I felt my skin was dehydrated I put about a tea spoon of this toner on my organic cotton wool pad from The Body Shop and wiped my skin gently. Once I wipe the whole face, I place the cotton pad on the dry areas and gently push the cotton pad so that the toner seeps through it and skins into my skin. I usually keep doing it for more than 5 minutes, I found it soothing even! That's my quick cure of dry skin!

Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Gel (from the travel kit for normal skin)
I bought the travel kit for normal skin on lookfantastic.com about 6 months ago. I decided to take this cleansing gel with me to London. I mainly used it in the morning as I didn't expect it to remove my makeup. Overall it's an OK product but I don't think I would purchase the full-size bottle.  It's got a runny, loose gel texture which I'm not a big fan of. The rosy scent isn't too bad as it's not overpowering at all and I found it quite soothing but that was the only thing about this product which impressed me.

SUSY N.Y. Nail Volume Gloss
This is my 2nd bottle of this product. I'm totally in love with this top coat as it gives a shiny and glossy finish to my nails! I remember it's about 1,000yen which isn't too bad considering the fact it lasts at least 3-4 months. It gets gloopy after a few months so I need to add some thinner liquid. I've used top coats from many different brands from OPI to Seche but this one is the best so far. I'm going to repurchase for sure!

THREE Glam Touch Lip Gloss in Summer Sounds
THREE is a Japanese skincare / makeup brand. I love the concept and their chic and sophisticated packaging designs, as well as the products themselves. This colour is called Summer Sounds which was one of the limited colours which was sold in the summer 2012 (or 2011, not sure). It's a perfect pink beige which brightens up the whole face. It's shimmers in it which reflect lights beautifully. I loved the plastic applicator which was much easier to apply on my lips than a sponge applicator. The formula is in a perfect consistency, not too greasy yet moisturizing. I dropped by the duty-free shop at Narita airport hoping to purchase another colour the other day, but unfortunately none of the colours they have now could beat this colour. This was the best lip gloss I'd ever used.

Lancôme Virtuôse Divine Lasting Curves & Length Mascara
I loved this mascara so much and was wearing it every single day until I got Loreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara. It separates my lashes as well as creating voluminous lashes. And it's so easy to remove just with warm water without a trace although it doesn't smudge at all during the day. It's a very good mascara which I would love to repurchase...only if I was richer!


Sorry this post became pretty long and boring, I should learn how to write simpler and shorter reviews! Let me know if you've used any of those products I mentioned here!

January Empties 2013

It's February already! I'm so happy that winter is almost finished (in my head) and Spring will come very soon! In Japan Cherry Blossoms will start blooming from the end of March and that tells me that Spring has come. I can't wait for Spring, because it's my favourite season of the year! Anyway, because I didn't do Empties post in December, I have a quite few empty bottles here for you!

Caudalie Gentle Cleanser
This is such a nice cleanser! This milky formula which smells divine removes dirt and makeup on the skin really gently as the name claims. It leaves my skin soft and moisturized, it doesn't feel dry even 5 minutes after I've washed my face. It lasted pretty long as I only needed a tiny amount to wash my whole face. My favourite part of this cleanser was the scent, I cannot describe it well but it smells very clean and fresh. I totally recommend this cleanser if you're looking for cleansing milk. I also think it's more suitable for dry skin more than oily and combination skin.

Caudalie Cleansing Water
I got it for free when I purchased some Caudalie products on feelunique. It does the same thing as Bioderma does, but less effective. Bioderma removes makeup much more easily. With this cleansing water, I had to rub my eye areas with a cotton pad quite strongly, and that irritated my skin. It still didn't remove all my makeup off, which I don't mind too much because I wash my face with another cleanser afterwords anyway. It smells really nice just as the cleanser does, which makes me feel relaxed whenever I use it. I don't think I would purchase the full-sized one, just because I think Bioderma does better job.

HANA Organic Floral Drop (full review)
I'm not sure how long I took to finish this product. It's basically Rose Water with some essential oils in it. It smells absolutely fantastic and I love the concept behind their products. Their toner (this product) and moisturizer (here for the full review) are designed to use in the evening because it repairs your skin during sleep because that's when your skin barrier becomes weaker. It's pretty expensive and I don't think I would buy it (I received it as a PR sample a long time ago) just because I have other products to try out.

Aussie 3 Minutes Miracle Deep Treatment for Coloured Hair (full review)
I LOVED this product. I usually keep switching over my haircare products depending on my mood but I couldn't resist using this one every single day until I finished it completely. I enjoyed using this product so so so much and I'm hoping to get some bottles when I come to the U.K. next time (which is pretty soon actually!).  I wasn't a big fan of the scent which was too peachy and artificial, but I loved how it made my hair so soft, smooth and voluminous. With this hair treatment I didn't have to worry about styling my hair at all. It's a magical product seriously! I don't care the fact it's packed with silicone and polymer, it worked really well on my hair.

Redken Scalp Relief Shampoo (full review) This is another fabulous haircare products! When I was using this product, I didn't think it was anything special. Yes it did kill itchiness on my scalp but I thought that was because my scalp became less sensitive and calmer. But once I finished the first bottle, my scalp started itching again. I repurchased it from lookfantastic.com because somehow feelunique didn't allow me to buy it from Japan. Thank god lookfantastic did allow me to, otherwise I was going to have to live with my itchy scalp. Once I started using this product again, my scalp became calm again.

Tocca Laundry Delicate
It's not a beauty product but I had to include it here! Is it even popular in other countries? I believe it's from the U.S. but I've never seen anyone talking about this product outside of Japan. It's a laundry soap from the brand Tocca, and this small bottle costs 2500yen or so. I always buy it online so that it's much cheaper, but still it was 1300yen or something like that. The reason why I keep buying their laundry soap is because of the amazing scent. There are 4 different scents and my favourite is this "Florence" one. It smells like "In Love Again" perfume from YSL for me, and the scent isn't too strong but not too subtle. I don't use it to wash my clothes but my pillow cover, tights, underwear and my makeup brushes (I'm not sure if that's OK to do so but they're not animal bristles so should be OK). I use a tiny tiny amount at a time and this bottle lasts for more than 6 months. I already repurchased two bottles. One is Florence and another is Cleopatra. I will talk about them another day!

Caudalie Lip Conditioner (full review)
I have repurchased this product twice or three times already. It's moisturizing enough for my dry lips and I also like the subtle vanilla scent of it. I'm not going to repurchase this time just because I have EOS one which I've been enjoying using recently.

URIAGE Lip Balm
I got it from my local drugstore, it's pretty expensive (1,040yen) for a tiny lip balm but it really works. I'm sure I spent more than 20,000yen on this lip balm in the past because this was the ONLY lip balm which worked for me before I met Caudalie and then EOS. It's got a vanilla scent too which I like.

Aveda Invati Shampoo and Conditioner
These were just small samples I got when they launched this series in Japan. It's supposed to
refresh your scalp and remove the daily build ups, and I think it works OK. The formula is really loose and looks like curry, which was a little bit gross. But fortunately it smells of herbs so please don't worry, it doesn't smell of curry. I liked both shampoo and conditioner but am not going to purchase the full-size ones just because they're pretty expensive and I have better ones for cheaper prices.

iMPRIME Repair Method
I got the whole set of the range in small bottles as a PR sample. You wash your hair with normal shampoo, then pat it dry with a towel and spray the "Base 0" all over your hair. Then apply Repair method 1 which is in the red bottle, then apply Repair method 2 which has two different formula, one is called α which is in the green bottle and another is called β which is in the blue bottle. α is for a smooth finish, and β is for drier and more damaged hair. They all smell AMAZING, I loved the scent so much. It smells like a salon if that makes sense, I think it's grapefruit and some herbs which bring out this fresh scent. It really worked and made my hair silky and soft. I don't think I would purchase them ever because when I buy them in bigger bottles, it costs about 10,000yen in total. I simply cannot afford them, but I really really love the products.



I hope you enjoyed it! x

November Empties

It's already the middle of December but finally I took photos of my November empties and am able to write about them. I'm kind of surprised to see how many products I used up within a month. Before I started blogging about empties I barely finished a product in a month because I felt like wasting it by using it but then I realized that not using it was a waste. Now I'm trying to use as many products as I can to enjoy and experiment. 

Caudalie Zeste De Vigne Shower Gel 
I was sad to finish this product as it was my favourite shower gel. I liked the purple one more than this one but still this one was very nice. The scent of zesty citrus is refreshing and perfect for the morning shower!

Caudalie Beauty Elixir
This is my 2nd bottle including the smaller one. I nearly finished it about 2 months ago but I kept it for "emergency" which I finally finished up last month. This product is truly a rescue item for me and I will repurchase it when I finish lotion I'm currently using.

Redken All Soft Conditioner
I enjoyed this product very much as it really did make my hair soft and silky. I also liked the smell, I don't know how to describe the scent but it was something like coconut and fruits I guess. I still don't understand why they make shampoo in the bigger bottle than conditioner, they both should be in the same-sized bottles! I'm not sure if I would repurchase just because it didn't wow me. It is a very good product for sure but I would like to try out other products from Redken too.

Aveda all-sensitive moisturizer
I have talked about this product many times so I'm not going to go on and on about it here but I totally rely on this product! I cannot live without it as this is the key item which keeps my skin look good. I immediately opened my second bottle right after I finished the first bottle, and I'm hoping this one lasts another 3-4 months like the last one did so that I can repurchase when I go to England next time. It's not too thick so you can use it both in morning and night, but in this colder season I add thicker moisturizer on top to prevent dryness.

Mugwort Bath Essense
I got it as a present last year and used it when I really needed it as it's pretty expensive and I knew I wouldn't buy it myself. It's about 4,000yen for this 300ml bottle. It contains essential oils such as Eucalyptus, Chamomile, Chinese peony, Lavender and Geranium. It smells absolutely amazing, you cannot imagine how heavenly it is! You're supposed to put 20-30ml into the bathtub but I was being stingy and only put about 10ml at a time. It turns water milky white which is another good point about this product. It's such a good bath oil I strongly recommend to anyone who loves to relax in the bathtub. 

pH Care Shower Fresh
I don't want to be awkward but I wanted to include this product here because I love this product and I already repurchased it! It's something like body soap to wash your delicate area. You're not supposed to use the normal body wash there because it kills the bacteria that your body actually needs. This special shower gel foams well, and it smells clean and fresh.

balance me pure skin face wash
I love love love this cleanser!! It removes makeup very easily and quickly, while leaving my skin so soft and moisturized. The consistency is unique, it's between gel and cream I guess, and it makes my face slippery while cleansing but once I rinse my face it doesn't leave any greasy feeling at all on my skin. It smells of grapefruits and frankincense which is absolutely amazing. I would love to buy the bigger size but it seems like lookfantastic is going to discontinue balance me and I cannot afford the postage to buy it from the official website. I'll buy it for sure next time I go to England!

IAU Cleansing Shampoo and Cream Melt Repair
IAU is a Japanese haircare brand which I didn't know until I received PR samples. Actually I finished using their deep moisturizing hair mask as well but I lost the bottle and I couldn't include it here. I liked them all especially the hair mask which I bought in the big jar. They all smell rosy and floral which is really good! Also this shampoo doesn't dry out my scalp which is very good as I've got quite sensitive scalp. 

uka nail oil 7:15
Read my full review about this product here! It's the best nail oil I've ever used. It smells heavenly, it doesn't make my fingertips greasy at all, I can hold mouse or touch paper right after applying this oil on my nails. I's tiny but lasts 3-5 months depending on how often you use per day. I used at least 5 times a day and it lasted 5 months! It's not the cheapest product but it's worth the money. A very good product.

Skin Blossom Reviving Eye Cream 
It's only 5 pounds but it did its job! It's a pretty thick cream but spreads well and moisturizes my skin. I got it from Planet Organic in Notting Hill in June and I finished at the beginning of November. I'm not going to repurchase it just because I want to try other eye cream out there but if you're on budget and looking for a good eye cream, I would recommend this one!

Hope you enjoyed!

October Empties!

This is the time of the month to talk about empties again! In October I used up quite a lot of products considering the fact I am a slow-user. I am going through the products I used up quickly now!

Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner

Rahua is an american haircare brand which came to Japan at the end of last year I think. Their products are pretty expensive, these are 3900yen and 4200yen, and their hair oil which I don't own costs 18900yen for 30ml botttle. Ridiculous!

But trust me, this is the best harecare products I've ever used. They contain a plant oil called rahua oil and that seems to be the key ingredient. It makes my hair unbelievably soft and silky, like it's never been. They smell weird but I just don't care because the result is absolutely amazing.

I'm very sad that I've used them up. I was given them as PR samples from a Japanese company and just loved them so much but don't think I would spend about 8000yen on haircare products. Not that I don't want to but I can't! I strongly recommend rahua if you are interested, it's so amazing.

...Oh and I apologize for the dirty bottles, I washed them but wasn't able to make them crystal clear.

moemoe Spa Treatment

Can you believe this pair of small tubes costs about 1000yen? These are hair treatment tubes for an intensive haircare. They smell amazing, like fruity floral clean scent if that makes sense. You apply tube No.1 treatment mainly at the end of your hair after wash, then apply tube No.2 treatment on top, leave it for 5 minutes and rinse. It does make my hair soft and moisturized I guess but at the same time it makes my hair flat. I liked this product but I wouldn't buy it myself.

These are sent by Zanka from Zanka talks cosmetics, and it was fun to choose which one to use depending on my skin condition and mood! 

The honey one was a peel-off facial mask which I had never experienced, and it smelled just like honey!! I was like "Oh my gosh it does smell like honey and I feel like I'm Winnie-the-Pooh!" It felt a bit tingly on my skin but didn't make my skin red or irritated. I think it contains pretty high level of alcohol and maybe that is why. I really enjoyed how it worked and the smell of course, and it made my skin feel clean.

The avocado one smelled lovely too. It didn't smell of avocado and I cannot describe the scent but I liked it very much. This one tingled my skin as well but again it didn't affect my skin. Maybe it was because this facial mask is supposed to stimulate my skin, I cannot tell if it did to be honest but I really liked the smell. And the packaging is so pretty!

   
Caudalie Grape Water

It only lasted less than a month I guess but I can't blame it as it's only a 75ml bottle which is tiny! I used it as lotion after washing my face every morning and night. It doesn't have any smell in it and it doesn't hydrate skin too much but it was a nice product. I think it's good for summer to carry it around to refresh.

L'OREAL Paris ELSEVE Damage Care Pro

It's hair treatment in a spray bottle which you use in the shower. Basically you spray this mainly at the end of your hair after wash and rinse it off. You don't have to wait for 5 minutes to rinse as the oil sinks in quickly. It smells amazing and it does work. I will miss this product.

Caudalie Lip Conditioner

This lipbalm is one of the best ones I've ever used. I love the subtle smell of vanilla, and the matte finish it gives, and of course the fact that it moisturizes my often-chapped-lips! It really works and I actually repurchased this item recently! I recommend this lipbalm to anyone who's suffering from chapped lips.

I am not sure if I would use up more products in November as I finished quite a lot of products in October, but I will write about my empties when I have enough products to talk about for sure!