Empties Vol. 5: Life Updates & Beauty Stories
The first quarter of the year is over in a blink, and now we are accelerating right into summer. 2018 has been a very productive start for me in many aspects of my life, though the ride has been bumpy with several members of my family falling severely ill. Nonetheless many seeds that were sowed last year are starting to germinate and take hold, so I’m looking forward to a fruitful harvest. On the beauty side of things, many of the brands that were once so elusive are now launching in Singapore – be sure to follow me on Instagram [@silverkis] to catch my stories on the latest launch parties! Not everything shiny and new are the best though, I discovered several HG products that I am going to share with you today.
Haircare
I emptied out this KMS Moistrepair Shampoo & Conditioner duo faster than I expected. They cleansed well without stripping my hair of its natural moisture, and actually helped to restore natural protective coating on my damaged hair. I can feel my hair getting stronger and smoother, and much more manageable – I notice it much more now that I’ve had to switch out to something else! The conditioner is excellent at untangling, and also keeps my hair soft and silky. It does not weigh my hair down unnecessarily though I feel it keeps my crazy flyaways and naturally wavy hair in check. Fyi, I typically use a treatment mask in place of conditioner on a daily basis, but I never felt the need for more with KMS Moistrepair Conditioner.
The Aveda Color Conditioner has been a staple in my bathroom for the past decade or longer. It deposits color on the hair, helping me maintain my dye-job so that I can stretch out the visits to the salon. There are several shades in the range, and I use Clove which is a red-based shade meant to enrich warm tones in medium brown hair. I recommend using it together with the matching shampoo once a week or fortnightly depending on your hair.
Makeup
Shiseido Synchro Skin Glow Cushion to many of my friends over the past year, as this is one of my favourite cushion foundations! The coverage is medium-full, yet incredibly lightweight and the finish is so skin-like and forgiving on flakes. You can read the full review here. This is as good as the YSL Fusion Ink Cushion [see here] at a fraction of the price.
I had to bin my old Tom Ford Extreme Mascara in Black Plum because (a) it has been lying in my stash for 3 years – omg!; and (b) is completely dried out. This was a limited edition color for Spring 2015 [reviewed here], but the same formula is available permanently in black. I recommend it for Tom Ford fanatics, but personally I don’t have a habit of investing in high end mascaras because they don’t have very long shelf lives.
Benefit Gimme Brow is another one that is probably expired, but the terrible secret is I’ve been digging out the last crummy bit for as long as I possibly could. The small size makes this so easy to travel with, and the packaging is so cute. But now that I’ve had to switch out to something else, I realized how inadequate this formula is at holding my brow hairs in place and for filling in any sparse areas. Kudos to Benefit for keeping this product around for as many years as it has been, but it’s probably time to update the formula.
Skincare
This is a bumper month for skincare because I literally love every single product here! Sometimes it seems to take forever and I’m tempted to bin stuff that I don’t like, but it has been a joy to use up every last drop of the products here.
Kate Somerville makes some amazing cleansers, and this EradiKate Daily Foaming Cleanser has been one of the best acne-treatments I’ve tried. It contains 3% sulfur to reduce and prevent blemishes, unclog pores, and balance oily skin. This is nicely balanced out with a patented Botanical Complex blended with Honey and Rice Bran Extracts to calm and soothe skin. It foams up just nice, does not smell funky, and cleanses my skin without leaving it feeling parched and squeaky. I love that my skin looks brighter afterwards, and it does not irritate my sensitive skin. Cannot rave about this enough, please go and try it out for yourself!
Pixi is finally here in Singapore <<check out my Instagram stories!!! Their cult-favourite Glow Tonic contains 5% Glycolic Acid to exfoliate and unclog pores, leaving skin brighter and smoother. Aloe vera, ginseng and botanical extracts work together to nourish and treat the skin. It can be used morning and night, but since I have several other products in my routine that contain acids, I reserve this for alternate mornings. Immediately after sweeping this with a saturated cotton pad, my skin looks brighter and feels crisper. I also like to place cotton bud saturated with this Glow Tonic over zits after I pop them, to zap and dry the suckers up.
Switching gears completely, Chanel Sublimage Supreme combines a proprietary magnetic water complex for faster and more optimal absorption by the skin, with Vanilla Planifolia PFA and intense Vanilla Planifolia water to improve cellular regeneration and forms a protective film over the surface of the skin. It visibly boosts the efficacy of my entire skincare regime, and amps up the hydration of my skin. I reviewed it back in 2015 [here], put it aside for a long time and recently went back to it, and was surprised by how much I still love it!
I dabbled in some Tom Ford skincare when the brand first launched in Singapore years ago, but the products I picked were too masculine for me to fully enjoy. The line was originally designed to be unisex, but sometime last year Tom Ford reformulated the line and added new products such as this Tom Ford Purifying Cleansing Oil. I love that it removes every last trace of makeup without leaving my skin feeling greasy, and I could happily skip double cleansing without feeling uncomfortable. The texture is light and the scent is very pleasant, neither overly floral nor musky so that it can really be enjoyed by both men and women equally. I’m glad to see Tom Ford is finally paying more attention to its skincare range, and this Purifying Cleansing Oil is definitely a nice way to get started.
The other item that surprised me in this round of empties is the La Prairie White Caviar Illuminating Pearl Infusion. I am often asked which is my favourite whitening skincare product, and this definitely ranks high in my books. It speaks volumes that I emptied it within months of getting started, so quickly that I have forgotten to review it properly! La Prairie White Caviar Illuminating Pearl Infusion works not only on melanin-induced spots, it also soothes irritation in skin to bring down redness, and shields the skin from dulling environmental pollution. My skin is often sensitive to Vitamin C products, but La Prairie has managed to encapsulate a stable and powerful form of Vitamin C so that its full potential is only unleashed when pumped, and yet without irritating even the most sensitive skin. I didn’t realise how much my skin has been pampered by this until I stopped using it!
The other serum that I have thoroughly enjoyed is my Skin Inc Custom Blended Serum. To be honest, I don’t even remember what was in that bottle, the components had completely rubbed off from the back by the time I was done with it. I did remember hyaluronic acid being one of the components and it definitely helped keep my skin moist and plumped. This is generally my observation of all the Skin Inc serums I’ve tried, but they’re not always the most memorable.
Tatcha makes the first bio-cellulose mask that I’ve ever tried and still love to this day, so I ordered the Luminous Deep Hydration Eye Mask* the moment it was released. However, for some reason I can’t seem to fall in love with this. It keeps sliding off my face even when I lie down flat on my back, and it stings whenever I have red patches on my cheeks (which is quite often unfortunately). So for me, these do not serve the purpose of soothing my under-eyes when I most need them.
I only recently got the hype surrounding Supergoop sunscreens, and I simply adore the Everyday Sunscreen SPF50. It is oil-free and water-resistant which makes it perfect for lounging by the pool. I have tried it both on my face and body, and I love it for both! It is lightweight, non-greasy, no funky smells, and layers beautifully under makeup. However, I stopped applying it on my face but kept it for my arms only because it contains avobenzone. Yes, I’ve taken to wearing SPF50 on my arms because I’ve recently noticed an increase in dark spots forming on my arms, probably from being exposed to the sun while driving!
The last product in today’s mix is the Yves Rocher Stop Blemish Lotion. This is generously sized for a spot-treatment, and so affordably priced. I have tried all of the popular drugstore and cult brands out there, and this is hands-down my favourite non-prescriptive product. It is gentle enough to be used under makeup, is effective at reducing the size of my zits without drying up the surrounding skin and causing scarring. I love that it doesn’t sting nor leave my skin feeling tight, and actually works! It is no miracle spot buster though, do not expect to wake up to blemish-free skin overnight. But at least it doesn’t relegate me to walking around with pink crusty dots all over my face!
It really takes me a crazy amount of time to write these empties posts… brevity really isn’t my strong trait. And there were a couple of products that really deserved their own mini-review here before I finally send them to the recycle bins. I hope you’ve enjoyed the lengthy read. Let me know if anything here spoke to you!
Almost everything in this post was generously provided for my consideration. The only item purchased by myself is marked with a (*). Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.
