Ever Bilena Plus Serum Tinted Lip Balm

 An old, new find of mine for the year is Ever Bilena's (EB PLUS) Serum Tinted Lip Balm in Naked.

Did I need a new lipstick, no. Did I need a new lip balm, yes. And it seems I got both. 

Quick thoughts on Amodimethicone

 As I was throwing away an empty of a L'oreal Hair Mask, I wondered why I fell out of love with it. I had always had a L'oreal hair mask in rotation for the longest time but didn't feel the need for a restock for a while. 

But then I realized : my hair was very healthy- barely bleached and amodimethicone was the key ingredient in these masks. Amodimethicone, a silicone that works very well for damaged, processed hair, was a normal, lightweight silicone for healthy hair. And that was why I felt these masks did nothing for me now.

So for those with healthy hair, you probably don't need this ingredient in your hair care, but YMMV.

Fragrance empties for 2023

This is what's been finished:

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea

Fresh citrusy and clean. I've been using this for more than a decade. Really like this for daily use but it's time to move on after X number of bottles.   

Bulgari Omnia Crystalline

Floral to clean on me. I liked this but it's too expensive and doesn't last long enough for me to justify a full bottle.

Fireplace by Scent Therapy PH

Starting my "dupe" journey with this. Compared to the original, this is a lot sharper on the opening but I like the dry down more: it's very warm and cozy afterwards.

I'm only starting to venture into other fragrances and I think I'll be going into clone houses etc moving forward since I can't justify insane prices right now.

L'Or Essenso Instant Coffee

 

Tried out all the variants of L'Or Essenso coffee available in the Philippines. Prices can,vary where you get them and both 8 and 20 stick packets are available. I bought mine for 163 per pack with 8 sachets per pack not including shipping.

How to Spend 3 Days in Taipei, Taiwan: A Quick Guide

Recently came back from a quick trip to Taiwan and this is a short guide of how to speedrun things if you're short of time. For disclosure, this trip from the Philippines costed around  USD 1000 per person for two people. Things may become cheaper or more expensive depending on when and where you book your flights and accommodation, and what food you eat. Mine was relatively more expensive given that this was a last minute trip with booking decided less than a month prior to departure on peak season.

Recommendations before going to Taipei:

MASK EMPTIES 2023

 

Listing some of the masks I've used over the year and how I feel about them. I've only saved one of each but I've used most of them several times.

Most of these are already discontinued, I think but it takes me a while to finish and review products now.

Oxecure Acne Clear Facial Cleanser

Late to the game, but one of my best finds for the year has to be Oxecure's Acne Clear Facial Cleanser.

It's an empty now after around two months of daily use and I'm itching to buy the jumbo size (as soon as I empty another cleanser, which I will hopefully eventually review).

I didn't have high hopes for this but this caught my eye as I was on a hunt for something other than Neutrogena for a salicylic acid wash. And since it came as a 50 ml bottle for Php 199 (a nice trial size), I decided to purchase it, ingredients unseen... and was I pleasantly surprised.

June 2023: Functional Empties

 I've finally decided to throw these since I've yet to find the time/desire to properly review these products because they're very boring basic empties.

Granted I do have other empties which will hopefully make their way around but let's just get these out of the way.

1. Assorted medicated actives- get to a derm/doctor. SUPER boring but they work.

2 Betadine Feminine Wash Foam- I thought I'd be a Lactacyd girl forever but the texture of these are a real treat. Very light and fresh  I finished up the calendula and I'm keen to try the others.

3. Sensodyne Whitening Repair Toothpaste- HG 5ever.

4. Dandrex Anti-dandruff shampoo- an active for my flakey scalp. Won't go back to this. It is way too mild and does nothing.

5.Betadine hydrocolloid dressing- forever emptied (I think I've used 2 this year already) for my zits. Effortful but cheap.

6. Neutrogena Visibly Clear- a facial wash I've gone back to so many times.

The end.

A Quick Guide to Stink-Free Armpits

Some people are naturally blessed with odor-free armpits. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. However, I have here a quick guide to keeping those armpits smelling fresh however long you need them.

Products above are my current go to products.

First things first, these all have antiperspirant components. I've found that while deodorants smell cute, they don't last long once you start sweating if you naturally have the bacteria that turns your sweat into nuclear weapons. I've found that deodorants only work on me if I nuke my pits beforehand so it's inhospitable to life - and that leads to irritation and skin darkening so I've abandoned that route. 

If you are the type of person that eschews antiperspirants, you had best be washing those pits frequently and reapplying deodorant as you go. Clean and sanitize your stick (or use a deodorant that's hard to contaminate) between each use, and ideally between armpits, as to avoid trapping bacteria there that will turn your deodorant into an actual source of stink.

But before applying product on your pits, you'd better clean them beforehand. Ideally, remove hair there since hair grabs on to things like dirt and sweat and oil. If you're not into that then just make sure to make sure its as clean as possible. I use regular soap but some prefer using astringents, acids and antibacterials. I've found that these more aggressive products work but can be too irritating so I've limited using those options only if I really do need that extra safety net. Pits should be completely dry unless you're using an alum stick as I do most days.

Just right after bathing, I use an antiperspirant. My daily driver is the  Deonat Mineral Deodorant Stick since I can use it in the shower as a base before using another pit product. I love that it's cheap and lasts a crazy long time.

I also really like using the Fresh Sgt. At Arms (old reformulation) as a single use product on "light days" where it's not too hot or I'm not expecting to be out a lot. I've yet to try the newer formulation in newer packaging since I'm hesitant to pull the trigger because it looks like a very big price increase  from before. It's now similar in price to the Snoe Beauty spray antiperspirant as well which I did like until the nozzle began to fail at the end of its life.

On 24 hours days I'll use a cream deodorant-antiperspirant combo like Dove Deodorant Dry Serum on top of my potassium alum Deonat base. On crazy sweaty days and 36 to 48 hours days I'll use a more heavy option like Secret Platinum Protection. I have a tried a few prescription strength products but I've found that they're very expensive and a bit overkill in terms of anti-perspirants strength and not very friendly to my skin health generally as they tend to stink. As I'm less likely to use them, they've all eventually expired. I think those with a more hyperhidrosis problem causing stink may benefit from prescription level products and I'm just not one of them.

Lastly, at the end of the day, I sniff my shirts (gross, but necessary) to see if any areas are stinky. I'll pretreat those spots with soap and/or colorsafe bleach to make sure I get rid of the stink that can be a source of smelly sauce even if my actual armpit skin smells fine. It also helps decrease the chances of unfavorable bacteria winning the war in the warzone that is the armpit.

I hope this helps someone out there.

HARU HARU Wonder Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner

 Bought the HARU HARU Wonder Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner  last year because of the hype and the stunning packaging but didn't consistently use it because when I opened the bottle, it was 1. Fragranced 2. Stung my eyes.

Thus it sat on my desk until I found my skin to be dehydrated since it was my only hydrating toner on hand.

HARU HARU did release an unscented version but I had dehydrated skin an this giant 150ml bottle so I decided to use it up. Here are my thoughts:

Empties of 2022

These were the empties I managed to save up before I tossed them:

A lot of these are old things that I haven't been able to toss but I'm not actually sure if I've been able to review all of them.

2022: A Quiet Year

 Not much posting going around for me this year and this might be the trend for a while since my current self has zero work-life balance and because of that I've been having 1) less time for self care therefore leading to 2) more skin problems.

It's a vicious cycle and because of that, I've been using a lot of prescription strength products that are very bottom shelf and I'm hesitant to tout because we all know that the internet is not the best place for medical advice.

I'll try to review the products I've finished this year that aren't prescribed since I've still managed to finish a few things despite my abysmal skin care habits for the year.

Here's hoping I can commit to that.

Yardley London Shea Buttermilk Moisturizing Bath Bar

Getting back into bar soaps since 1. I've run out of back ups of my favorite shower gel and  2. bar versions have become more popular lately because of the eco trend things.

This bar was given to me by mother and I find that it's halfway between a regular bar soap and a dove bar in terms of moisturizing, lathering and how long the bar lasts if kept in a moist environment.

Sadly, I will not recommend this in place of either since it somehow dries my hands like crazy despite being non-drying for other parts of my body. Lotion is a must after I use this soap, and that's a sign for me that it's a bit too harsh.

I know a lot of people like it and use it, I myself like the shea and chamomile-like scent but as something with "shea buttermilk" in the title described as a moisturizing Bath Bar, I'm disappointed with the performance.

I'll use this up for waste reasons, but in the future, if offered, I'd pass this on.