Staycay Skincare

Cutes and I went for a staycay last weekend, just for one night. He reminded me to pack light because I always overpack and get grumpy when I have to lug my heavy bag around. So I stared at my arsenal of skincare and debated what to bring for over a week.

I took along:

• Eye and lip makeup remover: Biore Cleansing Oil Cotton Facial Sheets
• First cleanser: Etude House Real Art Moisture Cleansing Oil (foil sample)
• Second cleanser: Belif Creamy Cleansing Foam (30ml mini)
• Hydrating toner: Kikumasamune High Moist Lotion (in Daiso travel bottle)
• Moisturiser: Muji Sensitive Moisturising Milk High Moisture (50ml)
• Lip occlusive: Vaseline Lip Therapy Crème Brulee

I thought everything worked great, but I just wanted to highlight the major dud here, which was the EH Cleansing Oil. I got this in the AB meetup swap last month, and I thought it would be a great alternative to try, since DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is sooo mahal. Also, I didn’t feel like carrying around the full-sized DHC one for a one-night getaway, so the fact that this came in a foil packet was quite appealing to me. I was shocked by the strong unpleasant, fake citrus smell. It also didn’t feel as thick and luxurious and slippery on my face as the DHC. So, even though I had like 2 more uses left of the oil, I left it in the hotel room because I am never using that again. The smell was such an insult to my senses, and it also lingered sadistically for the next couple hours or so. I just read Fiddy Snails’ blog post on this, and she hates it too, for similar reasons and more.

I also wanted to comment that the Biore sheets are pretty handy for eye makeup removal. I always do a pre-cleanse of my eye and lip makeup with the bi-phase makeup remover from L’oreal or Maybelline, but I didn’t wanna bring a bottle of that along, so the Biore sheets are nice and portable and do the job just as well. Of course, the Biore sheets are pricier per use than the makeup remover, so I’d use the sheets for short periods of travel, and the makeup remover for home.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the small volume of supplies I brought along for the staycay, and my skin seemed happy enough, even in the really hot weather outside and the really dry weather inside. I think I could build on this minimal travel routine for next month’s two-week trip to Perth. I figure I’ll skip the hyaluronic acid (because low humidity), buy a more airtight travel bottle for my Kiku decant, and bring lots of gels and creams and stuff.

October 2017 Empties

I had a really impressive amount of empties in October, so I split them up into three categories so I won't feel too overwhelmed. I'm trying to do this whole buy new only when you empty the current one, so it's important that I don't buy any duds.

From left: The Ordinary "Buffet", Olay Regenerist Micro Sculpting Cream Moisturiser, Bioderma Sebium Micellar Water, Phasilab Ice Cream, Murad Acne Body Wash, Belif Aqua Bomb, Clinique All About Eyes Rich, Mizon All In One Snail Repair Cream, white soft paraffin, DHC Suncut Q10 Ex Gel

Love = would totally repurchase 

Murad Acne Body Wash 
I got this when Gothamista recommended it for, well, body acne, duh. It’s expensive, as all Murad products are, at $80ish for 250ml of product. However, I only use it on my back, chest and butt, so I managed to make it last from March, which is an impressive 7 months. I think that’s a nice comfortable stretch, no? Also, it really does work. I used to get painful cystic acne on my back and other smaller pimples on my chest, and they went away after a week of using this on alternate days. I bought this one at the Sephora 20% off sale earlier this year, and I just repurchased its replacement during last month’s Sephora 20% off sale. If I do happen to use it up more quickly, it goes for about $5-$10 cheaper on Lazada, so there’s that.

DHC Suncut Q10 Ex Gel 
This was the first new sunscreen I bought after I got into skincare this year. Prior to that, I’d been using the SK-II one, which I wrote about in my September Empties post. At first, I was slightly unhappy with this sunscreen, because I thought it left my skin feeling a little greasy, so I went and bought lots of Biore mattifying sunscreens after that. But then, my skin decided to turn from oily to dry, and now I love this sunscreen for its moisturising properties. It also spreads well, which is more than I can say for the SK-II version. It doesn’t leave a white cast, and I noticed that this is a physical sunscreen (can’t pick out the chemical ones from the ingredient list), so that’s amazing. I just repurchased one last Friday, because I can’t bear to use my mattifying sunscreens on my dry cheeks.

Belif The True Cream – Aqua Bomb (Deluxe Sample) 
I already finished a full size of this in September. It’s still a great light moisturiser. The only problem is that it’s Belif, so it’s like $1/ml, which – whutt. Since my skin transformed from oily to dry about six months ago, I mostly used this in the day, or just on my forehead and neck. I’ve totally run out of the Aqua Bomb now, but I’m testing the new Water Bomb in its place. So far, the Water Bomb is more, well, watery, but it doesn’t seem to absorb into my skin as quickly. It’s also cheaper, because it’s $58 for 75ml. Once I decide which I prefer, I’ll repurchase that.

Bioderma Sebium Purifying Cleansing Micelle Solution (Micellar Water) 
I bought this after watching Stephanie Nicole’s skincare video around April this year. It’s amazing how this feels gentle on the skin, but somehow manages to remove heavy foundation and eye makeup (well, maybe not Heroine Make mascara, but whatevs). However, I think it’s pretty pricey compared to other brands’ versions. Also, I now prefer oil cleansing over micellar water for my first cleanse, so I was just using this for cleaning my neck at night, HAHA. Anyway, I have like 40% of a large bottle of Garnier micellar water to use up, so I’ll repurchase this once I’m completely out, then. I heard the Hydrabio and Sensibio ones are good too, so I might try one of those instead.

White soft paraffin 
I got this from my doctor when I went in for my extremely dry and chapped lips. It really helped ease the pain and it’s a good occlusive layer that doesn’t murder my lips like lanolin does. I have no idea where to get a replacement – I’m sure there’s a markup if I repurchase this at the clinic – but in the meantime, I’m using a Vaseline Lip Therapy over my existing Vichy Aqualia Thermal lip balm, which does the job.


Meh = won’t repurchase, but I’d use it again if someone gifted it to me 

The Ordinary “Buffet” 
This was in my Twelve Pans of Christmas for r/MakeupRehab, so I was pleased to finish it. I didn’t really see any effects with this serum, and it also smarted slightly if my skin was especially sensitive that day. I do like the texture, though, because it’s a viscous clear liquid that is slightly sticky when I finish patting it in. I know, I’m crazy for enjoying sticky toners and serums, but I just feel that they are more substantial than watery toners, and they give my face a nice chok chok effect. I’m currently testing Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream in place of this.

Phasilab Ice Cream 
I’ve been using this for the last, oh I dunno, five years? Ever since I started getting Brazilian waxes at Strip, basically. I do like the slightly runny, creamy texture, and the cooling sensation it leaves. It definitely soothes my skin down under, and also the more public parts of my skin like the inside of my elbows, whenever I get a heat rash or whatever. However, I’ve realised that over $50 for 50ml of product is too expensive. The product doesn’t keep well for longer than 6 months, especially in my non-air-conditioned room, and I don’t use it up that quickly. So I’m just gonna skip this. I’ve replaced it with Kiku and there hasn’t been any adverse effects so far.

Clinique All About Eyes Rich 
I got this in the Rich version because I felt that my eyes were dry and crepey whenever I put on undereye concealer (NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer). It hasn’t shown any actual effects, and I still have milia, and it looks like I have even more milia now, so… Not repurchasing, and I’m idly shopping around for a new eye cream that is not grossly overpriced. At the moment I just use my Belif Water Bomb and I don’t bother with concealer anymore, so it’s great.


Nope = won’t repurchase, won’t use it on my face even if you paid me 

Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream Moisturiser 
I wrote about this in my last Empties post, because I’d bought two of these on Stephanie Nicole’s recc. I managed to finish this by using it on my chest and butt. It works well there, but I’m not spending $30 for 50ml of chest-and-butt moisturiser.

Mizon Multi Function Formula All In One Snail Repair Cream 
I expected to love this, but I was wrong. It was actually rave reviews for the Snail Recovery Gel Cream that I’d been reading, not this one. It looked creamy, but was very watery, and it absorbed quickly with no trace, i.e. my skin was just as dry once I’d put it on. Also it would smart slightly if my skin was sensitive so it was altogether an unpleasant experience. I finished this on my body, too.


Aaand that's it for October! I'm proud of myself for managing to use up these things, even the less pleasant ones. I can't wait to get rid of more of the stuff I currently dislike, so I can try to find new ones that I'll love.