September & October 2020 Empties

 OK, so Diwali is done. I have eaten all the sweets I can manage, the stomach has calmed. Time to focus on the empties and realize that I haven't posted in 2 months. 

September Empties 

Nivea Milk Delights Face Wash

INR 165 for 100 ml

I want to like this one. Feels gentle on the skin for upto 30-40 seconds after which there is a burning sensation. Since I always follow the 60 second rule while washing my face, it burns my skin every single time I use it. Also I loved the teardrop shape of the bottle until I reached the bottom. There was no way to make this one stand upside down to get at all the product at the bottom. Not repurchasing. 

Ayur Deep Pore Cleansing Milk

INR 230 for 1 litre

I have been using this one for well over 20 years now. Sasta, sundar, tikaoo. Always keep circling back to this one. Micellar water's got nothing on you! 

Parachute Body Lotion

INR 199 for 250 ml

Decent enough. Not repurchasing because I want to try other variants. 

Random Hotel Shower Gels X2

I have an entire army of these & while they don't take up too much space, I get anxiety attacks just looking at them. Will try & use up as many as possible by end of year. 

Decluttering 

Island Kiss Foxy Red Head Lip Moisturiser Stain

INR 399 for 14 gm

Bought this one on a whim. The colour is intense but it's not moisturising enough & I'm SO over shiny lip stains. It's organic & all that jazz if you are interested. Fun Fact(trying to imitate Sheldon): Did you know that this is manufactured by the same company that makes Astaberry skincare products? I just cannot imagine an affordable skincare firm making such an expensive lip stain. Can you?

October

Vaadi Herbals Enchanting Rose Soap X2

INR 46 for 75 gm

I hated the attar type smell of this one. Glad to see it gone. 

Acetone

INR 115 for 400 ml 

My Man Friday. Can get rid of the most stubborn glitters in a single flick. 

Good Vibes Rose Hip Face Serum

INR 215 for 10 ml

I actually love this one(surprise, surprise). It moisturises well without making my skin greasy despite containing oil. Just might repurchase 

Lux Jasmine Bloom Soap

INR 5 for 29 gm

More from the hotel stash. 

Tresemme Shampoo

INR 3 for 7.5 ml

Getting rid of sachets as well

Fiama Shampoo

Fiama Conditioner X2

Fiama Body Lotion

Hotel stash going down, mood going up. Let's see how much I can get rid of by end of the year.

Foreo Luna Dupe Review

 I've been lemming after the Foreo Luna from at least 5 years now. But as a vetran skincare enthusiast I've bought various other face cleaning brushes or their dupes like the Clarissonic Mia & Neutrogena Wave to name a few. While some didn't particularly work wonders others just left a bitter taste & a vague sense of regret. I wanted to be sure that this one worked as well as claimed & not just immediately but even a couple of years from now. In my quest I have devoured every single review of the product that I could lay my hands on. But even with the continuous positive reviews I balked at the super high price tag. Since I've been using affordable, cheaper makeup products from sometime with no negative impact I started thinking just how bad could a dupe of the Foreo be. After some research I zeroed in on Aliexpress & bought this product. 

I've been using it since the last year and a half & I think time is ripe for a review. The product is simply called Silicone Electric Facial Cleanser & the model I picked up is called J1. It retails for 450 INR with free shipping which I thought was decent even if the product turns out to be a dud. It comes with a charger & an instruction manual. One side has the silicone brush to wash your face & the other side has concentric circles which can be used to massage. One definite improvement over the original design is that it comes with a tiny stopper to close the charging point while using. My overactive imagination always seemed to think that it was a disaster waiting to happen with a open charging point & water. Also it hardly makes any noise while using - just a dull hum. 

In the first month of usage I only used this on alternate nights so my skin could get used to it. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it cleaned my skin, especially my neck where tiny amounts of makeup remain despite double cleansing. After the first month I used it once everyday for 6 months straight & I didn't have to charge it even once. I could notice a clear difference after just 10 days of using it. Not only was my face cleaner, the blackheads on my nose disappeared and my skin was glowing like it had been freshly exfoliated. I was impressed & continued using it.

After 6-8 months, I realised that my skin was breaking out a lot more. And the pimples were not healing in 3, 5 or even 10 days. They wouldn't come to a head or even be treated with benzyl peroxide or tea tree oil or boroline! I was naturally worried & started researching some more. Apparently such stubborn pimples that don't want to leave your skin are a side-effect of over exfoliation. Who knew! I stopped using the face cleaning machine & even routine exfoliation until the pimples healed (which took forever)

Fast forward to 6 more months - I continue to use it but sparingly. Also I steer clear if I have even 1 tiny pimple. I'm in my mid 30's and I think twice in about a week to 10 days is sufficient. I love the way my skin feels post usage but also realize that it's not for daily use. I don't think anyone needs that kind of industrial strength exfoliation on a daily basis. On the days that I'm not using it I wash my face using the 60 second rule. My skin feels as clean as it does when I use the machine. 

Yays

Cleans skin really well.

Can be used to massage oil/cream on face as well.

One charge lasts you forever.

Cost effective. 

Nays

Not for daily use & definitely not twice in a day. I wish this was mentioned somewhere.

Mascara Inventory 2020

 Completely forgot I was doing this series ;let's just blame 2020. Anyway here goes my list of mascaras. I have 3 currently but I'm actively using only the Maybelline one. Let's start 

Maybelline Collosal Waterproof Mascara

Bought this from Amazon and I can't get rid of the niggling feeling that it is a fake. I have used several tubes of this mascara but something about this one feels off. I can't quite put my finger on it but something doesn't add up. Almost done. 

Kiss Beauty Telescopic Waterproof Mascara

I've been buying super affordable (read cheap) makeup from a few years now. While I simply LOVE all the colour cosmetics(lipsticks, eyeshadows, blush, nail paints) the one area I'm consistently disappointed with is mascaras. Yet to use. Fingers crossed. 

MN Curl Fix Mascara

Bought this a while back but it's completely dried out. Into the bin

MN Eyebrow Pencil in Brown & Black

I rarely use eyebrow pencils & didn't have any at all. These ones came free with the MN mascara. Since I don't have any it didn't make sense to create a separate category ; I'll just list it down here.

As always, reccos are welcome. Cheers 

Purplle Haul

 OK so this one's been sitting in my drafts from forever. By the time I got around to posting it Purplle seems to have had 3 different sales already 😂I have a hard time resisting sales especially the Purplle one. I bought a whole bunch of products I didn't even need back in February in the I ❤️Beauty sale. This time around I was wondering how to deal with the sale when I saw that a lot of offers that didn't even make sense to me. My brain finds it easier to process things like Buy 1 Get 1 etc over Shop for 500 & get 150 off. What is this even? Are you getting a good enough discount? God only knows or probably the math geek does. I definitely don't. Since I'm currently on a "Low Buy" this haul was not even supposed to happen.

I was running out of nail polish remover & was intending to buy only that & how supremely gorgeous are these ones from NY Bae! Anyhow one thing lead to another & here we are

NY Bae SkinFIDENT Erasin' Dual Tone Nail Lacquer Remover in Hibiscus Gin & Blueberry Vodka

INR 68 for 120 ml each

Can we take a minute to appreciate these beauties? I have never seen a 2 toned nail paint remover before & fell in love instantly. Yet to use.

Alps Goodness Dragonfruit Brightening Facial Kit

INR 100 for 34 gm

I do all my beauty treatments at home including facials and wanted to try this one next. I wish it was packaged in tubes instead of sachets. 

Good Vibes Wine Facial Kit

INR 200 for 40 gm

I love wine facials & have tried the kits from pretty much every brand offering them. Fingers crossed.

Rich feel Skin Logix Advanced Night Repair Serum

INR 135 for 25 gm

I didn't particularly need this... It was just sitting there in my wishlist since forever. Felt bad to just leave it there. Ah well.

Alps Goodness Shea Butter Shower Gel

INR 109 for 200 ml

Again something I don't need right know. God knows I have enough but got it anyway.

Are any of you doing a Low Buy or No Buy? What are you doing to keep from shopping? Let me know. 

August 2020 Empties

 

O'range Coconut Oil

INR 219 for 500 ml

Like any self respecting South Indian I love using coconut oil for my hair. This one's manufactured in Thrissur, Kerala & is pretty darn good. Glad I got it 

Fiama Shampoo x2

30 ml each

I have an entire army of these small toiletries which I have picked up from hotels. Trying to use up a few as we won't be travelling anytime soon. 

Clean & Clear Aqua Splash Face Wash

INR 175 for 150 ml

I have used this from years & still love it. So glad they decided to move away from the medicinal smell of the original face wash. 

Fiama Gel Bar Soap in Blackcurrant and Bearberry

INR 65 for 125 gm

I'm loving these. Will probably get the shower gel next time. 

Aroma Magic Vitamin C Skin Lightening Gel

INR 350 for 100 gm

Decent but not repurchasing. Will try to DIY something more potent. 

Dexe Lip Balm in Strawberry 

Love these. Still have a couple more to go through. Meanwhile they seem to have disappeared from Amazon. This is precisely why I always stock up. 

Baidyanath Oli Oil

INR 135 for 300 ml

This is truly a multi - purpose product. I have used it as a body moisturizer, massage oil & even a makeup remover. Works well. I'm just disappointed that it's not a "ayurvedic" formulation as claimed... It's made up of 70 % light liquid paraffin. Still have 1 more bottle of this because I clearly don't know what it's like to buy just one item. Sigh! 

Moha Herbal Lip Balm x2

10 gm each

I HATE this product. It's always in a semi molten state which makes using it hard af. It hardens slightly in winters but it's not moisturising enough for the cold weather. In any case I would have preferred if it came with a slant tip to make application easier. Also the brand seems to have zeroed in on a truly sickening scent of pineapple to flavour this. Why in hell! Since I hate throwing out products I'm using it as a cuticle butter & it works remarkably well. Still have 1 more tube of this. 

Discards 

Romantic Beauty Color Stay Matte Lipstick in 06

3.8 gm

I love these lipsticks. They have the most comfortable formula I've ever used in lipsticks & they also happen to be the cheapest. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to take this with me to the beach. Bad idea! Some moisture seems to have gone in & my lipstick is ruined. 

Kiss Beauty BB Moisturizer Lip Gloss in 5

Another liquid lipstick I loved at first sight. The doe foot applicator just broke after a couple of uses. Have too many lipsticks to try and resuscitate this one. 

Maybelline Colorsensational in Bronze Orange

Pretty ancient & I haven't used it in the longest time 

Streetwear Color Rich Ultra Moist Lipstick in Pink Persuasion

Same as above. Also Streetwear is not a brand I buy anymore 

Pink Magic Lip Gloss

Smells chemically & this shade of baby pink will only suit supremely fair skintones. 

Unbranded lip liner

Don't even remember when I got this. Adios! 

July Empties 2020

 Running late... but here we are

Positive Root Therapy Kalonji Oil

INR 599 for 200 ml

I first started using Kalonji oil to treat a couple of bald patches I developed post pregnancy. It worked great but most people were onto it which hiked up prices like crazy. This one's pretty much useless. Did nothing + it didn't even have the smell of Kalonji. This time around I'm being all atmanirbhar and DIYing my own. Will let you know how it goes. 

Good Vibes Watermelon Gel

INR 40 for 10 gm

Okayish. Not repurchasing. 

Oriflame Roya Velvet Firming Eye Contour Cream

INR 699 for 15 gm

I rarely use eye cream, just don't think they work like they should. This was part of a set I got a while back. Glad to see it gone. The gorgeous smell is the only good thing about this entire range. Honestly, not one good product. Bah! 

The Face Shop Jeju Aloe Ice Gel

INR 500 for 300 ml

This has got to be my favourite aloe vera gel of all time. Don't be fooled by the "ice" in the name (it's not cooling/cold or whatever they were going for). I recently started reading labels on products & this one mentions silicone as an ingredient. In two minds since then. Let's just finish my stash & then decide on repurchase. 

Patanjali Saundarya Multani Mitti Face Scrub

INR 75 for 60 gm

This is actually a foaming face wash with gritty particles. I love using this as my second cleanse especially when wearing a full face of makeup. I already have a backup. 

Khadi Organique Pure Rose Water

INR 125 for 210 ml

Cost effective toner. Again I have a backup. 

Nivea Pearl & Beauty Roll-on Deodorant

INR 185 for 50 ml

Good for autumns and winters. This simply does not work for the Indian summer. Have a backup of this as well (I truly dislike running out of things) 

O'range Mild & Clear Shower Gel

INR 140 for 250 ml

Like these shower gels from Grof6ers. Just didn't like the smell of this variant. 

Gokul Santol Pure Sandalwood Soap

INR 35 for 75 gm

Something I bought just to qualify for free shipping on Amazon. So-so. Still have 2 more of these. 

Eyetex Dazzler Nail Polish Remover

INR 63 for 27 ml

Bought this because I couldn't find my beloved blue heaven one anywhere. Works okay. Will probably not be buying again. 

Did you finish any products this month? 

Makeup Inventory 2020 - Compacts

 Let's hop on to the compacts now.

Maybelline White  Superfresh in Coral

INR 150 for 8 gm

I've hit pan quite some time back but this product refuses to die. Using diligently but will have to stop come winter. 

Oriflame Pure Colour Pressed Powder in Light Medium 

INR 350 for 20 gm (bought on BOGO) 

Using one of these from a while. I don't love it, I don't hate it. Will probably not be repurchasing again. I find Oriflame makeup products to be very mediocre. 

ADS Olive Compact in Shade 7

INR 220 for 50 gm

I should have checked the size of this thing before ordering. 50 gm is insane - it'll last me for 5 years I suppose.

Total number of products - 4

Number of products I would like to own - 2 (normal sized ones)