April 2021 Empties

 Time for another round of empties

Clean and Clear Blackhead Clearing Daily Scrub

INR 120 for 80g

This one lasted forever. I've taken to cutting open tubes of late & when I did, I discovered that there was enough product to last me  a long time. Pretty OK product. I have one more tube of this. 

Alps Goodness Papaya Face Mask

INR 99 for 29g

Thank God this one finished. I always buy products with papaya & then can't stand the scent of synthetic papaya. I think I have one more face mask from Alps Goodness 

O'range Rose & Chamomile Shower Gel

INR 135 for 250 ml

Loving these shower gels from grofers. I picked up a lot of these recently. Never running out of it. 

Vaseline Cocoa Glow Moisturizing Cream

INR 230 for 250 ml

I have several half finished creams lying around. Trying to finish using all of them. This one's OK for summer. Does not work for me in winters 

Fiama Body Lotion X2

30 ml each

Still using these. Bottomless pit, I tell you 

Decluttering my lipsticks this month

ADS Long lasting lipstick X5

Awesome lipsticks. Only throwing away because they are pretty old

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick #120 Cutting Edge

Dupe of MAC Rebel. Love it!

Blue Heaven Artisto Velvet Matte Lipstick #410

Blue Heaven Splash Lip Colour #306 Pink Rush

Blue Heaven Gossip Matte Lipstick #12

All of these are extremely drying. I haven't tried them more than twice. Never purchasing ever again.

Elle 18 Matte Color Pops in P26 Prom Pink & P21 Pink Kiss

Amazing. I wish these came in smaller quantities. Who can finish using 4.3 gm of product in 2 years?

ADS Velvet Matte Lipstick

This is part of a set. No names /numbers, absolutely nothing written on it. This piece arrived damaged & I've never used it.

ADS Minion Matte Lipstick #10

Just bought for the packaging. Okayish 

TYA Matte Lipstick #11

Amazingly pigmented. Pretty decent 

Insight Ultra-thin Second Skin Long Wear Foundation

 

One thing I've consistently been disappointed with while buying affordable makeup is definitely foundation. For some reason it's manufactured in only 3 shades & all of them seem to be designed for far eastern skin complexions. I'm pretty fair but even then nothing seems to suit. I should know - I have tried every single one of them. 

Recently while browsing amazon I came across this Insight Ultra-thin Second Skin Long Wear Foundation. The shade seemed to match & I bought Shade 04 Warm Nude. It comes in a glass bottle with a plastic dropper (yay! I've had enough of those plastic wands) & the bottle is housed in a cardboard box with all details mentioned on it. A 20 ml bottle retails for INR 160. Expires in January 2024.

It feels utterly weightless when you apply it & it gives a nice, satin finish. The coverage is sheer-medium & you can build it up with a second layer. Although that would affect the whole "Ultra-thin" claim. The finish is not matte & your skin appears to have a slight sheen to it. Apt for summers when you don't want too much on your skin. This particular shade oxidises on my skin after about an hour (Drat! Just when you get a perfect match) It just gets one shade deeper but doesn't look too bad. Oh! & it's not waterproof as claimed. 

Yays

Ultra-thin, they actually mean it. I've never used anything this light weight before 

Gives a nice satin effect with sheer - medium coverage 

Love the bottle design 

Affordable 

Nays

This shade oxidises on my skin. Not sure about other shades or other skins for that matter. 

Eraser Soap Review

 Having oily, acne-prone skin; I'm always on the look out for products that will help combat it. About a month before Deepavali, I was breaking out like crazy. And I couldn't seem to single out the cause. If felt like everything aggravated my skin. At my wits end I finally reached out to Eraser soap. Truth be told I wasn't expecting much.

INR 65 for 75g 

Eraser Anti-acne & Pimple Soap comes packaged in a cardboard box with the soap inside it. All the details regarding it are printed on the outer cardboard box. It's manufactured by Ipsa Labs.

As with all ayurvedic products in India, the product gets away with mentioning only the key ingredients. Which is Cinnamon Bark extract and it form 1% of the composition. The remaining 99% disappears into the mysterious Base QS. Cinnamon Bark Extract's properties are antimicrobial, antioxidant, astringent, emollient, humectant, skin conditioning, skin protecting & perfuming. 

The product claims to act against bacterial proliferation, inhibit inflammation, regulate sebum production, check formation of free fatty acids & protect skin from free radicals. 

The TFM content of the soap is 70% which puts in Grade 2 soaps according to the Bureau of Indian Standards. Probably not the best thing to put on your skin but since I'll rinse it off in less than 2 minutes it shouldn't matter. 

The soap is oval shaped & cream in colour. It's scent reminds me of baby soap - very soothing, barely there scent. It lathers very well & feels like a foaming face wash on my skin. It's also extremely drying & sucks up all the moisture in my skin. (Definitely not for dry skin type) The directions of usage want you to wash your face 2-3 times with this. I used it once a day at night because of the drying nature of the product. I figured it was okay as I would be going in with my skincare less than a minute after washing my face.

After a week of usage I noticed that my existing acne dried out but it did not stop new ones from appearing. At the end of 2 weeks, I was still getting pimples but they would go away sooner. 3 weeks is when I hit the jackpot of a completely acne-free face. I'm pretty happy with the product & I'm continuing to use it. Also, a little goes a long way. It's lasted forever & a half for me. Way longer than any face wash.

I was so happy with the results that I bought a backup & a different variant which claims to remove acne marks. Fingers crossed.

Yays

Stands true to claims. Acne actually did reduce.

Affordable

Nays

No idea about what goes into it... Not that I'm a chemist who can decipher why each ingredient exists.

Grade 2 soap & hence a little harsh for facial skin.

I'm baffled with the claim of checking formation of free fatty acids. They are important for healthy cell function as well as for improving the look & feel of the skin. Why would you claim that your product will do away with it altogether?

Overall, a pretty decent product. Go for it if you suffer from recurring bouts of acne. Cheers! 

March 2021 Empties

 Hi all. Here I am with my monthly empties again. I'm cutting short my No Buy this month & I couldn't be happier. I seem to do better on a Low Buy comparatively. With an all out No Buy I'm attracted to things I wouldn't even be interested in before. Human psychology is intriguing, at the very least. 

NY Bae SkinFIDENT Serum Radiant As Show Stopper

These are poorly formulated, don't do much for me. Just trying to finish what I've already bought. Still 3 of these to go through. Sigh! 

My Nail Enamel in Clear 9ml

I picked this up from More & I'm pretty happy with it. Will probably be buying after we start stepping out like normal again. 

Alps Goodness Charcoal Detoxifying Face Mask 29gm 

Pretty decent. This has got to be my favourite from this range. Not repurchasing. 

Aqua Shui Moisturiser

Sample. Glad it's gone. 

L'Oréal Pro keratin Liss Unlimited Shampoo 1.5 litres

I'm a big advocate of buying regular products in HUGE sizes. Not only is the cost lower, you will also be cutting down on the plastic pollution. Been using this from close to 2 years now. Love it to bits. The only reason I'm not repurchasing is because there's a lot of fake stuff floating online. Will buy once I'm able to go out again. 

Declutter & Spring cleaning 

ELF Palette

One of my first palettes. Got a lot of use out of it. One of the reasons I buy cheaper makeup is so that I can get rid of it when it expires without guilt. I'm terrible about throwing away stuff & an over-thinker to boot. 

Essence Shimmer Brick

This was the first highlighter I ever bought. Love using it underneath my blush & as eyeshadow too. Will be replacing this soon.

Are you decluttering this spring? 

and Feb Empties 2021

 Like I mentioned last time February's flew by so quickly that I didn't even post my empties. Here I am with empties from Jan & Feb

Alps Goodness Shea Butter Shower Gel

200 ml

Decent enough. I'm not digging the scent. Will probably be buying a different variant in future. 

Gram flour

500 gm

I'm a huge believer in the power of washing my face with gram flour ever since it helped control a bout of adult acne 10 years ago. Since then I've incorporated it into my skincare routine. Sometimes I wash my face with a mixture of gram flour and fuller's earth; other times I just like to use it on it's own. Either way I get through this quickly. Will be repurchasing forever. 

Tulips Cotton Pads 50 pieces

Since the past 6 months I've been using super soft flannels to cleanse my face instead of cotton & this pack of 50 cotton rounds lasted forever & a half for me. Pretty decent. 

NY Bae Nail Lacquer Remover

30 ml

Average nail polish remover. Nothing exciting. 

Fiama Shampoo 30 ml

Fiama Body Lotion 30 ml

Why are these not getting done with? God knows I've been using these a lot. Trying to get rid of all minis from hotels etc

February 

Liril Berry Blast Body Wash

250 ml

I hated this one. Smells super sweet & I constantly felt like I was lathering up with mixed fruit jam! Never again 

Good Vibes Havana Mango Hydrating Gel

Good Vibes Aloe Vera Gel

10 ml each

I'm so glad I had the sense to buy the smallest size available for these gels. They are okay, definitely not the best & I will not be repurchasing when I finally finish all of them. Why in hell did I buy so many! 

Alps Goodness Cucumber Soothing Face Mask

29 gm

I like to use a clay mask every other day in summer. Like all of Purplle's in house brands, these are pretty average. I like the fact that they have tiny sizes available. Even if you don't like the product you will not be stuck with it forever. 1 down, 3 more to go

Maliao Rose Gold Elixir Face Serum

15 ml

Where do I begin with this one? As you can probably tell, this is a dupe of Farsali Rose Gold Elixir. When have I ever not liked a dupe & so bought this immediately. Its a bright yellow oil with gold flakes (really? At 200 bucks!). This is one of my pet peeves - why use gold/silver flakes in skincare? I strongly believe that it will aggravate acne. I used this on my neck since it was too heavy for my face. Smells like oil with no discernable scent & it stains. Who would add colorants to a leave on skin product? Stay away. 

Fiama Body Lotion 30 ml

Random Hotel Body Lotion

Seemingly endless supply.

Discards

Profusion Eyeshadow Palette

Bought this ages ago & loved it initially. Haven't reached for it in a long time

Lip balm

Super waxy, does not moisturise & smells of castor oil. Into the bin. 

Habit tracker for New Year Resolutions

 Since I had a couple of makeup resolutions this year I decided to use a habit tracker. Normally I don't have patience with sitting & colouring different blocks every single day. I did the only thing I could & moved it to my phone & replaced the colours with smilies. So much easier 

Sunscreen - This was the easiest thing for me. I've used sunscreen every single day since I was 15 & this just felt like getting back to routine. All I had to do was keep my sunscreen up front so I didn't have to hunt for it. 23/31 days

Eyeliner - I struggled with this one initially but now I can draw a neat line, close to my upper lash line in under a minute. 23/31 days

Blush - I used my cream & liquid blushes this month as they will be the first to expire. I'm surprised by how easy this was to master. In just a few days I went from clown cheeks to barely there I'm blushing from within glow. Practice does make perfect after all. 19/31 days

No Buy - The hardest thing for me. I steered clear of all shopping apps & was repeating "I have enough" like a mantra. It did help that I made a makeup inventory at the end of last year. It's easy to lull yourself with 'I don't have that many just a few here & there' but it does make a difference when you see them all together. However I saw a couple of good deals while I was ordering groceries & I really struggled with letting them go. I always stock up on face wash and body washes when they are on sale & this felt like wasting a good opportunity. (You can take the girl out of India but you can't take the Indianess out of the girl) It's taken an iron will & the realization that I have enough to last forever to stop stocking up. 31/31 days

I will be adding using an eyelash curler to these in February. Baby steps. How are your resolutions doing? 

Monthly Empties - December 2020

 Last empties of the year or the first first empties post of the new year; depending on how you look at it 

Lacto Calamine 60 ml

I've been using this from forever. It's a life saver for people with oily skin. The only thing I don't like is the packaging... a lot of the product gets stuck at the shoulder (?!) of the bottle. Already have several backups. 

Maybelline Super Fresh Compact 8g

I cannot tell you how happy I am to finally finish this one. It seemed to last forever & a half! 

Vayam Eladi Moisture Restoring Night Cream 30g

Vayam is an in-house brand of Purplle & they are hell bent on copying all of Kama Ayurveda's products. When have I ever not loved a dupe? I bought this immediately to test. It's a nice, rich cream which absorbs easily & dries to a matte finish. As I have oily skin, I used this only on my neck for added moisture. The problem for me is the strong smell of Elaichi.. I constantly feel like I'm applying kheer. If you can tolerate the smell of cardamom go for it. The product is great 

Good Vibes Argan Facial Oil with Silver Leaves 10 ml

After a great experience using GV Rosehip Serum I used this one with great hopes. It's thicker than the Rosehip Serum and smells like oil (meh!). It's a transparent oil with silver leaf. Silver leaf seems a bit extra - I'm not sure it adds anything to the oil other than make it aesthetically pleasing. In any case, how much silver can you possibly put in a product that costs less than 200 bucks? Again I used this only on my neck as I felt it was heavy for my oily skin + I was scared the silver leaf would aggravate acne on my face. 

Nivea Roll on Deodorant 50 ml

I don't know how many of these I bought but I seem to have an endless supply. Good enough but bored now... Looking for a change 

Pond's Cold Cream 7g

I like to use this as my first cleanse as it can melt sunscreen and makeup with great ease. 

Tresemme Shampoo sachets 7. 5ml

Finally done with sachets 

Fiama Shampoo 30 ml 

Fiama Conditioner 30 ml

These seem to be multiplying where I left them. Every time I open the drawer there seems to be more than the last time. At least I'll not run out of shampoo and conditioner during my No Buy. 

How's the new year treating you?