December Empties

My final empties of 2017! These don't count toward my Reverse Rouge Challenge, which sucks, because December was a great month in terms of finishing products!

November Empties

I've fallen a little behind on posting due to the holidays - they were great for me, and I hope yours were wonderful as well! I'm ready to start the new year with more posts - I've already gotten back into a routine over on Instagram. Thankfully, I had already taken photos of November's empties, and just need to share my thoughts!

October Empties

Another month, more empties! I'm really happy that I'm sticking to getting a monthly empties post in, instead of hoarding trash for months at a time. As always, lots and lots of skincare. This month has a decent amount of hair and body care as well. I go through makeup less frequently, but there's a couple of items that I finished up in October. Read on if you're interested in some quick thoughts on the products I finished.

September Empties

True to my word in my August empties post, I'm back with September's empties! It makes me happy to get rid of my literal bag of garbage aka empties underneath my vanity more than 3 times a year. As you can see, I go through skincare items much more frequently than makeup items thanks to single use sheet masks. I haven't been sheet masking as often as I'd like...I need to get back into the habit! (...because I have an entire drawer stuffed with masks!)

August Empties

Every time I tell myself I'm going to do an empties post, I hoard a bunch of garbage and then I forget. When I have way too much garbage, I get fed up and toss it out instead of doing a quick post. Thankfully, I caught myself at the beginning of this month! Took a photo, tossed everything out, and started a new bag for empties. Here's all the stuff I finished up in August!

Empties - Sheet Masks

More empties from January-April - sheet masks! It looks like a lot, but I still have a ton more hanging around in my drawers...sometimes after work and the gym, I'm too tired to deal with a mask. Which doesn't make too much sense, I know, but if I sit down with the mask on, I'm not likely to get back up to finish the rest of my skincare! But here is a quick review of all of the masks I used in the beginning of the year.

Recent Repurchases

As much as I love buying a ton of NEW stuff, I get a lot of satisfaction from repurchasing items. It means I've finished something, and I don't have to think about finding a new product to fill a hole in my stash. A lot of my staples are skincare, as I go through that much more than I do any makeup products. Here's a few of my recent repurchases!

Mini Memebox Haul! (Featuring illi Cleansing Oil!)

I'm really trying to be better with my spending this year, which means either destashing products and buying new things with that money, or only replacing items. My Banila Clean It Zero cleansing balm was about finished, so I decided to pick up a new cleansing oil. I decided on the illi Total Aging Care Cleansing Oil. I had heard good things over from Fifty Shades of Snail, and I'll basically buy anything that Fiddy recommends because she has good taste. This oil is currently out of stock on Memebox, but I'm sure it'll be back!

The oil comes in a pump bottle, which is much more convenient than the Banila balm I had been using, which you needed to scoop out of a tub. It's a fairly light, runny oil. I massaged two pumps worth onto my face, rinsed, and then followed up with my usual second cleanser (Cosrx Low ph Good Morning Gel Cleanser - what a mouthful!) The illi oil had a light, herbal yet floral scent (I am new to hanbang items, but this was not as medicinal as I had feared!) I was able to rinse off the majority of the oil with just water, and after the follow up cleanser, my face was super soft. Unfortunately, it was not strong enough to take off my eyeliner - Kat von D Tattoo liner. The Banila wasn't able to crack the defenses of that liner or the Inglot gel liner I use, so I'm not overly disappointed. Overall, I'm happy with my new cleansing oil!

Since free shipping for Memebox is $35, and I HATE having to pay for shipping (the oil was $25!), I added on the Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch packet in, since I've been wanting to get them for a while. They're definitely an add on item at $5, so if you need to make free shipping...but I digress. I rarely have monster pus filled zits, but I hear these are like the magic cure. I have yet to try them on a big pimple, but I have high hopes!

...I also got the Etude House Lovely Etti Hair Band, because it is adorable and now my skincare and sheet mask time is a little more whimsical. As a bonus, Memebox sent over a Tosowoong Pure Aloe Mask. They must secretly be keeping tabs on me, because I love the Tosowoong sheet masks! The Aloe mask smelled very fresh and green, like a cucumber (or a freshly whacked off aloe leaf, I suppose, never encountered one!) My face felt fresh and plump afterwards, so no complaints here.

It's strange how such a small box with necessities (okay, the REASON for the purchase was a 'necessity') can bring so much joy. I look forward to using the new cleansing oil more, with my new kitty ears as well!

Rose Rose Shop Skincare Haul!

Remember when I posted my last big Rose Rose Shop haul and said that was the only large skincare haul I'd need this year? Well, I lied. I recently have gotten super into my new multi-step skincare routine, and wanted to add to it. I hopped on to Asian Beauty subreddit and scoured their Holy Grail thread for the summer and picked out what I thought sounded like a good fit for me. I'm hoping to incorporate these new items with the products I've always used (Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel, I love you so!) along with the newer products I mentioned last month.

I ordered the Too Cool For School Pumpkin Sleeping Pack samples, which includes a set of ten. I heard this product mentioned all the time, so I wanted to give it a shot in sample form. Rose Rose Shop also included some other foil samples - I got two of each of these pictured.

I'm almost out of the Vitamin C serum I'm using (Ole Henriksen Truth Serum) so I decided to pick up the OST C20 Vitamin C Serum. It's gotten plenty of good reviews, although there are concerns about it being unstable. I figured I'd give it a shot to see if i like it. 

The Skinfood Strawberry Black Sugar Wash Off Mask supposedly smells amazing and is a great exfoliating mask. I also picked up the Skinfood Peach Sake Pore Serum as it's been described as good for oily skin.

I wanted to try a new BB cream, so I selected the Mizon Snail Recovery BB Cream based off of favorable reviews. I'm currently using a Skin79 BB cream, and I hope I like this just as much!

The Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence is something I hope to use to reduce redness in my face. There are concerns about preservatives, but I'll be storing this one in the fridge once I open it. I also hope to use the Tosowoong Propolis Sparkle Ampoule to calm my skin when it needs it. 

The COSRX AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid was bought because I'm really loving the COSRX BHA that I have right now. Hopefully, it'll help me get a jump start on any fine lines, as well as keep my skin in check come hormonal acne time. 

I got the Innisfree Green Tea Mineral Mist because why not, maybe I just want to spray my face with stuff and feel fresh.

Now on to the super fun portion of the haul - sheet masks! Each of the pictures will show one, but I bought these in multiples. Etude House sheet masks were the first ones I ever tried, and I really like them. I picked up Tea Tree, Snail, Pomegranate, and Vita Complex. The only one I haven't tried is the Vita Complex, and I'm excited to see if my face likes it!

Innisfree It's Real Squeeze Mask Sheets in both Tea Tree and Pomegranate. I really like the Etude House masks in Tea Tree and Pomegranate, so I wanted to try these. I also picked up Nature Republic Real Nature Mask Sheets in Green Tea and Royal Jelly. I read about these on an AsianBeauty thread about favorite sheet masks, and wanted to give them a try.

I struggle with large pores, so the TonyMoly I'm Real Red Wine sheet mask sounded like a perfect fit! I also got a TonyMoly Intense Care Snail Hydrogel Mask since i have yet to dive into hydrogel masks, and who doesn't love snail? Last but not least, I picked up Tosowoong Pure Sheet Masks in Propolis and Green Tea, off another suggestion thread in AsianBeauty.

I am SO excited to open all these and use them! Unfortunately it'll be a slow process, testing each one and seeing how my skin reacts. But just receiving the box and opening it was fantastic! I chose the cheaper shipping option that Rose Rose Shop offered and it was overnighted via DHL to me - the long wait for Korean orders is so agonizing, I'm glad I got to skip it! Let me know what you think, which products you want to hear more about, and if you have any suggestions for next time!