shiseido

Winter Skin and Hair Care Empties!

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Hello!!

After 3 years I am finally going to make another attempt with YT. I have been filming and editing these past couple of weeks so I can have videos lined up to upload and I forgot how fun it is. Especially after learning some new programs and stuff the quality of my video compared to 3 years ago has improved SOO much! I’m excited to be able to create more content and find different ways to share it with you guys in a creative way (:

So… Here is the list of empties

Batiste Dry Shampoo – Original & Floral and Flirty Blush – you guys know this is the HG of HG.

Dove Refresh + Care Volume Dry Shampoo – I don’t think that this leaves my hair as refreshed as the Batiste one but the biggest put-off for me was the heavy fragrance. I felt like I was going to suffocate or something so I had to hold my breathe while spraying it then walk into another room to rub it in that way I can breathe properly.

Neutrogena Body Clear Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel- I’m sure I have shown this in my past empties already because I’ve been using this for years.

Opal One minute Oil Treatment – Just a reoccurring product thats been a staple for years.

Basics Moist Wipes
Daiso Cleansing Tissue- Definitely reccommend and I have already repurchased 2 extra ones as back up because its something I use on a day to day basis to clean my hands and surface area after my morning routine.

The Body Shop – Honeymania Body Butter – I can’t get enough of this delicious smell! I havent repurchased this yet but when I do buy body butter, this will definitely be the scent that I will be purchasing.

The Body Shop – Tea Tree Oil Toner and Facial Wash – The toner is a bit more harsh compared to others but if you have acne prone skin and need something to really clean your face then I definitely recommend it. I have repurchased this but I did not think the facial wash was as effective as the toner so I have not repurchased that one.

Lush – Lovely Jubblies – If only there was a regular lotion that smells like this. (Please let me know if there is!) I absolutely LOVE the smell of this which was one of the main reasons why I got it. Its moisturizing but I didn’t see much of a firming effect. Maybe its because I’m still young so I won’t notice a big difference but for the price I don’t think I will be repurchasing it.

Lush – Brazened Honey Mask- These are good mask to use just so its something different from your everyday skincare routine. Its a little treat to use something fresh and cooling on you face especially during the summer because these mask needs to be refrigerated. Think twice before you buy it though! Make sure you’ll have time to use it after you purchase it because it is perishable.

Shiseido Urban Environment SPF 30 – Once again a reoccurring staple.

Sonia Kashuk Eye Makeup Remover- This is a good eye makeup removed but I have found another one thats even better (The Body Shop Camomile Eye Makeup Remover). Soo… I will  not be repurchasing this.

SKII Treatment Essence – A product that I have heard so much about in the asian community and its like the miracle essence that will change your life. I have to admit that when I first used it, it really did make a difference to my skin. I saw the suppleness and the change in recovery time but after using it for exactly a year now I don’t see the dramatic change but I have repurchased this and is still in my skincare routine.

Jeunesse Luminesce Cellular Rejuvenation Serum – The most effective serum I have used. Leaves my skin so moisturized and it definitely speeds up the recovery of my acne scars. I scar super easily so I am always on the lookout for products that can help my skin recover faster. The only downside would be the hefty price point of $100+. I have not repurchased this yet but I will eventually.

Origins Ginzing Brightening Eye Cream – This is one of those neutral products that you can always fall back to if all else fails.

If you want a indepth review of any of the following products that has not been reviewed yet then comment below and I’ll work on it!

Thank you guys so much for reading/watching

Until Next Time,
❤ Jess

Back to School Survival Kit

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Hello Lovelies!

To celebrate (not really -_-) back to school I am going to share with you my little survival kit that I carry around with me at school. I don’t retouch my makeup throughout the day so I don’t have makeup in this kit but I do have everything else that will come in handy throughout the day.

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Granola Bar – Having a snack with me is essential because it doesn’t just cure your hunger while you’re in class, it also help wake you up when you are falling asleep in class.

Blotting Paper – The only thing I need to make sure I still look somewhat presentable throughout the day is blotting paper. By just soaking up all the oil my face produces it gives me a more refreshed look without actually applying more makeup. The Clean&Clear one works the best in my opinion.

Hair Brush, Tie, Bobby Pin – Especially when the weather is warmer you never know when you need to put your hair up.

Lotion, Nail Filer – Nothing is more annoying than when your hands are super dry after you wash them or when you have that annoying chip in your nail that will bother you until its fixed (that is if you didn’t already peel it off already). Having lotion and a nail filer with you is super handy and useful.

Chapstick – Although the one I have shown here is not a Chapstick (Shiseido Shimmering Rouge) the main point is to have a lip product that is moisturizing enough that will relieve your chap lip problem. Alongside the lotion and nail flier having a chap lip but no Chapstick can annoy the crap out of me.

Pads, Tampon, and pain reliever – Kind of self explanatory. Even if you don’t need it, its always nice to have one available because you never know which on of your friends will need one. Also I would like to add a side note that I do not have a pain killer drug problem because I lost my small refillable Advil bottle so I had to use my giant bottle for photographing.

Mirror – I wear contacts so when something gets in my eye it hurts like a mother. Unlike non contact wearers where you can just rub your eye hoping that whatever got in it will get rubbed out we can’t do that unless I want to be half blind for the rest of the day. Having a mirror is always useful.

Until Next Time,

❤ Jessica

 

June Empties Skincare

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Hello Lovelies!

I got here a pretty large bag of empty containers that I am going to share with you today. These have been products that I’ve been using up in the last couple of months so I am going to make the final decision today if I will be repurchasing some of them. This will be split into two parts because theres just too many for one post so this is going to be skincare and the next post will be makeup and hair products.

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Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips – 8 Strips $6.27

As you can see this is their old packaging so I’ve had this for awhile now. To be honest I haven’t used a pore strip in a very long time, instead I have just been using a black head extractor to extract after I shower every so often. Pore strips are great because its fast and simple in removing oil build up in your pores. I have gone through countless boxes of these because you can see the white/black head being pulled out on your strip after which I find to be super satisfying when I see all the gunk I have removed from the strip.. am I weird? Anyways, I would recommend this and repurchase in the future but please keep in mind to don’t over use these or else it might do more bad than good.

 

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Pond’s White Beauty Cleansing Foam – $9.0

This product is actually from Hong Kong so the packaging is different from the US Pond’s product but I know the US has a White Beauty line as well. To me this product didn’t do anything beside being a gentle cleanser. It didn’t really remove makeup very well, it didn’t do much lightening, it just acted like a basic cleanser. I would not be repurchasing this.

 

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Magic Olive Pimpleless Serum – $8.80

I discovered this product when a Sasa sales person came up to me and my cousin and said “Wow, you have a lot of breakouts, let me recommend you some products” What a bummer to be called out on because you have bad skin. I hate buying products without doing my research first because I am always skeptical with people that are trying to sell me stuff. Since this was fairly inexpensive I listened to her suggestion and made the purchase.. this was about 4 years ago and it has been a staple skincare acne controlling product since. The sales lady told me that this is infused with chinese herbal medicine as well as tea tree oil and some other herbal treatments. It not only dries it out like other products, but it also treats it and prevents scarring. Although I think my skin has become a bit immune to it so I will probably have to move away from it for awhile after I finish my back ups but I definitely recommend this.

 

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Dior Hydra Life Creme Sorbet Pro-Jeunesse Pro-Youth Sorbet Cream ($56.00) & Eye Cream ($49.00)

Both of these products has the consistency that I like for a moisturizer and eye cream – non sticky and absorbs into the skin leaving it feeling soft and fresh feeling. Although the consistency is good, it didn’t break me out, it didn’t leave my face greasy, and it smelled very nice, I didn’t notice it doing much to my skin. It didn’t love it nor hate, so to pay this hefty amount for a product, my skin needs to really love it for me to justify a continuos repurchase. I would not discourage people to try it because I know some girlfriends that absolutely loves this stuff but I’m not sure if I will be repurchasing this again.

 

Its Shiseido time…
Until about over a year ago my main skincare products has been from Shiseido. My mom only uses Shiseido products so you can probably guess where I got the influence from. I haven’t tried a single product from them that has made me break out so I am pretty comfortable in just diving in and trying any of their products.

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Shiseido The Skincare Hydro-Nourishing Softener Lotion – $ ?? Possibly discountinued

The consistency of this comes out to be less solid than jelly but thicker than liquid. Its a great toning lotion to replenish and give your skin a restart. Unlike regular toners, this one has a little bit of moisturizing element to it. I have gone through bottles of these before exploring other options and it has been awhile since I’ve purchased this. I just googled to try and find the price point of this product and it seems like its sold out on almost every site I come across (except for amazon which is selling it for $60!! thats x2 of the normal price). If you can find it at counters or in stores then I would recommend giving this a try.

 

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Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Protective Emulsion w SPF15 Sunscreen – $54.50

I’m actually not sure why I would get this in the first place because it only has a SPF 15 but I did. I got this to use as a sunscreen because I like the consistency (if you can’t tell already, the consistency makes or breaks a product for me) and how it settles into my skin. It has a bit of a brightening effect when applied but its not a permanent long lasting whitening effect so I don’t think it does what it claims to do. I would suggest using this almost like a morning serum for you skin under your daily moisturizer/sunscreen. Its not a terrible product but its just not something that I find necessary for my morning skincare routine (especially for the price) so I would not be repurchasing this product.

 

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Shiseido Pureness pore purifying warming scrub – $24.00

The lady at the counter sold me this product persuading me that it will solve my large crater pore problems. Well, those craters are still here. It claims that it’s suppose to warm up as you scrub but I didn’t feel any warming sensation and it didn’t minimize the size of my pores either. I haven’t even finished this product yet but I find it to be so useless that I don’t really use it so it has aged itself into the trash bin. I would not be repurchasing this product.

Skincare is probably one of the things that I actually get through and finish.. along with some haircare products.  I find it really really hard to actually finish makeup, especially the powder items. Stay tune for my next post for the rest of my empties!

❤ Jessica

Current: Sun Protection

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Hello Lovelies!

With Summer in full swing now I think its only appropriate to share with you my current Sun Protection products. We should always be protecting our skin no matter the season but once the warmer season rolls around we tend to be outdoors more to enjoy the weather so its more relevant to start putting more stress on the amount of SPF you are wearing.

What I look for in my sunscreens are …
– Hydrates
– Not sticky
– Doesn’t have the sunscreen smell because I despise it
– At least SPF30 with UVA/UVB protection

Lets start off with face because this is something that should be part of your skincare routine by default.

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Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protection Cream – Face/Boby SPF 35 PA+++ 50mL- $30
This has been my HG sunscreen/day moisturizer for the past 4/5 years at least. I have ventured out to try others but continued to come back to this one. ( More in depth review) I believe they have increased the SPF of the newer ones to SPF 40 now so I am actually not sure if this 35 is still being sold. Also, the new packaging no longer has the PA levels (which is for UVA)  because the FDA has changed their regulation. If you see the phrase “Broad Spectrum” used then it has both UVA and UVB protection now. (to break down the meaning of SPF and UVA/UVB protection it will be a post on its own so let me know if you guys want one or you can just google it and research it)

 

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Neutrogena Hydro Boost gel SPF 30 PA++ 40ml – $19.30

This is a gel form of sunscreen meaning its very light so its awesome for summer. I have just recently started using this so I can’t say if I love it or hate it just yet but a in depth review should be on its way. The reason why I’m still on the fence with this product is because although it is a gel product, its not as light as you would imagine it to be. I absolutely LOVE their Hydro Boost water gel that leaves my skin silky soft with no sticky feeling which is one of the reasons why I wanted to try a sunscreen from this line since I have been using the water gel for years now. But as first impression is concerned, one day my skin will absorb it and my skin will feel fine but on another day I feel as though the product only half gets absorbed and leaves my skin a bit sticky. So I’m going to experiment a little more before I can make a final judgement on this.

 

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Aveno Protect+Hydrate Lotion – Broad Spectrum SPF 30 – $7.99

Last year I was on a quest to find a Daily body lotion that also has SPF in it because I am just that lazy. I needed a one step product that eliminated the process of having to do the same motion twice. I have found others such as the Eucerin one but that was just unbelievably sticky , it left a sheen on my body that wouldn’t go away, and the worse part was that it had the smell of sunscreen. Its not impossible to find one with all my expectation at a reasonable price because this Aveno one has fulfilled all my requirements. Rubs on just like a lotion and it leaves your skin moisturized without that icky sticky feeling. The scent is… hard to describe because it doesn’t really smell like anything besides standard basic lotion smell? If that makes any sense. Bottom line is that I would recommend this sunscreen

Recently I have noticed that the sun rays seem to be stronger now than a couple years ago?  Just by driving in my car with the sun shining through an open window I feel as though my skin is burning! This can just be me getting older and being more sensitive to the sun or has anyone else noticed this? Either way, it’s a big warning for me to be extra cautious when I am out and that I definitely shouldn’t skip out on sun protection and neither should you!

Until next time,
❤ Jessica

 

Empty Products

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One of my favorite blog posts to read or youtube videos to watch are products that have been used up. After actually finishing up a product, then are you really able to give a full review on how a product is. And the ultimate question that comes along with it.. will you repurchase it? Periodically I will throw out since products I’ve used up post with my finals thoughts on the products. For now.. lets start with the skin care stuff thats been used up in the past couple of weeks.

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Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protection Cream – Face/Boby SPF 35 PA+++ 50mL- $30

Shiseido is probably one of my favorite skincare brand. My mom has used it since I was little and is all she uses so being her daughter I am a little bit biased I would say. I have tried products from them that I have not liked, but for the most part Its been mostly Hits.

My favorite sunscreen would have to be this one. #1 It doesn’t have that nasty sunscreen smell which I absolutely despise! #2 My skin soaks it up acting just like how a moisturizer would. Doesn’t leave your skin sticky like how some sunscreens will. #3 Has a decent SPF.. AND it contains PA+++. When I first bought this, this was probably one of the FIRST products in the states about 1.5 years ago that had  any PA level protection let alone PA+++. Of course now, we have a lot more options. I believe they no longer carry the SPF 35.. but its SPF 40 now. The highest SPF offered is SPF 50.

This products doesn’t break me out. Doesn’t leave my face looking like a grease ball (but then again I do have normal skin). They also have the oil-free version but I’m not a big fan of that consistency because its a lot more watery and not as nice as this one. Overall its my perfect face sunblock out there.

Active Ingredients: OCTINOXATE -4.9% / OCTOCRYLENE – 3.0% / ZINC OXIDE 0 6.7%

This product has already been repurchased (:

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Mario Badescu Drying Lotion 30mL/1.0oz- $17

There are so many spot treatments out there thats its insane to think that one is a miracle worker. When you first switch over, the first couple of times might seem like it but then as time goes, the immediate effect of it fades. This was the result of this Drying Lotion. It was highly raved and well deserved to be raved about. The very first time I used this, instantly the next day the inflammation has gone down tremendously. But over the last couple of weeks the results were not as instant since like all products my skin became immune to it in a way.

There are two parts to this product. The liquid and sediments on the bottom. Don’t shake the bottle and mix the two together because its suppose to be separate. You just dip the q-tip in to the bottom until you hit the pink sediments and you dab it onto the breakout. It will leave your face with some pink patches but its okay because you’ll be home sleeping anyways.

Depending on your break out, it might sting a little bit but its not bad. It does smell like strong alcohol and sulfur since both are in the product. I have found that it effectively dries out the mini break outs pretty fast, but it doesn’t do much to cystic acne. Those are just stupid stubborn things that refuses go away with product use (I haven’t found a spot treatment for cystic acne, so if you guys have any recommendations let me know!) I’ve read other people saying that it dries out their skin, but I haven’t had any troubles with it.

Ingredients: Isoprophyl Alcohol / Deionized Water / Calamine / Camphor / Colloidal / Sulfur / Salicylic Acid / Glycerin / Zinc Oxide / Titanium Dioxide / Talc

I will probably repurchase this product in the future.

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Clean&Clear deep cleaning astringent – sensitive skin – $4

I bought this at Target looking for the cheapest toner/astringent I can find because on e of the mask I was using required me to remove it with toner/astringent. I was not about the use the toner I was using at that time to remove it because it was just a waste. This was probably the cheapest one I can find to do the job.

I have been using it as a regular toner as well and I don’t think it does much in clearing up my skin department but it does remove any excess dirt or makeup that your cleanser failed to remove. It smells like alcohol but doesn’t burn your face of anything unless you got some really painful breakouts. For the price and size, you can’t really beat it.

Ingredients: Salicylic Acid (0.5%) Inactive: Water, Alcohol, Glycerin, Isoceteth-20, PEG-32, Sodium Citrate, Fragrance, Propylene Glycol, Dimethicone Propyl PG-Betaine, Benzophenone-4, Algae Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Denatonium Benzoate, Blue 1

I would probably repurchase this in the future.