#111 2024 Year End Empties!

A final sweep clean before marching into a brand new year.

I love writing empties post and I’ve certainly used up quite a bit this year.

Skincare

Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk Cleanser – ultra-lightweight milk cleanser that I will continue repurchase. Have been enjoying this loads in the morning cleanse before I hit the gym. Full review here.

Medik8 Press & Glow – my favourite PHA exfoliant and one that I will continue repurchase to replace all AHA toners – a big claim and testament to how much I love this product.

Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Water Essence – this was given by a skincare bestie. I’ve been using this as a traditional post-cleansing, first step to hydration, old-school toner/essence step. This essence is made out of 80% ginseng water and Niacinamide, which is great for overall hydration and nourishment. No complaints, but not wow-ed. Happy to repurchase, but it’s not on the priority list.

Lagom Cellist Mist Toner* – Lagom is a minimalist, scienced backed but pretty much under the radar K-beauty brand. I’ve previously written a brand overview when the brand sent me the entire range. Finally emptied this mist and I can report back that it is hydrating, lightweight and does everything written on the tin, but with no bells and whistles. My bottle was spritzing quite heavy droplets so I suspect it might be mine that had issue with the spritz.

Zelens Provitamin D3 Fortifying Mist and Microbiota P3 Balancing Mist – Microbiota P3 is a light water-based, fine mist that you barely feel anything when its on. Provitamin D3 Fortifying mist has a dual phase – both water and oil (Vitamin D). Cost a kidney to repurchase, hence if it ever goes on sale, I am stocking up.

Zelens Power D – Power D is such a great healing facial oil – it is my SOS when my skin goes on a strike. It is one of the very few facial oils that I will want to stock up and have it constantly in my arsenal – well, basically the entire brand if I have the budget. The price is very prohibitive but Zelens is a brand that I count heavily on for all the clinicals that went into the products. All products I’ve tried from the brand has delivered above expectations.

Conserving Beauty Conserve You Face Oil – I don’t understand the hype of this face oil, sorry. For US$40, it is made out of Sunflower Oil, Hemp Seed Oil and Soybean oil and I simply can’t see how the price can be justified. This is fragrance free, so it is meant to be a functional product - no sensorial pleasure for a facial oil - which is often associated with massage and pampering, I am scratching my head to justify the price. Brand website indicates that this can be used on acne-prone skin and I strongly recommend not to. It is not ultra-lightweight like a squalane so you will feel the dense and weight of a facial oil sitting on the surface of the skin, which every single oily-skin person detest. I added the oil to my hand cream for an extra nourishment boost before bed. This came in a beauty box and I’ve another bottle in the stash.

CNP Laboratory Propolis Energy Active Ampule – I am massively in love – this K-beauty serum is massively nourishing. Propolis extract is rather thick in texture but melts into water upon getting on the skin. There’s a very faint garden rose scent that is so comforting which I simply cannot get enough when the serum goes onto my skin. My complaint is – this is 15 ml and it is on the higher spectrum of K-beauty price point (depending on where you shop). I am so intrigued with everything the brand has to offer after this serum. Will constantly repurchase.

Bodycare

I’ve been through many bottles of body washes throughout this year and I am not fussy with body washes. So I must have written about them in my monthly empties post throughout the year. This year, I made a commitment to use up the pile of Clarins bodycare that was scattered around the dressing table before they go off and,,… voilà!, a satisfying pile of Clarins bodycare empties.

No one loves Clarins bodycare more than me. They are expensive, and prices are hiking like mad year over year – they are a treat for me. Obviously if I have the budget I will repurchase all of them, but until then. I still have more bodycare to get through before I can start to make any purchases!

This is the last Substack for this year. Substack has grown substantially with professional writers producing fantastic contents, literally what they do best - while I am still here, a humble blogger documenting all my experiences like a proper beauty junkie. Thank you for sticking around and thank you for reading!

*Transparency Disclosure: Lagom and a few Clarins Bodycare featured in this post were gifted as part of brand’s PR. Reviews are completely on my own, with no obligations from the brand to promote or provide any commentary out of my own testing.