First Empties Post

Personally, I love reading empties post. Until the past couple of years, I was never able to really finish a product. I usually had moved on to something newer before I could use something up. But as I came to realize my beauty stash had grown to ridiculous new heights, I resolved to try to finish up products before purchasing new things. Although this hasn't completely happened to the extent I want it to and probably never will, I did find it easier to finish up skincare products, specifically face creams (as you can see in the photo). There is a certain sense of achievement that comes with finishing full sized products, moreso especially if you didn't love the product. Honestly, most of these products will probably warrant their own individual posts soon but a quick summary of thoughts for now.

IOPE Bio Essence Intensive Conditioning:
So this was a highly hyped IOPE product and one of the first SK-II dupes that was created before all the brands released their own version. I actually bought this in Korea due to the crazy hype it received. I thought it was ok the first few weeks I used it. It did feel a little like it conditioned my skin, but overall I felt like it wasn't worth the money and felt like I was putting on water towards the end of the bottle.

Verdict - will not repurchase as I find I prefer the Hera Cell Essence version over the IOPE one

Belif The True Cream - Aqua Bomb
I LOVE this cream. To be honest, I have yet to try something from Belif that I didn't like. Between this and the true cream - moisturizing bomb, I prefer the aqua bomb because it's a gel type cream which I find my skin likes better as lotion-y creams tend to be heavier and more suitable for drier skin types which I most definitely am not. I like the smell and it's citrus-y and fresh but if you don't like fragranced products, it might not work for you.

Verdict - already finished 4+ jars...taking a break to explore cheaper options as I tend to go through face creams in about 3 months

Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Combination Watery Cream
So this is my other back-up cream that's on rotation. I don't like this one as much as I like the Belif one but it's also much more affordable. The Belif cream is $38 on Sephora where I can buy this cream at a Nature Republic store (in my Korean market) for about $15. These come in 3 different versions - a pink one for dry skin, the green one for combo skin, and a blue one for oily skin. However, the reviews for the blue and pink one don't seem to be as good as for the green one which is a Get It Beauty Korea winner. This is also fragranced like most Korean skincare products. It's a thicker gel than the Belif cream and smells more cologne-y. It's a great basic moisturizing cream that does its job.

Verdict - already finished 3+ jars

YSL Toning & Cleansing Miscellar Water Nude Make-up
So I'm taking a break from cleansing oils for cleansing waters and I had a deluxe sample size of this from a previous Sephora purchase. It did a great job removing my makeup and it did not irritate my skin despite being heavily fragranced. I know it seems kind of weird but it did seem a little bit like luxury water, possibly due to the smell. I want to say it has a rose-perfume-ish smell. It says not to rinse off afterward, but since I believe in double cleansing, I'm not sure how it will work if you don't rinse it off.

Verdict - would repurchase if I won the lottery