Juli's Used Ups

Let me start with a lippy I consequently used until I reached bottom (or tube): 

Really, this one is from MAC's 2008 collection (see Temptalia). I have a special storeage for MAC's LE's (some never used) in a dark, cool place and sometimes I revisit Zeeee Box-e and I find myself something useful or fun. Ofcourse, I'm aware of expiry dates so I use my sniffer, and some good ol' logic to see if it is still fresh. 

MAC slimshines are lovely & creamy moisturizing hints of colour for the lips. Funshine is a coraly pink that is lighter than my natural lip colour. I get a wonderful nod to lighter lips with colours like these.

The rest:

July has been somewhat unproductive, but I used up some things:

1. Fairy Drops Mascara  Platinum Mascara film type

Ok, not quite used up but logic and knowledge of mascaras told me it is time to let this one go. I know lots of women love Fairydrops but somehow most of their mascara do not really work for my type of lashes. They do not hold curl that stubbornly as the likes of Majolica Mallorca or Fasio and that is mostly what I need. It's still a good mascara, though, but only with a base.

2. Nude Nailpolish: Nails Inc Basil Street, Essie Barefoot & OPI Let Them Eat Rice Cake

With nailpolish the logic of throwing away is a lot easier, because they are often dried out or separated. I've also finished a bottle of Seche Vite Thinner which can bring some dying nailpolishes alive again. Then again, I have so many nailpolishes that I screen the ones that I really want to thin up again. Or, I need some space and will use some other nudes before possible repurchase.

3. Tatcha Restoring Eye cream (right corner- small sample)

Lovely, but also a bit too pasty/thick for summer time.

4.  Saniflore Aqua Magnifiqua toner (review here)

Absolutely delicious for congested [summer] skin. I can feel it doing something extra when my skin is congested, but without having that stripping feeling those generic anti-acne potions have. It smells so herbally fresh too: repurchase!

5. Rene Furtherer Naturalia Dry Shampoo

I gotten into this one thanks to MostlySunny's rave. AGREED!  It's so delightfully thin and mops up the right amount of grease. And, hardly no white residue! For the supermajority that doesn't have blonde roots it is so wonderful to have a spray that doesn't make you look like you have grey hairs. Even blondes will get a slightly greyish look with about most dry shampoos so I have no idea why companies don't make them better like this one.

6. Vichy Cellu-destock Serum Flash

6%! 

-> 

for the ones that read my neverending stories of battling the ghost of cellulite (albeit very alive) know that I have a serious Caffeine habit. This serum has 6% Caffeine in it. I liked it but it also felt like my 1st tube of Cellulite-busting potions from 1993: perhaps the scent or the texture. I didn't feel it was too effective but I've been slightly inconsequent with it. It's also quite expensive per ml so I think I'll try something else next time.

7. French Girl Organics Rose Noir Cleansing Oil

I featured this baby as a part of my Organic black bottle collection (here). It's a dense cleansing oil that does not foam: I always expect a foam as I'm used to Asian cleansing oils, but Organics seldom do. It cleanses up heavy duty makeup and/or sunscreen but I do need a sudsy cleanser afterwards for rinsing off the oily feeling. It smells lovely like a soft rose.

8. REN Radiance Perfection Serum

This serum is actually meant for younger skins in need of a radiance boost. However, I often serum up twice a day so I really liked this one in the morning: it has some antioxidants (eg: Bitter Orange, Lingonberry) that combat the oxidant effect of sunrays during the day.

That has been my round-up of July's Used Ups. It has been wonderful to take a step away from my normal lipstick routine by taking up a paler hue like MAC Funshine: it does take some more work with the rest of the face (more eyemakeup, etc).  For this month I'm thinking to step out of the box again with lipcolour: perhaps a good berry hue for Indian Summer? We'll see ; )