Beauty Loot: New Things + An Update

Hello! I'm back! I know, it's been a while. I really missed blogging -- and reading other blogs for that matter. The Blue Purse is always on my mind, but life has been ridiculously busy lately. Life happened as usual, and it's the same old story, but this time I have a really good excuse.

Mostly, I've been busy with work. The past month was crazy hectic, and then when things finally slowed down, I had to catch up with family and friends whom I've neglected. Seriously, I don't have the time to sleep these days, much less surf and read and cook and watch TV and focus on any hobbies. I'm going to get a handle on life at some point, and I hope that's soon, but for now, I'm trying, so please bear with me.

Let's start with a fun topic -- beauty! Since I haven't been blogging, products have piled up on me. This is a collective haul of sorts, because I'm excited to share all my new things. Read on.

Beauty Barrage: Getting to the Bottom of Bath and Body Works Sea Island Cotton Products

Hello! Let's get to the bottom of this post, shall we? By "getting to the bottom" I meant literally getting to the bottom of a product! In makeup circles it's known as "hitting the pan", but the phrase doesn't really work for all products, so "getting to the bottom" it is.

I just got to the bottom of my Bath and Body Works Sea Island Cotton products so it's time to finally do a post on them. I actually started using this trio way before Bath and Body Works showed up in the country. A friend ordered Bath and Body Works stuff from the US and I asked her to order for me. Luckily, Landmark started stocking Bath and Body Works soon after, and that's where I get my Bath and Body Works fix these days. 

  Sea Island Cotton Pocket Bac Hand Sanitizer, Body Lotion, Fragrance Mist

Beauty Barrage: Getting to the Bottom of the Neutrogena Deep Clean Revitalizing Pink Grapefruit Ultra Foam Cleanser

Hello! Let's get to the bottom of this post, shall we? By "getting to the bottom" I meant literally getting to the bottom of a product! In makeup circles it's known as "hitting the pan", but the phrase doesn't really work for all products, so "getting to the bottom" it is.

Now, getting to the bottom of a product doesn't automatically mean it's so good I used it all up. Sometimes it means I just used it up because I didn't want to waste product, since products mean money after all. Such was the case with the Neutrogena Deep Clean Revitalizing Pink Grapefruit Ultra Foam Cleanser. 

Beauty Barrage: Up Close - Lush Exfoliators Part 2: Ocean Salt

We've come to Part 2 of the Lush Exfoliators series. [Check out Part 1: Dark Angels.]

Using exfoliators has become a part of my skincare routine. Like I said before, I don't have my full skincare routine down pat yet, but I now have a handle on my facial scrubs. I try to remember to exfoliate once a week, twice at the most when I have a skin emergency like a zit or something, because I have combination, mostly dry skin. If I exfoliate more than that, my skin gets very dry and goes on complete survival mode, which makes it secrete more oil than usual, and that's not good. Those with oily skin though can exfoliate two to three times a week. I use Dark Angels only when my skin feels unusually oily or rough, or if I'm breaking out. My regular scrub is Ocean Salt.

Lush Exfoliator Number 2: Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub

Beauty Loot: Drugstore Haul 08.26.13

I haven't gone shopping for makeup and beauty stuff in a long time, but I finally did yesterday! I've been on major frugal mode and I've only been surviving on my makeup stash. After all, I've built up quite the collection and I haven't even used up half of it. Good makeup should never go to waste, so I've been pretty good at that for a while. However, I have been needing a few things lately, so my always supportive husband took me shopping. He patiently waited for me while I stared at products and swatched stuff. I got drugstore everything (frugal mode, remember) and I got a lot of bang for my buck!

My first stop was ELF (Eyes Lips Face), which I've never tried before. It's a brand that comes highly recommended by beauty gurus, but for some reason I have never purchased anything ELF until now. I surprisingly ended up getting a bunch of stuff! I was happy to find out that the brand is so affordable, yet the products have great quality.

Afterwards, I did the rounds of the Revlon, Maybelline, and L'Oreal counters, and got some things from them too. I made a random buy at Clean & Clear as well. I had a few more things on my shopping list, but Robinson's Galleria Department Store (where we went) didn't have the products I was looking for, though I'm glad I was able to find most of the things I needed. [Note: I use the the app Wunderlist for shopping and to-do lists and it's wonderful.] On to the haul!