Clearing out the graveyard of doom (i.e my bathroom cabinet)

I can't believe it's been 17 days since I last posted. I was on an adventurous trip: diving, trekking, jet-skiing, etc. Of course I was willing to miss school just to make myself available! My resolution led to humoungous pile of to-do-lists since there was work to be done for all the time that I was missing...which I only realized in November.

In times of great stress I like to take a time-out and de-clutter my room. Usually I tidy up my table before the start of focused studying, but this time around I decided to clear out the area that I only dare to take a small glimpse at before I hurridly throw more things inside. Yes it is the graveyard where beauty products are chucked in and left to grow cobwebs (oh how I wish this was rhetorical).

After 4(!) years of moving into my current abode, I finally decided to check what I have and do a clear out. I resolutely prepared a big black trashbag that could hide a body and started cleaning.

I found moisturizers that I can't even remember where or when I bought, big tubes of conditioners and small travel size products that I've never used that promptly went into the bin. Then I discovered a small white box, what could be inside?

You have got to be kidding me. 12 lipbalms of the same kind. I have yet to even finish 1 lipbalm in my life. At least the lipbalms feel pretty good and are supposed to be fantastic in cold weather *grumbles at my past self that bought this*

It can't be any worse right? Then I came across this

What on earth, I don't use body sprays or perfume, how did these things get in my cabinet?! The Biotherm body spray was so old that the plastic wrapped around the bottle had turned a nasty shade of yellow/brown and the silver rim of the bottle is flaking off. At least these scented water should still be usable...I think. I can count the number of times that I have used a fragrance simply because:

1) most of them are so overpowering to my nose

 2) I can't stand smelling perfume on myself.

BUT

I am such a cheapskate that I will make myself use these things *cries*

Then came the cherry on the topping

A lifting cream by Estee Lauder, a Silk Naturals Vitamin C serum that is to be used within 3 months of purchase which I bought 7 months ago, and 2 Clarins cream (do they even make them in this packaging anymore?!)

My Silk Naturals Green Tea and Oatmeal serum was smelling a bit sour so I trashed it and replaced it with the Estee Laude lifting cream, that I am using exclusively for my neck. My rule is when in doubt of a product, never use it on my face. The Estee Lauder bottle states that it can be used 24 months after opening, so it might still be good.

I persisted with the SN Vitamin C serum for a while, convincing myself that the serum is yellow, not brown and still usable. Alas, my face broke out during my diving trip and I decided to ditch this serum when I concluded that it's not worth risking the condition of my face. Oh the pain I felt at throwing money away. That truly made me resolute to finish as much of my products as possible.

The Clarins creams turned out to be a joke. The day cream smelled like vomit after squeezing it out, and the night one, while smelling fine intially, coagulated with oil in the joints of my body so I removed it with cleansing wipes. Thankfully, I never paid any money for these items. My mom had some extra Clarins product so she just passed them onto me...years ago.

Cleaning my cabinet has been eye-opening and depressing at the same time. I have so many hair products for long hair, many moisturizers and toners and it seems like it will take forever to get through any of it. In faith and hope, I shall turn to Project $50 10 pan, which will be discussed tomorrow.

P.S. The graveyard is also where I store all my BB creams. There isn't much space for them in an orderly cabinet, so I placed them into a shoe box.

Yep, it's all BB creams and related products. It's filled to the brim, I'm missing 2 other BB creams that are not at home with me and I gave my big bottle of BRTC Jasmine Water to a friend. I'm not kidding when I say I have a lot of something.

Rant: why are Korean bb creams so pink toned?!!

I really need to get this off my chest: why are Korean bb creams so pink toned?! Pink neutralizes yellow and makes you look fairer supposedly. Pink is not a flattering tone on Asian skin that is yellow toned, speaking from experience. I would rather clear luminating yellow toned or tanned skin. I have only seen two truly pale Asians, ones that are so white they can give Snow White a run for her money. Guess what, they are both from the northern region of china, and are in a constant battle with hyperpigmentation and freckles. So be careful for what you wish for...

What usually happens with pink toned bb creams is that you get the mask effect. The colour of your face and neck/chest area are totally different and there is a clear distinct boundary.  The last time I took a trip to Korea, I saw quite a few white mask ladies stewardesss, on the journey to and fro. It is not a flattering look.

While googling about how one should deal with a bb cream that is too light for you, I found a few blogs about how bb creams 'brighten' their face with a picture attached, and then I'll look at their neck. Perhaps there's silica in the bb cream giving a white cast when photographed but seriously, no. Get foundation instead. Even the shade 2 of bb creams that are supposed to match nc25-30, the range that I fall in, are pink toned and give me a ghostly unnatural look.

I'm just ranting because I have more than 10 bb creams that I bought in my bb cream craze but most of them are too light/too pink despite what the sales assistant claimed, oh the money that I wasted while trying to figure out which shades matches me. Thankfully the new generation of western and Japanese bb creams seem a bit more yellow toned, so I can't wait to explore them!

(Edited because as with most rants, I sounded like a foaming maniac with a staunch hate of the aspect in Korean culture that prefers pink toned fair skin. I simply find that it's not suitable for my undertone or skintone and having invested so much money into BB creams of various brands, it is a disappointment that I can't find one that matches my skintone well. It was an expensive learning experience in makeup, that pink toned bases really don't suit me, which enbittered me. Some girls can carry off the fair pink toned looked, but I have found very few of this rare breed in sunny singapore, without looking like they caked on makeup that is the wrong shade for them. I am trying out ways to use up the bb creams that I have, but who knows, maybe I might find one that will suit me, though I'm still struggling to use up certain ones (looking at you BRTC Jasmine water bb cream). I'll write more about bb creams on another day