Daiso Japan Green Tea

Just another quick post. Unfortunately Daiso Japan do not offer food items and I do not know why. Because in Japan, Daiso carries affordable food items. This Daiso Green Tea was a gift for me. One box of 50 pieces for only 105.00 Yen. Good tasting tea does not have to be extremely expensive.

Focus ⚫️

Matcha Sandwiches

Just a quick post since once I said that I would like to share all the Asian snacks and ingredients I am seeing in the UAE. Here is the Matcha Sandwiches that I purchased from Dean's Fujiya. Delicious but not my favorite though as it is too dry for me. Even though I love biscuits.

Declutter 🖇

PHOTO Credits tp the owner

Empost

I do not have my own PO box number. I do not want to spend money on it and why would I need one anyway? So when I need a PO box number I just use the company's PO box. Now in the past I do not have any issues getting my packages and mails from Empost. But not until a few months back, that they decided that there will be only one authorized person to get the packages and mails. And since I started ordering from Ebay I am at the mercy of the so called authorized person. I do not even know how they (Empost) have chosen him as he is not our PRO. He is just a regular employee of the company like me.

He is a man and I am ordering girlie items. That customs might open in front of him. And so as end result he is not taking them all at once. He is taking my packages one at a time. Or twice if I am lucky. And as I write this I am still patiently waiting for the package from Yesstyle. Not unless the said website cannot be trusted and I lost my package for good. But I do not want to think that way because so far I had been so damn lucky that all the transactions I had were all smooth. In spite of Ebay having a bad reputation. But then it has been over a month since I made the order.

Usually my order reaches here in 10 days no matter where they are from! But since I am at the mercy of someone else I had to wait longer than that. Getting one package after a month is the norm. So I tried to change my address by NOT using the PO box of the company I work for. Good thing was, I ordered two items. One has a tracking number that I know the item landed the Empost already. The catch? I have to pay 5.00AED ~ what a bummer. And I need to spend 20.00AED for the taxi fare back and forth. Another bummer. VAT is not yet implemented and yet I am already sad for the extra charge that I had to pay. I am ordering online because I was trying to save money. And having to pay something extra defies that purpose! My other order do not have a tracking number but even so I know that it reached the country by the time I visited the post office. But then the staff cannot be bothered to check it out for me and instead told me to come back after one month, without explaining me why. 

And so I am back into using the company PO box while carefully thinking and computing the items I will be ordering. If you are wondering what are those (and admittedly I am hoarding for the next 3 years even though I promised myself I will never hoard again) nose strips and foot peeling masks. I will just stock up and say goodbye to Ebay for good. I will deactivate my account once I am have these items on hand. UAE has only one foot peeling mask available which is the Baby Foot from Japan that cost 65.00AED per pair. But online I can find a cheaper brand of 10 pairs for only 40.00 to 50.00 AED only! 

I had been ordering online (from overseas) for half a year now and I can say that Ebay is the best because they have almost all the items in lower price compared to Amazon. The glitch is the choice of shipping method. There are purchases that I do not mind paying for DHL or Aramex. But they do not have that option. But on the other hand at least via postal I can order those Japanese sunscreens that Amazon do not want to ship from Japan to UAE.

Empty Bottle #101: Cetaphil Non Irritating Cleanser 🌸

Another blast from the past. Or product from circa 2014 that were hidden among my stash. SO just imagine how many products do I really own. Since I discarded at least 100 (and at least a 100 more undocumented) and were able to do Pan Project to at least a hundred cosmetics (and again more numbers undocumented as well). And please I am not saying that to brag. There is nothing to brag about. It is indeed a pain trying to finish them all of.

I got this Cetaphil Non Irritating Cleanser for only 50.00AED because it was popular back then as a gentle cleanser. Yes it is gentle but not working well with my skin type. I have a very oily T-zone and it does not feel like cleaning my face well. Most especially the T-zone! Where the main concern in my face happens all the time. More oil, more whiteheads to deal with. I finished it for the sake of finishing it instead of throwing it out.

So no I will not repurchase. Nor any other Cetaphil products for me. Nor any other French brand again. I almost forgot to mention that Cetaphil is from France.

The journey I am taking towards a frugal and minimalist life is a tough one. The road is bumpy and I stumble from time to time. (I am not really vain but you will notice that most of my earthly possessions are clothes and cosmetics. Maybe it would have been more and beyond that, IF I am living in my own place. If I am I would have bought all the kitchen items I have seen on sale ages ago). Like I have said I have to turn my back from makeup but Mac was on sale and I found myself buying a few tubes that I was dreaming of for the last 3 years. Things like that. Every once in a while I still purchase just because I wanted it and not because I badly needed it.

Get Rid Of Things - Marie Kondo

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Empty Bottle #100: Byphasse Body Wash 🌸

Bought in 2015. Back in time when Byphasse was actually an affordable line of cosmetics in Tati Department Store. Soon after, they decided to increase their prices. I stopped shopping. And it was okay as I already have way too many items inside the tiny flat. As I was on my hoarding phase.

Finally able to finish it this May 2017. And not this product will not be missed. Will not repurchase. It is good and smells good too but then all the body washes I've tried in the past have do the same characteristics. Because they all do have the same ingredients anyway. With a slight variation of a one or two.

I will just finish all my remaining 12 bottles or so and leaving body washes behind for good. Bar soaps would be more affordable for me and somehow helps the earth a little. I am not sure if they are recycling plastics here. I hope they do. But at least in bar soap I will not be so guilty with the garbage I am leaving behind as bar soaps are usually covered in a cardboard box. Which is harmless than plastic bottles.

Do Not Lie

Empty Tube #99: Cetaphil Lotion 🌸

Purchased back in 2014 and finished by 2017. Amount was less than 100AED. Perhaps I bought it for 60AED? Well back then I know that Cetaphil products are gentle and I thought it would be good for my skin type. Which is oily in the Tzone and dry for the rest. But the sales associate did not explain to me properly if this is for the face or for the body? She said that it is all around and so I bought it.

But then using it on the face was a pain as it feels heavy. And greasy. Maybe because of it that I stopped buying Cetaphil. Because of being heavy and greasy that I used it often until I finally kept it in the drawer and forget about it. Taken it out again only this year as I am doing Pan Project with all my hoarded items from the past.

I did not use it anymore as face or body moisturizer. I used it instead as a home made body scrub. Well I am not enjoying the said scrub but then at least no old products will be wasted. 

And that's all for now. Will keep on hunting down all my stash to see which ones to try away and which ones to finish (painfully).

About Giving Up

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Empty Tube #98: Clean and Clear Moisturizer 🌸

As I have said I will be taking all the photos only in one spot. Which will be an everyday reminder for me how messy my place is. Until such time it is cleared out of everything. Anyway for today I am documenting this Clean and Clear moisturizer. I cannot remember if I purchased it back in 2014 or 2015.

The good things about it are: it is not hard to find as most of grocery stores carry it. And it is inexpensive as a tube would cost less than 50AED. And in UAE price that is already affordable. But I was not able to finish it up to the last drop as I have way too many moisturizers. I kept it for a while then forget about it. What I have done to the remaining at least 1/8 of the tube is to mix it with salt scrub. Yes I recycled it as a home made body scrub. So now it is totally empty and gotta throw it out now.

Sadly though I cannot remember if it was actually good on the face. I guess it was okay. Bought and used it at the time that I am not yet documenting the products I am using. Even though I was doing trial and error on which one will works best on my skin type.

Simplicity 💕

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Goodbye #100: LRP Hand Cream Box

From this day on I will take all the photos in one spot only. And that is on the top of my dresser because the light over there is good. Well actually what I wanted was to take a very good composition of a photo to try to hit two birds in one stone. I mean practice photography while discarding an item at the same time. But no matter how hard I tried I cannot find a place. My mind cannot work clearly. And I do not have time.

Maybe when I am done decluttering then there will be a space for photography inside the tiny place. Good lighting is already present. But as you can see in the back it is crowded. Maybe when I am done with all those trash then I can finally put a flowers. Flowers would be a good background right? But as of now focus in decluttering. For today I am throwing out this box of La Roche Posay Cicaplast Hand Cream. And just like all my other trash, I do not know why I am keeping it after so many months. So goodbye. You will not be missed.

Empty Bottle #97: Victoria's Secret Hydrating Body Lotion Verbena 🌸

Another one bottle down. Finally. And I do not know if this will be all done by the end of this year. I always have a dry skin that you will never caught me without a moisturizer and I used this excuse to hoard as many moisturizers I can in the past. One of them is this Victoria's Secret Hydrating Body Lotion Verbena. Which I got on sale for only 25.00AED

The verdict: I haven't seen a Verbena plant in my life but even so I love the scent. It has a soft and gentle scent. Very feminine. But as of its moisturizing agents, nothing new just like any other moisturizer out there in the market. So no I will not repurchase. And I do not need to purchase anything this year as I still have a hundred items to finish. 

The Space - Marie Kondo

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Empty Bottle #96: BBW Velvet Sugar Body Mist 🌸

This Bath and Body Works Velvet Sugar Body Mist was included in my Bath and Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul back in MAY 2016. Exactly a year ago. I do not need it back then but I purchased it out of impulse and excitement as it was the first time I caught them for only 20.00AED per bottle.

But then sadly I do not have anything new (information) to offer about this product. Everything I will say are the things I've said before. Loving or hating the scent of any Bath and Body Works is a personal preference. For me I am not really crazy about them as I find them too sweet that can trigger my migraine sometimes.

But I purchased because the smell is quite strong compared to Victoria's Secret Body Mists as I am not using it for my body but as air freshener instead. I am living in a closed and cramped place that when cooking there is no way that the air (and smell) will go out of the flat. So since last year I had been experimenting with different perfumes to handle this concern. This body mist can offer a solution that would only last for a minute. So needless to say I will not repurchase. [For the record I will not repurchase any body mist from the Signature Collection of Bath and Body Works. Their Aromatherapy line would have been an exception but then it comes with a hefty price tag].

What I am doing now is trying to cook those heavy dishes at least twice a week then just refrigerate then and microwave for a minute or two before eating them. And whenever I cook I make sure that I will not be washing clothes that day. Or the next day. I no longer buy (or hoard) any kind of perfume since they cannot serve the purpose I am looking for. I am just now trying to finish off the stocks I have. Maybe someday people who are building houses and flats no matter how small they are would take into consideration to install a proper ventilation in the kitchen. Maybe. Anyway here is a quote that I want to share with you all. As afterwards I will be looking for something I can discard (again and again).

This is self explanatory. Since I own a lot, I spent a lot of time cleaning and organizing. Even though I am trying to get rid of an item per day ~ still doing that requires my time. Instead of me spending that watching something I would love to see.

Goodbye #99: Pink Reebok Shirt

The time that I started de-cluttering my items I did not know yet that things are about to go sour. All I know was I wanted to change my life. My lifestyle. And I am glad that I did. Anyway on this post I just want to share that I am discarding another item again out of hundred items I own.

Saying goodbye to this pink reebok shirt that I purchased back in 2009 meant to wear during exercise. But I did run for only a year or so then stopped altogether. Lack of time. And at the same time I will go crazy with the UAE heat.

Important lesson that I learned with all this de-cluttering thing: when you do not need much then having little money will do just fine. Because you desire less, you need to spend less. Which is very appropriate with my current situation. One of these days I will be out of job. And out of money too.

'Clutter is what happens to things when they become useless but friendly' ~ Russell Lynes

Letting Go - Marie Kondo

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Affection 💕

PHOTO Credits to the owner