Simple and Skin Food Facial wipes

I recently have this fancy of using facial wipes. To a lot of people, it is totally not environmental friendly but to another bunch of people it’s a lifesaver because it minimizes the time to remove make up.

I have bought facial wipes from these 2 brands and here’s my take.

Ingredient

The Simple facial wipes does not contain alcohol where else the skin food one contains alcohol. It may sting a little especially for those with sensitive skin.

Texture

Simple has a very “cottony”feel with no texture where else the skin food one has texture. Honestly speaking, I do not think that the texture serves any purpose though. The skin food wipes are wetter compare to the Simple one, thus it takes longer to dry out if you do not use it everyday, which is great.

Cotton material and simple sticker packaging

Textured material and good packaging

Packaging

Simple has a very simple packaging, but i realize the sticker may not be strong enough to keep the wipes moist. The skin food one has a better packaging with double protection, one sticker on the inside and one plastic cover on the outside

Scent

Simple has a very natural scent that is not “perfumy”. Skin food really smells like watermelon.

Cleaning power.

Simple stated that it removes water proof mascara, I tried it and it does not. Both the facial wipes do not remove waterproof mascara. Aside from that, they both cleans the same.

Verdict: I would pick Simple over skin food because it is more natural as I have sensitive skin and it is more easily accessible.

Price: Less than RM 20 for 25-30 wipes

Where: Simple is available in most pharmacy. I bought my Skin food wipes from Seoul, I am not sure if it’s available in Malaysia.

Do you use facial wipes?

I have just started the habit of using facial wipes.

Reason #1 : I used them because I AM LAZY.

Sometimes I come back from work at 11pm or party until 2am. So these wipes are god sent to speed up the cleansing process. Having said that, in my opinion, it is never sufficient to remove your make up with only facial wipes. On lazy days I will replace my oil/milk cleanser with facial wipes and i will still wash my face with a foaming cleanser after that.

Reason #2 : I used them because the LAVATORY in the PLANE is the most INCONVENIENT place to wash my face.

When I travel on long haul flights, I do not put any make up I will only apply my skin care. When I am almost reaching, I will clean and refresh my skin with the facial wipes and eliminate the need to wash my face in the lavatory.

Reason #3 : To WIPE OFF your SUNSCREEN before re-applying

It is a very convenient item to have when you are on a beach where you need to constantly re-apply sun block on your face. I wipe off before reapplying to remove all the sand and dirt, because it is kind of gross to have sand and dirt on your face and mix them with the subsequent application of sunblock!

I know some people use them to clean off their make up before re-applying them. I don't do that because i hardly re-apply my make up in the day.

These is how and when i use my facial wipes :)

What about you? How and When do you use your facial wipes?

Lush Cleanser

I have never heard of lush until recently after reading a few beauty blogs. I found out that Lush is a line of skincare and cosmetic that uses all natural ingredients. I have bought 2 of their cleanser to try.

The first one is Aqua Marina.

The reason I bought this was because the SA said that it is very good for sensitive skin. I have been having very sensitive skin and prone to breakout recently that’s when I decide to try this. The Aqua Marina smells a little weird, I can’t make out what smell that is but it is not extremely overpowering.

When I read the ingredient, it contains calamine (the pink lotion that we all use when we were kids to sooth rashes), aloe vera and nori seaweed. Calamine is the key ingredient to calm redness and aloe and seaweed is to soothe and hydrate the skin. Texture wise, it feels like clay for some reason.



Add a little water

This is how it looks like after adding water

The second cleanser that I bought was the Angels on Bare Skin.

Because my skin condition changed recently, I was hunting for a gentler exfoliator and the angels answered my prayer :) After using this, my skin was so soft and smooth. I can’t stop touching it. I really love this. It is not like a normal cleanser, this cleanser is grainy and dry, you are supposed to mix with water to turn it into a paste like consistency and use that to wash your face.

The texture reminds me of oats and porridge. It smells of lavender and rose and the natural exfoliator are ground almonds. You can actually see some lavender in the product.

Add water

It will turn into a paste like consistency

Verdict: I normally use them at night because it takes more steps to use them as they are in tubs, comparing to normal facial cleansers that are in tubes. Having said that I love both the cleanser because they clean my face without drying it and also because I know that they are made out of natural ingredients.
The only downside is; because it is made out of natural ingredients, the life span of the cleanser is only 3 months. And the next bad news is, it is not available in Malaysia. I bought mine from Seoul and the nearest place to us is Singapore. I will definitely try more products from lush in the future.

Price: Premium approximately RM40+ (80g)

Where: Not available in Malaysia at the time of writing. Nearest country is Singapore.

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

This is one of those products that takes forever to empty. I have been using this on and off for at least 8 months now and I still have ¾ left. This is one of my first Kiehl’s products.

I was attracted to it because it is essentially an essential oil (no pun intended) and distilled botanicals  that is supposed to regenerate, repair, and replenish the skin. It is made of pure essential oil from primrose and lavender. These are the 2 ingredients that made this potion smell so therapeutic.  I normally only use 2-3 drops of this and it is normally the last step of my night skin care routine.



Magic Potion

I only use it when my skin is not in an oily state. During times when I break out or have bumps on my face, I will avoid this as I feel that it made my breakout worst. The packaging is very premium. It comes with a glass "dripper" that reminds me of science class.

Verdict: I have read a lot of great reviews about this product from a lot of beauty bloggers. They claim that it work wonders on their skin and their skin looked soft and feel supple the next morning. Unfortunately for me, it doesn’t have the same effect on me. It is probably more suitable for dry skin type. Having said that, this is a good to have product and it will definitely last a long time. I checked the label and the expiry date is 18 months after opening.

Price: Premium RM220 (30ml)

Where:  Pavillion, MidValley and Kiehl’s  nation wide

The Balm Oh So Bright

I have been reading a lot about the Balm Mary -Lou Manizer highlighter and wanting to get hold of it. I finally bought it last week at Sasa Pavillion. I bought the set because the promoter said that it was on sale. I paid RM99 instead of RM 157 for this set.

I will post reviews on the product once I start using them.

Verdict: Nice packaging and I like the bag which can be my toiletries bag when I travel

Price: Mid Range  RM99

Where: Sasa Pavillion ( I am sure it is available in other Sasa)

Body Shop Sale 18 May – 20 June 2012

Body shop is currently having up to 70% sale! I was there at Mid Valley yesterday and the crowd was massive! They have a lot of items on sale and I bought a few items. Cosmetics for 10-20%. Some skin care  are up to 30%

Here are a few i bought that were at 50% off.

I have used some of their body butter (olive, vitamin E, strawberry, blueberry) but I have not tried the peach and the Brazil Nut one, so I guess that is the excuse to buy since it is sale J. These 2 and one of their Christmas b0dy butter are 50% off. The rest like the olive and the strawberry ones are 30% off.

I also bought their Ice Blue shampoo which is a menthol shampoo.  I like to use menthol shampoo once a while because I like the cooling, fresh and clean feeling. It says behind the bottle that it will also leave your hair soft. Well, it is not very soft, but comparing to other menthol shampoos that I used before, it is comparatively softer. This shampoo is BLUE in color so please don't freak out.

The last thing I got was their small kabuki brush ( for the cheeks). According to the sales person, it is made out of goat’s hair. I was contemplating between this and their bigger one (for the face) which is only 10% off (retails at RM75). I decided to take the small one since it is on sale. It is a very dense brush, but I find it a little too stiff. I hope that it will get fluffier when I use it longer.

Verdict : GO TO THE SALE!!

Price : Quite Premium (when it is not on sale)

Body Butter – RM55 (200ml)

Ice Blue Shampoo – RM 38 (250ml)

Nature’s Mineral Blusher Kabuki Brush – RM 73

Where : The Body Shop

*Please note that prices are before 50% discount

Botanics Soothing Eye Make-Up Remover

When I was still new to make up remover, I used to use Simple’s  and body shop’s camomile eye make-up remover and it was a pain every end of each day to remove my water proof mascara. Both the makeup remover are water based therefore it is not meant for water proof mascara.

Then I discovered L’Oreal’s eye and lip make up remover which is oil based. I have been using that for a while. I know that there are some people who are worried that oil based make –up remover may produce oil seeds around the eyes when use in the long run but I really don’t think so. I have been using oil based eye make-up remover for the past years and I do not have that problem.

When I was at Boot’s during one of my trips to Bangkok, I came across this Botanics make up remover and decided to try. And because I use make up remover every day, I figured something that is natural may be better for my skin.

It is the same concept as the L’oreal one. You have to shake it before you damp your cotton. It removes mascara effectively. Comparing this to the L’Oreal one, it has a mild cool sensation which is quite comforting when I place the cotton pad on my eyes, so that is quite a nice touch.

I read the instruction behind the bottle and it says that if you need a quick perk me up, place the remover in the fridge, when it is cool, damp the cotton and placed on the eyes for 5 minutes as a mask. I have not tried that, and I don’t think I will because it can be a little oily if you do not wash it off.

Verdict : Great remover for those who prefer natural ingredients. Unfortunately it is not available in Malaysia. This is my 3^rd bottle and I have stock up another 2 bottles in my cabinetJ. I will always re-stock when I am in Thailand.

Price: Mid-Range. I can’t exactly remember how much but it’s about 300baht. And most of the time they have Sale, buy 1 and get 2^nd one at 50% off (150ml)

Where : Boots (I normally buy mine in Thailand because that is the nearest)

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter

This is lip butter with color. This is a good item to be in your daily make-up bag for regular usage and touch ups. I went to guardian and I saw that they do have a wide range of colors. From red tones, plum tones, brown tones, pink tones and orange tones. I have purchase 3 different lip butter.

L-R : Cherry Tart, Peach Parfait, Strawberry Shortcake

Swatches

Cherry Tart: This is a wearable red. It is like a stain of red, not too strong, therefore it is wearable for day time application

Peach Parfait: A very light natural orange tone with shimmer

Strawberry shortcake: A Barbie pink color. It sits nicely on fairer skin tone

Here are the colors on my lips

Cherry Tart

Peach Parfait

Strawberry Shortcake

My favourite out of these 3 colors is the Strawberry short cake. It may look too pink when I first apply, but after a while it really sits very nicely and not too overboard. On days that you feel a bit girlie, this is a great lippie :)

Despite saying that this is a good item to be in your regular make up bag, I find that the texture is a bit soft. So if you bring around in your handbag, I find it melting. If you notice my pictures above, the lipstick kind of lost its shape. It is not so solid, maybe because it is lip butter so the consistency is different from normal lipsticks.

Verdict: It does not dry my lips , nice range of colors a bit too soft and it melts a little especially if you carry it around in your handbag.

Price: Affordable RM 24.90

Where: Guardian, Watsons, Caring

Sofitel Saigon Vietnam

I was in Vietnam 2 weeks ago for a short business trip. Did not have time to go around that much,  but sad to say this, but I do not really enjoy Ho Chi Minh. It takes a lot to get used to the motorcycles and to cross the streets. My Vietnam counterpart told me that you just need to walk straight and the motorcycles will avoid you so you do not need to worry. It’s not as easy as it sounds.

The best thing was the hotel J. Really nice and cosy hotel.

Inside my room

When i look out

The bath

Loccitane!!

Verdict : If you do visit Vietnam, i would suggest that you stay in this hotel.It is also quite near town. It is walking distance to their famous post office, so you can do some sight seeing around. 

Price : 150 - 180 USD per night

Where : Saigon, Vietnam

Essence Cosmetics

I was at mid valley the other day and I saw a road show from essence cosmetic on the ground floor (near body shop) I was curious and took a small catalogue from them. I started google-ing to check them out during my lunch time at Midvalley. Found out that they are a drugstore brand from Germany. It falls under the “cheap and good” category. So I picked up some stuff before i left Midvalley.

L-R : Liquid eye liner, no limits mascara, XXXL shine lipgloss in "Big Night Out", Stay with me lip gloss in " My Favorite Milkshake and Candy Bar", I love Stage eye shadow base and Powder Brush

They are really affordable. I only paid RM80.70 for all the products above! I can't wait to try them out and will definitely post the reviews soon.

Verdict: Very nice packaging for the price

Price: Super affordable. Everything is below RM15 each

Where: Coci Coci, 2^nd floor mid valley, apparently there is also one in Bintang walk.

Laneige Water Sleeping Pack_EX

This is the second sleeping mask I have tried and it is also a Korean brand. The last one I used was the raspberry roots sleeping mask from Face shop.

This light blue mask is a gel textured mask and it smells really good.  When my face is in an OK condition, I will just slap this mask on and go to bed. When my skin is dry, I will use this on top of my skin care routine and I will definitely wake up with better skin.

The main ingredient of this mask is snow water. I am not too sure what is it but I am sure it is super moisturizing. I have a friend who told me that she bought a jar of this mask and she forgot to close the lid and after a few days, the jar was almost empty. It has all evaporated. This can only means that the content must be made of water or some sort for it to evaporate meaning the content is full of moisture.

Verdict: Like this because if it’s moisturizing properties and because it is so easy to use. Slap it on, go to bed and wake up with supple skin.

Price: Premium (RM 100+ 80ml) I got my friend to buy from Korea, so it was only about RM60. So this is a MUST buy product if you ever go to Korea.

Where: Laneige Counter at Isetan ,Parkson and Jusco Mid valley

Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami

I know this is the first time I am reviewing a book. But I figured that I should start archiving all books I read. I do not read a lot of serious books, mainly chick flicks and some fiction. One of my favourite authors is Sophie Kinsella. I have read all her shopaholic books J

As for Haruki Murakami, I got to know this author unexpectedly. Months ago, my sister was reading a book and told me that it was a very weird narration but it gets more interesting as you read and it was by a Japanese author. I did not take any notice or attention to that. 2 weeks ago, while browsing some beauty blog, I do not know how, but I ended up in a blog reviewing books! From there I got to know about Norwegian woods and IQ84 by the same author. The description of the author and these books reminded me of how my sister described a book few months ago.

That night, I went to her room and look for the book and found Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami and of course started reading it.

Reading chick flicks makes me feel like I am in la-la land but this book makes me wonder sometimes if I am living in reality or am I living in a dream.

The book is about a 15 year old boy, Kafka Tamura who is planning to run away from home on his birthday. He is a depressed teenager who does not like his father and his mother and sister have left him when he was young. He ran away from Tokyo and ended in Takamatsu, Kamakura Memorial library. He befriended a librarian, Oshima and he started working there.

On the other end, we have Nakata who is and elderly man who had an accident when he was a kid and turn up to be not so smart. He lives a simple life and he is able to talk to cats J. He can also predict it will be raining fish and mackerels.It is very magical and whimsical.

And in the book there is a Johnny Walker character. It is quite funny when it came to that but there is a very dark side at the end..

At the beginning of the book, it feels that the author is writing about these 2 characters separately in alternate chapters. But as you read, you will start to see the link.

Verdict: The book got me hooked. It is full of metaphor and philosophy that are really deep. I have to admit that I have trouble understanding them. Just a word of caution, there is not exactly a logical ending to this book, it is meant to keep the readers thinking and interpret it their own way. And maybe because of this, it made it so unique. I have conclude that Kafka On The Shore means that you are not in a dream nor are you in reality, you are sitting on a line, the shore.

I really love the book and I am sure I will re-read it. And I think I am obsessed with the author, I went and buy Norwegian woods and also IQ84.

Where : Kinokuniya

Botanics Whitening Moisture Lock Loose Powder

I bought this from Boots in Bangkok a couple of months ago when they were having a sale. I have started using them after I ran out of my Revlon loose powder

I bought 2 different colour, a translucent one and a pink tone one (they have a name for it but I threw the box away and I can’t remember the name)

Below are pictures of what packaging they come in and also the swatches.

After Blending

I use both the translucent and  the pink one for different areas. I use the translucent one to set my BB cream or foundation and I use the pink tone one to set my under eye concealer.

I really like the pink tone one because it helps brighten up my under eye area. I will normally set the powder under my eye before going all over with the translucent one.

As for the translucent one it kind of leave a white cast on my face, but it does set in after a while. I guess there is s reason it is call a whitening moisture lock loose powder. As for the moisture lock claim on the product, well, I am not too sure it works though.

Verdict: It is good to know that the product is made out of natural ingredient like Gingko extract and Liquorice and it will only do good to your skin. Either that that, it is not the best loose powder I have ever used.  But I do like the pink tone one J

Price:   Mid-Range – 295 Baht (12gm)

Where: Boots. Unfortunately, not available in Malaysia.

My Lip Smacker Craze

I am crazy over Paul Frank’s Lip balmssss. The packaging is so cute. I was at Guardian Mid Valley about a month ago and I bought the first “group of Paul Frank and Friends.”

L-R : Mika's Sweet Cream, Clancy's Cotton Candy, Worry Bear's Honey Sweet, Bunny Girl's Carrot Cake, Julius' Red Rasberry, Julius' Strawberry Banana Squeezy Lip Smacker

One week after that, I saw another collection in Guardian Time Square! How could I not pick it up!

Cover of the box

Inside L-R : Mika's Sweet Cream, Julius' Strawberry Banana, Julius' Coconut Cream, Clancy's Cotton Candy, Chachi's Fried Ice Cream, Bunny Girl's Carrot Cake

And this is how I have so many lip balms and that also explains the duplication :p

My colleagues thought I was crazy for buying so many.

I am going to go through all the lip smackers.

Mika’s Sweet Cream: Sweet Vanilla scent

Bunny Girl’s Carrot Cake: This is not a flavour that many can accept in a lip balm. It really smells like carrot cake. It takes a while to get used to.

Julius’ Red Raspberry: Sweet and sour-age raspberry scent.

Clancy’s Cotton Candy: Not as sweet as the name suggests. A very normal lip balm

Chachi’s Fried Ice Cream : I do not know how fried ice cream taste like but this one has a chocolate scent to it

Julius’ Coconut Cream : I have reservation for this. It smells like coconut I think, but these is my least favourite.

Julius’ Strawberry and Banana Squeezy and lip smacker: The squeezy version  is a gloss. This are my favourite. It really smells like strawberry and banana J

Worry Bear's Honey Sweet Liquid Lip Smacker : The texture is like gloss but a bit oily and waxy. I find that a bit weird. This really taste like honey.

Verdict: In terms of functionality, I would rate this as normal. This is not something that can help super dry and cracked lips. It is great for everyday use and to maintain a moist lip. Word of caution though, you may need to re-apply frequently because you may end up licking them because  they smell so yummy J

Price : Mid range – The one in the box is priced at RM 49.88 for 6 sticks of 4.0g lip smackers. ( I can’t remember how much I paid for the rest)

Where : Guardian Pharmacy

Etude House BB Magic Balm

My BB Cream obsession is far from over! Today I am going to review a very special type of l BB cream that is call BB balm. Unlike conventional BB cream that most of the time comes in a tube, this come in a little tub. I have been using this for many months alternating with the rest of the BB creams that I have.

When I purchased it came with a mini foundation brush (I don’t know where I place it already).  I use a foundation brush to apply this balm. The texture is quite thick and very creamy so it is easy to work with.  

A little messy because i have been constantly using

When I have time, I will use a dry sponge to blend it in, when I am in a rush, I will use my fingers to blend. Either way, both techniques work well. When it is applied, it may look a little too fair, but don’t worry, it will set to your skin colour. Remember to set the BB balm with your loose powder.

This BB Balm provides a medium to high coverage and comes with SPF 30. Like most BB cream, this also comes in only 1 shade

Verdict: This is a product that I would most likely re-purchase. It is creamy, and easy to work with and best of all it is almost exactly my skin tone. It helps make my fair skin brighter without looking fake or cakey. With this product, a little goes a long way. Having said that, I would only recommend this product for fair skin.

Price: Mid-Range – RM69.90 (25gm)

Where: Etude House (1 Utama, Pavillion, Sunway Pyramid)

Daiso detergent

This is a much rave about item in the beauty blogger’s world. I bought this recently after reading reviews online. There are good and not so good reviews about this detergent. Read on to see my take on it.

After I purchase this, I followed the instruction to squeeze some onto a dry sponge and rinse with water until it’s clean. But then I realized that it is very difficult to clean the sponge thoroughly.

So I tried squeezing some into a small bowI, add water into the detergent and start cleaning my duo fiber brush.

Squeeze a few drops

Dirty brush

After cleaning

It came out very clean!

Then I tried using the same method to clean my eye liner brush...

But unfortunately it did not work that well. I think this is because i use my eye liner brush for waterproof gel eye liner. I figured that because the detergent is diluted with water, it is not strong enough to clean off water proof products. Therefore I tried another method.

Cleaning on my palm

I squeeze a little detergent onto my palm and start cleaning my eye liner brush.

And guess what?! Squeaky clean yo!

Verdict:. There are some reviews online that say that this detergent is too harsh for natural hair make-up brushes but I have tried it out and I think it is fine. The trick is to only use a few drops and add water to dilute it. Not too much detergent so that it does not dry out your brushes. This is a MUST have if you have a lot of brushes and make up tools.

Price : SUPER AFFORDABLE  RM 5 (80ml)

Where : Daiso store nationwide