Skin Food Milk Shake Make-Up Remover

I finally found a new favourite make up remover! I discover this when i was in Seoul. I have been using the Botanics soothing eyes make-up remover for the longest time, so it's really time to try something new. I have probably used up at least 6 bottles of Botanics remover and i think i have another 2 more in my cabinet.

The reason i love this new remover is because it removes my eye make up as effective as oil based make up remover but it does not leave an oily residue behind. It has a milky texture.

There are 2 separate layers of  liquid, you have to shake everything up before using it as you would normally do with oil based eye remover.

Once you shake it up, it really looks like milk shake which was really fun hahaha. You can use this for both eyes and lip.

Shake shake baby!!

Verdict : I extremely love this. Removes the toughest mascara and eye liners like a breeze leaving the skin around the eyes really comfortable

Price : RM 39.90 (160ml)

Where : Skin Food Outlets

Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins

 

L-R : Face cream, Serum and Toner

I was suffering from sensitive skin and was breaking out like mad 5 months ago. I was having redness on my cheeks and also pimples popping out randomly. I decided to try a sensitive skincare range. I got to know about this range from origins on accident. I was in seoul and shopping at Shila and was looking for a natural skin care. While I was at origins counter getting my Modern Friction, the SA recommended me this range. I decided to buy the whole range (almost the whole range to be exact). Having said that, not everything was in full size.

The serum works really well for me. Within 3 weeks, the redness and the dryness has reduced, but not the pimples, I treated that with another product which I will tell you all about it soon :).

I am not so keen about the smell of the products. For some strange reason it smells “medicinal”, which is probably contributed by the all-natural products I assume. Having said that, I have a friend who uses this range and she described the scent as “therapeutic”. So I guess it really depends on individual when it comes to scents.

White color - Face Cream
Brown - Serum

The serum absorbs fairly quickly and the face cream complements the serum very well, the only down side is that I find the cream too heavy for morning use. I used the toner, serum and face cream during the day and night for 3 consecutive weeks. Then after that, I only use them at night.

Verdict : Based on personal experience, this range does work to calm the skin. It takes at least 3 weeks to see the result and I think that the time frame needed for any skin care. The only concern I have is the face cream being too heavy for morning use. Either than that, it did help to calm my skin when I needed that the most. I have finish using everything by now and I may repurchase this range when I get sensitive skin again.

Price : N/A – I can’t remember how much I paid in Seoul for these.

Where : Origins Counter Nationwide

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