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

DHC Deep Clean Cleansing Oil

I am one of those who double-cleans my face every day. Double-cleansing means that you clean your face twice in a row. My double-cleansing routine is something like below.

1)      Cleans with a mild cleanser / oil based cleanser

2)      Follow with a cream or gel cleanser

I double-cleans because I put on my sunblock, primer and foundation almost every day and I do not think that cleaning with only a cream/gel cleanser is sufficient to remove all the residue.

I have used almost half :)

My current cleansing routine is using DHC deep cleansing oil, follow by Vichy gel cleanser (which I will review soon). I bought the DHC deep cleansing oil from Guardian while I was in Singapore because it was at a super cheap price. It was really a steal.

I have never used an oil cleanser prior to this because I always thought that it will be too greasy for my liking, but this cleansing oil is not that greasy and I can accept it because it  really help melt my make-up away very well. Once you finish massaging the oil on your face, wet your fingers and start massaging again and you will see the oil emulsify and become a milky colour.

Wash off after that and once you’re done, it is time for your gel/cream cleanser.

Verdict : This is the first oil cleanser that I have tried and it is a good experience and therefore, I will definitely try more oil cleanser in the future. There is only one thing that I do not like; the smell BUT because I always follow with my gel cleanser, it does not bother me that much. The retail price is a little expensive and there may be more options out there that are more affordable. I will definitely explore in the future.

Price: RM 85++ (Pricey)  ( I bought it in Singapore for ONLY 5 SGD! I think they were clearing stock at that time of purchase)

Where : Major pharmacy eg: Watsons and Guardian

Daiso Haul

It was one of those days when I was broke but I still feel like shopping. I figured I can buy something inexpensive. So I decided to pop by DAISO. I bought 4 items last week and here they are.

The much raved about Detergent for puffs and sponge. I will be doing a separate review on this later.

Disposable Powder puffs. 1 pack comes with 13 triangle puffs. This is very useful for foundation and BB cream. I used this for some of my BB cream. I read the instruction at the back and there is a caution line that says that this sponge may turn yellow when it’s exposed to light and air but if that happens it is still safe to use them. So far it hasn’t turn yellow on me.

Sandwich bag. The reason I bought this was because I wanted to make cucumber pads and store the pads in the bag and put it in the freezer. It is really affordable and sometimes I reuse them.

Hair pin. This cute little silver box that comes with 20 hair pins. I have to admit that I was attracted to the packaging rather than the pins. It look like a little mint box that you can slide open. It is very useful to carry around.

I am very happy with all these products and most of all it answers my cravings for shopping and more importantly it did not burn a hole in my pocket J

Verdict : NIL
Price : Super Affordable RM5 for each of the item
Where : Daiso IOI Mall and other Daiso

Hanskin & Skin 79 BB Cream

I am stuck with work and I have neglected my blog for more than 1 year. Time really flies and in a blink of an eye, it’s already 2012. I am going to start amplifying (a new way to use this word that I learned from my boss) my passion again.

Even though I have not been writing, but I have been buying and trying cosmetics and skin care as usual.

I am really into BB cream recently. This is because I feel that it is better than foundation because it have skin care properties in it. I will start off with the 2 that I am using, which are the ones that comes with a pump. I will review another 2 different types of BB cream in a separate post in the near future.

I asked a friend to pick up the Hanskin Caviar Gold BB Cream for me in Korea. When I first used it, I find it thick and too white for my face (I am already very fair) it does not look like my own skin. It looks like I have a veil of white on my face.  If you look at the picture below, it is a very clay like color. I did not liked it at all when I first used it.

Top is Skin79 and bottom is Hanskin

Then I figured another technique to use this. I used the triangle sponge (Review Here) I bought from Daiso, I wet it and squeeze the access water off, and use the wet sponge to apply this BB cream and the result was FANTASTIC! It reduces the white ghostly color but it brightens up my face and I look fairer (but not ghostly) and fresher. I really liked the effect. Here is a step-by-step guide.

Step 1 – Squeeze the BB cream on to your fingers.

Step 2 – Dab a dot or 2 on you cheek

Step 3 – Use the wet sponge and apply to the entire area

*note : Work on one area at a time or your BB cream will dry out.

The other one that I am using is the Skin 79 BB Diamond Collection which is a gift from a friend who came back from Taiwan. But recently, I saw this in Watsons. It has 3 functions wrinkle improvement, whitening and it comes with SPF25PA++ Protection. This has a very little coverage and it goes on quite light. This is good for people who do not need too much coverage. I use this with a decent amount of concealer and finish up with loose powder. This can be applied with your fingers, no need for a wet sponge application because the texture is not a thick as the Hanskin one.

Verdict : I have been using BB cream for about 2-3 months now and i feel that it keeps my skin moist compare to foundation. I sometimes get flakes when using foundation. Out of this 2, I personally prefer the Hanskin BB Cream comparing to the skin79 one. Simply because I feel that it brightens up my face more. The other one is ok and i'll definitely will not have trouble finishing it but i don't think i will re-purchse it.

Price : Skin 79 (40g) (mid-range)  RM69+

          : Hanskin (50ml) (Premium) RM98 after conversion

Where : SKin 79 is available in Watsons. Hanskin is not available in Malaysia, I got mine from Korea and you can buy in bulk (about 5 bottles) and get a good price at the duty free shops in Korea.

Clinique Youth Surge

I have not been blogging for a while simply because I started a new job and was busy adapting to work and the culture. So therefore I have tons and tons of products that I have not reviewed. I have even decided not to review some because I don’t think they are good :p

Anyway, I have purchased this promotional pack sometime end of last year and i have just finish using this. I also bought the hydration pack but I will only review later because I have just started using it.

The pack consists of a cleanser, a day moisturizer and a night moisturizer and all these come in a pouch.

The one item that I do not like most is the Cleanser. I think that it is very drying. This is not my first experience with Clinique cleanser. When I was a teenager,i  used to use their cleanser and it was the same problem for me. I had hoped that their cleanser formula would have improved after so many years.

As for the moisturizers, the day one is lighter and the night one is thicker and they both smells the same. I think they are ok to be used for maintenance, but a serum is definitely needed. I have been using these with my Cellnique Hydrating Complex, so it works alright for me. If I take the Cellnique Hydrating Complex out of the routine, it may not be sufficient.  This is just based on my experience and my skin condition. I am exposed to air cond EVERYDAY, at work at home and in my room, so my skins tend to be very dry.

Verdict: hmmm… I am never a big fan of Clinique products and this did not change me either. Hopefully the hydrating range will score a better review.

Price: Slightly high range – Promotional pack – RM 40

Where: Clinique counters nationwide (at the time of writing, the promotion period is over)

Sephora Blusher & Perfection Primer

I have purchased this for a very long time in Singapore.  I should have reviewed this much much earlier.  But I somehow ter-left it out. Since now there is a big hoo haa on Sephora opening soon in Malaysia, it kind of reminded me that I purchased something from there some time back. 

Let’s go one by one. I have been using the primer on and off simply because I’m not so much of a primer person. I find it a bit troublesome to put another layer of product all over my face. But I must say, my makeup especially my blusher lasts longer with the use of a primer. So sometimes, I just apply the primer on my cheeks. 

When I squeeze out the primer, there are some glitter elements but once it is on the face, you hardly see any glitter. The primer glides smoothly onto your face and your foundation will go on nicely. Aside from keeping my blusher sticking longer onto my cheeks, I think I have nothing else to comment about this product .But come to think about it, that’s what primers should do so I guess it does its job :)

Now the blusher. I really love the color! I bought the Framboise attraction no. 3.  It is a combination of pinkish and orangey and a hue of earthy tinge. I think it will work for both fair and dark skin. The funny thing, is that the color on the palette and when apply on the skin is very different. If the SA did not suggest for me to try this color on my cheeks, I would never have picked it up. It has a little shimmer which is just nice, not too much so you will not risk looking like a disco ball. It is very suitable for day use.

Verdict: I can live without the primer. I adore the blusher, right color and shimmer for me. I will consider re-purchasing it when Sephora opens here in Malaysia.

Price: Mid-Range :  Primer (30ml) – SGD 30 approximately RM 70+ after conversion . Blusher  (0.1 oz) – SGD 22 approximately RM 52+ after conversion

Where : Sephora Singapore and hopefully Sephora Malaysia soon

My Grown Up Christmas List

Do you remember me?

I sat up on your knee

I wrote to you with childhood fantasy

Well I’m all grown up now

Can you still help somehow?

I’m not a child but my heart still can dream

So here’s my lifelong wish

My grown up Christmas list

Not for myself but for a world in need

No more lives torn apart

That war will never start

And time will heal our hearts

Every man would have a friend

That right will always win

And love would never end

This is my grown up Christmas list.

Michael Bubble - My Grown Up Christmas List