Moisturizers

I've been trying out some new moisturizers that i purchased from Hong Kong. What i love about products in Hong Kong is that almost everything comes with whitening properties, which i love because my skin has a lot of discoloring and i have very uneven skin tones. I wish i got more to stock up since i can't find these products here.

First one is by Nivea. It's called Extra Whitening Cell Repair Protect Body Milk.
Don't notice much whitening effects, but i love the texture!

Net is a product by Pond's. Now i was very iffy when trying out Pond's products because the one's i tried here are too greasy for my skin, but since the container looked so cute and the fact that it had whitening effects, i decided to give it a go. And i LOVEEEEE this stuff, it's so smooth and silky, i love how it feels on my skin, and YES instant brightening results! Which i got more!


Pond's flawless white re-brightening night treatment

Been also trying out this new serum. Heard so much about it from beauty guru's and rally wanted to get my hands on them. it's called Hyaluronic Acid Essence by Aquamoist. I put one pump in my hand and pat it all over my face and it dries almost instantly. It's good for keeping moisture in your face, so the moisturizers you put on afterwards will h ave a better effect.

Gel formula

Next product is another brand from Japan called A+Fit- Whitening Essence of dew drop
I usually put this on my face in the morning because it's very light weight. I like something heavier when moisturizing at night. But i love this stuff, once you pub it on, it turns into this liquid-ie texture almost exactly like water. Like MAGIC!!! Feels very fresh and cool afterwards.

gel like consistancy

Last product is my favorite, and was raved so much about on youtube. So glad Sasa were selling them in packs of two for the price of one when i found them. This stuff came from Switzerland, and comes in a tin tube.

Vitacreme B12


This can be purchased at Imomoko.

Use of the cream: For tired skin, use VITACREME B12 regulary. For young
skin and for prevention, use for a course of three months, then stop for
3 months. Each consumer immediately notices whether it is necessary to
use the cream or stop using it. A clear increase in the elasticity of the
skin will be noticed after just a few weeks of use.


VITACREME B12 is the first cosmetic cream containing Vitamin B12.
CHECK your cosmetic creams. You will not find another cosmetic cream
containing Vitamin B12 or cyanocobalamin.
With its deep penetration capability,it helps regenerate, nourish and
moisturize your skins tissues. Although VITACREME B12 is recommended as a
night cream, it may be applied as an essence, a day cream or a make-up base.

Functions

• Acts as a coenzyme for normal DNA synthesis
• Promotes normal fat, carbohydrate metabolism and protein synthesis
• Promotes growth, cell and blood-cell developments
• Promotes manufacturing of nerve cell covering
• Maintenance of normal nervous system functions

Deficiency Symptoms

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Bruising
• Difficulty maintaining balance

Benefits of VITACREME B12

• Stimulates renewal of skin cells
• Hydrates and Softens skin tissues
• Regains and Improves elasticity and firmness
• Revitalizes age lines and existing wrinkles
• Diminishes age lines and existing wrinkles
• Helps to prevent premature wrinkles
• Repairs and Rebalances the skin's natural defense system
• Relieves and Soothes chapped skin
• Smoothes or Attenuates new or old scars
  
  
  
  
  *Quoted from Imomoko

Luxe Box By Loose Button and Mini Haul

Luxe Box is a company were they send you 3-5 samples each month. You can choose from either of the 3 memberships they have each with different prices. The monthly membership, they will send you one Luxe box, Quarterly membership they will send you a Luxe Box for 3 months, and the yearly membership, they will send you a Luxe Box for 12 months. I have chosen the Quarterly membership just to try it out.
They give samples ranging from various companies ie. OPI, China glaze, Laura Mercier, Elizabeth grant, benefit, Estee Lauder...etc.
The best thing about this service is that you get surprised every month. And i LOVE surprises! This is similar to birchbox i originally wanted to sign up for but unfortunately they only ship to the States.

Visit  www.loosebutton.com if interested.


I received my June Luxe Box this month which is my very first Luxe Box, and i wanted to review it earlier but i was a bit disappointed with my box that i sort of just left it aside.

So as you can see my box had already came damaged and smushed in the mail which i was very disappointed about because i love keeping cute boxes. But i know this isn't the company's doing, but probably the post man was having a bad day.

It came with a cute card.

A cute message and the card contained descriptions of the products that are inside.

Dermalogica's Daily Exfoliant, A full size of Laura Mercier's eye color, and a sample size of K-PAK color therapy oil for you hair. Oh and a dark chocolate.

Maybe i was expecting too much but i was thinking "uhh that's it?". And then i looked at other blogger's June Luxe Box's and searched for others on Youtube and everyone else got so much more, like 5-7 items. So i was pretty disappointed. I hope next month's box will be better.

A while back, ThisIsAlx wrote a post about some new skincare stuff she tried out and bought right here, and i asked her about it and was immiedianty fascinated. I am always on the look out for new skincare products to try out because like everyone, i want nice skin!!!
So i went on Paula's Choice and emailed a representative there to ask her for advice and she had recommended me some products to try out. She even mailed me some samples that i said i wanted to try. Amazing service!

I haven't tried all the samples yet, but what i did try, i'm really liking it. If all goes well, i think i'm going to go on another online shopping spree for the full sized products.

I was at the mall the other day and picked up a few things...

The bikini is from Garage, it was also on sale, so i thought "why not?" Even though i probably won't wear it this year because i'm very self conscience about my extra meat here and there and my spare tire. Ughh why won't it go away?! I'm also very out of shape, but absolutely no motivation to exercise due to the ultimate excuse "i'm lazy!" Does anyone have this problem???

I also bought some hand soap from Bath and Body. They were selling them for $1.38 each! I had to snatch a few! Two ladies beside me in the store had picked up 30-40 each and the shelves were almost emptied out! If i had come in any later, i probably wouldn't have been able to get any. Most of the good scents were gone already.

I also picked up the ultra sheer sunscreen from Neutrogena since everyone was talking about how good it is. I'm very iffy about neutrogena products because i think i'm allergic to it.The first face wash i used from them about 7 years back, made my skin SUPER dry and my face started peeling like crazy. After that, i stayed away from this brand. I haven't used it yet, but let's cross fingers i won't get a bad reaction from this one.

Clarisonic Review

I've been using the Clarisonic for two years now and i have finally gotten around to doing a review on it.
I purchased my Clarisonic at beautychoice.com since at that time, i had a discount code and it came with additional items.
The one i got is the Clarisonic Plus, the original size one that has 3 speeds to choose from. I didn't get the Clarisonic Mia only because they ran out of the pink one i wanted lol.

I still have the original box it came in, and here's what it looks like.

Here's what the box said:

It claims the Clarisonic removes 6 times more the makeup then plainly using your hands with face wash to cleanse your face.

Just in case it's difficult to see the writing on the picture, here are the benefits:

- Clears pores and reduces the appearance of pore size
- Cleanses so effectively that skin care products absorbs better
- Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
- Helps reduce oily areas, dry patches and blemishes
- Remarkably gentle for cleansing all skin types, even with sensitive conditions such as rosacea and acne

So the package i got came with two brush heads. A sensitive brush head for your face and a brush head for your body. It's very easy to take on and off and is very sturdy, you don't have to worry about it flying off when in use.

Body Brush Head

Sensitive brush head for face.

It has a waterproof stand /charger for easy access. I usually just leave it plugged in do i can quickly take it to use and quickly put back. Totally hassle free.

The clarisonic Plus comes with 3 different speeds, one very mild and gentle one, next one is faster and stronger but still feels gentle and the third speed is very fast and a lot of pressure.
The first speed does not do justice for me, so i keep my clarisonic at the second speed. I find that the third speed is too harsh on my skin and it kind of hurts when you use it too long, so i never really change the speed at all.

Theres only two buttons which makes life so much easier. Once you turn it on, it goes for one minute. And it beeps after 15 seconds -->30 seconds --> 15 seconds. And it beeps and the brush rotates to let you know when to move on to a different part of your face. I usually do two runs, so 2 minutes for my face each day since i feel that one minute isn't enough pampering for my face.

The box also came with a few small samples of face wash and a mini scrub for your body when using the body brush head. I don't use these though, i prefer to use my own.

So how do i feel about the Clarisonic? I LOVE it! I used to use it twice a day, once in the morning, and once at night, but now i only use it at night since thats when i have to get my makeup off anyways. Also because my face has gotten a bit sensitive and can be quite dry at some times.

Compared to how i used to wash my face (with my hands and face wash), the Clarisonic defiantly makes my face feel CLEANER. It actually looks cleaner too, after rinsing off and patting dry, my face feels fresh and glowy. Not glowy like an oily face but glowy in a way that it's clean, kind of like you just polished your face and it starts shining.
The benefits states that it cleans your face so well that moisturizers can sink ion better, which i feel is true in a sense. The first month of using this i wake up to a more hydrated face than a dry one which i'm used to waking up to, even though i put loads of night creams.
About it making your pores smaller, that didn't work for me. I've been using this thing for so long, and the large pores on my nose area and my cheeks still haven't gotten smaller. maybe i just have stubborn pores.

You do have to change the brush head every once in a while, and you can easily get them from Sephora. I usually stick with the sensitive brush head or the delicate brush head, since they are goth so gentle and soft.

I would recommend the  Clarisonic to everyone and it's so easy to take to travel too. I went on a one week trip before and i took the clarisonic with me without taking the charger. it lasted the full week (and probably longer) without dying down.

Love it <3

The Face Routine

Morning routine


I've been using a lot of Asian brands lately since i wanted to change up what i normally use. I bought a bunch of stuff from Sasa.com, but i'm still forever on a lookout for good face products.

I've been using the Sewame: Perfect firming and Whitening Cleanser

I really like the Sewame paper masks that I've tried so i wanted to try their cleanser too. Of course i didn't believe for one second that the "face firming" feature will actually work, but i mainly bought it for the whitening properties. I haven't seen a huge difference but i guess my face does seem brighter after i rinse off the cleanser.

I also use the Shiseido perfect liquid and Shiseido perfect whip

I use the perfect liquid first, which is basically a cleansing oil. I massage my face with it on dry skin and then when i add water, it turns into a milky lather. And just to be a clean freak, i always use the perfect whip right after the oil. It's a thick cream cleanser, i just put some onto my hands, and slowly foam it up by adding water and massage my face with it. I like it so far, but originally i had wanted to try Shiseido's perfect oil and perfect milk (which is basically the same thing, but newer) but they had run out so i opted for these two instead.

So after i'm done washing my face, i apply the tea tree toner from the body shop (sorry forgot to take a picture of my toners).

After doing so, i moisturize my face with SANA nameraka Honpo Essence 

This stuff is really runny, but moisturizes my face pretty well. It does not absorb fast enough for my liking, so i have to wait before apply makeup and if i apply too much, i may become oily. I blame it on this...But i do get dry patches sometimes and this really helped with those.

Night routine


So when it comes time to take off the war paint at the end of the day, as i have already mentioned before, i use my all time favorite makeup remover: MANDOM: cleansing express moist/sebum

Sorry for reusing this picture, didn't take a new one

After that, i wash my face with Ole Henriksen Aloe vera deep cleanser

I'm running out

This stuff is gooey and oozy and very very runny but it does clean well and is soothing. I use this cleanser with my clarisonic. I use my clarisonic once everyday. It helps it foam up and create lather.

On the days where i don't wear makeup, i use the LANEIGE multi cleanser with the clarisonic.

A lady gave me a small sample of this at the store and when i tried it i really liked it, so i bought a full size one from sasa.com. It's a creamy cleanser where you just lather it on your hands and apply all of your face with your hands. I kind of strips the moisture off my face though, my skin feels a little tight afterwards. Which means it's a good idea to apply moisturizer right after using this cleanser.

After cleansing my face, i apply the seaweed toner from the body shop (sorry, forgot to take a picture). And after that, i apply the H2O Sea results overnight perfecting peel

theres a scratch down the center :(

This stuff is supposed to help with acne and perfecting skin tone and everything over night. I like it so far but i just really hate the smell. It has a strong smell of alcohol, but you can't smell it after its been applied.

After that, i use Skinfood's tea tree essence

I've heard so many good things about skinfood and once i saw that they had a tea tree line, i just had to try it. I love tea tree especially because it's good for troubled skin. I can't really tell if it had helped my skin, but i know it's very moisturizing. it's in pump form and two pumps covers my face and neck.

Facials 


Once or twice a week i will pamper my skin by giving it a mask. I use a lot of paper masks too and i have so many different kinds, but i'm sorry i have also forgot to take a picture of those as well. Some non paper masks that i use are:

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque

Everyone raves about how amazing this stuff is, an i just had to try for myself as well. I was so frustrated because i couldn't find it anywhere in Toronto (if anyone knows please tell me!), so i had to as a friend in New York to help me get one. I really do like it actually, it dries in around 30 minutes and it's a mint green color, making you look like the wicked witch from Dorothy and the yellow brick road movie. It helps dries up pimples just like it says, but only the small ones though. Because there's mint, it makes your face feeling sll tingly and refreshed, love that.

Mary Kay: Revitalizing mask 

Had this for a while now, but i like it. It's also a green mud mask that dries. It has small micro beads that helps massage your skin when applying and it can also be used as a scrub when mixed with water. I've never used it that way before though, I've always used it like a mud mask.

Boscia: Luminizing black mask

I got this because it was so raved about and had really good reviews on sephora so i just had to get my hands on one. This stuff is really black and i find it really messy. It's supposed to dry completely and you can just peel the whole thing off. It's like a giant nose pore strip for your face. It didn't work that way for me though, it took me nearly 30 minutes just to try peeling everything off and it got into my finger nails and all for the small patches that didn't dry completely yet. The trick is to apply a really thick layer so it will be easier to peel off. I like how when you peel it off you can actually see your black heads/white heads and dirt that was on your face but the whole thing is just too time consuming and messy. I've only used this twice and not very willing to use it a third time.

O'slee- Soybean milk whitening BB mask

This is a fun product. It comes out like shaving cream, very whippy and you just have to leave it on your face for 3 minutes before washing it off. Very quick and easy. It has a slight sting when i put it on but i guess that means it's working. The first time i tried it, my skin was stinging for the entire 3 minutes and after i washed it off my face was red. I was so scared i was allergic to it. But then i tried it a few more times and the stinging got less and my face is a nice healthy pink afterwards.

Review: Clinique Acne Solutions Spot Treatment Gel

A few of my friends have been raving about this particular product and since the infamous "Mario Badescu: Drying Lotion" wasn't working for me, i thought i'd give it a try also.
I never really liked using Clinique products before since they didn't work for me, but i was desprid and was willing to try just about anything. I usually get acne here and there when i'm stressed and especially when it's that time of the month. Hate them, ruins my week, destroys my plan of trying to go out with a naked face.
But this stuff works pretty nicely i have to say. I mean, it's not instant but it does have results. It's basically salicylic acid. It's a gel form that you just apply over your pimple and can touch up anytime of the day. I noticed it dries my acne up a lot faster and shrinks it, and it you detect a pimple coming and put some on at night, the next morning, it's not there anymore. But that only works for small ones, if you get a bigger one, it takes more than a one time application. But to me, it did make a difference, not the best thing, but at least it did something.

The Body Shop Haul

I stepped into The body Shop yesterday and the lady at the door handed me a peel a deal coupon thing. So mine was "Take $20 off purchase $40 or more". So i'm thinking "Sweeeeeeeeet!".
There were a few things that i really liked that i wanted more of and some things that i just wanted to try out.

I'm absolutely in love with their Tea Tree line after purchasing their small Tea Tree set a few months back. I especially love their Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner so this time i just had to buy the giant bottle.  It Mattify's my face very well and makeup goes on so much better, and it also takes off the dirt as well.

I got the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser to try out, and so far it feels very nice. I don't really mind the smell of Tea Tree, i know it can be quite strong for others.

The Vitamin E Moisture Cream is for my mom since she always steals my moisturizers to use. I got use to buying her random moisturizers from high end to lower end to try out. I did try it on my hand though and it feels quite nice, i mean, who doesn't love vitamin E. I don't use creams anymore like i used to, i'm more into using essence and serums and have been for the past 6 months. My skin is less dry than it had been before when i used various moisture creams.

I also got two Hemp Hand Protectors, one for me and one for my mom. I have very dry hands, and this thick cream seems to do the trick for me. I have to admit, the smell is not very pleasant but it does do a hell of a good job moisturizing my hands.


Like i said before, i am in love with their Tea Tree skincare line ever since i bough their mini travel pack to try out a few months ago. looks like this:

Comes with a cute bag

What's inside

I bought it when they were on sale for $12, but i think it's back to $25 again.
I think this is such a wonderful line, i'm almost completely done with all these tiny travel size products and my favorite is of course the toner.

This package comes with the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner- Which i love
Tea tree skin clearing facial wash- It's the the facial foam except in gel form. I like the foam one much better
Tea tree skin clearing lotion- I hate this stuff. I mean it mattify's my face so well but it also dries up my face. I guess it will be good for people with oiler skin, but i have combination skin and my face is very dry in the winter, so when i put this stuff on, it accentuates the dryness so horribly.
Tea Tree Oil- I love this stuff. I put it on my discoloration at night and it had somewhat made it become lighter and when i feel acne coming, i just dab some on and it kills the bacteria and *poof* it's gone!

Defiantly worth a try. This line has helped with my acne so much.

Mario Badescu

THANK YOU Mario Badescu for sending these wonderful wonderful mini samples of your wonderful wonderful products!!! I've been using the Drying lotion for the longest time and it had worked nicely because of the calamine and salicylic acid. Here's what they sent me:

1. Special Cucumber lion: this is a toner, i just don't like the yellow color.

2. Enzyme cleansing gel: It's a non foaming face wash, personally i prefer foaming ones, this one feels like theres nothing on my face.

3. Strawberry Face scrub: This one feels like the Laniege strawberry yogurt scrub, and it smells almost alike. It does remove a lot of dead skin as well.

4. Drying Mask: This stuff is really good, it dries really quickly and you are supposed to leave it on your skin for 20 minutes. The only thing i absolutely hate about this stuff is the smell! It smells horrible, it must be the sulfer since it's made with sulfer. However i do prefer sulfer over salicylic acid since it's more gentle for the skin.

5. Collagen Moisturizer SPF 15: This is a daytime moisturizer, it's pretty smooth i like it.

6. Hyaluronic Eye cream: This eye cream is a little too thick for me, but maybe it's because i used too much. A little goes a long way.

7. Drying cream: This is to be used after moisturizer and before makeup, but because i'm not very pale, it's difficult for me to blend into my skin so sometimes i'll use it at night.