Love antipodes

Im now using antipodes as cleanser and exfoliator and history of fo whitening range for moisturizer

My skin is looking better than ever

Will blog reviews soon. Just want to say i *heart* them!!!!

Antipodes butter cleanser

Alright my skin is a slut. I mean it doesnt like old stuff and just want me to always buy new stuff to nourish it. *hangs head in shame*. It's been breaking out a bit lately which i think is due to either origins or my expensive lancome serum. Dont worry i think they are great but perhaps a bit too rich for summer.

So i went to smiths caugheys (Auckland) sale. It was 25% off everything night. Sucker i am went to skin care section and saw antipodes. My skin has an affinity to like natural products. The SA said that if i buy two product, i get lovely exfoliating cream.

 

Free gift

AFter choosing and poking and trying on all the skincare range, i was seduced by the butter cleanser

I was worried that it may be oily. But when the SA put some on my skin and wipe away with hot water towel. It actually feels good!

I decided to get the night cream too:

Hey 92% sounds good..why not right. The total of these two items come to about NZD95++ which is okay considering i get the exfoliator free. At the moment im loving the cleanser

Will update results soon ^

Laneige - strawberry peeling gel

Alright after a week of using origin rejuvenating series, i think its too rich for summer as im getting quite a big of clogged pores either that or its ovulation!!

Anyway, so i decided i need some kinda exfoliation.So decided to buy laneige strawberry yogurt peeling gel again. I had it before and finished it! So im quite keen to get back to it.

I headed to amore pacific in mid city. It has reasonable prices for iope, sul wha soo and laneige range.


I bought a set which has the peeling gel. You rub this over dry face and it will turn into white granules which are your dead skin. I find it better than using scrubs.

Clear C effector, which the SA claims is good for lightening, brightening the skin.

Product Benefits
A skin booster containing 30% Acerola Cherry Extract which is nature’s richest source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C, a powerful anti-oxidant rejuvenates tired, stressed skin and promotes translucency and radiance. It also doubles up the effect of the next skincare products. It arranges keratin and purifies skin for nutrients to be absorbed thoroughly. High concentration of Acerola Cherry Extract also prevents the formation of keratin to effectively maintain the feeling of clean, clear and fresh feeling skin.



And two samples for



A feather-light, leave-on gel mask applied just before bedtime. Water Sleeping Pack Plus penetrates the skin immediately upon application; infusing it with a concentrated supply of moisture while you sleep. Skin is lustrously revitalized the next day! Active ingredients Vitamin E Acetate (stabilised Vitamin E) protects the skin against UV damage and environmental stresses while yeast extract Toniskin encourages the skin to mend and tone itself. Bio HE, a unique ingredient derived from collagen which holds up to several hundred times its own weight in moisture, feeds the skin a continuous supply of moisture.

Yogurt extract makes skin soft and strawberry extract gives a clean and healthy appearance.

 Overall my skin seems good today so must be all the dead cells gone? The whole set costed me only NZD55. The two trial size are mini size 10ML. But the other two are full size. Definitely worth buying

My buy at trelise sale

So these are the dresses I looted from the sale. It was mayhem as many women just grab and grab. !! Definitely worth checking out

Sekkisei

Now, whenever i go back to malaysia, i will walk past the kose counter. Since it is hari raya, there are lots of promotion sets going on. I thought this set is pretty cheap. You get the white powder wash, the famous sekkisei lotion and the emulsion. Sekkisei is known for whitening effect and Kose is a japan company. Put whitening + japan together you get GOOD results.

The powder is quite drying so it suited malaysia weather. I turned into a black pig after staying in the sun too long in france. So to save my skin, i used sekkisei for a few days. I didn't want to look too pale and hence, i only used it for a few days. I must say im very impressed with its whitening abilities. Only after a few days, my skin is brighter. 

 

This is the texture of the emulsion. It's light milky lotion which goes over the face quite easily. I think this is a good skincare for summer. Defintiely worth a try as it's quite cheap. Try www.adambeauty.com or www.strawberrynet.com

Off to trelise cooper sale this morning. There is a clearance sale at 8 lion place newmarket!

Longchamp eiffel bag

My longchamp eiffel tower bag arrived this morning. Its lovely!!! I didn't get in paris because at that time all I wanted was lv lv *shame*

But now I love this brand!!!

Ps sorry side tracked from my beauty posts

Mac tartan eyeshadow

Right..so being unemployed means more time for shopping, which means spending more money! :( I was just browsing and found this lovely colour collection by mac. Its the tartan collection. There are 6 colours for nzd92.

Pretty okay considering one eyeshadow is nzd38. The colours I got are
White rabbit
Melt my heart
Carbon Family treasures
Gaelic gold
Crown n sceptre

I like it. Its different from my usual browns or purples

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Lancome Genifique

 

I was at KLIA (Kuala lumpur international airport) waiting for my flight back home. I had about 2-3 hours wait. So as usual, i was looking at the beauty and cosmetics counter. I saw that this serum is on sale for RM549 (which is about nzd260++). It's 100ML and i was thinking man it better be some good serum.

The MUA came and talked to me. He is gay definitely but he told me that the serum is the best he has ever used. bla bla bla 

These are lancome's pitching lines

"Youth is in your genes. Reactivate it.
Discover the skin you were born to have.
Lancôme invents our first skincare that boosts the activity of genes.
At the very origin of your skin’s youth: your genes.
Genes produce specific proteins. With age, their presence diminishes."

(not so sure about discover the skin i was born to have as I have bad skin since im teen haha)

After talking to me for 15 minutes, im sucked into buying it. Well it is a pretty good deal considering 50ML is normally RM418!.....

Anyway, the texture is gel / water like and its murky white colour. I've been using it for about 3 months now. To be honest i dont knw if there is any effect? I dont think my skin is any better or worse. But i keep using it as it is expensive!!! I did notice that my face is plumper. Not sure if it's from the collagen in the serum (if any) or im just fatter..

I probably won't recommend buying it for its price. I'll give it a 3 stars out of 5. 3 for not breaking me out!

Trip overseas

I've just been overseas to europe (france/italy), thailand, malaysia and korea. My wallet has taken a hit. I've come back with so many skincare goodies! Sometimes i wish i can stay in asia as there are just too many women with nice skin!

Anyway, I've purchased these on my trip overseas
Malaysia 

• Lancome Genifique Serum - This costed me a whopping NZD250 for 100ML bottle.
• Kose Sekkisei set (Cleanser, toner and moisturizer) - It's cheap okay..can't remember how much though

France

• I'm not gonna leave france without stopping by their beauty counter! I bought la roche posay hydrating cream
• Bioderma whitening gel - i was too tanned from the sun

Korea

• The beauty capital of asia. I had to try their top range skincare
• Skin79 BB cream pink range
• History of Whoo Ja Saeng serum set - USD119. Appparently this is the elixir of life for the skin. I'll be the judge of that. In this set, you get a 50ML serum, 25ml serum plus a trial size cleanser, toner and moisturizer

Thailand

• So, i was at the airport, i've got some leftover baht. What do i do? Shop for skincare of course!!!
• Shu uemuera skin rejuvenating kit - cleansing oil, rose water, rejuvenating cream, refining lotion and a vitalizing concentrate. I thought it was pretty good deal for its price.
• Origins skin rejuvenating trial set - You get the cleansing milk, rejuvenating lotion, rejuvenating serum and the rejuvenating moisturizer.  So far this is my favourite

Will post reviews of each soon. YES I've tried all of them :p

Sana Soybean products

Since Sana whitening essence, i bought the cleanser, toner and lotion to try as well. It's really cheap and worth it!!!

So I bought
1. Sana soybean cleanser
    This is so so. It cleanses okay but doesn't do wonders. I prefer ACMEDICA Medicated Deep Wash (100 g)
2. Sana soybean whitening toner
   This is pretty good. Its mild and gentle on the face and i can feel it whitens any acne scar that i have. Mind you since i started using sana essence, i havent got much flare ups.
3. Sana arrbutin lotion
  I think this is a bit rich for me. But its very moisturizing and great when i get dry skin spell

Global Keratin straightening

I haven't blogged for a while as I was being lazy and preparing for my trip overseas. I'm sure i will buy even more products overseas!!!
Anyway the latest craze is "global keratin straightening". For those who doesn't know it is just like japanese ion straightening except it doesn't damage the hair. Too good to be true? I thought so too.
I have tried japanese straightening many times and each time i ended up with much shorter hair as they had to cut off the damaged ends.

I did mine at Hype Hair Design at Forrest Hill Auckland. It took about 2-3 hours. Not long at all compared to the japanese straightening i did back in March for 5 hours!!!

These are the steps.
1. Wash your hair with purifying shampoo
2. Cover your hair with global keratin
3. Blow dry it
4. Straighten it

Thats it!!! How come it works?! Not sure....apparently it coats the hair with keratin and makes it heavier? And hence straight?!?!

It costed me 350 but i had to buy shampoo and conditioner so total is whooooping NZD430!!!

I had to refrain from washing hair for 2 days! When i first washed it, i was scared it will go all frizzy again. But.....the results were great!! My hair is soft, smoother and straighter. I only spend like 5 minutes blow drying it now compared to 20 minutes.

highly recommended but expensive :(

Sana whitening essence (soy range)

I found a little treasure at www.sasa.com. It's sana arbutin whitening essence. It's only NZD20.00 i think.
Anyway, I've got sunburnt from summer (all those outdoor activities). Out of sadness, i ordered this since it has good reviews on sasa.com and its cheap.

After few weeks of using, my face is fairer. If you know me, you can check my fb pictures and it is fairer than before. I've also had reduced break outs. Even if i get breakouts, it seems to have reduce the scarring rate????
Am i exaggerating? Try it because its only nzd20.00! Im now trying the sana soy cleanser and arbutin lotion.
Will update after few weeks of using. So far i think i prefer the iope whitening cleanser ...but we'll see.

Link to sasa (order here)

Update 10/07/2010 - I have been using this for the last few months and I am on my 4th tube. highly recommended :)

SASA.com TCM Mask - A++!!!

I stumbled across this mask while i was shopping on sasa.com. I notice that these masks sure have a lot of good reviews. It's a peel off mask and TCM stands for traditional chinese medicine.
You notice the strong smell when applied to the face. It's thick sticky white goo.
I left it on for about 20 mins and peel off. Its easy to ppeel off and wont pull on skin.

Man!! after i peeled the mask off, my skin looks whiter and smoother!!
The next day, my scars have faded!! Do try it. It's only USD1.00 from sasa.com and it's normally out of stock. I bought a whole heap of mask from TCM brand. Will review them shortly

Ginvera Marvel Gel review

I must say i like this product!!! I bought it at Girls Day out for $5 (small size 50g). It's green, gel like texture. When you rub it on your face , you massage for a few minutes and little white granules start to form. It makes me think i am rubbing the dirt away. Apparently, these are dead skin.

After that, you rinse off and you get silky smooth soft skin!!!

It's pretty good i must say. Compared to a similar product i have used - Beloved whitening exfoliating gel, i must say i like this one better. THey are the same texture, same effect but i feel this one cleans better? Beloved is more expensive though - about NZD50-60 if i remember correctly.

Best place to get Ginvera is probably ebay or you can get it at http://www.skincarebrands.co.nz/ and for beloved, you can get it at http://www.bgo.com.tw/ (if you read chinese) or http://www.one2fit.com/

L'occitane brightening serum

L'occitane had a VIP 20% off that day. so I bought this finally. I have been wanting to review this but havent had the chance because it cost quite a bit!!! Retailed for NZD98.00 i got it for about 70ish which is ok.

I am loving this at the moment. I love the smell, the texture (gel-like). I didn't like the immortelle oil because i don't like putting oil on my face. The precious cream was good for night cream too. Few years ago, i bought the sunscreen spf40 (due to high spf) but i suspect it causes clogged pore so i havent been using it.

This one does not clog pore and it seems to even out my skintone and slowly brightening it. Its not a dramatic effect but i am sure i am getting there!!! Do try it if you see it on sale or you can get it at strawberrynet.com for around NZD75

Rocketfuel for the hair

So i have been using this for few weeks now. I must say it is pretty good. Not so much about repairing cos my hair is still very badly damaged - due to everyday iron use (i am on the quest to find a new iron as my new shine therapy Remington iron seems to be useless now).

Anyway, this is good because it seems to make my hair grow faster. I had to get it trimed 2x since i used it because it was just growing thicker and thicker. I cant really comment on the repair hair side of things because i still notice my hair is damaged. But overall, i dont think ill buy it again because at NZD70, it's quite expensive!!! But since it grows my hair faster, ill give it a 3stars :)

Yonka

So, in the quest to find the world's best cleanser to clean my skin. Many many times i notice that cleanser doesn't really clean my skin that well. Like they don't even dig deep down into my pore and i have to squeeze my pore all the time to get rid of the yukky gunk (*and squeeze my boyfriend's nose though he complains that it is the most painful thing ever)

Anyway, after searching high and low, i noice that Yon-ka cleansing gel (blue colour) has very high reviews at both makeupalley.com and essentialdayspa.com .

For the first time, after i wash my face, my make up are all washed off. There are no traces of black panda eyes after a shower!!! I am truly converted. I also notice that my pores are smaller and less visible. But it's only been two days. I'll update after a month :)

I also bought Mask 103 to go with it. It also has high reviews. It is a deep cleansing mask. And supposed to suck the dirt out of your pores and give it a good cleanse. I tried it once yesterday and I must say it's pretty good. My face feels clean but not tight after the mask.

In total i paid NZD70 for both. I bought them from ebay and the cleanser was 8ml x 10 mini bottles which is handy cos i can take them to the gym etc. The mask is full size. I think that's pretty cheap! Essentialdayspa.com is expensive. I think if you want to give it a try, buy it on ebay.

I am now using Yonka (or Yon-ka) in conjunction with L'occitane brightening serum (which i bought that day when L'occitane has 20% off *shame*) . I know i know i am a skincare junkie.

*I stopped using skinactives as i am not sure if they are doing anything. I will re-use them after i review Yon-ka and L'occitane. I don't really like the texture of skinactives serum. They look murky and precipitated. *sigh*

Reviews to come:

L'occitane brightening serum

Ginvera Marvel Gel/Hydrating cream/Eye Gel (YES...i bought more stuff at girls day out...*Double shame* )

Eyelash serum #2

I decided to do a follow up post on eyelash serum. I have realized that the serum that ACTUALLY helped my lashes to grow (besides lumigan) is Skinactives.com brow and lash serum

I used this diligently for about few months and my eyelash is probably 2x longer?

Ill post a picture of my lashes soon. This is really cheap too. Get it from http://www.skinactives.com/ for USD9.50.

Update:

RapidLash did not do anything for me. I nearly finished the whole bottle and nothing happened to my lash. Also i tried Zino lash serum and it doesnt work either. Don't waste your money

Juice beauty reviews

I find that my skin loves natural/organic skincare. I found Juice beauty at a local pharmacy and thought ill buy a kit to try out. Here are my three favourites:





Green Apple SPF 15 Moisturizer
This claims to brighten your skin and protect it. It has anti-aging ingredients like DMAE and co-enzyme Q10, Vit A, Vit C and natural glycolic from raw cane sugar

• I love the texture. It's thick cream but not oily at all. It's kinda like apple paste cream. I am not sure if it brightens my complexion but my skin do feel better after i use it. I think it evens out my skintone. I didn't have any break outs after using it. I'll update after a month. I still haven't found my Holy grail sunscreen.
  

Green apple peel
This claims to improve skin tone and texture with hydroxy acid complex

• This has gel like texture. When i first put it on my face, there's a slight stinging sensation which comes from the acid. After i wash it off, my skin do feel smoother. What i like bout this is that it seems to clear my pores (until it gets clogged up again next day) lol
• Note that this product has high review from makeupalley.com
• I think the cheapest is at strawberrynet for NZD51.00 (more discount if you buy more)
• I will highly recommend it for a weekly organic peel. If you don't mind non-organic, perhaps try cheaper option Laneige strawberry peeling gel or Beloved whitening exfoliating gel (reviews to come)

Blemish clearing serum
Claims to reduce blemishes, dark spots and age spots. Contains apple,lemon, raw sugar

• I like this as a "preventive" approach to pimples. I use it after i cleanse my skin (kinda like how i used to use benzoyl peroxide but i read that BP causes dark scars)
• I had a pimple on my forehead that day (non-erupted) and i slathered on a good amount of serum on it. The next day, it was gone.
• So, i think i like it but it still has not got rid of clogged pores on my chin (which i'm on a quest to find the perfect product to do this)
• I find that my whiteheads/blackheads seem to come out easier after i use the Juice beauty range. However, pore size is still the same.
• I will definitely keep using this as a natural way to prevent pimples if you don't like to use benzoyl peroxide. Compared to Aesop camomile mask, i think this is a better alternative to combat pimple. Aesop mask leaves dark scar on my skin when i leave it on for too long (the sales said i can leave it on as a treatment overnight -_-)

Overall, ill probably rate juice beauty a 3.5 out of 5. It didn't do WONDERS to my face but didn't do harm too. I think i like the blemish serum out of all 3. I think it is a bit expensive but since it's organic, it's understandable. It didn't do too much to my pore size (though maybe it's still early )

23/11/09 UPDATE****

I've stopped using this day and night because i noticed that freckles became more noticable. Maybe the acid is too strong for me or the sunscreen was not strong enough? Anyway, i'm not too happy about the freckles and it looked like i had lots of blackhead on my nose. So i stopped using this. :(

Reviews to come

- Yonka cleansing gel and mask

- SANA whitening serum

- Aesop range

Eyelash serum

I was on a quest to find the best eyelash serum. I sourced all the forums and tried to find the most cost-effective way to make it work. I have miserable short eyelash. They are probably 4mm long.

Basically, a proven way to grow your eyelash is to use lumigan - applied like an eyeliner. I used this for few weeks. Lumigan is a drug to treat glaucoma. There are concerns about its safety but as long as you don't get it into your eyes, it's fine. There are dermatologists that prescribe this to grow your eyelash.

After using this, i did get noticable growth. I did find my eyelids were slightly red. But otherthan that, i probably increased my length 80%! The annoying thing is after the eyelashes drops off, the new ones that grow are not as long. So i have to start all over again. You can't get this without prescription unless you buy it from online chemist (not sure how trustworthy they are)

Next, i found this little gem in Malaysia - SASA outlet (http://www.sasa.com/).

This is kjinco eyelash growth serum (http://www.kjinco.com/). It costed about NZD40. You can buy them online or by contacting kjinco. I used this and noticed my eyelash has grown 50%. I found this to be slower compared to lumigan.

I have found another lash serum to try. It is new and it's called rapidlash. I've only been on this for 2 days so i will update after a few weeks with pictures.