Year End Random Beauty Haul

Happy belated Merry Christmas and pre-Happy New year everyone (just in case i did not get to post on the day ^^).

Well, Christmas shopping seemed to have started early for me~!!! There's the Kanebo Seasonal Warehouse Sale, then the Sulwhasoo spree on Qoo10!! Oh, and i got some beauty tools at a great price from BHG as well =).

There was the Kanebo's seasonal sale recently and i could not believe how much they slashed their prices!! Items which retails at SGD22-28 were going at SGD6-9 per piece! Incredible and scary....some *ahem PRC ladies were there as well to get their grubs. Quite horrifying, i can accept that at such warehouse sales, there will be some inevitable nudges and pushing and countless of 'excuse me's....but shoving? -____- that was uncalled for...yea, some random PRC lady just shove me aside when i was having a look at the eyeliners. Worst still, her friend joined her and they begin to ask for the prices even though its stated on papers that are attached to the counters. *roll eyes....seriously?!....*tsk.... Alright, enough of me rambling about inappropriate behaviors at warehouse sales, lets lift the curtains~

Tadaa~

I got all the above at only SGD82.20....yes SGD82.20....that was not a typo error =)...thinking back on discounted their items were, i'm kinda regretting not buying more now....=(...i could use some serum or day cream or eyeshadows or...*wails.....*sigh...it's over...=(....i'll waiting for the next one then...


Next, Sulwhasoo spree on Qoo10. I've been more of a Sulwhasoo supporter than History of Whoo, probably mainly due to my skin type and the place i'm living in. Oily skin and the tropics does not exactly goes well with luxuriously rich products...*wince....Well, there was a time-sale and i got all these for SGD56 (inclu. shipping!!). Will be doing reviews on these products soon~

Samples~!!!

Sulwhasoo Skin Clarify Mask

Ginseng Brightening Mask

Overnight Vitalizing Treatment

There was this one-day-close-door-sale-thing at BHG (Junction 8), and i happen to stumble upon it. There were many stuff on discount, but what caught my eye was.....

can you believe it?! 6 for SGD10!!! 

I'll post on my recent purchases, stay tuned for the upcoming reviews =)
And have a great year ahead!!

Biore Marshmallow Whip Facial Wash

Biore is a Japanese brand, currently under Kao Corporation which also manages Laurier, Liese (the bubble hair dye~), Curel and many other brands, including Jergens!! I love Jergens' Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer =) Might be doing a review soon on that... I'm not going to delve deep into Kao Corporation's beliefs and values, you guys may read up on it if your're interested.

Well back to Biore, they carry some interesting products, mostly gotta do with  facial cleansing like facial wash and make-up remover sheets, etc. Quite interested in their make-up remover sheets, have not used make-up remover sheets before...but i'm currently still on my Bifesta Make-up Remover. It's real good with the non-rinse function but i'm lazy...lazy enough to think that digging for cotton wool to pump the make-up remover onto is troublesome. Haha...I suppose make-up remover sheets are meant for lazy people like me, i'll try to get  my hands on it next time ^^. What i'm reviewing today is the Biore Marshmallow Whip Facial Wash~

Marshmallow Whip Extra Moist Facial Wash (dry skin) (Left)

 Marshmallow Whip Facial Wash (normal skin) (Right)

I actually bought this quite awhile ago when the hype about it was pretty high, but i guess it got chucked somewhere that the sun don't shine until i unearthed it recently and decided to do a review on it. Got totally sold by the pink and white packaging and not to mention the word 'marshmallow' !! Any girl would be a sucker for sweets and fluff and what not. Well, i bought the refill pack since i have foam dispenser (from Daiso) at home, would not hurt to use it instead. Save the earth~!

 

The Biore Marshmallow Whip Facial Wash promises deep but gentle cleansing by their ultra fine fluffy foam bubbles which are smaller than your pore size (not sure how true is that ...) and boast that it contains 40% beauty serum for the extra quench to your skin, keeping it moist and supple. Sounds yummy? The next best part is why i'm turning towards foam wash.....instant foam!!! No need for lathering!! Did i mention i was lazy?

My 200ml pink Daiso Foam Dispenser...only SGD2!!

For those who thinks that refill packs are a pain in the ass, fret not, refilling a Biore Marshmallow Whip Facial Wash have never been as easy.... just tear and here comes the part where stuff usually spills here and there but this refill pack has this~!! 

Spill-prevention tubing!

After using it, i do not think that 'marshmallow' is right description for it and still dubious about the 40% serum thing works. But the foam is really really soft and enveloping!! I don't know how to describe this but it feels really....addictive? Like you just want to keep puffing these white fluffy foam against your face all day. Do i sound crazy? 

After 3-5 pumps....feels like clouds...or what i imagine clouds to be =)

Gravity-defying~ ^^

It isn't like your usual foam wash, where it really easy to wash off. You might have to put a little bit more effort and water to wash the Biore Marshmallow Whip Facial Wash off to get a slight squeaky 'clean' feel (not strong 'squeaky' though). I do feel the skin tightening feeling after i dry my face BUT my skin felt really soft and supple and clean too!! So not really sure about the serum and moisturizing, but you can definitely get this if you are bored of your usual facial cleanser and looking for something novel. 

For those with dry skin, there's the Marshmallow Whip Extra Moist Facial Wash, which comes in the yellow/gold pump instead of the normal pink one. Not really sure whether there's much difference between this and the normal one, but no harm getting it since there's no price difference. You can get the bottled Marshmallow Whip Facial Wash at SGD13.90 and the refill at SGD10.90 at the stores. 

Thanks for reading and hope this post helps!!  

Musee Platinum Tokyo Permanent Hair Removal

Have not been blogging for quite awhile since i got a job in August, pretty unexpected....thought i would have enough discipline to generate more than two post per month...*sheepish.....i blame Qoo10 and my bed for that....haha....Well, i'm back with Musee Platinum Tokyo!! For those who don't know what Musee Platinum Tokyo is, they are Japan's No.1 premier hair removal salon~! And they have currently 5 branches in Singapore!! For more information, check out their website.

Been pretty bugged about my body hair, but unable to do much about them since my skin get really really itchy (with red bumps…ick) after shaving no matter what I do (use better blade or female shaving gel) and ingrown hair when I tweeze. There’s always the wax option but…lol…I never have enough guts to pull the wax strip....*sigh

I decided to turn to permanent hair removal, where the people at Musee Platinum Tokyo will zap your hair follicles to gradually reduce growth which eventually leads to no growth. Do not expect much result immediately after starting on the treatment, approximately 6-8 sessions of treatment is required to get desired results (number of sessions varies due to different individual body constitution such as hormones/shaving frequency/etc), which 2 months interval between each treatment session. Therefore, be mentally prepared and sure that you can commit to at least 1 year of treatment.

Was actually indecisive between Regina or Musee Platinum Tokyo, since both are the leading hair removal salon in Singapore, and both have great reviews on online forums (CozyCot, FlowerPod, etc). Well, the deciding factor for me was actually the cost, Regina usually have cheaper packages (check out their promo packages) until Musee Platinum Tokyo came up with the double promotion, which deducts $100 off your chosen package and another 25% discount after that!! Furthermore, Musee is also giving out free Ginger Gel Set if you sign a package with them, while the stock and promotion lasts of course ^^.

Well, that double discount of Musee’s won me over, and a package of 30 sessions with free unlimited underarm is around 2.2k SGD (U.P 3.12k SGD!!!...almost 1k SGD in difference), which is payable in 6 installments (370~SGD/ installment). Speaking of installments, Musee is much more flexible than Regina, the larger your package is, the more leeway they allow for your installments (from 3 installments up to 6.installments!) Whereas Regina is pretty strict on payment I think, for a $1.8k package, only 2 installments is allowed, which is at least 900SGD/ installment…quite heavy on the wallet.   

Started my first treatment on my upper, lower leg, upper back and underarm in late August and just finished my second treatment in October. Everything went by in a blur…probably due to the nerves I guess… The people at Musee would ask you to don on their gown, and before treatment commencement, they would shave your requested body part again before apply cold gel generously. ‘goggles’ to protect your eyes from the treatment laser are provided (with layer of cloth underneath to ensure maximum blockage I guess?), but would prefer that they put it on me after they shave me and not before….it was kinda scary to feel shaving blades on you with your eyes ‘blind-folded’…-.-….But everything gets better on my second visit, no more surprises.

Pain-wise, mostly painless I guess….i almost doze off while having my upper back and my leg done, it just felt like a burst of warmth whenever they zap, would rate it 3 or 4 on the scale of 10 for the pain. But the underarm…*horrified….was unexpectedly painful!! T.T….They described it as rubber band snapping, but it felt more like heated needle(if there’s such thing…)…anyway…that…hurts…a fair bit…but nothing that a human being cannot bear? That would be like 6 or 7 on the scale of 10. After which, they will apply cold wet cloth to cool the skin, followed by a layer of medicated gel (I think?). The whole process (upper back, lower leg, upper leg and underarm) took about one and half hour with the help of two beauticians, pretty fast I guess. Most of the time are spent on shaving, gel application and aftercare (cold wet cloth and medicated gel), not really a lot of zapping.

For those who are apprehensive about signing a package with Regina or Musee, you guys can consider their unlimited underarm which is only 388SGD and 138SGD nett respectively, or keep a look out for 98SGD deal for Musee Platinum Tokyo which sometimes pops out of the blue. Do note that girls that are below 18 (I think?) need parental consent before they allow you to partake in their hair removal treatment.

Will probably post pictures of my leg or underarm(?!...not confirmed yet...dun wanna gross anybody out) on a later date to show the before and after effect. But i kinda forgot to take photos of my legs before i start the treatment as well as after first treatment. So i'll start taking pictures from the second treatment on wards. So stay tuned~!

Feel free to ask me any questions ^^
Hope this post helps and thanks for reading!

Etude House Dear My Party Nails Review and Haul : Continuation

In my previous post, i did the swatches and review on PBK801 and PWH902 of Etude House's Dear My Party Nails Collection. Well, this is a continuation of colors that aren't swatched yet. Probably will have a Part 3 i guess, since i change my nail color every 1-2 weeks. 

The Tony Moly's Pinky Star!!
(pardon the clutters at the back, recently got a new room ^^)

The Tony Moly Pinky Star is a polish for a dreamy kind of look, it has circular glitter bits of red and reflective yellow/gold(?) with minute particles of shimmers in the girly shade of pink base. I thought it was a good polish to use when you have blunt nails or your're lazy to come up with something creative, because its blend of red and gold make it effortlessly-chic and the pink base allows blunt nails to have that 'nude' nail look but with little 'unique something'.

Up close shot of the polish in bottle

I got this because i wanted PPK001 from Etude House's Dear My Party Nails Collection, (but the seller do not carry that shade) and i thought that Pinky Star is a good dupe for PPK001.  (i got the blue one though...PBL601). However on closer inspection, realised that Pinky Star's glitter bits are red, and gold whereas PPK001's have blue in it, giving it a really different outlook. So not really a close dupe i guess.....
I did say that i was going to review PBL601 along with Tony Moly's Pinky Star, but on second thought i will leave PBL601 for the next time because there's no way i'm going to wear both polish on my body simultaneously. They look so.....clashing.....-.-   

Finally...the swatch~!

The only thing i didn't like about Tony Moly's Pinky Star is that it is so difficult to get a uniform spread...or even spread the gorgeous glitter bits onto my nails. It stays inside the polish bottle, at the bottle opening, onto the brush applicator but NOT ON MY NAILS!! Jeez.....that was quite a test of patience. 



Now, moving  on to the Lioele Nail color!!

Twins...

Swatch of Modern Mint
(Confession : i did not have the time to do a swatch of Mint Green =( but i believe the swatch would look true to pic)

The Lioele Nail Color in Mint Green and Modern Mint were something i got on a wimp because.....i didn't have these shade yet. Yea, kinda bought them without much consideration on what i'm going to do with it. Well, i thought it over and feel that this shade is really suitable for leopard inspired nail art!! Or other animal prints!!

      
Pictures taken from http://www.becausewearingblacklooksmysterious.co.uk, http://www.nail-art-101.com/cool_nail_art.html, http://www.flickr.com/photos/reenabetna/,  http://chloe-mia.blogspot.sg/2012_01_01_archive.html, http://www.motelrocks.co.uk/tag/nail-art-tutorial/ and http://ideias-de-caroline.blogspot.sg/2012/03/green-leopard.html

Awesome right? But i'm can't...not until i get my nail art brush and dotting set to paint the black stripes and dots. Well animal prints are really the rave now...other than the magnetic polish and the crackle polish, but they do give you a run for your creativity ^^ (see below)

 
Pic taken from http://beautopia.onsugar.com/Beige-Blue-Mixup-Mani---Leopard-Zebra-18314491

Hope i can start trying out nail art soon, all those DIY nail tutorials are so intriguing! *eyes Qoo10 for nail art brush/dotting set sale.....Haha.... Okay, i will be doing the swatch and review of PBL601 soon!

Hope this post helps and thanks for reading!!
Stay tuned for Etude House Dear My Party Nails Review and Haul Part 3 ^^

Etude House Dear My Party Nails Review and Haul

Lately Qoo10 had been having all these nail polish promotions, i succumb and went on a nail haul on Qoo10, and got these nail polishes from Etude House, Tony Moly and Lioele. I didn't even know that Lioele carries nail polishes until i went on my rampage!! Bought whatever that you see below for only SGD24.3 including shipping!!

New nail polishes!!! (except the O.P.I...have no idea how it got into the picture)

Lioele nail polishes!!

Highlight of today's review!!! 

Today i will be doing the reviews on two of the Etude House polishes first. Etude House recently launch a new collection of 16 colors called Dear My Party Nails and i'm sold the moment i saw their color chart! Its so uniquely bling, and they really came up with quite a few interesting shades i must admit. The first two rows in table really caught my eye, but i only got three of them due to limited availability.

I bought the Dear My Party Nails in PBK801, really tempted to get the PBK802 but i didnt have any red in my nail polishes so PBK801 it is ^^

Such gorgeous shade of red glitter and shimmer in black jelly

Looks really unappealing without any dark base coat underneath

The PBK801 is actually just like your typical normal glitter nail polish, with the exception of a black tinted base. Quite ingenious actually, but do take note that PBK801 cannot be used alone. So be sure to have a dark base ready before applying this. PBK801 will look exactly like what you see on the bottle after proper application. This is really gothic-ish.... really suitable for a Halloween party night out as a vampire or werewolf.  Maybe i'll use it this year during Halloween to spice things up a little. 

Here's how it look like on my feet after applying it on 2 layers of O.P.I Lincoln Park After Dark (deep purple)....

Forgive my chubby toes 

Next is the Dear My Party Nails  in PWH902, a rainbow-sheen shimmers in clear base. I was actually pretty skeptical how it would turn out on, but i am delighted at how it turns out! It looks like a normal clear coat with shimmer, and this insignificant bottle creates a fine mosaic effect! Kinda looks lizardy though...would strongly recommend this to try out!!

Looks harmless doesn't it?

Brilliant isn't it? Probably should experiment with other base colors as well...

Another picture of PWH902~

Those korean beauty brands are really innovative!! Can't wait to see what else will be brewing in their pots in future. Will do the review for PBL601 together with the Tony Moly polish because both Etude House and Tony Moly carries similar polishes. So stay with me!!

Hope this post helps and thanks for reading!!

ElishaCoy Always Triple BB Cream Swatch & Review

Had the ElishaCoy Always Triple BB Cream for a year, but only started using it recently for around 3 months and going to do a review on it today. Lets start with the brand introduction, ElishaCoy is actually a korean brand, i know it sounds more like a States brand. So what's with their brand name? 
Elisha : my god is salvation (Hebrew)
C.O.Y (acronym) = Creation of Youth

ElishaCoy is famous for being organic and only using high quality herbs or plant extract in their ingredient list, claiming to maximizing the skin's self-survival ability (i have no idea what that means) via phyto therapy (plant's pharmacological action). The brand emphasizes a lot on achieving a overall sense of balance between  physical, mental and psychological states, not only through phyto therapy but aroma therapy as well, using essential oil obtained from herbs or fruits. They also claim to use both western herb extracts and various oriental traditional resources to not only provide relief to the skin but also to treat the skin for wrinkles, dull tone and enlarged pores.

Cleo Winner!! yea i know...year 2010...

Ok, back to the Always Triple BB Cream, it contains natural ingredients such as royal jelly and caviar to protect and improve the skin. Other than the a fore mentioned ingredients, it also contains skin-soothing plant extracts (Portulaca oleracea L. and Morus alba Linne) for sensitive skin! With a SPF30, PA++, it protects against UVA and UVB rays with broad-spectrum filters.

What i like most about this BB cream is its coverage, i could go without concealer with this BB cream, or maybe a little under my eye for that zero-dark-eye-circles look. The texture is quite fluid, making blending a breeze. Despite all the aroma therapy talk in their brand introduction, this BB cream's scent is actually not strong at all, almost not existent until i wrote this review and had to read up more on the brand., it smells like floral incense with a little sunblock-ish tint? The oil control is probably the only downside of this BB cream, i have to blot every 4-5 hours but the staying power is really strong, i can go without touch-ups for 6 hours straight. So all i need is just my oil blotter whenever i'm going out with my Always Triple BB Cream on me, kinda save space and weight on my bag ^^. The swatch looks pretty dark, but the shade will tone down after further blending, but like the BRTC Whitening & Wrinkle Repair BB Cream, this BB cream does gives off a pinkish tinge as well, nothing that a little loose powder cannot do about ^^. Probably use this BB cream when i have something on like a anniversary date or night out, because i probably don't bring my touch-up tools on a casual outing.


I would recommend the ElishaCoy Always Triple BB Cream if you're looking for coverage and staying power. Price-wise, this brand does not come cheap, a full 50ml can cost around SGD55+ on Qoo10 now. If your're on a budget, would suggest getting a 15ml tube for around SGD10.50 on Qoo10 here. 


Would be doing reviews on my other ElishaCoy BB creams (Always Nuddy & Premium Gold Mineral) soon, after i have used them much ^^. So stay tuned i guess...


Hope this post helps and thanks for reading!!     

Shiseido Naturgo Mask & White Mask Review

In my Daiso/Qoo10 buys post, I mentioned that I got some Shiseido Peel Mask and will be sharing on them today. This is a repurchase of the Naturgo Mask and this time I have also decided to try out their White Mask.

After applying a thin layer

How it looks like after 30 minutes

The White Mask contains LAG revitalizer which combats skin aging and dulling, and is absorbed rapidly into the skin, allowing it to retain moisture and nutrients (not quite sure about this statement though). It is also suitable for sensitive skin as well. The White Mask's description seemed really impressive, it claims to whiten, revitalize and firms the skin. It targets spots, reduces wrinkles and pore size as well!! Sounds great doesn't it? The texture of the White Mask is slightly more runny than the Naturgo Mask, thus making it more difficult for even application.

How it looks like after 30 minutes, forgot a just-after-application picture...sorry! 

The Naturgo Mask is made from deep sea mud that are rich in minerals, perfect materials for sebum regulation. Used to think that the Naturgo Mask and the same as the Black Mask, but later realised that they are separate mask type! The Black Mask is meant for impurities removal and skin whitening effects, formulated with five Chinese and Japanese herb extracts (including wormwood and gold thread), whereas the Naturgo Mask is known for being 2-in-1, being able to confer properties of both the Black and White Mask!! On top of that it also regulates sebum production and prevents breakouts. So I guess Naturgo would be the better choice because i cannot see any reason why people who buy the Black Mask when Naturgo is here? I cannot even see the reason why people would get the Black Mask when even the White Mask is here....seriously...the Black Mask seem really insignificant against the other two peel mask?

For more information on the mask properties, you can try here

Well I've tried both mask and my favourite would still be the Naturgo Mask, not because of the sebum control or that the White Mask suck at whitening, but because....the Naturgo Mask removed impurities much much much better!!! Here's the evidence....

Warning: gross pictures up ahead....( Just scroll down fast until you see 'STOP' if you can't take it )

STOP
Ok, no more gross pictures. Sorry about that, but you guys get the point ^^. I forgot to take pictures of the results of the White Mask, but the results is definitely less significant that the Naturgo Mask.

not exactly the best applicator

the huge smearing around the opening

The packaging is kind of a love-hate thing? It's packaged into sample-like style so it's really convenient if you travel or have a stay over. But it's really annoying during the application because the mask is sticky and you have to squeeze it out of a sachet. Imagine the mess I made when I first use it?! Not to mention that the Naturgo Mask is black.....so probably need some practice to get it right. Also, there are certain tricks to getting most of your blackheads/whiteheads out onto the peel mask ^^...Remember to apply the peel mask in thick layers, it has to be thick or else nothing gets removed.... Always exfoliate your face before applying the mask, i always think of it as prior dead skin removal to give a better grip on the blackheads...haha....not sure whether is it scientifically true but oh well....and there's always the steam-your-face option as well, but i never see the need for it...seems pretty redundant because your pores mostly likely closes up by the time you finish applying the peel mask all over your face...And i seem to get better results when remove my peel mask upwards from the chin, compared to downwards from the forehead.

I feel that it makes more sense to get the Shisedo peel masks which can be used on your entire face than to get peel masks meant only for the nose. Don't the rest of your face have dead skin and impurities? You have to do something about the rest of your face as well! Another thing to mention is the pain factor involved when removing the Naturgo Mask, it's....7......ok 7.5.... on the scale of 10...so be prepared....for those that can't take the pain, go for the White Mask it's 4 or 5 on the scale of 10....


Price-wise, these peel masks are pretty affordable at SGD 0.6 each on Qoo10, and even lower during sales or promotions. I would definitely repurchase the both masks, probably would be my staple mask in a long run. Probably use the White Mask after a day at the beach or before my period (when my skin gets easily irritated and prone to stimuli ) and the Naturgo Mask on the other days.  

Hope this post helps and sorry for grossing certain people out.
Thanks for reading!!