Hong Kong Skincare Haul

It's been nearly a month since I returned from Hong Kong, I still miss that place like crazy! :( Nevertheless here is my skincare haul!

 

I didn't buy that many face creams, mainly because I take ages to finish them.

I bought the Sana Nameraka Honpo Moisturising Cream because I'd heard nice things about it, and also decided to buy the milk on a whim. I also bought the Q10 serum because it apparently makes your skin glowy ^^

Need I even explain why I bought the Tony Moly Bunny Mist? It's so cute!

The Shills Rose Night Cream was also bought on a whim, I played around with the tester and I liked the smell and texture so off home it came with me.

Three boxes of My Beauty Diary Face Masks (Pearl, Birds Nest and Sake) and a box of masks from a brand whose name I cannot read (help?)

The Beauty Diary ones were on offer at every beauty store so naturally I stocked up a bit ^^

Cleansers! There were lots of Bifesta adverts around so I caved and bought the Bright Up Cleansing lotion. A review search revealed that the company produces some amazing cleansers, glad I bought it.

Of course I had to buy at least one Hada Labo product. I'd always wanted to try the Tamagohada face wash. Skin that resembles a freshly peeled boiled egg? Yes please!

And a couple of sunscreens. I didn't actually get these in Hong Kong, I couldn't find them ANYWHERE TT

I ended up ordering them online when I returned to England.

That's the end of skincare!

If I can get my lazy ass moving, I will be posting up hair purchases soon ^^

Jia

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Dry Skin Woes!

As a dry skin sufferer myself, I know how horrible it is trying to apply make up over dry and flaky skin. What makes it worse is that the dry patches were not visible at all until you apply make up over it and then when you try to fix it with moisturiser, it actually makes matters worse TT

Let me share some tips with you to try and make dry skin something to be left in the past!

1) Everyone says it ALL the time. Please exfoliate your skin. I used to think that people with dry skin should exfoliate as little as possible as you don't want to dry out your skin. That is until a SA at Smashbox reminded me that exfoliating actually causes your skin to produce more oil, just what us dry skin sufferers need! What you should keep in mind is to not use an exfoliant that foams. I prefer to use the liquigels that dissolve away skin cells such as Cure Natural Aqua Gel, or AHA/BHA cleansers; Soap and Glory do one which is more of a cleansing milk. Here, I have photographed the Tamagohada cleanser by Hada Labo but I haven't used it yet hence can't comment on its efficacy. From reviews that I have read, it does foam a little but is apparently very good at what it does. If you prefer exfoliants with scrubby bits, I'm not actually sure which ones do not foam, so I suggest mixing some baking soda and a little water to make a paste. Remember to go gently!  

Cure Natural Aqua Gel - this is actually my sister's but I like to steal it because it
really is pretty good!
Hada Labo Tamagohada Face wash - for skin as smooth as a freshly peeled egg!

2) Layer your skincare! I'm currently using Hada Labo's Gokujyun line. Before the temperature dropped in England, I was only using the moisturising milk, but since the temperature has fallen I started layering the lotion underneath it too. A word of warning, when layering lots of different skincare items together, it may actually change the pH levels of the products or can affect their efficacy. I actually agree with using products from the same line as they should have been created to work together harmoniously, but even then I only layer maximum three skincare items on at any one time. If you want to use products from different lines, try to leave a five minute gap between layers to ensure the previously applied products have been fully absorbed.

Before bedtime, I like to apply Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre to nourish my skin overnight.

Gokujyun Lotion - Hada Labo's most famous product. I shall be doing a more detailed review on this soon
Gokujyun Milk - one of my favourite moisturisers.
Embryolisse - a make up artist favourite for moistursing and priming skin.

3) Don't over wash your skin. Overzealous cleansing can disrupt your skin's pH level, diminishing its ability to protect itself from bacteria and external stress factors. In the mornings I only wash with warm water, and in the evenings I simply use a cleansing water before rinsing with warm water again. I will use an eye make up remover or exfoliator depending on the situation. I favour cleansing waters because my skin seems to prefer it to oil or milk cleansers and I also find them more refreshing. I'm currently using the Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water by No7, it's not a bad product but I just wish it didn't smell so strange..sort of like a sweet floral smell? Bioderma's Solution Micellaire is unscented and good at cleansing but I actually find it a little drying. My favourite so far is Embrolisse's Lotion Micellaire which I bought when I visited the IMATS earlier this year, unfortunately it ran out a while back and is very difficult to find in England :(

No7 Cleansing Water and Bioderma's Solution Micellaire.
Have you tried these before? Any thoughts?

4) Apply moisturiser over warm, damp skin! Trapping a layer of moisture underneath your creams and lotions helps to keep your skin hydrated while also improving the absorption of your products.

5) And the most obvious, eat well! Drink lots of water and eat foods rich in omega-3 (salmon, walnuts, avocados), vitamin A (leafy greens and orange coloured vegetables), vitamin E (nuts and seeds, olive oil) and zinc (turkey and yoghurt).

And I've come to the end of this post!

Hopefully some of you found this useful, let me know if you have any questions :)

Jia

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Imju Fiberwig Mascara Review

An extremely popular mascara across Asia, it is finally my turn to do a review on this mascara's performance. With its abundance of fibres and glossy black formula, does it really live up to its claim of 'painting on false eyelashes'? Well why don't we look at the evidence.

First off, some images of the mascara, the brush applicator and formula.

Shiny red tube and a silver cap with a holographic effect. I'm generally not too bothered about packaging unless it's super ugly or extremely pretty, this mascara happens to have packaging that doesn't bother me.

The brush is slightly curved to make it easier to 'spoon' the mascara onto your lashes while giving it lift. The slightly pointy tip also makes it easier to apply the fibres onto the tips of your lashes vertically.

The formula contains lots and lots of fibres to help lengthen your lashes and it's glossy texture forms the film that helps to adhere the fibres to your lashes and create a 'tube-like' covering around your lashes.

 

The verdict? Well from me, it's receiving a bank of mixed feelings. While the Fiberwig mascara does not live up to its amazing claims of creating a false lash effect, the results I achieved with this mascara were satisfactory. The mascara really does lengthen your lashes, and does provide a small amount of extra volume. Let's look at some pictures.

Just my bare eye so your can see how short my lashes are and can compare length differences :) 

One layer of Fiberwig. Slightly darkened lashes and some definition. What I like most is that my curl is still intact.

Two layers of Fiberwig. The difference is actually pretty impressive, huh? My lashes definitely stand out more and have 'grown' by the looks of things! 

Noticed the clumpy lashes near the end of my eye? Yes, me too. Like any mascara, the Fiberwig can get clumpy when multiple layers are applied. I didn't bother combing through my lashes though, hence the clumpiness.

Side by side comparison of bare eye and eye with three layers of Fiberwig. Lashes are noticeable (although slightly askew, that's just how they grow ^^") and they actually point upwards! ^^

Aaaaaand just a view of my lashes from above. The mascara's lengthening properties are actually rather impressive, it lengthens to an appropriate length without making lashes look spidery or making them feel crunchy while thickening the lash hairs to give the illusion of volume.

One other good thing about the Fiberwig though is that it really is super easy to remove. I just run some warm water over my face in the shower, rub gently with my fingers and the mascara can literally be pulled off in tubes. The tubes can look a little like fly or spider legs though...just thought I'd warn you...but it's actually really fun to pull them off :D And no, your lashes won't come off with the tubes when you pull at them (unless you're really tugging at it..which is kinda uncalled for...)

Now you're probably wondering why I said I have mixed feelings for this mascara. My lashes are very finicky and only a few mascaras with allow my lashes to hold its curl. When I first tried the Imju Fiberwig, it dropped my curl almost immediately when I applied it due to its rather wet formula. However when I decided to give it a go at a later date, the formula could actually hold my curl! Although it doesn't hold it as beautifully as some other mascaras, I am still very happy that it no longer causes my lashes to droop. I guess after being opened for a while the formula dried out a little, hence making it better at holding a curl. This sorta annoys me though, I don't want to have to wait a month or two for my mascara to dry out before it can perform properly TT 

Also, although the photos show this mascara to be quite promising, I very rarely wear the Fiberwig mascara on its own. I have achieved better results when combining it with another mascara hence will always opt for the better looking result. However I would say the Fiberwig is good for daytime looks when you want to add a some length and definition to your lashes without being too dramatic.

Overall, give the Fiberwig a go if you're looking for a mascara that produces more natural looks and is super easy to remove, but if your lashes droop easily like mine, remember that the mascara may only start working satisfactorily once it's been opened for a little while.

If you're still interested in trying this mascara though, here are a couple of application tips. First, use the tip of the brush vertically to apply the mascara to the tips of your lashes. This will help attach fibres to the tips of your lashes and essentially 'extend' them. Then use the curved side horizontally to sweep the mascara from the base to tips of your lashes to help 'lock' the fibres onto your lashes while also creating a thicker, more volumised effect. You may also want to consider using a lash comb if you apply many layers to help stop lashes from clumping. I also use the same technique for my bottom lashes.

Hope this review was helpful!

And again I apologise for my excessive rambling and huge chunks of text ^^"
I will look for ways of breaking up the text a little to make it less visually daunting.
EDIT: do the little gifs make any difference? Although those grey boxes are really bugging me TT

Jia

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It's been a very long time!

Sorry for the complete lack of posts for over a month! But I'm back now and will try to post more regularly ^^ (after all it's not as though I have very much to do..) I arrived back from Hong Kong a few days ago and am just about recovering from the jet lag. I didn't think I was affected until I had a driving lesson and found my concentration level just wasn't up to scratch ^^"

Anyway! Hong Kong was amazing and I didn't want to leave :( The majority of my family reside there so it was great being able to see them again ^^ also the food was just amazing, and SO cheap! Around £2 for a McDonalds meal?! They also sell a taro pie, taste wise it wasn't anything to scream home about, but it was purple inside so that meant it won a lot of points :D 

I managed to do quite a bit of shopping while I was there too, mainly make up and skincare, with the odd piece of clothing and jewellery. I'll be posting up my hauls and reviews along with them very soon ^^ (come to think of it, I better check my previous posts and find what other reviews I've promised but haven't written yet, sorry guys!)

I'll leave you with my make up haul from HK, please let me know if there's anything you would like me to review first ^^

I only bought two eyeshadow palettes, one by Lavshuca and the other by Parado.

I'd never heard of Parado before, but it came with a free blusher (which I gave to my sister before photographing) and it was also on sale :D 

Mascaras! ^^ I finally managed to buy myself Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus mascara!

I also wanted to try the new formulas of the Heroine Make mascaras as I loved their previous ones.

They just so happened to come with free eye make up remover and mascara remover, bonus! ^^

Ahhh it was like a miniature dream come true to be able to go to a drugstore and find Dollywink lashes XD I picked up No.9 Natural Dolly, No.11 Pure Sweet and No.14 Natural Cute (which came with a free extra pair! ^^). I also bought a box of Taiwan lashes for $15, definitely a bargain!

Lastly, lip products! I bought three Canmake lipsticks because I simply went crazy. I bought two of the melty nude colours (No.2 Creamy Nude and No.3 Baby Pink) and one creamy touch colour (No.3 Sweet Cherry). I also picked up two Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bars in Juicy Cherry and Juicy Orange, Maybelline Baby Lips lipbalm in Cherry Velvet, Revlon lipstick in Raspberry and a Loreal Watershine lipstick in Shiny Apricot :D

Yes I already have an excessive number of lipsticks but I just couldn't resist :D

Hope you've all had a good weekend!

Jia

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Natural Mask for Soft Glowing Skin

If you're looking for a simple remedy to help with any minor skin ailments you might have because of the change in weather (I'm currently writing this post in front of the fire because it's too cold for my liking and I haven't adjusted yet T_T), why don't you try this mask out? A simple concoction of natural yoghurt, honey and oats may give your skin the boost it needs to look fresh and glowing again.

Firstly, I apologise for the rubbish quality of these photographs. I decided to use my ipod touch without realising just how crap the quality of the camera is.

The ingredients are very simple, as mentioned above. Of course always use the organic versions if you can, but here I'm simply using Tesco's own brand natural yoghurt, ASDA's acacia honey and some oats I found in the cupboard. 

Add half a tablespoon of ground oats, half a tablespoon of yoghurt and about half a teaspoon of honey. I didn't measure out the honey to be honest, it comes in a squeezy bottle.

Mix it all up and you'll end up with a porridge-like consistency. You can apply this mask straight to a cleansed face or leave it for a while to make sure the oats are softened. Leave for around 15 minutes or so then remove by using circular motions and some warm water before finally rinsing off. The mask should be good for two uses, so cover the rest and leave in the fridge for later.

After using this mask, my skin immediately looked a lot softer, pores less obvious and the texture was smoother. Heads up, my skin has broken out a little recently from a retinol cream hence the yoghurt stung my skin a little. If you have irritated skin like me, skip the yoghurt and honey, just soak the oats in a little warm water and apply the paste to your face.

Also, you may find you achieve better results if you used ground up oats. I used to use whole oats but the results were never as obvious as the results I saw today. It must be something to do with increasing the surface area and allowing more of the good stuff in oats to seep out. You can either buy ground up oats, use a food grinder or simply use a knife and a chopping board. I used a knife today, takes a little while but if you have nothing else better to do while watching TV...

Please try out this mask if your skin is looking a little flaky and dull, it costs hardly anything so you don't really have much to lose if it doesn't work out, but I'm pretty confident it will work a treat ^^

Jia

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Recent Haul!

Even though I shall soon be spending a couple of weeks in Hong Kong and spending all my money there, I just couldn't resist a few items I've seen recently in the shops. I did promise myself I wouldn't buy anymore make up till I arrive in HK but that didn't exactly go to plan...but it was only like four or five make up pieces...that's nothing, right?! :D (not shown in this post btw)

From left to right: The Body Shop's Strawberry Body Mist, Boot's Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover and Lacura's Concealer pen.

The Body Shop has added a range of new body mist fragrances to their collection recently and there are a range of different scents including mango, coconut (it smells delicious, I may actually go back and get it), vanilla and a couple others whose name I cannot remember. The strawberry one is absolutely amazing, it's fresh and light and although smells a little artificial, I still like it ^^

Boot's has recently revamped their entire Botanics range. The packaging looks a little more modern and focuses more on lighter plastic packaging rather than the bulky glass packaging they used to use. I've used a few of the items from this range before but nothing really impressed me apart from the well loved double phase eye make up remover. The new bottle also comes with a new formula, Boots has replaced the Icelandic moss ingredient in the old formula with Hibiscus and removed a lot of the parabens. I guess the brown colour of the oil phase looks a little more natural than the green oil in the older versions but I can't comment on how well this new one performs just yet. I need to finish my current bottles off first!

On a random internet search, I came across Lacura's concealer pen, otherwise known as Aldi's £3.59 answer to YSL's Touche Eclat. Obviously I had to buy it just because it's so darn cheap and also, concealer pens are fun to use ^^ To be honest, I don't see the fuss with the Touche Eclat, maybe I have the wrong shade or something? Who knows, maybe I'll have to try shade 1.5 or 2 for a better match.

I also purchased Garnier's new Dark Spot Corrector. I have a lot of patchy scarring from the odd spot and I also want to get of sun induced freckles so I decided to give this a try. It's contains vitamin C at 5% concentration so it sounds pretty promising! Will have to test this out for the next few weeks and will document any changes! ^^

And that's it for my mini haul! I'll review some items in more detail when I've tested them out :D 

Have a good weekend!

Jia

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Hada Labo UV Moist Emulsion SPF50 PA+++ Review

Gosh the names of these Japanese products are just too long. However as you can probably tell by the post title, today I am reviewing a Japanese sunscreen product.

I used to rely on the minimal SPF15 in my daily moisturisers to help protect my skin from the sun before I realised that these creams didn't indicate whether they protected me from UVA rays. I started looking into actual sunscreens that people would only normally purchase during summer but found them heavy and greasy. My online searches led me to Japanese sunscreens, specifically this one by Hada Labo and I'm glad I bought and tried it.

Just some quick info about Hada Labo: they're a Japanese-American collaboration brand whose philosophy is 'Perfect x Simple'. They don't use colourants, additives, mineral oil or fragrances in their products and only use ingredients of the highest and purest quality to ensure their products have the highest level of efficacy. 

I also use their oh-so-famous gokujyun lotion, face cream and milk and I must say, their whole gokujyun (moistursing) line is AMAZING. It's kept my face soft and spot free throughout the last two months. (Even during the days when hormones should be playing havoc with my skin!) 

When I bought this there seemed to be two different versions available, this 'moist' one and another suitable for oiler skins. I can't seem to find the other one now though so they've probably stopped it, afterall they have recently revamped their hyaluronic acid ingredient.

The bottle is very sleek and slim, perfect for travelling. Although it only contains 38ml, it's lasted me around 3 months or so. A little goes a long way! There's also a little chunk of plastic inside that rattles when you shake the bottle, I guess it helps distribute the sunscreen elements equally within the liquid. The bottle packaging means it's more hygienic too as you don't need to dip your fingers into a pot to get the sunscreen out.

The nozzle is very slim too and its little spout prevents too much sunscreen from spilling out at once.

The texture is very runny (I don't think the picture shows it) which is why a little goes a long way and it's incredibly easy to blend. 

Blurry pic! Sorry!

Above is the unblended sunscreen just to show its watery consistency.

Not forgetting that this is the moist version, the sunscreen leaves a layer or oil of your skin. (It's shown as a slightly sheeny layer on my hand). It's a very light oil which absorbs after a couple of minutes. The oil might be a little annoying for users with oiler skins as it can probably feel quite heavy. Occasionally the oil feels annoying on my own skin (which is primarily dry) but if you keep your hair clipped out of the way and let it absorb, the oil shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

Of course one of the main things that attracted me to this sunscreen was that it provided protection against both UVA and UVB rays. I can't really vouch for the UVA protection yet, but I used this sunscreen in Spain and I didn't get any sunburn on my face. (Nor did I tan :D) Two thumbs up for that! ^^

The susncreen also contains hyaluronic acid, one of the best hydrating ingredients available, hence you can use this as your sole moisturiser if you so please. Hada Labo also likes to state that this sunscreen can also act an a make up base, so you can kill three birds with one stone: sun protection, moisturisation and make up base. Can't complain about that ^^

Overall, I love this sunscreen and will definitely repurchase (but of course I will try out other sunscreens that seem equally as amazing). The fact that it didn't break me out, stopped me from burning in the sun and kept my skin soft makes it a clear winner in my eyes.

Hope fully this review was helpful! Any questions and comments, please let me know ^^

Jia

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