Review: Fancl Liquid Foundation in 03 Light Ochre

By now, Fancl has officially closed all its stores in Singapore. It's pretty sad because I've used quite a lot of their products - Mild Cleansing Oil, Facial Washing Powder, 2-way foundation, loose powder, and their collagen supplement, Tense-Up. During their closing sales, I got a bottle of their Liquid Foundation in 03 Light Ochre, which is yellow-based and matches my MAC NC25 skintone pretty well. It retails on the Fancl.com website at US$23 for 22ml. It can last for a year unopened, and for 3 months once opened. It comes in a total of 5 shades, and the darkest shade would be about a MAC NC35 in my opinion. 

It comes in a no-frills, compact plastic bottle with a nozzle tip - I love foundations packaged like that, it's so convenient. It reminds me a little of Covermark's Essence Foundation Liquid, which I reviewed years ago here. It has a fluid texture (a little thicker than Covermark) and provides light-medium coverage with a semi-matte finish. The finish gives my skin a bit of a sheen, so it doesn't look as 99% real-skin as Covermark. I can wear Covermark without loose powder because it blends well and gives me 99% real skin, but I have to use loose powder over Fancl's liquid foundation to mattify the slight sheen to give more real-looking skin (I have oily skin, so maybe girls with dry skin won't have that problem). Oil control is so-so, it doesn't make me oily but it doesn't help keep me matte either. 

I like this foundation because it feels quite comfortable on my skin and doesn't make my skin feel dry after long hours of use. Staying power is ok when I use loose powder over it - it fades a little after an 8-hour work day (well, I have super oily skin). I like how it has no preservatives so it's supposed to be better for your skin, but I wouldn't be able to finish using the 22ml bottle in the 3 month use-by period. And another thing - I don't think it contains SPF, so if I use it in the day I have to layer a SPF underneath it. 

Ingredients: cyclomethicone, water, butylene glycol, alcohol, isopropyl isosterate, peg-9 dimethicone, sorbeth-4 tetraoleate, polyglyceryl-2 triisosterate, panthenol, hydroxyproline, polyquaternium-61, sodium hyaluronate, hydroxyapatite, steraric acid, acrylates/dimethicone copolymer dimeticone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, trimethylsiloxysilicate, mica, alumina, silica, aluminum hydroxide, dimethicone, methicone, iron oxides, acrylates crosspolymer, methyi. methacrylate crosspolymer, dea-c8-18 perfluoroalkylethyl phosphate, talc, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide

Rating: 8/10

Review: NP Set Pasarella Foundation, Acmedica Medicated Acne Clear Pact

I couldn't compose a new post this week because Blogger was giving me an error. I finally figured out it was some HTML from my previous post that was preventing me from posting. -_-U Anyway, I was totally de-cluttering last week and here's some stuff I threw out which I thought I might do mini-reviews on.



From left: NP Set Pasarella Foundation, Acmedica Powder Foundations

NP Set Pasarella Foundation
I bought this at Target for US$30, which is pretty damn expensive for something from a drugstore. (Well ok, I guess Napoleon Perdis is expensive but NP Set is supposed to be the more affordable line!) I got it in Set 3, which I think is more suitable for MAC NC30-35. It was slightly too warm and orange on me. It also gives a powdery look and the coverage is very light. The good thing is, it controls oil pretty well!

I like that it has shea butter to moisturize, but the finish is too powdery for my liking. While it smoothes pores, it also has a flat matte finish which is a no-no for me. And I doubt I would repurchase, because as far as I know, they don't come with refills, and US$30 is too much to pay for a matte-finish foundation. (I have paid more and am willing to pay more for powder foundations with fantastic, real-skin finish, like Lancome Macqui Miracle Compact.) Plus, it doesn't have SPF.

Rating: 8/10

Acmedica Powder Foundation - Medicated Acne Clear Pact
I bought this ages ago - it comes in 2 shades, Light Beige and Natural Beige. They're pretty affordable, about S$18 each. What attracted me was that they are made for acne-prone skin, so they contain acne-fighting ingredients like sulphur. (Indeed, I can smell the sulphur in the powder.)

However, I felt it wasn't fantastic at controlling oil. It gives a flat, matte finish too. I originally purchased it as I thought it could be a dupe for the other powder foundation I use for acne-prone skin (the Ettusais Powder Foundation which is 3 times the price of Acmedica), but it isn't.

The good thing is, it is very suitable for acne-prone skin because my acne improved after using it! So the anti-inflammatory ingredients work. Some people might not like the sulphur smell though.

Also, it only comes in 2 shades - Light Beige and Natural Beige. Natural Beige will suit skintones of up to MAC NC25, so the shades are only for fair skintones. However, it does offer SPF15 protection. I think it's a good budget option for acne-prone people! Here's the picture of the packaging - you can find it at SASA.

Rating: 8/10

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I'm super busy right now, I'm trying to finish tidying my stuff because I'll be holidaying in Taiwan next week! I haven't started packing. Looking forward to it! :)

Review: Ettusais BB Mineral Cream and Loose Powder

I purchased these 2 weeks ago - the packaging was too cute and it promised baby-smooth skin. I'm such a sucker for stuff like that. The BB mineral cream is $38 for 40g while the BB mineral loose powder is $38 for 10g and doesn't come with a refill. (Ettusais' other loose powders are more expensive, but they have the option of refills.)

That's the swatch of the BB mineral powder in Natural Beige on top, and the BB mineral cream in 030-Natural Beige (darkest) at the bottom. The powder comes in 2 shades - Light Beige and Natural Beige, while the BB cream comes in 3 shades - 010, 020 and 030.

This is me with just the Ettusais BB mineral cream on - shade 030 (darkest). Coverage is light but I'm fine with that - apologies for dark eye circles. Haha!

And this is with both BB cream and the BB mineral powder (Natural Beige).

Ettusais BB Mineral Cream
I'm purchased this BB cream because I like how I can choose the shade I want. Previously I had so many tubes of BB creams but I was really annoyed that they all came in only one colour. They're all very fair and not suitable for anyone beyond NC25 skintone, and a lot of them are for super-pale people! I got shade 030 which is a good match for NC30 (030 is a little too dark for NC25). But as you can see from the swatch photo above, it runs a little orange. I'm really yellow-based, usually I get Ettusais foundations in the yellow-toned shades which suit me very well.

The BB cream comes with SPF30 PA++ and when I use it, I skip my regular sunscreen so it helps save time. The texture is very creamy and a little powdery and siliconey (but not overly so). It blends much more easily as compared to Korean BB creams, and I find the oil control is really awesome for a BB cream - I can go about 4 hours fresh-faced.

The ingredients list in English comes in a tiny, tiny silver sticker stuck to the side of the plastic packaging. I nearly went blind trying to read it!

Ettusais BB Mineral Cream ingredients:
Water, Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Alcohol, Nylon-12, Cyclopentasiloxane, Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, CI 77891, Lauryl Peg-9, Polydimethylsiloxyethyl dimethicone, Glycerin, Zinc oxide, Disteardimonium hectorite, Diphenylsiloxy phenyl trimethicone, Erythritol, Xylitol, Dimethicone crosspolymer, Isostearic acid, Phenoxyethanol, Aluminium hydroxide, Alumina, Isostearyl alcohol, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Polysilicone-2, Tocopherol acetate, BHT, Calcium chloride, Magnesium chloride, Peg/Ppg-14/7 Dimethyl ether, Sodium hyaluronate, Sodium acetylated hyaluronate, Tocopherol, CI77491, CI77492, CI77499.

I'm a little freaked out by all the ingredients in the list, there's lots of -cones, but there is also hyaluronic acid which is moisturizing, and Vitamin E. I find this BB cream moisturizing, yet oil-controlling, which is really good for oily but dehydrated skin. Usually BB creams are heavy and people with acne-prone skin will break out easily from using them, but the Ettusais BB cream actually lets my skin breathe without clogging it up. I've tried Ettusais' other liquid and powder foundations and I have to say - they're really good for acne-prone skin. I've never had a clogging problem with their base products.

The only bad thing? The colour's not yellow enough for me (might be good for others), and it gives a white cast in flash photos because of the sunscreen. (Note: The white-cast-in-flash-photos problem seems to be a recurring one with all Ettusais products I've tried. Just remember not to use Ettusais on a night where you're gonna be taking lots of flash photographs.)

Rating: 8/10

Ettusais BB Mineral Powder
The powder is very finely milled and blurs pores very well. Plus, this is one of the few loose powders where I actually use the included puff! Usually some loose powders come with very pretty puffs which turn out to be useless, but the puff that comes with this one is actually very functional. It's soft and the powder goes on easily (no patchiness!) and blends well by patting and rolling. Oil control is pretty good, I'd give it a 7/10 for keeping the oilies away. I've tried better oil-control powders but they also tended to be drying, so I think this Ettusais BB mineral powder has a good balance between oil-control and moisture. It also has SPF16 (but honestly, SPF16 in a loose powder doesn't really protect well enough, so I always disregard such claims when I'm trying to decide whether to buy a powder).

Ettusais BB Mineral Powder ingredients:

Talc, CI77019, Titanium dioxide, CI77891, Calcium carbonate, Dimethicone/Vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, Methyl methacrylate crosspolymer, Zinc myristate, CI77947, CI77492, Aluminium hydroxide, Silica, Aluminium distearate, CI77491, Chlorphenesin, CI77499, Isostearyl alcohol.

Rating: 8/10

Hope this review is helpful! I really like Ettusais because their base products are really good for acne-prone skin and they offer a yellow-beige shade range for really yellow Asian skintones (sounds bad but that's me, hur hur).

However, their products are really quite expensive and while they give the impression of really good skin, the base products give a white cast in flash photography. So it's kind of like, even if I look like I have good skin, if I can't take a photo of it, I can't show other people that I have good skin, so what's the point, you know? I can only hear compliments from people who see me in real life, but hey that's good enough I guess. (Gosh that was a bimbotic comment, but I'm vain.)

Maybe when I have the time I'll review more of my Ettusais stash! :D

Review: DHC Acne Care Base Makeup + Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics!

Omg it's been 2 weeks since I last blogged; I never imagined blogging would become a chore. It's kind of tiring when I get home from work, and weekends are for catching up with chores and exercise and music. My current record for leaving the office is at 1am. I hope it won't be broken.

Anyway, sometime last week I couldn't take it anymore and went out to Watson's to spend some $ and make myself happy again!!! Amongst other things, I bought UV Protection Milk and Powdery Foundation from DHC's latest Acne Care range!

DHC Acne Care UV Protection Milk
I had to go out and buy a new sunscreen because my beloved Sunkiller Kirei Hada is no longer sold in department stores in Singapore, and is only sold at Nishino Pharmacy (in Isetan) at a higher price of about $18! (It used to be sold at Robinson's or BHG for about $13, even cheaper if you get a 20% store discount.) But guess what? This new DHC UV Protection Milk costs about $31. -_-U Forgive my illogical reasoning... I just felt like trying something new.

It claims to protect and mattify, fight bacteria in pimples, minimise appearance of pimples and roughness, conceal pores, eliminate shininess on the forehead and of course protect skin from UV rays, while maintaining a smooth finish without a sticky feeling. Here's the ingredient list:

It is by far the lightest feeling sunscreen on my skin, and totally non-oily/greasy, unlike Sunkiller Kirei Hada, which feels a little slick (maybe because of the squalane it contains). The DHC UV Protection Milk leaves a totally matte finish, but although it is tinted, I can't wear it alone because it is a mainly physical sunblock with zinc and titanium dioxide, so it leaves a whitish cast on my face. Oil control is pretty good and it functions really well as a makeup base with its smooth finish. As for acne care, my skin seems to have become calmer and with less flare-ups. It won't make your zits miraculously disappear but it will help prevent breakouts from ocurring, when used in conjunction with other blemish-fighting treatments.

Rating: 10/10


Swatches: UV Protection Milk blended out and unblended, Powdery Foundation
DHC Acne Care Powdery Foundation SPF 26 PA++ - Natural Ochre
As you can see from the first photo, I only bought the foundation refill because the case and puff is sold separately and I wanted to try if I really liked it first before investing in the other unnecessary stuff. Lucky I did that, because I really wasn't impressed by this foundation. Here's all the things it claims to do, and the ingredient list:

As a foundation alone, this gives light-medium coverage which looks really powdery on my skin. You know how most powder foundations smooth over and blur your pores? This doesn't. And other foundations usually set into skin to give a natural finish over time, but this one just looks powdery all day. It is indeed a powdery foundation. -_-U I guess it can be used as a pressed powder for touch-ups (instead of as a foundation by itself), but it doesn't control oil well at all. And when I wear it all day, it makes my skin feel kinda dry.

I chose the darkest shade which is 02 Natural Ochre, but it still seems chalky on me. I think it suits NC25 skintones, which is rather light for what is supposed to be the darkest shade. All in all, I'm just really disappointed in this product. I think it cost me about $32 for the refill while the case costs about $18 and the puff around $3. Not worth the money!

Rating: Fail (I decided that for products that fall short of the 5/10 mark, I'm not even going to bother to give a rating. Lol.)

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Anyway I was sorting through my pile of Time magazines for recycling, and found this article on the toxic ingredients in cosmetics (click for larger image).
One of the things that freaked me out was the information about oxybenzone which is present in a lot of chemical sunscreens, including Neutrogena sunblocks! When I finish my back-ups (I bought lots of Neutrogena sunblocks in the US because they're almost $10 cheaper per tube) I'll definitely be looking for new body sunscreens.

Review: Bourjois Mineral Matte Mousse Foundation

I bought the Bourjois Mineral Matte mousse foundation on a whim and also because I read awesome reviews on MUA!

The saleswoman was one of those middle-aged women who spoke to me in Mandarin. I find saleswomen who speak to me in Mandarin are usually more pushy because they can get away with it, if you know what I mean. Speaking in Mandarin makes them seem more... 'friendly' and well-meaning instead of being 'hard-sell', so it's more difficult to reject them when they speak in Mandarin. Pfft.

Anyway the woman tried to recommend me shade 82 (Vanille delicate) but in the end I opted for shade 83 (Sable Fondu) because my face is paler than my neck and I hate the white-faced look. I guess shade 83 is good for people with MAC NC30 skintones. There are only 5 shades (81-85), so 83 is in the middle. I find the variety of shades sadly limited! Plus, in Singapore, the kabuki brush is sold separately, and it's not very cheap really, for Bourjois is essentially still a drugstore brand. I got them both for about S$40 in total (after a 20% discount).

Still, this foundation is seriously awesome if you manage to find your colour match. It is really really pigmented (like regular mineral foundation) so I find I only need to dip a super small amount onto my brush and buff buff buff (as with regular mineral foundation) and voila, veiled skin! It does contain silicones to give that smooth finish, but no mask effect (as advertised). And because I use so little of it, I really think it could last me an entire year (or even longer)!

Before I used it, I was apprehensive about how hygienic it would be to use the brush consecutively. (I wasn't looking forward to washing it every day). The photo above is the brush after I used it once. Surprisingly, after buffing the mousse in, few traces are left on the brush. After I got used to it, I can buff till the brush is pretty much free of foundation. So I have no qualms about using it every day, and washing once a week.

The best thing about this foundation - it's really light, with sheer coverage (if you use really little and buff it in) that is absolutely buildable (due to the awesome pigmentation). It does a pretty fantastic job of evening out skintone, and while it doesn't cover my acne scars completely, I think it does a commendable job on the under-eye circles! And I can get away without using loose powder on top of it because it's pretty good at controlling oil! The only con I can think of it the flowery scent which may scare some people off, and made me feel weird at first, but now I'm totally used to it.

Rating: 9/10 (-1 for poor colour selection)


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So I've almost come to the end of my busiest week for the semester! Yay! I went to collect my Gelato Pique mook at Kinokuniya today and passed by so many shopping temptations, you cannot imagine. But I remained strong. -cough cough- 1 more month to the end of my shopping ban! :P

Review: ZA Two-way Foundation

I bought this for the amazingly pretty case which just can't seem to be captured clearly by my camera.


It was some sort of Christmas promotion - you get a free refill and heart-shaped pouch. It's still available now! The pink case doesn't look as cute huh, but it came with a pink heart pouch. My case came with a silver heart pouch.

I figured I should probably try out the ZA Two-way Foundation since practically everyone has used it before and I wanted to see what the fuss was about, especially since I read the great review from A Touch of Blusher.

I'm about a MAC NC25-30 and #22 fits me fine. I'd say it's a pretty boring wear-to-work kind of foundation because it doesn't have any shimmer and can look a little flat and dull on its own, but I wear it with shimmer sunscreen underneath or with Guerlain Meteorites over it, and it looks more 'alive'. Coverage is medium and buildable, but usually I use a brush for sheerer coverage. I find a heavy coverage looks fake and flat, and this one can get a little cakey if you build it up.

Pros:
It controls oil pretty well and gives a matte finish. A blotter is all you need to keep it fresh. I can apply it really fast in the morning using my kabuki brush (above). It looks great when I use a kabuki - I use it like I would use loose powder but it gives better coverage that stays and blurs pores pretty well. I can also wear it all day and it doesn't clog my pores much, unlike the Maybelline Angelfit 2-way. My favourite thing about it is that it doesn't make my face white with flash photography. And it contains spf 15, and is really cheap!

Cons:
Colour that is a little flat (no shimmer), and it may be a little too drying for people with dry skin. If you use a sponge, it can apply cakey and uneven, which is why I use a brush. I hear it applies better wet though, but what I do is I use the brush to apply dry, spray a face mist and blot the moisture off - it allows the makeup to melt into the skin and look more natural and less powdery.

I hear some make-up crazed people in my school can go through an entire 2-way cake in a month! Perhaps they do a lot of touch-ups (I hardly do as I prefer using brushes and touching-up seems unhygienic to me, the hygiene freak) and slap a lot on throughout the day. For me though, it's been a month and I've only made a little dent. I estimate that I can finish it in a little longer than 3 months if I use it every day. I used to be a liquid foundation and powder kind of person, but time constraints have made it impossible. ;_; So this for me would be a great 2-way to use in the morning before I rush off to work/school, especially in my future profession where I predict I will be extremely worn out and pressed for time. ;_;

9/10 (great budget find!)

Review: Covermark Essence Foundation Liquid

I've been pretty much broke this holiday season cos I bought a lot of stuff... After doing some calculations I figure I can't buy much more next year because I'm saving up for my grad trip. :P

My best buy of the season must be the Covermark Essence Foundation Winter Coffret - you get an extra full-sized gloss and sample-sized loose powder with a pretty snowflake container for the same price that you usually pay for the foundation alone. I bought it cos one of my fellow interns tried it before and she loved it. And I do too, which is weird because she has dry skin and mine is oily and break-out-prone.

Anyway, the texture is a very light essence-like liquid, very blendable. It has pretty much the same feel as Ettusais Flat Liquid Foundation (which I love as well but has a greater tendency to emphasise fine lines) - one layer gives a lovely sheer wash that blurs out all imperfections. It's not enough to cover blemishes but provides a nice veil that makes you look fresher instantly. It doesn't emphasise blemishes either but just makes them less obvious. And it doesn't claim to control oil or anything but it keeps my face oil-free for longer than usual. I find you really don't need to go over with loose powder because the finish is semi-matte and very natural on its own, whereas loose powder would just ruin it and make you look made-up.

10/10!

The loose powder comes in a universal shade - 2 colours, one for blue-based skin and another for yellow-based skin. Most Asians are yellow-based I guess. The bad thing is that the colour doesn't really match for all skin tones - it's not translucent, but lightly tinted with pretty good coverage sadly and can make you look too fair as a result. It's very fine though, and really helps to cover pores. And since it's a moist lucent powder, it helps retain moisture and doesn't really help control oil much.

The gloss is really lovely - a blue-toned pink with silver glimmer. I wonder what occasion I have to use it - I don't usually use lipgloss because I eat all the time. :P Sometimes I'd offer my friends food and they'd be like 'Nah, I'm wearing lipgloss' and I'd think, isn't it sad?!

Oh well. ^^ I received my Chagrin Valley package yesterday, very nice and scented! Can't wait to break into it. In other news, my skin looks like crap since I've been sleeping late recently and the worst thing is I have to take a visa photo tomorrow. Sadness!!!