Review: Biore UV Tint Milk SPF30 PA++ (Ultra Holy Grail!!!!!) & Good Day Vanilla Latte

Biore UV Tint Milk in Ivory and Natural

This is one product I'm absolutely crazy about right now - Biore UV Tint Milk! My younger sister is fair (NC15) and she uses Ivory, while I'm fair-medium (NC25) and use Natural. We bought this in Taiwan for about $6 a bottle, so affordable! For people with oily skin, this is a really good alternative to BB creams or tinted moisturizers. It provides light matte coverage with SPF and helps my powder foundation last longer. On weekends, this is all I wear when I'm not going to town. It helps to even out skintone while keeping my face shine-free!

This review will be more on the Natural colour that I use and really love. I have a lot of trouble finding sunscreens that I can use by itself, without adding powder or foundation over it. Untinted sunscreens are usually white and might leave a slight white cast on my face without providing tinted coverage so I don't feel comfortable going out barefaced, while tinted sunscreens are usually too pale, or do not have a matte texture. 

For example, Sofina Jenne Day Protector is untinted, so I still need to go over it with powder or foundation because I'm not comfortable going out barefaced like that. B.Liv Got Me Covered Sunscreen/Foundation, DHC AcneCare UV Protection Milk, Sunkiller Super Block Skintone, Sunkiller Kirei Hada and Mentholatum Acnes UV Tint Milk are all a little too pale for my fair-medium skintone, so I always have to add powder after sunscreen application to avoid a skintone disaster. Also, even though I really loved Sunkiller Kirei Hada, it had a pearlescent luminous finish that I have to use finishing powder with, to avoid oily-looking skin. Also, Kirei Hada's coverage wasn't super good. 

Compared to all the above, Biore UV Tint Milk in Natural is my SAVIOUR! Here's a comparison of the Ivory and Natural colours:

Biore UV Tint Milk in Ivory and Natural

Can you see that the finish is matte, and the coverage is really good for a tinted milk? Natural looks too dark for my skintone here, but trust me, it is not. I think it will suit NC25-30 really really well. It provides a smooth, matte veil that blurs my pores and minute imperfections. I feel totally comfortable wearing a layer of this to go out to my neighbourhood mall, to the pool, to yoga class etc etc. 

Biore UV Tint Milk in Ivory, a mix of Ivory and Natural, and Natural. 

Ok, I shall talk a bit on the Ivory shade as well. It looks really pale here and my older sister commented that my younger sister looks a little too pale with it on, and she's really pretty fair! So I mixed the 2 shades up and I think it's perfect. Ivory is a wee bit too pale for NC15, but I think a mixture of the 2 would be good. I really hope sunscreen companies would make UV tint milks in a multitude of shades, just like foundations! It would be a dream come true. 

Anyway, I bought these in Taiwan but I haven't been able to find these in Singapore or our neighbouring countries, Malaysia and Indonesia. I couldn't find it in Hong Kong either. Does anyone know if there's any place in Singapore that carries Biore UV Tint Milk in Natural? Please let me know! :)

So, in summary, I LOVE THIS. It is my ultimate holy grail item and I'm going to ask all my friends who are going to Taiwan on holiday to get me a bottle of this!

Rating: 10/10      STAR STAR STAR~!!!!!!!!!!

Moving on... here's a little something I bought from Indonesia - Good Day Vanilla Latte instant coffee satchets. Each box has 5 satchets and cost around 4,000-5,000 IDR, which is like 60 cents? Super cheap and yummy! Really delicious - the coffee is pretty strong and thick, while the vanilla taste adds an extra yum. I find Jakarta a non-touristy place so it's difficult to buy omiyage (foodie souvenirs) back for family and friends - this is something to buy, albeit a little cheap for a gift. :P

 It comes in other flavours like Mocachinno (Mocha+Chino), Chococinno, Carrebian Nut, Original and Coolin', but Vanilla Latte seemed the most popular because there were only a few boxes of it left on the shelf. Tastes really good and I wish I'd bought more!

Jakarta & Good Avocado Creambath Emulsion

I am now back in Singapore! I'm so glad. :D Anyway, here's another something I bought from Jakarta - Good Avocado Creambath Emulsion. Good also makes the creambath emulsion in 2 other flavours - Ginseng and Aloe Vera, but I heard that Avocado is the most nourishing, so I bought that. Creambath is actually a moisturizing hair treatment that is popular in Indonesia - the hairdresser will slather your hair in the creambath emulsion and give a super relaxing scalp massage. A lot of salons use the Good brand of creambath emulsion, and for an additional fee you can upgrade to L'oreal Hair Spa. 

The creambath emulsion is thick and creamy and has a very strong scent - artificially fresh and fruity. It's quite moisturizing and works pretty well to condition my hair - plus, it's cheap! I think it cost barely $3. 

Ingredients: Aqua, Cetearyl Alcohol, Mineral Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Glycerine, Dimethicone, D-Panthenol, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Fragrance, Ceteareth-20, Ceteth-5, Ceteareth-7, Butyl Hydroxy Toluen, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Magnesium Nitrate, Cl 19140. 

However, creambath is an experience - it's more about the massage than the actual product. So if you're ever in Jakarta, try the creambath!

Rating: 8/10

In Central Park, I tried this cute mustachio-ed bubble tea brand, Calais. It's pretty good! They let you choose your sugar level and ice level. I love the design, it's so cute. 

I bought a pair of hot pink wedges at ITC Mangga Dua for just $16. They're really comfortable.

My shoes lined up in a row. I like how I have a turquoise and cream thing going on with my Keds and ribboned flats.

The koi pond at Central Park. "We only eat gourmet food, please ask the concierge if you want to feed us."

Other than the bout of food poisoning and the bout of flu, I had a pretty good time in Jakarta. I ate a lot of gurame (flying fish) and other Indonesian food. Really yummy! The traffic was a killer but thank god my hotel was merely a 5 min drive away from the workplace. Would I go back? Not for a holiday. Jakarta is not a touristy place, but I wouldn't mind going there for work again, because the people are really friendly and laidback. :)

Jakarta & Herborist Mandi Lulur

I'm in Jakarta right now and when I'm in a new city, I always go looking for new beauty stuff! I picked up this Herborist Mandi Lulur scrub last weekend. There are a variety of flavours (I remember seeing green tea) but I bought the one with milk extract. 

Mandi Lulur is a kind of scrub that is used in Indonesian spa treatments and there are many brands on the market, including Purbasari, which is really cheap. It can cost just barely S$1++ for a tub of Purbasari, but the ingredients list doesn't contain too many natural ingredients. This Herborist Mandi Lulur tub (200g) cost me barely S$3 and I think the ingredients are better. Have a look:

The Herborist Mandi Lulur scrub contains rice starch, milk lipids, ceramide, olive oil... Whereas Purbasari consists of a majority of mineral oil and other chemicals. While Herborist also contains mineral oil, it's much lower down the list and it contains more natural ingredients. Anyway they're both so cheap, the price difference doesn't matter. Just go for the Herborist!

I immediately tried it out - it's a very creamy scrub (no lather) and leaves a light layer of oil/moisture on my skin that doesn't feel uncomfortable at all. It has tiny bits of rice grains in it which are quite small but feel quite scrubby (gentler than St Ives facial scrub). The grains are not as densely packed as St Ives scrubs, but still scrubby enough for exfoliation. It feels a little like a slightly less grainy sugar scrub. I have tried gentler scrubs and in terms of gentleness vs scrubbiness, with 0 being gentle and 5 being St Ives' kind of harsh exfoliation, this would be a 4. 

I like it quite a lot - the price is good and it moisturizes well. In fact, I just purchased a second tub today for my mum. Minus one point, because the grains are a wee bit harsh and not as densely packed as I would like it to be. 

Rating: 9/10

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Anyway, last weekend I went to Central Jakarta's Ambassador Mall and Grand Indonesia. They're so different! Ambassador Mall is a messy place filled with small shops and random stuff, where you can try to bargain. I bought a quirky bangle there for S$3:

Then we moved on the Grand Indonesia, which was so different! It's full of high-end brands. I had a great lunch at Social House, which is a lovely restaurant which offers a mixture of Japanese and Western dishes. 

The stuff at Ambassador Mall is underwhelming and nothing to shout about. I liked Plaza Indonesia because it has some unique brands that can't be found in Singapore, such as this shop called Scoop スクープ which sells craft items and other cute stuff for your home. I was really tempted to buy a fake  shrub in a pot that was pruned into a heart shape! 

I went out today as well and bought some more stuff but it's late so I'll update again soon.