Review: SKII facial treatment essence; Biobeauty Skincology Advanced Hydrating Creme EX2

After working for 6 months and having not too much time to spend too much $ (on busy periods I still sacrifice sleep to shop online though, to counter boredom ^^), I've graduated to experimenting with higher-end skincare/make-up products. Today I'll be reviewing SKII's infamous miracle water and another hyaluronic acid product - I've been using these 2 products together and find they work quite well on my super-breakout-prone skin - calming and non-irritating.

BioBeauty Skincology Advanced Hydrating Creme EX2
This product can be purchased through Payeasy. It's the cream version of the BioBeauty Skincology Advanced Hydrating Serum II that I've previously reviewed. It's slightly more expensive than the serum. The serum is NT350 for 30ml while the creme is NT380 for 30g. The ingredients are simple and soothing - hyaluronic acid, vitamin A, C, B5, B3, aloe vera and soy protein. It has a light and refreshing gel texture that totally doesn't clog pores at all (very gentle, soothing, non-reactive and friendly to sensitive skin) - a very safe product. The only thing that kind of freaks me out is how opaque it is. Like, unnaturally plasticky white, don't you think? Apart from that, everything is peachy!

Oh, and I do dislike how cheap the packaging looks with the blue sticker. However, it is easily removed - without the blue sticker, it looks quite elegant and almost matches my SKII bottle with its white plastic cap and frosted glass jar.

Because it has a pretty light texture, it may not be moisturizing enough for people with really dry skin. I guess it'd work better for people with slightly dry to super oily skin. It doesn't make my face oil up any more than it usually does. When I'm in air-conditioning, I layer this quite a bit, so one jar lasts me a month or thereabouts.

Rating: 9/10


SKII Facial Treatment Essence
Moving on to the star product - SKII! This is cheaper at dutyfree so I get my sis to buy it for me. I think of this as the La Mer of Asia. At first I got kind of confused - this totally looks like toner, but it'd be way too wasteful to use it as such! (Especially since I finish a bottle of toner a month!) This is supposed to be used after toner, before moisturizer. When I use this, I avoid using acne treatments or moisturizers with too fancy ingredients (like lactic acid, salicylic acid, etc) just in case it counteracts with the treatment essence. (No scientific proof on this, anyone knows? Cos SKII is way too expensive for me to use it anyhow. I usually layer a light hyaluronic acid cream/essence over it.) I shake out about 5-6 drops and lightly pat it on my face, wait for it to absorb and layer moisturizer.

The thing about SKII essence is... it stinks. Literally. It smells weird. But bearable. (The scent is quite light.) I also find it gives me a slight glow the next morning and calms my skin down when I'm very stressed. It is not meant to be used as a moisturizer so you definitely need to layer one over it. It didn't work wonders for me straightaway, but after 7 days, I noticed my skin getting calmer. You definitely need to use it long-term to experience the effects. For the exorbitant price though, I expected more than that. Like, faster and more dramatic effects. :P

Rating: 9/10

Today's post is about almost HGs, but not quite there yet!

Midweek - I'm just about surviving... Friday is coming and I cannot wait. I can't wait to meet people and rant. It's fun to rant with people who are experiencing bad luck as well, but sometimes I wonder if we should hang out so much cos maybe the bad karma is recirculating amongst us. :P

Review: Sanctuary Warming Charcoal Detox Mask

Hi I'm back after a month again! Gosh, I've really been busy. Super stressed out. And I'm sick right now, the 4th time after 6 months of work. :( Anyway, today's review will be on this amazing mask I found, it's kinda pricy, either S$29.90 or S$39.90 I think. So worth it though! It's from The Sanctuary Day Spa in London and it contains charcoal and essential oils, it's one of those warming masks and I love how it heats up.

It comes in an elegant and slim little tube which makes it easier to squeeze out, cos it's more like a paste in consistency. I find I really need to shake the tube hard (which is kind of difficult) cos sometimes the essential oils settle at the bottom and you don't get a good mixture of charcoal and essential oil. Or if I store it upside down, the paste comes out really stiff cos all the essential oil is at the top.

It's a really lovely mask - I apply it and wash off after about 10 mins. It doesn't dry up - you can wash it off with warm water or with a washcloth as well. I love how sucks up the oil in my skin without drying it out. I kind of feel like the essential oils are conditioning my skin, which I love!

Rating: 8/10 (Love it except for priciness and consistency)


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That's all for today, I see I have some new followers and I'm kind of embarrassed cos I've been so busy. I haven't actually checked my personal email in 3 weeks, I have so many things to do, I work on weekends as well, even when I'm bored as hell and can't take it anymore, I'll go out and it makes me so tired. And if I have drinks, it really dehydrates and makes me feel so much worse. Once I almost fainted in the queue for a restaurant on Saturday night. So embarrassing!

I'll definitely continue blogging though... I don't want to lose whatever I enjoy doing. Till next time!

Thoughts and prayers for the people in Japan.

I only saw the news of the tsunami on Google on Friday when I was googling a client's address. Didn't realise how horrible it was till I had time on Saturday night to read the papers. And they didn't come up with a death toll at first because it was too early to tell so I didn't realise the severity of the disaster.

God bless.

FOTD: Momobella and Undercurrent

I've actually worn variations this look a couple of times, I like how beachy it looks because of turqoise-y eyeliner and coral blush. For this look, I'm using MAC Pearlglide in Undercurrent and Tokidoki blush in Momobella (from the Robbery palette).

Undercurrent is a seriously gorgeous seafoam-turqoise mix. Glittery and intense! Love it to pieces. It stays on my eyelid all day without a primer (which is quite a feat). But - it doesn't stay on my waterline at all. It's glittery which makes it unsafe for waterline use anyway, so. :(

And now, moving on to my absolute love - Momobella blush from Tokidoki's Robbery Palette. It's my ultimate favourite item of all time - I could repurchase the entire palette right now just to get a back-up of the blush. Seriously. It's one of those NARS-Orgasmism-ish colours, seriously gorgeous and natural and glowy! I can't capture the exact colour with my camera, so here you get 4 photos to judge. (First photo's most accurate, the others are more washed out but then you can see the peachy undertones and gold glitter.)




It's a mix of peachy and pinky, perfect natural colour with subtle gold glimmer that gives cheeks this super amazing glow. The glow is very natural, elegant and... expensive looking. You know some blushes look powdery and cheap? This one looks elegant, understated and expensive. It's not too pigmented and not too sheer - perfect with a regular blush brush. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

I use this blush every single day and it's crazy but it makes me feel so happy putting it on. Lol. Then again, I don't own NARS Orgasm so I can't compare. Do check out the Tokidoki Robbery palette though, it's further discounted to US$39 at Sephora!! (I bought it for $49, boo.)

Review: Eucerin DermoPurifyer

Hi all! Happy Lunar New Year! Been away for a long time because I've been swamped in work. Usually I reach home after 2am in the morning and I had to work weekends too, I was so tired! I still don't get to go home for dinner these days but anything is better than still being in the client's office at 2am in the morning.

Anyway, I discovered this brand, Eucerin, in the drugstore. It's slightly more expensive than your average drugstore brand (these cost around SGD$20+ compared to SGD$10+ for brands like Clean&Clear) but it's pretty worth it! I've been having troubled skin because of the late nights and these help keep my skin from breaking out.

Eucerin DermoPurifyer Cleanser
It's a clear gel cleanser, foams quite easily and washes off cleanly without residue. It contains salicylic acid to unclog pores and it's one of the most gentle cleansers I've used! I'd say even people with dry skin can try this. Other cleansers which contain salicylic acid made my skin dry in the long run, but this cleanser doesn't. While it's gentle at cleansing, it cleanses thoroughly without stripping skin of moisture.

Rating: 10/10 (Yes I'd repurchase forever if only I weren't so fickle-minded)

Eucerin DermoPurifyer Creme-Gel
This is a moisturizer for blemished skin, it has a strange texture - creme-gel is a nice way to describe it. It is thick like a cream but not at all greasy, hence creme-gel. Here's a swatch to let you see the texture -


The instructions say to massage it into face. Usually when I spread stuff on my face, I spread downwards so as not to clog my pores, but for this one, I really do massage it into my pores so that the lactic acid can get into my pores to exfoliate and get the debris out.


I find this moisturizer has good oil control. Also, the really good thing about this moisturizer is that it really does moisturize - it's one of the rare moisturizers made for blemish-prone, oily skin that doesn't dry my skin out. However, the heavy texture can get a little annoying sometimes - it can make my skin feel sticky after a long day, and when I apply powder on my face using a fluffy brush, I feel like it's gunking up my brush with the stickiness. Still, while it feels heavy, it leaves a matte texture which I like because my skin tends to get oily. Also, it doesn't clog my pores. And I really like the compact tube it comes in - slightly flat and reminds me of some BB cream tubes!

Rating: 9/10

Hopefully I'll get to blog soon this weekend. See you (:

Review: Coffret D'or AQ Modelling Nuancer

I won this at Makeup Stash's Christmas giveaway! It's a complexion enhancing cream colour which comes in 2 colours - white for highlighting and brown for contouring. Mine is the white one. I love the case it comes in - gold and pretty. I'd have liked it to be heavier though. I like compacts to feel heavy and expensive. The price of this is 5,000 yen which is pretty high-end, so I expect better.

The description:
"Face color with a silky cream texture that highlights and redefines facial contours to create an elegant, sculpted look."

- Spreads smoothly for a long-lasting, natural finish.
- Contains natural aromatic. Based on the idea of aromachology, they are extracted from fresh-picked plants.

Doesn't it sound amazing? It smells really nice, so I kind of buy into the aromachology thing, though I know fragrance doesn't really help in skincare; it just makes me feel happier.

The instructions say you're supposed to use it under powder foundation, over liquid foundation. It comes with a sponge applicator and you're supposed to blend it in using a light patting motion. I find it difficult to blend though, so after applying with the sponge, I use my fingers to blend it in properly.


The swatch, unblended and blended. Can you see it when it's blended in? It's a matte white cream, no sparkles or glimmer. That's the part I don't get.

When I use it under my powder foundation, it acts as a kind of primer - it keeps my foundation on longer, but the effect of the highlight isn't really apparent since it's matte and doesn't have glimmer or glow to give a 3D effect. When I use it over liquid foundation, it leaves a white cast on the areas I use it on, and it's even more difficult to blend over liquid foundation (since it's already quite difficult to blend on its own).

Overall, I'm quite glad to have been given the chance to try this since I've never tried Coffret D'or before (it smells really good!) but I don't think it works well as a highlighter.

Rating: fail

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Last week I went out with my old friend from high school and we went to explore the new mall, Serangoon NEX!

Dress - Taiwan, Jacket - Miley Cyrus for Walmart, Bag - Rebecca Taylor (free with mook)

I love the flats, the colour reminds me of Tiffany blue. And can you believe I got the Miley Cyrus jacket for only USD$1 at Walmart?! OMG. Best buy ever.

We had lunch at Freshness Burger, which is apparently from Japan. I had the Bacon Omelette Burger, not bad. And the fried Hokkaido potatoes were so good! They're very lightly salted and you can really taste the natural flavour of potato. And I had the Yuja Cha which is honey citrus tea with lots of candied citrus peel - it doesn't contain any tea, it's more of a very sweet drink.

And we had dessert at Lena's, which is opened by Lena Sim, the founder of the Ministry of Food chain. I read an interview of her before, she's quite an inspiration. They seem to have lots of desserts featuring fried bananas (or goreng pisang, a local fave) and you can choose to have it breaded or fried like a spring roll. I like the spring roll kind better, the breaded one made the banana inside a little too mushy.


Fried bananas and vanilla ice-cream


Breaded bananas and brownie on a hot plate


The hugest mint tea ever


The brownie on the hotplate was good, except the parts that are on the hotplate too long tend to get a bit hard. And the mint tea - I thought one jug was for both of us to share, but it ended up that we each got a jug to drink from. Like, omg! And we kind of forgot how filling bananas can be, and got super stuffed... Haha!

That's all for today, hope you enjoyed reading. I have finished one week of my peak period and it was like a really really long week. I hope leaving work at 12am will be the max for this week. -prays- Have a great week ahead everyone!

Review: Bio Beauty Skincology Advanced Hydrating Serum II and Beautymaker Aquamarine Hydrating Serum

Happy New Year everyone! Apologies for lack of updates, life's been hectic. I'm gonna start the year off with a rave review for these 2 hyaluronic acid serums I bought in Taiwan last year and only got around to finishing recently.

Kevin Beautymaker Aquamarine Serum II and Bio Beauty Skincology Advanced Hydrating Serum.

Hyaluronic acid, I believe, is the best kind of moisturizer for people with oily, acne-prone or reactive skin that is prone to breakouts. A lot of people who have problems with oiliness actually have dehydrated skin as well. The oily-but-dehydrated skin thing, what an irony. :( But hyaluronic acid is good because it is light, but it's a great humectant as well, attracting more than a thousand times its own weight in water. Read this for more information! I like how hyaluronic acid leaves my skin plump - it's because it retains water in the skin and brings about plumpness of the skin due to retention of water.

L-R: Bio Beauty Skincology Advanced Hydrating Serum II, Beautymaker Aquamarine Hydrating Serum

Same, to show the texture.

Bio Beauty Skincology Advanced Hydrating Serum II
This is a lighter, more watery serum than the Beautymaker one. It plumps up my skin real good! It's very fluid and dries quickly, but once it dries it can give a tight feeling, and I find it can't be used on its own. Instead, I have to layer another lightweight moisturizer over it. While the serum's not too substantial by itself, I can definitely tell the difference when I use it - it really helps prevent my skin from drying out and extends the moisturizing capability of whatever I layer on top of it. I use this up very quickly - 30ml is gone in a month!

Plus - it's very cheap, I think about SGD$17 a bottle or around USD11 for 30 ml. I like the clean glass bottle with the dropper, very hygienic and practical. But the only way you can get it is through the Payeasy website which I don't think delivers outside of Taiwan. Thank God I have a Taiwanese friend, I'm thinking of getting her to CP me another 5 more bottles (there's a discount if you buy 5).

Ingredients: Purified water, sodium hyaluronate, panthenol, sodium PCA, natto extract, cactus extract, butylene glycol, dmdm hydantoin, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate.

Rating: 10/10

Kevin Beautymaker Aquamarine Hydrating Serum
This is a thicker, slightly sticky serum. It smells really good, like rosewater. It may be a serum, but I find it hydrating enough to be used on its own. In fact, my favourite way to use these 2 serums is to layer the Aquamarine Serum over the Advanced Hydrating Serum. This method really locks in the moisture the whole day. The Aquamarine Serum is slightly more expensive - about USD14 for 30ml if I remember correctly. I used this up in about 1.5 months.

Ingredients: Carbomer, deep sea water, hyaluronic acid, cucumber extract, butylene glycol, glycerin, ethyl alcohol, gamma-polyglutamic acid, triethanolamine, glycine, cyclomethicone, serine, auqa and chondrus crispus, hydrolyzed placental protein, methyl paraben, disodium EDTA, hydroxyproline, ethylisothiazolinone, mica & titanium dioxide, hydrolyzed ulva lactuca extract, algae extract, pelvetia canaliculata extract, codium tomentosum extract & propylene glycol, fragrance, acetyl hexapeptide-3.

Rating: 10/10

Another thing to note - I have been looking at other hyaluronic acid skincare brands like Aquajuju,Hada Labo and Shiseido Aqualabel (because my Taiwanese friend is kind of busy and I won't be getting my back-ups anytime soon and I need a replacement), and looking at the ingredients lists, I realised that for all of them, the hyaluronic acid (or sodium hyaluronate) component comes much later in the ingredients list. On the other hand, you can see from the ingredients lists above that for both the Bio Beauty and Beautymaker serums, hyaluronic acid (or sodium hyaluronate) is the first active ingredient. I'm not sure if this makes a difference, but I'll be trying the AquaJuju, Hada Labo and Aqualabel ones soon to see if I can find a suitable replacement.

However, if I had a choice, I think these 2 serums are the best because they're so pocket-friendly! (AquaJuju, Hada Labo and Aqualabel are about 50% more expensive I think.) I especially like the Bio Beauty Advanced Hydrating Serum II because the ingredients list is very simple and doesn't contain weird chemicals that may irritate skin.

If you haven't tried hyaluronic acid skincare yet, do give it a try! This miracle ingredient has really done wonders for my skin. However, just one thing to take note - hyaluronic acid works best in humid climates (like Singapore!) because it draws moisture from the air and retains it on your skin. If you live in a dry climate (like Australia), hyaluronic acid might actually leech moisture from your skin instead (because there is no moisture in the air). In that case, you can try taking hyaluronic acid supplements. Fancl makes a good one.

Have a good 2011 everyone!