Review: L'oreal Mythic Oil and Earrings Organizer!

Well hello! I just dyed my hair again a couple of weeks ago and purchased a bottle of L'oreal Mythic Oil at the hair salon, cos the hairdresser applied this to my hair after treatment and it felt so silky soft! (Plus I read about it in magazines and had huge lemmings to buy it already, so I was ready to whip out my wallet when the hairdresser promoted it to me, oops. Terrible.)

I paid S$42 for a 125ml bottle which is expensive for cheap little me, but I think it'll last me more than a year. I've used it daily for 2 weeks, it's like I haven't used it at all. I have really thick hair that just touches my shoulders, I use just half a pump and it's enough to smooth out my hair. It smells a little bit like Johnson's Baby Shampoo, a little floral and very nice.

Usually I apply it to my freshly washed, towel-dried hair before blowdrying. I don't like applying to dry hair, I find it distributes and absorbs better in damp hair. However, while regular hair oils/ hair serums make my hair look a little greasy and clumpy when applied to dry hair, Mythic Oil applies well to dry hair too, so if you haven't washed your hair but still wanna smooth it out, you could rub a few drops sparingly through the hair-ends and still look good.

Ingredients:

Before using Mythic Oil, my hair was really dry and damaged because I dye it frequently and use a blowdryer every night, without heat protectant or anything! Ok, I still don't use heat protectant, but now I apply Mythic Oil before blowdrying and my hair is so much better. (Pardon the flyaways, I didn't smooth them out ^^; but before using Mythic Oil my hair was so. Much. Worse.)

I'm giving it 9/10 cos I think you can find hair oils of similar quality but lower price at the drugstore. The good thing about Mythic Oil is that it's not greasy, doesn't make your hair look greasy even when you apply a lot, and smells wonderful!

Rating: 9/10

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Anyway, I'd just like to share a little something I made yesterday - an organizer for earrings!

Isn't it pretty? I made it using a photoframe, a Marc Jacobs cardboard cut-out from an old mook, and BBQ net. Notice the pink feather earrings - I bought them from H&M cos they're so bimbotically me, then I went home and tried them on and started laughing because they tickle me, and I'm super ticklish! So I haven't worn them out yet. :P

So this is one of my closet doors! I neatened it up a lot. One of my resolutions this year is to organize, purge and de-clutter my place! It really gives me more peace of mind. I hope to make more progress and will take more photos as things develop - seriously I feel so happy when stuff is organized and neat. It takes so much stress away!

The thing about this earring organizer though, is that it only works for hook earrings, and not earrings with posts. I'm hoping to go to Art Friend one weekend to grab canvas mesh and make a version for my post earrings. :) Till next time~

Happy daze

I'm taking a break from reviewing all my beauty stuff this week! I'm suffering indigestion from all that feasting this weekend, heh. A very 'recharging' weekend!

I had a lovely brunch at PS Cafe at Paragon, and had the PS Breakfast Stack (first photo) - the tomato coddled egg is delish!!! And the huge portobello mushroom, yumyum. And the toast is super yummy, it isn't like toast at all - it's thick and tastes delicious (olive oil I think) and the texture is like cake. Very filling. And the truffle fries - portion is huge! It remains yummy and crispy even after a while, unlike regular fries that go soggy and gross.

I had yummy chestnut okowa set at the Takashimaya basement. The rice is like glutinous rice, chewy like mochi and super yummy! A very healthy kind of meal which still tastes delish.

I had a manicure done, in China Glaze For Audrey - it's not as Tiffany Blue as I hoped it would be, but it's pretty!

I bought a Rilakkuma train pass case at a flea market - so cute! The shop is called Faburikku and you can customise the colour combinations, I quite like it.

And here's just another addition (a while ago) to my Rilakkuma family :)

I hope there'll be more lovely days to come...

Review: Muji Light Toning Water Moist

I purchased a huge 400ml bottle of Muji Light Toning Water - Moist at a Muji sale a while ago. It was pretty affordable, the regular price is 980 yen. With the bit of Japanese I can read, I managed to note that it's made with "natural water" (does this mean spring water?) and it's free of alcohol, parabens, fragrance and mineral oil.

It comes with a seal for freshness!

It feels just like water - it infuses my skin with hydration, yet feels light, unlike some other 'moisturizing' toners which feel too heavy. It feels soothing and good for sensitive skin.

'Shittori' on the cap means 'moist'. I love the packaging, don't you?

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, DPG, PEG-32, Glycosyl trehalose, Hydrolysed starch, Purslane Extract, Polyquaternium-51, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, PCA-NA (Sodium PCA), Citric Acid, Sodium Acid Citrate, Allantoin, BG, Phenoxyethanol

The ingredients list is pretty short and here are the ones I like and look out for in toners:
- Glycerin for moisture.
- Allantoin (one of my favourites for my oily, acne-prone skin) which helps skin renewal, thus smoothing skin. Also protects skin, soothes and desensitizes, as well as hydrates.
- Sodium PCA (another one of my favourites for oily skin) which hydrates and binds moisture to skin.

Basically, it feels hydrating but light, which makes it good for problem skin. The bottle's so pretty, and it's pretty affordable (of course when you're not in Japan, the price is marked up a little).

Rating: 9/10

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Muji actually has quite a lot of skincare products, but I feel the quality is pretty hit-or-miss. The packaging, of course, is beautiful in its simplicity.

One of the Muji products that I don't really love is the Muji cleansing oil, which has been widely reviewed online. It looks like DHC cleansing oil, but it feels so thick that it's difficult to spread on my face. Also, it doesn't emulsify well and leaves an oily, thick residue on my face when try to wash it off. It was a big fail, but luckily I only tried the travel size which cost me about $5? A cheap mistake. It's difficult to go wrong with toners though, so I might try out other Muji toners in future since they have many different lines, for moist, organic moisturizing, light, etc...

Review: Korean Dermal Masks - Charcoal, Red Ginseng, Royal Jelly Collagen Essence

Recently I tried out a few more 'flavours' of the Korean Dermal masks - Charcoal Collagen Essence, Red Ginseng Collagen Essence and Royal Jelly Collagen Essence.

Charcoal Collagen Essence Mask has a nice floral scent, and the sheet mask was very moist, it really hydrated and soothed my skin very well.

Ingredients:

Rating: 10/10

Red Ginseng Collagen Essence Mask has a bitter, herbal-medicinal scent, exactly like ginseng. Honestly I really hated the scent, so using this mask was totally not a relaxing experience for me. It was moisturizing and left my skin smooth and firm, so only the scent was off.

Ingredients:

Rating: 7/10

Royal Jelly Collagen Essence Mask has a weird, sweet scent which doesn't annoy me too much because the fragrance was light. It's very moisturizing and the essence is thicker than the others in the Dermal Collagen series. In fact, it's the most moisturizing out of the Dermal masks I've tried. My skin feels very supple and repaired after using this. It's probably good for very dry skin.

Ingredients:

Rating: 10/10

If you've been reading the ingredients' list carefully, you'll realize that all the ingredients are the same except for the differentiating ingredients - charcoal powder, or red ginseng extract, or royal jelly extract. So you can't go too wrong with whatever 'flavour' you choose.

My favourites so far?

- Dermal White Collagen (whitening and moisturizing)
- Charcoal Collagen (moisturizing and soothing)

After experimenting with all the flavours, I think I'll be sticking to these 2 when I repurchase in the future! Click here to view the entire series of reviews on Dermal masks.

Review: Burt's Bees Pore Refining Mask (discontinued)

I just renewed my love for Burt's Bees Pore Refining Mask this week, and while searching for the ingredients online (because I'm too lazy to type it out from the box), I just discovered it's been discontinued! :O Sadness! Because this is a truly fantastic mask. Thank God I purchased a back-up! The glass jar is so pretty too, with the metal lid.

It comes in a powder form which smells herbal in a nice way. It comes with a tiny scoop which I've lost, so I use a regular teaspoon to scoop the powder out.

Ingredients: French green clay, bentonite (natural clay), fragrance, mentha piperita (peppermint) leaf, shavegrass herb, calendula officinalis flower, rosemarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf, salvia officinalis (sage) leaf

I use a full teaspoonful of it. Then I measure out one and a half teaspoons of water, dribble it over the powder and mix well to form a nice paste as shown, not too runny or thick, just the nice consistency. It takes practice to get the right consistency though.

It feels nice and minty on my face and dries pretty quickly (within 10 minutes). When it dries on my face, it's slightly drying and makes my face feel itchy, but it's not painful or stinging, so I just bear with it, because the results are really worth it! When I wash it off, my skin looks fresh, clean, bright and soft. The morning after, I really do notice my skin becomes calmer and clearer and any existing zits are minimized and not so angry or painful. Truly an outstanding deep-cleansing mask.

While it is messy to mix the powder in my hand, it would be easier if you mixed it in a bowl, and not too troublesome either. The instructions state that you can mix it with other liquids such as carrot juice for mature skin, tomato juice for troubled skin, and green tea/grapefruit juice for oily skin.

I've tried green tea, but it's way too drying (green tea is naturally drying, I'm thinking because it's a diuretic, I like to drink a lot of green tea every day and it dries my lips out if I don't apply lipbalm). I've also tried it with a bit of honey (with water), and when it dries, it doesn't itch as much.

I think it's really fun to mix your own custom mask, and I love the fact that it is in powder form, which makes it easy to pack in luggage (and you don't have to worry about liquid restrictions or anything).

Rating: 10/10 (I hope they bring it back!)

Review: Dermal Green Tea Collagen and Lemon Collagen Essence Masks

Dermal is a Korean brand that manufactures affordable and good-quality sheet masks (usually S$2 per sheet mask, pretty good value!). I've previously reviewed the White Collagen and Coenzyme Q10 Essence Masks and now here's the review for another 2 flavours - Green Tea Collagen and Lemon Collagen Essence.

Green Tea Collagen is supposed to moisturizing and firming. It has a pleasant, light floral scent and the serum is light and runny. It is easily absorbed and feels hydrating, like most of the other Dermal masks. I like this one, but if you're looking for a multi-functional mask with whitening benefits as well as moisturizing benefits, I'd go for the White Collagen mask instead.

Rating: 9/10

Lemon Collagen is supposed to be brightening, firming and refining. (Apologies - I forgot to take a photo of the ingredients, but it contains lemon essence.) It smells like lemon-scented toilet freshener, which really turns me off. The mask essence is lighter and more watery than the other regular Dermal masks, and perhaps because of the lemon essence, it stings a little on places where I have zits. I also find it not as moisturizing as the other Dermal masks. The essence is easily absorbed and I do notice some slight brightening and refining effects, but the results pale in comparison to the White Collagen mask.

Rating: 6/10

Dermal really makes quite a lot of different flavours; I have a few more flavours in my stash I'll review soon. I like all the masks, but since they all perform pretty well in terms of basic functions like moisturizing, in my next blog post I'll focus on which ones are the most outstanding and multi-functional. Till next time! :)

Review: Red Heart Sweet Cherry Soap from Pelican

For a couple of years now I've been crazy about soap. I've stopped using regular shower gels and switched to a variety of scented bar soaps. The exception is EO shower gels which contain essential oils and smell divine. The latest soap bar I got my hands on is this cute soap from the Japanese soap brand Pelican. I love the packaging!

It costs about S$8 (or 294 yen), which is roughly the price of one bar of regular Crabtree & Evelyn soap. (I purchased it from the Japanese drugstore section of BHG Bugis.) It's a "rich moist whip soap" which means it lathers easily into a rich foam and is quite moisturizing, though not as moisturizing as Chagrin Valley soaps. It rinses cleanly with no tight feeling. The one thing I love is the amazing fragrance - lightly floral, fruity, fresh and sweet, like juicy cherries and honey. Apparently the fragrance was formulated in Grasse, France (which is famous for its perfumes) - it is indeed a very uplifting, happy, cheerful and luxurious fragrance. Definite plus!

I love the cute heart shape too. With the cute packaging, it would make a nice little gift for friends, along with the Red Heart Sweet Cherry hand cream from the same line. I didn't purchase the hand cream, but if it has the same amazing fragrance as the soap, I'm definitely getting it!

All in all... a lovely soap with outstanding fragrance. The fragrance doesn't linger though. I wish they would make a body mist using the same scent!

Rating: 10/10