Premier Moisture Cream Complex by Dead Sea Premier

I got a free sample of the Premier Moisture Cream Complex from Dead Sea Premier while I was randomly walking around in a shopping mall in Singapore. I've not seen this brand before in Malaysia (it is made in Israel), but you can buy it from here. I only got a 5ml tube, but it seems to last me a really long time! Granted, I only take it along with me on holidays, though recently I try to use it every night (as a night moisturiser) because I love it that much!

I think this 5ml tube could even last me for about 10-14 days, so a full size moisture cream complex at 60ml could probably stretch for half a year. It costs USD$190 though, so not very drugstore beauty now, is it? ;)

The cream is thick, white, and easily absorbed into the skin. You only need to use a little bit at a time, hence the ability to stretch out a 5ml sample over 2 weeks. I even use it on my neck! It feels a bit oily at first, but only for a short while. As I said, it gets absorbed easily... and when you wake up, your skin feels really nice and soft! Another item that I would attribute to my good-skin-days of recent.

This complex has the special facility of moisturizing the skin while simultaneously controlling excess oil. It contains natural UVA and UVB, SPF 17. Oh, wasted, I keep using it at night, so the SPF 17 goes to waste. The reason I use it as my night moisturiser instead of a day moisturiser is because of the aforementioned "oiliness" I get at the beginning. I don't like to wait too long before applying my makeup (coz I'm always rushing to get to work... -__-). The thought of applying my makeup on slightly oily face is... blehk. 

Wondering why minerals from the Dead Sea is used in beauty products? There's actually a lot of beauty products on the market that boast about using minerals from the Dead Sea in order to achieve fresh & young looking skin. Dead ingredients in the water from the Dead Sea is considered as a miracle of nature and the best natural therapeutic resource. "Black Mud" found at the bottom of the Dead Sea has the highest concentration of minerals on earth. Among the 21 essential minerals found in the Dead Sea, 12 minerals are unique and can only be found in the Dead Sea. These minerals help to achieve youthful skin as well as heal your skin. The minerals mentioned are a combination of sulfur, magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium and various proteins.

Do take note that they have the moisture cream complex for normal to dry skin and normal to oily skin, so if you do make a purchase, make sure you get the correct one for your skin type! :)

ETA: Personally find that after using this consecutively, the "moisturised" feeling that I got initially is turning into an "oily" kind of feeling. My skin is not OILY per se, just that it feels like there's a film of oil resting on it, and I find it rather disturbing. Moisturised DOES NOT equate to oiliness! Perhaps this cream is wayyyyy too rich for me! 

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Crabtree & Evelyn Wisteria Bath & Shower Gel and Body Lotion

Previously mentioned that I couldn't believe that I haven't reviewed the Crabtree & Evelyn Wisteria Bath & Shower Gel yet, so here I am to do it justice. :) I really do bring along my Wisteria bath & shower gel + moisturiser set on ALMOST every holiday that I go to... and during my last staycation, the shower gel finally bade me farewell. I've used it so often that the scent of Wisteria will always remind me of holidays...

In the bottle, the bath & shower gel is the prettiest, pale lavender color.  However, when it's poured out, the light purple color cannot really be seen. It just looks like pale, see-through liquid.

You don't need to use a lot --- just that small amount on my palm is enough to have you smelling like the wisteria flower for AGES. The entire shower will be filled with the scent, enough to make you feel giddy. Initial thoughts about this scent is that it is a really "old lady floral" type of smell. The kind of smell that your mother and grandmother will like. However, it really grew on me (not because I'm getting older too.... -___-) and I started appreciating the overt floral scent as well. Maybe (as I've mentioned) it's because I keep associating this floral scent to being on holiday! It really makes you feel very girly and feminine!

There's no super squeaky clean feeling after using this, nor a very moisturised feeling. I believe his bath & shower gel is purely for perfume "layering", so if you love this scent - go all the way! Get the moisturiser and perfume from Crabtree & Evelyn as well! For me, I can say that with just the shower gel & moisturiser, it's enough to last you at least a few hours!

I haven't finished using the Body Lotion, have about 40% left. It is a lovely moisturiser - only need to use a bit (just a dollop per limb) and you get this nicely moisturised feeling, with no oily residue. It sinks in fast to the skin and only leaves you with the lingering floral scent.

Quite a nice travel set all-in-all, and my only complaint would probably be the packaging. It's a screw top bottle and you directly pour out the contents. It's very hard to control how much comes out (especially with the shower gel!). The size really is perfect for travelling though! Might consider this for a repurchase because I've grown to like the smell so much, but I do have other unused things from Crabtree & Evelyn that I would like to finish first.

Sorry my dears, I don't remember how much this set costs, or even how I got it! I think it was a gift, so I am not sure how much it would cost outside.. ^^

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Cellnique Soothing & Hydrating Lotion

A follow-up to my Seaweed Cleansing Gel review - this is the Cellnique Soothing & Hydrating Lotion with Ginger Root extract! I like to use facial cleansers, toners and moisturisers of the same brand to see if it really does improve my skin, compared to if I mix brands. After a while, it became an issue of being very anal to have everything all lined up accordingly. Generally, my facial cleansers finish first, which explains why my seaweed cleansing gel is long gone, but I have about 75% of my soothing & hydrating lotion left over. T_T

As mentioned before, I bought both the seaweed cleansing gel and the soothing & hydrating lotion together in a set. Retail price is RM79 for a 200ml bottle. The soothing & hydrating lotion is a unique complex lotion containing 14 types of plant extracts to calm sensitive-prone skin. It helps refresh tired skin and replensih skin moisture. The lotion is suitable for all skin types. FYI, it *is* a toner even though it doesn't mention "toner" in its name. Based on just the name alone, you would think it's a moisturiser right? In fact, the facial consultant at Lissage De Beaute told me the effects of this toner is more like a moisturiser, hence I agreed to buy the set. I generally don't think that toners are of much use... However, if you search on the Cellnique official website, it is definitely labelled under "Toner" and not "Moisturiser".

As you can see from the above, it comes in a similar bottle to the seaweed cleansing gel, but with a spray top instead of a flip top. I quite like it this way, it is so refreshing to spray it on your face! If you go overboard, you can just lightly tap your fingers against your face to help pat in the essence. The lotion also smells extremely refreshing, what with the ginger root extract. It really helps to awaken the senses! And yes, though it's called "lotion", it's got the consistency of water, so it will definitely spritz out properly on your face.

Unlike other toners, it doesn't have the "stinging" feeling on your face, which some brands claim is the product tightening up your pores. Er, no, that's just high alcohol content and is really not suitable for sensitive skin. Instead, the Cellnique toner just helps prevent skin dryness, soothes and calms skin and evens skin tone. No burning feeling! After using this, I usually do not bother to put any extra moisturisers because my skin already feels moisturised. If you prefer something heavier, you might not like this it is a really, really light moisturiser. If you have really dry skin, you might want to go heavy duty. Else you will find yourself constantly spraying your face. Hehe!

The main active ingredients are:

	Plant Extracts Includes Witch hazel, Arnica, Calendula, Lemon, Ginger, Burdock, Rosemary, Ivy, Pine, Safflower, Watercress, Matricaria, White nettle and Capucine. All known to heal and prevent dry skin, treat skin conditions such as acne and eczema, and slow the aging process.
	Ginger Root Extract The use of ginger on the skin can increase skin’s radiance and decrease inflammation that may contribute to acne and psoriasis. Ginger is an antioxidant, not only does it fights skin-damaging free radicals, but also promotes smoothness and evenness in skin tone.
	Witch Hazel Extract  A plant extract with toning and astringent properties. It also helps promote healing, reduce inflammation and has anti irritant properties.

[ Source : Cellnique ]

Overall, quite happy with my purchase, but takes a long time to finish! Cannot even *think* about repurchasing because this is the 2nd bottle of unfinished "toner" in my dresser.... and I just opened another bottle because I am now using another facial cleanser (I told you my seaweed cleansing gel is long gone..!). In fact, I might be reviewing yet another toner soon...!!

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Body America Body Butter [Vermont Va Va Voom]

Spotted "Body America" products when I was in Singapore quite a while back. Though it is pretty pricey (I don't remember the exact price, but it was about RM50, or more!), I was desperate because I didn't bring ANY beauty products along with me and I am really particular about getting moisturised. :) I think I've complained many times about using tub-products (hygiene hygiene hygiene!), but body butters usually come in this type of package. I usually don't like body butters because they are usually too thick and don't sink in quickly, but it's undeniable that they make your skin feel oh~so~soft!

Body America uses 50-styles pin-up girls in all their packaging, and admittedly, I do like this style. :) It's also prevalent in the Filthy Farmgirl soaps that I really like (but never got to buy, geez!). Also, if you are big on organic products, you would love this! It is chock-full of organic ingredients, made with natural extracts from green apples, maple and blueberries (for the Vermont Va Va Voom range), and further enriched with organic aloe vera juice to really help lock in moisture. As with all body butters (that I've encountered so far) it contains shea and cocoa butter as well for long-lasting softness. Body America states that this body butter :
-- is water resistant
-- absorbs quickly, leaving no residue
-- non-greasy, leaving a silky feeling
-- suitable for all skin types!

There are 3 other ranges in the body butter category, and they all sound so yummy! I didn't see all 4 together in Singapore, maybe just one other, and apple scent seemed quite unique, which is why I got Vermont Va Va Voom in the end. The other 3 are:
-- New York Cheesecake With An Edge (vanilla & strawberry)
-- Toast to the Coast (ocean, grapeseed)
-- Southern Belle (peach, mango)

This is how the body butter looks like on the inside - a very, very, very pale green color! And believe me, that is how a half-finished tub looks like, and it took me a great amount of time to even get this far. So far, it's really stretching my dollar, and if you compare it to the Body Shop, it is about the same in terms of price. The formula for Body America is a lot more concentrated (IMHO), so I really need the teensiest amount to feel moisturised. However, (and to me this is a really big drawback) I really disagree that it is non-greasy, or that it absorbs quickly. I really feel the body butter sitting heavily on my skin no matter how much I try to massage the product in. I can actually see a film of oil (?) on the top of my skin and yes it lasts forever!!!!! Ok, at least til I get home from work.

The scent is nothing like fresh, crisp apples - instead, it is really sweet (sickly so!) and NOT fruity in any manner. Like a synthetic version of apples? And it is SUPER STRONG OMG. You can just forget about wearing perfume when you put this body butter on. It's like there will be two scents fighting for attention and you will be gagging in between. Usually when I put this on, I go without perfume and pretend that I'm wearing some version of DKNY's Be Delicious fragrance. -_-"

On the PLUS side, it is really, really long lasting and my skin condition really improves under the care of Body America. I noticed that skin is really softer and more moisturised, even when I am not using it that day. I love how soft my skin is towards the end of the day - when the initial greasiness is not that apparent any more. -_-"

I'm very hesitant to say whether this is a repurchase for me or not. Really, I feel like I've had enough of body butters, but the rest of the Body America items sound so nice. It feels greasy, but hey - at the end of the day it does its job! It smells really weird - but maybe the others smell better? I guess I MIGHT repurchase it if the other ranges catch my eye (or nose!), too bad they don't have samplers when I was in Singapore...

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Naruko Rose & Snow Fungus Classic Hydrating Night Gelly

So I blogged about how I first picked up this Rose & Snow Fungus Classic Hydrating Gelly from Naruko in Watsons because they had some pretty boy Korean (Japanese?) guy with snow-white skin advertising it. I was curious and decided to check out the products from the range. There was a weird products there that contained "Job's Tears" (is this some Biblical reference?), and sniffed it. Oh my God, it was horrible! Puke worthy, honestly. Then I saw the hydrating night gelly. Rose & snow fungus sounds pretty nice, so I thought I would risk my olfactory nerves again. And guess what? It was pretty damn good. Put a bit of the sample on my hand and it absorbed pretty quickly, felt nice. Decided to plonk down the RM39.90 for it.

 

When I first bought this product, I don't even know what it does. It just smelled good and felt good and I was trying to battle my dry skin problem. Also, in the future I will be sleeping in an air-conditioned room, and I know that it will really dry out my skin. Wanted to get some extra protection! I'm so lucky that this wasn't a waste of money because the gel really keeps my face moisturised. I wake up in the morning and my face feels so baby soft and gooooood. Love it! 

We are actually recommended to use a tiny scooper that comes with the tub to take out two pea-size dollops and to massage it into our face. However, I'm so lazy that I just use my fingers (I know, and I complain about being unhygienic!) and I just massage in the gelly til my face feels like it has gotten full coverage. Also, I lost the scooper. ;)

 

The scent is just damnnnnnn nice. It is the combination of Bulgarian Rose, Palmrosa, Rose Wood and Green Citrus essential oils. The benefits of using this product include :

• Intensive hydration
• Promote metabolism
• Retain skin’s hydrophilic-lipophilic balance
• Correct dehydrated and delicate skin
• Enable supply, dewy and healthy skin
• Prevent aging and smooth away fine lines
• Reduce visible pores and firm up skin

A repurchase? Hmmm.. who knows. I'm leaning more towards a yes!  

Oh, and the box that it comes in can be folded up into a tiny giftbox. It's so random, but I only discovered it when I was writing this blog entry and I was looking for information in the box. ~_~" Nothing I can find in the instructions though, as  it was all in Chinese. ~_~" Oh, and I have to mention that the tub feels really heavy, like really made out of very thick glass. I am very scared to drop it, but I reckon if I do, it won't even break! But with such great packaging like this, I'm always at a lost as to what to do with it after I'm finished with the product. Seems like such a shame to just throw it away...

Any suggestions? And please don't mention using it to store small jewelries like necklaces, earrings... I have plenty of those already!

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Nivea Angel Star Body Soft Souffle

A really interesting product that I got when I was in Singapore - The Nivea Angel Star Body Soft Souffle!

I was a bit iffy about buying this because Nivea products are kinda common and although they are good, they are kinda "meh" for me. Boring, milky smell, yeah, it's moisturising but I like something more fun. I haven't seen the Angel Star Body Souffle in Malaysia, so I was intrigued. It smells a bit too sickly sweet and feminine for me, but what really got me interested was the texture. Guess what the "Souffle" looks like?

Sealed for protection (and freshness?)...

Ta-daa!! It looks like tao foo fah and FEELS like tau foo fah too! For those that do not know what that is, I'm quite at a lost as to describe the texture, because it's definitely not like a souffle! I would probably describe it as porridge that has been left out to congeal a little? So it's solid, and yet watery at the same time? Hahhaha...

It feels SO weird to use it, as I would "pat" the surface and watch it wobble all around before rubbing it onto my skin. After some time, I had "broken" the surface and could scoop up minute pieces of it to be used. It is quickly absorbed into the skin, and does not leave any sticky feeling. Quite moisturising too, supposed to last for 24 hours! I would probably think the only big cons for this product is the smell (not enticing enough for me) and that I don't think it's very hygienic to keep "patting" the "souffle" and rubbing it on my skin. At least with tubs of cream, you scoop some cream out. But you can't really "scoop" this out... unless it's been broken into many pieces already.

This Angel Star Body Soft Souffle that I got is in "Raspberry Hot Crush Scent". I'm not sure if it comes in any other kind of scents. It doesn't smell very fruity to me - more like a sweet floral scent. Also, not sure about the cost as I paid in SGD... I think it would be around RM15 or less?

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Johnson's Body Care 24 Hour Lasting Moisture Body Lotion

I've got a lot of Johnson's products, thanks to contests that tempt me with the dream of owning my own "dream house". -___- In fact, I've used this product before, but never reviewed it before. Never too late, I suppose. ;) This is part of Johnson's new Body Care range, and it is the "24 Hour Lasting Moisture Body Lotion" with shea butter, vitamin E and jojoba oil for touchably baby-soft skin.

There are actually 3 products in their Body Care range. Aside from this one, there is the "Melt Away Stress Daily Calming Lotion" and the "Naturally White Daily UV Lotion". I've only tried this and the calming lotion as I generally TRY to avoid whitening lotions as whitening my skin is not top priority for me.

So how does this lotion fare for me? Straight out of the bottle, the scent is a little bit too STRONG for me, a little too FLORAL. However, the scent doesn't really last for a long time, and after an hour, you can barely smell anything on your skin. Strange, considering they call it a 24 hour moisturiser. Then again, if it's so strong that it smells strongly for 24 hours straight, it would be too scary.

By the way, some says that the perfume smells PEACHY, and some says it smells like TUBEROSE. To me, it smells NOTHING like the abovementioned. It just smells like some generic floral scent. Sorry, can't pinpoint the exact plant for you.

I'm not understanding why so many people are saying how moisturising it is, wonderful, etc etc. To me, yeah, I guess my skin is moisturised, but it isn't extra super soft or something. Maybe I just have extra leathery skin, lol. Maybe within 30 minutes of having this on, you would feel a significant difference, but the effects definitely fade with time. I don't care if this product claims that it's still moisturising you up to 24 hours even after you have washed it off, I really do not feel the difference.

However, having said that --- for the PRICE, I suppose it is quite "worth it". You can get a 200ml bottle for around RM6-7. It's a pretty handy, travel-friendly size, so you can cart it around with you everywhere. I usually take this around when I go to the gym because I can't be lugging around my Vaseline (which is almost double the size of the Johnson's one), which also has a pump-style dispenser, which means I could accidentally pump some moisturiser into my clothes. -__-"

Johnson's claims that this product helps your dry skin in 3 different ways :
1) shea butter helps reduce skin tightness
2) vitamin E helps lessen skin flakiness
3) jojoba oil helps revive dull looking skin

For better results, recommended to use this with the 24 Hour Lasting Moisture Body Wash.

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Lancome UV Expert GN-Shield BB Base

The Lancome UV Expert GN-Shield BB Base is one of the best samples that I got to try while I was in Singapore! It's kind of hard to explain what it is, as I'm still not really sure. When I took it along, I just assumed that it was a moisturiser + sunscreen in one (with SPF 50 PA+++!). Later, I found out that it is a BB base (a make-up base), a moisturiser, sunscreen, whitening agent and skin corrector all in one! This product can be used by itself, or under foundation (in case you feel that it did not "correct" your skin tone enough).

What I really like about my skincare products are that it can absorb quickly and not leave any oily feeling on my skin. And of course STAY that way, and not start to ooze crap out after long hours in the sun. One of the factors that attracted me to try this product while I was in Singapore was that I knew I would be doing a LOT of walking around, and under a rather unforgiving sun. It felt good to know that this product not only protects me from getting darker, it also contains whitening agents that work at the same time to brighten dark spots, unevenness and iron out your wrinkles. Kinda amazing, huh?

Sadly, this was only enough for two uses, but in the two days that I used it, my skin felt so good throughout the day, and it really was a good base for my make-up as well. My cream blusher went on smoothly, and it was somewhat like a primer for my eyeshadow even! Then again, this might just be the placebo effect, since I'm thinking all kinds of positive, sparkly things about this item right now. ;)

Lancome also claims that putting this on brings on "instant skin radiance", but I would disagree to that. My skin looks the same (though I could feel that faint glove of protecting enveloping me). It's not like Benefit's face primers which leave you sparkling like a Twilight vampire. Still, all in all, a VERY good product. Then again, at RM165 for every 30ml, you can't expect anything less...

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Vaseline Healthy White Skin Lightening Lotion

This is the 2nd type of lotion that I'm using for the Vaseline skin care range. The first one was the aloe vera which was soothing but not very moisturising. Now, I'm using the Healthy White Skin Lightening Lotion.

To be honest, I'm quite confused about this product. Is it supposed to be moisturising as well, or only supposed to be a "skin lightening" lotion? If it's purely for whitening ,then I regret buying it as my goal is not to wear stuff to make me whiter, and I'm more concerned with getting properly moisturised skin. I thought that the skin lightening is an additional bonus on top of the moisturising. No wonder I don't get the ultra moisturised feeling that I get with body butters or stuff from Palmer's. The "moisturised" effect doesn't last very long, though I can still smell the product on my skin.

To me, this product smells pretty "medical", so I don't really like it. In fact, the first time I used it, I was quite disgusted with the smell, but as always, I got used to it. The product claims to achieve radiance within 2 weeks due to their active whitening system that contains :
a. Vitamin B3 to help bring out natural fairness of skin
b. Triple sunscreens to help prevent further darkening
c. Yogurt serum to help provide moisturisation and nourishment to the screen.

For optimal results, you are supposed to use it twice a day. I only use it once a day, as a daytime moisturiser. So far, though I have not seen "radiance", I do think my skin tone is more evened out. I also think that it is quite effective as a sunscreen, as I had to do some charity work under the sun on Saturday, and I couldn't find my sunblock. Decided to use the Vaseline product. Though I did not get burnt in the sun, I really do not recommend following what I did. This product is not a sunblock, and therefore, is not suitable for doing such a job. I sweated profusely because my skin did not find this so "breathable". You know how icky it feels when you're sweating madly and there's a thin layer of product on your skin? It just makes you feel extra hot! This doesn't occur when I used my Avene sunblock last time.

Still, I'm grateful for it for doing the best it could in a tight spot.

Will not repurchase this item because I'm this item is concentrating more on whitening than on moisturising (though there are elements of moisturisation in it). Also, because it doesn't smell good.

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Fruit of the Earth Cocoa Butter

Hmm... an interesting story on how I ended up getting this! As usual, Tron and I are pharmacy prowlers, and after prowling around the store (I remember - it was Caring, Empire Gallery), he had a basketful of stuff. Being a generous boyfriend, he said, "Is there anything you want? You can put it into my basket." Which is of course, the gentlemanly code of saying "I will pay for you."

Well! I'm so glad you asked, Mr Tron. Why, there's a lot of stuff I want!

I shyly (shy lah, cos I rarely get to pick my presents, right?) showed him this Palmer's Eventone Fade Milk series. It came in a very nice free bag as well. Price tag? Oh somewhere around RM80. He balked and said, "Why do you need all that!"
Me : "What!! Got facial cleanser + moisturiser + eye cream all in one!"
Mr Tron : "Nonsense. If you're going to ask for nonsense then I'm going to pay first."

2nd choice of gift.... I showed him this MooGoo moisturiser. I've always been uber curious about the MooGoo range, but I'm afraid it might be TOO heavy for my skin (it tends to break out if it's TOO moisturising). But there was some discount or other, making it only about RM50-RM60. Mr Tron just gave a look of "What the heck do you want this for?" again and in the end...

I chose a twin-pack of Fruit of the Earth's Smooth Hydrating Cocoa Butter with Aloe & Vitamin E. -___- Eh, please don't say that I chose it just to make Tron buy me something... it *was* something I wanted, but because of the price, I reckoned I could get it myself. Hahaha. Oh gosh, now I really sound like a golddigger. But how can I golddig when Tron is hard as rocks? It would be like goldmining not just digging. I would need an excavator. A pickax! Not just a spade. Lol!

I went way off topic, please note, all this is in jest. The point is that Tron was very willing to pay RM15.80 for TWO bottles of Fruit of the Earth's skin care lotion! Yea, that makes it only RM7.90 per 325ml bottle!! Super cheap right? Of course it attracted my notice! Plus, I've heard good things about Fruit of the Earth (in fact, I've used their after-sun aloe gel before), was wondering why it was going for so cheap!!

First of all --- the "cocoa butter" is quite unlike any "cocoa butter" product I've used before. Mainly because it doesn't smell like cocoa? Like Palmer's classic cocoa butter. This one actually smells more like aloe vera lotion! I say, they should've named this Aloe Butter. However, it's not unpleasant, it's just that I was surprised that it wasn't what I expected it to be after all.

The lotion is SUPER moisturising. No surprise there as this is marketed to contain the "Intensive Moisturising Formula". Having said that, I would say that it doesn't rest heavily on the skin, but it does take a heckuva long time for the cream to absorb into my skin. You either have to use a very small amount, or you have to really vigorously keep rubbing the cream in. Otherwise, you'd be left with white marks all over your limbs!

This product also contains wheat germ and sunflower seed oil on top of the aloe vera and vitamin E. How does this help you? Well, according to this site, "Wheat germ is rich in zinc, which plays a crucial role in the production of new skin cells. It also has anti-inflammatory properties to help prevent eczema; recent studies even indicate that wheat germ can help reduce acne. Get half a cup of wheat germ per day for your daily dose of zinc. Try sprinkling it over salads and yogurt or adding it to smoothies."

As for the sunflower seed oil, it is also very rich in vitamin oil and contains vitamins that can help soothe skin irritations and be a "natural guard" against acne. Well, I don't have any body acne, so I can't tell if it helps or not, but this might be useful information to some people. :)

All in all I would say that this product is DEFINITELY worth my money, haha. I may or may not buy it again --- I am someone who likes to indulge in my skincare, so I'm not really searching for discounts. I am willing to pay more for something that smells better than this, and absorbs quicker. I'm really picky on the absorbing quickly thing. It's a must-have for me in moisturisers. Still, it gives me a thrill when I find good products which are going for such a great price.

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Lush Haul 2011

Came back from HK and the first thing I wanna show off to you (among all the beauty products that I bought..!) is my Lush haul! To be honest, it's not much of a haul because the Lush store in Langham Place is not as big as any random store I went to in London, but I'm definitely NOT complaining because I've been so deprived of Lush goodies for so long! A lot of my favorite products seemed to have been discontinued - e.g: Mirror Mirror, but there's also a lot of new stuff to try!

The Langham Place store is considered one of the biggest on HK Island already (if I'm not mistaken) as the rest are just kiosks. This one is located inside Seiibu in Langham Place. Just follow your nose and you will get there. The salesgirls are friendly and nice, and despite some slight communication problems (I'm not that good in cantonese, she's not that good in english), it was allllll good. The place mainly stocks up on soaps, bath fizzies and bath bombs. Just two mini shelves for the shampoos and shower gels (sacrilege) and another mini shelf with the skincare stuff. There was really not much choices for shower gels and shampoos - they only stock the really really best of the best bestsellers. So this is what I wound up with :

A lot of soaps this time around! All in all, I bought :
a. Happy Hippy shower gel
b. Dirty Springwash shower gel
c. Dream Cream moisturiser
d. The Godmother soap
e. Honey, I Washed the Kids soap
f. Miranda soap

... and got a free bottle of Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo and two soap samples - Demon in the Dark and Noubar (I think it's Noubar? I don't know the name since the girl said it in cantonese, but this is the only soap that matches anything else on the website). Actually, the Demon in the Dark soap is for my boyfriend. He kept sniffing at it, but refused to buy some, even though I said it was nice (tried it before!) AND offered to pay for him. So the salesgirl gave him a slice. He was so happy, and shy. :) Hahahhaa.


I was especially upset that they didn't have American Cream - my favorite strawberries and cream conditioner. Apparently it completely sold out in HK. Arghh! I was also looking forward to trying Gorgeous / Imperialis / Celestial (you can check out my old lust list here), but they didn't have it. Don't know if the store is small, or if it's also another old and discontinued range. What I was REALLY happy with was the huge range of soaps on display and the salesgirl was happy to let me sniff as much as I want.

I wound up getting The Godmother because it's got a really sweet yet fruity scent that isn't overpowering, but memorable. In contrast, Rockstar is like The Godmother on steroids... it's soooo overwhelming. Cannot take it. I got Honey I Washed The Kids because I've been lusting for it for soooooo long. Got a huge mutha chunk of it! Can't wait to use it. And I got Miranda as well because I like the fruitiness of it, though to be honest, it's not very strong smelling or memorable, so I'm kind of regretting it now. *Oops*

I didn't get Sultana of Soap after all because it didn't smell as good as I remember it to be. On the contrary, Karma, which is one of the bestsellers (and I never knew why - cos I hate the smell!!) is suddenly growing on me! I suddenly quite like the scent (on the soap), and I'm tempted to get it. However, all this while I've NEVER liked it. So I think I'll withhold for the moment. Anyway, 3 huge bars of soap will take me some time to go through. :P

Ooh, was also super tempted with the Ice Blue soap! It really does smell super minty and refreshing and tingly! However, since I got the Dirty Springwash shower gel, I thought that I shouldn't overload on the minty feeling. Besides, minty feeling duplicates are easy to get from other brands, but I don't think you can duplicate the luscious scents of The Godmother and Honey I Washed the Kids so easily. :)

Was disappointed in their latest shower gel though - Grass. It really smells TOO much like grass! It made me think of the ((insert race)) gardener trimming the cow grass for my neighbour... bleh. Overload! Do not want! Forgot to sniff at the Flying Fox though. And I thought that I didn't like the way Happy Hippy smelled the last time I was in Lush... but now I love it!! How could I not love it?? It smells so fruity and yummy! And look at that oozing golden liquid! Can't wait til I jump into the shower stall with it. :)

I think I got quite a sizable amount of stuff to try out, so no major bitchfitz about the place being poorly stocked up. Besides, my boyfriend loves Hong Kong so much that he wants to make this an annual thing, so it probably won't be long til I'm back to restock. Hee hee! :) *heart*

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Nivea Intensive Body Milk

I found this smalllllll bottle of body moisturiser when I was packing up my stuff from my old company. This was when I was just starting into the whole "taking care of my skin" mindset, and I bought this small bottle of Nivea Intensive Body Milk to the office. I read in a magazine somewhere that air-conditioning is very harsh on the skin, therefore it's best to constantly moisturise your arms and legs in the office.

I have to admit, it's weird to be moisturising your legs in the office. Hahahha. So I somehow wound up using this more as a hand moisturiser... and over time, it got replaced by hand creams that are more specific for the job.

This product is actually for people with dry skin, and promises "smooth moisture all day long". The formula with caring lipids and avoicado oil intesnively cares for dry skin, leaving it smooth. The milk also absorbs quickly to return your dry skin to its natural softness and smoothness. That's what it says. How did *I* personally think it performed?

Well, I'm pretty much used to Nivea's more creamy moisturisers, so the intensive milk was kinda a bad thing for me. FYI, it's VERY liquidy! I'm such a klutz that I frequently knock stuff over. If you knock this baby over, it WILL spill! The smell is the familiar, comforting milky smell that Nivea is known for... definitely no complaints there. BUT... I think it's not as moisturising as the other Nivea moisturisers I have used. Funny, especially since this one says that it is INTENSIVELY moisturising. Maybe because I bought this so long ago and it has since improved?

All in all, it's a good product, but probably not for me because I can't get over the texture. Hahahaha.

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What Do Girls Do Before They Sleep?

What's your nightly beauty ritual? I have such a long list that my boyfriend is aghasted when I tell him about it. But he's a nice guy, so he'll amicably say, "Well, if that means you smell really nice when you go to bed, then so be it" or "No wonder your skin is so soft!" To hear compliments like that really make my day, so I try to keep my nightly routine up.

As always, I start off with a picture of myself sans make-up, and with my hairup, and fringe up thanks to the Korean hairband...

Start off with moisturising my face after cleansing (so happy, going to finish my Garnier facewash soon, which means I can start reviewing another product! Tee hee!) :

Two drops is all you need... :) Maybe 3 if you have a large face. :P Check out the look of concentration on my face. Must have exactly TWO drops come out only, as I am running out of the moisturiser and I don't want to waste... ~ Oh, and I know it seems like I'm using Hada Labo with every entry, but as much as I don't want to waste, I still want to finish this quickly so I can try another product. Tsk tsk!

My favorite step --- extra whitening inner cell repair body milk from Nivea! Makes my skin smell milky and nice, soft to the touch afer this as well. Hopefully the hype is not unfounded --- apparently it makes skin HEALTHIER as well!

Rub rub rub... slathering it all over my arms and legs and other unmentionables... :P

Can't resist the call to ... FLEX

Erm... next step! Mirror Mirror neck cream "for a snuggly nook" from Lush. One of my favorite products... really helps to moisturise your neck. Why need a special moisturiser for your neck? Because the skin there is more sensitive! Iron out your wattles right now! =p

Look of horror when I find out this product is also diminishing... sigh, really need to restock on Lush stuff!
But on it goes anyway....

Still medicating my pimples with Oxy.. le sigh!

Okay, I had to take out my contacts for this next step. Ugh, what a typical nerd look. :P

Guess what this is?

It's my Boots Ultimate Lift Eye gel from their Botanics range. It leaves a nice cooling sensation on your eyes, but I don't think it really helps "lift my eyes". However, I do enjoy the soothing sensation, and this eye gel was NOT responsible for the milia that I got.... so :


This is the part where I let my hair down... because I'm going to use my Phyto Phytodefrisante anti-frizz balm. Can use when hair is wet or dry... don't matter :
I *really* don't like the texture of this thing... it just looks so gross... hahhaa. I'm REALLY not buying this again!
And to help me sleep better... Johnson & Johnson's Bedtime Powder. I really do think it helps me sleep better. It has such a comforting scent, and makes "baby" feel so nice and comfortable. Hahahaha...

And lastly ... hand cream. I bought a whole bunch of this from Bath & Body Works when I was in America last time. Craziness! Out of a bunch of 8 tubes of hand cream, I only used finish 1. This one is a lavender vanilla "sleep blend". It does smell rather sweet, but nothing that is particularly "soothing" and "promotes tranquility" about it...
Alright, I hope I'll get some good rest after this. I'm actually supposed to be on standby for a night implementation... so I pray that all goes well and I don't end up wide awake at 3am or something...

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Stuff I Rarely Use (But Still Use!) Pt Trois

1. Dove Go Fresh Cool Moisture Beauty Bar Soap with Cucumber and Green Tea Scent
A refreshing and cooling soap with a really nice & invigorating scent. Last time, this could only be bought overseas, and my friend bought back a few bars of soap for me. She said that she loves to slip a few bars between her clothes in the cupboard because she likes the fragrance so much! I do agree that it has a nice smell, but I won't go to such lengths, haha.

The soap is rather "soft", so after using it for a while, it's very likely that it'll go all mushy on you on your soap dish. You have been warned! I only use this soap to wash my hands, so I can't comment much on how well it cleans the body, etc. However, I have a few bars so I might review this again at a later date. Not really big on bars of soap because I hate cleaning out the soap dish... but sometimes a nice, handy bar of soap is so much nicer to use than certain shower gels... I have a LOT of soap to try... (mostly taken from hotels! hahaha!)

2. The Body Shop Spa Wisdom Africa Spa Salt Scrub

Bought this back when Body Shop was having a sale, and since I was mad for sales, I bought it though I didn't know much about it. It was pretty pricey, this and the moisturiser (reviewed below) ended up costing about RM100+? Still, I really really like it, this is a very effective body scrub, and if you believe in the magical healing properties of salt, then this will be right up your alley.

In general, I don't like tub-style packaging, no matter how classy this one looks, with the cute latch and all. I don't like dipping my hands into a tub, as when you are bathing, your hands are wet, and if you get water into the salt scrub, it will start "melting". I mean, it's no biggie, but it'll look yucky la (a small pool of water inside your tub of salt scrub).

The texture for the Salt Scrub is just the way I like it - slightly firm (indicative of a lot of exfoliation beads --- or in this case --- salt), kind of slicker version of putty. It also doesn't melt that easily, so a little bit really goes a longggg way.

The only drawback for this thing for me is probably the price and the smell. It kinda smells very waxy to me, and I prefer to rinse off with some other yummy smelling shower gel before towelling off. Guaranteed smoother and healthier looking skin, and you only need to use it once a week. Oh, and be careful not to use it when you have small little cuts, else you will be stinging in the shower! Hahaha. But I guess that's true for all salt-based body scrubs.

3. The Body Shop - Spa Wisdom On a High Hydrating Puree
Was convinced by the sales assistant that this is THE product to go with the Africa Spa Salt Scrub (after I mentioned that I thought salt scrubs would be too dehydrating and rough on the skin - silly me, I could get my own moisturiser outside if I'm worried about that, right?). As mentioned, it's pretty pricey, and keep in mind that I bought both items while they had 10-20% discounts! I definitely won't repurchase if it's at the original price.

This item comes with andiroba and rose hip oil, leaves a very light smooth & silky feeling, but not super moisturised like my Palmer's Body Butter. I'm very impressed with how easily this product gets absorbed into my skin. Seriously, one of the most easily absorbed, with no lingering greasy feeling product ever... Since it's very light, it's suitable to be used in our Malaysian hot weather (if you use greasier products like the Palmer's I mention, it's a weird feeling to be sweating and having the sweat running down your body-buttered arms... I just cannot describe it. You have to live that experience for yourself). Also leaves a nice "cooling" after-taste, delicious on the skin.

Not a bad experience with this one, but Body Shop is really too expensive to be featured on my drug store beauty website. =)

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Daily Face Products

I think I was too excited to publish my list of daily-used-products that I forgot about a very important item that I use daily! None other than my face moisturiser. Now is this an important element to a skincare regime or what? Currently, I don't even put foundation cos I think it really clogs up the pores --- don't get me wrong, I still love my mineral make-up, but I don't see many people at my workplace, so I reckon that leaving it au naturale is best.

Having said that, I do feel that a lick of moisturiser will be the best thing to wear to keep the face smooth and supple. When I *do* wear foundation, it'll be a great base to start off with. Currently, I'm using the Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturising Lotion, which a lot of bloggers are promoting. I admit, I totally got sold on their blog ads, so I got myself a bottle too. It ain't cheap... it's about RM40+? I remember I bought it together with the face wash, so all together it came up to RM60++... Since I'm an advocate of drug store beauty, this is super pricey for me. I'm no sponsored blogger, so I definitely don't think of this as "inexpensive". Maybe inexpensive compared to brands like Dior, Estee Lauder, etc... but are those sold at a drugstore? We have standards to maintain here! (Cheaper please!)

Anyway, despite my ranting on the price, it is a really good moisturiser and it takes very longggg for me to finish this bottle. I think I've been using it for nearly a year now. O_O And I use it everyday. All you need is 2 drops from the bottle, rub it together between your palms and then spread it all over your face. You're supposed to "gently pat your face" until everything gets absorbed in. But being impatient, I tend to rub it over like a maniac and continue rubbing somemore. -__- This ain't a beauty tip, just saying how I do things, haha. I think it's not good to be as vigorous as I am... be more gentle and feminine please!

My skin definitely feels softer and smoother after applying this lotion, and it doesn't have any smell, and it is super light and refreshing. Almost as if you are just applying water! Though it does feel a little bit sticky and icky when you first smear it on, it gets absorbed in with more rubbing and then it doesn't leave any sticky residue. So it's good in that sense. At least you aren't throwing your money into the bin, you actually get a product that works. :p

I do have a bit of a complain about this item... I suppose since I've been using it for so long and I've been carting it everywhere... the top of the bottle is a bit loosened, and once it spilled all over my make-up bag. T__T Very tragic, and I've not been bringing it along after that.

For a cheaper alternative, and something that works just as well.. why don't you be all old school and try Hazeline Snow instead? It costs less than half the price of Hada Labo, it is easy to bring around, it also lasts for a really really long time and I just love the texture of this cream! It's hard to explain what it is... it's cream-like, but not really. You just have to buy a container and try it for yourself. I think this would be around the RM10 range, you can get it cheaper when there are discounts in Guardian / Watsons!

There's also no greasy / sticky after feeling after you've put Hazeline Snow on your face, and your face feels smooth as a baby bottom after this. Have applied this and then put make-up on top and no problemo. No clogged pores feeling. I love it so much that I randomly attacked my boyfriend with Hazeline Snow, insisting to put it on his face because I think everyone should feel how awesome it feels like to have Hazeline Snow on their face!

I'm definitely going back to Hazeline Snow when my bottle of Hada Labo finishes! The good news though is that I won some Hada Labo contest thanks to Cleo magazine, so I will be able to restock on Hada Labo and not feel the pinch in my pocket! :P

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Stuff I'm Using Now ( My first beauty blog entry!)

Ok, I decided to create a separate blog for my posts about drug store products that I'm using right now, and also for erm... contests, swag grabbing and such. What better place to place ads than at a place where I'm talking about brand names for free... Hmm... ;)

Anyway, a little background about moi... I was introduced to the world of drugstore beauty by my colleague Pauline. It's been about 4 years + of checking out what goodies places like Guardian, Watsons, Boots (in Thailand) and even places like Carrefour can reveal to drugstore addicts like us. My love with make-up goes a bit further back though --- been dabbling since I was in high school, though I'm definitely no expert. In fact, I've been a bit lazy nowadays and just going to work with moisturiser and lipgloss. *gasp* Sacre bleu!

I digressed... back to the topic. Stuff I'm using right now :


1. Clairol Herbal Essences None of Your Frizzness Shampoo & Conditioner at the gym for my hair. This is my go-to shampoo since I go to the gym about 4x a week and I ALWAYS shampoo and condition after every workout. It's just gross not to. I love this shampoo for its fruity smell and to me, you can't go wrong with Clairol Herbal Essences. All the shampoos just smell so awesome. :) However, in terms of whether this ACTUALLY works out all the frizziness... well, I was hoping for miracles, so I guess it's a no for me. I'm about to finish both bottles soon, so I'm looking forward to trying something new and reporting it back here. ;)


2. Schwarzkopf Asia Glatt shampoo & conditioner for home use. Yup, I hate repacking my gym bag and stuff I use at home, and this way, I get to try out more stuff! :D I'm also going to finish this pretty soon, and I say, I CAN'T WAIT. This shampoo is awful... it smells really weird when lathering up, and it smells even worse after the hair has dried. :( My friend Sidney quipped, "With a shampoo name like Asia GLATT how did you expect it to even smell nice?" I guess I was drawn in by the fact that it's supposedly formulated for Asian hair, but it does squat for me. Not interested, nuh-uh...


3. Original Source Lemon Tea Tree Shower Gel for the gym. I love Original Source, and was first introduced to this brand by my buddy Ben when I was in London. And was so glad to see that Singapore has it too, so at least I will be able to stock up MUCH easier. Sucks when Malaysia doesn't have awesome products like this. ;) It's awesome for use after a workout, cos the lemon really invigorates your tired muscles.. and tea tree has some healing properties as well right? Plus you feel really, really CLEAN after showering with this. I just love citrus fragrances for shower gels, so this shower gel is pretty much THE BOMB for me. I've tried about 90% of the whole Original Source range, and I loved every single one. If not for the fact that I'm really in love with trying out more stuff, I would be 100% loyal to this brand. Lol... in fact, I have a bit of a problem with shower gels cos I have sensitive skin... I cannot use stuff from Fruiser and from Palmolive (this includes Lux), cos I'll get rashy after that. Blehk. So hard to find cheap stuff that won't irritate me... My boyfriend is recommending that I stick to solely Eucerin or Dettol, but ... I like variety. :) And yummy smells. :)

4. Johnson & Johnson's Peach Baby Bath for morning showers at home and when I don't go to the gym. I have a LOT of Johnson & Johnson's stuff to try out, cos I've been entering one of those "Buy & Win" contests. -___- I first tried J&J baby bath's when my skin was getting rashy - no thanks to crappy brands - and I thought --- they won't try to break out a baby's skin right? It was cheaper than brands like Sebamed and Eucerin, so I thought it won't hurt to try. After finishing an entire 1l of J&J baby bath with no untoward results, I'm sold. :) This works for me too and I'm happy. The peach baby bath has a very mild smell, and because it's soooo gentle, I don't really recommend using this if you've been rolling around in mud or something. However, for showers in the morning, and especially before bedtime ... this is perfect. =) Really makes you feel like a baby.

5. Peaches & Clean Shower gel from Soap & Glory for body scrub --- every now and then. You'll need a body scrub every now and then, especially if you're like me and you don't use one of those bath mitt thingys... I got scared of them ever since my dad had one and it never really dried out properly and fungus grew all over the dang thing. *shivers* I bought my shower gel some time back in Thailand's Boots. Soap & Glory is pretty pricey, but the packaging is soooo witty and cute and dang, the stuff works! Peaches & Clean has a strong (but lovely) peach smell with bits of what feels like smashed peach pit (it's really just exfoliating beads) to really scrub off your dead skin. I'm loving it! And I heard that the new Sephora that opened opposite Pavilion stocks up on Soap & Glory stuff, so that's good news for all Malaysians! :)

6. Simple Refreshing face wash gel for the gym. This facial wash really lives up to the name of being GENTLE on the skin... you can't really feel it cleaning your skin up, but the results show. I have this bad habit of not removing my make-up with a make-up remover.. but I head straight for the face wash. Note : I don't wear really thick make-up, so I think it's ok?

There's no fragrance, no exfoliating beads... so although this is a product that works for me, it's not 100% me... in the sense that I like fragrances, and I like squeaky clean feeling after washing my face. I know, I know.. that's supposed to be really bad for you because that would mean the face wash is too harsh. It never did anything bad to my face before this... *sulks* I guess what I'm trying to say is that this face wash is just too boring for me... but it works! However, I've been getting really horrible pimples recently, and I don't know whether it's because this product is too gentle or because of the other face stuff I've been using...

7. Garnier Light Fairness face wash for home use is a lemon-y facial wash, also without exfoliating beads and is also awesome for me because it removes my make-up without need for make-up remover. I quite liked it when I first started using it, but now feels that it leaves a rather oily feeling residue on my face after I'm done. I also don't feel the squeaky clean feeling of a fresh face after finishing with it, so I'm disappointed. Also have a feeling that this facial wash could've contributed to the sudden emergence of pimples. Hmmm... and the bad news is that I bought two of these face wash because there was a 2 for 1 deal in Watsons... hahaha. -__-

Oh and I don't think I got any fairer after using this... but I don't really mind because I think it's odd if my face ends up fairer than my body.... =p

8. The Neutrogena Deep Clean Blackhead removal range was a total disappointment! Also bought it because of the Johnson's & Johnson's contest, and also because I was wondering if there WAS another way to get rid of blackheads. I've always heard good stuff about Neutrogena, although I personally did not like the smell of their face wash (the deep yellow in color one... I forgot if it's supposed to be fragrance-free or not, but it had a weird smell! Since I said it had a weird smell, you'd think that it must NOT be fragrance free... but you never know! I just remember it as being weird!). Anyway, the Deep Clean Blackhead range consists of a face wash, these weird "heating" cream things which is supposed to open up your pores and make it easier for the blackheads to be removed, and finally, a cooling toner. The whole set set me back about RM75... so you could say I'm SERIOUSBUSINESS about removing blackheads.


However, I was very disappointed with the whole thing. I did like the face wash because it had exfoliating beads, and you definitely get a very clean, very fresh feeling after washing your face. Did it eliminate blackheads? No. So I proceeded with the warming treatment. The warming treatment was interesting... it really does heat up in your hands very quickly... but did it magically make all my blackheads dropped out or easier to be squeezed? Another resounding no. Finally the cooling toner was... like what a toner should be. Nothing extra special that made it ought to belong on a blackhead removal range. Very sad.

I guess the warming treatment was nice to play with... but will it be worth your money? It's expensive lor... and so far I've only used one tube. And somehow or other, it seems like it's not heating up so fast or so much anymore. Disappointment. And I have been getting those pimples (this is the third time I'm repeating this...) is this the cause!?!?!

If you've read til this point, yes I'm using 3 different facial cleansers at the moment, no wonder I can't figure out what's the root cause of any skin problems that I face. Tsk! And if you're really wondering what you can do about those dang blackheads, instead of using the deep clean range, may I just recommend to you the cheap & lovely Biore pore strips?! They now come in orange & pineapple fragrance which I love. I also have the regular and the black colored strips (I don't even know why I bought the black color one... just fatt hao I guess...). If you're not one for the pain, you could always remove it slowly, but I just love ripping out the dang thing and then studying the massive whiteheads and blackheads stuck. Gives me so much pleasure. At least there's a difference after using the Biore pore strips. I study myself after using the deep clean range and more often than not, you're back to squeezing out your whiteheads and blackheads, as if you didn't even use the range at all. Why spend the money then?

Ewww... I just Googled for the pore strips, and check out what some people managed to yank out on their pore strips... I'm glad that I don't have such severe problems! Lol!

9. Phytodefrisant Anti-frizz Balm for the hair... yes, I'm facing frizzy hair as evident from the shampoo I use, and the hair care products I use. I bought this when I was in France, so I don't think you can get it here... Pretty pricey (it is about RM80+!!), and the only reason I bought this was because I Google-d for "good pharmaceutical buys in France".. what a freak! ;) Ben bought something from Phyto as well, and he said it was shite (don't remember what he got). So how goes this balm? Well, I have to say that I must be quite insane to buy something where the directions are all in French, so I had to guess what I was supposed to do with it. In the end, I reckoned that it is a leave-in type of balm, and I have to say... this works. It really makes your hair more manageable and less frizzy. However, I have to use a LOT of it and I hate the texture of this anti-frizz product. It's very watery and slimey and reminds me of erm... baby juice. It also has a rather unpleasant smell about it, so I'm very careful not to use this before I meet my boyfriend, haha! For something nicer smelling, and rather effective (though not as POWERFUL as Phyto..), may I recommend...

10. Free&Free Damage Aid Serum that I got from Carrefour Thailand! Hahaha... actually, the current bottle that I have is given to me from Pauline (the one who introduced me to all this madness) as she knows how much I love this green bottle. This smells AWESOME.. very fresh and fruity, and really tames your hair. For the price you pay, this is more bang for your buck than Phyto is. Sadly, can't find this brand in Malaysia!

I guess it's unfair to compare Phyto and my favorite Free&Free because one is for damaged hair and the other one is just to control frizzy hair... but the outcome from both products are smoother hair ends and generally more manageability... so that's why I'm pitting them against each other. :) Free&Free, I would continue to buy, but Phyto is definitely a one-off. :)

11. My Beauty Diary masks... got a pack of 16 masks for about RM65 from Guardian... in fact, I'm currently using one (which I may review separately after this). When I first started using these masks, I loved it... the smell, the shape of the masks (there are some brands that get the anatomy of the face so, so wrong.. with bits and pieces of the mask hanging out every which way) and it's like... such a nice indulgence to have a mask once a week, am I right ladies? After the pimple fiasco (which now I'm wondering whether it's hormonal...), I'm also a little bit wary of the masks. I have about 8 more masks to go though, so I really hope it isn't! Anyway, the packaging for MBD masks are really cute, and the name of the masks are all so yummy sounding. Like, right now I'm using an apple one and it makes me think as if I'm putting real mushed up green apples all over my face. Haha, I'm not sure what good THAT would do, but generally after a MBD mask, my face feels softer and smoother. =) Because of the Guardian deal, I got MBD mask cheaper per mask (usual price is about RM6+ per mask), but if you want to try cheaper alternatives, I super recommend Purederm (any mask is good, but I like the aloe one), MJ (usually they have the type of gooey mask that you spread on your face and then peel off when it dries) and even the in-house brands of Watsons and Guardian have good masks for a little less than RM5. Watsons bird nest mask is super good, but that one is considered "premium" and is way more than RM5. I only got to use it because it was given to me as a free gift. =)

12. Vaseline Aloe Cool & Fresh light moisturising lotion for my day moisturiser... just broke in a brand new bottle! Previously was using Palmer's Cocoa Butter and that is one helluva good moisturiser! Palmer's Cocoa Butter has a distinctive smell... for me, I didn't like it at first, but since I just finished a big bottle... obviously I got used to it in the end. :) The cream is a bit thick and you really have to rub yourself (sounds dirty!) to get it all smoothened out. However, the moisturising effects are really just ooh-la-la~! I find myself constantly in wonder that my skin is soooo smooth and soooooo nice to touch. My boyfriend agrees with me. ;) I bought the Cocoa Butter in London for about 2 pounds, and when it first came to Malaysia, the Cocoa Butter was being sold so ridiculously expensive.. now it's ok-ly priced, so I might buy again... though I have a LOT of other moisturisers to try out.

Well look at me go on and on about Palmer's and not talk about Vaseline.. tsk tsk. Well, I really like the smell of the aloe body moisturiser.. and it's really cooling, which is good for the recent hot weather. However, in terms of moist-ness, I would say that it is left farrrrr behind compared to Palmers. Coincidentally, my boyfriend just bought a bottle of the exact same moisturiser today, and he randomly uses it to cool himself down! Hahaha! I guess I can't expect so much from this moisturiser anyway because it clearly states on the bottle that it is a "LIGHT" moisturising lotion. I must look out for the "HEAVY" one then. ;)

13. Nivea Extra Whitening Inner Cell Repair Body Milk for my night time moisturiser... why do I use it at night? Cos it's for whitening purpose, and I reckon it'll be better to use it when there isn't any sun rays combatting with it's whitening mission. ^^ (I just feel dumb now cos I'm studying the bottle now and I see that it has some advanced UV protection, so this IS for usage in the daytime!). I've loved Nivea body lotion for a really long time. I like the comforting fragrance, which makes it all the more apt for me to use it for night. For WHITENING... I don't think it works on me, because I don't see myself getting any fairer. My skin is more evenly-toned, I guess... but I can't comment on becoming FAIRER. I also can't comment on the inner cell repair thingy that they are promoting as I don't know the mechanics of how something that is applied externally can get absorbed into my inner cells... that kinda sounds scary.

But in terms of having softer, more I~wanna~touch~you~ooh~yeah~baby skin... then yes! A million times over that this works. =) I also like the face absorption rate, which is definitely a must for body moisturisers. The Vaseline one is also quickly absorbed... I suppose it's only the Palmer's one which takes quite a while, but since it is so awesome, it's forgiven. =p

Well, I guess that's lucky 13 items that I use rather frequently. My next entry will be on not-used-so-frequently stuff and on my daily make-up! Stay tuned, I guess!

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