Review: Etude House Real Art Cleansing Mild Soap

I have always gone for products that are quality over packaging. However, this time, I was intrigued by the lovely packaging that Etude House had. I bought this while on holiday in Seoul last April, and it came in a set of cleansing soap and cleansing oil. The cleansing oil was rubbish so I disposed of it after using 1/4 of it. Yea, it was that bad that I didn’t even want to pass it to someone else. However, the cleansing soap was lovely to use.

It was a basic cleansing liquid that cleansed my face well without leaving it dry and tight.It was clear and runny and only needed a pump to lather up sufficiently. That being said, I didn’t feel that it would be strong enough to clean off the day’s dirt, grime and makeup so I only used this in the morning. My skin was always smooth after using this. And since only a pump is needed each time, the 200ml bottle lasted me from ~Nov 2011 to May 2012.

I would love to repurchase it since it’s a simple cleansing liquid that does what it’s supposed to do, but I guess the Korean brands always have something new to offer. And I’ve still got 3 of those Holika Holika egg soaps to try… *oops, totally went crazy in Korea!*

Review: Skin & Lab vitamin creams

I bought these vitamin creams when I ran out of Bliv’s moisturizing gel (that reminds me, I need to blog about that soon!). I heard that Vitamin B is good for acne prone skin, so I decided to try it out. The creams were despatched from Korea and reached me within 10 days, quite fast considering it was year end and postal services were usually overloaded then.

Anyway, the creams were lovely to use, absorbing into the skin really quickly and they make my skin soft and matte! They are not oily and they work as promised! I bought the Vitamin B cream for my acne-prone skin, Vitamin K for sensitive patches around my eye and ears and also for dark circles, and Vitamin C for brightening! The creams smell of lavender and it’s so soothing on the senses to use, especially at the end of a long weary work day.

I like that the seller has a different promotion for the vitamin creams each month, often giving a full size gift with purchase of 3 creams. But it would be better, if they made it a “buy 2, get 1 free” or “buy 3 get 1 free” promotion. Just sayin’. I have since re-purchased another 2 more tubes, 1 Vitamin B and 1 Vitamin E since I tend to go through the Vitamin B cream rather quickly. The seller also gives a set of vitamin cream samples for each tube purchased, so I have 3×5 vitamin cream samples in the picture above. The samples were nice and handy to have as each sample contained sufficient cream for probably 2-3 usages.

Do look out for price promotions as Gmarket often have price drops for the day.

Gmarket seller: synnara & 해피제주

I found some old photos of my past Gmarket hauls and decided to blog them all…I ordered Super Junior’s 5th album (repackaged) and a facial lifting mask for my sister in Oct 2011.

Ordered date: 11 Oct 2011
Shipped out from Korea date: 14 Oct 2011
Received in SG date: 17 Oct 2011
Cost (incl. overseas shipping): W47,420
Estimated weight / actual weight: 1.50kg / 0.41kg

This time, it was my “hubby” who sent me the Gmarket parcel. Tee Hee.

I ordered the repackaged album from Synnara, actual link to product here. I like buying from Synnara because my purchase count on the Hanteo chart and K chart. Besides that, they have great packaging for their albums and posters!

My sister is always into slimming stuff and she thought that the facial lifting mask would be good… but I had a great laugh when I saw it. It was like Hannibal Lecter! Here’s her boyfriend (reluctantly) modelling the mask. We bought this from 해피제주 – actual product link here. The seller can look into reducing the product weight because it’s actually really light… probably only 0.1kg per piece! Not 0.6kg!

The product was supposed to be like this:

But it looked like this on him:

HAHAHAHAHAHA! It was extremely tight and I don’t think we should use it coz he could hardly breathe with it!

Review: Bliv Quench Me moisturizing gel

I actually loved this moisturizing gel while I had it, and promptly moved on to something else after I was done with it. I think life’s too short to just stick to one moisturizer. *all images in this post do not belong to me*

It says “A super lightweight gel moisturizer, Quench Me invigorates your skin with its moisture-retaining properties, keeping hydration locked in during daytime with no burden. Your complexion never looked more supple, recharged and healthy!” on the website, and it is good for oily skin girls who dislike sticky products. It moisturizes alright, but I soon felt that it wasn’t enough for me as I was in an air-conditioned environment day in and out. My nose would peel if I only used this and the blackhead gel.

The gel’s actually a faint blue and I’m not a fan of coloured products, so that’s 1 point off. Don’t see the point to have artificial colouring in my products if it’s not makeup.

But what I do like most about the product is its packaging. Most of b.liv’s products come in an air-tight pump bottle and that’s good to keep the product fresh. It also allows the user to control how much product to dispense and keeps your dresser clean and neat.

I was done with the moisturizer (45ml) in 3 months and now using a vitamin cream that I bought from Gmarket. I’m loving that much more than Quench Me!

Gmarket seller: 제이드클럽

Sis started shopping on Gmarket Korea (with much help from me on deciphering the product model and colour) and surprisingly, it arrived really quickly!

Ordered date: 13 Feb 2012
Shipped out from Korea date: 15 Feb 2012
Received in SG date: 17 Feb 2012
Cost (incl. overseas shipping): W45,340
Estimated weight / actual weight: 1.20kg / 1.05kg

And as usual, we have the option to enter the sender’s name, so no surprises who I wished was sending me the parcel. LOL. Talking about which, I attended their Super Show 4 concert in Singapore on 18 Feb 2012, and it was fantastic! I got super good seats, like they were just in front of me. Totally screamed my head off. Ahem.

My sister is a shoe fanatic, and so she got herself 2 pairs of heels to justify her clearing out the old shoes. This time, she bought shoes from 제이드클럽

Yes, the shoes are of the same design, but different colour and different heel height. Sizing fits true. If you’re interested to get the same pair of shoes, here’s the link.

Here’s what I ordered for her.

사이즈= size

품명/색상= product name/colour

굽 = heel (height)

레오파드 = leopard

For colours, please refer to my previous tutorial, How to shop on Gmarket.

Gelish manicure #3

This time, I wanted something natural but yet bling enough for CNY 2012. So my manicurist did a gradient design for me as I did my nails 2 weeks before CNY (smart choice because I was kept busy at work for 2 weeks!). I chose gold glitter tips for some wealth! LOL

*Manicure was 2 weeks old when above picture was taken, thus there was some growth

Review: Spa Vintage

Spa Vintage is a well-kept secret… it’s my favourite massage/spa salon with an exclusive location. The prices are not cheap (averaging about $100 for 2 hours massage, depending on which treatment you choose), but the therapists’ skills are top-notch. They are not middle-aged aunties who suddenly decided to change their jobs, nor are they pseudo-masseurs. They are adequately trained and have even taken up certification courses for different types of massage. I go there about once every 4-6 weeks, always doing my favourite green tea massage for 1.5 hours or 2 hours if I’m particularly tired. Above is the locker area, and you can also enjoy a warm foot bath before you start on your treatment.

After the foot bath, you will be led into your treatment room and while the single room is small, it is sufficient for the therapist to walk around without shifting the bed. Each room has its own air-conditioning unit so the temperature can be adjusted according to your preference. The beds are warm and towels are clean and plush. If you visit the place with a partner, you can also request for a couple room which comes with an attached shower area. The rooms have piped-in music and the walls are also fully boarded up, so you have your own personal space without having to listen to other customers’ conversations (one of my pet peeves during treatment is that some customers talk NON-STOP during treatments… how irritating!!)

My favourite treatment would be the green tea massage and deep tissue hot lava stone massage. The green tea massage uses green tea oil for moisturization and it uses a combination of Javanese, Balinese and Swedish massage techniques, together with hot lava stones for a relaxing and soothing massage. The deep tissue hot lava stone massage is hardcore stuff, I usually choose it if my muscles are extremely sore. Either way, I love having hot lava stones incorporated in my massage because the warm stones just relaxes my muscles so much, I could turn into jelly.

The therapists do not hardsell at all, and they are usually quiet during treatments (some therapists yak away… especially those in Malaysia… sigh). I’ve brought my parents and my sis to this secret place of mine, and all of them love it so much! I’ve been a regular since 2010 and the therapists there remember me and my dad! Great personalised service! I do not usually sign packages but these quaint little spa haven has an affordable package of only $500 (+ $150 free treatments), that I have since signed on at least twice. I usually finish 1 package in a year. They do not restrict you which kind of treatments you can do, but rather they go by the value of the treatment you choose to do during your session. They also have monthly promotions which allow customers to try different treatments if they wish to. Members enjoy 30% discount on one full body massage treatment (regular price) on their birthday month.

 

My 2nd Gelish manicure: Tiger Blossom

So I did my 2nd Gelish manicure in Tiger Blossom, sometime in November and it held up very well. I just removed it yesterday (6 Jan 2011) because I wanted to rest my nails for a bit before I do something for Chinese New Year. The colour was still fresh and shiny, though my nails had grown out by about half. But now I know that I can actually trim & file my nails if they get too long and the polish still holds up well! I really love this colour – it looks red on the colour chart, but it’s a lovely coral with shimmers on me.

Review: Ichikami Care & Style hair water

Item Reviewed: Ichikami Care & Style hair water

Price/pack size: S$

Available at: exclusively at Watsons

Description: Ichikami hair care series is formulated with Rice Premium EX (Yusuru essence, oil and protein originated from rice bran), plus six kinds of pure Japanese Herbal Essences (Belanmcanda, Camellia, Soapberry, Walnut, Sasanqua, Sakura) to nourish, repair and moisturize your hair.

Usage: Spray hair water 5-10cm away onto hair. Apply styling products if desired. Can be used on wet & dry hair.

Review: I received this product in my Ichikami product hamper last year end, and only remembered to use it recently after I permed my hair and it was getting dry like the Sahara desert. Remind me to treat my hair properly before I do any other chemical treatments in future please. Le sigh. Anyway, I was deciding between Lucido-L treatment water (with Hyaluronic Acid!) and Liese Raspberry hair mist in Watsons, when I saw the top shelf display for Ichikami. I suddenly recalled I have this at home, and decided to save some bucks and not buy anything. Hehe.

Ichikami Care & Style hair water promises to treat and repair hair, as well as style hair at the same time! Talk about multi-purpose! I usually use this during the day, while in office, to add some much required moisture to my hair, as well as, restyle and revive the curls. It smells really sweet, and makes my hair smell nice too (an added plus especially when we lunch at the smoky hawker centre!) However, I think my hair is way too parched for the hair water to have any effect on it. Like, I reckon I need a serum or oil more than water. Y’know what I mean? So sadly, this hair water was used a couple of times and I sent it to dear Kimoko (Queen of BB creams) who absolutely loves it.

Rating: -/5 (not suitable for my current hair state)

Would I buy again: Don’t think so… I’ve already found my HG hair serum (Kerastase Oleo Relax!)

Inspirational!

I haven’t been very active here lately, but I just wanted to share this inspiring video with those who have acne issues, myself included.

Cassandra Bankson has severe acne but it didn’t deter her from pursuing her dreams of being a model. In the video below, she shows her extraordinary makeup skills!