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.

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!

Review: Ginvera Aqua Whitening Cream

Besides Nude BB Cream, Ginvera has also introduced a new moisturizer, called Aqua Whitening Cream with oil control. Say what?! Whitening cream with oil control? It got me intrigued since whitening moisturizers are often oily and greasy, not at all suitable for my skin in humid Singapore! So among the 2 new products, I was more interested to try the aqua whitening cream.

Most Asian girls are obsessed with obtaining fair, porcelain skin (quite evident by the myraid of whitening products we have in Asia!), but I believe this is the first of its kind to combine whitening and oil control in 1 product. The aqua whitening cream claims to combine skin whitening, UV protection, oil control, lightening of spots and acne scars and prevents the formation of pimples. To be honest, I am a little baffled by its UV protection claim, because I can’t find any ingredient that can protect skin from the harsh UV rays! Ginvera might want to reverse that claim, in case HSA comes knocking on its doors!

Onto the actual product, it is a white cream which spreads easily and absorbs quickly into skin, without leaving any white cast (but of course! It doesn’t have titanium dioxide to give that dreadful white cast). It does seem to control the oilies until around the 4 hour mark for me. Perhaps my skin is just too oily for comfort now that I have stopped acne medication. It also moisturizes my skin moderately enough to prevent the flakies and fine lines. Would I buy this again? Probably not, because it has a very strong scent that irritates my nose. For others who do not mind scented products, you may consider getting this all-rounder product for around $17!

Review: Crabtree & Evelyn Jojoba Oil Body Lotion

Item Reviewed: Crabtree & Evelyn Jojoba Oil Body Lotion

Price/pack size: S$35 (250ml)

Available at: Crabtree & Evelyn retail outlets, including Centrepoint

Ingredients:

Description: Our sheer moisturizing body lotion, blended with first-pressed golden jojoba oil, sweet almond oil and oat extract, leaves skin feeling soft and supple.

•Sheer formula absorbs easily
•Moisturizing -Conditioning
•Formulated with golden jojoba oil and sweet almond oil
Scent: Blend of lavender and green herbs with a hint of citrus.

Usage: For daily use after a bath or shower or as needed to help maintain the skin’s natural moisture balance, apply lotion liberally and gently massage into the skin.

Review: I’ve always thought that I’ve got normal skin that doesn’t need moisturizing. But after years of neglect, my legs and hands are dry like a desert. You could see the scaly skin and scratch marks when I gently scratch the surface of my shins. So I was asking Ms Dry Skin if she has any recommendations and she recommended me to try C&E’s Jojoba Oil range. Actually, she told me to buy the cream but I was afraid that the cream might be too rich for my slightly dry skin so I opted for the body lotion instead.

The body lotion comes in a pump bottle which is a +1 for me cos I fancy practical packaging. Another +1 cos it has a stopper that is really handy if you decide to bring the lotion with you on a holiday! The scent reminds me of cheap hotel toiletries in a good way – I happen to like such clean, grassy scents! LOL The lotion itself is very light, spreading easily and absorbs quickly into the skin without being sticky.

I use this lotion in the office where I spend a good part of my day here and apply 1/2 pump of lotion onto my shins every morning when I come in, then another 1/2 pump of lotion for the wrinkly hands. I got a little overzealous in the beginning and was applying the lotion like every 2 hours or after every handwash! BUT my legs no longer feel itchy, and my cuticles are looking better – no more ragged nails too! $35 may be a little expensive but it’s C&E after all, and I can see the bottle lasting quite a while.

Rating: 4/5

Would I buy again: Maybe! There are just too many scents available from C&E and I want to try them!

Review: Dermalogica Pure Night

Item Reviewed: Dermalogica Pure Night

Price/pack size: $180/50ml

Available at: Leonard Drake salons

Ingredients:

Description: Nourishing and brightening overnight moisturising treatment to help minimise surface spots while conditioning and hydrating skin. Our exclusive blend of peptides, minerals and botanical extracts helps treat and prevent cellular discoloration for unsurpassed skin brightening and tonal balancing.

Review: I tried this a few nights ago because I was desperate for a gentle moisturizer. To my surprise, it really did work. But a mediocre moisturizer was all it was. It has no added fragrance, a light texture that absorbed quickly into the skin and dries matte. It should be suitable for combination to oily skins, but not sufficient for dry skin types. Its claim to brighten skin effectively… I’ve yet to see results about that.

Rating: 3/5

Would I buy again: No.

You can now grab a sample of this product at thesamplestore!

Clinelle Moisture Glow

Vichy Normaderm Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care

Review: Mario Badescu Control Cream

Item Reviewed: Mario Badescu Control Cream

Price/pack size: S$58 / 15ml

Available at: ONLYaesthetics. Alternatively, you can get it online from www.kissandmakeupny.com

Description: Our famous anti-redness cream is an effective treatment for red, rashy, flaky and irritated skin types and Rosacea sufferers. Balsam Peru is the active, soothing botanical ingredient that will make a visible difference immediately upon application. Non-greasy, low oil formula. May be used for troubled areas of the face or in place of a moisturizer. Works well with our Azulene Calming Mask.

Usage: Gently massage on red, irritated or flaky areas before moisturizer or night cream. May be used in place of a moisturizer for very sensitive skin

Ingredients: Water,Carnation Oil,Polyglycerylmethacrylate (and) Propylene Glycol, Seamollient, Balsam Peru

Review: I have to say, I’m in love with this product! I’ve tried for close to 3 years to find a product to help soothe and reduce redness and dryness from the eczema patches I have around my jawline. Nada. Nothing that I’ve tried before Control Cream has worked (well, maybe just for a short while, but my skin goes back to being as it was after that ‘honeymoon’ period).I went to Kit Cosmetics and my favourite lady recommended me to use the CC. Godsent product! It took away all the redness, dryness and itchyness in like a day and a half. I swear I’m not exaggerating! It’s true. And now, I swear by it whenever my skin needs a bit of TLC, or after I’ve squeezed out the blackheads on my nose. Even my sister is in love with it after using it for a week.

It goes on matte, not oily at all, and stays well beneath makeup! It’s my favourite product to use if my skin is getting a little red from the abuse I do to it.

Overall rating: 5/5

my DIY moisturizer!

my Garden of Wisdom package arrived this morning and as usual, i was all psyched up and couldn’t wait to play with my new stuff. i also received a free sample of Markey’s new product: strawberry sugar scrub. looks yummy… resembles strawberry jam!

i tried making my own moisturizer as mentioned in a previous entry. i creamed shea butter and an oil blend (from niks) together till the oil was properly incorporated and added in a few drops of lavender oil to musk the weird smell of shea butter. i’m still trying to find a way to make the cream lighter and less oily for when i tried it on my sis and myself, we found that while the mixture absorbed fast, there was still a layer of oil (not visible) left on our skin and it felt heavy. i don’t think i’ll be using it on my face anytime soon, but it just might be perfect for my sis to use on her body when she visits europe later this mth!

Some wild DIY ideas!

I tell you, Michelle totally inspired me man! Now I’ve got some crazy idea to make my own lipbalm & moisturizer & facial masks! At least I know what’s in my products and I get to choose what ingredients I want! I can’t wait for pay to come in and I can go crazy ordering ingredients! *I do notice the excessive use of exclamation marks, but I am that excited*

Moisturizer
I want to make a very light textured moisturizer, almost like whipped butter/whipped cream. I reckon it would be a good idea because I can’t take heavy moisturizers as I’m pretty acne-prone. I got the idea from California Baby Calming Botanical Moisturizing Cream

Tentative ingredients include: shea butter, lavender essential oil, kukui nut oil. Sounds good?

I’ll be basing my recipe on this recipe I got from the GoW forum:

Ingredients:
1/3 C Best West Shea Butter
2TB GOW Avocado Oil
2TB Jojoba Oil

I put the Shea Butter into the small bowl of my standing mixer with regular beaters and whipped for about 4 minutes stopping frequently to scrape down the side of the bowl. Then I started adding the oil slowly one tablespoon at a time and continued for about 5 more minutes, again scraping frequently. For scenting I added 1/4 TSP. Vanilla Infused Oil, about 10 drops Lavender EO, 6 Drops Bergamot EO and 10 Drops Sandalwood EO, then whipped about another 1-2 Minutes. The final product is a fluffy (like soft frosting) softly scented cream. It is a bit oily after application for the first minute or two, but then my skin just drank it all in. For future batches, I might consider adding a bit of arrow root or cornstarch to lighten the formula for a less oily feel upon application.

This filled a 2 oz. jar and two generous 1 oz. jars.