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: Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Massage Serum

Item Reviewed: Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Massage Serum

Price/pack size: S$75 (15gl)

Available at: Skinfood retail outlets, including Jurong Point & Far East Plaza

Ingredients:

Description: Designed with a relaxing massage tip, it intensifies blood circulation on eye area and enables faster absorption of omega-3 fatty acid, arbutin and vitamins.

Usage: After toner, apply an appropriate amount around your eyes using the container tip for quicker absorption. Use once or twice a week. For quicker results, complete with Salmon Brightening Eye Cream.

Review: Wow… this product has got a super long name! To shorten things, I shall call it SES (Salmon Eye Serum) for this review’s purpose. Being in my mid-twenties now, I reckon I better step up on my anti-aging regime… I used to think I’ll have young skin forever (read: acne & pimples) but sigh… the crow’s feet are slowly appearing now! Early this year, I moved into the study room where I could play computer games and Youtube all night without my parents nagging. While the freedom was good, the aftermath was not. Staying up all night made my skin really dull and I developed dark eye circles!!! Furthermore, the skin around my eyes was dry and sensitive.

I was at Jurong Point one evening with the family and decided to check out Skin Food.  I browsed their shelves and enquired about solutions for dark eye circles. The SA recommended the SES to me. Thinking that I only need to use it twice a week, it would last me a long time though $75 was a little too much for an eye cream. Mum’s paying, so ok!

The idea was innovative – to use the unique applicator to massage the serum onto eye area twice a week to aid blood circulation. The serum was a light gel that wasn’t sticky, and dried fairly fast. The applicator, however, wasn’t really pleasant as the edges felt rough and uncomfortable on delicate skin around the eyes. Every time I applied the serum, I felt like it was scratching me. As the serum absorbed into the skin, it felt like the applicator was dragging and pulling the skin too. Not so good if you want youthful eyes! I resorted to pumping out the serum onto my finger and applying onto the eye area, gently tapping and dabbing as I get the serum to be absorbed. That worked, but I didn’t see any visible results from the eye cream. It was not moisturizing enough for me (I have an eczema patch on my left eyelid) as my eyes were always dry by lunchtime. Another minus point is that the packaging was not transparent or translucent, so I don’t know how much more product I have left.

Oh, and I read from online forums that the SES only cost around S$21 in Korea! &^%$# I paid S$75 retail here! Though freight and retail overheads usually cause local prices to be higher than home country, more than 300% is just way too much!

Rating: 1/5

Would I buy again: No… I feel cheated!

Review: Etude House AC Red Spot Balm

Item Reviewed: Etude House AC Red Spot Balm

Price/pack size: ~US$9.68 / 170ml tube (Gmarket Korea pricing)

Available at: Etude House stores and/or Online via Gmarket Korea

Ingredients:

Description: Formulated with Madecassoside (skin healing agent), Salicylic Acid & Hinoki Cypress extracts, AC Clinic Red Spot Balm heals, clarifies and soothes facial trouble spots. Specialized target treatment heals and brightens blemishes with a medicated formula.

Usage: Use provided spatula to scrap a small amount and apply to blemishes.

Review: Etude House’s Red Spot Balm claims to help heal and soothes facial trouble spots, so I used it for that purpose. After starting on hormonal therapy for my acne, I hardly have breakouts now (knock on wood!) but the scars from prior breakouts are still very red and raw which made my skin look far worse than it really is, so I wanted something to reduce the redness. I got some samples of this red spot balm when I bought something from Etude House last year and I could only guess what it was for as there was no English instructions or descriptions.

Luckily, I guessed correctly and it worked for me. I only use it when my pimples have been popped and in the healing stage. I’ve tried using it as a pimple cream but it didn’t work. On the contrary, it became worse as it couldn’t pop and became a mass of red. If I use it religiously, the scars become a lighter shade of red after a week or so.

Red spot balm comes in a jar with a scraper to help get product out. I don’t really like the packaging as the shape can make it quite difficult to scrap the product out and there can be product wastage. It is a balm texture which goes on easily but it can be unsuitable for day use for some as makeup might go on patchy. I usually only use it at night.

Rating: 4/5

Would I buy again: Maybe… 1 jar is quite large.

Still <3ing B.Liv's Off with those Heads

I have been lazy lately and only used the bare minimum on my face (eye cream, moisturizer and sunscreen for day, eye cream and moisturizer only for night) and my skin really did suffer… my nose was screaming for help from the blackhead attack last night! So I endured the pain and used the metal extractor to get those nasties out… and ‘guai guai’ went back to using Off with those Heads.

It’s definitely a much better, easier and painless way to get rid of blackheads. =D

Review: Egyptian Magic

Item Reviewed: Egyptian Magic

Price/pack size: US$36 (4ozl)

Available at: Online or True Colours Cosmetics at Ngee Ann City in Singapore

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• bees wax
• honey
• bee pollen
• royal jelly
• bee propolis
• Divine love

Description: Egyptian Magic is a skin care cream with legendary
healing powers due to its unique blend of all natural ingredients derived only from living plants and organisms.
Egyptian Magic has been on the market for 25 years and has
grown through word of mouth into one of the most popular and widely endorsed skin creams in the world.

Review:
I had really sensitive skin about a month ago, probably because I used too much retin-A on one night. My skin hurt real bad, even using the most gentle facial wash I had. Needless to say, I couldn’t put on moisturizer. So I was complaining to my sister about my stupidity and she told me to use Egyptian Magic. I melted the balm on my fingers and carefully dabbed the oil on my face. Miraculously, my skin didn’t react to the oily balm.

I used it for a few more nights and even my pimples subsided. Then I was going on an overseas trip and decided to bring the miracle balm since it could be brought onto the plane. I brought my usual Mario Badescu moisturizer as well, just in case my skin goes wonky again, but I didn’t use it a single time on the trip. It was just a pimple treatment and the oily balm after cleanser. I have even used Egyptian Magic as a cuticle moisturizer, to tame my hair, for my eczema spots, my cracked heels and a lipbalm!

2 weeks of using Egyptian Magic, my pimples subsided, scars faded and pores were refined. Clogged pores also disappeared! I now use Egyptian Magic when my usual moisturizer fails to keep my skin moisturized (you know, that time of the month creates havoc on skin!) and for emergencies, like if my itchy fingers pop a pimple when I’m outside, I use it as a pimple treatment to stop the blood and infection.

Because the balm comes in a jar, I keep the entire jar in the fridge and scoop out a small amount into a plastic flat tub. That way, I don’t contaminate the entire jar with my grubby fingers.

Rating: 4.5/5 – the unhygienic jar packing needs to be changed!

Would I buy again: Yes

Review: B.Liv Off with those Heads

Item Reviewed: Off with those Heads

Price/pack size: US$63 (45ml)

Available at: Sasa & selected Guardian stores for Singapore shoppers (Online for international shoppers)

Ingredients:

Purified Water (Aqua), Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis) Extract, Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) Extract, Carbomer, Propylene Glycol, Menthol, Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) Oil, Poly(Oxy-1,2-Ethanediyl)Α-(Donyl Phenyl)-Ω-Hydroxy, Sodium Hydroxide, Perppermint (Metha piperita )Oil, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Diazolidinyl Urea.

Description: Off With Those Heads removes white & blackheads without violence or pain, and stops them from appearing ever again. The gel softens the clogging blocking your pores, allowing for effortless extraction and removal of all sores. Its essence ingredients keep oil secretions under control, and skin irritation will never again rule!

Usage: Use Off With Those Heads daily, on your cleansed, towel-dried face:-

1. Pump 2-3 pea-sized drops of Off With Those Heads onto your palm.
2. Apply on T-zone areas, or areas with black and whiteheads.

Review: This is a follow up review from Cellnique’s Pro Sebum Gel (they have now repackaged it and are selling it under B.Liv brand name). I didn’t realise how bad my blackheads were when I stopped using Cellnique. And it was a silly reason for not using it – I didn’t like the brand name B.Liv and the childish packaging. I still prefer the previous elegant looking bottle.

Anyway, the product is still the same – transparent runny gel that spreads easily onto skin and absorbs quickly. There’s a cool sensation on skin, due to the peppermint oil. It dries matte so I can skip the powder if I want.

A few days after using OftH, I tried doing an extraction myself and the blackheads popped out easily, with nary a pressure! I had used the product for about a month when I went for a facial and I checked with the lady if I had a lot of blackheads. She said “no!”, so I was really pleased that the product worked. Usually, I would have many blackheads if I did not do my regular extractions.

Rating: 5/5

Would I buy again: Yes, if it is easily available

* A sample of Off with those Heads was received by me, from b.liv.

SPECIAL DEAL, ONLY FOR PSAWYERBEAUTY READERS!
Get a free sample of Off with those heads, 3ml (first 50 readers). Simply email your full name and mailing/shipping address to fbfreesample@blivskin.com with the subject psawyerbeauty.wordpress.com.

T&C: Valid ends 2nd April 2010 and allow 4 – 6 weeks for delivery.

Get yours today and let me know how it goes for you!

2nd week of using LightStim

It may seem like I’m worse off after using LightStim, but actually a lot of the cysts I originally had have subsided and all that’s left are scars. I even had a few new pimples coming up during the day, and they quickly went away after using LightStim. Well… I’ll let pictures do the talking.

 

6 more weeks!!!

Preliminary results for LightStim

I know the price of LightStim may be a little steep for some who are interested, so here are my initial results if you’re still unsure if it works.

• Product: LightStim Anti-Acne light
• Purchased from: Klow Distributors (official distributor for Singapore)
• Price: $550
• Start date: 20 Aug 09

All pictures are taken after cleansing, before treatment.

My initial results were that my active pimples present on Day 0 subsided significantly on the morning of Day 1.

Skin’s a little red (I might have exfoliated a little too much). I did have some pimples that appeared on Day 2 (see chin!) but that went down quickly as well after using the light later. The pimple came to a head easily too.

Day 8 (this evening) – skin’s looking much better and calmer as compared to Day 3. Pimples almost all cleared up, save for a few. Number of clogged pores also reduced by quite a bit.

The light was easy to use (I was using it while playing computer games and watching TV). It got a little warm after some heating up but nothing to be concerned about – the heat was similar to that of a flashlight. If you don’t feel comfortable about the heat, you may want to place the light roughly 1″ away from your skin.

I don’t usually apply anything prior to using the light, just cleansing my face thoroughly as I do apply makeup during the day. If my skin’s particularly dry that day, then I’ll either apply my Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Whitening serum or my Mario Badescu Control Cream moisturizer before using the light.

Be sure to disinfect your light by using a cotton pad with rubbing alcohol over the LED bulbs after you’re done with your treatment.

this is it

that’s it. being frustrated with neverending acne issues, i’m finally going to take the plunge and get myself a LightStim. i’ve had light treatments done since my days in australia and found them to be truly effective. the blue light helps elimate bacteria that causes acne, while the red regenerates cell production. i’m actually going to my skin doctor monthly to do light & peel treatments at S$180 a pop. to maintain results, i’ll have to do it regularly for who knows how long.

i’d rather pay S$500 and have the device to use daily at my convenience!

Review: Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher

Item Reviewed: Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher

Price/pack size: -

Available at: All Estee Lauder counters

Ingredients:

Description:

This fast-acting serum delivers our most dramatic skin resurfacing benefits—more efficiently than ever before.

With Idealist, your skin looks and feels like your ideal skin:

Virtually poreless.

• Pores appear 1/3 smaller—instantly.
• See a 69% reduction in the look of pores in just 4 weeks.

Unbelievably soft and smooth.

• Repairs the look of uneven skin texture,

flakiness and roughness.

• Smooth it on and instantly enjoy that soft, seamless, silky feeling you love.

Incredibly clear and even-toned.

• See more clarity and luminosity.
• Gives skin an overall more even tone.

Review: The very kind beauty consultant gave me a sample of Idealist when I purchased my ANR whitening serum. I only started to use it recently and have mixed thoughts about it.

The good: it was pretty liquid, spreading easily on my skin and dries fairly quickly to a matte, powdery finish. My skin didn’t turn oily as fast as it normally would by mid-day.

The bad: it accentuated flaky bits around my mouth and nose. I also didn’t see the supposed skincare effects (pores looking smaller instantly). If its only benefit was to mattify my skin, I don’t think I’ll be shelling out moolah for this sole purpose.

Sadly, the sample was too small to see any long-term effects – would probably give it another go if I had a sample large enough for 2-3 weeks.

Rating: 3/5

Would I buy again: Maybe