Scrubs -Elemis - Gentle Rose Exfoliator
joccee 10/12/2012 2:46:00 AM
If you like the scent of roses, you will fancy the mild smell that this exfoliator gives. This felt like a luxury face exfoliator which can be used on a daily basis.
The jojoba exfoliating beads are fine, no sharp gritty edges are felt. However, I do wish there are a little more beads to do the exfoliating work. It can be easily achieved by squeezing more product out of the tube, but the downside is, I will run out of it sooner. Having said that, it does not really bother me as I always lean towards gentle and mild cleansing wash.
The down side of this item is probably the price. During my course of using, I did feel that it cleans my face a little better, but the difference is not much. If you own a Clarisonic, this is unnecessary.
Ingredients
Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Jojoba Esters, PEG/PPG-14/4 Dimethicone, Polysorbate 20, Rosa Damascena Flower Absolute, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Carbomer, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Tromethamine, Sodium PCA, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Red 4 (CI 14700), Methylisothiazolinone.
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Eye Makeup Remover -Estee Lauder - Gentle Eye Makeup Remover
joccee 12/28/2010 11:55:00 AM
I tried this Eye make up remover in a sample size during my vacation. I am glad I did not make a full size purchase for that hefty amount.. I agree that the remover is not oily and that is probably the only 'pro'. I noticed that it is a little soapy. Also, due to the fact that this product does not remove my waterproof eyelash glue completely. I have to keep going on it and I notice that my eye area was more red than usual. Hence, definitely not suitable for sensitive eyes. I reckoned that this does not take off waterproof mascara well too.
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Cleansers -Mario Badescu - Enzyme Cleansing Gel
joccee 11/14/2010 9:49:00 AM
What is claims: The non-foaming, gel cleanser thoroughly removes the day’s make-up, dirt and oil without drying the skin. Papaya and Grapefruit Extracts are exfoliating Alpha Hydroxy Acids that help prevent dulling build-up that can cause blackheads and pimples. It is also stated as their "Best Selling Daily Cleanser" on MB website.
Is it true? ---
I use it once a day, at night and I have been using it for at least 2 months now. This cleanser DOES NOT FOAM at all. So, users who prefer foaming face cleanser, this is not for you. This is very similar to Avene Gentle Gel Cleanser, which does not foam too. (I adore both very much.)
I also noticed that this cleanser does get a little warm when you rub it between your hands. I'm not sure what is it that makes it warm. It's just weird and special like this.. I am very sure it is definitely not from the warmth in my palms or because I rubbed it too long. The cleanser itself warm up within seconds, amazing.. :) And honestly, I quite like that feeling especially when weather is a little colder now. But most importantly, it does not break me out as I have sensitive skin :)
PROS:
- only need a pea size amount for the entire face
- cleanser gives off a nice scent which does not break my face out.
- I noticed that it does help breaks off the dead skin on your face when I rub it in with little pressure when I feel like my face is 'heavy' with loose/flakey skin.
- Somewhat acts like an exfoliator but more gentle and mild than those face scrub which contain beads..
- Hygienic nozzle packaging
CONS:
- none for me at the moment
My skin type: Combination, oily t-zone and cheeks are prior to drying/flaking if too much harsh products are used.
Ingredients: BaDeionized Water (Aqua),Glycerin,Papaya (Carica Papaya Fruit) Extract,Grapefruit (Citrus Grandis Fruit) Extract,Monomide,Triethanolamine,Methylparaben
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Concealers -Chanel - Correcteur Perfection Long Lasting Concealer
joccee 8/6/2010 3:30:00 PM
I bought this for my undereye darkcircle and face blemishes.. I was hoping this to be a good concealer due to the amount I am paying for. (SGD44 is not cheap at all for a 0.75g of concealer)
My skin on my cheeks are dry and flakey due to acne.org BP.
This concealer was not moisturizing or 'liquid' enough to curb with the dryness on my face. Therefore, I didn't like it and for that amount I paid for, I felt that most of it went to the 'Brand' rather than Quality, which i am looking for. I am sure I can get that same quality in drugstore or even better.
The Packaging wise, was not that fantastic either. The cap with the screwing closure and wand was not well design as product often leak out. After 3-5 uses, you'll find the screw area messy with overflowing concealer due to poor design of packaging. I personally disliked concealer which are packaged this way as proven, they ALL leaked. I just felt that with a brand like 'chanel', they should've come up with a better alternative.
I ended up getting another 2 mac select moisture cover concealers which I will be reviewing it soon after I got enough use of it.
Goodluck!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Jorubi - Aloe Vera Gel
joccee 7/2/2010 4:03:00 PM
I'm using the 2nd tube and I have 2 backups. I love this aloe vera gel. My brother used this for sunburn and it calm his skin down tremendously. I use this as a moisturizer after epilating my arms and legs for calming and cooling effect. It certainly calm those red bumps down from epilating.. I also use this for bug bites.. I can't say enough good things about it.. I also use this under my eyes before concealer. It acts a tad like a primer IME and I like how it can moisturize and 'protect' my eyes too.. However, I haven try it on pimples or other part of my face yet.. so.. I can't comment much.. But afterall, i don't think it is really meant for severe pimples.. yup! I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!!
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Treatments -Mario Badescu - Healing Cream
joccee 6/21/2010 3:32:00 AM
What is claims: Prevent acne scars with this sulfur based cream that speeds up the healing process of red, irritated, acne erupted skin. Balsam Peru helps protect delicate, healing skin while it soothes and minimizes redness. Its healing properties work immediately on acne prone areas preventing minor pimples from becoming inflamed. Oil-free formula.
Is it true? ---
PROS: I've been using this product for more than a month. Love the smell, love the texture as a moisturizing cream. I use this daily for night time.
CONS: I did not experience speedy healing process for acne scars or reducing of redness for pimples. In my experience, it did somehow prevented minor pimples from becoming inflamed to a certain extent. However, the key word here is 'minor', so the cystic big red pimples are still unstoppable if they are so eager perform..
I feel that there are better products out there. Although I really liked the way it smell, but I have to be rationale in terms of effectiveness. Therefore, I will not purchase this item again unless I have spare cash.
My skin type: Combination, oily t-zone and cheeks are prior to drying/flaking if too much harsh products are used.
Ingredients: Balsam Peru,Polyglycerylmethacrylate (and) Propylene Glycol,Herbal Extract,Bismuth Subgallate
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -Mario Badescu - Kiwi Face Scrub
joccee 6/8/2010 3:54:00 AM
I got this scrub in the sample size and i'm glad i did not order the full size.
PROS: This is one of the better smelling MB products. In fact, I noticed that all their scrubs are nice smelling.
CONS: The kiwi seeds are too huge for exfoliating although they are not as rough and abrasive than the almond and honey scrub. I felt it did Nothing as to what it claims 'Made with real Kiwi seeds and soft bits of Seaweed to naturally slough away surface dullness to uncover softer, smoother skin. Kiwi Seeds gently buff away dead skin cells skin while natural AHA’s breakdown dull build-up to prevent blackheads and improve overall texture'.
Overall, I did not like this scrub at all, it did nothing to my face. Their scrubs doesn't seems to be on par in terms of effectiveness as the rest of their products I've tried.
Ingredients: Deionized Water,Stearic Acid, Algae Extract,Propylene Glycol Dipelargonate, Kiwi Seeds,PEG-8 Stearate,Cetyl Alcohol,Glyceryl Isostearate
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Treatments -Mario Badescu - Drying Cream
joccee 6/8/2010 3:13:00 AM
I got this from the acne repair kit. This cream is the worst smelling among the 3, other than the drying mask. The first time I opened it, I saw a layer of brown oil-like liquid on the surface. I emailed MB, and they asked my to mix it up using a spatula. Its most probably due to the long hour flight and humid weather. I thought it might be useful to some of you.
It claims that it is an effective treatment to dry up small under the surface bumps and pimples and due to the color of it, it is able to conceal acne while treating it. As the name suggest, it is a drying cream.
This cream makes my cheek dry and flakey if overused. It also doesn't seems to dry up my under surface bumps until i pop it. However, I still use this as a concealer for my big red pimples or brown spots from past acne. The color of this cream is rather white for my skin tone and I make sure I blend it carefully so that it does not appear as if I have white patches/spots on my face which can often happen.
The good thing about this is the good amount they give in the tub as you only need very very little each time. I also realised it is very effective for small clustered pimples with no heads. I sometimes get this from hair products irritation and it makes it go away in 1-2 days. However, ever since I started using acne.org BP, I felt it does the same thing. So I basically used it as a concealer or in conjuction with my BP to speed things up.
The packaging could be better and more hygienic since it's a product that takes a long time to finish.
My skin type: Combination, oily t-zone and cheeks are prior to drying/flaking if too much harsh products are used.
Ingredients: Deionized Water, Zinc Oxide,Aloe, Beeswax,Cetyl Alcohol,Lemon Extract, Colloidal Sulfur,Ervol,Octyl Palmitate,Ichthammol,Polysorbate 80, Titanium Dioxide,Polyglycerylmethacrylate (and) Propylene Glycol
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Mario Badescu - Drying Lotion
joccee 6/8/2010 2:47:00 AM
I've been using the acne repair kit for at least 2 months. The drying lotion is said to be their best selling item. My first impression of the lotion was the strong alcohol pungent smell it gave out. In my opinion, I think the drying cream smelt the worst. But it is not something too big of a deal as I got used to them eventually.
Does it work? It claim that it clear up and soothe unsightly whiteheads overnight which i do not have alot to begin with. 2 to be exact. 1 gone away miraculously overnight like it says but the other stayed on no matter how many nights I tried, nothing happened.
As for cystic acne, I did realise that it did get it under control. But definitely not overnight thing. It took at least 5 or more days to make the pimple less visible, but it did a great job in reducing the pain in like 1-2 days. It's indeed great as you all know how painful a cystic acne can get. However, another down side of it is that, it does not get rid of the pimple fully. What I mean here is, after the pimple heal, you can still feel the bump under your skin. The kind that you can't tell when seen but definitely feel it. I felt as if the pimple is trapped underneath and not being treated properly.
Other than that, it took care of regular pimple pretty well. Those without a head, just a red little bump. Those went away in 1-2 days. I guessed it indeed dried them out upon clearing..
Overall, I think I can get a spot treatment easily in drugstore (with same effectiveness) and the drying lotion is quite expensive. I've also stopped using this product. Check my notepad for updated routine if you are interested.
My skin type: Combination, oily t-zone and cheeks are prior to drying/flaking if too much harsh products are used.
Ingredients: Isopropyl Alcohol,Deionized Water (Aqua), Calamine, Camphor, Colloidal Sulfur, Salicylic Acid,Glycerine, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Talc
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Polishes -OPI - Jade is the New Black
joccee 5/15/2010 3:07:00 PM
Is Jade the new black? IMO, I thought, not so.. I do admit that it's a pretty color, but it's not a color you would wear continuously every time you do a manicure. Not for me.
This color reminds me of Christmas trees as the color is really close to that.. and I did felt special for wearing a green as majority of the people would normally choose a 'safe' color. I did get quite a few attention when wearing this color. This color is bold and to a extend elegant. It would bring down the elegant if you wore the wrong outfit. Therefore, this color is not harmonious. I felt it was a little over the hype too..
Application: 1 coat goes opaque, but I did 2 to make it perfect. It's from the Hong Kong collection.
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Cleansers -Cetaphil - Antibacterial Gentle Cleansing Bar
joccee 5/15/2010 2:52:00 PM
I bought this bar soap due to the many good reviews for the cetaphil cleanser, so i thought this might be good too.
CONS: I felt it was the same as other regular soap I've used which I can easily get for SGD$2 and I spent about SGD$15 for this. It was indeed moisturising but I didn't get the 'clean' feeling apart from the smell. I'm not a big fan for the smell either as I can easily find a $2 one as aforementioned. Also, the moisturizing part, I'm not sure if I sould consider that moisturizing or not because I felt a film left on my skin... that's also part of the reason why I did not felt clean thou..
I have really senstive skin and bacne prone. I was hoping the antibacterial mild soap formulation as stated on the box would help soothe it.. But sadly.. I saw a few new bumps on my arms which i never had before. Perhaps I was senstivie to the ingredient in the soap.
So, I will not purchase this again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Victoria's Secret - Sexy Little Things perfume
joccee 5/15/2010 2:25:00 PM
PRO: It was my first requested perfume from mom. Therefore, you can already tell how I fancy the scent. :) It's a sweet fruity scent to me and it's more suitable for teenagers IMO. Also, I liked how the tinge of floral scent is added to the perfume. It makes it so girly! The box packaging is definitely a plus as I find it really interesting to hear a 'whistle' upon opening. The perfume bottle was cute but not the best design I've seen. But pink is often a turn on to girls..
CONS: So overall.. I have not much complaints about it, except for the price as there are no VS in Singapore at that time, and I paid about SGD$60+ for it. The holding power of the perfume is also not strong. It would last for, at most 2-3 hours due to the really humid weather in Singapore. But I can still smell it if I hold my wrist really close to my nose. HAHA! Maybe only your bf can smell it at the end of the day.
So, I rated a 4 as I'm overall quite satisfied and I love how the perfume smelled.. It also brings back fond memories of my high school life with my friends. :) The 1 point deducted would be due to the not so good staying power against the price.
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Scrubs -Mario Badescu - Almond & Honey Non-abrasive facial scrub
joccee 4/9/2010 12:48:00 PM
PROS: Almond lovers will definitely like the scent of this scrub. That already tells you how strong the almond smell was.. It was really nice for me thou, because I love almonds.
CONS: The bits of almond exfoliants in the scrub are too chucky and abrasive to work with, let alone exfoliate. Make sure u go gentle with it too, because those are too huge for scrub and it might hurt your face if you scrub too hard.. However, contradictively there aren't alot of the almond bits to cover the entire face. I'm using the sample size, therefore I cannot say much about the full size product.
Overall, I will not buy this product because I felt it didn't do much for me. I did feel smoother after using it.. but that's because it sort of left a film on my skin. It was okay and did not break me out. However, I am more of a down-to-earth person. I just feel that it isn't going to improve my skin just by making it smoother (with this film). It's more for ' for the time being'. So.. no for me. And it was rather expensive, so I'd rather buy something that is working. :)
Ingredients: Deionized Water,Propylene Glycol, Talc, Algae Extract, Zinc Oxide,PVP, Kaolin, Almond Oil,Honey,Corn Meal,Boric Acid,Methylparaben.
HTHs :)
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Eye Makeup Remover -Avene - Gentle Eye Makeup Remover
joccee 3/30/2010 11:55:00 AM
As an eye makeup remover, this is basically disqualified for one. PROS: It is indeed made for sensitive eyes and so gentle that it didn't help me much in removing my makeup. I have sensitive eyes and it didn't sting. CONS: It does not remove waterproof mascara effectively without rubbing hard and long. And that is after i tried to let it sit for 30secs in my lashes. It is very pricey, spent SGD$25.40 for it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Barefoot in Barcelona
joccee 3/29/2010 4:11:00 PM
This nail polish is really pretty upon application for the 1st and 2nd day while it seems like a mauve color in between light brown and beige skin tone color which i really liked. However, I did notice that it changes color over time, to a darker color- somewhat resembles a pinkish mauve color. I'm a lover of nudes and pink. But the idea of it changing color isn't nice at all. I would prefer it's 'original' look on the 1st and 2nd day which i thought it was a mature, low profile elegant color.. It is a cream color with no shimmer or glitter.
Application: 1 coat goes opaque, but I did 2 to make it perfect.
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