Magic Shop Luxurious Lip Gloss (Recommended by 女人我最大）

This is a new favourite in my bag.

I have dark and dry lips, so I was really thrilled when I saw this lip gloss. It's like a color change lip balm in gloss texture, but it's not makeup. You can leave it on and there's no need to use a makeup remover for this.

Your lips get darker over time due to several reasons:

• Drinking coffee and tea
• Smoking
• Usage of lip makeup products
• Ageing

This magic shop product claims to lighten the color of your lips over time. I'll use this religiously and see if this claim holds true. 

In addition, you can use this as a lip balm first, and then use whatever lipstick. It helps to correct the color of your lips and also to protect your lips from the makeup. 

In the after picture, the dark outline of the lips and chapped portion are no longer obvious. The lips are also healthy pink in color.

Doretta Gold Platinum Intensive Essence (Featured on HerWorld Plus, 二分之一强 & 女人我最大)

Am back after my one week long trip to Taiwan. I saw some products in Taiwan and am excited to share them with you.

Introducing the Gold Platinum Intensive Essence from Doretta:

Oils are now the rage in Japan, Korea and Western countries currently. Here are why you should use oil instead of lotions:

1. Oils lock in moisture and help protect the skin against environmental effects.
2. Because your face is well moisturized, it will stop the overproduction of its own oil, and you’ll avoid that shiny t-zone look.
3. Oils can be all natural, need no preservatives, and have a shelf life of about two years.
4. Most natural oils are easily absorbed & won’t clog pores.
5. Oils are typically ultra-healing, and great for repairing skin.

Source: Lotion vs. Oil: Why You Should Make The Change http://blog.freepeople.com/2014/04/lotion-oil-change/#ixzz3YnRh7qEK

This product by Doretta contains ingredients from Japan and put together by skin nutrition expert Johzen. It contains gold and platinum gold ingredients to induce deeper penetration of the jojoba oil into your skin, leaving your skin deeply moisturised. Moisturising ability of this product is 4x better than most products! It is suitable for usage for the entire body, especially for dehydrated and dull skin, and to prevent early signs of ageing.

In addition, this product does not contain alcohol, pigment, parabens and synthetic fragrances. 

Even after two days of using my product, my skin has become baby soft, so much so that I couldn't resist running my fingers against my skin!

To prove my point, here are the before and after pictures using the oil on my foot: 

In the after picture, the split nail is no longer there, and fine lines are less prominent, skin looks plumper. 

I have some samples for this oil (limited supply), so please feel free to PM me to try this out. I am also currently selling them at SGD 75 per bottle. Normal retail price at SGD 92. 

Lip Care: Pangea Organics Italian Red Mandarin with Rose & Tony Moly Kiss Kiss Lip Scrub

Lip Care

My lips are akin to a Sahara desert, and after trying various products, I found that the combination of these two work perfectly for me.

I couldn't get the Pangea Organics lip balm anywhere in Singapore, and had to order it on Ebay. Costs quite a bit to get it shipped here, but I'm so glad I took a shot at this product. It helps my lips to stay hydrated for at least 8 hours. Unlike those lip products when you have to constantly apply. If I have to compare this with Kiehl's Baby Lip Balm, I would say that the Pangea Organics one is better.

As for scrubs, this Tony Moly one is good and cheap. Afraid my only exposure to lip scrubs is just this product, hence I can't comment on how good this is relative to its competitors.

Naruko Night Gelly(s)

I just migrated this blog from Wordpress to Blogger. Blogger is a lot more flexible with layout and design configuration, and so far I'm really pleased with it! Not sure if I'll be qualified to embark on Google's Adsense program, but we'll see how in 6 months' time :)

Today I'll like to share my thoughts on Naruko's Night Gelly products. I stumbled onto this brand after watching the 女人我最大 variety show, and bought a few products to try. Turns to be really effective and value for money. Apparently one jar of night gelly is sold every two minutes! I prefer using these night gellies to sheets masks, as I can just apply the product, leave it on and go to bed (i.e. no messy liquids running down your face, no counting down to the 20 minutes when you can take the sheet off).

I purchased this magnolia brightening and firming one initially. Personally this works the best for me; it deeply hydrates my skin and helps to even and brighten my complexion.

If you read my previous posts, I've stressed on the importance of hydrated skin. Because when your skin is hydrated, it's so easy to squeeze out those irritating whiteheads out of your skin!

On the plus side, it smells nice too :)

After finishing the Magnolia jar, I bought the Raw Job's Tears to try. I think that this one is better at minimising fine lines compared to the Magnolia. But Magnolia is better at skin brightening. I also feel that the Magnolia one is better absorbed by the skin.

The scent on the Raw Job's is much milder compared to Magnolia.

Lastly, I purchased this Tea Tree one for my boyfriend, who suffers from acne, skin inflammation and oily skin. Actually his skin is very dry on the surface, but oily underneath. I chose this product because of its hydrating properties too.

On the con side, the scent on this one is the strongest. Smells like spearmint plus medicine. Not very nice..

We only saw an improvement to his skin after two weeks of usage. (He wanted to give up on the product after one week of usage actually) But two weeks, 80% of his acne were gone! His face is not longer red and oily. Really amazing.

More details about my boyfriend's skincare regime, he only uses the acne cleanser from Paula's choice, a toner and snail cream in the night. And only the cleanser+toner in the day. No sunscreen, nothing else!

By the way, this is NOT a sponsored post.

Natio Gentle Skin Toner & Daily Protection Face Mosturizer

Natio Toner and Moisturiser

I discovered Natio in Australia when my travel mate's friend requested us to bring some Natio products back to Singapore. The products are made in Australia with plant-based ingredients, which are effective and yet gentle to the skin. I bought some to try and since then have been loving this brand.

The toner is alcohol-free and does not dry out the skin after application. If you have dry or sensitive, use alcohol-free toners. This Natio one contains rosewater and chamomile to sooth, firm, purify and tighten pores. I find it especially refreshing and helps prepare my skin for moisturising.

The daily protection face moisturiser is a lightweight smoothing lotion containing SPF 15. It absorbs quickly and I find it to a nice primer before my foundation and makeup.

If I remember correctly, both products were reasonably priced at around SGD 20 each. Good value for money!!

Eye Serum: Dead Sea Premier Serum Yeux

Dead Sea Premier Eye Serum

I received a sample of this eye serum from the Dead Sea Premier shops. Surprisingly, it turned out to be very effective for hydration and minimising the fine lines around my eyes. Yet at the same time, the formula is not too rich for sensitive skin. Because the formula is quite mild, it probably would not work for dark eye circles or eye bags.

I have tried various eye serums before; for example the famous Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum from Estee Lauder, but it gave me milia seeds. Turns out that it was too rich for my skin. Milia seeds are really difficult to get rid of, so do stop using the eye cream/serum once you see one or two appearing.  I gave the Estee Lauder one to my mother, and it's quite effective on more mature skin types.

Cleansing - Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System

Battery/electricity powered cleansing brushes gained popularity in recent years, and the more popular brushes i.e. Clarisonic retails for at least $200. Although I have no doubts about Clarisonic's effectiveness, I am hesitant to fork out that much for a brush.

I like the Olay Pro-X for its portability, that it's waterproof and that you can use it in the shower. Plus, and BIG plus, I got it on Qoo10 for only SGD 40. Well.. that was a year ago actually, the price now is SGD 49.90.

The Pro-X features:

• 2 speed, rotating system delivers daily deep cleansing and gentle exfoliation
• Water-resistant for use in the shower
• Soft replaceable brush head gentle on the skin
• Exfoliating cleanser professionally designed to purify and renew skin's texture for refreshed, smooth skin

I use the brush about twice per month, during my period (that's when I have hormonal zits). I find it effective at clearing up clogged pores, hence allowing for better absorption of serums/moisturisers etc. Energy consumption for this brush is pretty low, and to date there's no need for me to change the batteries yet. I also bought a brush for my boyfriend, and he finds that zits stay for shorter period of time, and acne scars tone down sooner.

The important thing to note for such brushes is that, you do not over-scrub or over-exfoliate your skin. Start by using the brush once every 3-5 days, and gradually increase your frequency. Remember to reduce the frequency once you see any redness, skin breaking or flaking. Over-exfoliating not only speeds up ageing but also increases winkles on your face. I've seen horror stories of people whose skin turned for the worse because they've overused the brushes, turned up the speed of rotation too much or chose an inappropriate brush head.

For all things, remember moderation is key, my friend. :)

xxx