Review: Grinif Rawganic Jojoba Golden Oil

Hi everyone! I’m back with another review – this time on the Grinif Rawganic Jojoba Golden Oil. ‘Rawganic’ refers to non-processed, purely natural ingredients, so I assume that’s what this bottle is made with. I got this full size 50ml bottle in a Memebox when they still shipped internationally in Daily Dose of Beauty box; on the product card, Memebox stated that this originally cost USD36. I think for such a large bottle, the price is not too ridiculous, but let’s see if it’s actually worth it!

The 5Min Review: Clarins Gentle Exfoliator

I’ve heard so much about this Clarins Gentle Exfoliator, especially from Caroline Hiron’s blog, but it was so hard to find – this is not sold in Singapore, I couldn’t find it online, and when I finally found it in Italy, it was sold everywhere. I finally found the last one in a countryside store and grabbed it. Can’t remember how much it cost though – at that point, I really didn’t care because I finally found it!

This is meant to be a brightening toner, with Tamarind and White Nettle to get rid of dry surface cells and enlarged pores. This contains glycolic, salicylic and tartaric acid.

This has a pretty strong chemical scent, but this does not feel as bad as it smells. I’ve tried a few other acidic toners and some of them really sting the face – but this does not. The texture is slightly thicker than a lot of toners I’ve used – it’s still liquid just not as fluid in consistency as water. I use this once a night, putting it on a cotton pad and wiping it over my face.

In short, I like it – it’s not drying on my skin, and doesn’t sting. I feel like it keeps pimples at bay, and my skin feels slightly less congested when I’m using it regularly, but I can’t really see the brightening effect. I wouldn’t go out of my way to find it again though – I don’t think it did enough for me to scour the entire world for it but if it’s convenient for you then I would recommend it.

Midweek Peek #21: This Week’s Day Time Skincare

Since I just did a Night Time Skincare post last week, I thought I would just follow it up this week with my Day Time Skincare. I have a few similar products for the day as what I use in the night, as I’m trying to stick to the same products and use them up before moving on to others. Also, it’s easier to tell if the products are really effective if I stick to the same products!

Products I’m using this week:
1. Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner to prep the skin
2. It’s Skin Power 10 Formula WH Effector for whitening
3. Primera Watery Cream Alpine Berry to moisturize though I don’t use it everyday
4. Lancome Renergie Yeux to prevent any crows feet
5. Kiko City Filter Suncreen Primer SPF50 for sun protection

I don’t do the moisturising step everyday, as the weather in Singapore too hot and my makeup would slide off with moisturiser under, unless my skin is feeling particularly parched and really need the extra help. But SPF is a must have – I truly believe in using sun protection.

What’s your skincare routine like?

Review: Aesop Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste

I love a good face scrub but a good face scrub is also one of the hardest thing to find, at least for me anyway. Because I am very particular about the size of the granules, the hardness of the granules, the ratio of the cream and the granules. In short, I am a very fussy face scrub buyer. Too hard, and it will be downgraded to a body scrub. Too soft, and I don’t get what the whole point is for.

I picked up this Aesop Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste some time ago after the salesperson practically dragged my arm across the sink and insisted that he tried it on me. I wasn’t even looking for a scrub but 10 minutes and a hand scrub later, I had a scrub in my bag and S$67 poorer.

Midweek Peek #20: This Week’s Night Time Skincare

My skin has been feeling a little on the dry and sensitive side lately, as well as lacklustre, so I’ve been using minimal but highly hydrating products to help it through the night and looking good the next day. I usually try a lot more products simultaneously or pile on multiple serums in a night, but since it’s feeling more sensitive than usual, I’m letting my skin take a break.

Products I’m using this week:
1. Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner to prep the skin
2. It’s Skin Power 10 Formula WH Effector for whitening/brightening
3. OST Vitamin Sleep 9 to 5 Cream to moisturize the skin
4. Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate Oil to really boost skin moisture and lock it all in
5. Lancome Renergie Yeux to prevent any crows feet

I’m still trying to look for more effective products, but so far these works pretty well when my skin is acting up. What about you? What’s on your skincare rotation at the moment?

Midweek Peek #18: Sample Testing with Astalift

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a midweek peek – my last one in this series was way back in November! Anyway I just want to show you a quick peek of the skincare that I’ve been testing over the past week – a little trial set from Astalift that I bought from Japan. I’ve tried a couple of items from Astalift before, but that was some time ago so I wanted to see if I still liked it as much as before.

The trial kit comes with a cleansing gel, a moisture foam, lotion, cream, essence, and a jelly aquarysta. The last one, the Jelly Aquarysta, is supposed to be the star of Astalift’s products, and its name is derived from AQUA and CRYSTAL, which symbolises the light as water texture of the clear jelly, and the crystal-clear, moisturised skin it brings.

Review: Hand Chemistry Intense Youth Complex Hand Cream

With all the money that we spend on anti-ageing skincare, one area that is often forgotten, and where all the efforts elsewhere is wasted, is our hands. Our hands are one of the places that it is the easiest for others to tell our age! Because like our face, it is one of the most exposed parts of the body. But thankfully, we can take steps to delay signs of ageing on our hands too! Enter the Hand Chemistry Intense Youth Complex Hand Cream – a hand cream that claims to leave the skin looking visibly younger in 11 days! Does it really work?

Monday Masking #6: Glamglow Supermud Clearing Treatment

I got my hands on a sample of this Glamglow Supermud Clearing Treatment, which is so hyped up in the beauty world. Needless to say I was totally dying to try it but it is also very expensive so I’ve been holding off my purchase, so I was so glad when it turned up in a beauty box.

From the name it’s a mud mask obviously; I find it so cool that it dries to a different colour – from a blackish grey when wet to a very light grey when dry. When it is dry it gets so hard and tight; I could barely move my face! It feels like all the gunk is being sucked out of the face as the mask dries. After it’s totally dry I just rinse it off – it’s black so it can get messy!

I must say that this is definitely going on the top of wish list! My face looks so clear after just one use… I’m not sure if I will see the same effects with subsequent uses but my first definitely showed a lot of improvements. I have a couple of zits but they dried out or seem to have shrunk! More please!

Review: Pibugonggam G Facial Scrub

Enter one of the shortest reviews on my blog – since this is quite an obscure brand and I am not sure where you can find it if you want it, I shall not make too much fuss about it. I got this from a Memebox, and the product card claims that it costs US$13 for 50g of this product. 50g is not a lot – it’s quite a small tube, so my first impression is that it’s pretty overpriced.

Product Description:
This scrub is made from natural scrub ingredients – orange and tangerine peels – and works to exfoliate gently without stimulating the skin. The vitamin rich grapefruit, sea buckhorn, red poppy petals and aronia extracts rejuvenate and cleanse the skin all at once.

The scrub smells really nice, with its citrus-scents. It’s runnier than most face scrubs that I’ve used so I tend to use a lot more than normal at one go – lending to its faster depletion than usual. The scrub bits are very soft, so soft that it doesn’t feel like a scrub. There’s not much friction there, which I think for some with sensitive skin will love, but for me I don’t feel like I’ve had a nice scrub out of it.

Bottom line, it feels like a normal face wash and I wouldn’t spend US$13 on it nor go out of the way to find it. It’s not bad as a face wash and I love the smell, and could be a great scrub with people with very sensitive skin as it’s very gentle. But I like my physical face scrubs with a little more oomph.

Rating: 3/5

Beauty ABCs: A is for… Amino Acids

Amino Acids

Amino acids are biologically important organic compounds composed of amine and carboxylic acid functional groups, along with a side-chain specific to each amino acid. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, though other elements are found in the side-chains of certain amino acids. About 500 amino acids are known and can be classified in many ways.

In the form of proteins, amino acids comprise the second-largest component (water is the largest) of human muscles, cells and other tissues. Outside proteins, amino acids perform critical roles in processes such as neurotransmitter transport and biosynthesis.

9 proteinogenic amino acids are called “essential” for humans because they cannot be created by the human body and must be taken in as food. Others may be conditionally essential for certain ages or medical conditions. Because of their biological significance, amino acids are important in nutrition and are commonly used in nutritional supplements, fertilizers, and food technology.

Excerpt from: Wikipedia.

Amino acids are fundamental constituents of all proteins found in the body, such as: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, cystine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and valine.

In skin-care products, these types of ingredients act primarily as water-binding agents, and some have antioxidant properties and wound-healing abilities as well. However, these substances cannot affect, change, or rebuild wrinkles. Whether the protein in a skin-care product is derived from an animal or a plant, the skin can’t tell the difference.

Excerpt from: Paula’s Choice Website.