skincare Archives - Page 2 of 5

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser

April 21, 2016

Kiehl’s is a company that has been around since 1851, but I feel as if it’s really gone under the radar this whole time. I don’t really see or hear people talking about Kiehl’s, even though it is a reputable company that offers great quality products!

I don’t normally walk around Kiehl’s, but the few times that I’ve been there have been pretty positive! The staff have always been really friendly and informative on their products, which is always a plus.

About a year ago, I received the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser as a gift from my friend. I can’t believe that I didn’t write a post about it until now, actually! But better late than never 😉
Anyways, moving on! This cleanser is the oil-free version of their popular original cleanser. Kiehl’s packaging is very simple and minimal. They list everything on the front, while the back is the exact same except in French!

This product has been one of my go-to cleansers whenever I just want a simple, gentle clean. The formula is lightweight and has a pearly white finish to it. It lathers up really nicely and leaves your skin feeling really clean and moisturized.

My skin ALWAYS feels amazingly clean and soft after using this cleanser, no matter what condition it is in (dry in the winter, oily in the summer, combination, breaking out, etc).
I definitely recommend this product to someone who would like a low maintenance skincare routine. It’s really simple, but it does such a great job in cleaning and making my skin feel fresh.

I’ve noticed recently that my skin doesn’t feel as soft, and has a slight dry/leathery feeling although it is a bit oily at the same time. I decided to stop and only stick with using only this cleanser and a day/night moisturizer for the time being until my skin gets better.

I suspect it’s from all the new cleansers and moisturizers I’ve been introducing, as well as having final papers and exams.

It’s only been two days and this cleanser has made my skin soft and supple again! When I finish this tube, I can definitely see myself repurchasing it. It’s done wonders for my skin and never fails!

This product is very reliable and no matter how many new products I try, this will always be a staple on my bathroom counter. After trying this, I definitely want to delve further into trying more Kiehl’s products!

Yay!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen

Kose Sekkisei Facial Powder Wash

April 15, 2016

Last year, I was introduced to Sekkisei, a Japanese beauty company that had just launched in Canada. Sekkisei has a beautiful, royal blue packaging for all of its products. Being the communications and marketing nerd that I am, I love design consistency!

I received a number of Sekkisei products for review. However, I don’t like having super long posts so I will be dividing my Sekkisei reviews up as I try and use them more. Today, I will be focusing on the Sekkisei facial powder wash.
One of Sekkisei’s main selling points is that it claims to whiten skin, and make it more translucent. Fair, white skin is considered one of the most beautiful features a woman could have in the Asian culture. There are so many Asian products out there that are marketed towards whitening your skin.

In fact, if you can read Chinese characters, you will see that the first character means ‘snow’ in Chinese.

As Sekkisei is a Japanese based company as mentioned earlier, Sekkisei products are derived from both high quality Chinese and Japanese herbal extracts.

You may be wondering why a Japanese company uses Chinese characters instead of Japanese characters? The Japanese actually have three alphabets, one which is called ‘Kanji’ and uses Chinese characters on writing mixed with the other two Japanese alphabets. The meaning on paper/writing is the same, but pronunciation is completely different.

Anyways, back to the review. The powder wash comes in a sturdy bottle with one small opening, so that the powder does not spill everywhere. The powder is very fine, and very light. One small sneeze can send the product falling everywhere! =P

It reminded me of baby powder, but even softer. Sekkisei describes this product as a ‘skin-clarifying powder wash that leaves skin brighter than and as fine as freshly fallen snow’.

After putting the powder on your hand, lather it up by adding water. You may want to experiment with the amount of water you add to reach your desired consistency. For myself, I added a few drops of water and washed it on my face in a circular motion.

My first impression was that it lathered pretty quickly, and I loved how gentle it was on my skin. It was very smooth, yet did a decent job in making my skin feel very clean and fresh.

You can purchase Sekkisei products online or at select Shoppers Drug Mart stores in Canada!

Yay!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen

Press samples featured. Opinions are own.

Vichy Ideal Body Aqua Sorbet

March 26, 2016

One great thing about beauty blogging is that I get the opportunity to try products that I otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to try! One of my favourite skincare brands I discovered through beauty blogging is Vichy. I’ve done a couple of reviews on Vichy products already, which I have really enjoyed and found worked with my skin.

Time and time again, Vichy has proved to be a quality skincare brand and I would not hesitate to recommend it to someone who is looking for a new line to try out. I am back with another Vichy review, this time with the new Vichy Ideal Body Aqua Sorbet.
Unlike the other Vichy products I have tried so far, the Ideal Body Aqua Sorbet is a body moisturizer. It is meant to apply liberally after a shower for an instant cool and refreshing moisturizing session.

One thing I REALLY love about this body lotion is the smell. I would describe the scent as somewhat peachy and happy.

I can’t wait to use this as summer approaches. Upon application, my skin feels very cool and light due to its ultra-cooling effect. This will be a perfect temporary relief during heat waves because I don’t have AC in my house!

This lotion is pretty light weight and is more on the gel side, as far as texture goes. It is not thick at all but it does a great job in moisturizing and making you smell really nice.

The key ingredients of the Ideal Body Aqua Sorbet are Gingko Biloba (sourced from the Gingko tree found only in China), hyaluronic acid, and Vichy mineralizing water (which is also found in the review I did of the Vichy Aqualia Thermal Moisturizer).

Overall, the Vichy Idealia Body Aqua Sorbet (Phew, what a long name haha) has easily become one of my favourite body moisturizers and I will only use it more once the warmer weather approaches. It does a great job at moisturizing your skin without feeling heavy, and it smells amazing.

Yay!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen

Vichy Idealia Skin Sleep Lotion

March 13, 2016

We’ve all heard of getting enough beauty sleep, so that your skin will be radiant, glowing, and eye bag-free! But what if you are just too busy or not sleeping well enough to reach that goal?

For myself, having a good night’s sleep is something I’ve always struggled with and continue to do so. Even though I ‘sleep’ a decent amount of hours, I am constantly waking up throughout the night or plagued with nightmares so sometimes I am just exhausted when I wake up in the morning. It takes a toll on my body and my skin 🙁

Vichy’s Idealia Skin Sleep targets skin while you are sleeping, and helps to restore your skin so that it looks healthy even if you didn’t have a good night’s sleep!

The powerful synergy of active ingredients created in the Vichy laboratories makes for a product that is capable of stimulating all of skin’s deep sleep mechanisms to recreate and optimize their repairing effects. The formula also includes caffeine to improve micro-circulation.

The jar itself is pretty sturdy, and comes with a slightly reflective lid. It is a pretty good size to bring with you on vacation or to just leave at home. One thing I noticed immediately after opening the jar was how great this smelled! It had a very feminine scent, and reminded me of fresh flowers.

I looked forward to putting this on my skin every night because I loved how great it smelled! Sometimes, I’ll also use this as a morning moisturizer as I love the smell of it so much 🙂
I would say that the texture of the cream is more of a gel based. It is also more on the light side and wasn’t that thick or heavy.

As we go into Spring & Summer now, my skin is finally going back to its normal state – aka oily/combination. I only have to use a little bit for my skin to feel moisturized, but I really think it depends on YOUR skin type.

If you have dry skin, I would recommend using a bit more. When I wake up, my face feels plump and moisturized! My skin really does look more ‘energetic’ and less dull – I have the caffeine in the lotion to thank for that.

Overall, I do like the Vichy Idealia Skin Sleep and find it a decent moisturizer. Since it is not too thick but does a great job at moisturizing, I would say that it is probably suitable for most skin types. So far, I am really loving Vichy’s skincare line and have nothing but great words to say about their great quality products!

I also started trying out the new Vichy Aqua Sorbet body lotion, and have been LOVING that as much as I have been with the other Vichy products. Keep your eyes peeled on a review for that!

Yay!

Thanks for reading,
Carmen

Press sample featured. Opinions are own.

My Melody Face Mask

October 4, 2015

When Maki went to Taiwan and Hong Kong last month, she came back with an assortments of gifts and souvenirs for me! Thank you, Maki, if you’re reading this! I don’t buy many Asian beauty brands, but to my knowledge, I believe that they are a lot cheaper in Asia so it is a good time to stock up on them while you are there.

I received a bunch of facial masks from her, which I am slowly trying out.. as well as an liquid eyeliner that I really love! One of the facial masks that she got me was the My Melody face mask.

For those of you that don’t know, My Melody is one of the Sanrio characters. You can think of Sanrio as the Disney of Japan… their characters are very popular and everywhere in Asia! The most popular Sanrio character is probably Hello Kitty.

I grew up with a lot of Sanrio characters in my life, my favourite characters would have to be Hello Kitty, Keroppi, Little Twin Stars, My Melody… and the list goes on. I’m feeling so nostalic as I type this, I had Keroppi stickers all over my room and door when I was a kid!
This is what the packaging looks like – simple and minimalist, yet still very cute!
Although I took a Japanese beginners class three years ago, sadly I did not continue with it although I hope to be able to read fluent Japanese one day. That, or be able to travel to Japan and understand or get around!

With that said, clearly I can’t tell you what the ingredients are or what this mask claims to do. I’ll just leave it up here for you all to see and if you can translate the back, please leave a comment down below =D
I was very surprised when I took out the mask, and saw that it was an actual My Melody face! How cute is that?! Seriously, Japanese products are amazing and are so detailed. It also smelled like strawberries, which was an excellent delight.

At first, my skin reacted a bit with the mask as it stung a little, which went away in less than 30 seconds. I left it on my face for 15 minutes, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scent of strawberries the whole time. I am a big fan of strawberries, if you didn’t know 😛

I was a bit confused as to if this mask would fit my entire face, since it is more horizontal than vertical. It actually covered my whole face area, except for the tip of my nose because the nose flap was a bit too short for me.

Overall, I thought that this mask was very cute and I enjoyed using it. I really loved the packaging and design of this. The mask felt very moisturizing, although I wish I could read Japanese so I can tell what this mask targets.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen