Meishoku Organic Rose Skin Conditioner (Review)

Meishoku Organic Rose Skin Conditioner (Review)

another product that i didn't buy when i had the chance to in hong kong. it wasn't on my radar then as i haven't researched that much into this line yet, but once i got back to singapore.. DAMN IT, why didn't i get it!? it has such good reviews being the cheap and good astringent. even though it's named "skin conditioner", it really is an astringent as it contains witch hazel extract, and also some other hydrating things inside (note: this is the equivalent of an american toner), so it's slightly different from the toners - this comes before the toner.

if there is one thing i want you to know about this product, it's the wonderful damask rose scent. it smells so luxurious and relaxing, I LOVE USING IT!


what's pink and chubby and fits right into my hand? i love the packaging!


they have chinese instructions on the outermost wrapping.

"what's special about this skin conditioner: it is formulated for pore ridden, oily, and/or dry skin. contains natural organic rose water, job's tears extract, witch hazel etc. it is able to penetrate into the skin to shrink pores, control sebum production, and quickly returns the pH of the skin (to a slightly acidic state) after face washing.

directions: after washing your face, apply some onto a cotton pad and gently pat into your skin until it is absorbed. it contain lotion ingredients. when paired with the skin conditioning gel, your skin will remain hydrated even after a long time."



if you don't already know, rose water has moisturizing properties.

when coupled with all the other active ingredients, this is a moisturizing astringent that can help to control sebum production. soap and face wash are usually alkaline and that disrupts the acid balance on the skin. the skin conditioner is able to return the skin to a slightly acidic environment. lastly, it shrinks pores. it's like a product that targets all possible troubles!

the ingredients as obtained from their official website:
水、変性アルコール、ＢＧ、ダマスクバラ花水、ヨクイニンエキス、ハマメリス葉エキス、クロルヒドロキシＡｌ、ソルビトール、乳酸、乳酸Ｎａ、メチルパラベン、エチルパラベン、香料

i'll try to translate all those ingredients into english:
water, denatured alcohol, butylene glycol, damask rose water, coix seed extract, witch hazel leaf extract, chlorohydroxy Al, sorbitol, lactic acid, sodium lactate, methylparaben, ethylparaben, fragrance.


there is a small opening, preventing too much product from being poured out.


it looks like plain water, feels like water, flows like water too.


it also absorbs pretty quickly too!

IN A NUTSHELL

texture: watery, absorbs fairly quickly.
after-feel: no sticky feeling, skin feels hydrated and smooth right after application.
fragrance: VERY LOVELY ROSE SCENT.

IMHO

i've been using it for almost a month now, and i notice the oils on my forehead isn't as much as it used to be. BUT i'll keep observing to see what happens. i did follow the suggestion to use it with a cotton pad for the first few days, but i got lazy and started patting it in with my palms instead.

honestly speaking, the rose scent was such a delight, it probably distorted my views on it. but.. I REALLY LOVE THE SCENT. it's as though even if this product doesn't do what it says, i'll still keep using it because the of the aromatherapeutic effects. and i feel so pampered when i use this.

everything about this product is on point - packaging, price, scent, and application. i'm slowly seeing effects too so i think i'll be in love with it for a very long time.

my gf picked this up for me in HK for HKD$79.

Innisfree Olive Real Skin (Review)

Innisfree Olive Real Skin (Review)

i'm only doing my research for this product right now as i'm writing this because i received this as a gift from my relative. it's a toner, but koreans call then "skin". this is different from what americans call toners though. this is NOT an astrigent. asian toners are meant to be used after washing our face to prepare our skin for the other skin care we'll be using after. by hydrating our face with the toner, it supposedly allows the skin to absorb active ingredients better later.

most toners i've used are oil free, so this is definitely something new for me. it contains organic extra virgin olive oil. it's emulsified to form this slightly thick emulsion that is surprisingly light on my skin and is absorbed quickly. the scent is SO LOVELY - a slight tinge of citrus.

from its website, it claims to be

A highly enriched hydrating skin with nutritious organic olives to fill in the skin with nutrition.
so this is a very basic toner that aims to hydrate the skin. nutrition wise.. ERRR. if my skin is getting nutrition from the outside, i'll have to be very worried.


their brand is all about being organic and eco friendly, part of their brand image i guess!



it's nice of them to include english ingredients and usage information.


i look a look at its ingredients, the top ingredients are water, propanediol, butylene glycol, and butylene glycol, all are humectants that will help retain moisture on the skin.

olive oil is pretty high up there too! don't worry about the alcohol because this toner is NOT DRYING at all. the alcohol is probably there to open up pathways for the skin to absorb more product. there're a lot of other natural extracts, even though i don't know their purpose and effects. 

apparently they don't contain parabens, but they have phenoxyethanol as the preservative to make its shelf life longer.




it comes with a little white stopper to prevent spillage. you can throw that away after you transport it home safely! the opening may be a little too huge for my liking. i try to do a magic trick everytime i pour it out of the bottle by tipping the bottle really really quickly, so quickly that you can't see my hands move at all.



it's a little cloudy, afterall, it's an emulsion. a little bit thicker than water, but still quite watery.



from start to finish it didn't even take a minute. it absorbs very quickly. my hands returned to its matte looking state after all that patting. on my face, there can be a little sheen (but that is desired by me).

IN A NUTSHELL

texture: slightly viscous, spreads easily and absorbs quickly.
after-feel: no adhesive feeling like the hyaluronic acid toners made me feel. skin feels soft and hydrated but not for long.
fragrance: slightly citrus scented, makes me feel like a salad with the olive oil dressing and a dash of lemon juice.

IMHO

i've used this for a good half a year, but i haven't been very consistent with it as i switch in and out with the whitening toner that i have. it does a good job preparing my skin for what comes next. i feel that the oil in the toner helps open up my skin to other oil based ingredients in my creams, so that's a good thing.

since there isn't that sticky feeling that hyaluronic acid toners give me, those who dislike that feeling may be interested in this product. however, i feel that this product isn't moisturizing on its own. i definitely need to throw on a cream after that. you know how come oils can make you feel dry? you'd be surprised that this toner doesn't leave me feeling oily at all. i guess all that olive oil got absorbed by my skin instead of sitting on top forming a protective film to keep it hydrated.

all in all, i enjoy using this product, partly because i really love the scent. it makes applying my skin care a pleasure.

White Formula Intense Brightening Laser Toner with Arbutin [FIRST IMPRESSION]

White Formula Intense Brightening Laser Toner with Arbutin First Impression

anything with "whitening" will catch my attention because i'm constantly trying to brighten my skin tone. this is something new in the market, in fact, at the time of purchase it was still unavailable in singapore. i had to ask my gf to get it for me from hong kong.

white formula is a brand from taiwan, and their lotion/toner has gotten really good reviews on the urcosme.net ranking, hence i wanted to give it a try. at a price point of HKD$88 for 290ml, i have nothing to lose. if this doesn't work as a whitening toner, it'll still be good enough for just hydrating.



on the back the product description.
let me do some translation!

"a highly efficient triple action whitening formula, it contains arbutin for penetrative whitening, mandelic acid for exfoliation type brightening, and stabilized vitamin c inductor AA2G, an effective whitening ingredient, activating an all round whitening mechanism - exfoliation first before penetration into the skin to reverse the darkening process, getting rid of melanin formation completely. There is an addition of patented compound RADIANSKIN^TM to correct spots and to brighten the skintone. Does not contain alcohol, fragrances, it is gentle to the skin. Consistent usage will result in bright and clear skin all year round.

- gentle penetrative whitening ingredient arbutin, it is absorbed into the skin easily to inhibity tyrosinase to prevent melanin production.

- exfoliative whitening ingredient mandelic acid genltly removes surface epidermis to improve melanin accumulation problem.

- effective and stabilized vitamine c inductor AA2G will release high concentration vitamin c continually to reverse melanin that has already formed."



i took a look at its ingredients, the top ingredients are water, butylene glycol, and propyl glycol, all are humectants that will help retain moisture on the skin. butylene glycol is probably what makes the formula so slippery.

malic acid is quite high up in the ingredient list, an alpha hydroxy acid, it helps in removing dead skin cells, serving a similar function as mandelic acid. and then there is the usual sodium hyaluronate the water magnet. i believe sodium chondroitin sulfate is also there to attract water to the skin.

the skin whitening agents are arbutin, ascorbyl glucoside (AA2G), and alpha-arbutin.

comes with a slew of preservatives (all 4 parabens plus phenoxyethanol).




the bottle has a small open that dispenses enough product by flipping the bottle over quickly over your palm.



it may look watery on my palm, but it's actually slightly, just a tiny bit viscous. the lotion is extremely slippery, making it feel like it's very moisturizing.



even though it's very slippery, it is easily absorbed into the skin with a few pats. there is a slight stickiness to it, when i apply it on my face and pat it with my palms, it will resist me from pulling it away from my face.

IN A NUTSHELL

texture: slightly viscous, very slippery, spreads easily and absorbed quickly.
after-feel: a slight adhesive feeling, skin feels soft and hydrated.
fragrance: no fragrance.

IMHO

so far i've only used it for less than a week, and i really like how it feels on my skin. my previous lotion is the hadanomy collagen lotion, which is quite meh when it comes to hydrating. but the white formula lotion, even though it's touted as a whitening lotion, it is HIGHLY HYDRATING. it's too early to tell the whitening effects at this point in time, and i can only report the immediate effects that i feel, and it's moisturizing capabilities surprised me. my face feels so soft and supple after using it! i will top this up with a cream (either simple moisturizer or hadanomy gel cream).

i also like that it's not entirely watery, it's slight viscosity means it doesn't drip all over my palm when i spread it open. also, when i pat it onto my face, i feel that the texture helps it spread over my skin more evenly, whereas if it was watery like water, it tends to congregate into droplets.

full review will be up in at least 2 months time for me to observe any differences.

hadanomy collagen lotion

another steal i got when i was in hongkong this may.
the collagen lotion is not the most well known product in this hadanomy line,
but i decided to get it anyway because it's affordable,
plus, if the collagen mist works well, then the more concentrated collagen lotion should work even better, right?



price: HKD$79.2
i got this in sasa when it was having a 10% off for hadanomy products.

what it claims:
as with most hydrating lotions, it contains hyaluronic acid,
but the biggest difference is the collagen it contains that helps to seal in moisture.
they said that there is 1000mg of micro collagen that is much smaller than a normal collagen molecule. 
i can't tell you how much smaller the micro collagen is, or if it even exist in the solution or not because my naked eyes can't see it! i'll just assume that it does.

the collagen does not penetrate deep into the skin (by that i mean into the dermis layer) to fill out wrinkles (i wish..!!!), instead it stay on top of the skin (and maybe some of it finds it way into the top few layers of my epidermis) and act as a barrier to prevent loss of moisture.
that explains the slightly sticky feeling after application.
still bearable though!

it's formulated with acerola extract (source of vitamin C) and honey (humectant).
not that i can tell, really. haha!

my experience with it:
i used to apply this right after i wash my face,
but these days i apply this after the senka whitening lotion because i sometimes feel that the collagen layer blocks the whitening lotion from entering my skin.
as of late, i'm using this for my  body instead of my face because the senka whitening lotion is actually hydrating enough for my face!

it is easily absorbed into my skin and has a light rose scent to it.
i like the scent!
the consistency is slightly thicker, almost like a gel that will turn into a liquid upon touching my skin.


texture: gel like.


after spreading out.
it imparts a shine on my skin after it is fully absorbed.
is that supposed to be the collagen layer?
or is it just the gel setting on my face?
i like that it is absorbed pretty quickly into my skin.

as far as hydration goes, it does an OK job at hydrating.
i feel that my skin is still thirsty after some time despite using a cream after this.
i think there are better hyaluronic acid lotions out there.
i've previously tried samples of the hadalabo hyaluronic acid lotion,
that too isn't to my liking.
this hydrating lotion isn't hydrating enough for me.

since this is my first hydrating lotion, i still need to try out more stuff before i can do a comparison!
the next hydrating lotion in line is most probably the muji light lotion, or the senka moisturizing lotion.

p.s.
perhaps you are wondering why am i using both whitening and hydrating toner if the whitening toner has hydrating effects too.
if i'm at home all day, i prefer to use just the hydrating toner during day time because i won't be wearing sun screen at home.
if i used a whitening product, i must wear sun screen otherwise i might end up getting darker!
so i usually hydrate in the morning, and whiten at night. :P

hadanomy collagen mist

here comes the mist!
it was the hit product a few years ago,
i only managed to lay my hands on it this may.

price: HKD$68
i got this from sasa when it was having a 10% off for hadanomy products.

what it claims:
this belongs to the hadanomy collagen line up, so the claims are the same as the collagen lotion mentioned in previous entries.
- hyaluronic acid to attract moisture
- 1000mg of micro collagen that penetrates skin to lock in moisture
- contains acerola extract and honey for unknown purposes (well, they didn't state, but i assume it's for moisturizing purposes)


my experience with it:
i like to use this during day time after i wash my face in the morning.
its consistency is much lighter (slightly more viscous than water) than the collagen lotion, absorbs a little easier than the lotion since i don't have to pat as much. saves me time in the morning rush hour too!
it preps up my skin for the flurry of products i'll apply next.
depending on the situation, i'll add a layer of cream most of the time before i pile on my sun screen and make up.

i also like to use it as a setting mist after i've done my makeup to help it last longer.

however, the mist produced isn't really even, i can feel that it's a circular ring of products being deposited on my face. hmmm..

i really like the spray bottle. it makes application more convenient!
i may or may not repurchase this, but if i don't, i'll probably reuse the bottle with my new lotion. :P

shiseido senka whitening lotion w(s)

my first ever whitening product in my skincare routine!
i decided to buy this after reading good reviews on both cosme.net and urcosme.com (japanese and taiwanese beauty review portals!).




ok, i admit the main reason why i bought this was because it is dirt cheap for the effects it claims to deliver.

price: HKD$87
i don't think i can find anything more affordable than this.
it being this easy on my wallet means i can use it generously with cotton pads as instant face masks for a last minute pick-me-up.

the main whitening ingredient in this lotion is the stable vitamin C derivative.
vitamin C on its own is an anti oxidant and oxidizes very easily.
i think there's some truth in it.
the lotion is usually clear and colourless you see..
but there are drops that will leak out of the opening and over time i realize those droplets will have a tinge of yellow! which looks exactly like how my oxidized ascorbic acid (vitamic C) crystals!
so yea, i think the fact that the lotion is colourless means it's still "fresh" (active ingredients still alive!). 

it claims to be as effective as a serum (they define a serum as something that is small enought to penetrate the skin easily),
but lightweight as a lotion.
i'm not sure about the first, but the latter surely is true.
it's a clear fluid that's as viscous as water,
smells a little like alcohol to me,
absorbs quickly with some light patting.
best thing is it doesn't leave my face feeling sticky after that!

i've been using it for 5 months already,
sometimes twice a day, lately it's been reduced to only once at night.
i use it right after cleansing my face at night, since it hydrates and whitens.
i pile on my other hydrating lotion and creams after that so seal everything in. :)

i noticed my dark spots lightening up after the months of using this product.
it is quite unnoticeable, which was probably why it took me 5 months to realize it.
however, i find my face and neck to be brighter these days.
i used to be quite dull and yellow in the first few months of 2012,
but not anymore!
i'm not as fair as i used to be, but definitely not as sallow as compared to a few months ago.

don't expect this to give you instant whitening effects though.
it's a lotion afterall, the effective ingredients can't penetrate that deeply into our skin.
for those kind of effects, you might want to try serums (especially those that will burn a hole in your pockets).