Recent Mini Haul

Stock-up some of my old favourites and bought 2 new shower gels.

The Body Shop Organic Cotton Pads 2 for $6.90
Organic Basic Pure Castile Liquid Soap $9.80 each ( original $10.90 )
Dermalogica Super Sensitive Faceblock US$37.95
Dermalogica Multivitamin Mask US$36.95

My very first order of John Master Organics products. Took the chance to haul it when ASOS was having a promotion on them. It took about 12 days to reach me.

John Masters Organics Sea Mist Sea Salt Spray $13pounds
John Masters Organics Travel Set $8 pounds

Review : FaceQ Luffa + Adlay Mask

Product Description
Face Q Luffa +Adlay Mask is a mask with both calming and whitening effect. Enriched with natural luffa extract, the active enzyme can remove dirt and impurities in your skin, enhance skin metabolism. Barley extract can also soften skin, leaving your skin smooth and supple after use. Hydrating, soothing and anti-aging

After a run at the Standard Chartered Marathon, my usual routine is to layer a mask after I get home, for a pampering session since its scorching hot under the humid weather. Without my nerdy spectacles, I had mistaken the Adlay as Aloe and promptly pop one on my face.

I am not familiar with this range though I have vaguely heard about it. I was gifted with this a 4piece mask of different flavours as a complimentary gift with My Beauty Diary masks purchases in Taiwan.
Face Q mask from My Beauty Diary targets 25 years old or below for maintaining the healthiness and youthful appearance of the skin. Combines different natural ingredients, it energizes your skin for natural glowing result. Made of 100% wood pulp material to allow more water and essence retention. FaceQ masks use a unique hydrogel micro-emulsion technology with natural herbal formulas in them.

Main ingredients :
Luffa Extract : an antioxidant to fights free radicals, calms sensitive skin which is prone to premature aging Barley Extract : strengthens skin, reduces wrinkles and helping with hyperpigmentation
Pineapple enzyme : minimize the appearances of pores.

The packaging, though comes with 2 cut lines to be teared open, is actually quite resistant to be tore by hands, I have to use extra strength or scissors to cut open the packaging. The thin material adheres to the skin easily and since this range is associated with My Beauty Diary, there is nothing too bad about it.
The cut-out area for the lips is slightly small, though. Packaging pictures are quite kawaii to target a younger audience.

It purports to provide hydrating, whitening, soothing and anti-aging benefits to the skin. While it soothes and refreshes the skin with a comfortable and calming feeling, it failed to hydrate my skin fully or provide any brightening effect. It did hydrate my skin moderately well but just not impressive enough for me to grab the full 10sheet box but then again, I am no longer 25 and below.

Source : Sasa , BeautyKat

Review : Hugo Naturals Balancing Shampoo and Conditioner

Shampoo Description
Pure blend with botanical extracts and tea tree oil cleanses, helps reduce flakiness and promotes a healthy, balanced scalp - while quinoa protein adds body and shine.

Conditioner Description
Pure blend with botanical extracts moisturizes and detangles hair - while tea tree oil soothes, helps reduce flakiness and promotes a healthy, balanced scalp.

This was a travel set which I bought from iHerb. If you are interested to purchase iHerb products, quote OKI787 to get $5 off your first purchase or start shopping from here.
I would be just reviewing the shampoo and conditioner which I have brought along to my last Hong Kong trip.

While the scent is a soothing blend of tea tree and lavender, the little foam produced for shampoo lathering is pathetic. The texture is also thin and runny. It left the hair slightly dry and straw-like during the shampoo-ing process and is difficult to wash. I used up much more than what I would normally use, due to the lack of lathering foam. In fact, my shampoo was used up at a much faster rate than the conditioner.
The conditioner of the same scent is moderately moisturising and the texture is thicker and non silicon-like. Surprisingly, both products left my hair tangle-free. I did not feel that the products made my hair particularly shiny but my dandruff seems to be under better control.

The shampoo and conditioner scored 1 on Skin Deep which refers to a low hazard as far as ingredients are concerned.

Shampoo Ingredients
AQUA/WATER, LAURYL GLUCOSIDE, SODIUM COCOAMPHOACETATE, GLYCERIN, SODIUM COCOYL GLUTAMATE, SODIUM LAURYL GLUCOSE CARBOXYLATE, MELALEUCA ALTERNIFOLIA (TEA TREE) LEAF OIL, HYDROLYZED QUINOA, COPAIFERA OFFICINALIS (BALSAM COPAIBA) RESIN, BERTHOLLETIA EXCELSA SEED OIL, ARNICA MONTANA FLOWER EXTRACT, TOCOPHEROL, LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA (LAVENDER) OIL, CITRIC ACID, LONICERA CAPRIFOLIUM (HONEYSUCKLE) FLOWER EXTRACT,
LONICERA JAPONICA (HONEYSUCKLE) FLOWER EXTRACT, GLUCONOLACTONE, SODIUM BENZOATE

Conditioner Ingredients
AQUA/WATER, BRASSICYL ISOLEUCINATE ESYLATE, BRASSICA ALCOHOL,
CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDES, COCO-CAPRYLATE, GLYCERIN, MELALEUCA ALTERNIFOLIA (TEA TREE) LEAF OIL, ARGININE, ARNICA MONTANA FLOWER EXTRACT,
LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA (LAVENDER) OIL, PANTHENOL, GLUCONOLACTONE,
SODIUM BENZOATE

Source : Hugo Naturals

Review : Skin Blossom Cleanse and Nourish Body Wash

Product Description
This sumptuous wash creates a fine lather to gently cleanse skin without stripping. Suitable for use in the bath or shower, it contains nourishing Vitamin E and hydrating Aloe Vera which combine with plant cleansers to make bathing a skin-loving experience.
Made with 74% organic ingredients and fragranced with soothing, comforting Sweet Orange.
Suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin.

I picked up this from one of the stockists and am glad that its been a nice bathing experience using it. I did not quite like the hand cream then but thankfully I still did give this brand a chance and tried the body wash.

The sweet orange scented body wash goes on light and provides foaming suds which is lighter than the normal shower wash foam. It leaves the skin soft and well-moisturised. I have no problem using this when I have a mild case of eczema on the arms unlike the Crabtree and Evelyn shower gel which left my eczema skin even drier than before ( which is understandable since it contains SLS ).

It retails for $15.90 for a 150ml bottle. You can shop online at Kanga Organics.
Check out all about Skin Blossom here

Ingredients :
Aqua (Water), Coco Betaine, Decyl Glucoside, Coco Glucoside, Glycerin* , Sucrose Cocoate, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis* (Sweet Orange Oil) , Phenoxyethanol/ Benzyl Alcohol/ Potassium Sorbate, Aloe Barbadensis leaf juice powder* (Aloe Vera) , Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Tocopherol (Vitamin E) , Zingiber Officinalis* (ginger oil) , Lactic Acid , Limonene
*Certified as Organically Grown

Source : Kanga Organics

Review : Kao Essential Damage Care Nuance Airy Anti Frizz Serum

Product Description
Intensive Leave-on Treatment enriched with High Purity Honey Oil and Cuticle repair essence.
Instantly repair dry and damaged hair. Hair stays smooth and bouncy all day.

Benefits :High Purity Honey Oil provides deep moisture
Ultra Shine Essence gives hair a long-lasting shine
Wild Rose Essence keeps hair soft and moisturised

I had this for a while, before they changed their packaging. It was something I do not need at that time, but since I had a coupon and didn't know what to get from Guardian, I just picked this up. It was retailing for $10.90 for this 60ml size.
I am almost done with it, after more than a month of daily usage.

Contrary to what a serum should be, the lightweight texture of this day essence is like a lotion, very fluid and gets absorbed into the hair easily.  After application, my hands are not greasy and the hair does not look or feel oily. It gives a nice moisturised look to the damaged hair ends.
For the first 2 to 3 weeks, I did not feel that it does anything much to my hair, my wavy ( dying curls ) hair still looks unruly and frizzy, but I start to see a slight improvement in the 4th week onwards. My hair becomes more manageable and looks less unruly.
However, it does not hold or define the curls, which is understandable since this product is not supposed to do that anyway.
For the price, its decent enough for folks who just need a serum for daily maintenance, however do note that it does contain alcohol.

In terms of ingredients, the 6th ingredient : Ethylhyxyl Methoxycinnamate is an active ingredient in OTC sunscreen products. It is used in products that are applied to the skin to absorb, reflect or scatter UV rays; it protects the skin from sunburn and other damaging effects of the sun.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted an OTC drug review of Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate and did approve it for use in OTC sunscreens up to a concentration of 7.5%. However, it has been known to produce excess reactive oxygen species that can interfere with cellular signaling, cause mutations, and lead to cell death. This reaction may also be implicated in cardiovascular disease. (source)
Estrogenic effects are noted in laboratory animals as well as disruption of thyroid hormone and brain signaling. (source)

Source : Kao