Review : Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturizing Hand Treatment

Product Description
The perfect companion to the original classic for your face, Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturising Hand Treatment is a fast-absorbing gel cream that contains soothing emollients to smooth and soften rough, weather-exposed skin.
This luxurious Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Intensive Moisturising Hand Treatment will fight signs of dryness and cracking, so hands look and feel soft and touchable. The feeling will of course last for up to eight hours!

I picked up the 30ml hand cream size from my local airport mid last year, which looks like just the right size for me to use it in the office. It comes in a ruby red tube that screams sexy, in my opinion. The kind of red that resembles a dress with a matching pair of red heels on the red carpet.

Elizabeth Arden is a brand that I usually associate with the mature crowd and "eight hour" is one of their raved range of products. I have never use any of their products before, except for their fragrance "Arden Beauty" which is one of my favourites. This hand cream is a Winner of Glamour Magazines 20 Best Beauty Buys! Touted as "One long-lasting hand cream". It also garnered awards from Harper's Bazaar Magazine (Singapore), 2007; InStyle Magazine (Australia), 2006

Features:
An all-purpose fast absorbing gel cream.
Moisturizes up to eight hours.
For symptoms of chapped or peeling due to sunburn or windburn.
Special smoothing for rough spots on feet hands or anywhere on body.
Soothes and comforts minor weather burns, scrapes or abrasions.
Dermatologist, allergy and clinically tested.

Benefits:
Helps protect, soothe and moisturize skin.
Soothes dry skin and provides anti-inflammatory benefits.
Protects the skin against environmental damage and fights free radicals

Being a poor scent descriptor, I can only say it smells slightly of the herbal scent though its not pungent. The white cream looks and feels light but goes on abit thick on the hands yet absorbed totally into the hands. There is no greasy residue.

Considering that its touted as an intensive moisturizing hand treatment and that it should be able to last for at least 8 hours, I expected better results. But it doesn't really moisturise my hands that long and I tend to re-apply again because it seems to disappear without a trace after application. But it did leave my hands softer and smoother, just not moisturized.

It scored 3 from 48 reviewers on Makeupalley

Where To Purchase : Shopee

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant

Ingredients
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Decyl Oleate, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Propylene Glycol, Stearate SE, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Allantoin, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, BHT, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Sulfate, Fragrance, Citral Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Butylparaben, Etylparaben. isobutylparaben, Methylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben

Sugar: The #1 Beauty Killer

If you want to look and feel younger, cut out sugar. Sugar makes you fat and may increase your risk of cancer. It ages your skin and causes wrinkles. In a process called glycation, sugar attacks collagen and elastin, both key proteins that make your skin look young. Glycation makes them less elastic and more brittle so they break. The skin can't snap back. That's when fine lines and wrinkles appear, and they don't go away. But it gets worse.
Collagen and elastin start to mutate, creating harmful new molecules called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These build up and cause further inflammation and damage to collagen and elastin. Sugar actively ages you. Ditching sugar will make you look and feel 10 years younger.

To avoid sugar, you have to know where it hides. Here's where you're getting sugar -- probably without even knowing it:

Alcoholic beverages -- Alcohol hits your blood stream and is converted to sugar. Look at yourself after an alcohol binge. You'll see the ravages of sugar on your face.

Cow's milk -- Even skim milk has 14 grams of sugar. Add skim milk to raisin bran, and you're up to 20 grams of sugar. Replace cow's milk with unsweetened almond milk.

Yogurt -- Yogurts have up to 26 grams of sugar. You might as well eat a candy bar! Replace standard yogurt with Greek yogurt. Sprinkle some pistachios over it for a snack that is delicious and will fill you up.

Sweetened oatmeal -- Each serving of sweetened oatmeal can have around 13 grams of sugar. Get plain oatmeal and sweeten with Stevia and a little coconut oil and cinnamon. Add blueberries and you have a delicious perfectly balanced fat-burning breakfast.

Get rid of sugar-free juices, sodas and treats. They cause sugar cravings. A diet soda actually triggers your brain to grab for chips and other junk foods.

Don't ever allow sugar in your "clean" products like water, tea or coffee. These are necessities in life and should remain completely sugar-free.

Go to your kitchen and get rid of all simple sugars like candy, cookies, cakes, sodas and fat-free products (they are usually loaded with hidden sugar to flavor).

Buy fat-burning fruits like apples, berries and citrus to snack on.

Even scientists feel that sugar should be regulated like alcohol and cigarettes. You can read more about here.

Source : Huffingtonpost

Review : Vichy Thermal Spa Water

Product Description
15 clinical studies have proven the skin health benefits of Vichy Thermal Water. Recognized by the French Academy of Medicine for its soothing and fortifying properties. Allergy-tested, Dermatologist-tested, Preservative-free, Fragrance-free, Paraben-free, Neutral-PH

Mineral Richness
- A miracle of nature, naturally rich with 15 regenerating minerals + antioxidants, essential to skin’s health
- So unique, it cannot be reproduced by science. So powerful, it can reset your skin's health
Results:
- Soothes + reinforces skin's natural barrier function. Its antioxidant properties help the skin fight the signs of aging
- Protected and fortified, skin is more resistant to environmental aggressions.

According to the website, Vichy Thermal Spa Water’s effect on the stimulation of skin’s natural defenses has been clinically proven. After 4 days of applying Vichy Thermal Spa Water directly to the skin, catalase activity, an anti free-radical enzyme responsible for skin's defenses, is increased by 20%.

With my sensitive yet combination and dehydrated skin, I have a soft spot for water-based products, especially with thermal spring water. Brands like Avene, Vichy and Bioderma tend to be able to claim a spot in my heart easily and effortlessly if I met with the right promoter.

As with all brands, not all their products from Vichy scored a victory with me even though I have been using their Concealing Wand for years. It remains one of my favourites to conceal the ugly zit.

I ran out of my favourite Avene Thermal Water spray when I was still having the bad allergic reaction to a new cleansing lotion I was using so in a desperate bid to save my skin, I have been using this for close to a month which I managed to use up the whole 50 ml bottle. I have to say that I was greatly disappointed.

In general, thermal water spray is supposed to provide soothing relief to skin prone to sensitivity and redness, which certainly sounds like mine.
The spritz has a fine mist which tend to make me spray generously whenever I use it.

Using on my red, raw, scaly and itchy skin, the thermal spray was unable to relieve any of the symptoms I encountered, instead it seem to make it worse. More itchy and more red patches on my face. And my skin is still feeling parched, instead of feeling soft and supple.

On some of the days, I do spot relief with cotton pads. Spray generously on them and just spread 5 pieces on my face. It didn't really help.
Because it made my skin even more itchy hence it become redder with my itchy fingers.

In the later part of the weeks, I refrain from scratching like a monkey after the spray and just endure the itchiness which lasted for about 15minutes or so. I have tried both ways of allowing it to evaporate (which is actually bad for the skin since the air is sucking up all the moisture) and using a tissue to dab off the excess after several minutes. Both methods do not work on my skin. In time, most of the redness did subside, leaving some slight reddish patches. However, I didn't think it was the result of the thermal spray water, it was just the skin settling down properly.

I have to say that, I am not sure if all these red patches are part of eczema as I never see a doctor but allowing it to heal by itself, based on my current skincare. The symptoms and looks of them, does resemble eczema, but I never have such a big flare-up of eczema on my face before so it was kind of scary.
If its indeed eczema, then I cannot really put all the blame on this thermal spray because it may not be the correct product to be used to solve eczema concerns. But I did read somewhere that Vichy water contains sulphur and La Roche-Posay contains selenium, which are suppose to help in treating eczema. 

Nevertheless, I lost much confidence in this product, as it doesn't seem to do anything beneficial to my skin, just when I needed it most.
It scored 4.5 from 29 users on Makeupalley

Ingredients
100% Pure Vichy Thermal water, preservative and fragrance free.
Mineral content (mg/1):
Bicarbonates: 4776.3
Chloride: 357.0
Potassium: 99.6
Fluorine: 8.8
Sodium: 1860.0
Calcium: 150.6
Magnesium: 12.3
Iron: 1.0
Neutral pH

Source : Vichy

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Review : Organic Basic Pure Castile Liquid Soap - Organic Lavender

Product Description
Use as liquid soap; hand, bath and shampoo. Gentle to use for children. Suitable for baby. Pure castile soap does not lather as much as synthetic soaps however it is a very effective cleansing agent.

Previously I have tried the Lemon Myrtle scent and this is another scent which I purchased together with it, the Lavender. However the lavender scent is not that strong and feels abit fake, probably due to the mixture of other ingredients.

The light yellow contents is slippery and watery. It provides light suds for foaming. Similar to the Lemon Myrtle scent, the whole experience has been drying. I didn't like it one bit.

You Are What You Eat

Lack of Hydration

If your lips are constantly dry, you're probably not drinking enough water, but it can also be a sign that you're not getting enough vitamin E, which can be found in peanuts, leafy greens and seeds.
Dry lips might also indicate a lack of vitamin B, which helps to maintain the health of your cells, and in turn, the condition of your skin.
In extreme cases, cracked, dry skin at the corner of the mouth can indicate a B-6 deficiency. Beans, peanuts, squash, beef and leafy vegetables are all rich in B vitamins.

Few people look their best after a night on the town, but a severe case of bed head and morning breath bad enough to clear whole rooms are often just the tip of the iceberg.
When we drink alcohol, our bodies divert oxygen and blood to the liver and other crucial organs to help our bodies process the alcohol more effectively. As a result, our skin inevitably suffers due to decreased circulation, leaving us looking pale and washed out.

Another side effect is the widening of blood vessels. "If you've ever observed a person who has consumed several drinks, you may have noticed a flushing across their face," points out Amanda Griggs, director of health programmes at Chelsea's Balance Clinic.
"This is due to the widening of blood vessels and broken capillaries throughout the skin. Alcohol can also worsen the symptoms of rosacea, and lead to the dilation of blood vessels. Repeated overindulgence can cause the vessels to dilate permanently, causing red, spidery veins."
Alcohol also depletes our body's ability to fight free radicals. "Free radicals accelerate the deterioration of collagen and elastin, which eventually leads to the emergence of fine lines and wrinkles," warns Angela. Free radical damage is also caused by smoking, most notably in the form of dull and dehydrated skin. Smoking dehydrates skin and deprives it of oxygen, meaning your skin will quickly lose its radiance as the blood vessels on the upper layers of the skin constrict.

Fast food

Fast food contains high levels of fat and sodium along with refined carbohydrates, which dry out the skin and can also increase the prominence of wrinkles, due to their tendency to break down our skin's natural elastin supplies.
The rancid fats within fast food can also react with the protein molecules within our cell tissue and cause inflammation leading to swelling and puffiness.

When it comes to sugar, those with a sweet tooth aren't just putting their teeth at risk, but their skin, too. Too much sugar can speed up the degradation of the collagen and elastin supplies which keep our skin strong and supple.
This happens because eating sugar triggers a process known as glycation, which sees the sugar molecules bind to our collagen and elastin fibres, leaving them brittle and more likely to break. This is when wrinkles and fine lines appear.

Super supplements

So, we've established what not to do, but what are the things we need to incorporate into our diet in order to look our best? Vitamin C is the ultimate weapon for those waging war on wrinkles. It helps boost the production of collagen, which keeps our skin firm, and also helps our skin to repair itself.
It's also great at protecting skin from the damage caused by free radicals - free radicals being the unstable molecules that damage collagen and cause skin dryness, fine lines and wrinkles.

Heavy drinkers often find vitamin B (found in whole grains such as millet, buckwheat, rye, barley, quinoa, corn and barley) especially beneficial, because alcohol depletes the B vitamins which are especially important for healthy hair, skin and nails.

If you haven't heard of Alpha lipoic acid, it's high time you found out more. It's an antioxidant which occurs naturally in our bodies and can help to generate the cellular energy required to keep our skin looking radiant. Small quantities can be found in sardines, beef, spinach and peanuts and it can also be taken in supplement form.

The properties of zinc are also often underrated. Zinc supplements are often prescribed to patients with bedsores, burns or skin ulcers due to its ability to heal wounds, which it does by boosting the production of collagen.
Zinc can also help improve our body's ability to absorb vitamin A, which is thought to slow down the skin's ageing process. Zinc can be found in Shellfish, pecan nuts, turkey, wheat germ, and also as a supplement. However, it's best to avoid taking zinc in supplement form for extended periods of time.

Vitamins B and C aren't the only ones which can work wonders on our skin. Vitamin E has anti inflammatory properties, and can be found in olives, avocados, nuts and seeds.
If you're a heavy smoker or drinker, a spicy curry might not do much for your breath, but the sulphur in foods such as onions, garlic, leeks and eggs can stimulate the production of an antioxidant called glutathione.
This antioxidant enhances the elimination of toxins produced by cigarettes and can also boost collagen production, which is especially important for smokers. Although you could just makes things significantly easier and ditch the cigarettes altogether.

Source : Yahoo