Today marks the last working day for those who are working, the last Monday and the last day of 2012. How have 2012 been for you? I hope it has been an awesome one for you and that things can only get better but not worse.
I am happy to share that, I will be usher-ing in 2013 with a group of good friends for steamboat, cupcakes, junk food and some beer. Its been ages since we last did that.
On a side note, I like to say thank you for being here with me, for reading my posts and for supporting me always. I will continue to improve on my blog content. Thank you for being so understanding!
Cheers to a great 2013! Have fun and stay happy always!
Review : Nature Republic Forever Lasting Mask Sheet
This mask sheet keeps skin young
This was one of the facial mask sheets that I brought along on my recent trip. The facial mask with a durable texture provided a snug fit on the skin. The cutting fits well, except for a shorter nose area.
It stings on the eczema patches on my face but provided a slight hydration to the rest of the skin. Mediocore in performance, I would say.
Source : Korea
Review : Sasatinnie Silky Whitening Eye Mask
Sunday, December 30, 2012
The eye contour is one of the most delicate and fragile areas of the face, and therefore needs special care. Attributing to age growth and long-term fatigue, the formation of wrinkles and fine lines and gradual loss of elasticity of skin occurs, followed by eyelid droop and eye bags appearance. Silky Whitening Eye Mask specially aims at solving three eye problems, i.e. eye fine lines, eye bags and dark circles. It contains collagen which could effective remove fine line, smooth eye bags and improve dark circles. With long-term treatment, it could fade out wrinkles, reduces the appearance of dark circles, fine lines and puffiness, leaving your eyes rejuvenated and lustrous.
Key Ingredients
Aqua, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Chondrus Crispus, Collagen.
I picked this up from the local Sasa for $6.90 with 6 masks in a box. Individually packed, each pair of hydro-gel masks are contained in a plastic clear tray. The tray is very wet so the essence tends to drip down as I tried to pull the tray out from its packaging. Thank goodness, it does not crumble that easily as I tried to peel the pair of eye masks off from the cache in the tray.
As with all hydro-gel textured products, this pair of eye masks are slightly glooey-like and sticks well on the skin. It feels cold and refreshing to the touch. Despite the big claims, I failed to see any visible improvement to my undereye areas.
The name "Silky Whitening Eye Mask" sounds misleading too.
Source : Sasa
Review : Lucy Minerals Foundation - Bisque, Fair and Light
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Bisque : a neutral shade
Light : light neutral shade
I ordered the 3 shades above at US$2 each for a 5g sampler in May this year from Lucy Minerals. You can check out full range of shades here.
Bisque fits my skin tone as compared to Fair and Light.
These are touted as their foundation which is recommended to go with their finishing powder to provide an airbrushed look as well as to bond with it to last for hours.
I prefer to use it as a loose powder over my BB cream, simply because I dislike layering 2 powder forms over one another.
Each time I tried a new loose powder, it always seem to be better than my previous one so yes, I really like Bisque. Being new to mineral powder, I used too much of it initially, giving me a heavy airbrushed look which made me look too "make-up".
Subsequently, I realized the correct way of using mineral powder is "less is more" so through some trial and error, I concluded that you don't need much of it, to give your skin that silky smooth look.
Perhaps its due to Lucy Minerals foundation being quite concentrated and pigmented as compared to others.
All the 3 powders are lightweight, finely milled, soft and smooth, providing a light to medium coverage, depending on the layers and powder being picked up by the brush. The coverage is buildable. The oil-control is moderately well.
Lucy Mineral Foundation contains zinc oxide and titanium dioxide (both natural physical sunscreens) plus the added benefits of the antioxidants Apple Poly®, Trans-Resveratrol, Green Coffee Bean Extract and Vitamin C. It is free of waxes, harmful chemicals, preservatives, fragrance, and talc.
Definitely great stuff for the skin.
It scored 4.2 from 180 users on Makeupalley.
Ingredients
zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, mica, magnesium stearate, iron oxides, allantoin, Apple Poly® polyphenols, trans-resveratrol, green coffee bean extract, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate.
Review : Cetaphil UVA/UVB Defense SPF 50+/UVA28
Friday, December 28, 2012
Product Description
Provides broad-spectrum UV protection with an optimum blend of five filters. The moisturizing formula hydrates the skin for 8 hours and absorbs quickly. Micronized Titanium Dioxide leaves no filmy white residue. Non-greasy, lightweight, fragrance-free, non-irritating and non-comedogenic, this moisturizing product is ideal for daily facial use.
This was in the freebie pack that I redeemed from Cetaphil. At 5ml, I used it as body suncreen because I am picky on what I use on the face, where texture is concerned.
With a hint of the sunscreen scent, the milky white content is creamy and slightly greasy. It has a bit of shine after application.
At SPF50 with protection against UVA and UVB rays, it seemed good enough as a sunscreen for daily wear so lets take a quick look at its ingredients.
Since I do not have the ingredients stated on my sample size, I checked it up online and found 2 different versions.
Ingredients ( from CGH ):
Aqua C12-15, Alkyl Benzoate, Glycerin, Ethlhexyl Salicylate, Titanium Dioxide, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Propylene Glycol, Bis¬-Ethylhexloxyphenol, Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Octocrylene, Cyclopentasiloxane, Stearic acid, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Dimethicone, Myristyl Myristate, Nylon-12, Petrolatum, Ethylhexyl Triazone, polymethyl Methacrylate, aluminum hydroxide, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Butylparaben, Disodium EDTA, Drometrizole Trisiloxane, Ethylparaben, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Isobutylparaben, Methylparaben, PEG-100 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Propyparaben, Stearyl Alcohol, Terephthalylidene Dicampor Sulfonic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Tocopherol, Triethanolamine
Ingredients ( from Rosacea group ) :
Active Ingredients: Octinoxate 7.5%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 7%, Oxybenzone 6%, Titanium Dioxide 5.7%
Inactive Ingredients: Water, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Dimethicone, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Cyclohexasiloxane, Stearic Acid, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA, Tocopherol, Cyclopen-tasiloxane, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylparaben, Chlorphenesin, Cetyl Alcohol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Methylparaben, Xanthan Gum
Presuming the first ingredient list derived from CGH, it contains the following sunscreen ingredients
Titanium Dioxide : Partial UVA protection and full UVB protection
Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane : Full UVA protection and partial UVB protection
Octocrylene : Partial UVA protection and full UVB protection
Terephthalylidene Dicamphor Sulfonic Acid : Full UVA protection and partial UVB protection
Ethylhexyl Triazone : UV filter which absorbs UV light
Drometrizole Trisiloxane : UV filter which absorbs UV light
Presuming the second ingredient list derived from Rosacea Group, this product appears to have a poor protection against UVA rays.
Octinoxate 7.5%Octinoxate is the most widely used UVB blocking agent in the skin care industry. However, when Octinoxate is exposed to sunlight, "it is converted into a less UV absorbent form hence it is not very stable. This conversion can be partly prevented by certain other UV blockers, particularly bemotrizinol (Tinosorb M).
Note that if Octinoxate combined with Avobenzone, it degrades even faster.
According to the EWG, Octinoxate is a moderate hazard, primarily because it can lead to developmental and reproductive toxicity through enhanced skin absorption. It can produce estrogen-like effects and should not be used by pregnant women and children
Octisalate 5%Octisalate is an organic compound used as an ingredient in sunscreens and cosmetics to absorb the full range of UVB rays from the sun. Although the Cosmetics Ingredient Review notes that reproductive and developmental toxicity can occur in relation to Salicylic Acid, one of the two primary components of Octisalate, it has determined that the levels used in cosmetic and beauty products would not cause any adverse reaction. Importantly, the FDA has approved Octisalate for use in sunscreen with up to 5%
Octisalate's safety record seems to be fairly good although it has been linked to contact dermititus.
Octocrylene 7%
According to TIA, Octocrylene can penetrate into the skin and act as a photosensitizer, resulting in an increased production of free radicals. Free radicals can induce indirect DNA damage and potentially contribute to the increased incidence of malignant melanoma in sunscreen-users. Maximum recommended by FDA is 3%. You can also read more about it in EWG.
According to this source, Octocrylene appears to be a strong allergen leading to contact dermatitis in children and mostly photoallergic contact dermatitis in adults with an often-associated history of photoallergy from ketoprofen. Patients with photoallergy from ketoprofen frequently have positive photopatch test reactions to octocrylene. These patients need to be informed of sunscreen products not containing octocrylene, benzophenone-3, or fragrances
Oxybenzone 6% Oxybenzone primarily functions as a photostabilizer and sunscreen. It also helps preserve the integrity of other cosmetic ingredients, preventing their deterioration under the sun. For this reason, Oxybenzone is most often used in conjunction with other sunscreen agents.
According to the Environmental Working Group, it has been shown that the product penetrate the skin and cause photo-sensitivity. As a photocarcinogen, it has demonstrated an increase in the production of harmful free radicals and an ability to attack DNA cells.
The FDA has approved the use of Oxybenzone as a safe and effective OTC sunscreen ingredient, but only in concentrations up to 6%
Titanium Dioxide 5.7%
According to EWG, this ingredient has a low hazard of level 1 to 3 even though there is a moderate health concern of organ system toxicity. Since it only provides partial UVA protection, it is best to be formulated with other active ingredients such as Zinc Oxide for a better protection.
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