skincare: KOSE Seikisho

the world knows that i love

1) freebies

2) discounts (the -%, half price, cut cut cut)

3) mystery gifts

so, even when i was quite happy with my skin condition using the previous skincare, i was very much tempted lah with the promotion at the KOSE booth at Jusco tu. bila dh seated kt dpn promoter tu apa lagi...haruslah terpengaruh. jadi saya pun belilah a set of the brand's special promotion. it consists of Cool Cleansing Gel + Exfoliating Massage Gel + White Mask = RM 180 (each item costs about RM85 for normal price).

Cool Cleansing Gel

--to be used before we wash our face at the end of the day, its function is to melt away our make-up AND sunblock.

review: i dont see anything special about this one, like other cleansing gel, it's oily and makes us uncomfortable. and i think they are many other products that work the same as this one, but WITH CHEAPER PRICE. (it's not that i apply thick make up anyway)
star: 1.5/5


Exfoliating Massage Gel

--basically its purpose is to remove old skin cells.

review:  look at the rich colour beside - the black gel feels slightly hot on face. gradually, it becomes cold as it turns into grey; which, i think, shows that the active ingredients have been completely er...activated?utilized? anyways, i LOVE it. after rinsed off,  my skin feels feathery soft and the pores are less visible too, making the skin more even. but, the effect don't really last long; if only i can use it every night...
star: 3/5


Mask White
-- to remove dead skin/ blackheads/ whiteheads

review: This leave on black gel mask requires about 20mins -/+ to dry before it can be peeled off from our face. if the mask is still sticky, then it won't be able to peel the irritating heads off our face. the feeling of looking at the stuck heads on the peeled off mask is PRICELESS. i still find a few headstrong heads that refuse to come off every now and then, but not that much.

p/s: i only apply the gel on my nose and chin because apparently, i just realized that my skin is quite sensitive. before, i applied it onto the whole face (leaving only eyes and lips areas) and i had to face:-
(1) painful process of peeling off the mask, especially on the cheeks under the eyes and
(2) the after effect of reddish skin - like u've been lightly sunburned and
(3) itchiness! i had to rinse my face with lukewarm water to soothe my skin alolo cian die tau
because of these, i only apply the mask on my nose and chin


p/s/s: this entry has been in the draft for 2 months, because i'm yet to upload the picture of me with the white mask. huh myself
p/s/s/s: now i'm using Kose's complete basic skincare for beginner, and yes, i have the review in my draft but  God knows when will i post it...

skincare: Cellnique, Caudalie, ZA

still remember your pubescent days? when your body started to develop, your hormones started to change, your emotions began to swirl suma tuh.

i remember that then, everything was about appearance. in our innocence, we started to notice the other gender, try to be cool/mix with popular kids, pay crucial attention to how we look (like, pinned the lipatan kain baju kurung on the upper part so that the lipatan stays kemas - seriously I saw my school mates did this).in other words, we wanted to be accepted, be noticed. but sometimes, the attention was of wrong reason - red (and yellow) oily acne skin.

well not for me. I was blessed with almost non-existent skin problems throughout my secondary school and because of that, i did not care about skincare routine; i didnt even cleanse my face. until...the dark period of my university days.

call it late bloomer ke ape, zits and heads started to sprout especially on my chin/jawline throughout my university years, and then working days. it's like there were permanent roots that continuously produced the fruits (acne fruits; big, spotlight acne---euww). it was so bad, so productive that my chin even till now has uneven surface.

before you label me as a lazy bum, lemme tell ya, i have tried some products as suggested by the promoters and friends (being easily influenced I am). the ones that i remember = mustika ratu (no effect), Simple trial set (OK at first, no effect then), ROC set of the basic 3 (u cheater! dahla quite costly, thus very disappointing), HPA's complete Centella White set (hampeh, left skin oily, mahal, sep bek org blanja).

because of the constant disappointment, i became fed up hence the non stop break outs. the more pressure, the more pimples. most frustratingly, the acne turned up during special occasions i.e weddings, graduation, interviews - perluke kan.

then around Nov last year, went to SASA and again, was suggested with some products. with limited budget (tambah tambah tu jadi RM400+, memang xmampu), i only purchased several items, then headed to Watson's & Jusco to get other affordable items. added up, the range was:



Cleanser
ZA Cleansing Foam
100ml / RM 10 after discount

i just tried my luck using this cleanser, i mean, would you believe in an RM10 item? it turned out that this one was okay ma, it kept my face blemish-free. sadly couldnt find it in store anymore


Toner/Softener
Caudalie Beauty Elixir
30ml / RM 70

LOVE it! mainly because it has natural fragrance and minty sensation, leaving skin all afresh. the other reason is that i couldnt be bothered using cotton pad, so this one is perfect for me - just spray any time of the day

Moisturizer
Cellnique's b.liv Quench Me
45ml/ RM 89

i liked this one too. you know some moisturizer leaves your skin feeling oily. this product absorbs into skin & dries almost immediately. it has fresh (tea tree/green tea) fragrance that i love, but it think it's not natural. downside: not economical - 1 bottle lasts only 2months+/-

Blackhead/Whitehead sebum
Cellnique's b.liv Off With Those Heads
30ml/ RM 149 (free shopping bag & 6 hydration masks)

it works wonders. what heads? not that i know of ;p [confession: i used to worry about the notion of nuzzling my spouse-to-be (whoever he is), like would he be disgusted with my coarse nose etc but not anymore kekeke]. because only a little amount is needed every time, it feels like it'll take forever to finish the bottle - v.good! BUT, have to apply everyday - one day miss = confirmed new b/heads - hmm not v.good then

sunblock
Banana Boat Ultra Faces 30SPF++
90ml/ RM 32.90

Dries almost immediately on skin, seriously. you can apply make up without having to wait long. but who needs cosmetics when your skin is your best make up, right? (flawless skin satu, ikat tepi ek)

hydration mask
cellnique's b.liv Immerse Me
got them free - 6 masks worth RM 6 each

the best part is the overflow serum that i can reuse it to replace moisturizer for about 4 times. but still the effect after using the mask was not that apparent.


overall result:

HAPPY! no idea which items actually worked, but my skin was acne free for almost 2 months. TWO months with not even pre-menstrual acne, ok.

the downside is, they (except OWTH, sunblock) finished too soon, and that's with me using a little as i can for each. hmm...not good for my economy then. and truthfully my face is still yet to achieve the desired effect - no visible pores, freckles free, even, fully hydrate etc. ohhh jelesnye tengok kulit orang shantek.