juin 07, 2013

Secret Key...


Snail creams~~ We've been hearing about them for quite a long time already!
      The first I bought was not from a Korean brand, but somehow I liked the idea of using snail slime... Is it weird? (¬¬)
 
      Then, once I had finished that cream I realized that even though I had bought it in a pharmacy, it was actually full of bad ingredients, such as parabens, glycols and so on!!
      I was so shocked!!!
      I decided to search for a snail cream with a great ingredients list, so I turned to Korean brand kkk
 
      That was NOT an easy task, believe me!!
      I mean, did you see how many different Korean snail creams there are? O_o
      However, looking at the ingrédients helped when making a choice.
     After comparing snail creams from Tony Moly, Etude House, Holika Holika, Mizon, Elisha Coy and so on I found one with an amazing ingredients list!!
      I'll stop blabbering and tell you which one haha
 
The SECRET KEY INTENSIVE REPAIRING CREAM~~
 
 

5 free system: no paraben, no mineral oils, no benzophenone, no phenoxyethanol and no pigments!!

 
      I really like that cream~~
      My skin feels soft, smooth and well hydrated after using Secret Key Intensive Repairing Cream, and it helps me not to have dry patches on my skin!
      The cream smells lovely :o
      The smell fades after a few minutes though, which is a good point for people who are not keen on frangranced creams.

      If you use it in the morning you will need to wait a little to apply your foundation or bbcream though, it take a few minutes for your skin to absorb it for the cream is quite thick.
      I advise to only use a little amount in the morning, as the cream is quite rich.
      But that means that a little goes a long way hehe :B
      I apply a slightly thicker layer at night for more nourishment and it works great.
      My skin looks great in the morning, very plump and bright!! ^u^
It also helped with healing and smoothing out some acne scars heehee~~

      As I said, this cream has one of the best ingredients lists I've seen for a Snail cream so far!
      Even better than many famous brands like Missha, TonyMoly, It's Skin, Etude House, etc.
      It has a 5-free system: no parabens, no mineral oils, no benzophenone, no phenoxyethanol, no pigments.

      The jar is made of glass, and there's an inner seal, which is the best for skincare products.

      HOWEVER, it may be a bit too rich for people with a very oily skin!
Personally I didn't buy another one to see whether it really did me good or not, and also because it's good to change for the skin.
      And I admit I would have liked if a mini spoon or something like that came with the cream to scoop it up as it's not always hygienic to put your fingers in it D:

      But considering how great this cream is, these few little downsides are really not important :D
 
      I hope the review helped, don't hesitate to ask if you want any infos!
 
 
Talk to you later!!
 

Innisfree Eco Natural Green Tea BB Cream SPF25/PA++ #2 Natural Beige (50ml)


I have found my favourite BB cream~~
As far as I'm concerned this is THE BEST of all the BB creams I've tried
(**)


It has a very light texture, it is really easy and pleasant to apply.
The smell is okay, not the best ever but not unpleasant, it is very light and fades quickly anyway (it is a light, floral and green tea scent).
But it also means less chances to find artificial fragrance! So it's a good thing ^^

It makes my complexion beautiful and luminous, and leaves my skin looking healthy.
I was worried it wouldn’t have a good enough coverage but you can build it up and it covers any imperfections perfectly!

As every bb creams, after a few minutes it adapts to the colour of your skin.
After almost one week of use, no break-out = YAYz!!

I bought it in #2 natural beige.
A bb cream WITHOUT grey undertones *victory dance*.

The major advantage is that there are almost none of the not-so-good ingredients you usually find in bb creams.
It’s a “8-free system” bb cream: no parabens, no animal ingredients, no talc, no mineral oils, no silicone, no 1,4-dioxane, no acrylamide, no artificial colours or perfumes.
I checked the ingredients, there are indeed no parabens, no silicons, etc... and also no propylene/butylene glycol, no paraffin or petroleum… which is VERY rare in bbcreams…
I've been searching for such a bb cream for months, and even brands such as Vichy, Avene and La Roche-Posay don't have as good ingredients lists :o

The price is more than reasonable for 40 ml and that quality!!

HUUUUUUGE thanks to Innisfree and South Korea for that  (づ ̄ ³)  <뽀뽀!

I definitely recommend this bb cream to anyone with sensitive or even trouble prone skin, and who is trying to limit the amount of products that could damage their skin :)

I love this product so much that I bought another one just in case they stop making it!
 















It's the product of the year as far as I'm concerned :B
I saw that Innisfree very recently launched a new line of BBcreams though, they are very similar to that one, but with more specific uses, if that makes any sense -_-"
I think there's a long stay one, a sebum control one and a light one...
I'll look into that hehe
Talk to you later! Rawwwwwwwr :B


 

mai 10, 2013

Mmmm... peach scent *o*


What comes after cleansing?
Scrub?! Yeah okay, but not that!
A mask?! Alriiiiiiiihgt, let's say I go wild and I don't do all that, what is there after that? Huh? ()

      Toner!
      *cough cough* All that just to tell you about the first toner from a Korean brand I have used...
      This great toner received praises from many people, so I won't write a long review or anything that could make you feel like physically harming me, I promise.


 
      To be honest I've not tried that many toners before because I didn't really care about using creams and so on until I was 19, which is bad really, but I used to buy a French brand, which was alright, but I wanted something to tighten my skin, make it firmer (if that makes any sense?!) and I wanted it to be from Korea haha
      This toner is meant to minimize shine and the appearance of pores.
      What I like the most about it is its smell though, which is not really the most important thing in a skincare product, but the smell is just amazing!
       It has this sweet and fresh peach scent which is just great to begin your morning!

       Okay, back to more pragmatic facts:

It did not break me out, which is a "yaaaaaaaaayz" factor as far as I'm concerned.
It does reduce the appearance of pores and tighten the skin, and thanks to the rice sake it contains it helps with keeping zits under control.
It leaves the skin feeling fresh, clean and plump.

       Moreover the frosted glass bottle is beautiful, which is a plus :)

       But (I know this is very immature but every time I use the word "but" I can't help seeing the minions of Despicable me laughing because someone said butt... I'm actually laughing right now... anyway...), there are some downsides, which could actually be of little importance for some but I felt like I had to share.

It can be quite drying, so don't forget to use a moisturizer after! And it might not be the best toner for people with dry skin.
When I bought it I was not all paranoid regarding ingredients as I am now, but there are actually some ingredients in that toner which I don't like.
       It contains methylparaben and silicon, as well as butylene and propylene glycol.

       Again, in one year the Korean cosmetic and skincare industry made great efforts to make its product safer and to include less potentially harmful ingredients. I bought that toner before they began doing that, that is why it contains these ingredients, but Skinfood is a great brand, which sells good quality products and now has skin friendly (is that English?!) products!

       I hope that was useful :D If you need any information don't hesitate to ask!

                                                       Talk to you later!

      When using a bb cream, it is very important to clean your skin well, so as to get rid of any make up or dirt that could clog your pores and end up creating zits!

 
Noooooooooooooes~~

 

      This is why a few weeks after buying the Holika Holika Petit bb creams I bought a cleansing oil :B

      There were soooooooo many to choose from (and there are even more now), so I tried to find one with the best ingredients list.

 

     
 
 
      At the time one of the best was (and still is to be fair) the Etude House Real Art cleansing oil, in Fresh [there is also a moisture one, and a deep moisture one].

 



      It was the first cleansing oil I was using (I was using cleansing foams before), and I honestly thought that it would somehow grease my skin/make it oily, but it didn't ~~
      It leaves my skin fresh and clean (after rinsing obviously ^^), removes ALL my make up (I wear mascara and BBcream), doesn't irritate my eyes, and I didn't notice any oily film/residu.
      It has a fresh and very pleasant smell, but not too strong.
     You don't need much (2~3 pumps for each cleanse), so one bottle lasts a while [it's a 200 ml bottle] :B
     The bottle comes with a twist off cap and a pump. Very convenient when travelling.
     There's also a kind of ring/stopper to prevent liquid from coming out when you don't use it.
 
     As far as I'm concerned, one of the best thing about it is that there's a 5 free system:

Free from parabens, ethanol, mineral oil and artificial colours.

 

   

    
 I've been using it for almost one year and a half now and I've just finished it!

     However if you are searching for it, now it has been updated and the bottle is purple :B

     I didn't buy another one because I wanted to try cleansing milks now hehe

     I'll tell you about the cleansing milk I'm using in another post!

 

Talk to you later!

 

 

mai 08, 2013


      Ahoy!!!
 

      Here is the first review I will share with you!

(I'm excited heeheeeee, I'm not sure why though, it's not like millions of people were already doing that -_-" Aaaaaaaaaaaaaanyhoo...)

      Almost two years ago I began using bbcreams, no need to explain what it is I guess, as I'm pretty sure everybody knows bbcream now ;)

      My first bbcream was a present from a friend of a friend of mine, sent directly from South Korea (weeeeeeeeeee :3), and endorsed by one of my favourite group: CNBlue!!

      It was the Holika Holika Moisture Petit BB cream, with Hyaluronic Acid SPF 30 PA++
 
 
      After that I also bought (from the amazing seller A-Poly, on Amazon):
 
*Holika Holika Pore clearing BB cream, with Tea tree oil and sebum control powder SPF 30 PA++

*Holika Holika Essential Petit BB cream SPF 30 PA++
 
 

 


       So here is what I though about these BB creams, and also the reasons why I don't use them anymore!
       To start with, I have to tell that the Holika Holika Petit BB creams are great, honestly.

       Most of them, well at least the 3 I've used, are a bit clear when you have an olive skin tone or darker, but after a few minutes they adapt to the colour of your skin.

[But this is the case with all bb creams anyway!]



      They are really easy and pleasant to apply, and they all smell lovely too hehe~~
(the smell disappears after a few minutes though, which I reckon is a good thing for people who aren't too keen on fragranced cosmetics)

      They make a very smooth and luminous complexion.
      They are very lightweight, the coverage is buildable and it won't look cakey even with more than 2 layers.




      The Moisture one, as its name indicates, moisturises :B
      It does a good job adding some moisture to your skin (I say "adding" because one should ALWAYS use a moisturizer, whatever the weather is, whatever skin type!) and you can feel your skin fresh and hydrated throughout all the day.
      However, for those with an oily or combination skin I don't think this bb cream would be indicated for you, as it could leave it shiny and end up oily!

 
      As far as I'm concerned the Pore Clearing one is the best of the 3 Holika Holika Petit BB creams I've tried, for its Tea Tree oil extracts and sebum control powder.
I don't really have an oily skin, so I can't tell whether the oil control is efficient, but I didn't notice that my face was oily at the end of the day...


      But I liked the fact that I was using a bb cream that was contributing in clearing my skin or at least not making it worse.
      The downside is that it doesn't last all day, so you would need to touch up your make up in the early afternoon, which is also the case with the two other Petit BB creams.

      The Essential one is my second favourite, it is whitening though, so if you don't need your skin to look lighter I advice the other Holika Holika Petit BB creams (there are 4 others I think).

      This bb cream contains marine collagen and caviar, which helps reducing fine lines and wrinkles, improves the skin's firmness and protects it.

       I didn't notice any difference with my skin tone, but I live in a country where you don't see sun that often, so I got lighter anyway :B

       It is a very reach bb cream, so again, maybe not indicated for those with an oily or combination skin!

 

       The price is very reasonnable for 30 ml, around 7$.
       I bought all of them from A-Poly (amazon) and the transaction was great.

       Each time I've bought something to that shop the parcel arrived earlier than when it was supposed to, all items were well wrapped and they even put lots of samples!
 
 
 
       Now, why I stopped using them: the ingredients...
       I am trying not to use cosmetics or skincare containing parabens, butylene/propylene glycol, talcs, silicons and so on, and unfortunately, these bb creams do contain all these ingredients which are potentially harmful to you skin and health.
       I reckon it is because they were produced before all the "free from" new rules and regulations.

       It is not the concern of everyone though, so if you don't mind using products containing such ingredients, then don't hesitate, these bbcreams are great!
[If ever you are interested here is an article explaining all about these potential harmful ingredients that can be found in skincare and cosmetics]
Don't hesitate to ask for more informations if needed!





       Sorry for the 6 feet long post -_-"
Talk to you later!