Monday, 22 December 2014

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence Review

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Hello there, it's Mari here with another review! My gorgeous friend requested me to do this review sooo here it is! I've been using this product for about 6 months so I think I've had enough time to voice my opinions.

Sooo what it is? SK-II Facial Treatment Essence is kind of like a skin booster after you apply your toner and before you apply your other skin care. Is it really necessary to use this very expensive yet highly raved product? Read on to find out!

Packaging
It comes in a glass-like bottle. I bought it as a set so the box is bigger. This is the 75ml bottle, I believe the 215ml bottle comes with a pump.





Be very careful when you travel with it as it could shatter into a million pieces! I've taken this on a trip before but I preferred to keep it in the box just to be safe (>__<)

When you pour it on your hand, the opening has some sort of a stopper so only drops of it will come out, so don't worry, you won't accidentally pour half of the bottle on to your hand :D





Texture/Consistency
If it wasn't for the smell I'd think it was water!



Scent
I've read reviews on the scent and a lot of people were bothered by it. It smells sour but it really doesn't bother me that much. It goes away after it sets into your skin


Application
You can apply it with a cotton pad and PAT it (yes pat, not wipe) on your face. Another method is to pour some on your hands and pat it onto your face. I prefer the latter because it wastes less product ahahahaha *cheapskate*


Price
I've used it for about 6 months and I still have some left. But for the effects that I got for the price, I'd say that I'm spending a bit too much for it as there are a lot more products valued for less but give extra results.


Thoughts
When I pat it onto my skin, it absorbs quickly and leaves a matte finish. My skin felt plump, lightly moisturized and soft. There are days when I forget to put this on and I've noticed a huge difference, my skin would feel rougher and oilier than usual. It controls oil very well and brightens your face but sadly it doesn't brighten my acne scars :( It will however, give your skin a healthy glow and reduce redness. I remember waking up one morning expecting it to be sooo oily, but when I looked in the mirror it wasn't! My face was matte, smooth, soft and had this glow where it looked very healthy!

And as for my acne, I guess it helped a little by reducing redness but not the size of it. It's good for preventing acne but not healing it :( I've read that you can use this to reduce the size of your pimples by pouring some on a cotton pad and pressing it onto the pimple and just leave it there for a couple of hours. But it didn't work for me (-___-) I had high hopes for it to clear my acne but alas, it's still here.

Buuut on the other hand, it improves my skin texture! I could see that the deep pitted acne scars on my face is healing and the sunken parts are more even.

Give this product a month before you expect any results. I couldn't tell any differences in the first two weeks but after that, you'll notice subtle effects. I didn't breakout or purge using this product so that's a plus! I've heard some people were purging, but it stopped after a week and they were basically gone. So for people who have sensitive skin out there, I suggest you buy a sample first and test it on only one small area of your face, rather than putting it all over.

Sooo to sum it up the pros are:
- no purging
- no breakouts
- absorbs quickly
- controls oil very well
- reduces redness
- makes skin soft, smooth and plump
- brightens and evens out skin tone
- gives a "glow"
- evens out skin texture

And the cons are:
- expensive
- does not heal acne for me

Overall, I like this product and would repurchase. It gives my skin extra nutrients and helps it become more healthy. I'd say It's not really necessary in your skincare routine if you want to heal your acne, but it does help a little.

Hope my review helps! Any other products you want me to review?



Friday, 19 December 2014

Face It Collagen EX Two Way Cake Review

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This was my first Korean compact powder that I bought! After sticking to drugstore products throughout my highschool and early college years, I decided to venture out to try Korean brands and for me, The Face Shop has been my go-to Korean brand since it's so easy to find here in Jakarta.


So back to the powder, it's basically a compact powder that has anti-aging properties as it contains gold and collagen that will cover your fine lines, wrinkles and pores. It's designed to suit all skin types, so for an oily-combination girl like me that's good news! I bought the shade NB21 and NB25 (I'll tell you later why I ended up buying two shades lol).



Aaaasss you can see, I've hit the pan :'D Don't mind the battered case please ahahaha..




It comes with a sponge and it has a separate compartment for it. Basically your state-of-the-art Korean compact design.


It states on their website:

***Luxurious anti-aging ingredient (gold & collagen)A combination of luxurious anti-aging ingredient gold and collagen that gives skin resilience delivers concentrated nutrition creating firmness from within the skin 
***Creates 3 stage 3D volume with moisturizing/resilience/anti-aging ingredients Moisture: Hyaluronic acid 
***Resilience: Swallow nest extract, gold silkworm extractAnti-aging: Caviar extract, pomegranate extract
****Volume fit powder creates youthful skin!Uses 3D contour powder that delivers smooth application and excellent adherence and radiance. Ultra fine cushion powder evenly spreads on the skin bumps covering fine lines and pores completing silky smooth skin 
***High adherence giving long lasting radiance 
***Like covered in a veil it covers fine lines creating smooth, youthful skin 
***Color control powder: Flaky powder with excellent radiance evening scatters and diffuses the light, emphasizing radiance and giving a natural healthy skin tone
*UV Protection (SPF30, PA+++)


So does it live up to its claims? Read ahead to find out about what I think about this product!


Texture
It's sooooo smoooooth and finely milled! It's way smoother than my Maybelline compact powder!

Shade and Swatches
So initially I bought the shade NB25 because it's a closer match to my skin tone. Throughout the day, I noticed the powder oxidized and made my face darker than my hand! I went back to the store to get a lighter shade but they were out of stock :( I turned to my trusty Korean cosmetics online seller, Chrystelle Belle, and she had NB21 in stock! I was shocked because she was selling it waaaaay cheaper than the stores in Indonesia! That's the thing with Korean brands here, the stores sell it twice the price of what you could get online!

NB 21 is much lighter but it doesn't give off that ghostly white mask look, but instead, it brightens up your face and makes it look more radiant! It doesn't oxidize on my face for some reason.




Finish
I'd say matte but it won't dry out your skin because it gives a moisturizing effect. After a few hours, it will give off a dewy look. Not a good thing for me since it just makes my face look oily.


Coverage
It will cover minor redness, pores, fine lines and wrinkles but don't expect it to cover your blemishes or hyperpigmentations! It will hide absolutely none of them!


Oil Control
I usually use this to set my bb cream, so oil control is pretty decent. On my oily-combination skin, I blot after 4 hours of using this powder. On its own, oil control is teeerrrible, I have to blot after an hour! I'm not sure if it's supposed to do that since it's supposed to give off a radiant and dewy look.

Staying Power
As I said, I usually use this to set my BB cream, but when sweat and oil surfaces, I have to re-apply this powder. I'd say you have to touch up at least once throughout the day. On it's own....... it totally won't stay on your face, it will fade after 2 hours. The good side is that it doesn't settle into your fine lines or wrinkles and won't cake up. I'd recommend this powder for normal to dry skin types since it doesn't stay very well on my oily-combination skin.


Price
It contains 8g of product and this powder lasts for a very long time if you only use it as a setting powder. I hit the pan at about a year so I'd say it's worth the price.

Claims
- anti-aging properties: I don't have wrinkles yet so I can't really say anything about this. I gave the NB25 to my mom and she says that her face didn't really change after using the powder and didn't really give her the anti-aging benefits.

-Creates 3 stage 3D volume with moisturizing/resilience/anti-aging ingredients: when I use this to set my bb cream, it doesn't feel completely matte, so yes it's moisturizing on the skin. I'm not sure about the 3D effect because it makes my face look flat.

- Ultra fine cushion powder evenly spreads on the skin bumps covering fine lines and pores completing silky smooth skin: yes, yes and yes. My face feels soooo smooth after I put this on!

- High adherence giving long lasting radiance: if it's talking about the dewy effect then yes it does give a radiant glow to your skin.

- scatters and diffuses the light, emphasizing radiance and giving a natural healthy skin tone: yup, it makes my skin look healthy and not pale!

- UV Protection (SPF30, PA+++): beware of flash photography, this powder will make your face white as a ghost!


To sum it up, I'd say this powder is decent, it does the job but won't cover your hyperpigmentations. It's great for a setting powder, but on it's own it didn't stay well on my oily-combination skin. This is a great powder for those wanting a dewy effect!