The Face Shop Aqua Drop Pack

One of the worst things about having dry skin is how much more aggravated it becomes once I start applying makeup. My skin likes to play tricks on me by appearing to be hydrated and supple, then once I start smearing on BB cream or foundation – dreaded flakes and dry patches appear! A lot of the time it means I have to start both my makeup and skin care regime all over again and you can imagine how frustrating that gets.

So when I know my skin needs a hydration boost, I like to drink a lot of water just before going to bed and first thing in the morning when I wake up. It actually helps! That, and I reach for a hydrating or moisturizing overnight mask to wear while I sleep. This usually guarantees me skin that’s at least less dry than usual when I awake. The latest one I purchased is The Face Shop’s Aqua Drop Pack (Php600.00+)

Product info:

An oil-free type of sleeping mask that gives instant moisture to skin which features:

• Aqua Drop Massage
• Moisture shine + improves blood circulation
• Moisture Ingredients (Hyaluronic Acid / Mannitol)
• Provides moisture and anti-oxidant effects
• Lavender
• Calms nerves and induces sleep

With as much as 3,300mg of hyaluronic acid, this moisture-enriched sleeping mask intensely hydrates and restores vitality to skin while you slumber, leading to a more radiant and brighter complexion when you wake up. Rapidly penetrating formula easily sinks through skin’s layers, hydrating on contact without a sticky or heavy feel for a comfortable sleep. Best for normal to dry skin types. 5 Free Formula: No parabens, no mineral oil, no alcohol, no organic dye and no raw animal materials.

TURU QUEEN’S Skin Clear Face Pack

When it comes to face masks, everyone has their preferred types. Some like face masks that help to whiten or brighten skin while others like the kinds which help prevent acne. It’s a little mind boggling how many different variants there are out there! I, personally, like two types of masks: the ones that hydrate and the ones that promise some level of deep cleaning. Since I have dry, acne-prone skin, then I’m sure you can figure out why I like those most.

Many people prefer sheet masks, but I like the ones you can squeeze or scoop out and spread onto your face. I feel masks like this are somehow more ‘effective’ because they properly adhere to your skin where they can do their job compared to sheet masks where you often have to struggle to get every inch of it to properly stick to the different contours of your face, especially if it’s too big for you. Between hydrating and deep cleansing masks, I tend to purchase the latter the most. I have many products already anyway that help me deal with giving my skin much needed hydration. One of the newer cleansing masks I have now is the TURU QUEEN’S Skin Clear Face Pack (¥1,260.00)

Product description: TURU Queen’s Skin Clear Face Pack is a easy once-a-week care. It helps remove the cause of blackheads, vellus hair and dullness all at once!

Peel and clear away dead skin, vellus hair and blackheads from the face to reveal vibrant, brighter looking skin. Enjoy the sweet strawberry scent while you wait a few minutes until it dries. You will find it so much easier to apply your makeup after removing unwanted hair and dirt on the face. Only exfoliate once a week to achieve beautiful and baby soft skin.

Origins Out Of Trouble

“Problem skin” is definitely what describes my skin best. If I’m not being plagued by acne, then I worry and fret over my unsightly sebaceous filaments, uneven skin tone, and dark spots (most of them being post-acne marks). There was a period in my life when my skin was at its prime, meaning it was mostly clear and all I had to do was deal with the occasional zit, but alas, that time has come and gone. So now I make do, continuously testing out various acne treatments and trying to keep my face as clean and moisturized as possible all the time and allowing my skin to breathe every now and then throughout the week by not wearing makeup.

But of course, I still end up with multiple breakouts quite a bit and there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to cover up angry looking zits, especially if they’re in numbers! That’s why I decided to get Origins’ Out Of Trouble ($250HKD) mask after reading a lot of reviews on it really helping to calm down those red, angry blemishes and how it makes skin just feel so much better after.

Product description: When skin is too-slick, or when more pressing problems start to pop up, it’s Origins to the rescue to keep skin out of trouble. Nature’s trouble-shooters, including super-absorbent Zinc Oxide and Sulfur, calming Camphor plus skin-sloughing, rapidly respond to problem skin’s plight with a three-part plan – sop up oily-shine, slough off sticky, dead cells, and sweep away irksome debris. Together they steer skin clear of slippery situations, refine rough texture and pull the plug on troublemakers to oust potential outbursts. Origins Out of Trouble® is best for oily and combination skin.

Review: Snoe White (Snoe)

I'm always on the lookout for great beauty products that promise to get rid of or lighten blackheads. Why? Aside from dreaming to have nearly flawless skin, when I put on my makeup, my main concern is to conceal my pores - especially the ones clogged with unsightly blackheads! If I had less visible pores, or even just 'cleaner' pores, then this wouldn't be such a worry for me anymore, of course. This is why I'm so glad I discovered Snoe's Snoe White (whitening detox clay mask with vitamin c-rich calamansi)!

The packaging is simple but quite cute and comes in a small, resealable tin with 40grams of the product. The label on the front even gives you some info on the power of calamansi and why it's in the product.

Calamansi helps eliminate deep-seated dirt that has accumulated within the skin pores. The fruit can be used for whitening and bleaching the skin. It is rich in Vitamin C and Alpha Hydroxyl Acids (AHA). A natural astringent that can eliminate blackheads and can dry up pimples.

Sounds great already, doesn't it? And even though I'm already fair-skinned, I wasn't worried about its additional claim to whiten or bleach the skin because even though I've tried face products in the past that claimed the same thing, I haven't noticed a change in my skin tone (save for bb creams that tend to create a white mask on my face if I apply too much of it, but that's a different story!).

Review: Masquerade 4D Black Dress Mask (TONY MOLY)

Another review, another TONY MOLY product!

What can I say? I've been splurging on them quite recently, but I do have other products from other brands in mind (Etude House, Maybelline, and Lioele specifically) that I already either recently bought or will purchase soon enough that I'll definitely put to the test also.

This time around however, it's TONY MOLY's Masquerade 4D Black Dress Mask. The review will be short and sweet since how much detail exactly can one go for a one-time use face mask?

Isn't the packaging just the cutest? I love anything that's masquerade-themed, and a part of me still wishes it was shaped like an actual, traditional masquerade mask but that would be silly. Haha.

There are, of course, instructions in English and Korean; but the illustrations are already easy enough to understand. Cleanse your face first like you normally do, then unfold the mask, place it onto your face and arrange it so it covers as much as possible and sits on your face properly, then rub in the excess or leftover serum afterwards when you remove it. The mask should be left on for 15-20 minutes.