Ahava update #2, samples review

In my previous blog post, I mentioned that I was impressed with the Ahava daily moisturising cream. I am going to share more experiene on other Ahava products.

A moisturising day cream

I have to thank you Ahava for letting me review this product. This is the Ahava Time to Hydrate Essential Moisturizing Lotion SPF 15.

SOS skincare for sick days

I have been very sick these few days. My pores are enlarged and in a very unstable condition. I am sure you all have the same feeling as I do, I just want to have some sleep and would like to minimise the skincare I use. However, I cannot stand my skin anymore! I have to do something about it.

I have decided to spare 15 minutes of my sleep to DIY a mask to resuce my skin.

These are the products that I have chosen.

Review: Pearl & Grapfrught Brightening Paper Mask

If you remembered my haul at Choi Fung Hong, you would know that I have bought a mask set from them. I have tried the pearl & grapefruit brightening sheet mask and quite enjoyed using it.

As you can see, the mask fits quite well on my skin, except the chin area.

The mask is very moisturised and I just love the effect it gives. After application of the mask, my skin is hydrated and brightened. No clogged pores effect seen. It instantly brightens up the skin. However, the lasting power is not as high as the other moisturising mask. The lasting power is only 1.5 days - 2. But with the price I got, I just think that it is worth trying.

Review: Sigma Brush clean - Brush Spa

 This gloves have been raved a lot in the Blogging world. It was marketed as a tool where it will bring you to a new experience to wash your brushes. It will ease and make you fell in love with washing brushes.

I was not very sure how it could provide a good experience. So I got it from the Sigma Website and asked one of the ladies from USA to send me. The glove consists of 3 parts.

1. Wash

 2. Rinse

3. Refine

I love the packaging. It is so compact and teaches you how to wash your brush thoroughly.

Normally I use my brush cleanser to clean my brushes. I thought that I have cleansed the brushes thoroughly and disinfected it well. However, I was completely wrong. You may see the video below to see what has happened.


Description:

The Sigma Beauty Sigma Spa™ Brush Cleaning Glove was specially designed as a quick, easy and effective method to deep clean your makeup brush collection. The revolutionary device offers a variety of necessary textures and surfaces for removing all makeup from brushes while using only a small amount of cleaning solution. The dual-sided glove provides a complete cleaning process for both eye and face brushes. Patent pending.

 

Brush Cleaning How-To:

1. WASH - Add a small amount of cleaning solution and water to glove and swirl brush on ‘Wash’ texture to begin deep cleaning the brush(es).

2. RINSE - Place brush under running water and sweep brush back and forth on the ‘Rinse’ texture of the glove to remove makeup residue & soap.

3. REFINE - Swirl brush on the ‘Refine’ texture of the glove for an added deep cleaning

4. RINSE - Place brush under running water & sweep brush back and forth on the ‘Rinse’ texture for a final rinse.

5. SHAPE - Reshape brush bristles by placing brush head on the ‘Shape’ section of the glove while squeezing with your hand to remove excess water.

I was amazed that so many products are being washed off from the gloves. Now I change my brush washing routine to spot cleaning every single week and then using the gloves to wash the brushes every weekend. I would also use a brush guard to hold the hairs in place :)

I had a good experience with Sigma Gloves and it really brought me to another heaven.

You can find their brush gloves here.

Do you have similar experience? Any tips to clean brushes?

Review: Bourjois Cream Blush

If you read my posts before, you would know that I wanted to try the Cream Blush by Bourjois

http://www.dorothyslittlewonderland.com/2013/05/wish-list-bourjois-cream-blush-from-uk.html

I got the shade in 2. It cost $120 in Hong Kong.

It is very pigmented. This colour is very suitable for summer. After I have applied this blush, I feel like I have been out in the sun for a while and got a bit tanned. 

However, I find it quite sticky after application. I have to pad a thin layer of powder after applying this blush on the cheeks. I have also used it for contouring and I love it.

Although it can be found in Hong Kong, I think it has been overpriced (compare to the price in UK). Overall, I am satisfied with this product and it will be one of my go-to blush during summer time for sure.

Have you tried the new cream blush from Burjois? How do you feel about this product?

Review: Milk Moisture Mask

I got this mask from Sasa and I think it is a Korean brand. I find this one is quite interesting and would like to try it. 

The packaging is full of Korean and I don't understand. At the back of the mask package, there are pictures illustrating how to apply the mask.

The mask is a thick fibre mask. I don't really like it because I think there aren't enough essence on the paper mask. It dried 5 minutes after I have applied onto my skin. However, I think the mask is quite fit to my face shape.

I paid about $10 for the mask. Fitting my face shape mask cannot gain my love to it as I want my skin to be pampered and hydrated after applying this mask. I was expecting that my skin would look brighter and moisturised after applying it. However, nothing happened to my skin at all before and after. I think I will give this mask a miss and investigate on new masks with other brands.

Review: RMK cleansing oil

I got this from the Sogo sale last year (quite a while ago) but I didn't have chance to try this product. I think it is the right time for me to try this as I want to give my skin a break from cleansing balm!

I really like the tube packaging, with this mini cap on the pump, it prevents the oil leaking when travelling, as well as accidentally pressed the pump.

I have been using this oil for 3 weeks. I think it does a decent job with removing the makeup. It won't make your skin very oily. However, I don't like the scent. The oil has some minty scent (I hate mint). Other than that, I think it is an OK product. I do not have acne after using this product so I think it does it job well.

I use this day and night and I think I will give it a miss due to the scent. IF you are looking for a product that is a cheaper version of the shu uemura cleansing oil and you wouldn't mind mint scent, I think you should check this product out.

Acquisition from Canada

I have paired up a lady from Canada a couple of weeks ago for some beauty product swaps. We have negociated for 70CAD worth of products. Let's see what she has got for me.

She is a very kind girl that popped some sweets in the box as well as the makeup products. All the sweets have already be consumed. =]

This is the overall things she got me. I was delighted to receive this box!

Physicans formula nude naturel eye glitter/shadow

Quo blush 

Tarte bb cream and mascara

Maybelline eye studio eyeshadow 

H2O+ body scrub

Estee Lauder eyeliner pencil

Maybelline expert eyes makeup remover

Some Sephora shower gel

Overall I think it is a good selection of products that I can test on :) Thanks Mandy for all the goodies.. Will do some reviews when I started using them.

May empties: What I have used up this month

I am not very good at doing the clearing this month. I have been trying so hard to finish my Shiseido Skincare but it is a fail again. I have been using it for nearly half a year and I am only half way through... This month I have managed to use some other smaller samples.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Volume + Lift mascara

This is a smaple size. I don't like the formula, it masks marscara really hard to taken off and the texture is like glue after applying it. I would not repurchase a full size

Shiseido Benefience toner (and lotion, but I have lost the bottle)

This is the sample size of what I am using at the moment. I managed to finish this in 2 weeks time.. Phew~ 

I love it and will continue to use it. It is not too sticky for summer and provide good hydration to the skin

Cotton puff that I purchased in Japan

I thought this one can be used as lotion mask. But it cannot. It does an Okay job as cotton pads. I have not got high expectations of cotton pads so I think it is worth the money with the amount you get. I think it's something like $30 HKD for 248 pads.

This is my little summary of what I have used up. Please like your used up posts or videos below. I enjoy reading/watching them!

Another haul?!?!: Sofina Skincare from Yata Sale

Last weekend was the bi-annual Yata Sale and I went there due to heavy raining outside. I wasn't planned to go because I don't feel like the promotion was attractive at all.

The skincare sets were similar to the ones in SOGO. I was going to buy from SOFINA during SOGO sale, however, I have acquired the Burberry foundation set which was a big treat for myself. I decided to give Sofina a miss (another reason is because Sofina is a drugstore brand in Japan but marked up to become high-end in HK). 

But then if I don't buy the sets now, I will have to wait until November for the next sale in order to get it. 

If you know me well, I am a great lover of hakmebeauty, her reviews are quite neutral and we share similar skin type.

She mentioned about the foaming cleanser in one of the blog posts before (here), and I would like to try more Sofina products as I think their products suit my skin quite well for summer use. I had an review on their sample size products.

Sofina beaute sample kit review

Enough rambling. Let's see what I have purchased.

1. Sofina cleansing and sun protection set $474

Sofina beaute cushion wash 120g

SOFINA beaute Massage Foam Cleanser 170g

Sofina beaute whitening day protector SPF 50 PA+++

2. Sofina beaute anti-aging sun production cleansing and serum set $760

Sofina beaute cushion wash 120g

Sofina beaute toner 140g

Sofina beaute Whitening Day Protector SPF50+ PA+++ 32ml

Sofina beaute cleansing milk 30ml

Sofina Alblanc moisture whitening serum 30ml

3. Sofina beaute antiaging whitening and sun proection set $200 (with credit card)

Perfect UV Sunscreen SPF 50 60ml
Sample size of Sofina beaute whitening travel size samples and a cleanser

Then I purchased a night gel-cream on its own, it has 10% off, after discount is $270

A total of $1700, and I get a bonus gift:

Alblanc Medicaed White create concentrate mask

and 

Sofina beaute whitening travel set

The below is the overview of all the products purchased

I think I have enough stuff to entertain for this summer.
My aim is to:
1. Prevent freckles
2. Do not get darker skin tone
3. loose some weight
4. do more exercises


My other recent hauls:
Random Things that I acquired recently
Mini haul at Choi Fung Hong

Review: Aesop Coriander Seed Body Cleanser

This is my first Aesop Product in my collection. Aesop is an Australian natural beauty products. Their skincare and body care are very famous.

I couldn't wait to try this. I have been using it for about a month and I have used about half of it. I think it is a good time to review this product.

"A Refresjing hand and body cleanser wit a piquant scent to enliven the spirit as it cleanses the skin. THis gel contains essential oils of crushed Coriander Seeds and Black Peppercorns to warm and invigorate."

Ingredients:

Water, sodium laureth sulfate, coco-beetaine, cocamide DEA, Coriandrum sativum (Coriander) seed oil, piper nigum (black pepper) fruit oil, sea salt, citric acid, pogostemon cablin oil, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, linalool, d-limonene.

The shower gel has a very strong pepper scent. At first I didn't really like it because I don't like the smell of pepper. However I start to loving it now, because I can fell the skin is getting better, and also my acne on my back is lesser. The gel like texture does not give a lot of foam, and it is very soft after applying the skin. After rinsing your body, the pepper scent is almost gone, leaving the body very cleansed and pampered.

There are two sizes, the one I got is a smaller version.

Price: 250ml ($175); 500ml ($350)

Will I repurchase again?

I think I will repurchase again if I cannot find an alternative. However I think it is a bit pricey for shower gel.