From the Dior Summer limited edition collection – Bird of Paradise there are a series of duo nail polishes to choose from. The nail polish sizes are tinier than your standard Dior Nail Lacquer in a good way because these are so cute and you’ll probably never finish your big ol’ bottles anyway. Review of the rest of the prodz to come.
This duo is known as – 001 SAMBA.
Left: #794 Right: #402
#794 is a peacock green colour with a hint of metallic shimmer to it. The duo chrome effect brings out the teal in the blue-green.
#402 is a glossy aqua green with a creamy smooth finish.
Both nail polishes are a dream to apply and dries fairly quickly. As you can see in my pinky nail there was some bubbling action happening this was a result of my rough handling with the nail polish bottles. Having said that, both nail polishes lasted a full week with no chipping and the colours works really well together. In addition, both colours works amazingly well both on my fingernails and toe nails too. Definitely a keeper if you don’t have similar colours in your nail polish collection as these colours are very wearable all year round.
RRP AUD$48
Available on counters now
Last Friday, I was lucky enough to be provided a VIP skin consultation and facial with SK-II. We started off with a consultation utilising SK-II’s Magic Ring – exclusive to SK-II, a camera that quickly takes a snap of my skin and translate results onto the laptop. Then my personal details are entered into the computer to find out how old my “skin” is.
Personally, I find that most girls in Australia have older skin than their actual age due to the obsessions of “getting some tan”, “need some sun light”, sun baking and lack of sun care protection. Typically, all the sun damages would starts to creep out closer to 30s and this is the price we pay for the damage we do to ourselves the last decade or so. For me my skin scored 71%, averages out from texture, firmness, wrinkles resilience, spot control and radiance enhancement.
Overall, I definitely need to work on spot control and texture refinement as both of them are my lowest scores. The good thing is that all my scores were above average for my age.
Results! I am quite happy that my skin scored 23 years old when I am turning 29 this September! 6 years younger!!! All the masks, facials, treatments and diligent skincare routine all those years has certainly paid off.
This picture of me post facial is not retouched and has no foundation/makeup. Combining Fumi’s magic fingers and SK-II’s skincare products, my skin has never glowed and look so radiant before! Best of it all, my cheeks also has some colour from the massage and circulation boost from the facial.
GIVEAWAY!!!
Thanks to SK-II, you now too can enjoy a little piece of SK-II heaven. As you all know how much of a SK-II fan girl I am, I will have five lucky winners to win a prize each. Each prize valued at RRP AUD$80 contains:
1 x 30ml bottle of SK-II Facial Treatment Essence
1 x SK-II Facial Treatment Mask
1 x Complimentary Facial Treatment Mask when you visit any SK-II counter to get a free skin consultation with the Magic Ring.
How to win it:
“Follow” my instagram account. @ponikuta
Leave a comment in this post below with your instagram username and tell me which SK-II product you’re most interested in trialling.
Good luck!
Important notes:
- Competition ends 5:00 pm AEDST on 29th May, 2013
- Competition is open to all readers in Australia only
- Winner(s) will be selected by skill and contacted via email, be sure to check your emails to respond with your postal address
- Should the winner(s) does not respond within 48 hours, the prize will be forfeited and another winner(s) will be chosen
- Each user can only send through their entry once, failing to do so – entries won’t be qualified for the competition.
Since we are on the roll with brightening skin care, what’s a better segway to introduce you to the latest brightening facial you can do at the comfort of your own home. La Mer recently introduced their Brightening Collection to Aussie shores, say hello to Blanc de la Mer.
Infused with all the original La Mer goodness, this collection is based off an extensive research with Asian women and their skin. Some of the very interest facts that came out of this research includes how our skin is build differently and apparently Asian skin cells are perfectly aligned and are exceptionally closed together, creating a completely unique surface (NEVER KNEW THAT, that explains why we age slower!).
Building on La Mer’s heritage of healing, the scientists who developed the Blanc de la Mer Brightening Collection to address the look of discoloration, spots and uneven skin tone – all typical concerns of Asian skin tone. The Brightening Collection is a scientifically advanced regimen engineered with potent ingredients that work gently to give skin back a youthful translucence. Music to my ears!
Utilising the mask concept that a time poor person like myself adore, La Mer The Brightening Facial masks comes in a unique delivery system. You get a primer (to apply all over face prior to mask treatment) and then you use the two piece facial cloth mask (one for the top half of the face and another for the lower face).
This ties in with my belief in applying serum + eye cream prior to facial cloth masks to lock in all the goodness of the products. The Infusion Primer step also helps to prepare skin to absorb the goodness from the Brightening Facial. As usual, start with a preferably cleansed dry skin, apply The Infusion Primer all over face and pat to absorb. Then proceed to apply both the mask and smooth all over face. Wait for 10 minutes and remove, simple as that!
Texture wise, the primer is very watery which is great and easy to apply and absorb. The facial cloth mask packaging are luxurious and definitely over the top as it comes with a plastic container to hold the mask and retain all the creamy lotion-like moisture within the mask and not seeping through the packaging. This makes it easy to remove the mask from the packaging and easy to apply. Definitely brownie points for making the facial cloth mask experience seamless.
As for the fit, this mask fits perfectly to my face in fact it is the BEST fitting mask I have ever tried. The two step mask overlaps hence it fits into the face so well. Texture wise, the mask is quite rich and thick, it has a luxurious cashmere feel to the skin.
Did you know each sheet is infused with the equivalent of over one full bottle of the Brightening Essence? Insane right?
Results: Instantly, my skin looked brighter and well hydrated like it was never hydrated before. Overall, my skin texture looks more even and discoloration less obvious. As always I also track “the morning after” effect of facial cloth mask and my skin remained well balanced and hydrated in the morning.
My make up also stayed put all day with no signs of smudging from over active oil glands. Most importantly, my skin GLOWED all day with radiance. Definitely a must have to use before a big day/event. Also recommend this as a treatment for brides to use leading up to the big day.
The Blanc de la Mer Brightening Facial
RRP AUD$285
Available on La Mer counters nationwide
Kerstin Florian is a popular US skincare brand that is used in all the luxurious spa in USA and internationally that are worth knowing. In Australia, you can find this brand in Aurora Spa & Eforea Spa, Hilton in Melbourne and a few other spas in Surfers Paradise, Brisbane and Queenstown. To be honest I have only been introduced to this brand late last year and have had the chance to trial more of their products namely the Kerstin Florian Brightening Facial Treatment & Kerstin Florian Serum C+ Infusion recently.
Kerstin Florian Serum C+ Infusion RRP AUD$169
This I use as a serum step, it delivers pure vitamin C to skin, this helps to boost firmness, improve tone and brightens the skin. In a long run, it helps to reduce appearance of fine lines. More importantly, with regular use of Vitamin C, it helps to reduce and suppress the formation of melanin (score!)
Star ingredients: Vitamin C+ Complex, Pentylene Glycol (moisturising), Methylsilanol Hydroxyproline Aspartate (firming of skin), Algae Extracts (soothing), Bitter Orange Oil (anti inflammatory)
Results: With a gel like texture, this serum absorbs into skin effortlessly without leaving skin feeling dry or tight (most brightening products often forget about the moisturising bit but this delivers) and I certainly can’t fault a pump bottle product. It has a strong orangey scent and all you need is two pumps for both face and neck application.
Having said that I haven’t seen drastic changes to my skin or any adverse reaction. To me this is more of an investment product for the future to prevent pigmentation and any sun damages that I am prone to. I did however find that this works particularly well post acne and even for sensitive skin it didn’t flare up or was too strong for my skin.
Kerstin Florian Brightening Facial Treatment RRP AUD$169
This technically is a serum too but I use this on top of my Serum C+ Infusion by layering both serum. THIS delivers instant results to skin – my skin literally glows like never before. Combining a powerful blend of skin illuminating botanicals and Acti-5 Brightening Complex, this serum works overtime to restore skin’s clarity and visibly fade dark spots.
Long term effect from this serum also helps to inhibit melanin production and to rid of dull and uneven skin (addresses my key concerns!), prevent fine lines/wrinkles and reduces brown spots.
Star ingredients: Red Algae (controls pigments), Brassica Napus Extract (active ingredient for lightening), Dermostatyl (lightening peptide), Chinese mushroom (reduce inflammation and hyperpigmentation), Black Tea Ferment (skin strengthener) + Vitamin C (boost collagen).
Results: I am impressed and this is a MUST HAVE product for me, call it holy grail if you must. For the longest time I never got the whole “radiance” craze didn’t think my skin was capable of showing me and boy this pretty much showed me what and how radiance skin could look like. Each time using this serum, my skin glows and brightens all over. It has a brightening effect on skin without weighing it down or being too rich.
I also love the scent (refreshingly citrusy) and the water based like texture absorbs into skin rapidly. Since I have started using this combo I could not be happier with my skin results!
Read about my Kerstin Florian facial treatment at Aurora Spa and my review of their Brightening Eye Creme.
For stockist call 02 9477 6900
\
For years I have bit my tongue when someone ask if I approve of XXX product or if I would recommend XXX product. To many, it is a must have, cult status, swore by product but to me it just simply didn’t work or fail to deliver to suit my needs. This has been bogging me a lot and I thought surely there are people out there who are on the same boat with me and disagree with some products too right?
So here I am sharing the first of many posts of products that didn’t work for me, less about products hating but more about sharing why it didn’t work and that it is okay to not follow the crowd. After all, my philosophy is to find the right product + combination routine for your skin as there are no one product that suits everyone.
Culprit #1 Clarins Beauty Flash Balm
I am sure everyone is familiar with this cult status product. It probably won every possible award to be won out there internationally. It is known mostly for its ability to deliver radiance and hydration. Some claims this perfect as a make up primer.
My experience: This didn’t deliver anything for me. It just felt like a layer of moisture that didn’t quite absorb into my skin and didn’t go well with make up either. It has a strange technique to pat rather than massage/rub into skin; I tried various technique but can honestly say it didn’t do anything to skin dullness or providing radiance without looking like a grease ball because it wasn’t absorbing into my skin.
Have you tried Clarins Beauty Flash Balm?
What was your experience?
Couple of years ago (I’d say a good 3-4 years), I woke up one day with a brown spot a few centre meters above my right eyebrow. It was annoying and at that time deep down inside I knew it was a sun spot one that has been building under my skin for years (mostly from my lack of sun protection back in the days) and decided to creep up one day.
To be honest I didn’t think much of it and it became darker and darker to the point where I found it ANNOYING because no amount of foundation or concealer was able to cover it. Needless to say I experimented with countless beauty products that claims to fade spots, reduce pigmentation, whitening, brightening, you name it I’ve tried it.
I was so bothered by it mostly due to the inability to cover it up with make up and having to constantly smudge it off in my pictures ala photoshop style and I even developed a technique to take pictures right below my spot hence effectively cropping out my forehead, yeap you can check my instagram for prove, just look at my DP!
Long story short, I knew it was time to succumb to the wonders of technology. After an initial consultation with Marie from Erase Clinic in Malvern, I decided to give IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) treatment a go on my spots and dots.
With IPL, many are familiar with the capability to remove hair but IPL in a different wave length target various chromophores in the skin works wonder as photorejuvenation. This treatment is mainly recommended for those who want to treat different forms of pigmentations. This ranges from sun damage (freckles, age spots, sun spots), melasma (hormonal) and hyperpigmentation.
I have done a course of IPL some 7 or 8 years ago and loved how effective it was to take out acne scarring and discolouration, so I am no stranger to the treatment. No topical anaesthetic was required, just a quick cleanse and jump straight to the treatment. It is often recommended as a full face treatment but I opted for a spot treatment as I only had 2-3 spots to cover. In less than 10 minutes I was done!
To be honest, it didn’t hurt, it was more of a shock with a zapping hitting the skin much like your zap in IPL hair removal, doesn’t really hurt on skin minus the hair/root burning sensation.
These pictures were not retouched apart from cropping and were taken with no make up on.
Top pic being my brown spot in its full glory, pre treatment.
Middle pic was taken right after the treatment, the spot turned bright red immediately.
Bottom pic was taken the day after when the redness subsided but the spot is in a dark brown shade waiting to be peeled off on its own.
In terms of post care just like any laser/light treatment; be extra diligent with sun protection and to avoid sun exposure prior and after treatment. I could go back to my normal skincare routine immediately without suffering from any down time and could apply make up too. All I had to avoid was scrubbing the spots I had IPL to avoid over scrubbing.
Spot the difference of the cursed brown spot!
Left: Before – This picture was taken with full face make up + concealer on the spot + good lighting and the spot is still visible! No filter was applied to this picture.
Right: After – This picture was taken without any foundation or concealer! No filter was applied to this picture.
All in all, it took one week for the dark brown spot to peel off on its on and OH MY GOD, it’s GONE just like that! The annoying spot that has bothered me for years took less than 5 seconds to zap and one week to peel off.
I cannot recommend IPL enough for those who have pigmentation issue and is bothering them. My brown spot is 97% gone and if you were to really nit pick there’s a very faint speck of spot where the brown spot used to be and is not visible to the eye unless you look at it an inch away from the mirror.
RRP AUD$295 full face single treatment
Special package: AUD$649 for 3 x full face treatments
$50 per spot and IPL is also available for body area
Call Erase for consultation 03 9576 2177
Congratulations to Lynn, AmberB, Sharon W, heartofpearl and nightlace.
I will send an email to all the winners and please be in touch with your best postal address.
Failing to do so, I will repick winners after 48 hours.
V x
As a consumer, I went through phrases with all my beauty obsession. For a long period of time, I swore off perfume, found it too overpowering, too strong, unacceptable to the nose and next thing you know I am all over it like a rash. As you can guess it, I am currently all over it like a rash. Add to the already obsessed list of fruity, floral, rose, tuberose, apple blossom and now this.
Say hello to Jo Malone’s limited edition Osmanthus Blossom Cologne. What a mouthful but certainly delightful to the nose. This bottle captures the essence of exotic white flower, apricot and leather. There’s also hints of petitgrain, peach, orange flower and cashmere wood.
Top: Petitgrain
Heart: Osmanthus Blossom
Base: Cashmere Wood
With my Chinese background, I am no stranger to Osmanthus as it is commonly used in tea and Chinese herbal medicine known as 桂花茶 (Gui Hua Cha) that helps to rid body of excess nitric oxide and improve complexion in a long run. To find this ingredient in the heart of this perfume captures my attention and my curiosity.
Scent wise, this reminds me of See by Chloe, not sure if both perfume shares a similar blossom ingredient. See by Chloe is a younger, fruitier version and Jo Malone’s is a grown up adult version with a luxurious woody leave behind scent. Overall, I LOVE this for its rich fruity aroma, first two words that came to mind was crisp and citrusy. Few minutes later I am left with this woody scent I cannot stop myself to sniff. The scent is addictive and definitely long lasting.
Fun fact: I also told le garçon to give this a good sniff and the only word I managed to squeeze out of him was “grapes”!
30ml RRP AUD$90
100ml RRP AUD$170
For stockist 1800 661 062
