Sunday, September 22, 2013

Ebay Haul #1 and Missha Haul #1 (skincare)

My Ebay Haul and my Missha Haul came on the same day so I unboxed it together. I also received some freebies and gifts from Missha because of the promotion going on during Labor Day.
- Missha The First Treatment Essence
- 3 Gold Facial Sheet Masks
- 2 Missha Time Revolution Masks (Gift)
- Missha Cotton Container
- Missha 5 layers cotton pad
- Asahi R&d Suhada Shizuku Pack Gel All-In-One
  

 Free Gifts. Missha is so generous!












The two Missha The First Treatment Essence. I bought 2 bottles of 215ml. One bottle is unboxed and the other one is still in the box. Again, I bought 2 bottles because Missha was having a sale and I thought I would love these stuff and replace it with SK-II Facial Treatment Essence.
If you want to read more about my story on Missha The First Treatment Essence, then go here. All my thoughts and verdicts are posted there.
I bought this because of Melodee again. She really like the regular version which is the white jar of the product and raved about it in one of her skincare video so I bought it. Melodee is such a bad influence on me but she has such beautiful skin and kind personality I always end up buying everything she raved about. Again, the one I bought is the golden jar one which is for anti-aging and whitening since I am old already. Melodee used the regular version one which is the white jar one. This golden version is supposed to be more richer. I just tried it on my hand and it is not greasy at all, which I love. Gotta thanks Melodee for this amazing product. I ordered mine from ebay for $39.00 USD which is quite expensive because I believe it is only 1900 yen ($19,00 - $20.00 USD) in Japan. I will go a review about this product once I use it to compare it to my Sana SoyBean RICH Moisturizer because the Sana moisturizer has similar packaging and served similar purpose as this product but the Sana moisturizer is way too, too greasy even for the winter time.



 - O.S.T. Original Pure Vitamin C Serum (Liah raved about this in one of the WishTrend Video and from research, this serum is actually top selling in Singapore)
- Mizon Intensive Firming Solution Eye Jelly (I cannot use eye cream, only eye jelly and eye serum because eye cream are too rich for my  under eyes area and cause little white pus to form under my eyes)
- Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule (Snail slime are suppose to be good for skin. It's the craze in Asian skincare now)



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Sasa Haul #1 (Skincare)

 My first Sasa Haul of the year 2013. The first haul I was being very considerate for my budget, so I only ordered enough to get the free international shipping. I believed the total cost is about $75.00 USD.
Warning!!! Heavy Pictures below!
Disclaimer: All pictures taken by me in natural lighting and is in no way alter in any form in Adobe Photoshop. 
 I ran out of my Make-up remover so I thought I'll try an oil make-up remover since it has been all the rave the YouTube beauty gurus have been talking about. I did not want to get the Shu Uemura one which is too expensive for an oil make-up remover. This Kose Deep Cleansing Make-Up Remover is only $9.80 on Sasa website.
I was also 2/3 done with my regular Hadalabo Regular White Hyaluronic acid toner so I pickup the blue bottle which is the Hadalabo Arbutin Hyaluronic acid toner for my blemished face. This toner targets dark spot, and it is one of the popular toner in Japan.
 Melodee Morita is a bad influence on me because I always end up buying all the things she recommended. This Kose Loveruss Hair Styling Gel retailed for $9.30 at Sasa and since Melodee raved about it in one of her video, I've just got to get my hand on it. I tried it out already and will do a review when I have the time to style my hair. One thing, I love the peachy scent because it is not too overwhelming.
This two facial mask sheet packs are from the line Simply which is a Taiwanese company. They are both 3D masks (10 sheets per pack) and normally retailed for almost $12.00 per pack but Sasa was having a promotion for this mask brand for 2 packs (20 sheets in all) for only $19.20. The purple pack is a best selling Brightening Masks and the white one has sakura embossed on the box which sakura is for whitening purpose. I have dull, blemished skin so I need brightening/whitening mask. 
Every time someone online orders a sasa haul that person will always buy the Essential Hair Mask and since Eki raved about it so much in her blog, I decided to get one for myself. L'EGERE Double White O2 Water Gel Cream (80g) was on sale for only $11.20 (regular is $17.50). Since I don't have a morning moisturizer I got me this one.
 L'EGERE Double White O2 Water Gel Cream out of the box because I want to use it right away.
This Essential Hair Mask is so thick I was amazed at the consistency of the product. I try it at night and it was amazing. Way better the the L'Oreal Hair Mask that I was using. One thing, it doesn't smell that nice. There was a subtle aroma but not very strong. I like strong scent for hair product but I will still buy this product again despite not having a strong scent because I like it.
L'EGERE Double White O2 Water Gel Cream is a jelly type of moisturizer with a nice calming lavender scent to it. With 80g in this jar, it will probably last me a good 4-6 months because I only use a tiny tiny bit to cover the whole face.
This is a better view of the cream. It is jelly-like but not watery so it doesn't slip off my hand.
Blend pretty well and a little product can be spread to cover the whole hand.
Dry into a matte finished and doesn't feel greasy at all which is great for my oily skin. I would recommend this cream to oily skin type people who are looking for a morning moisturizer that doesn't grease up the skin. I would totally repurchase this again.
RATING? 5/5
(No complaint)





I ordered another 2 Sasa Hauls because I wanted more facial sheet masks and Sasa was having a promotion for free shipping with any $19.50 order. I ordered 2 more packs of 10 sheets brightening/whitening masks from the line Sasatinnie (a Sasa skincare line), and also another Essential hair treatment (told you I love this stuff). The total cost was about $20.60 USD. Sasa shipping takes very long to arrive if it is not Expedited Shipping so I probably won't get this order until the next 2-3 weeks. I also make another Sasa order for the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence 330ml for $180.00 which I should get sometimes this week because it is free expedited shipping. Sasa offers free expedited shipping if the order is $175.00 or above, and the shipping usually takes 7-10 days to get to me. I had to bite my lips and buy the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence because the Missha The First Treatment Essence doesn't work for me (Read the story here).

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Friday, September 20, 2013

Missha The First Treatment Essence VS SK-II Facial Treatment Essence


Awhile ago I saw the WishTrend video by Liah and in the video Liah was talking about a SK-II Facial Treatment Essence Dupe which is the Missha The First Treatment Essence and I got baited by the video; I ended up buying two 215ml bottles of the Missha TFTE (shorthand for "The First Treatment Essence") because the Missha website was having a 30% off sales which I've just gotta take advantage of. PLUS, Missha was offering free gifts of their expensive masks. You see, I really (actually) wanted to try the SK-II FTE (shorthand for "Facial Treatment Essence") because a couple years back my older sister bought the 215ml SK-II FTE and I tried it on once which I fell in love with the feeling it felt on my skin.

HOWEVER, the SK-II FTE is just so so so expensive that buying a bottle will burn a BIG hole in my credit card and being a college student myself, I just couldn't afford to waste too much money. Therefore, I opt out for the Missha TFTE instead which two bottles of 215ml only cost me $88 USD (compare to the SK-II FTE which cost $195.00 USD for a bottle of 215ml). I did my research online and it seems that a lot of people love the Missha TFTE one better the SK-II one and gave positive comments about the Missha one. Anyway, when I received my Missha TFTE weeks later, I just couldn't wait and tried it on right away. Here is my verdict on the Missha TFTE:

- It is super sticky for my oily skin (a lot of people online who preferred this one over the SK-II FTE tends to have drier skin which I don't).

- It smells nothing like the SK-II FTE (people online who did review for the Missha TFTE mentioned that it smell of yeast like the SK-II FTE BUT it doesn't. The Missha TFTE only smell like rice water. Yes, rice water like when you soak uncooked rice in water for a long time and smell the water; it smell like that. The Missha TFTE probably has very little fermentation process going on, I think. Personally, I believe the effectiveness of the products are not the same too.)

- It doesn't help with redness (again, a lot of people who did review for the Missha TFTE claimed that it helps relieve redness almost immediately so I was having high hope that the Missha TFTE could be better than the SK-II FTE)

- Break me out (I am kind of sure that this product is the culprit for causing acne to appear on the side of my cheeks because it is the only new product added to my skincare routine. Another reason is because my acne are usually limited on my chin area only so having cheek acne usually mean something is wrong with my skincare.)

Conclusion: I did not enjoy the Missha TFTE because it is too sticky for my super oily skin. If you have yet to read my story about my oily skin, please read it here because I have very oily skin. Anyway, I was sad because I end up buying two bottles so I ask my sister to buy one off of me and she did which is lucky for me because I know I couldn't use two bottles. After pondering for a long time I decided to buy the SK-II FTE. Yes, it totally burned a BIG hole in my credit card with one SK-II FTE 330ml bottle at the on sale price of $180.00 USD. Anyway, it was actually a good deal so now I am waiting for my SK-II bottle because it's still finding its way to me (airmail delivered from HK). I tried the SK-II FTE before and love it so I know I am not going to regret this purchase. Catalina (Youtube Beauty Guru) also mentioned that she stopped SK-II for a while because of the price but had to go back to SK-II FTE because she couldn't find another replacement.

This side had the worst breakout. So Freaky! I really didn't know what to do with my face except cover it with make-up and stop using the Missha The First Treatment Essence for awhile.
This side is okay. Not too many breakout.

DISCLAIMER: These pictures are in no way altered for the purpose of bashing another company/product(s). I purchased the product with my own money and reviewed with my own honest opinion. I just happen to have a bad reaction to this product. I still buy Missha product because I love their stuff. One more Missha Haul coming soon.
Last Thought....I will do a thorough review once I get my SK-II bottle and use it. I will try to finish my Missha bottle if it doesn't break me out any further. I DID LOTS OF HAUL AND WILL POST THEM SOON. More review to come since I bought quite a few things. My limit for haul this time was suppose to be $500.00  USD from my saving for haul but I ended up using almost $800.00 (mainly because of the SK-II FTE) and had to use my other saving to cover the haul. *Sigh, no more shopping this year. To be honest, I usually do not buy this much but I totally ran out of all of my skincare and thought I'll stock up on some that I had been eyeing; however, I end up buying clothes, skincare, and make-up so now I am totally broke. SO SAD ^_^ but it's fine because it's my haul of the year and I probably won't run out of skincare for another 2 years. I can save up another saving by then. *crossed finger*

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Sunday, September 15, 2013

Review: PERFECT IMAGE Lactic 50% Gel Peel




Another review today for the Perfect Image Lactic 50% Gel Peel. This product was heavily recommended by Daiserz89 for those who suffered from acne scarring so I took the bait and ordered one for myself from Amazon (follow the link if you want to purchase one for yourself). The product itself is small but a little goes a long way and you definitely do not need to apply a lot on your face or you will suffer from second to third degree burns. The intensity of the peel depends on your skin type. I do not have sensitive skin so it didn't burn me as much as it did for my older sister. I have to say that this peel does work and it hurts to peel your face. I used to peel my face every week when I first got this but then I realized that burning my face too much will thin my skin which I do not like so I gave the rest of the bottle away to my younger sister. However, this peel didn't work on my sister since she has tough skin. Anyway, long story short, it is a worthwhile product and it is not as expensive as other gel peel out there but use it sparingly and care for your skin too. Burning too much layer off your facial skin is not always good. I wouldn't recommend this peeling gel for people younger than 45 year old because younger people skin should be gently peel with something like the CURE Natural Aqua Peel Gel. This gel peel is much more gentle on the skin and it works well too.

This is how much I have left when I gave it away to my sister. Not a bad product and does work what it promises to do. I gave it away for preference reasons. For example, I do not enjoy the pain of the burning sensation from this peel.








RATING: 4/5
Recommend? Yes. For those who want to burn off a layer of their skin but not for younger people under 45 year old unless your dermatologist recommend it to you or unless you suffer from serve acne scarring.


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Monday, September 9, 2013

Review: MURAD Oil Control Mattifier SPF15


Hello. I have a review today to share with everyone. Here's the story I came about buying this super duper expensive product ($39.99 USD) at Sephora:

I have an orientation for college in early June and we were suppose to take our ID picture that day so I got my make-up and hair done all ready to take my ID picture; however, we didn't get to take our ID picture until 4 hours later and by then my face had been all mess up from the summer heat in California. I have pretty oily skin and eyelids so my water-proof but not oil-proof mascara smear all over my under eyes making me look like a panda. Unfortunately for myself, I didn't bring an mirror and the line to take ID picture was long so I decided not go to the restroom and check my makeup. When I took my ID picture and got my printed ID few minutes later, I regretted not going to the restroom for touch up. My face looked like a deep fried karage (fried chicken) and I had panda eyes. Needless to say, I came back home searching for a product that could hold my grease up for at least 6-8 hours and a couple Google search and YouTube videos brought me to this product. There was so much hyped for it from YouTube gurus that I decided to order mine from Sephora at the price of $39.99 for 50ml tube.


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Sunday, September 1, 2013

EBAY: Lipsticks/Lipgloss Haul!


I came across a merchant on Ebay who sold these lipsticks and lipgloss for very cheap. They were all around $2-3USD so here is a mini review on it. The brand is kind of a fake Korean brand (I think). Anyway, the brand is Mr. Rui and Baby Gaga (not that I'd know, anyway). Here you go:








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