Skincare Haul & Reviews

These are some of the skincare products that Dale bought for me in the past month - so sweet of him ;)

This is a quick re-cap of what I think of some of these products. 

For the products that I did not do a write up for, I just haven't used them long enough (2+ weeks straight). 

I Love...Strawberries & Milkshake bubble bath & shower gel

-the scent is nice. It's more on the mild side - but I can definitely smell the strawberries and the creaminess to it (the milkshake part I guess?)

-lots of suds! Great for a bubble bath or even a shower gel if you love lots of lather

-it is a tad bit drying on my skin. I need a more moisturizing shower gel than this one. But this is great for a bubble bath once in a while. So I do recommend it as a bubble bath

-they sell this at Shoppers Drug Mart for fellow Canadians

 Nivea Good-Bye Cellulite  

-Dale picked these up for me as a surprise and I have gone through 5+ tubes of this in the past

-one thing I really like is the perfume scent. Other than that it's just okay. I have already reviewed this product here

-I currently love my Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden Sculpting Anti-Cellulite Treatment more than this Nivea product (Dale initially bought me the Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden gel during our London England trip at Boots. Since then, he ordered a shipment of the creams for me through the company website as I don't believe it's sold at stores in Canada) 

I initially discovered this Fruits & Passion Cucina Coriander & Olive Tree line of products at my older sister's place.  I absolutely love the hand wash from this line! Dale knows how much I love it so it was so nice of him to surprise me with the set & another back up hand wash :) The scent is much more of coriander than it is of olive oil. Thank goodness because the one time I used olive oil on my hair as a deep oil treatment, I could not stand the smell of it and had to rinse it out almost right away

The Coriander & Olive Tree Deodorizing Fragrant Kitchen Spray and Coriander & Olive Tree Regenerating Hand Cream are both great. The scent is just amazing and consistent throughout the line of products. And yes, the hand cream as well as the hand wash are moisturizing (they don't trigger my last lingering bit of eczema). Plus, the hand wash removes any unpleasant lingering scent on your hands that you often get from preparing certain foods :)  Bonus!

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme 

-I love Burt's Bees products because all their products I have tried have been compatible with my sensitive skin. Plus, they use natural ingredients and few chemicals

-I love their coconut foot creme! It is not synthetic smelling at all and the scent is just so yummy. I love the thick consistency of it. It's very moisturizing. I slather it on & put socks on before bedtime

The Body Shop Vanilla Body Lotion 

-I must have mentioned this at least two other times in my blog, but I LOVE The Body Shop Vanilla lotion. This is purely for the scent. I have tried numerous vanilla lotions which have all smelt synthetic to me compared to this one - I don't even experiment with other vanilla scented lotions anymore. If there's any scented lotion that gets me in the mood, it's this one. Not that I need a lotion for that :P 

-the moisturizing properties of the lotion is of course, like 99% of other scented lotions - it just doesn't come close to my HG Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion. So what I do is I mix half of The Body Shop Vanilla Body Lotion in the palm of my hand, and mix half of my HG Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion (review here). Voila - a beautiful warm scent and long lasting quality moisturizer in one!

The Body Shop Vanilla Bath & Shower Gel 

-I like it, but it's not a must in my skincare routine like the vanilla body lotion is

-unfortunately it does not suds up as much as the I Love...Strawberries & Milkshake Bubble Bath & Shower Gel

-it's not a moisturizing shower gel. The scent is not as "warm" as the vanilla body lotion if that makes sense. So I really could do without this product

The Body Shop Almond Body Butter

-again, I love this just for the scent. It's a bit oily even after it's been rubbed into my skin. So as I mentioned above, since nothing comes close to my HG Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion I use half of the Aveeno mixed with half of this scented body butter. This is how I apply any scented lotion by the way. And by doing this, it also makes my skin a lot less oily since I'm using less of the body butter

The Body Shop Guarana Lip Butter

-I had not heard of the guarana berry until Dale got me this lip butter. I don't even think I know how to pronounce the word! :S

-omigosh this stuff tastes so yummy! I think I ate most of it haha 

-it is moisturizing although not HG status for moisturizing. This one will be one of my favourites just for the flavour though 

*****

If there is any product you see here which I did not write a review for & you'd like me to review it, please let me know and I'll work on a review for you :) 

Review: Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

I love Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

This is a trial size which came in a gift set. I've since picked up the full sized version

They don't test on animals and it's mostly made of natural ingredients

The full sized tin doesn't seem big at all 

But I'm the type of person who usually overloads on products and this bit goes a long way

I love the scent - it makes my finger tips smell like lemon tarts. Mmmm

It really moisturizes my cuticles if I use it everyday for several days straight - and despite using hand cream very frequently on a daily basis, I find that this cuticle cream does help 

This is great during winter's harsh weather too, when the skin around your hands can easily dry out and get painful skin cracks or hangnails

Plus, I'm not sure if I'm dreaming but it seems that it makes my nails grow a bit faster too

Do you use cuticle cream? 

Have you tried this product from Burt's Bees?

Review: L'oreal Sublime Slim

My review for L'oreal Sublime Slim Day and Night cream

The method of application that they say is best

I'm not sure if this product was discontinued or not - I have a difficult time finding it in stores now and the product is neither on the L'oreal Canada or L'oreal USA website.

I believe this product worked better for me than the Nivea Good-Bye Cellulite gel (which I reviewed here)

It's absolutely not a miracle product as there really isn't a cream for getting rid of cellulite 100%, but it did reduce the appearance of it. And when I was searching for this cream at Boots in London England, the sales associate had said this cream worked really well for her also!

The texture of the L'oreal Sublime Slim creams are sticky, which I find common with all other anti-cellulite creams I've tried. I'm okay with that, as I just made sure to give myself 10-15 minutes for the product to sink in before putting clothes on

I'm pretty sure the "daytime" and "nighttime" version of the cream is a marketing ploy on L'oreal's part. For one, the instructions indicate you can either use the "daytime" version twice a day OR use the "daytime" and "nighttime" once a day each. I don't think it would have made much of a difference if I had bought the night version and only used that.  

Also, I really can't tell the difference between the day and night cream - the smell and texture is pretty much the same. I would repurchase this cream if I could still find it in stores, but this time around I would probably just repurchase either the daytime OR nighttime version and apply it twice a day instead of buying one of each.

But in all honesty, I see anti-cellulite creams on the same level as eye creams - my eye cream won't help me much if I consistently don't get enough sleep. 

That being said, I still use anti-cellulite creams and eye creams as a (hopeful) preventative measure ;)

How about you - are you using or taking anything as a hopeful preventative measure? 

Aveeno Eczema Care Cream does not contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

To keep a long story short, the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream (which I have previously reviewed here) does not contain the ingredient "sodium lauryl sulfate"

Here is a picture of the medicinal and non-medicinal ingredients for the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream

*******

The reason I started this post is because last week, I was emailed by someone named John who asked me for my opinion and advice after reading my review on this cream

I'll share the few emails with you below if you would like to read them (it's all regarding eczema) but basically his last email to me was stating that he does not feel that Aveeno Eczema Care Cream would work long term for eczema sufferers since it contains an ingredient called sodium lauryl sulfate

I have a bottle of Aveeno Eczema Care cream right in front of me by my desk side so I decided to look at the ingredients and I did not find his statement to be true

I asked him where he heard that the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream contained such an ingredient....because it is not listed as an ingredient on my bottle of cream. I even took the time to take a picture of the ingredients for him and email it to him (it's the exact same picture as the one posted above)....only not to get a response back :(

Anyways, I just wanted to share this with you in case any eczema sufferer out there are also misinformed

Review: MAC Cleanse Off Oil

This is a review for the MAC Cleanse Off Oil 

MAC Cleanse Off Oil

MAC Cleanse Off Oil instructions

There is something that I really like about this product, but also something I really do not like 

I bought this as an alternative to baby oil, which is what I usually use to remove my eye makeup

This is how I use the MAC Cleanse Off Oil: I dispense 2-3 pumps of product into my hand, massage the oil onto my dry face and eye lid area, then I rinse the product off with water

What I like about the MAC Cleanse Off Oil is that 

1. It removes all traces of heavy makeup - just like baby oil does
2. Even though this is an oil based remover, I do not need a cleanser at all to wash the oil off my face. Water alone completely gets the oil off my face. This is what really surprised me since with baby oil, I always need to wash my face with cleanser to get rid of the oil slick. And this is the one thing I really like and find unique to this product

However, what I don't like about the MAC Cleanse Off Oil is that no matter how tightly I close my eyes while removing eye makeup with this, the product gets into my eyes and it creates a kind of hazy effect even after I wash my face with water. I'll open my eyes after rinsing well with water and everything I see is very hazy. It doesn't sting my eyes at all, but I don't like how the product seeps into my eyes and causes that effect. The haziness goes away after a few minutes....but I have not had this problem even with baby oil. It's really strange and for that reason, I will not be repurchasing this makeup remover again

That being said, I can see this product working well for someone that does not wear eye makeup and/or only uses this product to remove face/lip makeup. But it's too tedious for me to use more than one makeup remover as I always wear eye makeup if I have makeup on.

Have you tried any MAC skincare products before? 

What makeup remover do you use? 

At Home Beauty Remedies

Just found an old Chatelaine magazine clipping on how to make a few easy, common, beauty products from using household ingredients

I wish I had some diaper rash cream handy as I have a couple of stubborn zits now - have you tried using diaper rash on a zit before?
Personally I use baby powder as dry shampoo and to also add a bit of texture & volume
And I love the honey + sugar lip scrub - yum!

I'm going to remember that vinegar rinse the next time I need to get product build up out of my hair ;)
White vinegar is also great for cleaning out calcium build up in a kettle by the way

Have you tried any of these homemade beauty recipes? 

Do you have a homemade beauty recipe that is not listed in the article?

Review Comparison: Aveeno Eczema Care Cream vs Cetaphil Restoraderm

I have raved about and previously reviewed the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream (review is here)

Left to right: Cetaphil Restoraderm and Aveeno Eczema Therapy Cream

I mentioned before that I struggled with a bit of eczema on my right hand (on two fingers)

There were times that the flare ups would be bad and before these two creams came on the market, no hand cream I tried would help me. So I had to rely heavily on a prescription steroid cream called elocom

I've had really really good experiences with both the regular Cetaphil and regular Aveeno lotions - they are both brands that I trust. I've been using Cetaphil and Aveeno products for over 12 years - they are both my HG body lotions 

So as soon as both competing creams for eczema came out on the market, I bought both

I must say, the Cetaphil Restoraderm does as excellent of a job as the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream does. Both creams have helped my eczema so tremendously that (1) I no longer have flare ups and (2) I do not have to use elocom. 

The main difference for me perhaps is that the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream seems a tad bit stickier. It's thicker than the Cetaphil Restoraderm. The texture of the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream is just like the texture of their Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion. Similarly, the texture of the Cetaphil Restoraderm is just like their Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion

But the main reason I continue to buy both brands of lotion and not just settling on one is because of the packaging

The Cetaphil Restoraderm has a pump - and the pump can lock 

(a pump that can lock is necessary for travel) 

The pump on the Cetaphil Restoraderm, which can lock

I put the Cetaphil Restoraderm on my desk & bedside table - as it's easy to just press a pump and dispense product instead of having to pick up the bottle and physically flip to open / flip back to close a cap

That being said, for creams that I throw in my purse, I want the flip cap - like the one on the Aveeno Eczema Care cream bottle. I just don't fancy the idea of whipping out a bottle of cream from my purse which has a pump dispenser on top 

Both products have done wonders for me

I will continue to use them both for a long time even after my eczema is long gone

And I don't think I'll be experimenting with any other hand creams anytime soon

I know how it is to struggle with eczema - my struggle was 3-4 years long

I hope this review can help someone that also suffers from Eczema as well 

Question & Answer: Eczema advice + a bit on Dale / Evgueni

Happy New Year!!! :)

1st post of the year is me trying to help someone

 I got a question emailed to me from Melina about my experience with eczema and I decided to share my answer for those interested: 

Answer:

Hi Melina, 

I'm really flattered that you've taken the time to ask me for skincare advice

However as much as I wish I could help you, I can only share with you my experience 

There are different types of eczema, different levels of severity for eczema as well as different skin types between individuals.....so I'm not in the position to make any promises or evaluate your health

There are definitely cases (even for myself) where prescribed medication did not work so it is possible that the pills your doctor prescribed may not help your condition. You'll have to check with your doctor if you should fully complete the 15 day cycle of medication or if you're able to stop it since you don't find that it's working for you

I read that eczema can be quite difficult to get rid of, but there's so many factors to consider when treating a skin issue like that

I'm fortunate that my eczema isn't that bad (at least, not anymore) so I believe with my persistent change of habits I can overcome my eczema (for example, I always wear gloves now when I do the dishes or use household cleaners. And I've been very consistent in using either the Cetaphil Restoraderm or Aveeno Eczema Care Cream to constantly moisturize my hands)

Plus, in my review of the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream (which you can read here) I discussed what I thought were reasons that my eczema had developed in the first place - all of which are preventable measures

Hopefully in my case my eczema will go away for good

I know it's a stubborn skin care issue
For me, trying to narrow down the reasons as to why I developed it in the first place and how I can avoid those reasons, was key in fighting the problem

Yes, elocom did work for my eczema - although there are various prescription medications for different types/severities of eczema which you ought to discuss with your dermatologist

Keep in mind though, that elocom is a steroid cream and there are long term side effects

I had to use elocom sparingly or else it worked against me 

And I no longer use (have to depend on) elocom as I stated in my Aveeno Eczema Care Cream review because the cream has worked so well for me :)

So what I would suggest doing is:

(1) Try to figure out why you developed this skin issue on your lip. If you can pinpoint certain reasons, try your best to avoid those reasons

(2) Talk to you dermatologist about #1 ideas and hopefully your specialist can prescribe you the right medication. And hopefully your specialist diagnosed you correctly as my first dermatologist diagnosed me with some other skin issue :S Yeah, it helped me to get a second opinion!

(3) There really is no harm in buying the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream or the Cetaphil Restoraderm. The most you could lose is the cost of the cream - they have both given me unparalleled results

Good luck with things Melina and I really hope you're able to find a solution!

.........

I got a couple of questions about Dale and Evgueni in my last post (and in previous posts) which I thought it would be easier to address here :)

Q: Why no pictures of Dale?

A: I don't (and probably won't) be posting any pictures of Dale because....he's my imaginary friend!!

Jussstt kidding :P

Well, to keep it short - I don't think he'd be comfortable with it 

Q: I'm curious about Dale, he's so generous to you. Is that normal in Canada that male friends treat you so well?  

A: At the moment, Dale is the only person who is very generous to me 

I don't think his generosity has anything to do with him being Canadian, as I have had a fair share of negative experiences with Canadian men

Q: Does he (Dale) have a girlfriend? 

A: I don't believe so. But I wouldn't stop him from seeing someone else if it made him happy. 

Q: Does Evgueni get jealous?

A: No, I've actually never suspected any jealousy from Evgueni

Evgueni is the most understanding person in my life - I don't think I'll ever meet anyone like him

I wouldn't be able to keep someone in my life who has a tendency to be jealous

And I believe if Evgueni was jealous of Dale, Evgueni would have left me by now

So if you have any questions or want to ask my advice on anything, feel free to contact me here on blogger or my email address :)

Review: Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion + win a free bottle

I was sent a bottle of Skin MD Natural Shielding lotion to try and review

I would like to thank Sarah for giving me the opportunity to sample this product :)

That's very cool (and environmentally friendly) of the company to manufacture their products in a 100% solar power facility 

I have sensitive skin AND I also had eczema on two fingers of my right hand

So I was pretty excited to see if this lotion would work as well as Cetaphil Restoraderm lotion and the Aveeno Eczema Care cream for my eczema - as I saw many before and after pictures of the Skin MD Lotion healing skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis 

Since I have been very regimental in using both the Cetaphil Restoraderm lotion and the Aveeno Eczema Care cream for my hands the past half year, my eczema was pretty much non-existent when I was sent this Skin MD Natural lotion

The only thing I had concerned was 2-3 small cuts in my skin from the cold weather - I wasn't wearing gloves a couple of days :S 

I took this lotion with me on my 5-day trip to London and sad to say, within the first 24 hours of using the Skin MD Natural Shielding lotion on my hands (and NOT using the Cetaphil or Aveeno creams) my two fingers with eczema on them previously, started to get itchy and irritated - which means the eczema can start flaring up :( 

Left: Before Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion I had a couple of cuts on my skin from cold weather
Right: After using Skin MD Natural Lotion for a few days my skin started to get irritated. More cuts from itching my fingers

Can you see the small bumps and irritated skin on my one finger? This is what happens when the skin gets irritated just prior to a possible flare up of eczema and this happened AFTER I used the Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion

After the second day I had to start reverting back to my Aveeno Eczema Care cream

I did give the Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion another shot on my hands but it just made things worse

I am not allergic to the lotion - as I did use it as a body moisturizer and had no allergic reaction

Yet even as a body moisturizer, I truly do not see it being as hydrating as my HG Aveeno Daiy Moisturizing Lotion

I allowed Evgueni to try the lotion and right away he commented that the texture was sticky

I too find it is a bit sticky if you put more than one layer on - like when I was using it to moisturize my hands I would put on many layers over the course of the day

Overall I did not have a good experience with Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion

and I have since reverted back to my regular HG skincare regimen

By the way I wrote a review here on Aveeno Eczema Care Cream which has helped me tremendously

***********

Now, I know my review might sound discouraging but keep in mind that people have different skincare needs and what did not work for me, might work for you

The company has kindly offered to allow me to give away one free bottle of Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion for you to try :) 

If you would like a chance to win a free bottle of Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion (and why the heck not?) or, you have tried it and loved it, please:

(1) leave a comment on this post indicating you'd like to win a free bottle of this lotion

(2) be a follower of my blog 

Two extra entries if you mention this giveaway in your blog 

This is open to US and Canadian residents only 

Please enter by midnight Friday December 24th

I will make the draw this Saturday on Christmas day :) 

Review: Palmer's Cocoa Butter Cream & Lotions

After finishing a couple of tubs and bottles of this stuff, I don't understand the hype around Palmer's Cocoa Butter.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter in the tub/container format up front and in the pump bottle behind

I went to Walmart  sometime last year and when I saw these in stock, I bought one of each kind of Palmer's Cocoa butter since I had heard so much about it and it's not easy for me to get hold of (they don't sell it at the Pharmacies here and I don't live close to a Walmart).

PRO (for the Palmer's cream in a container)

I love the sweet, not-artificial smell of the cocoa butter cream in the tub/container format. 

CONS  (for the Palmer's cream in a container)

It does not absorb well into my skin. 

It is not that moisturizing - it's more of a barrier of greasy slick. 

On top of that, it has not improved my skin's texture or look. 

My girlfriend Jasmin also complained about the same issues and it made her skin itchy actually....

I had to start mixing the Palmer's cream with Cetaphil lotion or Aveeno daily moisturizing lotion to help moisturize my skin. By the way, I highly recommend both the Cetaphil and Aveeno lotions here...

This exact lotion was recommended to me by my dermatologist years ago. It's awesome stuff.

I've recently been devoted to this lotion in the past year. It's changed my skin for the better. 

So Palmer's Cocoa butter also comes in a lotion format. 

The following in the pump bottle format is even worse than what's in the tub format

This is a lotion so it absorbs better into the skin but it did nothing for my one stretch mark. And it does not smell like that nice chocolately-vanilla scent of cocoa butter. This lotion doesn't smell that pleasant to me.

Then there's also this lotion from Palmers

It smells a bit better than the "stretch mark reducing" version. But it smells more bitter than sweet - like dark chocolate. I just used it up as handcream. It doesn't work any better than a conventional lotion like Vaseline.

Verdict: I might repurchase the Palmers cream in the tub format but only for the scent. If I do, I will mix it with Cetaphil or Aveeno non-fragrance lotions to help moisturize my skin.

I will not be repurchasing the Palmers For Stretch Mark Lotion nor the Palmer's lotion in the pump bottle format.

What's your take on Palmers Cocoa Butter? 

Have you tried Cetaphil or Aveeno skincare products? 

Review: Burt's Bees Peppermint & Rosemary Body Bar

I LOVE peppermint!

So I picked up this Burt's Bees Peppermint & Rosemary bar of soap when I was at Target while shopping in the States early August.

Cool huh? The wrapper for the soap will degrade into stone powder!

The peppermint scent in the soap is strong enough that it lingers for a bit - and I like that.

Overall this soap is nice to use once in a while...but for some reason I find that I don't feel 100% clean after using it. I know that might not make much sense to you, but I have no other way to explain it. That's why I started to use this as a second wash, after first using my Nivea shower gel to get clean. I just like it for the peppermint scent really.

So would I buy it again....hmmm probably.

Do I recommend it?

Only if you really like peppermint and don't require a squeeky clean feeling :S

Have you ever used a soap that didn't give you that "clean" feeling for some reason?

Aside: Am I getting repetitive?! LOL I'm on vacation right now and this post was scheduled and made prior to leaving for my trip. I'll get back to your comment and blog when I'm back :) Thanks!

Review: Burt's Bees Peppermint & Rosemary Body Bar

I LOVE peppermint!

So I picked up this Burt's Bees Peppermint & Rosemary bar of soap when I was at Target while shopping in the States early August.

Cool huh? The wrapper for the soap will degrade into stone powder!

The peppermint scent in the soap is strong enough that it lingers for a bit - and I like that.

Overall this soap is nice to use once in a while...but for some reason I find that I don't feel 100% clean after using it. I know that might not make much sense to you, but I have no other way to explain it. That's why I started to use this as a second wash, after first using my Nivea shower gel to get clean. I just like it for the peppermint scent really.

So would I buy it again....hmmm probably.

Do I recommend it?

Only if you really like peppermint and don't require a squeeky clean feeling :S

Have you ever used a soap that didn't give you that "clean" feeling for some reason?

Aside: Am I getting repetitive?! LOL I'm on vacation right now and this post was scheduled and made prior to leaving for my trip. I'll get back to your comment and blog when I'm back :) Thanks!

Review: My Beauty Diary Masks- Black Pearl & White Truffle

I'm baaack!

haha like seriously, who am I kidding? I'm probably stinky and tired on my 15 hour flight right now to Hong Kong for a stop over before I take another 2.5 hour flight to Bangkok

I have a couple of posts I scheduled to publish on my blog while I'm away :)
I'm really sorry I cannot respond to your comments or check out your blog in return right now....but just thought I would give you something to read.
And hopefully blogger format is on my side and the pictures don't publish sideways or crooked since I'm unable to check how it published haha



I bought these My Beauty Diary Masks after reading all the hype on them from Asian bloggers/youtubers.

I picked up the premium White Truffle mask

Problem: the eye cut outs in the premium white truffle mask are too small. The mask sits dangerously close to my eye ball with that mask on.

I also picked up the very raved about Black Pearl mask at the same time.

I purchased both packs from T & T Supermarket

Okay, these eye holes in the mask are bigger. Like seriously, why would this company make the holes smaller for the premium mask? Stupid.

Doesn't this mask remind you of Jason Voorhees' mask?

How to use

Since there's no English instructions on the package, from what I could gather on other websites this is how I used it: I place the mask on clean dry face and let the mask sit for 20 minutes. The mask has serum on it so when I took the mask off, I just let the serum absorb in my skin.

I used one mask every 3-4 days

Overall
I will not be purchasing these masks again.

In fact, I gave away half of each box to my older sister - she would have raved about it to me if she liked it a lot....but I haven't heard her mentioning these masks at all since I gave them to her a couple of months ago.

I noticed no changes at all in my skin texture or appearance.

I actually suspected a bit of a rash starting up from these masks after using them for 4 weeks.

I did not like how they were cold at first on my face. Some people find that refreshing. I don't.

Have you used any face masks that you'd recommend?

Review: My Beauty Diary Masks- Black Pearl & White Truffle

I'm baaack!

haha like seriously, who am I kidding? I'm probably stinky and tired on my 15 hour flight right now to Hong Kong for a stop over before I take another 2.5 hour flight to Bangkok

I have a couple of posts I scheduled to publish on my blog while I'm away :)
I'm really sorry I cannot respond to your comments or check out your blog in return right now....but just thought I would give you something to read.
And hopefully blogger format is on my side and the pictures don't publish sideways or crooked since I'm unable to check how it published haha



I bought these My Beauty Diary Masks after reading all the hype on them from Asian bloggers/youtubers.

I picked up the premium White Truffle mask

Problem: the eye cut outs in the premium white truffle mask are too small. The mask sits dangerously close to my eye ball with that mask on.

I also picked up the very raved about Black Pearl mask at the same time.

I purchased both packs from T & T Supermarket

Okay, these eye holes in the mask are bigger. Like seriously, why would this company make the holes smaller for the premium mask? Stupid.

Doesn't this mask remind you of Jason Voorhees' mask?

How to use

Since there's no English instructions on the package, from what I could gather on other websites this is how I used it: I place the mask on clean dry face and let the mask sit for 20 minutes. The mask has serum on it so when I took the mask off, I just let the serum absorb in my skin.

I used one mask every 3-4 days

Overall
I will not be purchasing these masks again.

In fact, I gave away half of each box to my older sister - she would have raved about it to me if she liked it a lot....but I haven't heard her mentioning these masks at all since I gave them to her a couple of months ago.

I noticed no changes at all in my skin texture or appearance.

I actually suspected a bit of a rash starting up from these masks after using them for 4 weeks.

I did not like how they were cold at first on my face. Some people find that refreshing. I don't.

Have you used any face masks that you'd recommend?