New camera: OLYMPUS PEN Lite E-PL7

Eh eh, I bought a new camera! 

I've always wanted to get an Olympus camera, but I never got around to buying one because I was using Canon cameras for the past 6-7 years. So, when my thirteenth month pay came in, I decided to treat myself to a new camera. I still have a relatively new Canon G7X, but I think I will give that one to my sister. I much prefer the Olympus! 

I got my OLYMPUS PEN Lite E-PL7 Dual Kit (12-42mm f/3.5-5.6 + 40-150mm f/4-5.6 1) on Lazada for a really good deal. I remember it was on sale for S$699, and then I had a Chinese New Year discount coupon on top of that, so I paid less than S$680 for the whole kit. It's currently on sale for S$749. 

Delivery was AMAZING. I ordered on Tuesday morning, and my order arrived on Wednesday afternoon. Damn fast leh! 

I'm still experimenting with the camera. I'm lazy most of the time (so.... auto mode most of the time lol) but I'm trying to break out of my comfort zone. 

Here are some photos that I took with the OLYMPUS PEN Lite E-PL7: 

This filter is amazing (Pale and Light Color 1) - suddenly my house got Japanese feel~ 

Random photographs I took the day I received my camera. No filters/edits applied for the next 2 photos.

I think the OLYMPUS PEN Lite E-PL7 fares better than the Canon G7X when it comes to night photography. It's either that or my hand is more stable when holding the OLYMPUS PEN Lite E-PL7 hehe.

Obviously I'm brainwashing myself that the OLYMPUS PEN Lite E-PL7 is better.

This photo was taken during Chinese New Year Eve at Chinatown Area.

Some photos from Pontianak...

That's my mom and my youngest cousin. When your mother and your boyfriend's mother are excited to carry babies, you know you gotta do something. Is it time for my factory to open?

Another night shot. A bit shaky, but I love it! 

And some of my favourite filters! 

This post was not helpful at all.

Okay, maybe if you want to find good camera deals, you can browse Lazada.

But other than that, it's just me writing about a new camera and my mediocre photography skills. And also, how I'm inclined to stay with Auto mode. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Happy Valentine's Day! :)

Valentine's Day this year was a quiet affair. No need for elaborate surprises and gifts, just a simple day out together, looking for delicious food. I prefer it that way actually because I don't like kengyang to spend too much money on me (because I can afford it mah, why need him to buy right?). And also because I tam jiak. Got good food can already :D

I was ecstatic about the smallest thing ever - we wore matching outfits without prior planning. 

His top was very very cute. We saw it in JB last weekend, and I kept asking him to try because walao damn cute can? Floating astronauts!

We had an early dinner at Potato Head Folk and wow it was definitely the right decision to dine there... even though we had rude ladies sitting next to us initially. 

We were sitting on the communal table because the other tables were taken. We were seated next to 2 ladies and these 2 ladies were so kaypoh! Every single time the both of us spoke, they would stop talking and listen, and then they would make some comments. Why so rude one!! Like I was telling Kengyang how cute the burger name "Baby Huey" was, and one of the ladies said, "hey! you wanna order a Baby Huey?" and then they laughed. Maybe I pronounced it wrong lah, but need to so cb or not. 

Just nice after ordering, a couple of customers left and we quickly changed seats. Damn cb!

Okay back to the good food...

I ordered a Baby Huey burger and Kengyang got the Burning Man burger. For sides, we shared Naughty Fries and Wing-Its. 

The 2 burgers were GLORIOUS. They were worth their slightly high pricetags. We opted for the patties to be done medium, and they came in the perfect meat temperature. Why so li hai one?? Most of the places that Kengyang and I have been to always asked for our preference of meat temperature, but the meat would come out super well done. But the burgers at Potato Head Folk... wow... It was really one of the best burgers I've had in my life. I can't wait to come back again to try out all the other burgers. 

The Naughty Fries was different and quite tasty. Wing-Its - not our favourite. I only had 1.5 wings, mainly because I was too full, but also because it wasn't very good. Kengyang had 4 wings, because he didn't want to waste hahaha. 

Perfect burger!!

Initially we wanted to head up to the rooftop for some drinks, but the sky looked pretty ominous. We shelved drinking plans and went to Vivocity! I finally bought my Sherlock Pop! figurine. It was the last one in stock and so confirm must buy right? 

Had dessert at Caffè Bene and heh we were so disappointed. Not nice and almost S$14. :( 

But aiyah, we had a fulfilling time with each other can already. 

Happy Valentine's to my soulmate! :) 

Accutane/Roaccutane Update: One-Month Mark!

It has been one month! Time really flies and I can't wait to finish the entire course. I'm slowly awaiting the arrival of smooth, pimple-less skin!

I'm going to be systematic about this, so that you guys have an easier time reading and finding material that you want to know about straight away. Much better than my usual ride-off-in-all-directions writing manner.

Scroll all the way down if you want to skip the chunks of text and just see the current skin condition progress.

Dermatologist information

A/Prof Cheong Paek Yean

Cheong Medical Clinic Specialist Medical & Skin Clinic

76 Jln Jurong Kechil, Singapore 598589

Consultation hours: Mon to Thurs 9am to 1pm, 7pm to 9pm. Fri to Sun 9am to 1pm. Closed on public holidays. 

My mom also has problems with her skin and she has many clinic recommendations. She highly recommended the above clinic. My siblings also have been to the clinic multiple times when they were ill (not skin-related). 

Dr Cheong was incredibly knowledgeable and he was also very assuring. Before making my diagnosis, he went through the causes and types of pimples with me, and the many forms of medication that can help fix the problem. I told him that I took antibiotics before (doxycycline) and it only worked a while. It was then that he explained to me about isotretinoin (or accutane/roaccutane) and how it's usually a last resort, but would almost always work. 

Side effects were also explained - dry lips, dry eyes, muscle aches, nose bleeds and birth defects. There was a long list of side effects, but he only focused on those with higher percentages of occurrence and the most serious side effect - birth defects. I signed a consent form to declare that I understood that I must not become pregnant while on this medication and for one month after the end of the treatment.  Then he prescribed one month's worth of medication for me (first 15 days on 20mg and next 15 days on 30mg), his own brand facial cleanser and moisturiser, and a lip balm. 

When I was about to leave his room, he patted me on my shoulder and said it was a great decision for me to find him and that soon my skin would be clear, He told me again and again to not worry because the pimples would go away soon. Very encouraging lor. :') 

Total cost for first visit

S$304 (consultation fee + 1 month's worth of medication + facial cleanser + moisturiser + lip balm)

Getting accutane/roaccutane in Singapore

I guess it varies clinic to clinic, but it's definitely easier to be on accutane/roaccutane course in Singapore than in the US. I read that female users in the US have to go through a long list of tests and also be put on the iPledge programme. For me, I was prescribed the medication like any other illnesses after signing the consent form. The entire visit was done in 1.5 hours. 

Skin condition prior to being on accutane/roaccutane

• Hormonal acne mostly on the jawline and both cheeks. 
• Painful cystic acne before menstruation which would take ages to go away. 
• Forehead and nose were almost always clear of pimples. 
• Blackheads on nose, but nothing too serious. 
• Very oily skin, especially on the nose, both cheeks and chin. 

Weekly updates

Week One (1-7 January 2016)

• I experienced the initial breakout very quickly. By day 2, I had 6 new pimples, but I wasn't too bothered because I had suffered worse in the past. My eyes were so dry on day 2 and 3, like as if there were sand particles in my eyes. The eye drops helped only momentarily, and I slept most of the 2 days away. Luckily, they were weekend days. On the third day, I had a slight fever and I had soreness all over my body. Also, I had diarrhoea till day 5. The initial breakouts continued and I couldn't resist popping some of them. One major difference - popped pimples heal much faster. Towards the end of the week, my diarrhoea turned into constipation (very frustrating haha) and my chin was clear, but my forehead was infested with pimples. 

Week Two (8-14 January 2016)

• Muscle aches stopped and my body felt normal. Lips and eyes were still dry. Initial breakouts still going strong. I was incredibly self-conscious this week because no amount of makeup could cover the many bumps on my face. My face felt itchy and prickly and I felt ugly. But gotta press on man. 
• This was also the week I was in Bangkok with Kengyang. I had my first anxiety attack and I totally believe it was caused by the medicine. What happened was while walking back to the hotel after a full day of shopping, I saw a stall vendor empty her trash by the roadside, and this eeky, liquid trash almost splashed on me. Something in me snapped, and I started breathing heavily. I tried to contain it, but once I was in the hotel room, I saw how messy Kengyang's side of the table was and I burst out crying. Oh my gosh, I really cried like a baby and obviously I scared the hell out of Kengyang. 
• By the end of the week, I had so many painful pimples (definitely more than 10) and they were sooooooo itchy. Lips and eyes were no longer dry because I drank a lot of water (like more than 2 litres daily). 
• Positive: Skin is no longer oily. Makeup stays intact for a full 12 hours, and sometimes more, with no touching up needed and no shine detected. Great!

Week 3 (15-21 January 2016)

• I found out that my roaccutane medication is in the "List of Controlled Drugs" in Dubai. My company is heading there at the beginning of March for a gathering, so that means either I get permission from their Ministry of Health to bring 4 pills into the country, or I just stop taking the meds for those 4 days. I wonder what will happen if I stop? I will ask my Dr Cheong on my next appointment. 
• Finally upped dosage on the 16th day (20mg to 30mg) and the initial breakouts have slowed down. The pimples were not popping up fast and furious like the last week. Skin's starting to get flaky so I introduced Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum into my routine. 
• This was also the week that I realised how dry my scalp was. My hair looked fabulous and voluminous ever after 1.5 days of not washing! Yay!
• Day 18 was the day I started having bone aches, especially my tail bone. Getting out of bed was so difficult. I stocked up on Omega 3 pills and those has helped tremendously. 
• Towards the end of the week, my pimples stopped coming out in groups and the bumps were gradually flatted. Makeup applied much better. 

Week 4 (22-30 January 2016) - Technically more than a week, but yay it has been a month!

• I had a dry-lip disaster at the beginning of the week. My lips were so swollen and red and painful :( No matter how much water I drank, my lips were still peeling. Lip balm didn't really help that much. 
• I also started to have dry patches on my upper arms. My huge, previously unused stash of body moisturisers is finally out of the dungeon!
• This was the week I experienced the horrors of over-exfoliating. While on this medicine, it's best to stay away from exfoliants, be it a physical or chemical one. But of course, silly me wanted to get rid of the dry patches on my skin, so I used a physical exfoliant (face scrub) AND a chemical exfoliant (Natural BHA) and BAM the next day I had red bumps all over my face. I knew those bumps were not acne because I had so many of them around my eyes as well. No pus, no pain. Just FREAKING ITCHY and very ugly under makeup :( Time to stop exfoliating for good man. Why am I always doing stupid things??
• Tail bone aching still there. It's especially worse the morning after a workout session.
• I also had my usual premenstrual syndrome and I don't think any amount of roaccutane can defeat the powers of period acne. So yes, I have a few here and there. Nothing worrisome though. 

Tests done on second doctor visit
It was a really quick blood test; maybe less than 15 seconds. My test results came out 3 days later and I was all good to continue with the medication. I had quite a scare because my period came one week late this month, and usually my period comes on the dot, every 28 days.  So when the nurse called me and said I was "all clear", I was super relieved because that meant I wasn't pregnant.

Dr Cheong also helped get rid of a couple of active pimples. The way he did it was so different from the anyhow-pop method from facial salons. His was fast and accurate. No skin-dragging at all. It was painful, but only for those couple of seconds.

I was then given 2 more months worth of medicine. I'll be back for my third consultation in 60 days' time!

Total cost for second visit
$478 (consultation fee + 2 months worth of medication)

Skin condition progress

Now that I'm looking at these photos, my skin condition really did improve in 30 days! Sorry to scare you with my terrible skin, but hey visual proof more impactful than mere words!

Also, please pardon the different lighting conditions in both occasions.

List of improvements in 30 days:

• Skin is not oily anymore. 
• Large pimple on upper right lip area is completely gone. 
• Amount of tiny raised bumps have decreased significantly. I'm most happy about this because makeup application is so much easier and smoother now.

Skin concerns in 30 days:

• Pores are more obvious, and blackheads are VERY obvious. But Dr Cheong said that it's expected since all the blackheads are in the process of being "pushed out". 
• Skin is very much redder. Not a major concern though because I use foundation daily anyway.
• Fresh new pimples on both cheeks, but I noticed that pimples heal much faster. 

Centre

Left cheek

Right cheek

So far so good~ I'm looking forward to the day when I can step out of the house with no makeup on. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!

For those of you who are also on the accutane/roaccutane journey, or are planning to start one, press on!! The first couple of weeks will be a nightmare because of the "purging" process, but after that, your skin will gradually look better and better. Acne, be gone forever please!! 

Gong Xi Fa Cai - CNY 2016!

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! It's the Fire Monkey year and I don't know what that means. :P 

Every year, I will google snake's fortune for that year, so if you're a snake, here you go! 

• Master Tsai stated that according to Chinese horoscopes, Snake is in the Fire group and Monkey is in the Metal group. Metal is afraid of Fire. Therefore, Monkey will respect Snake, listen and follow to Snake's requests. 
• Career: got a bit of trouble, but will be worth it in the end. 
• Money: stable income and investment.
• Love: single, will find love (males higher chance than females). Not single, will maintain.
• Health: shit.
• General fortune: buay pai (Eng: not bad). 

Don't know lah, I checked one website only. All Master Tsai say one. 

But I'm very confused lor. So many people shared articles on facebook on zodiac fortune predictions for 2016, and snake's fortune always ranked in the first half. Then I bought 8 days, and snake's fortune is LAST. Walao, so like that which one to believe? 

I think the 8 days one more accurate actually. I bought toto and usually I will match 1 or 2 numbers, but this time I have ZERO matching numbers. Goodness gracious. I don't want to play mahjong already this year!!! 

First celebration was with Kengyang's family. We had dinner at Long Beach (Dempsey). 

I don't know why my face like this. 

But the others nice can liao, so post. 

Chinatown was packed to the brim, as usual. 

Then I fell sick on Chinese New Year Day 1. ZZZ. I woke up with 39+°C fever and I felt like shit the entire day. Needless to say, I didn't leave my room at all that day and so I missed day 1 拜年-ing. 

My mom, Kengyang and I left for Pontianak on Chinese New Year Day 2. I think my popo likes Kengyang so the trip was a great one. The scary thing was my popo's sisters and friends. Once they knew I was visiting with my boyfriend, they kept calling her to check if both of us were at home so that they could come and visit and see him. LOL. Luckily not the full group came. Only about 7 of them came to kaypoh a bit. 

Last photo that I took with my popo and mom before Kengyang and I flew back to Singapore.

The journey back was another adventure. Our itinerary was Pontianak-Jakarta, then Jakarta-Singapore, and we had around 2+ hours of transit time.

1 hour before we boarded the flight to Jakarta, it started raining heavily. Confirm will have flooding type of rain. So the flight was delayed for an hour. Should be okay right? Since our transit time was 2+ hours?

Not really.

Really ah, sometimes when you suay, you just suay all the way.

Boarding time for the next flight to Singapore was 13:55. At 13:15, we were still inside the first airplane. People moved SO SLOWLY. We had to take a bus from the plane to the terminal. Just nice, the first bus was full when it was our turn to board the bus, so okay must wait for the second bus. DAMN SLOW. Don't know waiting for what. zz. At 13:30, we reached the terminal, and we were searching frantically for the Jetstar counter to get our boarding passes. Wah just nice again lah, the Jetstar counter was all the way at the end, and we were all the way at the opposite end. RUN AH RUN!! When we reached the counter, passengers were already queueing up for the next flight. WHO CARES! I cut the queue and immediately talked to the nice Jetstar lady in Bahasa Indonesia. She was very nice, immediately printed our boarding passes for us and directed us to the immigration area. We ran all the way to the boarding gate and made it into the plane at exactly 13:55.

I was so hungry and tired. I knocked out on the plane and had a McDonalds upsized meal at Changi Airport. :D

Ok, back to itinerary in Pontianak. haha. 

My mom brought us to Martha Tilaar Salon Day Spa, and was really very cheap. Kengyang and I both had full body massage and my mom had leg massage, leg waxing, haircut and hair treatment, and total was less than S$90. 

Not dodgy type of massage parlour hor. Legit one. Martha Tilaar is one of the most successful brands in Indonesia. 

Then we visited the new shipping office. I practically grew up in the old office (always there after school doing my homework and watching TV), so I wasn't used to this new office.

But hey! Great view from my uncle's large but empty room.

I was very shocked when I saw Gereja Katedral St. Yoseph. Why renovate until so European-looking?? I used to come here when I was young, and in primary 3, we had Christmas sing-along session here.

Too pretty already.

My popo is very proud of her garden.

We also have mango, papaya, coconut, jambu, rambutan, jackfruit trees, so no need to buy fruits already lah like that!

Food photos! Because how can I go to Pontianak and not take photos of the delicious food??

This is my ultimate favourite Pontianak food - Nyam Kway Teow. I can easily devour 2 packets on my own. SO SO GOOD.

Then, it was my turn to visit Kengyang's relatives in Malaysia! :)

I think his relatives more chill than mine haha. But good lah, they all know where Pontianak is ("oh, kun dian! kun dian!").

Ending this post with this photo. Your eyes will thank me. 

My two favourite Chinese actors. Oh my gosh, how come can so charming and handsome one??? 

I sent this photo to Kengyang via whatsapp, and told him I crushed on these 2 guys for soooo long already. 

His reply:

"Ya, after me." 

My Current Sunscreens

Now that I'm almost 27 years old, I can no longer delude myself that my skin will be fine without sun protection because......despite all the oily and acne bullshit, I can really feel my skin looking more and more lethargic. I think lethargic is not the correct word to use to describe skin, but like super tired-looking lah! I also notice that I'm starting to get hyperpigmentation in some areas. All are easily fixed with concealer and foundation, but I want to be confident in going out of my house without makeup! So, along with daily intake of acne medication, I have also started applying sunscreen every morning. 

My favourite sunscreen right now is the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence (SPF 50+ PA++++). I don't know why need so many plus signs (sunscreen noob here), but I guess the more the better? Haha! I use the Biore sunscreen every morning after my moisturiser and it's wonderful, both as a sunscreen and as a makeup base. It's absorbed very quickly into the skin and is not oily at all. However, the best thing about this sunscreen is how it provides a great canvas for makeup to "sit" on. It doesn't dry matte, more like a semi-matte, semi-dewy finish. Concealer sticks to my skin better, so I can use less for fuller coverage. It's really a great product that I will repurchase again and again! 

The Avène Cleanance High Protection Emulsion Spf 30 For Acne-Prone Skin was a random Watsons purchase, and sadly this breaks me out. The texture is quite thick and when applied, I could feel my pores getting clogged - it's THAT thick. But I don't want to waste it, so I'm now using it for my arms and neck. No problems there! :D

I am really terrified of getting older. Wrinkles, marriage, children. The 3 things I'm still scared to tackle. Yikes. 

First Impressions: The Beautyblender

You know the Innovation Adoption Curve? When it comes to the Beautyblender, the Innovation Adoption Curve will categorise me under the "Laggards" section. I'm not exaggerating when I say almost all of the beauty Youtubers I watch love the beautyblender. So many "Get Ready With Me" videos and makeup tutorials featured this jarring pink water-drop shaped sponge. I have been intrigued for a long, long time, but the price tag deterred me from checking out my shopping cart. 

I got mine in a set that included the mini Solid Cleanser. The set costs S$37 on sephora.sg (luxola has officially become sephora.sg, how exciting!!). The beautyblender itself retails for S$30. 

From the beautyblender website:

The world’s first edgeless, non-disposable, high-definition cosmetic sponge applicator. The unique shape and exclusive material available only with beautyblender® ensures impeccable, streak-free application with minimum product waste. Use it with primers, foundations, powders, cream blushes, and any other complexion product.

beautyblender® features an open cell structure that fills with small amounts of water when wet. This allows the sponge to be “full” so that the makeup product sits on top of the sponge rather than being absorbed, allowing you to use less product every time. When wet, beautyblender® doubles in size and becomes even softer, returning to its original size when it air dries.

So... is it as amazing as what most users say?

I'm not incredibly awed, but I don't hate it. Maybe I need more trials using different complexion products.

I used it for first time this morning, and I'm not that impressed with how it blended out my concealer. I now have a habit of applying only concealer, then topping it off with loose powder. No more liquid foundation for everyday wear. I dotted the areas that needed coverage with my concealer, and then used the beautyblender (after soaking it in water and squeezing out excess water) to blend out the concealer. For areas with hyperpigmentation left by acne, the beautyblender seemed to be absorbing the concealer more than blending it out. I had to use 2 layers of concealer to get a decent coverage. If I used my fingers, one layer is more than enough.

Of course, the beautyblender is not without merit. It blended out concealer beautifully under my eyes very quickly. It also blended out my concealer with zero streaks, which was quite tough to achieve when using fingers or brushes. I'll give this another try tomorrow with liquid foundation, then concealer. Hopefully, I'll like it more! I want to, because it's S$30 for a tiny sponge man! I better LOVE it.

I'll update this page again with the outcome of my second trial and sponge cleaning process! :)

Update on 13 February 2016:

• Okay, I finally get the hype. I tried the beautyblender with all my favourite foundations and bb creams and they were all applied and blended out beautifully. So freaking fast too! Boing, boing, boing, boing and one cheek done! It's not great for concealing acne though. This will be the perfect foundation application tool if you have generally smooth and bump-free skin (which I'm slowly but surely achieving with accutane, oh yeah!). 
• The beautyblender solid cleanser worked effectively as well. It definitely removed makeup thoroughly from the beautyblender and it's so easy and fast to clean. Extremely helpful for a lazy person like me - don't need to worry about using unhygienic tools on my face again! :D 
• Overall, I'm a convert. Now I know why this tiny pink sponge is so expensive. 

RoseRoseShop Haul (COSRX and Ciracle Products)

My second RoseRoseShop order just arrived last week and this time it took me almost 2 months. The package was first sent back to the sender because I didn't state my address clearly (the floor and unit numbers were excluded), so that's my bad. Then, it was stuck at the warehouse for 9 days, so that's their bad. Fortunately, the RoseRoseShop crew was a nice bunch. They included SO MANY free samples, so yay! :) 

I got some backups of my favourite COSRX products and also some new COSRX and Ciracle products to try out. 

(Left to Right)
COSRX Centella Water Alcohol Free Toner
COSRX Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol
COSRX Centella Blemish Ampoule
COSRX Centella Blemish Cream
Ciracle Anti-Blemish Aqua Cream

I'm in this use-only-alcohol-free-toner phase, so I immediately put this in my shopping cart. It really makes a whole lot of difference to use alcohol free toner especially when you're on accutane. My skin feels thoroughly nourished and hydrated every time I spritz some on my face. Toners with alcohol stings my currently sensitive skin.

And then we have the COSRX Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol.... I'm quite sad about this. I can't use this anymore! :'( No matter how much I love this product (I think this was the main reason my acne stayed at a moderate level and not the severe stage), my skin now is way too dry and sensitive for a chemical exfoliant. After 2 weeks of not applying this, I went back to it and immediately the next morning, I had rashes around my eyes and my forehead. I guess I have to sell it away then since I won't be able to use it for the entire year.

The COSRX Centella Blemish Ampoule is a stellar product for those with severe redness on the skin. I mix this with my moisturiser every night and my skin feels soothed and less irritated. Long-term usage definitely helps with hyper-pigmentation left by acne. It also adds more moisture to my skin - very needed right now!

I took a gamble and bought COSRX Centella Blemish Cream. It's highly recommended on reddit for smoothing acne scars and also healing active blemishes. I have used it every night for 5 nights and I still don't know if it's working or not. Yes, I have a significant reduction in the appearance of acne scars, but accutane is supposed to do that to. Hmm, maybe trying out new anti-inflammatory, blemish-targeted product while on accutane is not a good idea haha. The additional hydration is very much welcome though. The texture is very strange - like whipped cream-mousse texture that turns into lotion when applied on the skin. So initially, it feels like a heavy cream, but it blends into nothingness. Very interesting.

The best find is the Ciracle Anti-Blemish Aqua Cream. I love this SO SO MUCH. Before this arrived, I was using the moisturiser that my dermatologist recommended and nope nope nope, that thing stung my skin and the fume (??) stung my eyes on every single application. This, on the other hand, was a dream to apply. I love everything about it, the gel-texture, the fast absorption, the ample hydration, ah I'm so glad I found a legit moisturiser! :')

Etude House AC Clinic Daily Aqua Cream is something similar. Maybe I should try that too!

The free samples included. Doesn't look like much, but the last time I ordered on RoseRoseShop, the parcel only came with 3 free samples, so this, in comparison, is extremely generous.

The two small bottles are samples of the ZYMOGEN Houttuynia Cordata Ferment Lotion and Houttuynia Cordata Ferment Serum. Quite excited to try those out because I've read magical things about them online, especially for acne-prone skin!!

Accutane 1-month update post coming soon! :)

Favourite AB Sheet Masks (+ a meh one)

I think I'm really late in discovering the world of Reddit. Through Reddit, I got to the know the lovely world of AB or Asian Beauty. Not that I am new to Asian beauty products, but I'm really new to the AB community in Reddit. To be quite honest, the Reddit AB community is so much more informative and reliable than a quick Google search. 

I came across a thread on holy grail AB sheet masks and I was introduced to soooooo many new brands! I wanted to try so many of them T_T. However, I do have a few holy grail sheet masks that I know I will use again and again in the future. Here's the list! 

Innisfree Skin Solution Mask - Trouble Care

• This sheet mask uses unbleached pure cotton pad to enhance comfort, application and essence absorption. It applies smoothly on the skin and has a pleasant herbal smell. I really like this for when my skin is red and inflamed (especially good the day after extraction at a facial salon). I don't go for facials anymore, but this certainly has helped to soothe the redness, while providing ample hydration at the same time. 
• I have another holy grail Innisfree mask, but I ran out of it (I must have used more than 50 already). It's the Innisfree It's Real Squeeze Mask in Bija. Fantastic sheet mask and an all-rounder. 

SNP Animal Dragon Soothing Mask

• I thought this was going to be a gimmicky mask that's all visual and no substance. But I was so wrong. I first tried it during my Hong Kong trip last year. I had major skin troubles and my face incredibly inflamed and irritated (to the point whereby SASA ladies immediately talked to me about getting products for severe acne, without me asking). I used this on the last night and my skin immediately cooled down and felt less itchy. The redness and pimples were still there, but the skin didn't feel as hot. Great mask for days in which the skin is hot and itchy due to inflammation. This mask was great fun too. I walked out of my room with this applied and my sister got a shock and started laughing hysterically. 

MEDIHEAL Tea Tree Care Solution Essential Mask

• This one uses a cellulose sheet mask that is drenched in the essence. Application can get a little messy but the mask applies on your skin very smoothly, almost like a second layer of skin. I like this because after you remove the mask, the essence gets absorbed into your skin very quickly. Sometimes I put this on for longer than the recommended time just because there's so much essence! The longest was an hour and the sheet mask was still moist to the touch. 

Neogence N3 Mandelic Acid Refinish Mask - I can't find a link for this anywhere, did Neogence discontinue this line? Here's a reddit link (one fo the users highly recommended the mask) - https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/comments/3ogupr/random_purchases_that_end_up_surprising_you/

• This mask can get a little tingly so if you have sensitive skin, please stay away. It contains mandelic acid, a type of AHA, which is a chemical exfoliant. It's great for calming down huge painful pimples. Won't make them disappear overnight, but they will be significantly less painful. I'm currently on roaccutane so I'm not using this mask as often as before. But if you are not on such strong medication and are experiencing some painful cystic spots, this may be great for you. 

And then... there's this...

I really do not like them.

I got the Mamonde 7Days Project Sheet Mask (Soothing) via RoseRoseShop because I was intrigued. Daily mask application for 7 days?! I tried one and I hated it. The essence was so oily and sticky. Hours after I removed the mask, my skin still felt sticky and heavy. I couldn't take it anymore and just washed my face with my usual cleanser. My skin really felt like I had a hefty layer of oil on it. Not good at all.

Maybe this will be better for those with extra extra extra dry skin. Or those living in extreme cold temperatures.

So there you go! 4 current holy-grail masks and 1 meh mask. :D Now I need to restock the Innisfree It's Real Squeeze Mask, and perhaps try other brands! Any recommendations?