Review: Essence My Skin Caring Cleansing Wipes

I ran out of my HG (Holy Grail) makeup remover cleansing wipes last weekend (Biore's Cleansing Wipes) and I decided to be bold and try something new! I spotted the Essence My Skin Caring Cleansing Wipes at BHG and decided to get two at one go because it was so affordable! It retails for S$3.50 and on top of that BHG had a 20% off deal for all the cosmetic products, so I ended up paying only S$2.80 for each pack of Essence My Skin Caring Cleansing Wipes! The Biore wipes are amazing but they cost almost three times more! 

If this proves to be as good, then it's definitely a cheaper alternative. Let's see then if the Essence My Skin Caring Cleansing Wipes perform up to standard! 

(Pardon the grainy photos, I used my iPhone 5 camera to capture them because my G11 is wonky these days. D:)

Packaging: Economical packaging with no fancy design. I prefer it this way because it looks professional. The adhesive opening is also commendable because it doesn't seem to lose its stickiness! I used it for the past one week already and the adhesive part still covers the packet strongly. Major plus points because this means the cleansing wipes will not dry out so quickly and easily. 

Cost: Too affordable to be true. Essence is really a brand that challenges the high end brands. Some of its products are worth so much more and yet they are priced so lowly! Every time I see an Essence counter, I cannot resist not buying anything!

Makeup removing effectiveness: The Essence My Skin Caring Cleansing Wipes work beautifully in removing makeup. Not so much for waterproof mascaras, but the rest of the junk is off after one wipe (even waterproof eyeliner!). Usually, I will use one side for the entire face, then I will fold it in half, squirt some Bifesta Cleansing Lotion and then proceed to remove my waterproof mascara.

Scent: I bought the Pomegranate and Bamboo type and the smell can get a little overpowering. I definitely will not recommend this to those who get headaches from strong smells. It does not smell of pomegranate or bamboo, sadly, but instead it smells of floral chemicals (if that makes sense).

Gentle on the skin? For those with sensitive or scne-prone skin, I think this product is safe for you. After one week of removing makeup with the Essence My Skin Caring Cleansing Wipes, I have no break-outs and no other skin problems. One thing to note though - the packaging indicates that no rinsing is required after you use the wipes, but I will highly recommend users to double cleanse, meaning after you wipe off your makeup with the wipes, you cleanse your face again with your preferred cleanser. This way, you can be sure that all the junk is removed from your face. The slightest leftovers will accumulate and sometimes lead to tiny bumps appearing!

Will I buy it again? Definitely. It's a great dupe for my favourite makeup removing wipes and it is amazingly affordable. The strong smell is a turn-off but since it does its job quite well, I'm not pushing away the product entirely.

Past week's boomshakalakas.

Updating my blog now has become less of a priority because of school work! I'm so sorry to my readers. I promise I'll blog more often when FYP's over! FYP for me has been bittersweet; I don't like it because my sleep and social life are compromised, but I kinda like it because I'm actually enjoying the process of report-writing. Tough to write an academic article, but strangely, I'm learning a lot and so I'm gradually loving the process. I guess when you start to love something even though it's tough, you know it's the right path. :) 

Obviously I won't be an academic researcher in the future, but WKWSCI has made me realise that I make a good researcher and hence I need to find jobs in this area. Which reminds me, I gotta reply this research company on my second interview! Hoorah!! :) I think I'm gonna apply for Estee Lauder too; research is what I find out I'm good at and beauty is my passion and interest! 

Anyway, last Sunday I realised that my makeup storage area is too messy and full of yucky old stuff, so I decided to clean it up! I threw quite a lot of products. A bit heart pain but aiyah now got more space for new things! :D 

Also don't know why I have so many shades haha. I need to stop buying things for the sake of collecting them! 

Went to Yomenya Goemon with Ong, Kokky, Chay and Xien on Friday and it was amazing! The pastas were priced rather reasonably and the quantity served was definitely worth much more than price! After leaving the place, I felt like I just finished a buffet session. Quality of the food was also great! Definitely a place that I would go again in the future! 

Photos below are without the pasta names because I really can't remember anything. Perhaps the only obvious one is the squid ink pasta. haha. 

The Onsen Egg was TOO YUMS. 

I didn't post any OOTD photos on instagram for so damn long that when I took photos of myself today, it felt weird - hence the weird pose. D:

Denim outerwear: pearlmilktea
Chanel inspired tank: BKK's Chatuchak Market
Sequin skirt: Cotton On
Shoes: F21
Bag: LV

We went to Watami to celebrate the February babies' birthdays and the food was mediocre. The only amazing dish was the Watami Salad. When the salad becomes the most stellar dish of the night, you know something is wrong with the restaurant. It's not THAT bad, but definitely not a restaurant that I will recommend to my friends.

We wanted to go to Sushi Tei, but the queue was too long and we had 13 people, so that made the waiting time even longer. D:

My bibimbap was too bland. I had to pour a copious amount of soya sauce. =_=

THE STAR DISH!! This was amazing. In my books, this can rival Sushi Tei's Sashimi Salad. 

Kengyang's beef bowl, which was also mediocre. Bleh. 

Kengyang and I strolled to the Esplanade area after dinner and we chanced upon MICapella performing for the Hua Yi Chinese Festival of Arts. They were BEYOND GREAT. No wonder they came in second on The Sing-Off (a Chinese competition inspired by The X Factor). My favourite performance has got to be their rendition of One Night in Beijing. Crazy talented group of singers!!

Worth my money: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream and NYX Xtreme Lip Cream

I do not like lip products but the weird idiosyncrasy (I realised this does not make sense because an idiosyncrasy is already peculiar, but whatever, DOUBLE THE EFFECT.) does not stop me from salivating over amazing lip products like the two below. NYX is really killing it with all these stellar products that are coupled with wallet-friendly prices! 

I know Smoochiezz sells them, so next time I'm in the Smoochiezz warehouse or the Tanjong Pagar Xchange booth, I will grab some! 

The first one is the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream. I know Huiling has a couple and she raves about them (http://www.thatfeeling.sg/2012/07/nyx-soft-matte-lip-cream-in-san-paulo.html). I have been intrigued for so long, and I really need to make the plunge huh? 

Even temptalia recommends it, so I REALLY NEED TO GET SOME! 

Some swatches I found on the nyxcosmetics website. I really fancy Monte Carlo, Stockholm and San Paulo!

Photo taken from nyxcosmetics.com

Another NYX lip product that I just discovered and deeply want in my collection is the NYX Xtreme Lip Cream. This product promises a velvety finish while still giving a full-on pigmentation on your lips that lasts. SIGN ME UP PLEASE. 

The colour range for the NYX Xtreme Lip Cream is more extreme than the Soft Matte Lip Cream range. I especially like Spicy, Buttery Nude and Bonfire.

I really don't like nude shades because they make me look like I just woke up from my coffin, and I'm still on the fence about hot pink lipsticks. Personally, I think hot pink suits girls with a darker skin tone more, but then again the debate about cool tone pink and warm tone pink will start and I'll be caught in the middle. Argh.

But yes, cool tone red is my friend, and so I need some cool tone red lipsticks!

Photo taken from nyxcosmetics.com

TIME TO DROP BY SMOOCHIEZZ! :D

Swedish Music (Oh Sweden, I miss you so....)

When people talk about Sweden, the first things that come to mind will probably be IKEA, H&M, gorgeous good-lookers, vikings or the harsh winters. Swedish music is probably not something that will be on top of people's minds when a conversation on Sweden is started.

Before I set off to Sweden for my exchange programme in 2011, I researched a bit about the country and I was surprised to see some of my favourite acts are actually from Sweden! I always thought A* Teens were from America. I also thought Roxette was British or something. It's quite obvious I am quite ignorant when it comes to music. I like the song, I will listen to the song, that's it.

However, thankfully I had the chance to go to Sweden because through this opportunity, I was able to discover more Swedish acts that I really have grown to love. My mom used to have Roxette's casette tapes and the song "It Must Have Been Love" was stuck in my head since I was barely 5 years old. There are also newer Swedish acts like Robyn and Agnes Carlsson (or simple, Agnes). Everyone also knows who Swedish House Mafia is.

Swedish music is definitely underrated. I even love the songs that are sung in Swedish, although I don't understand a single word. Veronica Maggio's "Snalla bli min" is so hauntingly good, I used to repeat it for over 10 times in one seating.

Hence, this blogpost is specially dedicated to Swedish music. Also, it's an attempt to relive the memories that I had while in Stockholm. Ah, those beautiful days~

ABBA

With mega hits like "Dancing Queen" and "Mamma Mia", ABBA is probably one of Sweden's best music exports.

Roxette

I truly didn't know this duo was from Sweden! "Listen to Your Heart" and "It Must Have Been Love" are such classic love songs and now my love for Sweden has grown even more after knowing that Roxette originates from Sweden!

The Cardigans

Yes, the name might sound foreign. However, do you remember the extremely catchy song "Lovefool"? The song was included in the soundtrack for Romeo + Juliet! It was also featured in Cruel Intentions!

"Lovefool" used to be my showering song. HAHA. ~Love me, love me, say that you love me~~

A*Teens

This is a must-include band because I still remembered how when I was in Primary 6, our class danced to "Upside Down" for Teachers' Day celebration. :D

Veronica Maggio

Her song "Jag Kommer" was playing EVERYWHERE while I was in Sweden. But I prefer her slow songs because her voice is so hauntingly beautiful!

Listening to Swedish music brings back those amazing memories that I had in Sweden. It was one of the best times of my life and I really can't wait to go back!

For now, I shall appreciate Sweden by listening to Swedish music more. But my ultimate goal is to be able to have a mug of hot chocolate at a cafe at Gamla Stan while listening to Swedish music. 2030 - STOCKHOLM HERE I COME!

Skincare Haul: VMV HYPOALLERGENICS

It was an amazing week last week. I won a S$200 VMV HYPOALLERGENICS voucher from Urban! HOORAH! 

Prior to the win, I have known nothing about the brand, so I decided to do some google magic, and I liked what I read, so I couldn't wait to redeem the products!!

VMV HYPOALLERGENICS Website: http://www.vmvhypoallergenics.com/

VMV HYPOALLERGENICS SG Facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/VMVHYPOALLERGENICS.SG 

 

I especially like the slogan - Skinfatuated, Skintellectual, Skingenius. Reading it already makes me feel like buying the entire line. :P 

There's only one boutique in Singapore currently, and if you are interested to get some skincare goodies from VMV HYPOALLERGENICS after reading this post (hopefully I helped in one way or another haha), then head down to ION Orchard, #B3-48! 

Also, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the VMV lady who was so nice and helpful to me during my visit. I forgot her name, but if any VMV bosses are reading this, it's the lady who served me on 5th February at around 730pm! She was beyond amazing! So patient with all her explanations and the best thing was she didn't pressure me to buy anything. She's an amazing asset, so please give her a pay rise!!! 

OKAY, time for haul photos!! :D 

Id Facial Clean & Shave Cream (S$35 for 120ml) - obviously this is not for me. Heh. :D 

Creammmy Rich Intense Moisture Milk (S$41 for 120ml) - this is for my mom.
Spring Fresh Oil-free Nourisher (S$41 for 120ml) - this is for me! 

Spring Cleaning Oil-Control Anti-Bacterial Facial Scrub (S$32 for 120ml) 

VMV Starter Kit - Safe Skin Haven (S$50 for 6 travel-sized products)

The VMV Starter Kit was awesome. It contains 6 miniature products and I think I'm gonna pack them for my Japan trip in May! :D

Here are the 6 products!

The lady was very very very nice, and she included some samples for my mom and I. She remembered me saying that I have oily skin, while my mom has dry skin, so she gave free sunblock samples according to our skin types. She is just very nice lah, I never praise anyone praise until like this before.

And the sun block samples are so cute!! Look at the packaging!! :D They even included a spatula for you to dig out the product. Heehee. The amount of effort VMV HYPOALLERGENICS put into a SAMPLE. The moment I saw this, I knew I'm going to spend my money on these products when I'm working next time.

Also, VMV HYPOALLERGENICS toners all contain alcohol. Not the bad types of alcohol though. I remember her saying something about plant-based or plant-derived alcohol. Whenever you purchase a toner (or a slightly strong serum), they will give you an Application Frequency Chart to help you slowly incorporate the product into your routine. Apparently, the alcohol can gave differing effects on different people and hence it's better to use the product sparingly initially to expose the skin to the new chemicals, and then increase the frequency of usage slowly.

I think it's a very smart move! This way users can follow the chart without being too confused on what is "sparingly" and how exactly to "increase the frequency". User-friendliness, FULL MARKS.

So far, I have only used the oil-free nourisher and the Id sweat acne and overall anti-bacterial gel, and they have been amazing on my skin. No new breakouts and my face has been less shiny. My mom has yet to try her products. I will provide an update on that in the future!

Sometimes, more costly products do work! :)

Happy Chinese New Year!! Have a great holiday and enjoy yourselves!! :)

Review: Banila Co. Face Love Blusher in 01 Love Story

I really need more highlighters in my makeup collection. Currently, I'm only alternating between an elf highlighter and a stila one, and I need more choices! 

Initially, I bought the Banila Co. Face Love Blusher in 01 Love Story for blushing purposes (lol blushing purposes, I don't know what made me type that), but the colour is so light that I think I'm gonna change its function as a highlighter instead! It's a perfect colour for highlighting too! 

I bought it for really cheap on sg-beauty. I think I paid S$5? It definitely retails much more than that. 

Packaging: It's very reminiscent to the M.A.C blushers/bronzers/highlighters packaging. I'm not calling it a blatant copy because so many brands are doing their packagings this way. It's a great idea because you can see the colour of the product without opening the lid.

Colour: Banila Co. Face Love Blusher in 01 Love Story is a very frosty pastel pink, with very fine silver shimmers incorporated in the product. It's a great colour for highlighting because of the shimmers. I don't think it serves as a good blush though, unless you are really really pale. I applied this as blusher and I looked so washed out; I had to cover it up with bronzer afterwards to get my "health" back. :P 

Pigmentation: The pigmentation of the Banila Co. Face Love Blusher in 01 Love Story is no joke. A little swipe is all you need to get the appropriate amount on your face. Do be gentle while loading your brush and remember to tap off the excess if you want to avoid looking like a disco-ball. The shimmers are very finely milled - no ugly chunks of glitter. It's great for that natural glow! I realised also that this product gave the best after-camera-flash photograph effect! So natural and dewy at the correct places!

Swatch taken with camera flash

The finely milled glitters which are really the reason why this is an amazing highlighter.

Application: A light hand is needed. This product delivers in terms of pigmentation, so you need to apply lightly. Building up the colour is ALWAYS better than removing excess product.

Longevity: I have no complaints about longevity when it comes to highlighters. Usually, I only apply once and that's it. No more touch-ups throughout the day. I think it's because by the third hour or so, my oily skin will start to resurface, and instead of shine at the correct places, I have shine EVERYWHERE. D:

Will I buy it again? I certainly will like to try Banila Co. Face Love Blusher in other shades. The pigmentation impresses me and if I get the chance to purchase it at an affordable price, then why not?

Review: Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Pencil

I finally bought something for my eyebrows!! I feel so proud of myself. :D Doing eyebrows have been a nightmare in the past because I simply didn't know how to go about doing it. More often than not, I would end up looking like a complete eyebrow amateur, and I would remove everything that I had just applied. 

However, I realise that having well-maintained and properly managed eyebrows creates a huge difference on how you look. You look more polished even without heavy makeup. Also, good eyebrows make your face look more defined in terms of your features! 

Hence, I finally went ahead and bought myself an eyebrow product. I didn't want to spend much money on a product that I normally don't use, so I was browsing through Qoo10 for a cheap one. I decided on the Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Pencil (a lot of Asian beauty bloggers raved and recommended this product!). It was S$3.40 (S$5.30 with Korean normal mail), and that's an amazing price! 

Purchase yours here: http://list.qoo10.sg/gmkt.inc/Goods/Goods.aspx?goodscode=407646448 

Packaging: Simple packaging. Not trying too hard at all. Sometimes, a simple but functional packaging is all you need to have to attract customers. It's a good size because it fits into most makeup bags. Also, Etude House included a spoolie brush at the other end of the pencil, which is amazing because then you can tame stray hairs after applying the pencil to make your brows look much neater.

I bought it in 03 Brown, since my hair is permanently brown/red anyway. Black will be too harsh. 

Pencil shape: The Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Pencil has a great pencil shape. It's designed in the above 3D triangle shape to facilitate application! So you can use the sharp ends to create the well-defined "borders" first, and then use the flat areas (that fit perfectly on your brows. GENIUS.) to fill in the empty areas. 

My only complain is how little product I received!! The above photo shows you how much product you are getting. I couldn't unscrew further, that's all you get!! PFFT!!

Pigmentation: The thing with eyebrow pencils is, you cannot have products that are too pigmented because that makes the life of newbies highly tormenting. A great eyebrow pencil will have a slight pigment on first application, and it will buildable on consecutive applications. The Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Pencil does just that, and so I am a happy girl.

I tried to be artsy and drew an eyebrow on my hand. Turned out to be quite natural-looking hor? :D

Longevity: Lasted me all day. I had no problems with this melting away or smudging. I forgot that I had eyebrow pencil on and I scratched my brows, but haha the product stayed put, so yay to that!

A photo of me after applying the  Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Pencil for the first time. I like it! :) 

Will I buy it again? Obviously. Since the Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Pencil contained so little product. =_= It's a good product nevertheless so I will definitely get the refills.

HAVE AN AMAZING CHINESE NEW YEAR GUYS! :)) Thanks for reading!