In a Rut

Hi everyone, I'll be back in a few days because I'm just not doing very well these days. Talk to you soon!

Intellectual Skincare

Aesop is one of the few brands out there that truly thinks about skincare. It doesn't do advertising, doesn't use celebrities as spokesperson, and its packaging is purely functional. What it does do is develop amazingly effective products at the Aesop laboratories in Melbourne, using only the best botanical ingredients around the world.
A few months ago, I asked a friend who was visiting Australia to bring me back a tube of Geranium Leaf Body Balm. The fragrance was unbelievably refreshing. I felt like entering a long-lost oasis. My skin loves it!

Read all about Aesop online: http://www.aesop.net.au/

Forever and Ever

I'd just like to review Makeup Forever's high definition powder after a few consecutive days' of use. Here're some of my comments:

• Extremely fine


• Good adherence to the skin


• Lightest coverage


• Controls shine all day


• Only white colour available (for now, I assume)


• Can only be used sparingly (or risk looking like a white-faced ghost)
  
• Can be applied with a fluffy puff, powder brush, or kabuki brush
  
• Works better over foundation than used alone

Happy Powdering!

Photo by Justyna Furmanczyk

Chalked Up

Since I-don't-know-when, I used less and less foundation, and converted to the powder cult.

But the perfect loose powder is difficult to come across. I've been happy with Caron, T.LeClerc and Shu Uemura loose powder - all praised as good products.


That is until I found out what talc is.


Though it is a natural mineral, the cosmetic use of talc is loosely linked to the causes of lung, skin, and ovarian cancer.

This is very upsetting news for a health freak like me. I stared at the tins of powder as if they're ghosts sitting on my vanity counter. Well, I'm not dead. Yet.

I put on my shoes and went on a mission to find talc-free powder.

Almost all the quality cosmetic brands' loose powder contains talc, except Makeup Forever's brand new High Definition powder.


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This was a very unexpected find. I've never cared much for Makeup Forever, but this product is special. Absolutely talc-free, this micro-powder has an unusually fine texture that glides like a film onto the skin. Without being dry or exaggerating fine lines, just a small amount is enough for an all day wear.

The only drawback is that it does not have the "soft focus" look that talc powder provides. I wore this today from 9am till 8pm. My skin remained fresh to the touch at the end of the day. This might just be worthwhile.

Muddy Business

Sundays, what better day to do a facial mask than lazy Sundays! This is the day of the week when you have the right to haunt your home with a ghastly face!

A few weeks ago, I was given some samples of the Italian organic skincare brand Guam. One of them was the sulphur mud mask. "Wow," I thought, "Should I, or shouldn't I?" Then, I bravely smoothed the grey, sulphurous mud all over my face until I became unrecognisable and giggled in front of the mirror.

Sulphur is present in hot springs, a natural anti-bacterial agent particularly good for problematic skin with psoriasis, eczema and acne. Well, without any real problem with my own skin, I rinsed off the dried mud after five to seven minutes.

Any immediate difference? No.

Did my skin feel cleaner? Yes.

Did it look more luminous? Yes.

Can I do this instead of my weekly scrub? Yes.

Is this more gentle than a scrub? Yes.

The real difference I felt was today. It's the end of a long Monday. I'm dead tired, but my skin looks alive.

Photo by James Taylor

An Eye for an Eye

OR ?

Shu Uemura Drawing pencil

Ease of application: *****

Durability: ***

Colouring: *****

Comfort: *****

OR

Clarins Eye Pencil

Ease of application: ***

Durability: **

Colouring: ***

Comfort: ***

I love eye pencils, a girl's best friend when you're in a hurry to get out, but wanting to look decent. Here, we're comparing a made-in-Germany Shu pencil and a Clarins one, which is made in Italy. Apparently the latter was no match.

I highly recommend the Shu Uemura pencil for its foolproofness, and reasonble durability as long as you apply a base on your eyelids first.

Keeping Track

If you're as nerdy as I am, you're going to be concerned about your makeup products' expiration dates. It's hard to keep track of them especially when you have a big collection.

Expiration's more of a problem with anything cream or liquid like mascara, eyeliners, kohl pencils, foundations, base, etc.

An easy way to find out when a product's lifespan is up is to stick a small, coin-sized adhesive label on it, indicating when you opened the container.

This is easy to do during hauls. Keep a sheet of labels inside your makeup box and just label your new purchases.

(This entry wasn't very exciting so I added my favourite piggies here.)

Skin Deep

It's not always easy for Asian skin to thrive outside Asia's warm, humid climate. Sometimes I wonder if my skin's makeup simply needs lots of humidity to look good. It probably all depends on where you grew up, what your diet or even the composition of the water you drink is like.

Following a pharmacist's advice, I finally got Eucerin. It's been such a joy to use. It's very emollient, can be applied easily without any oilyness at all.

Eucerin has different lines for different countries. The body lotion I got was a ph5 product, which helps the skin re-establish its own natural balance. I've been using it for two weeks, and from the first day, I saw a huge difference. It feels so good to have my skin back!