Lemon, Yogurt and...

Hi I hope everyone had a good week. We actually had a three-day week in Italy, which meant I had to work double the amount to get things done for the week!

Anyway, after a stressful day, one of my favourite things to do is a do-it-yourself mask. Besides the yogurt-papaya-honey one, I also like to use fresh lemon (we even get lemons from the Amalfi Coast here) and whole yogurt.
Wow, Amalfi Coast lemons are so big, bigger than the yogurt cup! :-) I've been doing this kind of all-natural masks for a few months and my freckles seemed to have lightened up a bit, even in this spring/summer season.

Here's what you can do: squeeze a teaspoon full of lemon juice into a little bowl and add a heaping soupspoonful of whole yogurt and mix. You need quite a lot of yogurt just so the mixture won't drip :-) You will feel a slightly stingy sensation, hang in there for 10 mins and rinse with cool water. Done!

After this treatment, your skin probably won't need a moisturizer for a couple of hours, thanks to the yogurt which is very nourishing. The next morning, you will wake up with plump and butter-soft skin!


This one below is for Jess, particuarly. Because when I thought, "Hmm, does Austria have any skincare brands?" I drew a blank, but lo and behold, two unopened products are sitting in my vanity. It's Susanne Kaufmann, an all-natural, laboratory brand.

I have yet to try these out, but the ingredients look really promising and this seems like a very serious brand of skincare.

Yesterday I had nothing better to do (love my Saturdays!) so I picked up a couple of curious items:

Another nail polish by NOUBA. This one has randomly-sized orange and lime green glitter in a clear coat. The colour and glitters are pretty subtle so I like it. Full-on colours like green and blue really turn me off because they look so ghastly!

Has anyone tried Make Up For Ever's lipglosses? How do you like them?

I personally am not a fan of lipglosses because I don't like the feeling of having something sticky on my lips. BUT this one by Kiko Make Up Milano caught my attention.

The matte black packaging imitates M.A.C., but the clear gloss has a pretty purple and pink iridescence to it. So I'm willing to give it a try.

Looks pretty promising here!

Kiko Make Up Milano is another local brand here. Things are dirt cheap, which means the quality is probably crap also! The colour range is decent, but the eyeshadows and blushes don't even stay put when I just swatched it on the back of my hand.

In any case, this 4-euro gloss is purely something to play with. And I won't even feel guilty if I end up throwing it away, lol...

Sunday Morning Post

I realised I haven't done a proper post lately so here's one for you :-)

I will be in Seattle August 7 - August 27. Any beauty bloggers that I can meet up for a coffee?? I'm so looking forward to this trip because I only get to see my family there once a year. I also love the cool summers in Seattle.

Thank you Jess and Nic Nic for the blogger award! How nice it is to be awarded twice!

So I have a few things to show you this time.

First off is Guerlain's limited edition "Le Rouge G" lipstick with mirrored case. The brand was so generous to send me three.

#20 Gina is a blue-undertoned red with subtle golden shimmer. Mum will like this!

The beautiful packaging is designed by the Parisian jeweller Lorenz Baumer. The mirror pops open as you take out the lipstick, and it snaps back in thanks to a magnetic closure.

#60 Gabrielle below is a creamy coral pink. I forgot to mention that this lipstick has a brand new formula for better texture and colour payoff. I haven't actually tried it yet, but will let you know.
#1 Guerlinade is just my type of colour - a pinkish beige. No shimmers here which is another plus for me.

When closed, the tube looks like a spaceship, lol.

With all due respect, Shiseido Perfect Rouge is still perfect because it's very moisturising and the colour is luscious. Dior Addict High Shine really pales in comparison. It just feels so chemical on my lips, but that's just me.

On a less exciting note, the weather is getting warmer (yuck!) and I got an oil-control primer from Jane Iredale. I noticed my pores are getting bigger, lol, so I'm not happy about that.

Jane Iredale has very modest packaging which I don't mind because this brand offers makeup with very low toxicity, something I'm very concerned about.

The compact screws open with a sponge and the product is a white solid cream.

Pretty friendly ingredients here :-) Also, notice the little symbol of the opened lid on the bottom that says "12M". This means it expires 12 months after opening. Look out for this symbol on your makeup! I will text drive this product next week and let you know.

This is a long post, lol.

I'm glad to tell you that the Caudalie body lotion worked just fine and I finished one bottle. Since I'm always on the hunt for better, healthier skincare products, I got Sanoflore Almond Milk body lotion this time.

Again, very modest packaging here, but who cares when you know inside it's full of organic goodness. Sanoflore, a French brand, only cultivates organically-grown plants and uses its extracts as ingredients.

Oops, since it has no paraben, this product will expire 9 months after opening, which is fine if you use this after every shower. The 200ml bottle is about 15-18 euro.

I used this yesterday and gave this a thumbs-up. The runny texture is so nice. It absorbs much faster than Caudalie. The scent of the almond and orange essential oil is strong, but it disappears after 10 mins. My skin really loves this stuff! Hurray on finding yet another skin-friendly product.

Cleansing

These past months I've used different cleansers and would like to share my experience here.

La Mer's cleanser (Fluide de la Mer?)
Texture: runny gel

Steps: 1. dampen your face, 2. foam up a dime-sized amount between your palms, 3. massage all over face, 4. rinse off

Pros: fast and easy, removes face makeup completely

Cons: it left my skin totally dehydrated. Strong, cheap scent which I hate. Also, this doesn't remove eye makeup since it's a foaming cleanser.

sjal (pictured on left above)

Texture: thick gel

Steps: 1. dampen face, 2. dispense 1 pump of product, 3. smooth all over face, 4. rinse off

Pros: the gel texture doesn't dry out my skin yet cleanses face makeup completely. Lightest citrus scent. This cleanser can be used on the body also.

Cons: eye makeup has to be removed separately as this cleanser cannot be used on the eyes.

Rodial (picture on right above)

Texture: thick balm

Steps: 1. apply 1 pump of product on dry face, 2. massage, 3. leave on for a few minutes, 4. wipe off excess and rinse off, or wipe off with damp warm cloth

Pros: this is an all-natural treatment cleanser which you can leave on the face to let the pomegranate extract to treat hyperpigmentation. Removes face makeup completely.

Cons: strong pomegranate scent for those who don't like this fruit.

Taer Icelandic Complete Cleanse (sorry, not pictured)

Texture: milky emulsion

Steps: 1. massage a quarter-sized amount onto dry face, 2. leave on for a few minues, 3. wipe off and rinse off

Pros: this is also an all-natural, treatment cleanser that contains yarrow extract from Iceland. Removes face and eye makeup completely. Ceramic bottle can be recycled or re-used.

Cons: need to wipe off excess before rinsing off. Strong scent due to powerful herbal extracts. No pump dispenser, can get messy.

Knackered and Relaxed

I hope you're having a good weekend. This past week, I went to a special event. Villa Principe Leopoldo in Lugano, Switzerland, has been completely restored and I was invited to an opening gala dinner. Sponsored by the Swiss watchmaker Parmigiani, the dinner was held in the ballroom of this 75-room hotel and residence. I just scanned the photo from a pamphlet here for you first.

The property was on top of a hill so you can imagine the view, but when I got there it was dark already. It was a fun and jolly event. The General Manager sat with us, and I sat between the Ambassador to the Republic of Malta and his wife. I asked, "Would you like to sit together?" But apparently they preferred chatting to their own friends at the table :-) We had goose liver with pear confit, a scampi risotto, and ham with veggies. The dessert was a strawberry-themed combination of ice-cream, creme brulee and mousse, very cute.

The wonderful dinner ended at around midnight. By the time I settled down at home it was 2 a.m. already. I should be getting the official photos next week.

So, back to beauty!

I believe I've talked about Cowshed in the past, but its Relaxing Bath Salt is really worth a special mentioning.

The lavendar aroma is almost overwhelming. Run a hot bath and the vapour will fill your bathroom with an amazing perfume.

The texture is not exactly salt, but it's like bits and crumbles that melt immediately in the water. The salt is also a bit soapy so it's a very gentle cleanser. I usually rinse it off in the end just to be sure.

As someone who is obsessed with au naturel stuff, my haircare routine is very simple: Klorane Almond Milk shampoo and Cowshed Softening Conditioner.

Like most natural shampoos, this one doesn't foam a lot, but it leaves my hair squeaky clean. (The Phyto shampoo for oily hair didn't work out after all.) The conditioner is very rich so a little is enough. It completely smoothes out my hair, making it easy to comb.

Reading reviews of Guerlain products from our American bloggers, I realized the markup is incredible! In France/Italy, a four-eyeshadow palette is about 40-43 euro. In the U.S. it gets to almost 60 USD.

Edible Skincare (update)

The papain enzyme of an unripe papaya is very strong so for sensitive skin, use a ripe papaya. Unfortunately the supermarket near you might not always have this exotic fruit available. For the yogurt and honey, get the organic kind if possible.

From my experience, cucumber also has an amazing brightening effect, but do avoid the eyes. As with any treatment, spot test first for sensitivity.

It might be a bit troublesome finding fresh ingredients, but I am a strong believer in natural solutions. I will do a post on another DIY mask this weekend.

Edible Skincare

I haven't talked about do-it-yourself skincare for a long time. Here's the recipe for a green papaya brightening mask. I tried this for the first time tonight.

a cup of unripe papaya pulp (contains alpha-hydroxy acid and papain)

1/4 teaspoon of honey (moisturizing)1/4 teaspoon of plain yogurt (contains lactic acid)

Blend everything up. Or, grate up the papaya and mix with the yogurt and honey.

Smooth the mixture onto your face and wait 8 to 10 minutes. The mask dries up quite quickly. The honey literally sticks to your skin and the papaya pulp won't slip off if you don't apply too much.

It started to feel tingly after two, three minutes. Yay, that's the mask doing its magic! It smells amazing of course. Rinse off with cold water and pat dry. Follow up with a gentle moisturier.

I've been feeling up my skin needs a pick-me-up for a while. This was just the thing!

Shall We?

Those of you who are familiar with this blog know that I love exclusive niche skincare. I really like smaller brands. It's just so nice to get to know a small collection with succinct products.

Created by the mother-and-daughter team of Karen and Kristin Petrovich, sjal (pronounced "shaal") offers only 7 products so far. I have the full-size balans cleanser and the serum 1, and a few samples.

The cleanser (on the very left) has African whitewood extract, fig leaf extract, pearl extract, gold, silver and geranium as active ingredients. It is a thick gel that doesn't foam. It smells a little lemony. Two pumps does a good job of cleansing if you don't have a lot of makeup on.

For me, it's a tiny bit dry afterwards, but it's fine if you follow it up with a moisturiser.

The serum (on the very right) is the most expensive item in the collection, with hyaluronic acid, Brazilian algae, grapeseed extract, pomegranate extract, platinum, gold, silver, blue-and-green copper and a lot more.

One pump of the stuff is enough for the entire face and neck. I'd use even less than that, because it's so packed with goodies. It is a runny, iridescent gel that gets absorbed quickly.

I started using it in autumn, and it felt like it was too rich. I think I should just use a pea-sized amount from now on.

Check out their website. It's a fun read...

Happy New Year (almost)!

2008 has been a crazy year! I learnt a lot both about myself and about the people around me. 2009 will be a huge challenge, but I'm hopeful. I don't have any real new year's resolution, except that I'd like to be speak up more about what I don't like. I think that's important.

I can't get over how cute Monokuro Boo are... I have a big stuffed animal of the black one and a small white one.So here are the two things I got yesterday: Avène spring water spray and Caudalie Nourishing Body Lotion.


Oh and my cup of organic ginger tea, great after dinner!

The Caudalie lotion is another paraben-free find! On top of that, it does not contain any paraffin either. Instead, it has grape seed oil, gingko biloba leaf extract, sesame seed oil and sunflower seed oil. I used it my shower today and it feels clean, not oily. It's just the right texture too!

I also got a 150-ml can of the Avène spring water, which is directly and sterilely bottled at the very source of the spring in France. This is the brand's signature product.

The mist is very, very fine, propelled by a nitrogen gas which is not harmful to the atmosphere.

I've been using this to fix my makeup and after removing makeup. Wow, my face is loving this stuff! I'm seeing a new radiance (not oil), and my makeup looks more beautiful. At night, my skin tends to look dull, but a spritz just before my moisturiser keeps my skin in good shape.

Green Mile

I hope you all had a great Christmas! What did everyone get? Good stuff?

My Christmas was pretty relaxing. Except an afternoon with relatives, I've been either just at the park or at home. During this two-week holiday, I am determined to make a dent in The Wings of the Dove, and enjoy the gym.

My search for the paraben-free, 100% natural mask finally led me to Jeanne Piaubert (Paris)'s Green Paradise Gentle Facial Mask. The 50ml handy tube contains a white cream that spreads easily onto the skin, and slowly becomes absorbed over the course of 10 minutes. Just rinse or wipe off afterwards.

Now, the truth is my skin type doesn't need masks. But I thought I would enjoy a true chemical-free moment with this product. With a wealth of essential oils, my skin feels baby-soft after the treatment. I recommend this to someone who has normal to combination skin.

I tried a few samples from Jeanne Piaubert's other lines, but they are not worth the trouble.

Cheeky (cont'd)

Is everyone having a good weekend?

I spent a rather lazy Saturday morning at home, and enjoyed a Mendelssohn piano concerto at the theater in the afternoon :-)

The colours I used on my cheeks in the previous tutorial were Madina Milano eye shadows. Nic Nic told me she saw Madina in Japan so if you see Madina, please do let me know!

I love their pans because they are handy and the colour selection is endless. Their eyeshadows are pretty chalky, easy to control and blend. The colour doesn't crease so you can even apply them without a base.

Last weekend, my colleague was in London so I asked him to stop by Selfridges to pick up some Taer Icelandic for me. This is the organic cleanser I've been using:

Turned out Selfridges didn't stock that brand anymore. I was so upset!

The cleanser is available in Milan, fortunately. It just costs five euro more over here.

I feel tired, depressed and muddled these days. This will sound terrible, but I feel so sick of everyone around me. Every day I give 200% of myself, and people still want more. Enough! Basta! I'm getting away for a few days next week.

A Few of My Favourite Things

I care a lot about skincare so here are my favourite products of the moment:

Shu Uemura UV Under Base. I love its easy application and light texture.

Shu Uemura White Recovery Ex provides all the moisturising I need in humid weather.

Taer Icelandic Complete Cleanser smells medicinal, but I know it's good for me with absolutely no preservatives.

Sjal Serum intensely heals my skin while I sleep.

Unhappy with my angled brush, I finally got this brand new Sephora mineral brush #45 yesterday.


I don't use mineral makeup so I'm just using this for more precise contouring. The bristle is very smooth. The brush head is short and sturdy. Today I used it for the first time and am very happy with it. From now on, this brush will be for contouring and the angled brush for blush.

Coming up: tutorial on layering your bronzer and favourite blush for more nuance and depth.

Here and Taer

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all the comments on my post a few days ago. Now I have more confidence applying blush on the apple of my cheeks. I guess it's a more sun-kissed look.

This time I'd like to share with you an Icelandic organic skincare brand called Taer Icelandic.

From left, here are the firming serum, complete cleanser and 24-hour moisturiser.

The brand grows most of its own herbs on an organic farm. The signature ingredent is yarrow, an ancient plant known for many benefits. During Iceland's summer, it's at its most potent state and Taser harvests it for the products.

I love the unique recyclable ceramic packaging!

I've been using the cleanser for the past few days. It smells pleasantly strong, almost medicinal. With no preservatives, it's white and creamy.

I apply it dry onto my face (with makeup), massage and wait for a couple of minutes before rinsing everything off. You can also simply wipe the stuff off. My skin feels very soft, clean and refreshed afterwards.

I love a luxurious cleanser after a long day because it makes me feel good.

Daily Ritual

Oops, caught bare-faced!

I would like to share my daily skincare routine with you, using the products above:

• When I get up, I rinse my face with cold water. No cleanser used.
• Apply Shu Uemura White Recovery EX lotion (refresh version)
• Make my tea while waiting for the lotion to absorb
• Apply makeup

When I get home after a long day:

• I spread Rodial A-list Cleanser all over my face (it's the silver bottle)
• Leave the cleanser on, and remove eye makeup with Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil
• Rinse everything off with cold water, pat dry
• Apply RéVive Moisturising Renewal Cream (previously reviewed)

Done and done!

Tragically, I'm running out of the A-list Cleanser and I just found out it's not available in Milan (£$%?!). But I do have a back-up: Taer Icelandic Complete Cleanse. It's the jade-coloured bottle pictured here. It's an organic, eco-friendly brand from Iceland, and I'm looking forward to trying it.

Sound Foundation

I don't use foundation. As tempted as I am to go for a perfectly polished look, I've become lazy over the years. The humidity in this city does make it difficult to keep my face feeling fresh for the whole day with foundation on.

What I do is get an excellent sunscreen for day and an amazing night cream that can do some serious repair while I sleep. This is how I got into cellular technology skincare.

Basically, the technology depends on incorporating "perfect" cells into the cream. And as you apply the cream onto your skin, your "imperfect" cells come in contact with the perfect ones and become better. This discovery was made in 1986 by Dr. Stanly Cohen and it got him a Nobel prize in Physiology.
RéVive exclusively patented this discovery for cosmetic use. I got a pretty generous amount of samples through the mail, and am surprised how much each packet contains.

The Moisturizing Renewal Cream is the signature product - the consistency is between a thin emulsion and oil. I use less than a pea-sized amount for the entire face and neck.

(The Intensité Les Yeux is the eye treatment. I haven't tried this yet.)

I used it every night for a week, and woke up with a glow. It's amazing!

But this night cream was so moisturising that after a week of use, I stopped for a few days because I thought I had gotten the benefits from it. I think I will use it once in a while to keep my skin in shape, instead of overwhelming it with products.

The price is $165 for 2 fl. oz. (60ml). Considering this is literally a Nobel-prize-winning product, it's really worth it. I've not even gone through half of the sample packet amount yet!

Getting the Blues

Besides the signature cleansing oil, Shu Uemura offers a lot of skincare solutions. I love the Depsea series not only for its light blue packaging, but also for its effectiveness.

Summer is just around the corner, and an extra wash during the day might be necessary.

Use the refreshing Foamwater for gentle cleansing. The water foams delicately leaving the skin clean but not dry. Follow up with the Depsea Replenishing Lotion, and feel your skin cool and soft. The delicate fragrance of both products makes daily cleansing a real treat.

What is your favourite cleansing ritual? Share your tips with me!

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/

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

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!

Prime Time

Urban Decay Primer Potion is not your only choice when it comes to priming the eye area for makeup application. The start to pretty eye makeup is actually something a lot more basic:

• Sufficient sleep


• Hydration

With that said, for those of us who spend time in front of the computer, or for those who have hectic schedules (who doesn't?), a little extra help is always appreciated. So, here are my suggestions:
Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Eye Serum: a mega-boost of vitamins absorbed within seconds of application. This is an excellent primer in the mornings, and also a great eye serum during air travel.
Shu Uemura Depsea Moisturizing Essence: thicker and slowly absorbed, this is an ideal eye cream for night time. Massage this around the eye area, and wake up with a fresher look.

All-natural Skincare

Let me suggest a couple of non-messy, all natural skincare regimens that you can do at home.

Cream-and-sugar scrub
Ingredients:

• fine sugar
• plain cream (the kind for coffee/tea), milk or plain yogurt, preferably organic
  

Damp your face, put a teaspoonful of sugar in your palm, mix it with a tablespoonful of either cream, milk or yogurt. Lather gently on your entire face, carefully avoiding the eye area. Rinse off with cool water and pat dry. Voilà! Silky skin for a whole week to come.

Cucumber Mask
This mask gives the skin a boost of enzymes and vitamins, keeps fair skin fair, and improves homogeneity of the skin tone.

Ingredients:
Organic cucumber

Chop the cucumber into paper-thin slices, as pictured. This way each slice will fit the contour of your face, much like a mask. Avoid the delicate eye area. Enjoy the soothing aroma of the cucumber, and wait five to 10 minutes. Rinse off with cool water and pat dry. Instantly brighter skin!

Photos by Steve Woods