Showing posts with label mask. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mask. Show all posts

Friday, February 13, 2015

SPOTLIGHT: Skin Food Black Sugar Scrub and Mask

I rarely get to mention this but one of the first Korean brands I have ever bought make-up from was Skin Food. Their Mushroom Multi-Care BB Cream was the first BB Cream I've tried and I loved it for two straight years, using it almost everyday even when I wasn't going out. Since then I've tried three cleansers and one mask, which were all great except one, which I mentioned in my last post. Today I wanted to talk about two of their bestsellers from the Black Sugar range - the Sugar Scrub Foam and Mask!


These both contain Brazillian Black Sugar which, according to Skin Food, helps give the skin a glow and a moisturized feeling. It's also packed with minerals that are good for the skin, so you can say that it's nourishing as well. Because of the sugar particles, it also helps in softening and smoothing the skin. From that alone I can say I'm sold!

For anyone that's skeptical about sugar as an ingredient though, you should know that sugar is a humectant, meaning it draws in moisture from the air and brings it into the skin. It also has glycolic acid, which helps promote cell turnover by removing the dead skin cells on the top layer on your skin. I've also read that it was used to treat wounds, but I'll have to look more into that!

Heh, I snuck in a little science lesson again!

Skin Food Black Sugar Scrub Foam

I got this in my Korea April 2014 Beauty Haul and I'm happy to say I still have quite a bit left! It's a  yellow-coloured physical exfoliator with sugar crystals in the formula, which melt immediately when you massage the cleanser into your skin. It leaves everything nice, smooth, but still moisturized, which you don't get from a lot of cleansers in this category. 

I like that because my skin has been exfoliated, my makeup applies better throughout the week. I found that I only need to do this once a week since I changed my skin care routine, but it was a life saver prior to that!

Skin Food Black Sugar Mask


I got this recently and use it once a week as well, about half a week after the scrub foam. It's a wash-off mask that I leave on for 10-15 minutes as instructed. Like the scrub foam, it also has sugar crystals in it that melt whilst you massage it into your face. It's a little stickier and much darker in colour than the foam, but I suppose that's so it can stick to your face for longer.

The sugar particles are much larger than that of the scrub foam. I wouldn't encourage working this in too much or pressing it too hard against your skin as it makes it a little red afterwards, so just some really light massaging motions would do. This is so much easier to remove compared to my Innisfree Volcanic Pore Clay Mask, so I look forward to using this more!



You don't need much of either product to achieve the effects it claims, and for the price of both, I'd highly recommend you try them out as additions to your skin care routine, or even just to swatch them in store to see if you like them. They're quite hard to get if you're not in Seoul, but online you can get them from iBuyBeauti.

What about you guys? Have you tried any of these products, or anything from Skin Food for that matter? Feel free to leave me a comment below!


Friday, October 24, 2014

REVIEW: Cheng Lan Bellina Whitening Creatment Mask

Hey, everyone! 

I'm going to do a mini-review on a face mask that my friend from uni Agot shared with my friends. I used to use face masks once a week but lately I haven't had the time to do that as of late, except for my Innisfree one. What I love about sheet masks is that you just put it on, take it off after a few minutes, and proceed with the rest of your skin care routine. I never found one with stellar results, but this one definitely deserves a lot of praise for what it does.


So this is the Cheng Lan Bellina Whitening Creatment Mask and it originates from Taiwan. According to my friend, this stuff is really popular in China and retails for even more than twice its price and it's easy to see why! It claims to moisturise, brighten, and whiten the skin which is exactly what I needed after a long week. As you can see I was very excited to use it as I forgot to take a picture of it prior to ripping it open. -_- Anyway, I made sure to try this when my skin was clear of acne to see if it would break me out, and thankfully it didn't which is already a big plus from me.

If you're already familiar with sheet masks, they're just sheets shaped like a face with holes for your eyes and mouth (really no other way to describe it) soaked in a liquid filled with all the different extracts that help make your skin better. This one was no different, but I really have mention that this one contained so much of the liquid that I had enough to soak the mask again for a second time. The mask also fit really well on my face, unlike those that I've tried that tend to slide off until they've dried up a bit. It smells a bit like lemons, but it's not overpowering or overbearing that someone with a sensitive nose would be irritated, but it's just something to take note.

I left it on for 20 minutes, and the entire time I did not feel any stinging sensation or even the slightest burning sensation, which indicated that there wasn't any alcohol in the product. Alcohol not only tends to dry out my skin (then lead to the production of more oil) but it makes it red, so I tend to avoid it. After I took it off, it took a few minutes to absorb into the skin and it definitely made it feel more moisturised. It also made the succeeding products I placed on my skin absorb better and by the end of my skin care routine my cheeks felt very smooth.

I noticed the most difference the next day, as my skin definitely looked brighter and was still as soft and smooth as it was the night before. It also made my primer and BB cream apply smoothly and made my skin look glowy the entire day. Another great thing is that you can use this a second time (I just popped mine back in the pack and into the refrigerator) so you're definitely getting your money's worth for one mask. I got the same results for the second use and I can only imagine how much better the results would be with continuous use.

It retails for 100 NTD (about P146) which is definitely a little pricier than the Korean sheet masks I use (which ranges from about P50-P120) but the results are definitely worth the money. As far as I know you can only get this in Taiwan and China but if you come across this I would highly recommend it.

Summary:
(+) Didn't break me out
(+) Brightening
(+) Softening
(+) Two usages
(+) No alcohol
(+) Reasonably priced
(-) Availability

Rating: 7.75/10

Repurchase? Yes.

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Friday, June 27, 2014

REVIEW: Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask

Hi everyone! I'm back with a review of this mask that I hauled from my Seoul April 2014 trip. Out of all the things I purchased, I'm most impressed with this particular product, which is the Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask! 

I've only ever tried sheet masks and the Laneige Water Sleeping Pack (which I still use today), so I was really excited to try this one. It claims to control sebum and clarify pores (because of the volcanic materials in the mask). I did get to study a little bit about scoria in my Earth Science class, and it is definitely quite good for the skin. This is one of their bestsellers, so I did have high expectations.


Results

There is a jar variant and a tube variant of this particular mask, and I bought the jar one because it was quite hectic in the Innisfree store when I went, and I totally forgot about the tube version. The jar contains 100mL of product, which is a pretty decent amount and will last me about around half a year. One thing I don't like is that it does not come with a spatula, so you would have to get your own. I have tons from my old Laneige products so this was not a big problem for me. Once uncapped, there is a plastic that is covering the product which I appreciate, but I'm not too sure if it really helps in preserving the product and keeping it germ-free. 

The box is made out of recycled paper, and the ink used in printing is soy ink. I also heard you can return the bottles and jars of any Innisfree products to their Korean store, which goes to show the environmental-friendliness and awareness of the brand as a whole. Definite plus points for that!




Consistency-wise, it is rather thick and appears gray in colour. I use about a heaping coin-sized amount, sometimes more, but you would need to gauge during your first few uses on how much you need. Application on the face can get very messy and though it goes on smoothly, it can get a little difficult to work with. 

This is relatively unscented, unless you really stick your nose in the jar. It smells a little bit like glue? But it's definitely not overwhelming, and goes away a minute or two after application.


I usually slather this on my face, and leave it for 20 minutes. I wouldn't go beyond the 20-minute mark as it really hardens, and gets more difficult to wash off the longer you leave it on. After 20 minutes when it is dry, it does get a bit tight on the skin and appears sort of like elephant skin, emphasizing lines and such.



I've been using this weekly for almost three months and I can easily say that I love it! I find that right after I wash the mask off, the redness on my face has been greatly reduced. It also makes my other products absorb better, especially those that leave my face a little dewy. I've also had less pimples with prolonged use, and it has never dried me out, which I was initially scared of when I first tried this. I have also been using this product as a spot treatment for my pimples (for the stubborn ones that do appear) and after just one use, it greatly reduces the size of my pimples and makes them appear less red. 

One thing I find is that this product is not one of those that have instant effects that disappear in an equally fast amount of time. It begins showing its results with prolonged use and I am very happy about this.

It is priced at 12,000₩, which converts to about P540 or less than $12, which is a very good value for the amount of product given. This is good to keep in mind when you're buying online, as I find it can get very expensive.

As I mentioned with my Canola Honey Serum review, we do not have Innisfree in the Philippines as of yet, but this is available in most online stores specializing in Korean beauty products such as W2Beauty.

All in all, highly recommended!

Summary:

(+) Environmental-friendly packaging
(+) Reduces redness
(+) Clarifies pores
(+) Not drying
(+) Can be used as spot treatment for pimples
(+) Inexpensive
(-) No spatula
(-) Jar packaging in general is not hygienic
(-) Messy application
(-) Not available locally

Repurchase? Yes

Rating: 4.3/5