What are Chemical Sunscreens and Physical Sunscreens?

Monstro left a question in a previous comment asking what the difference was between Chemical Sunscreens and Physical Sunscreens.

Without going into the virtues of either form of sunscreens, a simple explanation of the 2 different types of sunscreens in the market is as follows.

Chemical Sunscreens

Chemical Sunscreens are so called because they contain synthetic chemicals which absorb UV rays thereby absorbing radiation. These chemicals work by absorbing UVA or UVB but usually also contain ingredients to block UVA rays. According to the American Melanoma Foundation:-

Chemical sunscreens contain special ingredients that act as filters and reduce ultraviolet radiation penetration to the skin. These sunscreens often are colorless and maintain a thin visible film on the skin. These sunscreens usually contain UVB absorbing chemicals and more recently contain UVA absorbers as well. There’s More! Continue reading →

New L’oreal Star Secrets Makeup Kit Palette

Other than Silkygirl’s new offerings, I spotted another new item in L’oreal’s display case - the L’oreal Star Secrets Makeup Kit. This is essentially a cardboard palette containing an eyeshadow trio, blush and lipstick and comes with an applicator.

I dug around for hours online but an online search yielded no information or pictures except this one I found on a Thai website/blog on Bloggang. I cannot read nor communicate in Thai and I don’t know if there’s a name, so I hope she doesn’t mind that I borrowed her photos.

In real life, the palettes are very slim and handy and are about the size of a little notepad. The colours aren’t very spectacular though, and there are 3 colours available here in Malaysia - the 2 above and another that I cannot recall. There’s More! Continue reading →

Mexoryl and Tinosorb S Sunscreen

I’ve written time and time again about how well L’oreal UV Perfect sunscreen with Mexoryl works for me. I have conceded that it does not work well for everyone, with some people reporting breakouts but in general its worked well for me.

Mexoryl is a chemical sunscreen or sunblock patented by L’oreal, that has been used quite prevalently in Europe and Asia for a while, but was not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) until quite recently. What’s good about Mexoryl is that it absorbs both UVA and UVB rays and is photostable which means it doesn’t break down as easily under the sun and thus protects the skin against UVA rays (the ones that cause skin aging) better.

Recently, I was at Guardian checking out the Eucerin counter when I saw that Eucerin has introduced a new product - Eucerin White Solution with SPF40. This is a day moisturiser that comes with very high SPF and I was intrigued. The sun protection ingredient is provided by Tinosorb S. There’s More! Continue reading →

How to look good even when you had a bad night?

So you had a bad night. You wake up in the morning and see dark rings under your bleary eyes, and blotchy skin. What do you do?

Well, here’s where makeup can help you.

The key here is to keep things natural. From personal experience, I’ve found that on days when I wake up looking and feeling terrible, light natural makeup is best.

The key items you’ll need are:-

• Concealer
• Foundation
• Highlighter
• A light or nude colored eyeshadow
• Eyeliner
• Mascara
• Light peach or pink blush

And here’s how I put it all together.
There’s More! Continue reading →