Cleanser

Review: Skincare: Kanebo Blanchir Make Off Conditioner

Paris B 7 Comments

This is the first in my Kanebo Blanchir skincare review series.

Kanebo Blanchir Make off Conditioner

The Blanchir Make Off Conditioner is actually an oil cleanser. Although oil cleansers are usually marketed to those who wear makeup to act as a makeup remover, Kanebo recommends this as the first part of its double-cleansing routine. They recommend that you use this first to clean your face of all inpurities and dirt before using another foaming cleanser.

I’ve used a bunch of cleansing oils before this, but I must say the Blanchir Make off Conditioner takes top points. The texture is clear and liquid unlike some other brands which are more viscous and thicker in texture. There is a light fragrance which I find rather soothing after a long day.

Because it is more liquid, I find that its easier to spread and you actually end up using less. I pump 2 pumps of the oil into my dry hands and spread it all over my face, then rinse it off with warm water while gently massaging my face.

This make off conditioner takes off makeup like a charm and because the texture is light, it doesn’t leave your face feeling sticky as some other oils do. It cleans off easily which is a bonus. I don’t like rubbing my face any more than is necessary and I found other cleansing oils did have a tendency to take a long time to remove.

My skin feels smooth and clean after using this, and you don’t really need another cleanser as is recommended. So, I sometimes don’t use another cleanser as I don’t see the need to. I did not have any reaction to this cleansing oil, unlike Shu Uemura Enriched cleansing oil and DHC Cleansing Oil. I will be reviewing these in due course.

This Make Off Conditioner retails at RM125 for 150ml at all Kanebo counters in department stores. Quite pricey but a bottle can last up to 3 months and I think its worth every dollar.

Pros: Liquid, Rinses off easily, Soothing Smell

Cons: Expensive

[rating:5/5]

Beauty in your kitchen: Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Paris B 16 Comments

olive oil

I’d been talking to a friend recently. She’s got amazing smooth skin with tiny pores and seriously does not look like a mother of a young child. She looks like she is the child herself! What’s her secret?

One of the things she uses for her skin is Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil? The sort found in kitchens? The kind used for cooking pasta? The oil I dip my crusty baguettes into?

Yes, the very same oil.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) works on the same principle as that of cleansing oils. The only thing that can truly remove oil, so the experts say, is oil. So, using that principle, using oil to remove your makeup at the end of the day is a good thing as it cleans out your pores nicely.

There are many options of oils available, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil and olive oil, just to name a few. In fact, there is a brand called DHC which has olive oil (in a refined form) as its base ingredient and uses it for their cleansing oil. I’ve tried this. Its thick, compared to other cleansing oils and I’ll review it separately one day.

Coming back to the use of Olive Oil. Olive Oil has natural Vitamin E and is touted to have anti-oxidant properties. Some people use it as a moisturiser and claim that it has anti-aging effects. I would imagine that if you have very dry skin on your face, it would be beneficial, but definitely not if you have oily skin.

Anyway, after hearing her rave about it and having read online various reports extoling the virtues of using this oil as a makeup remover, I decided to try it.

I have a bottle of Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil in my kitchen. I cook with it, and Extra Virgin is the best quality you can get. Where it comes from matters if you are cooking but not for your face I think. To be honest I picked up the Spanish one because it was the only one I could afford then!

I covered the mouth of the bottle with a cotton pad and tipped the bottle over, just getting some oil onto the cotton pad. I then used it on my face. It was quick to remove my makeup. The waterproof mascara took a bit longer, but off it came anyway. My face felt rather oily and sticky due to the oil but it was only a thin layer and didn’t bother me too much. To my surprise, my skin felt very soft and clean which is a bit of an oxymoron as there was the oil still on my face. Oh apparently olive oil makes a great conditioner for the eyelashes too! So maybe this will help them grow/stay soft despite my daily use of mascara.

Then, I washed my face with my usual cleansing foam – Estee Lauder Cyber White Calming Foaming cleanser. This foaming wash usually leaves my skin feeling taut but today, there was no such feeling. My skin actually felt very clean and smooth. Impressive. I then followed up with my usual night skincare routine.

I’m only concerned about any pore clogging effects as I have normal-combination skin i.e. an oily forehead, nose and chin, and normal to dry cheeks. I’m going to be a guinea pig and try this out for 2 weeks and see what happens.

Other benefits of olive oil are:

  • Skin Moisturizer – good for elbows or dry bits of skin
  • Hair Conditioner – I’m going to try this one day!
  • Cuticle Treatment – softens up your cuticles and treats dry bits of skin

Its natural and if it works, its also cheap! 🙂 I’ll be back with my report in 2 weeks time!

Review: Skincare: Estee Lauder Cyber White Calming Foam Cleanser

Paris B 3 Comments

I dug this one out the other day from my stash. It has been a while since I’ve used anything from Estee Lauder, but this has been in my drawer for a while. Its the Estee Lauder Cyber White Calming Foam Cleanser from the Cyber White series.

The Cyber White series is Estee Lauder’s whitening line. On a personal note, I don’t believe in any cleanser purporting to be whitening because you wash it off, without letting it perform any whitening miracles on your skin. Be that as it may, this is a calming foam cleanser.

The cleanser comes in a 125ml tube but I find it can’t really stand on the cover, as the cover is too slim and small for the rest of the tube. A little squeeze is all you need for this cleanser foams up very quickly and there’s a lot of lather.

The lather is soft on the skin and cleans a treat. There is a fragrance that is rather strong. Estee Lauder’s skincare tends to be rather heavily fragranced which can be a turn-off. While I find that this cleanser leaves my face squeaky clean, and is rather drying, it isn’t half as bad as the other cleansers I’ve tried from this brand. If I don’t moisturise immediately, my skin feels tight which is uncomfortable. A friend likes it however, and doesn’t have the same problems I have so I guess it depends on your skin.

This cleanser retails for RM120 (US$34.14) which is terribly pricey. Any other cleanser would do the job just as well in my opinion.

Pros: Lathers and cleans well.

Cons: Expensive, Drying, Heavily fragranced

[rating:3/5]

 

Review: Skincare: St. Ives Medicated Apricot Scrub

Paris B 6 Comments

scrub

This St. Ives Medicated Apricot Scrub is my scrub of choice. Its similar to the St. Ives Apricot Scrub that comes in the orange tube, except this one is medicated with 2% salycilic acid. What that does is help with treating problem skin, as it has mine. I use it about 2 times a week as part of my skincare regime, and I think it’s help keep my spots at bay.

This scrub comes in a large tube, and I don’t find the granules over large or harsh. You squeeze out a bit, maybe around 2cm and lather with water then scrub your face with it. Make sure not to scrub too hard for that’s bad for your skin.

This scrub has a slight minty smell, and leaves my skin smooth and slightly tingly. I like it. It makes me feel like my skin is really clear and clean. 🙂

The price is great too. It retails for about RM17 and often goes on discount at Guardian and Watsons. I’d say its worth getting. I’m probably on my 5th tube and still loving it!

[rating:5/5]

Update: It would appear that St. Ives no longer makes this version or even if they do, they no longer call it a “Medicated” Apricot Scrub. I found that the texture seems to have changed and that the granules in the scrub now seem larger and feel more harsh on my skin. I no longer use this for this reason. However, my review stands because it helped me a lot when I was battling acne and it is my first introduction to the wonders of salicylic acid for combating acne and spots on my skin. These days, I just use a different salicylic based cleanser, like the Vichy Normaderm one which is excellent too!

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