Serum

An Oldie but Goodie: Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex Serum

December 23, 2010 Paris B 38 Comments

I’ve been having lots of people query me on this ever since I told you I bought the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum a few months ago. It was basically “Is it good? Why haven’t you written about it? What do you think? Should I get it?”

Yes, I’ve been tardy. Sue me.

review estee lauder advanced night repair serum

The Estee Lauder ANR serum as it is affectionately known, is one I’ve used from the days of yore when it came in a thick silicone formula and in a glass bottle with a pump. The iconic square brown bottle hasn’t changed, but it is now plastic (like the Hydrationist serum, I prefer the old glass bottle) and the pump is now a dropper system because the serum is now liquid.

Lots of changes since I left off using this iconic serum.

The big question you’re asking of course, is what I think of it. And my short answer is that I like it. I used to like it way back in the mists of time, and I like it still, right now in the present.

I leave off using it from time to time, but I always come back to it. My friend with whom I shared this purchase has threatened to take away my bottle, if I don’t use it because theirs is used up 😛 But let it go? Never. They can go and get their own – nyah nyah! 😛

What’s so great about this serum then? To be honest, I cannot put my finger on it.

Its a bird! Its a plane! No its Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Correcting Serum!

December 16, 2010 Paris B 6 Comments

A couple of months ago, Shiseido launched a new serum – the Bio-Performance Super Correcting Serum, that promised in just 1 day to “reveal timeless skin” and that “lines appear less visible and facial contours appear more lifted”. New serum + lofty claims = intrigued PB!

And then Shiseido got in touch and said “Go on, test it as tell us what you think” so I did and here I am.

review shiseido bio performance correcting serum

That 1 day claim? I’m sorry. Didn’t work for me. Perhaps it might be because I don’t have drastic visible lines to start with. I’ve been using loads of serums throughout the year and I’ve learnt that I’m quite blessed with good genes when it comes to saggy skin, so lines and sagginess have been kept in check. Whew! 😉

But you know what? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think its a pretty decent serum if you have a problem with sagging or lined skin. Just don’t take that 1 day claim as gospel – stick to it for say 3 weeks and you might like it.

I used it for about 2 weeks, realised it wasn’t showing anything dramatic on my skin (nothing bad either) and handed it over to my Mom. I didn’t see her for 3 weeks and when I did, I was pleasantly surprised.

Will 21 nights of Dior Night Renewal Serum make me 21 again?

December 14, 2010 Paris B 26 Comments

You know what ladies, I don’t want to be 21 again. Being 21 is overhyped 😛 Besides I’m having more fun now than I did at 21 😉 But I don’t mind people thinking I LOOK 21 – teehee… 😉

Anyway, this is a gift I thought I’d put to the test since we have about 2 weeks left to the New Year. I wouldn’t mind greeting 2011 with a bright smile and nice firmer, better skin if this 21 night renewal serum is to be believed.

dior capture totale 21 day renewal night serum

What we have here is a set of 3 vials of serum to last 3 weeks of use. You start from the vial marked 1 and each vial lasts a week. Apparently, the concentration of active ingredients in each vial increases week by week to give better results.

Honey! I Bee-lieve in Guerlain Abeille Royale Youth Serum

November 25, 2010 Paris B 19 Comments

I don’t know if you are aware of this little fact, but if you pay attention to Guerlain’s packaging, do you notice the apiary (bee) theme? You might notice it in Guerlain’s year end collection this year. They have gone all out with the bees and honeycomb theme, reinforcing the fact that Guerlain and bees have a long history. Since 1828 in fact. I didn’t know it to be honest.

Guerlain Abeille Royale Serum review

But the bee has been and still is part of the decoration on Guerlain’s perfume bottles ever since Pierre Francois Pascal Guerlain decorated the Eau de Cologne Imperiale perfume dedicated to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napolean III, as a symbol of the Empire (then).

So when you see the name Abeille Royale, and you speak French, you’d realize its to do with Bees – “Royal Bees” if my French is correct 😉

What Abeille Royale Youth Serum Firming lift Wrinkle Correction (to give it its full name) is however is Guerlain’s newest youth serum or anti-aging serum. Its been available on counters since late September/early October, if I’m not mistaken.

Unlike other lifting serums which focus on the loss of collagen, Abeille Royale focuses on helping skin repair the “micro-tears” in the skin which cause the dermis to sink and which Guerlain says is responsible for skin aging. Also, it can help skin repair itself to plump up the dermis and heal damage to the skin.

This serum is formulated from honey and royal jelly, two of nature’s best known healing substances, and what we get, is this lovely milky serum. But I know what you’re thinking. Yes, the honeycomb bottle looks absolutely luxurious and sublime, and the story is magical. But how does it fare?

Serum

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