Treatment

Review: Vichy Normaderm Refine Total Pore Resurfacing Essence

Paris B 28 Comments

There are few skincare products I truly like within a short period of trying them out. Usually, I’m just sceptical. Unusually, the new Vichy Normaderm Pore Resurfacing Essence is an exception. 3 days into using it, and I was in love with it. After more than 2 weeks, its now a staple.

Vichy Refine Pore Resurfacing Essence

A new addition to the Vichy Normaderm line, the Pore Resurfacing Essence is an essence you apply after cleanser and toner and before moisturizer to help refine your skin and make your skin look smoother with smaller pores.

Vichy Pore Resurfacing Essence makes a lovely makeup primer

What it does for me is not only keep my skin smooth and matte and oil free all day, but also acts as a lovely makeup primer! Yes my dears, I’m ditching my makeup primers for this lovely little gem of a product  :)

Used in the day, I apply it before moisturizer and sunscreen. Its a gel texture serum that spreads easily and mattifys the skin almost immediately. Lovely if you have oily skin or combination skin. I sometimes get a tad oily as the day wears on but with this essence, I’m relatively oil free and whatever foundation I use sticks better to my skin and looks and feels smoother. Reminds me a lot of Estee Lauder’s Idealist when I was using it a long while back.
Continue Reading

Lancome Genifique Serum – Activating Youth from within

Paris B 26 Comments

10 years of research and 7 patents later bring us Lancome Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate – a serum that claims to unlock the gene profile that controls aging so skin looks younger from a genetic level. Really fascinating stuff, I do not deny.

Lancome Genefique Launch

During the recent launch of Génefique Youth Activating Concentrate here in Malaysia, Lancome had a little talk on genes and aging by Ass. Prof Dr. Maude Phipps of Monash University Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine. She did a good job giving us a brief overview of the human genome and how genes affect and control every fibre of our being including aging. If I was just a little more inclined towards science and math, I would have signed up for genetic research a long while back. Still, I enjoyed her talk tremendously being the closet geek… and this time there are no exams :)

And I enjoyed extracting the DNA from a strawberry too! Donning white lab coats and sitting before science lab instruments I last saw while at school, I felt the perfect mad scientist :D

Lancome extract strawberry dna

Unlike my experiments at school, this experiment was a huge success! But back to the Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate.
Continue Reading

Review: REN Skincare Overall Feel – Brilliant, Good and So-so

Paris B 10 Comments

If there’s one thing I can say about REN Skincare – the products are wordy. Just looking at their names makes my head spin. I guess they wanted to make sure product plus benefit is mentioned. As I previously mentioned, I’d been testing the trial sized facial line for about 2 weeks now. The trial set states that it will last a week. It can actually be stretched out to 2 weeks + used day and night except the eye gel – that one lasts exactly 1 week.

Here’s a brand overview of the products I have based on these 2 weeks of testing REN Skincare. Some were brilliant and most were good while one is meh.

Ren Skincare Rosa Facial Cleansing Gel & Vita Mineral Day Cream

Rosa Centifolia Facial Cleansing Gel – Normal skin (link)

The cleansing gel is a clear gel with a strong rose scent. It does not lather up very much and you do not need much product. If you are used to sulfate free products you’d be used to this. However, unlike other sulfate free products I’ve tried, this cleansing gel left my face feeling clean but not dried out. I tested this by leaving off my moisturizer for a while and I did not get the tight skin feeling you sometimes get after cleansing. The full size of 150ml retails for RM123 and despite the rather hefty price tag, I could look towards this as a purchase… and I never purchase expensive cleansers!

Vita-Mineral Radiant Day Cream – Normal skin (link)

This is the day moisturizer.There is a strong smell of roses but because its a natural sort of fragrance and not artificial it does not bug me and it does not linger. It is rather thick so you don’t need much in our hot humid weather. This is a point to note because if you slather it on, you might find it too heavy.

I applied a thin layer under my regular sunscreen and although it initially felt a little heavy, it soon sank into my skin. My skin did not feel any oilier than normal throughout the day and it stayed hydrated. The full size of 50ml retails for RM174.

My fave product below!
Continue Reading

Review: Kiehl’s Ultimate White Cleansing Cream and Intensive Whitening Essence & New Store Opening

Paris B 22 Comments

The opening of Kiehl’s 3rd store in Malaysia reminds me of another 2 products I’ve tried from the Kiehl’s Ultimate White line – the Cleansing Cream and the Intensive Whitening Essence.

Kiehl’s Ultimate White line smells yummy!

Before I get into the products, let me just say that the Kiehl’s Ultimate While line smells absolutely delicious. The products have a subtle scent of plums and citrus that is refreshing and soothing. Nice when you apply it and lie in bed with that fruity smell wafting around. I like it!

Kiehl’s Ultimate White Cleansing Cream (RM95)

Kiehl's Ultimate White Cleansing Cream

The Cleansing Cream is to me a decent cleanser. Again, I don’t believe anything can whiten lighten or brighten if you’re going to wash it all off almost immediately so I won’t put much score by the whitening or brightening properties. Perhaps if used together with other brightening products it might make some difference.

I always use a makeup remover first or cleansing oils so this is the 2nd part of my cleansing routine. On other days when I don’t use makeup, the cleansing cream removes dirt and leaves my face feeling clean.

I only use very little as it lathers up very well. It can feel a little drying after cleansing though so its always essential for me to tone and moisturise after that. At RM95 for a 150ml tube that can last me … well pretty much forever… I think its a pretty decent item. Its not a “must have” if you ask me though. I reserve that title for the Ultimate White Exfoliator! LOL…

Kiehl’s Ultimate White Intensive Whitening Essence (RM190)

Kiehl's Ultimate white intensive whitening essence

The Intensive Whitening Essence promises to brighten the skin and lighten existing dark spots. I can testify to some brightening. The essence pumps out a pearlescent white that also smells quite delicious. Perhaps its the pearlescent qualities of the essence, but my skin does look slightly brighter and more even almost immediately. I did not notice visible lightening of dark pigmentation over a month’s regular use, but neither did I sprout any new ones and the lighter freckles seem to be under control.

Continue Reading

I tell stories on Instagram @parisbmws