If you wished Kiehl’s Ultra Facial was Oil Free you (and I) got your wish!

Paris B 44 Comments

The Kiehl’s Ultra Facial skincare has been taken to the Arctic to protect the chapped skin of the Arctic explorers, which it did. In the super cold dry air of the Arctic, it is no wonder that the popular Ultra Facial Cream is moisturizing, but very thick. I tried a sample of the Ultra Facial Cream once, but in a dry cool climate. My skin loved it. It kept my skin from drying out and it just felt lovely overall. When I returned to the tropics and tried it, it felt heavy and greasy. Unless you have super dry skin, I cannot see the Ultra Facial Cream catching on in the Tropics, no matter what they say.

kiehl's ultra facial oil free range

Enter the new Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil Free range which is for normal to oily skin types. When I first heard about it, I was quite interested. It promises to hydrate the skin as well as the Ultra Facial range, but without the heaviness associated with it. It is also paraben free, silicone free, fragrance free and oil free. I was sent the range nearly 2 months ago so here are my thoughts on it. It is expected to be launched here soon, or may already be in Kiehl’s stores 🙂

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Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX Waterfully Hydrates While You Sleep

Paris B 56 Comments

A couple of purchases from Korea I didn’t mention were from Laneige. Being a Korean brand of skincare, it was naturally a little more affordable to get there and I picked up one or two items (including the sunblock I’d been curious about). Thanks to a generous GWP in store (which was the main reason I was tempted), I got a very generous sample of the iconic Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX which got me through the dry air there. I also picked up a tub – the power of sampling 🙂

laneige water sleeping pack

It reminded me of my first experience with the Laneige Water Sleeping Pack many years ago, when I’d first heard of the brand. We didn’t have a counter here then, so I picked up the Water Sleeping Pack from the Laneige store in Hong Kong. The sales assistant in store told me it was their bestselling product. I bought it and tried it but it didn’t give me wonderful results. I also did not like the scent which I found sharp and very floral. Oh and I found it sticky. I don’t think I ever finished that tub.

Happily, all that has changed. That was over 5 years ago and now, I find that the Water Sleeping Pack EX comes in a sturdy looking jar. The texture appears less gel-like and more like a gel-emulsion, and it is no longer sticky nor chemical scented. Whew!

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Tip: Going Back to Basics – Proper and sufficient hydration heals most skin woes

Paris B 58 Comments

sufficient hydration

I’ve had a bit of revelation in the past month or two. I’d realized that proper and sufficient hydration is truly one of the key factors to heal most skin problems.

My skin troubles these days are dry skin, slightly enlarged pores, occasional breakouts and pigmentation; all of which also result in dull skin. I was on an anti-aging skincare regime, and then on a whitening skincare regime… and they were only treating one problem or the other, and  when one problem was treated, another flared up. I got fed up. So, I went back to the most basic of all skincare regimes – simply keeping my skin well hydrated.

And to my surprise, I started seeing results.

After about 2 months, my skin texture has improved, its stopped looking and feeling dry, pigmentation is a little less obvious and pores are smaller. I am also loving the Kiehl’s Dermatologist Solutions Powerful Strength Line Reducing Concentrate for lines (I gotta rave at you another time) hence I will not comment on the line reduction (and there was). I do believe however that keeping skin well hydrated will also help with any problems with fine lines. Here’s what I’d been doing for my skin.

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The Prickly Pear Esmeria Organics Skincare Line certainly pricks my interest!

Paris B 15 Comments

As I observed last week, some readers have been asking me about organic skincare and its quite timely too as the testing period came to an end for this new range of organic skincare – Esmeria Organics. I’d been wanting to tell you about them for a while, because they are a local brand, and despite how I feel about the local political scene, I am proud of local brands that make good.

And Esmeria is one of those local brands I’d love to see succeed globally 🙂 They’re well on their way really, by being the first local Malaysian brand to get certified by EcoCert which is really, no mean feat. But certification aside, our concerns as consumers are, “How does it fare on the skin?” and here’s where we come in 😉

esmeria organics prickly pear skincare

The range of skincare I have is the Prickly Pear range in red, which is for normal to combination skin. There are another 2 ranges available – Alpine Willowherb for Oily and Acne Prone skin (pink packaging) and Glasswort for Dry and Mature Skin (green packaging). My skin is dry around the cheeks and a little oily on the T zone and Prickly Pear is supposed to help hydrate, sooth and protect the skin from UV damage. Interesting. Let’s take a gander.

Esmeria Organics Prickly Pear Balancing Cleansing Gel – RM29.90/75ml

The cleansing gel has a very lovely fresh floral scent and a light liquid gel texture. Be careful if you upend the tube because it is liable to spill out even if you don’t squeeze the tube. Personally I think for the texture, a bottle may be a better packaging medium. Otherwise, it is light on the skin yet cleans well, and does not leave the skin feeling dry after washing. I enjoy using it in the morning because of the lovely scent and I think its a good face wash overall. Its just 75ml and because of the liquid texture you might find yourself inadvertently using more than you really need. Hence I still think a bottle with a small nozzle will be perfect for this product.

Ingredients: Aqua/water, aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf juice, sodium cocoyl glutamate, disodium cocoglucoside tartrate, coco glucoside, glyceryl oleate, xanthan gum, opuntia ficus indica stem (prickly pear) extract, glycerin, fructan, epilobium fleischeri (alpine willowherb) extract, calendula officinalis flower extract, nelumbo nucifera (lotus flower extract, tocopherol, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, citrus dulcis (sweet orange) oil, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, parfum from essential oils. 30.4% from organic farming, 99.9% from natural origin.

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