Smooth-365 Intensive Clarity + Smoothing Peptide Serum

Since I have naturally oily skin I mostly couldn't put any creams or moisturizers under my powder cuz I'll look nasty after a couple of hours when the oil on my skin starts to gradually secretes. I don't like that I look so shiny and obviously oily from putting on additional skin products other than powdered ones. I thought it'll always be the same morning routine that after the astringent or toner application it's finally powder time on my face then make-up if I wasn't lazy. Before, in-between the astringent and powder I would put BB cream but apart from my oily skin consequences, I find it hard to blend the color of those tinted BB creams same goes with any liquid foundation. It's like either I look tanner or fairer when my skin tone is just somewhere in the middle of both. Even if I choose the ones that says more suitable for my skin color it won't work. Whenever I photograph myself it still looks odd on my face that I decided to stop it. I eventually learned that sometimes there are skin tones that need to blend two or maybe more, for example, BB creams or liquid foundations to achieve the right tone, which I thought is very inconvenient and lavish. I couldn't live with it. Then when I met my recent Dermatologist she advised me to never forget to put on a sun-screen especially on my face for protection from UV Rays. I followed her advice but a week of use I started to drop the idea of protecting myself from any harmful rays. I stopped using sun-screen cuz it's worse than the case when I was still using BB creams or moisturizers that when I look in the mirror I feel ashamed of myself for I look oilier and shinier, that's so not normal. And so I just accepted the fact that creams or liquid skin products are not for me in the morning with or without make-up on. Oh well, I sometimes put moisturizer on my face if I'm at home and I remembered it.

Image taken from www.elle.com.hk

But things have changed when I started using this Smooth-365 Intensive Clarity + Smoothing Peptide Serum. From our last trip to Duty Free I bought this serum after reading what's indicated on its name. I tried it first one night to see how it will look like after awhile of wearing it on my face, then I saw that it doesn't get oily or shiny for long even on first application, which is great. That's when I decided to test if I wear it in the morning under my powder what will be the effect. I was thrilled that it complements well on my skin and choice of powder. Of course there is still oiliness cuz I have oily skin, which I've already mentioned, but not drastic as in you can fry food on it, nothing like that with this product. And since it's not tinted and the serum disappears when applied that it doesn't conflict on my nuetral colored face powder. The good thing about this product is that it can be an alternative to BB cream. The beauty benefits of BB cream can also be given by this serum. Like it smoothens and clears the skin to achieve an almost flawless look. Also, the serum won't add a greasy feel on your face and you won't have worries like when you use BB cream or liquid foundation you look like you've put too much powder on your face.

The serum is from GoodSkin Labs. Not only this serum is their available product. Actually, there are a lot to choose from. I remember back in Duty Free when I saw the shelf of this brand, I wondered how effective it could be or is it a known brand in the US or somewhere overseas. Although I have zero information about it I eventually got a hand of the serum to try on. I also have my eyes on their collagen serum but decided to just take one since the brand for me like I said is still unknown. I said that atleast if the product sucks then I won't have another tube to force myself of emptying it. But I regretted that I didn't take personal supplies for myself now that I've seen how great the product is. I can only wait until April after my tour to the US and Mexico to get supplies that will be good until someone will take me to Duty Free again. But if you ask me I wish there is this brand in our market so I could buy anytime. Unfortunately, and as far as I know, it's only available in Duty Free.

Revlon ColorStay

Image taken from amazon.com

I've been wearing lipstick lately. Although I'm not a fan of wearing it I thought maybe it won't hurt to try something new, and so I did. So for first-timers like me I tried this Revlon ColorStay lipstick. I have the Soft Cinnamon. It's like brownish-red in color. It's fine but I realized it's not my favorite hue. Anyway, I was supposedly looking for a shade of red, something that's like red in a darker tone, maybe something close to maroon I think but I couldn't find it in their colors. In the end I was left with no choice but to buy the color that is somewhat forgivable, plus since it says that it is long-lasting. But long-lasting is it, no. I was disappointed that its color doesn't stay all day when you eat food... yeah, so far whenever I finish eating and see my lips the color faded away. Most of the color that's left can only be seen around my lip line. It's like I have shaped my lips through a lip-liner, that's what it's like.  But you know what, when I read its reviews online one example is from this site, amazon.com I don't get why it has lots of good feedbacks. I thought it's weird, or is it me? So far that's my only problem about it but it's big deal right? cuz you wanna have the day away from embarrassment when you meet or mingle with people and realize that your lipstick isn't intact anymore. I just don't like that kind of trouble that's all.

Acne/pimple whatever!

Hi Maech! You see, I'm kinda hesitant to make this as I am not a pro in curing acne myself. I still frequently get pimples or acne especially whenever I'm stressed out or before I have my period. But I say I have a better way to treat them now than before and hopefully it may help you even a little bit with your problem.

Whenever I have some breakouts on my skin what I usually do is pop them. Yeah it's a bad thing, I know. I just try to remove the pus to stop the abscess from stinging, swelling and reddening. I don't scrape it with my fingernails or anything cause it's more prone to scarring than my other alternative. In my way what I do is I sandwich the abscess with my point fingers and push them to the center where the abscess was until the pus comes out and let some blood flow until the bump subsides. There are times it's very painful to do that it can even put you in tears but I don't stop in the middle of the process regardless cuz I bet if you do then you'll irritate more the pimple and will cause you big-time troubles ahead. So if you intend to do the same you have to be prepared. In the end if you put away the pus from the abscess you'll feel much better cuz the stinging, swelling and reddening will be gone. But note that it will not guarantee you that it will make you pimple-free, in fact if you didn't disinfect or make urgent treatment to the pimple you forcefully touched then the bacteria will only spread. To keep that from occurring what I do is I put isopropyl alcohol or mild cleanser to the affected area right away. Next I put Benzoyl cream. I don't just put the cream on the pimple that I pricked, I actually put it all over my face. And of course I don't let myself forget to drink an antibacterial capsule for acne cuz it will help you obviously fight the bacteria from spreading. In other words, it hinders the pimples from multiplying on your skin. Now I suggest that you don't wash it with water cuz it'll make the pimple darker after you just popped it. It happened to me, and it's ugly. It's alright to finally wash it with water after awhile, maybe after the popped pimple finally looked dry. And that's it. You just have to continue using mild cleanser, if possible choose a pimple fighting cleanser, and benzoyl, and the antibacterial capsule. Do them until your pimples are gone or you lose its severity that you think you finally have to pause for now until they breakout again, or if they have already served its purpose.

There are still times where you get dark spots from your previous acne, and I think it's harder to treat than when it scarred. Like even now I still have those dark spots although it's not as dark as way back. There are skin products that promise to even your skin tone and remove dark spots but most them would do no good. But when it comes to that I just exfoliate two times a week. Exfoliating not only removes dead skin cells, it can also brighten your skin especially if you pick the one that has whitening ingredient like Peeling Day (White Jewel) from The Faceshop and the one I'm using right now is a L'Occitane brand. When you exfoliate, the dark spots will gradually lighten up and if you get scarred from acne it may also aid in smoothing the scar to kinda conceal those so-called, "potholes" on your face. You may also like to put a whitening moisturizer to remove those dark spots, as for me, I stopped trying and only use an emulsion with ginseng such as the one from Missha. On the other hand, another option in treating those potholes is to use scar removal gel or cream. I use Contractubex gel, it worked but not absolutely. There are also other brands you may wanna try for yourself. Another is the use of collagen products. Any products that has collagen in it will do for that ingredient says that it rejuvenates the skin. Not only it's use to fight wrinkles but also plumps the skin which is also good for treating scars, or might just work as an aid I'm not sure though. Actually the collagen thing I said where some information I read from all types of sources. I haven't tried using collagenic products yet since I have tons of facial products at hand, maybe soon after I empty one or two of them. Ah! I have a reminder that never ever exfoliate with a broken skin, you'll just make your case worse. If possible if you feel like exfoliating yourself and you think you're still prone to pimples I think you should ready your antibacterial capsule just in case you need immediate treatment.

Now if you're the type who wants to make your skin be back to how it was when you haven't encountered acne before then you should see a Dermatologist for fast treatment.

By the way, the measures I use to treat my pimples were applicable to me and can't guarantee you have the same effect. But from my Dermatologist's prescription she told me to use Benzoyl, antibacterial medicine for acne (Tetralysal), sunscreen, and skin care products that is hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. She in fact suggested brands such as Neutrogena and VMV Hypoallegenics to name a few. I haven't tried the latter cuz their products are expensive, but the previous is alright so I went for that brand instead. My favorite and tested Neutrogena product is their Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser. I haven't used it for awhile but it's really something.

There. Good luck! : )

Vanillary @ Lush

Took so long to make an entry about my new love--- scent. These days I have to say that I'm addicted to one of Lush's solid perfumes that is Vanillary. The smell of vanilla and caramel were so right for me, and it's what I'm looking for in a scent that I believe is appropriate for my age. I read that the scent of vanilla--- I'm not sure about caramel--- has a sexy appeal to guys. Not that I intend to seduce or flirt with them, but for me it would at least may signal that I'm passed the in-between stage of maturity. I wanna feel like I'm a lady and be treated as is, I should be at my age now, yes.  It's not that I forced myself to love vanilla cuz of their appeal to opposite sex it's actually easy to fall in love with it. With the combination of caramel, the perfume smells so sweet like you wanna lick it or taste it. No kidding. If it's only a candy or any sweet food  I would have devoured it into my mouth right on the spot. Unfortunately, it's inedible and I don't have plans in killing myself so I gotta be aware that it's not food. Actually as a girl, and whenever I smell the perfume it's almost always that I wanna stick my nose to the skin where the scent was concentrated. You wanna smell it like crazy cuz it's sweet like you have your sweet-tooth activated again. Girls, if ever you got curious about this solid perfume and eventually went nuts about the scent as well,  I suggest that you put some behind your ears and nape so the scent will linger almost every minute of the day, and especially when the wind blows it's as if the smell would spread around where you are and people will have a second look at you with smiles on their faces. The back of my ears and nape are my fave places too cuz it has lots of purpose, the two things I've already mentioned. Another is that the smell of the perfume sticks to your hair so your shafts would somewhat smell the same, it's better cuz it supplements your early morning shower when you put shampoo and conditioner for the whole day. In fact I could usually smell it even the next morning so waking up or taking a bath later makes me not think much of stinking. Lastly, since the back of the ears and nape are close to your cheek and shoulder therefore when people kiss you or embrace you the other person will get an immediate impression to its scent. I very much like that part the most to say the least. But of course, girls have their own places on their body which they prefer their perfume to apply so definitely they have the freedom to do so. But don't forget the pulse areas of the body, just saying.

Image from www.punmiris.com

The perfume I have I bought in Lush Glorietta.  It costs over P500, and the tube in size is not even half in height of a standard pen. It's small in other words. You may have a second thought on buying it thinking if it's worth its price. But, as for me, despite deliberating it in my head I came to purchase the perfume for myself since I must be already under its spell. So far, I never regretted buying it. I might get another one when I have it empty.