Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 PA +++

Missha M Perfect Cover is my everyday go-to BB Cream, I've tried many BB Creams but this one is the one I love the most !! I am a lazy person so if I'm not doing much that day, I allow myself 5-10 minutes to do my make up. It has a hygienic and easy-to-use pump dispenser. This is an important factor for me as i dislike the BB creams that you need to stick your fingers into to get the product out and get all messy!

This BB Cream is perfect because I can just slap it on and know that my skin is getting moisturize, sun protection, healing properties, and decent coverage for an even skin tone. It has SPF 42 PA +++ which is very important to prevent our skin from premature aging.

The consistency of BB Creams is somewhat heavier than a tinted moisturizer but lighter than your average foundations. This BB creams got a medium coverage. It's easy to blend and it's also buildable to a full coverage. I have dry skin so usually i skip powder and it can still lasts for about 6-8 hours. If it's a very hot day and I'm gonna sweat more, a bit of powder can also help its lasting power.


There's two shades for this BB Cream, which is No.21 & No.23. I'm using the No. 23 because it's more yellow-based tone and blends to my natural skin tone better. If you like the paler look, definitely go for No.21!

This is one of my all time favorite products! A constant must-have in my make up box wherever I go.

Repurchase? A BIG YES!

Missha Liquidly Facial Cleanser One-Step Milk to Peeling Review

I picked up Missha's Liquidly Facial Cleanser as I wanted an all-in-one cleanser that will help remove my make up, clean and 'peel' my face at the same time. Yes, I am lazy sometimes :)

This version of Liquidly Facial Cleanser is the One-Step Milk to Peeling.
There is also an Oil to Foam version out there.

It is a milky cream formula that turns into a peeling gel when rubbed/ massaged into the skin thoroughly.

One pump from the bottle

The product has a light scent that is like lavender.

The texture is very light and creamy. It feels like smearing cold cream on your face. Very soothing.

One pump from the bottle is enough for the entire face and neck.

For a big 200ml bottle like this, it will last me about 4-5 months with once a day use everyday.

Here I will demonstrate it's magical peeling power.

From left: Revlon High Dimension Eyeliner in 04 Sapphire Flash, Victoria Secret Beauty Rush wet/dry Eyeshadow in Espresso Lane, Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Effects Lipstick in 08 Geranium Shimmer and Skin79 Pink Super BB Cream

I have swatched on my hand my everyday make up and left to dry and sink into my skin. Eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick, bb cream.

One pump of the cleanser here.

It is probably too much for my hand. Half a pump or 1/4 pump should have been enough.

Within the first 20-30 seconds the make up disappears into the cleanser.

After 2 minutes, the 'peel' bits appear! Magical!

They look like this. Yucky...

Trapped bits of make up and dead skin in the gel bits.

End result - smooth hand that is free of make up and dead skin.
You really do feel the smoothness of your skin after using this product.

One thing I would point out is that once your hands or face is wet, it dosn't 'peel', but it will still remove make up effectively. So you've got to use this product on dry skin.

The 'peeling' process provides exfoliation that is light enough to be used everyday.
It hasn't given me irritated or dry skin with everyday use.

I highly recommend this product if you find other scrubs too harsh on your skin or if you have sensitive skin.

Overall this is a one-step product that is effective. Me likey, so two thumbs up from me!

Repurchase? Yes! I would also be keen on the oil-to-foam cleanser in future.

By Ai

*This was purchase on the New Zealand Missha website missha.co.nz (not affiliated with this seller). I found the picture of the bottle of this product is different from mine. Must be a new version of it then, hopefully the formula stayed the same. Otherwise new stock = better!

Clinique Moisture Surge Extra Refreshing Eye Gel Review

The Clinique Moisture Surge Extra Refreshing Eye Gel is another eye product I tend to use alot of during summer.

Like most eye products, it comes in a standard 15 ml tube.

It is formulated for all skin types.

Glad to say it didn't sting my eyes, gave me any eye allergies or irritate my eyes (when I am wearing contacts lenses)!

A tube like this will last me all summer and maybe halfway into autumn, depending on how often I use it.

I keep a tube of this in my handbag.

I apply and reapply it during the day as it gives my eyes that little refreshed ompf when needed - you know, the kind when you stare at your office screen for too long or when you've been under the sun baking away.

It makes my eyes feel just that but more moisturized as well.
It also fixes any dry spots I get with my under eye concealer during the day.

What I also love about this product is the nib top.

It allows me to dispense the product onto my finger which I like, instead of dipping my grotty fingers into a jar of eye gel.

The tube is very easy to squeeze but you just have to be careful not to squeeze too much product out, as a little goes a long way for this eye gel!

A dot of this eye gel is about how much I use on each eye

The gel has a light fresh smell, not strong at all.

Texture-wise it is smooth and very easy to spread, just like a gel, but a bit creamier.

It does not leave any stickiness behind.

Personally I prefer to use this over my make up than under, because I find my make up runs/peels a little wee bit if I use this gel under.

Overall, this is a good eye gel for the summer and for people on-the-go.

Repurchase? Yes definitely for every summer!

By Ai

Bloom Saving Face Multi Vitamin Face Cream Review

Bloom cosmetics is an Australian brand that sells beauty products packed with natural ingredients.
I love their use of aromatherapy blends in their beauty products.

Here I will tell you about their Bloom Saving Face Multi Vitamin Face Cream.

 Its comes in a 100g plastic pot with a screw on lid.

As you can see from the ingredient list there are lot of good stuff packed in this little pot!

Amongst them are Vitamin A, C and E with Shea Butter.

These vitamins helps skin regenerate faster and are so nourishing.

This product is also not tested on animals!

The infused ylang ylang and jasmine oil scents really come through the product. It is very fresh and light, not overpowering.

It's like putting aromatherapy oils on your face without needing to use an oil burner.

The texture is very creamy and moisturizing. But it is not good for oily skin like mine during summer!

I know Natalie loves this and keeps one in her handbag to touch up on dry patches when she's out.
I too use this on dry patches of my face but only during winter/dry seasons.

A thing to note about this is a little goes a long way! So don't use too much if your skin is not very dry.

Repurchase? Yes when I run out of it during winter.

By Ai

Favourite Summer Fragrance: Dior Addict 2 Eau de Parfum & Victoria Secret Garden Collection - Sheer Love Fragrance Mist

Dior Addict 2 is a sweet floral fragrance with a hint of spicy & mild musky notes.

Immediately after application, the top notes of Grenadine & Freesia come through. The sweet tartness comes from grenadine while the beautiful floral scent comes from the freesia flower.

A few moments after, the base notes of sandalwood & white musk kicks in. The earthly woody, spicy scent from Sandalwood is more dominant, gives the scent more depth & lingers the longest.

Pretty pink packaging with easy to use pump spray

I'm in love with this Dior fragrance !It's both subtle & elegant. As you can see, my bottle is already more than half empty. Haha! 


Sheer Love by Victoria Secret is a sweet floral fragrance with hints of fresh White Cotton & Pink Lily flowers. It also has calming scents of Chamomile & Aloe vera. I absolutely love this mist! I'm completely addicted to this mist. It's sweet & delicate.A spritz of this can lighten up my mood! :)

Also has a pretty pink packaging with and spray pump

Both of these fragrances are similar as they are both sweet, feminine & floral.
However, Victoria Secret Sheer Love is slightly sweeter smelling than Dior Addict 2, but does not last as long. I like to mix both of these together for a more personalized signature scent.

Pretty in Pink!

Both of these scents are too perfect for the summer!

Repurchase? Yes for both! Love to mix these two together for my own unique signature scent!

by Nat xoxo

Clean and Clear Blackhead Clearing Cleanser Review

During summer seasons my T-zone produces enough oil to fry my own fish and chips. Lol gross I know....

Anyway, I always find myself coming back to this product, the Clean and Clear Blackhead Clearing Cleanser, to remove the oiliness from my face.

It comes in a big 200ml bottle, which lasts me about 2-3 months with once or twice a day usage.

As you can see from the picture I have used alot of it.

It is part of my daily night time cleansing regime.

I use it after my double cleansing regime as a toner because you don't wash it off after application. It stays on your skin and continues to fight off the oiliness.

It's got salicylic acid in it which is good for oily, acne-prone skin.

I don't have acne but I get quite a lot of pimples when I am stressed/ lack sleep/ eat too much chocolate or chips or oily fried foods (i.e everything yummy!) .

The smell is very alcoholic as alcohol denat is the second ingredient on the list after aqua (water). This is good as I like to believe the alcohol will dissolve away the oiliness of my skin.

I would stay away from this if you've got sensitive skin like Natalie... one touch of this and her skin goes red and blotchy...

Since it is a cleanser, let me demonstrate to you it's awesome cleaning power...

From left: Revlon High Dimension Eyeliner in 04 Sapphire Flash, Victoria Secret Beauty Rush wet/dry Eyeshadow in Espresso Lane, Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Effects Lipstick in 08 Geranium Shimmer and Skin79 Pink Super BB Cream

Here on my hand I have swatched an eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick and BB cream (if you want me to review these please leave a comment to let me know thank you!)

I have left these on for 20 minutes-ish to let the cosmetics really settle into my skin.

Soaking a cotton pad with the cleanser... you don't need to much of it.

Ready... set.... clean!!!

After ONE wipe

As you can see all it needs is one wipe and ta-da! The make up comes off easily and does not leave any residual make up behind.

After TWO wipes

After two wipes, the back of my hand is clean and make up free again.

Repurchase? Yes!

There is also a sister product - the pink/red colour version of this ( I think it's called the cleansing lotion), I use when I run out of this blue one. I will review it in a future post to compare for you. So start following me!

 By Ai

Elie Saab Perfume Range - I super heart but why so many to choose from?! *rant*

I am really, really, really, I mean really, picky when it comes to perfumes.

There are only about a handful of perfumes I like, and will wear to bed so I can fall asleep drowning in the nice smelling scent of my choice.

So when I discovered the Elie Saab perfume I was like OMG MUST BUY!!!

In terms of price it is quite an affordable perfume but why are there so many versions of it in this range?

Beautiful Elie Saab model picture I must post because so pretty wahhhhhh *.*  (from Google images)

The problem is I love them all! But I can't buy them all T.T

Elie Saab Eau De Parfum (from Google images)

The original eau de parfum from the Elie Saab range... so nice smelling... which I really liked and then there comes a fresher version of it I also like:

Elie Saab Eau De Toilette (from Google images)

The eau de toilette which I also REALLY like....

So I decided to buy the toilette version due to it's freshness and when I walked into Smith and Caugheys (department store in New Zealand) I found Elie Saab decided to put out another version of it...

Elie Saab Eau De Parfum Intense (from Google images)

Le INTENSE version!!!
There is also the toilette version of this I think... but too lazy to add from Google images...

Le problem here is it has a heavier muskier smell which I also REALLY like...

So at this point I was like X.X OMG which one to buy???

To add to my confusion... I just found out Elie Saab decided to do this too:

Elie Saab Eau De Toilette L'eau Couture (from Google images)

Put out another new perfume in 2014.... *cleans drool off my keyboard*

So how now? What should I do and which one should I buy? Should I wait for the new one to come out and then decide? Or should I buy the toilette (not the intense version)? Or... should I buy them ALL?

*rants*

by Ai

Hazeline Snow Moisturizing Cream Review

I was shopping in Asia when I found this moisturizing cream sold at their local pharmacies. I have seen this online before so I got it for myself to try. Introducing the Hazeline Snow Moisturizing Cream:

The Hazeline brand is produced by Unilever, an Anglo–Dutch based company.

Hazeline is witch hazel extract from what I remember.

After a quick online search I found that the 'snow' bit refers to soft stearate creams containing 50% hazeline. It supposedly provides a cooling and refreshing sensation to the skin.

However, I don't remember seeing witch hazel extract in the list of ingredients on the box (which I threw out so there is no photo of it lol....)

The product is housed in a glass jar that is quite thick and heavy, and comes with a screw on top lid.

It has a floral, soapy scent that is a bit heavy. But it dosn't bother me because it is quite a nice scent.

The texture itself is soft and foamy, very snow-like. You can sort of feel air bubbles coming through the cream when you dip your fingers into the jar and when you apply it on your skin.

This product is water based and there is no greasy feeling to it. Perfect for oily skin in the summer, and for me during my trip in the hot humid weather of Asia.

Despite the lack of oil in it, I find it provides enough moisture for my skin on a hot day.

It also leaves behind a cooling and refreshing feeling, and makes me wonder what they used in place of the witch hazel to achieve this...

What I didn't like about this product is that I have to dip my fingers into the jar to scoop it out. Because it is so airy and foamy, it is quite hard to do so.

The other thing I didn't like is it takes quite some time for the skin to absorb the moisturizer so I have to walk around with white streaks on my face for a while.

Other than that, I find this 'cream' okay to use for the summer, but I would not reach out for it as there are other nicer summer moisturizers I tend to reach for first.

Repurchase? Maybe, if I am very desperate and moisturizer-less in Asia


by Ai

L'occitane Repairing Hair Serum for Dry & Damaged Hair Review

Good morning beautiful people!

Whether it be in the summer or winter, dry brittle hair is an on-going problem for me. During the summer, the hot sun , beach & pools water causes environmental stress on my hair , while the dry winter weather can also further stress out my hair. My hair is dry, damaged, fine and unmanageable.
This is mostly caused by the environmental stress and also my daily routine of applying heat to my hair for styling, not to mention the endless bleaching and colouring of my hair.

I have been using L'occitane Repairing Hair Serum for months now.

I apply this on my damp hair (after shower and towel drying) and even on my dry hair when I wake up in the morning . It comes in a no-mess easy pump bottle. Two pumps is more than enough for long hair. A little goes a long way!

Easy to use pump dispenser bottle

Texture is a lightweight milky lotion consistency. Silicons and Parabens free.
Scent is faint and natural. A very pleasant sweet floral smell that is not over powering.

Dispensed one pump of product from bottle

My hair after i wake up in the morning- dry & unmanageable

It takes away the dryness in my hair without weighing it down. This product does not leave my hair looking greasy or oily like other leave-in hair serums can. It nourishes my hair and smooths out any frizzes and my hair becomes much, much more manageable. Hair looks a lot smoother, healthier and shinier.

After applying only one pump of product- hair looks smoother, shinier & more manageable

Repurchase? Yes, too much love for this product as it is very effective .A bit pricey but definitely worth it!


By Nat xoxo

The Body Shop Elderflower Unperfumed Eye Gel Review

During winter, I often use a rich moisturizing eye cream or balm for under my dry eyes. But during the summer season, I tend to reach for a lighter eye moisturizer - preferably a gel based one.

This summer I used The Body Shop Elderflower Unperfumed Eye Gel.

I noticed that I could no longer find this on The Body Shop UK website. Not sure if it is discontinued overseas but it is still sold in The Body Shop stores in New Zealand.

It is a very light eye gel with a slight alcoholic smell to it which dosn't bother me. The smell is almost undetected and you have to breathe in very hard to catch the scent.

Texture-wise it is very easy to spread, and doesn't leave any stickiness behind.

I find it provides just enough moisture for my eyes during the summer season.

I occasionally use it over my make up under my eyes do give a dewy, fresher look. It also fixes the dry patches under the eyes left by my under eye concealer.

It leaves this amazing cooling sensation behind which WILL WAKE YOU UP in the morning!

A little tip here - I keep this eye gel in the fridge (not the freezer!) so it is colder when I apply it to my eye bags. The cooling effect seem to help reduce the puffiness of my eye bags.

Note that I don't think this eye gel is suppose to have any effect on dark eye circles, because I don't see any....

The best thing about this eye gel is that it doesn't sting my eyes, as my eyes are quite sensitive to most of the other eye products I have used in the past.

Repurchase? Yes, but only for the summer season as I will need a heavier richer moisturizer for the winter.

By Ai

Shiseido Pore Minimizing Cooling Essence Review

1st post of 2014!!! Woohoo!!!

The summer heat often leaves me with enlarged, yucky pores with blackheads in them. So this summer, I've decided to try out this product from Shiseido's Pureness line, the Pore Minimizing Cooling Essence.

Claims of this product (from Shiseido website):
A cooling essence that reduces the appearance of pores and visibly smoothens skin texture. Absorbs excess oil to help prevent the appearance of imperfections. Hydrates skin to enhance smoothness and diminish surface unevenness. Maintains skin's natural turnover for a refined look and less noticeable pores.

So all in all, it is a product that targets pores and excess oil.

Let see how well it works.... (Before you read on.... please note there are some yucky pore pictures in this post!)

So for this review, I have used my hubby's pores to demonstrate the efficacy of this product. He has larger pores than I do so you can sort of see the effect more clearly.

First of all, it comes in a 30mL tube which will last quite a while considering it is only used on targeted spots on the face. The nozzle is quite small and allows for control over how much product is dispensed to prevent product wastage.

This is how much I/we use:

Just a pea sized amount is enough to cover the entire nose and cheek area. Smells very fresh and clean, spread very easily...

It is recommended to use as last step in skincare, but I prefer to use it after cleansing and toning, before moisturizing. You can feel it getting absorbed into your pores after application.

During application, test subject is not happy but is willing to pose in exchange for chocolate later.... hurhur....

So this is what is looks like before and after application (picture taken under natural light indoors, no photo editing):

Before application (left) After application (right)

As you can see, after applying the essence the nose pores seem to be smaller, like it is filled with something(?).

I find after using the essence my foundation/bb cream dosn't seem to sink into my pores, so it makes my skin appear more even.

I have used this product for just over a month now, but not regularly. Even so, I feel like my pores on my nose are smaller this summer and there are less blackheads. So yes overall I am very happy with this product :) Whee....

Repurchase? Yes!

by Ai