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

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