Beauty Grail

I often love being pampered and getting special treatments such as facials so when at the Dermal Therapies information session (You may have heard that I’m in the process of applying for my new found passion of Dermal Therapies) we were adviced to go get salon treatments, It was a case of, “say no more”.

Modern Skin Care Centre, Woden ACT

One of the salons that I had recently visited the past two days was the Modern Skin Care Centre, a small boutique beauty salon tucked behind Woden’s Westfield Plaza.

picture: Adore Beauty

There are two products I absolutely can’t do without. 1 is a lip balm. Yes, having full lips do have it’s cons in that it’s susceptible to wind/sun burn!! I may never have to get lip injections but dry lips is a constant battle for me.

The 2nd is sunscreen. I think we all very well know by now the importance of slathering SPF!!

As a day sun protection, I used to use Clinique’s Super City Block SPF 30+, a gift from my sister in law. On its packaging, City block claims that it has a “remarkable sheer and weightless formula”, it is great for sensitve skin, contains antioxidants, is oil free, safe to use near the eye area and can be worn as a makeup primer. Sounds fantastic, no? I did find it agreed with my rather sensitive skin. However, it did make my skin go rather shiny by midday. It also had a whitish tinge when applied to my skin and I found it difficult to blend with makeup.

I made a special trip to my local David Jones, determined to find a better than good SPF. That’s where I came across Megan Gale Tinted Day wear Sunscreen. This is not the first time I’ve come across the product. My best friend, Orchid, already uses the product and the book I’m currently reading, “The Skin Type Solution” by Dr Leslie Baumann, actually recommends this product for my skin type (which turns out to be Sensitive, Oily, Pigmented and Tight - more on this later).

I paid about $30 AU and put it to use right away. It’s been about a week since using this product and I found some ++ over Clinique City Block.

• I found it to be be more sheer to apply
• No more whitish tinge
• It felt less tacky on my skin
• It’s moisturising wich is great for the fine lines around my eye area
• The tint provides enough hint of colour for me to forgo foundation (for days where ‘minimal’ is my choice of look. Perfect for giving my skin a break from heavy makeup)
• On the days that I do want a more ‘made-up’ look, I can mix a little (or as much) of my foundation with it without having to worry about blending

I give it a BeautyGrail rating of:

Just like my Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Cream, Mama Lotion came highly recommended in FutureDerm.

The “Ma-Ma” in MaMa Lotion

I was particularly curious with its main ingredients which I had not heard of before. These were, Mandelic acid and Malic acid.

FutureDerm’s Nicki Zevola explained that Mandelic acid is an alphahydroxy acid (AHA) derived from almonds. It is a powerful antioxidant which stops free radicals from causing cell damage. In addition, it has antibacterial properties (useful in controlling breakouts).

Malic acid, is also an AHA. It is naturally found in fruits such as apples. Some of its benefits are it is moisturizing and it stimulates the production of collagen (as you may or may not know, our skin’s ability to produce collagen decreases as we get older). Another thumbs up is that it is less irritating than other AHAs like glycolic acid.

What is MaMa Lotion good for?

I visited its website to see what else I could uncover about MaMa Lotion. Some of the results noted from its use were listed there:

• Evened out skin tone including removing age spots & freckles
• Faded acne scars
• Significantly reduced acne breakouts
• Tightened the skin & pores
• Shrunk or eliminated blackheads
• Reduced or erased fine lines and wrinkles
• Significantly reduced the symptoms of rosacea
• Faded melasma

(source: MCK Laboratories)

Results of MaMa Lotionon on acne scarring and melasma after 1 month of treatment

picture: MaMa Lotion

My own MaMa impression

When I first tried out MaMa Lotion, I applied about 2-3 drops to my freshly cleansed face. I did experience some stinging and the lotion felt somewhat tacky on my skin. These sensations went not long after. I then followed it up with my moisturiser.

After about a week of some minor peeling, I analyzed my face. At a glance, I saw no dramatic improvements. My fine lines were definitely still there. However, I did feel a difference. My face felt soooo much smoother. The only other time it felt this way would have been before I hit my teens!

Delighted so far, I decided to incorporate it into my night skin care routine (applied every other night when I don’t use retinol).

Mama Lotion can be purchased at various online stores and retails for around $44US.

Glamr Rating: (If and once it gets rid of my fine lines will I award it an extra star :-)

picture: Amazon

I just love starting my Mondays with a package!! One was delivered to my door early this morning. Like an excited little girl on Christmas, I ripped open the box, very curious to see what was inside.

There I found 3 bottles of Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Creams. I almost forgot that I won these through eBay about 2 weeks ago! Undeterred by my recent negative MAC eBay experience, I went ahead and purchased these after reading a post about it in one of my fav blogs, FutureDerm.

In the blog, Nicki Zevola of Future Derm, compared 3 products containing retinol. They were Skinceuticals Retinol 0.5, Philosophy Help Me Retinol Night Treatment and Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Cream. Out of the three, she found Neutrogena to be the best value for money whilst containing a high percentage of retinol!

After carefully cleansing my face, I applied a pea-size amount. I really liked how it glided onto my skin and left no sticky feeling afterwards.

I did experience some mild stinging sensation. However, like it says on the packaging, it’s only temporary and it quickly went away.

So far so good. I do hope it proves effective for me so I can add it to my (ever growing) list of top skin care product “must haves” instead of “money waster”. Stay tuned.

October ‘08 Update: I’ve actually added this product to my beauty night regime ( my retinoid product of choice during my rest days from retin-A).

image credit: Temptalia

It wasn’t long ago that I have mentioned about SPINLASH™, the rotating mascara wand. Now I’ve learnt through Temptalia about more moving mascaras bound to hit the cosmetic market. These are Estee Lauder’s Turbo Lash mascara and Lancome’s Oscillation mascara.

I’m not really sure what the difference is between the two. Both claim to extend, curl, shape and thicken lashes. One via vibrations(Estee Lauder’s) whilst the other through oscillatations(Lancome’s). As far as I know both words are synonymous, unless you start delving into Physics. However, this is makeup science so I think we can safely say that they’re very similar.

Estee Lauder’s TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara is a battery-operated vibrating mascara. It will be launched on July 17 at Saks Fifth Avenue exclusively and will retail for around 30USD.

I’m not sure when Lancome’s Oscillation mascara will be launch or for how much but I’m sure it won’t be far behind Turbo Lash.

What do you think of these vibrating/oscillating mascaras? Do you have a preference?

The day before I was due to fly out for my Philippine holiday, I decide to take the opportunity to limp around (I had just completed a 42 km marathon 3 days prior) and search for skin care products I may require. I was in the Parramatta area so I wandered to the MAC counter at Myer. I spied on one of their lotions labelled “OIL CONTROL”. I applied some to the back of my hand. I really liked the way it was quickly absorbed into my skin leaving no sticky residue. So far so good. I pictured myself wandering around the tropics looking all sweaty and shiny so I asked for a sample pot. I had one more day after all to decide whether the $44 50ml bottle was a worthy purchase.

For my recent trip to the Philippines (my first after being away for 20 years!), I knew that I was going to need a good toner to help keep my skin as healthy and clean as possible given the air quality in most of the city areas is very poor (so poor that your eye and nose cavities, not to mention face, gets blackened by pollution after a day of sight seeing). I had been using Clinique’s clarifying lotion but found this to be too drying for daily use. That’s when I remembered the Shiseido’s toner I had purchased but forgotten awhile back.

I used Shiseido Pureness religiously during my two week holiday in the Philippines (hence the half empty bottle pic). I used it in the morning in preparation for dressing myself up for the day. More importantly, I used it at night no matter how late or sleepy I was to remove every trace of leftover makeup and dirt that I may have accumulated in my gallivanting.

I was very impressed with this product. I love the fact that it’s alcohol free thus I did not experience any burning or stinging sensation. This is what people often use as an indication that the product’s working but just one look at my used cotton swab and I don’t have to second guess it’s effectiveness.

I’m happy to say that I came back home fully rejuvinated and my skin pimple free!

Glamr Rating:

A few weeks ago, I had been on the look out for L.A. Splash brand cosmetics in my local Canberra stores after reading good reviews about its loose eye powders. Instead of finding an inexpensive alternative to MAC pigments, I picked up instead a pot of LA Splash Mermaid Mineral powder in ‘Fairy Tale’ shade. I’m a fan of mineral powders plus the ‘Fairy Tale’ shade (which is a yellowish colour) seemed to be the right shade for my Asian skin. My verdict?…

I have really sensitive eyes and most makeup and face creams cause my eyes to go blood shot. Not a very good look! I’ve been putting up with my old eye cream thinking I just had to then I happen to wonder into a Body Shop Outlet in Melbourne when I spied on their Eye Rescue Serum. Sure it says for men but I don’t believe there’s any difference between man eye area and woman’s. So long as I don’t sprout extra facial hair(which I haven’t). Plus I’m desperate.

I must say, this is the very first eye cream I had purchased which I could apply all over my eye area and close to the lash line without tearing or going blood shot. That alone got my thumbs up.

However, I’ve had to subtract some points as it failed to dramatically reduce puffiness, dark circles and appearance of fine lines … not that I thought it would (surely no one really believes marketing hype?).

It just delivers the right amount of emollient to prevent dryness and premature lines and wrinkles (heaven forbid).

Glamr Rating:

I absolutely can’t live without my Vaseline Lip Therapy Lip Moisturiser. Why? For the simple reason that does it’s job. It’s managed to keep my lips soft and soothed after traipsing around the Overland Track, braving cold temperatures up Mt Fuji, sight seeing around humid Vietnam and training for a marathon.

Unlike other similar and more expensive lip moisturisers I’ve tried which leaves my lips feeling dry and chapped after a short period of time, Vaseline is inexpensive, convenient, non-sticky and keeps my lips hydrated longer.

I’d give it full marks if only they up the SPF factor (of 15) and make it totally lick-proof.

Glamr Rating:

This would have to be one of my latest best impulse buys (I wandered into my local “The Warehouse” store expecting to walk out with only inexpensive poster paints). I figured it was “cheap-as-chips” so it was worth a test drive, or should I say, test-try. Good timing too as it was Salsa Tuesday, the night I get to learn some sexy moves.

I found the texture and consistency of this liquid liner to be quite good- smooth and not too runny or thin. It’s long tapered handle, which was easy and comfortable to hold, together with its pen tip, made application very easy. You may need to go over some lines but generally, with just a few careful steady strokes and you are done.

After sweating it our for an hour, I was pleasantly surprised that I did not go home looking like a clown. The liner stayed put. It did not run, fleck of fade!

I’ll be sure to check out it’s other product range. Hope I find myself equally as satisfied as this.

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I was shopping around for a concealer when I came across Dermablend Smooth Indulgent Concealer. I must admit, I was swayed by how it seem to effortlessly vanish all sorts of blemishes from sunspots through to rosacea in the before-and-after marketing pics.

I think there are 2…no, make that 3 aspects to make this concealer work for you. Firstly, you have to choose the correct colour otherwise you’ll find that whatever it is you’re trying to cover will be enhanced rather than masked.

Secondly, the skin to be covered must be clean and smooth. I was trying to cover an angry looking spot on my face that was on the flaky side (even after scrubbing and moisturising). I would have been better off dusting a bit of powder or letting it be.

Finally, you must be quick-as-a flash as you don’t get much time to work and blend this concealer before it sets.

So it you’ve fulfilled the above and need heavy coverage, then this product would be suitable.

Unfortunately for me, it required to much fussing in application, it looked cakey and unnatural and it made the fine lines under my eyes stand out. Glamr Rating:

This pot of bare Minerals foundation in “medium” was part of a Bare Escentuals kit that was given to me by my Aunt from the US. At the time, I had just ever used cream and liquid based foundations which made my skin susceptible to break outs. I was ready and looking for an alternative. Could this be the answer? For one, this mineral based powder foundation had SPF 15 so it got a tick. I liked how I only had to use a small amount to cover my entire face. It did a great job of evening out my skin tone whilst looking very natural as well as controlling shine (perfect for individuals like me with oily skin).

On the downside, perhaps it’s my skin type but touch ups is required through out the day. I’ve since included this product to my makeup collection as a regular daytime foundation.

Glamr Rating:

This pot of bare Minerals face colour in “glee” was part of a Bare Escentuals kit that was given to me by my Aunt from the US. At the time, I was just getting into contouring so I was very eager to test it out. It’s a mineral based powder designed for the face. I use it mainly for blush but it can be used too as eyeshadow colour or dusted all over the face for a pinkish glow.

There really isn’t anything that I can pick on about this product except that it can be quite intense so it must be applied sparingly. Then again, that really is a plus as a little goes a long way. I literally use just a few granules (since it’s not crushed super finely) for both my face cheeks.

It’s very easy to apply to the skin and has good staying power. This gets the glamr thumbs up.

Glamr Rating:

My sister in law gave me Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturiser to try on my oily skin. Compared to the lotion version, it feels lighter and less greasy. I found that it was perfect for the warmer months- delivering just the right moisture level to my skin. However, during the colder and drier seasons, I found that I needed to keep reapplying it as my face felt taught and dry as the day progressed.

As for it’s promise of softens, smooths, improves - I honestly don’t believe that just the product itself contributed towards this. I believe that in general, a good and consistent skin regime is the key.

So, would I continue to use it? Sure, but specifically for Summer and Spring. I have to use a heavier moisturiser (like it’s lotion counter part) for the other seasons.

Glamr Rating: