Saturday, September 17, 2016

[Review] Elizavecca Deep Power Ringer Mask Fruit Deep Mask

Price: $5 (~RM20) for 10
(bought during BBcosmetic 50% discount. Use affiliated coupon: C10T190S3 for 8% off) 
Verdict: 0/10
Repurchase: No.

Price & Shop

I've written more extensively about this in my previous post regarding one of the masks in this pack, so if you've read that already, feel free to skip directly to Performance. Anyways, here goes my copy paste: 

I bought these from BB Cosmetic during their Facebook 50% off deal. It's sold for $11.03 for a pack of ten and is $10.14  after the 8% coupon code (C10T190S3) with free shipping, which is a pretty good deal. That's ~$1 per sheet mask. :) 

On the other hand, there are 10 sheet masks in the package, with no option to get just a specific type. Ten different sheet masks is a pretty risky deal, since there may be sheet masks that you love or hate with a vengeance. I hope there will be an option to get just one type of the mask in a pack of ten instead of ten different masks.

Ingredients & Directions

I have no idea what's on these masks because everything is in korean, but I still have this up because the instructions found on on these sheet masks insist I wash my face with toilet water to prepare the texture of the skin. Honest!
I'll update this space with list of ingredients as soon as I get my hands on them. 

Fit & Texture

Texture and fit is just awful. The mask doesn't really cling to my face and the eye holes are like, legit power ranger level huge. I'm not stretching this or anything. It legit looked that big. Getting this to fit on my face took a little work, but actually wasn't impossible. It's just a lot more complicated than it should've been. 

Performance

The essence for this mask is so ridiculously waterly that it literally just drips everywhere. The mask just doesn't seem to want to soak up the eseence, instead insisting on being essence-resistant.

It has a mild fruity scent along with something else that seem to be standard for elizavecca mask. I could be alcohol?  I can't be sure, since I haven't gotten around to translating the ingredient list yet. Having the mask on my face was a chore and I kept dripping essence everywhere. I tossed my daiso mask over this, which helped a little, but my shirt was basically soaked by then. =.= not cool.

I didn't like this mask at all. It wasn't even very hydrating. The lines on my forehead (I didn't even know I had lines on my forehead!) were accentuated! It left a sticky residue that was just really annoying and I washed off the essence after.

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Can't think of any... it smells nice I suppose. T.T 

Cons
  • Effects are horrid! (-10!) 
  • Doesn't fit well (to wide) 
  • Gave me wrinkles! D= 
  • Did not adhere to skin well. 

Price: $5 (~RM20) for 10
(bought during BBcosmetic 50% discount. Use affiliated coupon: C10T190S3 for 8% off) 
Verdict: 0/10
Repurchase: No.

[Review] OST C20 Pure Vitamin C21.5 Advanced Serum

Price: RM89.90 ($22)
(RM71 after coupon discounts purchased NattaCosme on 11street.my
Verdict: 0/10
Repurchase: No.

Price & Shop


I bought these from NattaCosme on 11street.my using some coupons that brought the price down. I believe I had a 20% off coupon so it was about RM71, which wasn't a bad deal for the price of an OST20 C21.5 considering Wishtrend is selling it for $24.99. 

I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again, but delivery for NattaCosme is absolutely amazing. If you're not from Malaysia, they do ship internationally for good prices. Here's their website. I'm neither sponsored nor affiliated with the shop. I'm just awed by how efficient they work. 


Ingredients & Directions

Ingredients (from wishtrend): Hippophae Rhamnoides Water (70%), Ascorbic Acid (21.5%), Sodium Lactate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Panthenol, Cassia Obtusifolia Seed Extract, Allantoin, Xanthan Gum, Ethyl Hexanediol

Because the main ingredient in the product (other than fancy water) is Ascorbic Acid, or L-Ascorbic Acid that, in this product, is highly unstable, this product has to be finished within a short time of opening. It also has to be kept in low temperature in a cool, dark space and moved minimally to reduce oxidizing.

Vitamin C in skincare is a powerful antioxidant that can fade hyperpigmentation, increase photoprotection, and stimulate collagen production. It's basically a magic active that is mildly exfoliating. The other ingredients include Sodium Lactate (pH adjusting agent), Sodium Hyaluronate (moisturizing form of hyaluronic acid), Hippophai Rhamnoides (antioxidant), Panthenol (alcohol), ect. Very minimalistic, which is great. A noted absense in this upgrade from C20 is Vitamin E, which many other have voiced their disappointment over.  


Texture and Directions

The liquid in the dropper bottle is clear and only slightly yellowish. It smells a little fruity but the smell is almost indiscernable unless I'm sniffing this directly. The thing feels and spreads like water and absorbs very easily. 

Since it is pH sensitive, I'm careful to apply a pH adjusting toner prior to application. You could also wait 20 minutes for your skin's pH to decrease. Likewise, if your cleanser has a low pH already, you wouldn't need an additional pH adjusting toner or wait. 

After applying the serum, I wait 20 minutes before moving on with my routine, such as adding more actives or just going straight to my hydrating lotion. The serum dries well without leaving a sticky residue. It absorbs fast. 

Performance

Ahhhhhhh. It's been a good four almost five months since I first started using the OST C21.5 vitamin c serum. I've been using this diligently every day for the past three months, so I'm more confident sharing my thoughts on this serum. Prior to that, I was using this every other day or less. The serum did not oxidise or even turn champagne coloured before I finished with it, which I take as a small victory.

Unfortunately, that's the only visible success I can share regarding this serum. I've heard so many awesome things about this in terms of brightening, healing pigmentation, and fading sun spots and pimple scars that I kind of expected it to work magic on my skin. After a month of seeing no visible changes, I upped the dosage from every other day to every day. Two months later, I was still hopeful, thinking it would take time. Now, almost at the end of three months of diligent, everyday usage, my skin is still the same as it was before, plus a few more pimple scars as giant f-you's to my face and hopes of this working. 


Not only did it not work, my skin is now worse than it was before I started using it. Granted there were factors involved, such as stress in my daily life which caused my skin to breakout, this really didn't do what it was supposed to. If I were to take a picture, you would see clear skin prior and acne scars after, which was just... massively disappointing for how expensive this is. 


Still, with skin, it's always different and it being effective for everybody didn't necessarily meant it would work on me. Maybe it's quietly doing its anti-aging magic on my skin but I can't see it? Regardless, I've since purchased a vitamin c replacement for this! Here:

Replacement


Since it didn't work at all for me, I can't really give you a pros and cons section. It didn't brighten or even my skin tone, it didn't disminish or fade hyperpigmentation, it didn't unclog pore, it didn't improve my skin complexion. It basically didn't do anything it said it would. 

I'm tempted to get the OST C20, the pre-upgraded version because I've read reviews about that working better for some. Still, I have my fingers crossed that the replacement, Melano CC, which is also a vitamin c serum but with a more stabler formula, would work on my skin. ^^ 


Price: RM89.90 ($22)
(RM71 after coupon discounts purchased NattaCosme on 11street.my
Verdict: 0/10
Repurchase: No.

[Review] Rosie's Ross Premium Matcha Powder; Green Tea DIY Mask

Price: RM80 (~$20) for 28 sachets
(I was sent a 7-day trial sachet in exchange for an honest review)
Verdict: 7/10
Repurchase: No for teatox; Yes for the Matcha Latte (already bought two)

Price & Shop


I have a weakness for good tea. Good Matcha Green Tea leaves, which is hard to come by when you consider how perpetually broke I am. I would drink coffee, but too much caffeine gives me a short high and a nauseating low that lingers for an entire day, which is just not worth it.

That said, I'm willing to spurlge a little when it comes to food and drinks... and breauty products. When I came across this local brand of matcha powder, I was immediately intrigued. Then I saw how it is possible to use matcha powder as face masks and I was hooked. The instructions there were to email them for further direction (so complicated. XD) as to how to use the sachets as masks so I did exactly that. I emailed them to ask about how the powders would work as face masks and they kindly offered to send me a 7-day trial pack in exchange for an honest testimony. So, for 5 days, I used this as a face mask, and drank the remaining 2. In addition to the Matcha sachets, I was given a free sample of their Matcha Latte. 

Ingredients & Directions


Each sachet contains 2g of premium matcha green tea leaves. As you can see, that's not much at all. The square sachets are in silver foils that can be tore open easily.

Ingredient: 2g Premium Matcha Green Tea Leaves.

Directions:

  1. Prepare a small bowl, pour 1 sachet of matcha, add bit by bit of water. 
  2. Slowly stir the mixture, make sure the matcha mixture become a thick paste (so that you are able to put on your face)  
  3. Apply the matcha mask (thick paste) onto your clean face for 20-30minutes. 
  4. Rinse off. 

Texture



I've tried a few ways to use this wash off green tea mask. The first, is of course the way they suggested. The green tea dissolved completely in cool/warm water and didn't have a problem spreading on my face. It was smooth and layered easily. It felt exactly like smearing tea on my skin, which, I assure you, was absolutely glorious. I didn't want to wash this off after the twenty minute mark because the occasional whiff of matcha green tea was just glorious.


Usage & Performance (Skin)


Using it just the way the owners suggested was, frankly, a little drying, which was disappointing for me. I'm more used to the soft and supple feeling on my skin after using Skinfood wash off masks. In addition, because it dried on my cleansed skin without an underlying layer of moisture, it ended up sucking the moisture from my skin and was almost impossible to wash off without the help of my cleanser. Even then, I was wiping off green gunk with my toner, which wasn't the best feeling in the world.  

With that in thought, the next two time I used the mask I added a few... alright, a teaspoon of Hada Labo Gokujyun Moist Lotion as well as a teaspoon of Scinic Honey AIO. That helped the tea dry on my face without sucking out all the moisture from my skin. It also washed off easier and left my skin soft and glowing. I really enjoyed using it this way and would definitely recommend adding a hydrating lotion or any other liquid moisturizer to the green tea. Regardless, I still needed to use a cleanser to get this off completely, but it did not leave a film of green on my skin, which was nice. 


Another way I tried to use this was mix it with water and soak a cotton mask in it. Then, I put this on my face and yay! I have a green tea sheet mask! ^^ I used it this way twice and prefer this to any other way. It was very moisturizing and left my skin very soothed and relaxed after! The inflammation from my skin calmed after sheet masking with just pure green tea soaked in a cotton sheet mask. I could keep the mask on for a good half hour before it dried. I rather enjoyed using it this way the best because it didn't require me washing my face off vigorously after. The only reason why I needed to wash this again afterwards is because it left a green film on my skin, which requires too much explaining to be worth it.

I enjoyed using it with the sheet mask the most though, since it left my skin sooo soft and soothed. 

After five days of using the green tea, I noticed that it made my skin absorb other products better! That was an odd, but welcomed side-effect. I can't really attest to terms of fading acne or brightening since neither happened, sadly. 


Weight Loss Performance

Weight loss. I masked 5 times with the sachet and drank it twice so I can't really attest to the weight loss possibility this promises. In terms of weight loss... well, if anything... I actually gained weight through this week, but that has more to do with my weight fluactuating than this not working. I've also only managed to take this as it should for two days out of the seven sachets given, since I was more curious about how it would work on my skin when drank directly. My weight lingered around 45kg(99pounds), sometimes getting to 47kg (103pounds), which for my height (5'2), is considered healthy, if a little underweight. So really wouldn't want to lose more weight anyways. ^^

The taste of the green tea taken directly was... sub par. I didn't particularly enjoy drinking this straight up, to be completely honest with you. It tasted a little too leafy for me, though that might just be my peasant taste buds being unable to process premium green tea correctly.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Smells amazing.
  • Works well as a sheet mask or mixed with other hydrating lotions. 
  • Short ingredient list, so if you aren't allergic to green tea, you're good. ^^ 

Cons

  • Expensive at the price of RM80 (~$20) for 28 sachets of 2g.
  • A little drying if used on its own
  • Leaves a film of green and turns me into the hulk

Price: RM80 for 28 sachets
(I was sent a 7-day trial sachet in exchange for an honest review)
Verdict: 7/10
Repurchase: No for teatox; Yes for the Matcha Latte (already bought two)


Just a friendly reminder that the 7 green tea sachets here are sent for free for my consideration. Thoughts shared here are my own honest opinion, as always. :) 

On a side note, I was given a sample of the Matcha Latte and enjoyed it so much that I bought two packets of it already. Their store is selling two for RM59. If you're in Malaysia, shipping is free via Shopee: Link Here (Not affiliated). 

Saturday, September 10, 2016

[Review] Queen Helene Mint Julep & Mud Pack Masque

Price: RM15.62
from iHerb.com (if your'e not a member, I'd love it if to use my iHerb Rewards Code: HJK634. I get a small percentage of your first purchase to use for my next purchase. :) )
Verdict: 9/10
Repurchase: Yes
Shipping: ~1 month to Malaysia
Shipping Fee: RM16
Samples: I think I got a free paper ruler out of this? ^^

Price & Shop 

I bought this back in April in a haul from iherb.com. The shipping fee was more than a little painful at the price of an additional mask. T.T RM15.62 for the mask pack and RM16 for shipping. Still, I've been looking around for Queen Helene masks since I first tried them in the States and they were the first mask I've ever used, so I do have a sweet spot for them. There is a weight limit of 1.8kg before it falls into another tier for shipping and shipping charges increases. 

In addition, it is practically impossible to find this locally so I didn't mind paying extra to have them shipped to me all the way from the states. I just checked and price has increased to RM18.63 due to currency exchange rates.

Texture

The texture of the mask is easily spreadable. I really like that it comes in a squeeze tube, which meant the parts that I didn't use is kept sealed and secure. In comparison, the elizavecca carbonated mask and Innisfree clay masks come in tubs. I use a scoop for those, but I always feel like I'm contaminating them somewhat. 

After 15 minutes, the mask dries firmly on the skin and have to be washed off with warm water. 

Ingredients and Directions


Mint Julep: Distilled water, kaolin, bentonite, glycerin, zinc oxide, propylene glycol, sulfur, chromium oxide greens, fragrance and methylparaben.

Mud Pack: Aqua (water), kaolin, bentonite, glycerin, zinc oxide, propylene glycol, methylparaben, phenoxyethanol, citronellol, geraniol, linalool, fragrance (parfum), iron oxides (CI 77491).

Cleanse face and neck thoroughly. Apply masque generously and allow to dry for about 15 minutes. Leave on problem areas overnight, if desired.

I've never tried to leave this on problem areas, but I've read about people leaving this on as spot treatment both to bring a pimple up to head, or get it to go away. It could go either way from what I've heard, but I don't trust myself to not get this all over my pillows.

Performance


Queen Helene was my favorite mask to use before I've tried other pore masks. Still, between this and the Elizavecca bubble mask, I much prefer this one. The Mint mask and the mud pack were very similar in terms of performance, in my humble opinion. The only difference is the way the mask felt as it dried on my skin. The mint mask had a tingling, minty sensation that's quite pleasing and very refreshing.

They were both able to clear up the oil, gunk and dirt from my face, clearing my pores and soothing my pimples in the process. I leave this on for 15 - 20 minutes before washing them off with warm water. My skin feels super clean and refreshed after washing this off. I prefer the innisfree clay mask to this though, since my skin feels less stripped after using the Innisfree. This can be fairly stripping. (-1)

I would suggest those with dry skin avoid this altogether though, since I have oil yskin and this dries up my face completely. I'd imagine dry skin would just completely freak out.

I have a fair amount of this mask left even after using once or twice a week for four months (since April). Think more than 75% of the product is still left, which is great. I wouldn't need to repurchase this for a good while yet, but I think once I'm out, I'm going to continue repurchasing until it gets discontinued. It's a cheap, effective ingredient that does its job well. ^^

Pros & Cons



Pros
  • Really cheap. The tub sells for RM16 on iherb. Even if you get just one plus shipping, that's RM32, which is still cheaper than most masks I can get my hands on here! 
  • Cleans and refreshes. 
  • Cleans pores and clears up oiliness, shrinking pores for a little while too. 
  • Minty feel while it dries is a great bonus! ^^

Cons
  • A little too stripping. (-1) 

Price: RM15.63 (I just checked and price has increased to RM18.63 due to currency exchange rates)
from iHerb.com (if your'e not a member, I'd love it if to use my iHerb Rewards Code: HJK634. I get a small percentage of your first purchase to use for my next purchase. :) )
Verdict: 9/10
Repurchase: Yes

[Review] Elizavecca Deep Power Ringer Mask Sheet - Tea Tree & Vita Deep

Price: $5 (~RM20)
(bought during BBcosmetic 50% discount. Use affiliated coupon: C10T190S3 for 8% off) 
Verdict: To be decided (only two masks tried so far) 
Repurchase: Maybe?

Price & Shop

I bought these from BB Cosmetic during their Facebook 50% off deal. It's sold for $11.03 for a pack of ten and is $10.14  after the 8% coupon code (C10T190S3) with free shipping, which is a pretty good deal. That's ~$1 per sheet mask. :) 

On the other hand, there are 10 sheet masks in the package, with no option to get just a specific type. Ten different sheet masks is a pretty risky deal, since there may be sheet masks that you love or hate with a vengeance. I hope there will be an option to get just one type of the mask in a pack of ten instead of ten different masks. As of right now, after testing out only two masks, I'm liking one and hating the other.  


Ingredients & Directions

I have no idea what's on these masks because everything is in korean, but I still have this up because the instructions found on on these sheet masks insist I wash my face with toilet water to prepare the texture of the skin. Honest!
I'll update this space with list of ingredients as soon as I get my hands on them. 

Fit & Texture


Texture and fit is just awful. The mask doesn't really cling to my face and the eye holes are like, legit power ranger level huge. Nobody has eyes that big, okay? I'm not stretching this or anything. It legit looked that big. Getting this to fit on my face took a little work, but actually wasn't impossible. It's just a lot more complicated than it should've been. 

It was soaked in essence, which helped getting it to stay on my face. Essence dripped from the mask in excess though. My neck was getting lots of love. ^^ 

Vita Deep Performance

The mask smells mildly citrusy, kinda nice. I enjoyed the smell. The moment I put this on my face, my skin started tingling a little. At first I thought, okay, this doesn't have tea tree in it, which is the only thing that made my skin tingle. And then, since the fit was so bad, I went to reach for my daiso silicone mask.

That was when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Weird. The mask wasn't pink when I- bloody hell. I pulled this off and sure enough, my skin was blotchy, red, and very angry. Off it went. I smeared the lotion on my arm, but I had to wash that off too since it was turning sticky and anoying instead of sinking in. The only other mask my face reacted to so badly was the Guardian mask. 0 out of 10. Stupid bloody mask. I had to wash my face again after applying this mask, which is the last thing I wanted to do. I put my precious Benton Snail's Bee Essense prior to masking, damn you! T.T 

The ingredients I found are in Korean, so that didn't help me out any in terms of finding out what exactly triggered the redness.

Verdit: 0/10 
Repurchase: No!

Tea Tree Performance

Smells... medicinal. It wasn't too overwhelming, so I can't deduct marks from that. This tea tree, like the Holika Holika tea tree masks, tingles a little, but wasn't too bad. It was probably a bad choice to go from something that tingles from a bad reaction and something else that just tingles naturally. I kept checking to make sure my skin wasn't turning red because trauma- y'know? But nope. It's not too bad.

Texture was the same as the texture for Vita Deep, which was bad. I kept trying to find a way to make this fit my face, but it just felt like too much effort so I just allowed it to hang haphazardly. At about the 30 minute mark, the mask called it quits and fell off when I bent down to pick up something from the freezer. >.< It should've done it's magic by then though, so I was alright with that.  

Performance-wise, the mask was pretty moisturizing. Surprisingly, the pimples on my face were really calmed! It wasn't as inflammed and there was one pimple that was on the verge of popping and I swore this mask sort of forced it back down. Unfortunately, the effects were only temporary and the pimple returned with full force by the end of the day. :( It was nice while it lasted though! 

Pros 

  • Moisturizing and not sticky. 
  • Helps calm breakouts.

Cons

  • Fit is bad & too wide (-1) 

Verdit: 9/10 
Repurchase: Yes, but only if it's sold on it's own!

[Review] Holika Holika Juicy Tea Tree Essence Sheet Masks

Price: RM2.5 
(Purchased from a friend. ^^) 
Verdict: 8/10
Repurchase: Maybe
This is another mask I bought from a friend, hence the amazing price. I dumbly didn't take a picture of the individual mask so here's a group shot. ^^ If you're interested in the Blueberry review, click here! I bought five of these in total from her but probably won't look into buying more for a little while!

A little off topic, but I'm on a sheet mask no-buy for an indefinite time because I've gotten so bad at hoarding them. I probably have more than a hundred in my stash right now (I'm afraid to count). Sadly, these masks just didn't wow me enough for me to want to buy more. 

Anyways, onwards to the review!


Fit & Texture

 
Like the Holika Holike Mask, the fit was not particularly good, especially under my lip. It's not so much the cutting as it's to do with the cotton material that just doesn't fit well on my face. (-1) It also ignores part of my forehead, which I'm not happy about. 

It smelled like tea tree, which is a nice, soothing scent that I didn't have a problem with.

Ingredients

Water, Glycerin, Alcohol, Sodium Hyaluronate, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Extract, Allantoin, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract

Performance

These masks are aimed at treating acne and is a spot control mask. I have pretty high hopes for these since they're HG for the friend I bought them from. After ~10 minutes of having it on, it started to tingle a little. I did a quick google search and apparently tingling is to be expected from tea tree products. In any case, my skin didn't react badly to it in any other way.

I was sort of hoping this would be a miracle cure to my pimples, but it really wasn't. The effects were temporary fixes for me, lasting only a few short hours before the redness and inflammation returned, which was massively disappointing. (-1) On the other hand, these masks didn't really leave me with a sticky residue and is very moisturizing. 

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Gives temporary soothing effects to pimples and inflammation
  • Moisturizing. 
  • Doesn't leave sticky residue. 

Cons

  • Not a fan of the fit/texture of the mask (-1)
  • Calming effects on pimples only temporary (-1) 

Price: RM2.5 
(Purchased from a friend. ^^) 
Verdict: 8/10
Repurchase: Maybe

[Review] Holika Holika Juicy Blueberry Essence Sheet Masks

Price: RM2.5 
(Purchased from a friend. ^^) 
Verdict: 7/10
Repurchase: No 

I'm not going to talk much about the price and shop since I purchased this from a friend for a ridiculously great price. Actually, in the midst of writing this, I realized she's still trying to get rid of the rest of her stash, so if you're in Malaysia and have a shopee account, here's a link to her shop

Fit & Texture

The fit of the mask is not particularly good. It doesn't cling to my face as well as I like. The texture of the mask is fairly thick cotton, which meant parts of the mask weren't staying on my face. I resorted to using my Daiso Silicone mask to hold it in place (-1).

There were no additional essense leftover after putting the mask on my face, which, while a tad disappointing, is actually how it's supposed to be.

The smell of blueberry is quite intense and can be a little overwhelming at times. It's a sweet fruity smell that whafts to my nose occasionally and I'm glad for the silicone mask since it shields my nose receptors from being attacked by the scent incessantly. (-1)

Ingredients

Water, Glycerin, Alcohol, Sodium Hyaluronate, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Allantoin, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance, Malpighia Emarginata (Acerola) Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract

Performance

I wasn't particularly awed by this sheet mask, to be completely  honest. It is meant to be energizing, whatever that meant, but I didn't feel like it did much for my skin. In addition, the essence left a fairly sticky residue that I'm not a particularly big fan of. (-1). I suppose it would be perfect for you if you have really dry skin, but it was too much for my skin. It didn't do much for the acne inflammation on my skin, but it also didn't promise to, so I can't really complain about that. On the other hand, it was very moisturizing.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Moisturizing

Cons
  • Fit wasn't particularly good (-1)
  • Sweet scent was overwhelming (-1)
  • Sticky residue leftover that does not absorb (-1)

Price: RM2.5 
(Purchased from a friend. ^^) 
Verdict: 7/10
Repurchase: No