Full spectrum Wipes SPF15 by Dermalogica

I was in a beauty salon when I noticed this. Dermalogica has come up with sunscreen wipes.

Further information on their website says that a pack (contains 15) have individual towelettes and can cover hard to reach areas without worrying about spills or mess.

It contains sunscreen ingredients that protects against UVA, UVB and infra-red rays. However, the website doesn't detail what sunscreen ingredient is used. I'm not sure if SPF15 is sufficient enough either in the summer. Winter would be sufficient when the UV alert is low.

Dermalogica has also included anti-oxidant properties from botanical extracts. There is grape seed, green tea, vitamin A, C and E. To calm and soothe the skin, there is balm mint and coneflower.

It contains no artificial fragrance or colour.

I think that the wipes are good to carry around for those occasions where you need to touch up or reapply or just plain forgotten to put on sunscreen. I probably wouldn't substitute it with my regular tub of sunscreen.

Hot & Cold shower

Do you feel sluggish or need to give your body circulation a boost?

I've been reading on water therapy and there has been many research and books on this.

Just before you head out of the shower, switch for 2 minutes or so to the hottest water you can stand (please make sure that it's a comfortable tolerance), which draws the blood to the surface, and then switch to the coldest water you can stand for 30 seconds to a minute, which will force the blood back into the internal organs. This is supposed to be done for at least three cycles(hot and cold) before ending the shower with cold water.

This helps to boost your body circulation, especially if you don't do regular exercise. Every little bit helps to minimise orange peel looking skin and dullness, I say.


Note that Woman on their menstrual cycle and pregnant women should skip this treatment. And anyone should stop the treatment if you become dizzy or start shivering uncontrollably.

Getting the most from your mask

I was reading a recent interview by Da S in a magazine where she talked about her beauty regimen and gave some beauty related tips.

One of the things that she said was that she uses a mask everyday and you need to do it to get maximum benefits.

I've heard before that you shouldn't use a mask everyday as you need to let your skin's natural renewal system to accommodate.

However, I decided to give it a try and started doing this with my Neutrogena Fine Fairness mask. I wasn't getting as a good a result as I was hoping when I used it the first time.

To my surprise, my skin gets better and better with each day of us. I think it really help as well as the last few days was really windy and cold and the masks prevented my skin from peeling.

I think it's fine to use a mask everyday when weather conditions are really harsh and is creating havoc on your skin. That is when you need something more potent to restore your skin's condition.



Or else, I would use masks which have lesser percentage of ingredients (i.e. a mild mask) for other times when you still want to use a mask everyday. Kose sells masks that are meant for everyday use.

For me, I'm happy to use my whitening mask every 2 days in a row and rest for the next 2 days. It works for me and my skin condition really improves tremendously.

Fine Fairness Mask by Neutrogena

Winter is one of the best time to super charge your whitening regimen and I started using my whitening mask. Having heard good reviews on this product, I bought quite a number of this when it went on sale.

According to Neutrogena,

"This is an intensive facial treatment mask that effectively lightens your overall complexion and improves your skin’s fairness, clarity and translucency.

Shaped to fit your face, each mask contains a deep penetrating whitening essence with Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, and liquorice root extracts, that immediately brightens your skin, leaving it radiant and healthy.

You’ll experience visible results after just four masks in two weeks."

This first time I used this, it was really hydrating but I couldn't see much whitening effect. Later, I discovered that I need to leave it on for longer than the recommended 20 minutes. I leave it one for about 30-35 minutes and when I remove the mask after, my face was a lot clearer and the pore on my face seems to have almost disappeared. That shows how hydrating this mask is.

I love this mask.

Luv ~ Very hydrating, really minimises the pores, skin was really clearer and translucent after using.

Don't Luv ~ Very expensive in Sydney.

Asience by Kao

Asience - the hair products with Zhang Zi Yi previously in the commercials and now Jun Ji Hyun. The name came from the joining of 2 words - Asia + Essence.

This range of shampoo, conditioner and hair treatments are specifically targeted at Asian hair. As shown on their website, asian hair is rounder, thicker and coarser than caucasian hair so we need shampoos and conditioners that can penetrate deeper into the hair shafts to moisturise and nourish.


The product line has been developed with the intention of enhancing female Asian beauty by revitalizing hair fibers from the core, enabling the hair to become suppler showing fewer signs of disturbance after a hairstyle is removed, even if the hair has been braided. It boasts to be the first to have MEA Hair Technology which replenishes and restore hair to its smooth and lustrous condition, like virgin hair.

The logo for this brand has been developed with a meaning.

Symbol of a flower surrounded by ivy

The red flower of the symbol in the center of the product package is on the verge of blooming. Ivy, growing in its random fashion around the flower, symbolizes vitality. The five petals of the flower indicate the five elements of oriental bioscience – wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

It uses an array of natural ingredients to improve hair texture and treat potential hair problems.

• Soy protein and pearl protein for revitalizing
• Rice extract and Korean ginseng extract for moisturizing
• Eucalyptus extract for protection

- Supply lost protein to damaged hair
- Retain moisture and prevent dryness
- Provide a sheen to the hair

I started using the Deep Nourish shampoo, conditioner and hair treatment which is for dry, damaged hair. After using for a few weeks, I noticed that my hair texture has improved a lot! Less frizzy and more manageable, this is a huge feat as I have dry, flyaway and frizzy hair. =(

The hair treatment is amazing! My hair came out really smooth, extremely soft and light. It continued to remain that way even after going through a blow dry and hair straightener. I couldn't stop myself from running my fingers through my hair the whole day.

It has a nice fragrance too, not over powering. I am loving the products.

Luv ~ Affordable price. My hair became incredibly smooth, light and soft.

Don't Luv ~ Nothing.

Real Lasting Eyeliner by K-Palette

I bought this when I was in Japan some months ago. With my limited Japanese, I couldn't really understand anything other than by looking at pictures when I was browsing the cosmetics shops. What I ended up doing was to look at items that they have tagged with #1 selling item or #2 or #3 and buy those.

Anyway, this was labeled as #1 selling item so I bought it. It was really cheap too at about 1000 yen. I started using it and I was just amazed at the result.

It is a liquid eyeliner in black with a slim tip. I never liked using liquid eyeliner as I was only starting to use eyeliner then and being a beginner, less clumsy with pencil ones. Amazingly, this was really easy to use and I think any beginner would love this due to the ease of control. The eyeliner goes on really smoothly and you can apply it really thin like a pencil eyeliner would give and yet apply a really thick line too. It lasts the whole day and didn't smudge.

I was so happy and an affordable eyeliner that does a great job, you'll love it. This just earn itself a place in my Diamonds Top 10 list.

Apparently, it is really popular in Japan and is K-Palette's best selling item. You can check out their website here.

Luv ~ Affordable price. Really easy to use and control. Doesn't smudge and creates a really beautiful line (whether thick or thin).

Don't Luv ~ Nothing.

Trick for attractive eyes

I saw this on Sasa and it shows certain tricks especially for Asian eyes on how to make them stand out.

For those who've always had problems with how to apply eyeliner, this is a good basic step by step guide. It took me lots of practice to apply my eyeliner correctly too.

Step 4 is really useful as Asian eyes tend to slant upwards if you end the stroke upwards. It's better to have the stroke ending a little downwards.

White eyeliner across the lower eye line and inner corners is a MUST! I always do that to make my eyes look bigger and brighter.

I personally find gel and liquid eyeliner a lot easier. However, there are times when a normal eyeliner works better on certain looks that you're trying to get.

One of the best eyeliners that I've used was bought when I was in Japan and it was not an expensive brand either. The review will be posted soon.

Another trick that I learnt was to only line 70% of your upper eye leaving both ends not lined. It can also make your eyes appear rounder and bigger.

If anyone else has more trick, do let me know. =)