March Haul

Before I post up my routine schedule, here's a quick post on my March haul (* >ω<):

1. Chica Y Chico Asta-Z 4.0 Cream [15.90 from Qoo10 seller SKIN&LAB]

I no longer have any acne, thanks to my 'cleaning house' with help from my extremely good dermatologist. However, what I do have is a lot of marks and some scars. I have noticed slow improvement after using brightening products such as Benton Snail Bee High Essence and Laneige White Plus Renew Essence, but I think I am slowly hitting a plateau and would like a product with more 'oomph'. This has some pretty good reviews online. The main ingredient is astaxanthin, a powerful anti-oxidant. Please check out Tominaga, et al. (2012) (-->it discusses the effect of astaxanthin as a oral supplement) and EWG.

      2. Chica Y Chico Tre-Hy 8.0 Cream [10.90 from Qoo10 seller SKIN&LAB]

I need a good moisturizer. This seems pretty interesting, so I brought it on a whim to try (--> my wallet is crying). This cream claims that it is a heavy moisturizer, for when your skin feels like its a desert and flaking. Main ingredient is trehalose, which is a humectant, I believe. I unfortunately cannot find much research articles on this in cosmetic usage online.

Creepy fact: This is found in insect's exoskeletons. It is what makes them so shiny. ε=ε=(っ;ﾟ;∀;ﾟ; )っ

      3. Ettang Modeling Take-out Cup Pack - Peppermint, Acerola, Propolis and Chlorella [3.50 from Qoo10 seller COCOMO]

Its a rubber mask! Rubber!

...

Okay I just brought this on a whim.

Reviews online say that it is a pretty good mask, just that it is hard to mix the powder and water and slap it on your face before the mixture dries. That should be something funny at any rate when I try them!

      4. Tosowoong Natural Pure Rosehip Oil [12.40 from Qoo10 seller TOSOWOONG]

When I used the Etude House Moonlight in Spoon in Rosehip, I saw my PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) scars fade a little! And the best part of it, it was a permanent fading, not a two-three days deal! After searching a bit online and discovering that Miranda Kerr says this is her greatest skincare secret, I jumped on the bandwagon and decided to search for a good, cheap brand. Tosowoong has a pretty good reputation so I decided to try theirs! (-->IMO, the brand Trilogy is quite well known for their rosehip oil, but it was pretty expensive at 40 bucks)

      5. Beau Zon Eve Lash Essence [5.00 from Qoo10 seller prettybox]

I got introduced to the fact that you can actually grow your eyelashes on reddit. Yes! No more having to criticise myself about the length of my eyelashes! Reddit user Sharkus_Reincarnus used pure castor oil and applies them on her lashes using a spoolie. Not being someone who uses mascara, I don't have any spoolies around the house.

 My friend recommended this to me. Apparently Beau Zon Eve Lash Essence is a cult product, only known in certain groups. Why? My friend doesn't know either. In any case, this is pretty cheap, the ingredients look legit and if it doesn't work out, I still have that bottle of pure black Jamaican castor oil sitting in my online cart. I can reuse the spoolie from this to apply castor oil.

      6. Shiseido Aqualabel Whitening Jelly Essence [15.90 from Qoo10 seller Chocolicious8888]

Another thing I found on reddit /r/AsianBeauty, this has the ingredient glyclyglycine, which has studies done on it to prove it does reduce pore size. Thank you user cicwang and lintra!

      7. Biore Rich UV Watery Essence [12.40 from Qoo10 seller TopBeautyShop]

Image: Biore Rich UV Watery Essence and Biore Perfect Face Milk
Credit: Self

This apparently is one of the most beloved sunscreens by /r/Asianbeauty. I am perfectly happy with my Biore Perfect Face Milk, but since there was a sale going on, I decided to pick up a bottle of this too. Let's see what all the hype about this is about!

Though, I seem to have gotten the older PA+++ version?! Rarrrrrgh!

      8. Biore Perfect Face Milk [9.90 from Qoo10 seller TopBeautyShop]

My repurchase. This is a really good sunscreen if you have oily skin!! It has anti-sebum powder in it, so it will keep your skin matte and the sun rays away! It typically keeps my nose free of oil for at least 4-5 hours, then whilst my nose will start to produce sebum, it will not be visible unless I touch my nose and realise its oily.

Warning! It has white cast so be careful with this if you have darker skin. I have pale skin so the white cast doesn't show too much on me.

      9. Petitfee Black Pearl  and Gold Eye Patches [8.88 from Qoo10 seller FREYJA]

Image: Petitfee Black Pearl  and Gold Eye Patches
Credit: Self

I got suckered in by all the claims it made. Also, I want to be more environmentally-friendly. Etude House Collagen Eye Gel Patch is quite good for eye patches, but the fact that every pair comes in its own plastic foil with a plastic container makes me a little uncomfortable, especially given that I am someone who uses masks and patches a lot.

Also this is much more cost-effective! Etude Collagen Eye Patch is $3.90 a pair, Petitfee eyepatches come in a tub of 60, so at this massive sale price I got, it is $0.30 per pair!

      10. Guerisson 9 Complex Cream [17.99 from Qoo10 seller FREYJA]

Image: Guerisson 9 Complex Cream
Credit: Self

I saw this on the first episode of Get it Beauty 2015 season. This was introduced by the Host Lee Ha Nui, who has fantastic skin by the way, and I got into the hype and I brought this.

After saying I may put snail and starfish on my face, but I won't put anything that came from a large mammal a few months ago... (llﾟ◇ﾟll)

The fact that it comes from a large mammal has me having weird feelings about this as I wait for it to arrive. Part of that is wondering how did they obtain the horse oil? Link to another blogger who reviewed a Japanese brand horse oil cream. Depending on different districts, Japanese citizens do traditionally eat horse meat, and the Son Bahyu Pure Horse Oil uses horse oil that is a by-product of horses slaughtered for food. However as far as I know, Korea citizens has never had a tradition of eating horse meat... so where do they get the horse oil from? I am hoping that they import it from Japan, but that is most likely just fooling myself. I hope that the cream is worth all the hype.

      11. Mizon Placenta-45 Ampoule [11.90 from Qoo10 seller MIZON KOREA]

Mizon is a pretty great brand! I really like all their products that I have tried so far. This time I decided to try their ampoules, of which I originally wanted the Hyaluronic Acid ampoule, but it went out of stock before I could put in my order (´＿｀。)

I decided to go with the Placenta ampoule instead because it claims to have whitening and anti-wrinkle functions! I don't have any wrinkles yet, but my current age is a prime time to do anti-aging care! I'm also not grossed out by placenta because this doesn't make it onto my weird ingredients list.

      12. Mizon Snail Recovery Cream [5.95 from Qoo10 seller MIZON KOREA]

There have been a lot of good reviews on this on /r/Asianbeauty. I have the Mizon All In One Snail Repair Cream, but that is a bit bulky to carry around whilst this is more travel friendly. I also want to see what is the difference for myself.

      13. The Face Shop Keratin Damage Coating Essence [9.90 from The Face Shop brick-and-mortar store]

Image: The Face Shop Keratin Damage Coating Essence
Credits: Self

My repurchase, repurchase. This thing is greatttt. Whenever I see the ingredients list, they seem pretty common and nothing very good pops out. However when combined together into this little bottle, the effects on my hair are fantastic! It really helps prevent split ends a lot, which my hair is highly prone to getting. It also smells fantastic!

There was a huge sale so I took the opportunity to buy more bottles. This is a product I rarely find online, and the sale price from $16.90 to $9.90 is too much to ignore!

      14. The Face Shop Pure Water Facial Mist [7.90 from The Face Shop brick-and-mortar store]

Image: The Face Shop Pure Water Facial Mist
Credits: Self

I work in an air-conditioned office all day, and the air is really drying, yet I cannot use a humidifier. (Think of all the children... paperwork!!!) I previously used Secret Key First Treatment Essence as a mist, but it makes my face shiny over my makeup/sunscreen, and I cannot smooth it over my face. This mist is very fine so I am hoping it will do the job!

      15. The Face Shop Raspberry Sleeping Pack [15.90 from The Face Shop brick-and-mortar store]

Image: The Face Shop Raspberry Sleeping Pack
Credit: Self

Again, huge sale. The original retail price is $22.90 and it is now $15.90. This is a very light sleeping pack, and there are good reviews on this so I decide I might as well buy this too.

Prices are in SGD as that is where I am currently and does not include shipping. Ah, I sure hauled a lot this month! Still waiting for some to arrive too. My wallet cries whilst my skin rejoices.