Tag Archives: Skin Care

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My Experience of Using Bobbi Brown Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm SPF 25

A while ago I tried Bobbi Brown’s Extra Eye Repair cream and the result was unexpectedly good. I decided to try Bobbi Brown’s Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm SPF 25 to see if it’s as good as the eye repair cream.

The Extra Eye Repair cream by Bobbie Brown provided plenty of hydration for my eyes and diminished the fine wrinkles around my eyes. I was hoping that the Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm would hydrates my face and reduces my smiling line and the lines on my forehead.

Upon opening the Bobbi Brown’s Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm SPF 25, I could tell that it has the same creamy and rich texture as its Extra Eye Repair cream.

A few hours after I used the Bobbi Brown’s Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm SPF 25 on my face and my neck, I noticed that I had bumps around my cheek and jaw areas. This most likely means that the moisturizing balm was too rich for my skin.  Luckily, the bumps only appeared on my face, not on my neck.

In conclusion, when it comes to using the skin care products, there’s no guarantee that if one product from a brand works for you their other products would work too. In my case, the skin around my eyes absorbs the Bobbi Brown’s Extra Eye Repair cream well and showed the positive results, but my face can’t take the Bobbi Brown’s Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm SPF 25 and had unexpected negative effects.

CoverPicture_ExtraRepairMoisturizingBalm

All Posts, Beauty, Lifestyle

Skin Care Remedy: How to Diminish Wrinkles around the Eyes

Six months ago I was stressed out about work and I didn’t have time to take care of my skin. As the result of my negligence, I saw that some micro fine lines grew around my under-eye areas.

I have a combination of dry and oil skin. The skin areas under my eyes can be very dry and the Dior’s L’Or de Vie Eye Crème I was using at the time didn’t seem to help with diminishing the new fine lines. I thought that I needed to try something more moisturizing for my eye areas.

After doing some online shopping I decided to try Bobbie Brown’s Extra Eye Repair Cream. This cream costs less than one forth of  the Dior’s L’Or de Vie Eye Crème I was using. If the pricy eye cream didn’t help, it couldn’t hurt to try something else.

When I received the Bobbi Brown’s Extra Eye Repair cream, I used it over my all-time favorite eye serum, Lancome’s Advanced Génifique Eye Light Pearl Eye Illuminator Youth Activating Concentrate. The result was surprisingly good.

Shirley Style Skin Care Remedy for Eyes

Within a few days, I noticed that applying Bobbi Brown’s Extra Eye Repair cream keeps the skin areas under my eyes well moisturized, and it makes the new micro fine lines less visible.

If there’s anything I learned about skin care products, it’s the fact that high end products don’t always guarantee a good result. I always know that part of the price we paid for is to cover the expensive marketing costs. However, from my personal experiences, some of the lower-priced skin care products do work very well for me. (Click here to ready my skin remedy post on the time when I over-exfoliated my face.)

Everyone reacts to the same skin care products differently. Disregard what product lines you use — the most important thing is to find the items that work the best for you.

For more skin care products I recommend, visit Skin Care page.

All Posts, Beauty

Skin Care Remedy: What To Do When You Over-Exfoliated Your Skin

Have you ever over-exfoliated your skin and experienced a unpleasant redness, stinging, and burning sensation on your face?

If you did, I know just the right skin care remedy to resolve your over-exfoliating issue in a few days.

A few weeks ago, I mistakenly over-exfoliated my face by using products with salicylic acid, fruit acid, and lactic acid all in a one night regimen. My skin immediately turned red, and I felt stinging and burning on both cheeks and forehead. (Lesson Learned: using too many skin care acid products at once is a really bad idea!)

If you ever experience anything like I did, you’d understand the pain and agony in dealing with damaged skin. At that moment, nothing seems to help ease the pain.

Skin Remedy

Luckily, I have my favorite La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream on hand. The La Mer cream is known for its renewal and replenishing ingredients (nutrient-rich Miracle Broth) for the skin. Eight years ago I got a deep cut on my face which left a small scar. After using the La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream for years, I noticed that the scar has faded away.

La Mer Skin Care

This time, when I realized I damaged my skin from over-exfoliating, I used the La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream immediately.

For the following week, instead of mixing products from different beauty lines (which I do often), I used La Mer Treatment Lotion, La Mer Regenerating Serum, and La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream, day and night. The La Mer products helped to hydrate and sooth my skin, and reduced the burning pain.

Throughout the day, when I feel any discomfort and dryness on my cheeks, I’d put on Elizabeth-Arden’s Eight Hour Cream Fragrance-Free Skin Protectant. This cream also worked well when my skin turned flaky during the healing process.

(The Elizabeth-Arden’s Eight Hour Cream is one of the must-have products I keep on hand for any skin problem.)

Conclusion

To summarize, based on my personal painful experience, if you ever damage your skin (i.e. over-exfoliating, minor scaring, or sunburn), consider using the La Mer Treatment Lotion, La Mer Regenerating Serum, La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream, and Elizabeth-Arden’s Eight Hour Cream. These products have renewal, hydrating, and protecting ingredients that help your skin to recover soon!

P.S. The La Mer products can be pricey, but they are totally worth it!

For more skin care products I recommend, visit Skin Care page.

All Posts, Beauty

Skin Care Remedy: The Must-Have Magic Cream

What product do you use to prepare your skin for makeup?

When it comes to putting makeup foundation on my face, I love to use Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream to hydrate my skin first. After applying the Magic Cream to my face, my skin instantly looks awake and glowing. And the Magic Cream keeps my makeup looking smooth and refresh.

The Magic Cream by Charlotte Tilbury is a facial moisturizer, which can be used for either day or night. It has a mix of anti-aging and collagen stimulating ingredients. It’s also the product Charlotte uses to prepare celebrities’ red carpet look.

Charlotte's Magic Cream

I use the Magic Cream mainly to prepare my skin before I apply the makeup. Once in a while, I will use the Magic Cream as my day moisturizer.

How did I hear about the Magic Cream? A few years ago, I attended a Charlotte Tilbury’s hands-on makeup event, led by one of their product line’s international makeup artists. I learned many great things about Charlotte Tilbury’s skin care products and makeup items. Since then, I started to use the Magic Cream as part of my makeup routine.

In my opinion, the Magic Cream not only hydrates my skin it also serves as a skin protector. I’ve accidentally fallen asleep with my makeup on a couple of times. When I woke up in the morning, my skin still felt hydrated, because I used the Magic Cream prior to applying the foundation. Before I started using the Magic Cream, leaving makeup on overnight would irritate my skin the next morning.

To summarize, Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream is a great skin care product that serves as a daily moisturizer and makeup preparation product. The wonder of this cream lives exactly up to its name, “Magic Cream”. If you haven’t tried the Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream, I’d highly recommend that you get one and experience the magic yourself.

For more skin care products I recommend you to try, visit Skin Care page.

All Posts, Beauty, Travel

The Must-have Multi-Miracle Glow Cleanser, Mask and Balm

(DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the product links and make a purchase, we may or may not receive a commission for the referral.)

When I travel, I like to bring skin care products that have plenty of hydrating elements, which is especially important when I travel or stay in hotels with air conditioning blasting on all the time.

For years, I’ve been using some of the Sisley’s skin care products (see my blog post for more detail) when I travel. Recently, I added another beauty product to my travel essentials. This beauty product is called Multi-Miracle Glow Cleanser, Mask, and Balm for Baby Soft Skin by Charlotte Tilbury. (The product is packed with vitamins, floral extracts and antioxidant ingredients.)
Charlotte Tilbury Multi-Miracle Glow Cream

As the Charlotte Tilbury’s Multi-Miracle Glow Cleanser, Mask and Balm for Baby Soft Skin product name indicates, this cream-based skin care product is for multiple purposes. You can use it to clean your skin by massaging it on your face and rinsing it out. You can also use it as a facial mask by massaging it on your face, leaving it on to let the product penetrate into your skin, then rinsing it off after 10 minutes. Or you can simply leave it on your skin overnight as a skin balm.

What’s even better about this Multi-Miracle Glow Cleanser, Mask & Balm for Baby Soft Skin product is that it can also be applied to your body to moisturize your skin and add some healthy glow. (I use it on my arms and legs when I go out.)

The Multi-Miracle Glow Cleanser, Mask & Balm comes in a 3.4 oz. container. When I travel, I like to transfer some of this product into a small jar. I’d use it as the second cleaner after I wash my face with Shu Uemura cleaning oil. When my face gets really dry, I’d also use the Multi-Miracle Glow product as a mask and balm for overnight. The floral smell of the product is so pleasant; I found it very soothing. I also use this product on any area of my skin that feels dry.

Of course, I use the Multi-Miracle Glow Cleanser, Mask & Balm for Baby Soft Skin product whenever I want to at home; it’s not only limited to traveling. But if I was stranded on a island and ould only have one skin care product, the Multi-Miracle Glow Cleanser, Mask & Balm for Baby Soft Skin product would definitely be my choice!

For more skin care products I recommend you to try, visit Skin Care page.

All Posts, Beauty

Result of Using Sunday Riley Skin Care Serums for a Month

I love to try new skin care products for fun! I recently got a new set of day and night serums to incorporate into my daily skin care routine. I tested the serums for a month and I’ve already seen the difference they make on my face!

This new skin care adventure started in the beginning of December, when I was out shopping with my friend. We saw the skin care products by Sunday Riley, and my friend pointed out that it’s one of the recent popular beauty products used by many celebrities in Asia.

Out of all the Sunday Riley products on the display in the store, I found the Luna Sleeping Night Oil (blue liquid) the most intriguing. When I massaged a drop of the blue Luna product onto the back of my hand, it changed from blue to clear and my skin felt well hydrated.
Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil

The Luna Sleeping Night Oil has retinol, which is supposed to help to reduce the appearance of pores and wrinkles.

I’ve been looking for a serum with retinol and the Luna Sleeping Night Oil seemed like a good candidate to try.

Since I was going to use Sunday Riley’s Luna Sleeping Night Oil, I wanted to try the Good Genes (Sunday Riley’s day serum, which exfoliates the skin and improve its complexion) for daytime.
Sunday Riley Serums Good Genes Treatment

Result on the First Application

The instructions on the Luna Sleeping Night Oil says that it’s okay to use the Good Genes (day serum) over the Luna (night serum) at night. So I tried both of them on the first night, after I cleaned my face, put on the toner and the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence. Instantly, my skin looked radiant and hydrated. (I was surprised and delighted on how quickly the products worked for me.)

To complete my skin care routine, I put on my favorite La Mer’s moisturizing soft cream.

Result after a Month of Usage

I have several beauty brands of serum I alternated on daily basis, based on my mood. But for my new experiment, I was determined to use the Good Genes (for day) and the Luna (for night) continuously for a month, along with my existing toner, essence, and moisturizer. After 30 days of usage, I already saw that my skin complexion has improved, and my skin feels smooth and hydrated when I get up in the morning (where my skin used to be a little bit dry). The laugh line on the left side of my face seems less visible.

The changes on my skin came gradually over the one month period. My skin was fine to began with, but adding the Good Genes and Luna serums to my existing skin care routine definitely helped. And I really like what I see in the mirror.

To summarize, my experiment on the Sunday Riley’s Good Genes and Luna serums went well. I’d recommend you to try these to see if they work well for you!

I plan to continue to use both Good Genes and Luna serums until I run out of them, then move on to another anti-aging serum for another experiment.

All Posts, Beauty

Natural Vitamin E Cream by Blackmores

Natural Vitamin E Cream by Blackmores is one of the recent, very popular moisturizing creams in Asia. The Natural Vitamin E Cream is a rich moisturizing cream that helps to protect dry and cracked skin. Blackmores is an Australian company that specializes in making vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements.

I had never used the Blackmores’ Natural Vitamin E Cream before, and I was curious about how effective the cream is in moisturizing skin. So I searched it online and purchased one for experiments.

Upon receiving the Blackmores’ Natural Vitamin Cream, I put a thin layer of the product on the back of my left hand and gently massaged it using a small circular motion. I was surprised how fast the cream was completely absorbed into my skin, and how smooth my skin became. By comparing the back of my left hand (with the cream) and right hand skin (without the cream), I could feel the left hand skin was very smooth and moisturized.

I also applied the Blackmores’ Natural Vitamin Cream to a small area on my face, and it smoothed my skin immediately. I have semi-sensitive skin, and so I was really glad that I didn’t have any negative reaction after applying the cream to my skin.

Based on my personal experience with using the Blackmore’s Nature Vitamin E Cream, I would recommend it for daily skin protection usage. I also like the fact that the cream is fragrance free and non-greasy.

All Posts, Beauty

Three Sisley Paris Beauty Products You Need

(DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the product links and make a purchase we may or may not receive a commission for the referral.)

I change some of my core skin care products from time to time, based on the season and on my mood. But there are three beauty products from the Sisley Paris brand that are not part of my regular core skin care regimen, but yet, I like to keep them in stock and use them occasionally to boost my skin hydration level! (See below for more detail.)

Eye Contour Mask

This Eye Contour Mask is designed to reduce undereye puffiness and add hydrating around the eye. The instructions say to put a thick layer of the eye mask on the eye contour and eyelids, wait for 10 minutes, then wipe away excess without rinsing. But I occasionally use it as an eye cream for hydration purposes at night. When I use it, I put a thin layer (instead of a thick layer) of the eye contour mask around my eyes, as well as the area around my lips. This product is one of my must-haves when I travel to places with drier weather, such as Southern California and Las Vegas.

Botanical Eye & Lip Contour Balm

This Botanical Eye & Lip Contour Balm is designed to smooth and moisturize the eyes contour and lips. This eye and lip balm is a gel. I don’t use the product everyday, but if I use it, I usually put it on right after I apply my SK-II Essence on my eyes and lips.

Hydra-Flash Formula Intensive

This Hydra-Flash Formula Intensive mask is rich in natural plant extracts and essential oils. It helps to hydrate the skin. You are supposed to put a thick layer of this mask on your face and neck as frequently as 2 to 3 times a week. However, I use it as facial moisturizer when I get too lazy to put serum on.

I’ve used the above three Sisley Paris skin care products for years and I am still loving them! Next time when you are looking for additional skin care products to bring on your trip, you may also consider giving them a try!

All Posts, Beauty

Clarisonic Radiance Skin Renewing Peel Wash

What’s your favorite cleanser? When it comes to cleaning my face, I like to use different cleansers based on my daily mood.

One of my facial cleansers includes the  Clarisonic device. I only use it a couple of times a month, even though I should probably use it more often. Recently I bought the Clarisonic’s Radiance Skin Renewing Peel Wash. The Peel Wash is a liquid that you apply to your face and then use the Clarisonic device on the Wash. It’s kind of like using toothpaste and an electric toothbrush, but for your face.

The Wash arrived a couple of weeks ago, but I was too lazy to try it right away. Finally, last Monday I tried the Wash with the Clarisonic device.

I was very impressed with the results! After using the device and rinsing my face, I could see some dead skin, which I removed. Normal facial cleansers don’t have this effect. And, with a fully cleaned skin, my daily facial treatments are more effective, and I use less moisturizer and toner and serum.

The Clarisonic device cost about $149 and the Peel Wash cost about $25. In my mind this is a very good value compared to alternatives.

All Posts, Beauty, Travel

How to Protect Your Skin from Dehydration Caused by Airplane Travel

Our skin can get really dry when we travel, especially by airplane. This dryness is partly due to the high altitude and the recycling of the air in the plane. After traveling for years, I have my own skin care routine to protect my face from dehydration throughout the trip. The routine consists of a three-part treatment: before, during, and after the trip. I will also show you the facial masks I use.

Before the trip:

The night before I travel I exfoliate my face after using a cleanser. The purpose of exfoliating your face is to get rid of any dead skin cells and help the skin to effectively absorb any products I apply. After cleansing and exfoliation, I gently pat my favorite toner onto my skin. Then I use a facial mask in place of my regular serums.

The facial mask is the key to my skin care routine before airplane travel. The facial mask is usually made of cotton or a silky sheet which is soaked with nutrients and hydrating ingredients that help to boost the moisture level in the skin. One of the common ingredients in many brands of facial masks is hyaluronic acid, which effectively enhances the hydration level of the skin.

By applying the facial mask and keeping it on my cleaned face for 15 to 25 minutes, I am “bathing” my skin in the highly concentrated serum. Once I remove the mask and massage the remaining serum into my skin, my face is visibly more radiant and healthy. The last step in the before-trip treatment is to use a regular moisturizer to lock in the moisture I just applied to my skin.

This part of the routine prepares and protects my skin from dehydration during the airplane travel.

During the trip:

On long trips, on the night before arrival to my destination, I will apply another facial mask to my face before I go to bed. This part of the routine goes like this: cleanser, toner, facial mask, and moisturizer. There’s no need to exfoliate my skin since I already did so the night before. The purpose of using a second facial mask is to replenish the hydration level in the skin. This part of the routine is important, especially if I was staying in hotels; the air conditioning usually make my skin dry.

After the trip:

After I arrive home from the trip, my skin gets tired and dry from the travel. I would repeat the same routine as the day before the trip – cleanser, toner, facial mask for 25 minutes, and moisture.

Facial masks are really popular and less expensive in Asia than in the U.S. Whenever I travel to Asia I generally buy a lot of the facial masks and bring them back home to the U.S. for later use. Here are some of the brands that are available oversee as well as in the U.S. — My Beauty Diary, Kanebo Sensai Collection, SK-II.

I hope this skin care routine will be helpful to you the next time you travel.

How to Protect Your Skin from Dehydration Caused by Airplane Travel