Review: Yes to Carrots Exfoliating and Soothing Mud Mask

I have been quite a good girl lately, taking care to apply my mask every now and then.


While my favourite zit-buster is still this Himalaya mask, but everyone and then it's nice to have a little something different. And that's when I bring out my Yes to Carrots Exfoliating and Soothing Mud Mask (for normal and dry skin).

It's nice enough to use, but does it really work? Read on to find out.

A burst of fresh orange in the morning: Buds Kids Orange Shampoo & Shower Gel

I don't like this stuff. I'm frigging addicted to it

I loved it from the moment the company gave me the products to try. I'm usually not keen on orange scents because they all tend to smell either like orangina or sugus. These however smell like you're peeling a fresh orange in the shower. Yes. It's THAT awesome. Gives me my morning rush when I jump into the shower. 

 Buds Kids is created by the same manufacturer as the Esmeria line. It's designed to be kid-friendly and is the toddler equivalent of their Buds Baby range. Like Esmeria, this is totally Eco-Certified (so its organic), cruelty free and made in Malaysia. 

The shower gel is mild and cleanses well. As it's organic it's not the foamiest of shower gels but it does lather enough to shave my legs with. I find it non-drying and have been using it everyday for two weeks and still adore it. 

The shampoo's awesome too. Cleans well without stripping and with a smidgen of L'Oreal's Elseve conditioner in the roots I find it stays bouncy all day and is still not greasy by the next morning. At present there's no citrus conditioner in this range in the market, BUT they did pass me an experimental tube to try but I'm not really sold on it. In its defense it's silicone free and I've never really worked out how to use those. It always feels insufficient in the shower and then later I find my hair weighed down. Puzzling! Anyone have any tips?

Sadly neither scent lingers long after the shower - but perfume wearers will enjoy this I think as it won't interfere with your scent of choice.

Pretty darned good! Etude House Baking Powder Crunch Pore Scrub

I'm finding my "travel scrub" to be a pretty darned good use. While Etude recommends you use an ENTIRE sachet each time you scrub your face you'll never be done scrubbing! I find half a sachet at a time will do and the sachet will keep it from drying out even if you scrub on the alternate day.

The scrub is a thick white cream with very fine scrubbing granules, presumably baking soda. It has a light fresh citrus scent that isn't overwhelming but that I enjoy. As you scrub the grains will dissolve and disappear at which point you can rinse off and reveal glowing, clean and lovely soft skin. I find it helpful in clearing up clogged pores and pimples too.

Monday's Beauty Bit: Mircoz, my miracle buffer!

Hello lovelies,

I only have one little beauty bit for you today, but it's one bit that I'm thrilled to share.


Meet my new buffer from Mircoz, which gave me these nice, shiny nails. But what's so great about it? Click on to find out. Believe me, you'll want to.

Quick Peek: My Sleek Haul!

So my best friend, Mich, just got back from the UK (and she's making her way up Mount Kinabalu as you're reading this), and the sweet girl, bless her, hauled back some pretty Sleek stuff for me to try!


I have only just received them last night, so I really haven't had the chance to play with them yet. But click on for more photos!

(Note: Pic heavy post!)

Kiss Me, I taste delicious thanks to Philosophy's Very Emollient Lip Balm

I apologise for the crappy picture ladies, this lip balm really doesn't photograph too well. Which is a shame because I LOVE and am addicted to this gloss and all like it. 

Without flash, it mostly looks like this:

But don't let its scary dark redness scare you, it goes on sheer and stain-like. 

The reasons to love this abound, as a lip balm it's amazing. It lasts forever, is very moisturising and has SPF20. As a gloss it's natural, sheer and glossy but buildable so you can achieve deeper reds if you want to. But above all...

An Old Love Refound: Ego QV Lip Balm with SPF 20

Excuse the poor pic. Blackberry phones
don't come with the best cameras

As much as I do like Lucas Papaw Ointment, nothing beats Ego QV Lip Balm for chapped lips.

This particular lip balm became a winter staple for me after a particularly dry spell (urgh, Canberra winters). My lips were cracked and bleeding quite badly at the time and no amount of judiciously applied Papaw Ointment was working. Desperate, I dredged this up from a bag somewhere to use instead.

Voila! My lips were back to normal in 2 days.

New Fave: Etude Slant-tip Eyeliner Brush

Next to Silk Naturals slanted tip eyeliner brush (silver) for a size comparison

If you recall, I haven't just been looking for a perfect eyeliner brush, I've been looking for a CHEAP perfect eyeliner brush. Anyway I believe I've found it, in one of my steadily-more-favourite places, Etude House. ^_^

1. I love it because:
2. It's tiny
3. It's super fine
4. It's slanted (I work best with these)
5. It's soft
6. But not too soft
7. It works amazing with gel eyeliners
8. It only costs RM24.90

Could it BE more perfect? Happy!

Help: What should I do & where should I go in Hong Kong?

Hello lovely ladies, 

I need your help on this one, you see I've got a job in Hong Kong and will be moving there in a month or so. I've visited it once with Syen but a few days just isn't the same as going to live in a place now is it? 

I'm working in Central area and will be looking for a place to stay around Northpoint.

So my question to you is, what are your favourite places there? Great eateries, places to shop, things to do, bars to hang out in? Please share - along with the name of the place, address and nearest MTR stop if you can manage it!

Love,

Kahani

Ps: Know any good Hong Kong fashion & beauty blogs I can start following?

Pretty lips with Maxilip ~

I'm just awfully lazy today, so yes, this is a lazy post. Sorry, but it's Friday.


Yet another lip product, but this time it's lipbalm. And one that I'm liking a lot. Hello Maxilip!

Handbag Handy: Etude House Mini Anti-Germ Hand Lotion

Everyone say, "Awww..."

Despite their overwhelming and slightly terrifying cutesiness, I continue to be impressed with Etude House. You're familiar with my handcream obsession.. well here's another kicker, I'm the daughter of a microbiologist. So while I'm not a germaphobe I do like my anti-bac stuff.

So I squealed (yes I confess I did) when I saw them both rolled into one adorable, portable package. I'd heard of such things, I even have a tube of the one from Boots, but until now they haven't been available here and the one from Boots isn't the most portable.

I was tempted to get out the petri dishes and the agar gel to test its antibac properties, but decided to just take their word for it. As a handcream it's actually kinda perfect. It's light, sinks in quickly and yet you need surprisingly little to keep your hands happy. My dry cuticles have been looking a lot less ragged since I started using this too.

The Office Pretty: What's On Your Office Desk

Next to handbag and bathroom voyeurism is... seeing what other girls keep on their office desks.

Some keep the standard handcreams and lipbalm, others have an entire arsenal of makeup.
 
I know a girl who keeps a set of false eyelashes and eyelash glue at her desk. A colleague of mine doesn't bother keeping makeup in the office but she lugs a large vanity case around with her Every Single Morning.

I have no idea how she does it. That thing is as heavy as a laptop.

Here's a snapshot of what's on my office desk: Daiso blotters, SteamCream, Sunplay sunscreen, eyedrops, lotsa lipbalms and tints, and a small compact mirror.

What do you girls keep in the office?

Review: Biore UV Aqua Rich SPF 30 PA+++

In our continuous search for a fantastic sunscreen, I'm quite happy to report that I've recently come across a sunscreen that I'm really quite in love with.

Ladies, let me introduce you to Biore UV Aqua Rich SPF 30 PA+++.

Monday's beauty bits: Top travel ideas

I love travel. I love planning for it, packing for it, I even love being on the plane - although I have as many plane-horror stories to share as anyone. But perhaps my most obsessive aspect is crafting the PERFECT away-from-home beauty kits.

Be prepared for a peek into my insanity.

Bath

It's not perfect, but for now it works. This is a net shower bag from Daiso, it has a plastic base and netting all around so it dries super quick. The idea is to hang it in the shower but this has its drawbacks - there's not always a convenient place to hang it, and the drawstrings make getting stuff out of it hard. Still, I haven't found anything as lightweight or handy to compete yet.

Loving: MAC Ultra Darling Lipstick

Apologies for the lipstick overdose of late here at So Loverly, but I suppose this is what happens when all you've been buying are lipsticks, lipsticks and more lipsticks!


And one of which is the MAC Sheen Supreme lipstick in Ultra Darling. And what a darling, indeed!

Good stuff! - Derm 10 Comodone Complex

I'm terribly sorry for not taking my own image of the product but things have been in a hectic and mad state of flux for me of late. I can't wait to update you guys on it but until then I hope you lovely ladies will bear with my slightly spotty posting habits.

I was sent this product a couple months ago to test but it's taken me this long to review it because I wanted to first test the Vitamin C Complex independently and after loving it, to use this product.... STOP using it... and start it up again. Thorough testing eh?

And what has all this testing proven? In a nutshell... it works to clear up blemishes and dissolve blackheads. Hurrah!

Don't expect to see  miracles all at once though, it's a gentle complex and while I noticed improved skintone and clearer skin in the first week, it wasn't radically dramatic. In fact I had to stop using it (as mentioned), watch my skin deteriorate even with the regular use of Differin, and then start it up again to be sure.

My Lipstick Collection

I cleared out my makeup collection the other day and did a lip count. Are twelve lipsticks too little or too many? Four of them are in a wee palette though so I am not sure if they should be counted or not.

To get an idea of what colours I go for, check out the swatches after the jump:

For the love of a Boy ~

It comes as no secret that Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in Boy was named after Capt Arthur Edward "Boy" Capel, the great love of Coco Chanel.

And I had certainly had my eyes on the lipstick for months now. When the Rouge Coco Shines were finally launched in Malaysia this month, one Boy was mine for sure.

Monday's Beauty Bits & Beauty Links

So much as I adore Laura Mercier's Oil Free Foundation I've never lied about it being an utter b*tch to apply. Fortunately since the lovely stuff has helped my skin clear up, I can now get away with sheerer foundation + concealer. So now I add a drop of Clinique's DDMG and swiftly smooth on my new "tinted moisturiser" all over. Gorgeous finish and so much faster. Whee!

Also, my Lisa Eldridge addiction has paid off once again. She exfoliates her lips with a cotton bud and vaseline. I'll admit I have a dry-skin-on-lip problem and it needs regular exfoliation. Nightly experimentation has led me to conclude that this technique makes all the difference and that this lip balm from Japan is the absolute best one I have for it. Leaves my lips so much softer than either Vaseline or this Peach Scented Perfumeria version from Hong Kong.

MAC Haul for Spring 2011

Bless me, it's FRIDAY. Sweet!


And now, just a little sharing I'd like to do. It would seem that I've been hauling quite a bit from MAC lately (over the past 3 weeks?).

More photos after the jump!