Latest skin-saver: Murad Exfoliating Blemish Treatment Gel

Alas, my faithful acne-treatment gel Differin hasn’t been too effective of late. So on impulse I picked up a mini (30ml) bottle of Murad’s Exfoliating Blemish Gel for £4.99 from FeelUnique during a sale-haul in August. It was a special promotion and boy... do I wish I’d hauled BOTTLES of this stuff!

I’ll admit I was a bit dubious because the gel has hydrogen peroxide – which is a bit of a ‘naughty’ ingredient, but the rest of the active ingredients – salicylic acid, retinol, glycolic acids and liquorice root extracts all sounded so right I chanced it.

Plus my skin was being so annoying I was reaching that desperate-try-anything stage.

Believe it or not, this made SUCH a difference from the first day! My skin was looking clogged and dull. I’d started using Neutrogena’s Deep Clean Blackhead Eliminating Scrub again and it was helping a lot, but you know when you’re skin is just not at its best.

Silicone free wonder: theBalm's Time balm concealer

Is it possible to feel guiltily obligated to your makeup? Deeply and sincerely guilty that you haven't shouted how much you love them to the four winds?

Well this one's been weighing on my mind. 

I love and cannot live without this concealer, yet I've never reviewed it. Why?

Perhaps it's because I keep cheating on it, hoping I'll find a better one. But I never have. 

Maybe it's because I've only just recently, after two years of using it, found my perfect shade (Light-Medium). I've been using Light all along and it's never been just right. 

But make no mistake I love this. I use it on my blemishes, under my eyes,  over liquid foundation and alone under powder for light days. 

It saved my sanity when I left my makeup bag (with my foundation in it) behind on a trip to Shanghai. As a solid concealer it is all shades of awesome for travel. 

I have a two shades of this in my dresser and one tub in my makeup bag so I'm never EVER without it. 

Simple Cleansing wipes, YOU'RE DUMPED

Ah, the trusty green packet which a staple of so many bedsides and travel kits. Well guess what? It's taken me years, YEARS, and I feel absolutely brick-red embarrassed foolish that it took me so long to realise...

They break me out. 

Oh yes they do. 

For years I've thought that I was being great to my skin by using these gentle wipes to take off all my makeup while on long-haul flights. I'd use them, go through my usual night-time skin routine, and sigh the next day at the bad breakout I'd suffer. 

Until Cannes, I sincerely and honestly thought that I broke out because of the stress of travelling. Not these wipes. Because, hey, it MUST be better to use these to take my makeup off than to just leave all of that foundation on for 13 hours, right? Right? 

Wrong!

Temporarily Discontinued: Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Visible Skin Renewer

To go all Malaysian on you readers: Why lah, must they discontinue a great product just when I have discovered it? Sial betul, right when my skin finally looks like it is going to settle down, be happy and finally concentrate on getting rid of those acne scars, Clinique turns around and bites me on the – okay, I will stop ranting now.

Anyway, I am deeply distressed by the news that Clinique is planning to discontinue their Turnaround Concentrate from their product line up this coming fall. I was suffering from awful breakouts in June and was in the doldrums of despair.

“I think,” my mother said calmly one day, “you need a new serum and moisturiser. Whatever you are using seems to be absolute crap.”

I laughed and agreed. I always had Clinique Turnaround Concentrate on my list after reading a review by Belledemoiselle so I hopped out and bought it. Salicylic acid has always been one of my favourite zit-busting products and it was a while since I bought an exfoliating serum.

And I am Back!

Syen and Kahani were kind enough to let me off blogging duty for a month, seeing how work, constant travelling and a persistent cough were driving me up the wall with little energy to spare. After the long Eid holiday and a much anticipated break with my boyfriend (am waiting for the day when I can show the finger to all those well-meaning “friends” who predicted doom and said long distance relationships don’t last), I am almost back to my usual self and am ready to report for regular blogging duty.

I am still catching up on the beauty scene so don’t expect anything from me on new trends and news ( Beaut.ie does a great job of it so go look there). I do have stuff to report from the Quest for Clear Skin Battle Front though. In brief:

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.

Tried, Tested and Tried Again: Reviewed Products Revisited

We are frightful enablers here on So Loverly: our reviews not only inspire lemmings in others but amongst ourselves. I have lost count of the numbers of times I have read a review by Kahani or Syen and thought, I want to try that.

Unfortunately, not all products recommended by Kahani and Syen work for me and vice versa due to our different skin needs. Kahani has mad oily skin, Syen's skin combo-oily while mine is oily-dry. The cleanser which broke Syen out works great for me but I won't touch Kahani's HG acne treatment with a 10 feet pole. Clinique's DDM gel works for Kahani and Syen but not for me.

There was that one product which all of us agreed on disliking albeit for different reasons; Syen hated the scent, Kahani got breakouts while it gave me rashes AND made me sneeze.

Here's my take on some previously reviewed products:

Another Reason to Hit the Gym!

"How often do you exercise?" my doctor asked, peering over the rim of his glasses.

"Err.. about once a week? But I go trekking a lot because of my work."

"Hmm.. not enough. Your percentage of body fat is surprisingly high and your metabolism is really slow."

You could have knocked me down with a feather. I wasn't surprised by my low metabolism rate (I am quite sloth-like half of the time) but I was surprised by the body fat percentage reading. I know I carry most of my weight around my hips but...

Blast my father's genes.

"If you aren't careful," Pa told me solemnly later, "you are going to look like your aunts after you give birth."

With images of my aunts floating in front of my eyes, I have been going to the gym every 2 days or so just to hit the treadmill or walker and work up a sweat. While I haven't lost any weight, I have noticed a surprising side effect after 2 weeks:

Most of my pimples have disappeared.

For the past 2 months, my skin has been crazy congested and threatening to break out into cystic acne. I didn't even dare to use makeup for a while and have been changing my moisturisers, cleansers etc in the hope of finding a cure.

As it turns out, sweating everything out was the cure. It was just that simple.

I now have another reason to hit the gym!

You Put WHAT on Your Face?!

I am not putting up an accompanying pic on So Loverly today because I couldn't find any non-disgusting picture which didn't send a shudder down my spine. Keep on reading and you will understand why.

My colleagues and I were happily chattering away in the car when one of them suddenly dropped a bombshell.

"You know," she casually said, "the latest health treatment craze seems to be leeches."

"WHAT?" We all shrieked in unison as our driver tried not swerve about crazily.

She tsked. "LEECHES. There's a guy in Penampang (a district in Sabah) who is breeding medical-grade leeches. He seems to be quite popular."

All of us blanched.

Now then, don't get me wrong. The women I work with are some of the toughest women I know. They have been to places so remote, dirt roads don't even exist, and they have been bitten by more leeches than they can remember. However, the idea of voluntarily putting a leech on themselves without a sound medical reason is something they shy away from.

So apparently, leech treatment is getting quite popular in some circles as a cure-all for aches, rashes and whatever ails you. My curious colleague decided to accompany her neighbour for one of these sessions, chit-chatted to the owner and reported that lots of people are beginning to swear by leech treatment as a cure for acne. Acne patients go there every week or fortnight to grab a leech which will suck out all the pus and help with congested blood flow.

The results, they say, are remarkable.

*shudder*

"So", we asked, "what happened to my colleague's neighbour?"

"Well", she said, "seems that the poor man's face started swelling up for no reason and the doctors couldn't figure out why. That's why he was trying out the leech treatment for his swollen face.

"What they do is to pick up a leech and let it walk around the face until it "sniffs" out the right spot (probably where the blood is the most congested). Then the leech will bite, suck until it's full and drop off."

"Then what happens to the leech?", I asked. "Do they plop it back into a bottle and let it rest?"

My colleague sat up. "Now that's the surprising thing", she said. "That leech dropped dead after a few minutes of dropping off. Apparently the blood was so toxic, it killed the poor leech."

All of us sat in dead silence after that.

I have tried lots of things back in my bad acne days but if leeches were an option 10 years ago, I think I would have still drawn a hard and fast line there.

What about you?

Benzac AC5 - Acne killerrrr!

When the latest bout of cystic acne refused to go away I decided to go all medieval on its ass and revive an old favourite - Benzac AC5%.

Benzac AC5 is a 5% suspension of benzoyl peroxide in a gel base. Honestly, I really prefer the 2.5% formula as it is as effective but less harsh. However I just haven't been able to find it anymore. It's manufactured by Galderma, the same company that produces Cetaphil and Differin so it's derm recommended.

Usage
Like the Acne method, I use this all over my face every morning - only I certainly don't use as much. If you're in the midsts of an acne outbreak spot treating isn't going to work! You need to tackle the ones that are there and the ones that are about to emerge.

Results
The first week was filled with purging as pimples surfaced and cleared away. You can tell it's purging if after 3 days you find that the emerging pimples are growing increasingly less severe. First the real whoppers turn up, then smaller ones and finally just tiny whiteheads. Now except for one perishing tiny thirf eye my skin is mostly clear. Hurrah!

Problems
This stuff really is quite harsh and of you have anything short of very oily skin you'll hate it. Even on my skin I've had flakiness and dry patches which I've cheerfully ridden out since flaky skin is a cakewalk balanced again reduced acne and oiliness. Not that this completely cures my oiliness problem. I wish! I still have to blot every few hours but it's reduced. Thank heavens.

It will increase skin sunsensitivity, so make sure you use some form of SPF with it and bleaches clothing and hair.

Also, I've heard benzoyl peroxide may age you more rapidly. I'm not sure of this to be honest, probably the consequences of overuse and dry skin makes you look older. So I won't be using this daily in the long term. I may reduce it to alternate days.

Conclusion
I'm so glad I went back to benzac. At only RM8.90 for 15ml, it's an affordable buy! I usually find it in Caring Pharmacy and Vitacare - not Guardian and Watsons.

Budget Beauty: Neutrogena Deep Clean Blackhead Eliminating Cooling Toner

For some time now, my HG has toner has been Clinique's Clarifying Lotion 3. When I first started using it, it made such a noticeable difference to my skin and increased the efficacy of acne treatment products like Differin. So if it's so great, why am I looking to switch? Well, it's pricey. It's RM78 for 150ml, which just isn't that affordable - even when decanted into a smaller drop bottle and used only once a day. While the bottle lasts up to 6 months I just felt it wasn't worth the price.

I initially bought this toner to use in the mornings, but after a mishap where I spilt the tiny amount of Clinique toner I had left, I started using it morning and night. Well guess what, 3 weeks later and my skin hasn't suffered - not that I can see!


Why I think it works as well

I tossed my old bottle of Clarifying Lotion 3 but if memory serves (which the internet confirms) its active ingredients were withhazel and beta-hydroxy acid / BHA also known as Salicylic Acid. Guess what? Neutrogena's toner-of-the-really-long-name has all the above. It has Witch Hazel & 0.5% Salicylic Acid. I'm not sure of the concentration in Clinique's but even if Neutrogena's is lower I cheerfully slop it on twice a day instead of the meager drops I used to gingerly wipe on each night.

Does it eliminate blackheads?
My blackheads are under constant assault - but they're still there. I mask, tone, scrub, treat, and use serums just about daily and while the count is lowish some will prevail. If the assault ever stops they multiply so fast I have cystic acne in 3 days. Not kidding, stopping just one part of my arsenal usually has a negative effect. So what I CAN say is, switching to this toner hasn't made things worse. So it appears to be as effective as Clinique's offering.

Some drawbacks.... or not
There are two additional things this toner does that I don't mind but others may loathe. It does have that "cooling" menthol tingle, and it smells of citrus.

While I've secretly enjoyed all these cooling tingly products during the heatwave, I know that in truth they are at best an unnecessary ingredient as they do no good, and at worst irritant to sensitive skin. Clinique's toner is also unfragranced which this isn't - a booboo for some. Sorry Syen, you'll really really loathe this toner's lemony scent.

Conclusion
If your skin is oily and isn't overly sensitive to fragrance and cooling tingly things, it should take to this toner pretty well. At RM22 for 200ml it's definitely great value for money and while a bottle won't last me as long as Clinique's I don't mind replacing it every 3-4 months instead of every 6. If nothing else it lowers my stress levels. And hey considering I have been unable to replace my pricey Clinique DDMG and ~H2O+ Face Oasis moisturisers - something has GOT to give!

Cellnique Skin Action Sebum Gel Vs B'Liv Off With Those Heads by Cellnique

Some time back, Tine quelled the fears of many when she solved the mystery of the disappearing Cellnique Pro Sebum Gel - it was being rebranded to B'Liv Off With Those Heads. So I was a little curious to find out that the Cellnique line was still around - but available only in salons - and that it had renamed its Pro Sebum gel once again to Skin Action Sebum gel. I was already on my second bottle of B'Liv and relatively happy when I was contacted by Cellnique and sent a bottle of this to try. So is there any difference between the two?

Similarities
- Both the clear gels promise to eliminate white and blackheads without squeezing.

- Both are by Cellnique

- Both have Peppermint Oil that results in a tingly cooling sensation when applied
(while I enjoy the sensation I'm not a fan of it as I believe it's unnecessarily irritating my skin).

- Both have the ingredients Witch Hazel, Aloe and Tea Tree Oil.

Differences
- Cellnique's Skin Action Sebum Gel has Hyaluronic Acid and Dryopteris filix-mas extract (say what? It looks like a fern on their site and promises to "soothe skin irritation, helps to improve skin texture, and control and prevent future breakouts").

- Price point - Cellnique is about RM159 for 30ml while B'Liv is RM139 for 30ml. B'Liv also has more discounts as it's sold in Watsons and Guardian and comes in a 50ml jar for RM189.

Comparison
It is insanely hard to be accurate and precise about the differences but in my opinion, and based on my use of both products B'Liv first and then Cellnique I'd have to say that Cellnique's offering is more effective than the B'Liv range.

First, when I switched to Cellnique within days blackheads and whiteheads started surfacing to be swept away revealing much clearer skin.

Then I suffered a bad breakout due to Eucerine's wretched product. I've gone through something similar while using B'Liv and I'm pretty sure my skin cleared and healed slightly faster with Cellnique. I'm also amazed at the lack of scarring and my skin is looking more even toned already.

The presence of Hyaluronic Acid in Cellnique's formulation also implies it's better for more mature skins as the acid is reported to have great hydrating properties.

I haven't noticed a decrease in oiliness since switching though. More's the pity.

Conclusion
Personally I may switch to Cellnique permanently once I've used up the rest of my B'liv serum as the slightly more expensive gel seems to work better for me. But if you have sensitive skin, B'Liv may just be a gentler offering that works just as well. The main drawback is how hard Cellnique is to find. I do know of a salon in Amcorp that sells it as does its website (USD55 is pricey though compared to local prices). If Cellnique doesn't get more expensive I'll very likely stick to it.

Note
I received a 30ml bottle of Cellnique's Skin Action Sebum Gel free to test. I tested it for just over a month only trying out a new product two weeks into the test. When I broke out, I stopped using the new product and went back to my regular routine with Cellnique as my only addition. I waited till my skin was clear and happy again to write this review.

Zits be Gone: Aknemycin Plus Solution

I have never had great skin. There are the bad days and then there are the good days, but there have never been great days.

Several months prior to my wedding, my skin was bad. Various options of came to mind, including visiting a skin specialist, or even taking hormone pills to control the break-outs, to ensure that I would get that flawless canvas in time.

Thankfully, however, thanks to the combination of these two products + Clarins facials + Aknemycin Plus (which was recommended by a doctor), my skin was at its best behaviour. Excellent.

Aknemycin Plus is a topical ointment, which can be applied directly from the 25ml bottle through its sponge head. On its list of active ingredients are erythromycin (4%)and tretinoin (0.025%).

A quick check on the Net found that erythromycin is indeed a very commonly used antibiotic for acne, and acne vulgaris, as it has anti-inflammatory properties to help reduce redness in lesions, in addition to killing bacteria.

In my case, I found that when applied to a formed pimple, or one which is only just forming, it instantly soothes the pain and itch, and reduces the redness. Applied over two or three days at night before bedtime, the pimple eventually shrivels up and disappears.

As for pimples which are just forming, they never quite even make it to be troublemakers. Perfect.

On the down side, where applied, this ointment does cause the skin to dry up as well, leading to flaky skin. But with sufficient moisturiser, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Since discovering aknemycin, I must say that I have happier skin, and it has certainly lessened my pimplish woes.

A little note from a pharmacist friend of mine though. Apparently, prolonged use over large areas of the face will cause the medication to lose its effectiveness. As it's essentially an antibiotic, she suggested it could well be because the bacteria may well develope a resistance against the drug.

But in any case, until that day comes for me, I'm a happy girl.

PS: Apologies on the lack of a price tag. I really can't remember as it was purchased from a panel clinic.

Review: Eau Thermal Avene Cleanance K

Some time back, a reader asked for recomendations of pore minimising products which actually work.

Truthfully, I kind of gave up on searching for that HG product and decided to concentrate on having clear skin instead. Time would (hopefully) erase all my scars and pits by the time I hit 40 and attain MILF status. In the Quest for Clear Skin though, I did stumble across this very affordable product which gave me clear skin and shrunk some pores: Avene's Cleanance K.

The Eau Thermale website claims that Cleanance K contains 6% Glycolic Acid, 2% Lactic Acid and 0.1% Salicylic Acid, making it a pretty effective chemical exfoliant. While AHA's and BHA's are not as effective as retinol in cleaning out the pores (if memory serves me right, retinol is able to penetrate the skin more deeply and encourages cell renewal), they are a lot less drying on the skin.

Texture and fragrance wise, Cleanance K is not great. The product itself is a slightly sticky gel which balls up after a while and there's that indescribable Avene fragrance about it which makes you sit up and go, "What the heck is that?" Also, put it too near your mouth and you will discover that it tastes really, really odd.

Oh, and it stings a little especially when applied over zits and small cuts. The tingling can feel odd but still bearable. Your skin gradually builds resistance to it after a while. The first time my sister used it, she came roaring like a lion into my room to ask if I had started using bottled brimstone on my face.

She was having a bad breakout and thought that Cleanance K was moisturiser. The memory still makes me hunch over in laughter.

I recommend only using this product at night with some moisturiser on top (I usually wait an hour) if your skin feels too dry. I imagine your makeup would look pretty odd balling up all over your face in the daytime.

Sadistic remembrances aside, Cleanance K works pretty well for me. It took about 2 to 3 weeks for results to show but I was rewarded with clearer skin and less obvious pores. I had oil plugs coming to the surface after a few days of use and I could easily do self-extractions with tweezers or nose strips. Be warned though, your skin can get pretty dry and sensitive while using this so ease off on the exfoliants and be sure to use sunscreen in the a.m.

I have not been using this since Winter came along but now that Spring is here... Hmm, where did I put my tube?

Avene Cleanance K retails at AUD21.95 for 40ml. I am not sure how much it costs in Malaysia but I think it falls in the range of RM40-RM50+.

DIY Beauty/ Beauty Disaster: Carrot Face Mask

This isn’t so much of a tutorial than a warning. Always, always, ALWAYS do a patch test first before you decide to try anything, especially when it comes to DIY kitchen stuff. Your brilliant guinea pig here went all gung ho, decided not to patch test and owie, I ended up with rashes all over my face.

But you are still willing to give this a try and want to follow in the footsteps of Sung Hye-Kyo,* the recipe is... 3 portions grated carrot, 2 portions yogurt and 1 portion flour to bind it all up. If you have forgotten your ratios from school, think of it as 3 teaspoons carrot, 2 teaspoons yogurt and 1 teaspoon flour.

Of course, you don’t have to follow these proportions strictly. I used very much less and still ended up with rashes. *sigh*

Leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes and then wash off to hopefully clearer skin.

Anyway, what this mask is supposed to do – if it doesn't give you rashes, that is – is help clear up acne and brighten up your complexion. It seems that Song Hye-Kyo attributes her perfect skin to this face mask and does it a few times every week.

Takers, anyone?

* For non-Korean drama fanatics, she’s a Korean actress who shot to fame after acting opposite Rain in Full House.

Relaxing beauty ritual: Neutrogena Deep Clean Cleansing Lotion

I have a new favourite method of removing my makeup. It's not more convenient - in fact it takes longer, and it is only marginally more effective. So why do I do it? Because I find the slow luxurious ritual of massaging this cleansing lotion in and tissuing it off at the end of a long day wonderfully relaxing.

I love doing this while watching a serial I've downloaded at the end of a long day. Also I find my skin stays clearer when I take the time to remove every single scrap of makeup combined with the mild exfoliation the lotion and tissue-ing off provides.

The Lotion
This lightweight lotion comes in a convenient pump bottle. I find it very suited to oily acne-prone skin. It may have a chemical exfoliant like salicylic acid - so it can sting if left on too long. This could also make it unsuitable for dry sensitive skin.

Effectiveness
Although this remover has the chops to get light makeup off, I find with longlasting foundations several rounds of application and removal is needed. Two rounds for Clinique Superfit and three rounds for Revlon Colorstay. With two tissues used for every round this is admittedly wasteful and I do feel guilty. So I'm looking out for a more efficient cleanser that will also let me keep my ritual.

Also a separate eye makeup remover is needed as this lotion cannot remove waterproof mascara and eyeliner effectively. Plus it can sting your eye area a little.

I also don't feel comfortable about not washing my face. So I will still give my face a quick wash with a facial cleanser and water.

Repurchase?
Because it keeps my skin so clear, and only costs RM22.90 I may buy this again. But not before I try out a few other tissue-off cleansers. After all, I've almost finished this bottle so it must be doing something right!

Update (April 19, 2009): I've upgraded Neutrogena's deep clean cleansing lotion to HG status. In the week I tried other cleansers my skin detriorated slightly - no matter how much I cleansed. Once I went back on the lotion, my skin started improving in clarity and texture within 3 days.

Hallelujah! Nexcare 3M Acne Patches really WORK

When I first got wind of these, and for the life of me I can't remember where, I thought, "nah.. too good to be true". But online review like that of Supergirl's, and the great price of about RM4 for 7 patches at Watsons decided me on giving it a go.

That and the fact that I had two of those big cystic style pimples starting - on my forhead and chin - and would try anything short of exising them to prevent them from reaching maturity.

And hoorah! These babies actually work!

What they are
According to the Nexcare facebook page,

"This product was originally a medical dressing with 3M patented Tegasorb to absorb wound pus when nurses in Taiwan experimented cutting them into small pieces to place on their acne! The birth of yet another 3M innovative product: Nexcare Acne Patch."

Doesn't that just smack of "Eureka!" to you? I just love it.

Physically they are clear, slightly yellow silicone disks in two sizes (for this pack of 7 pieces).

How you use them
On cleansed and dry skin, before treatment products, moisturiser or makeup, place the patch stick-side down directly on the pimple you want to kill. Hold in place for a bit and it should stay on well enough. Apply treatment and / or moisturiser around it.

How well did they work?
Pretty darn well actually! I only used these at night (as a disc shape bump on my face would just be odd), and just one night was enough to greatly shrink the pimples down and have them on the run! Hoorah!

I also placed one over a pimple I had popped (yes, yes, I'm a bad girl) and this helped drain and heal it well overnight.

Where is it found?
You can find these in Watsons, and my guess is Guardian too (although I've never seen them there). There are intro packs of 7 pieces for about RM4, and there are full sized packs that are far more economical if you want to keep using these regularly. Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact number of pieces, or the price (sorry lah, getting old lah), but I worked it out and found the bigger packs to be more bang for your buck. But the larger packs were sold out at Watsons (what is with that place lately? Have you guys noticecd how poorly stocked its been?).

Update: The boxes of 36 patches are retailing at RM11.90

Review: Himalaya Herbals Refreshing Fruit Face Pack

My adoration for the Himalaya Herbals Neem Face Pack is such that I now hold all its other products in higher esteem (which as far as the Acne-N-Pimple Cream goes was a terrible mistake. It did nothing. *sighs*) So, when looking for a more moisturising mask to use in between the Neem mask, I of course turn to good 'ol HH again,

This mask is described as a mask for blemish-prone, normal to dry skin. It promises to exfoliate, deep clean, fade blemishes and even minimise wrinkles! With ingredients like Apple, Cucumber, Fig and Papaya it sounded so yummy I snapped it up immediately.

How it works
Primarily, with the inclusion of the acid, Pectin, from apples, this is an AHA mask that exfoliates your skin chemically. So although it is less drying than the Neem mask, it isn't more gentle. In fact it stings slightly when applied and my face looks redder after this mask, and calmer after the Neem mask.

It does contain "Fullers Earth" so it absorbs excess oils, shrinking blackheads and allowing the AHAs into your pores. And as it is exfoliating, it will also help fade blemish scars and (a bonus for some, not for me) it will makes your face fairer by causing your tan to fade faster.

Experience
I was petulantly disappointed that the mask didn't smell like some glorious fruit salad! After all the ingredients did sound so very yummy. Instead it smells...well... like nothing much. Very natural, and not unpleasant, just rather blah.

It rinses off a lot more easily than the Neem face mask does, so it's also good to use when I'm too lazy to scrub and scrub and scrub.

I was not blown away by the immediate results this mask gave. My skin did feel smoother but not radically so, and at least it wasn't dehydrated. But over time I find that this mask's exfoliation properties helps increase the efficacy of the Neem mask and other facial treatments I care to use. It has also helped fade the brown marks left by bad blemishes.

Conclusion
Although not an outstanding can't-live-without-it favourite, at RM24.90 this large tube does make a great buy. It's a good staple to have in my beauty arsenal and it definitely helps clear my skin up - if more gradually than my impatient self would like.

Guest "Duped": Nivea Visage Anti-Wrinkle Q10 Plus Repair Night Cream

The incomparable Eli treats us to our very-first Guest "Duped" Review! Not only has she found a cheaper version of Nivea's impossibly-long-named cream, she's found a cheaper and BETTER version. Read on!

Nivea’s Australian/ New Zealand television campaign for their Q10 range had my sister giggling like a 3 year old a few years ago. It involved asking a bunch of women with different nationalities what their beauty secret was (the answer was “Q10”). The last was a Frenchwoman who exclaimed, “L’ amour!” before adding, “And Q10.”

As I already have “L’ amour”, I decided to give the Nivea Q10 Night Cream a whirl over winter. My skin peeled badly last winter so I wanted something extra rich this year. I wasn’t impressed. Nivea Q10 did everything a basic moisturiser was supposed to do and kept my nose from peeling all winter but it didn’t do anything extra for my skin.

I was wondering what to buy next when a friend casually mentioned that our local Aldi had brought in their skincare line. My ears pricked up.

(Aldi is a European discount supermarket chain along the lines of Macro and Carrefour in Malaysia. Their products are generally of pretty good quality and really cheap. They are a godsend to poor ANU students on a budget and their chocolate chip cookies are amongst the best things to have happened to Canberra.)

The Aldi’s Siana day and night creams won a few UK beauty awards this year and have been flying off UK shelves ever since. I was very, very curious.

Sadly, Aldi Australia is only carrying their Lacura skincare range (Aldi has two skincare lines: Lacura and Sianna). I decided to give the Lacura Night Cream a go anyway. It was a lot cheaper than other night creams available and had both retinol and Q10.

Does anyone here still remember the old Hazeline Snow cream which used to come in a glass container? Nearly everyone’s grandmother, mother or favourite aunt used to have a jar on stand-by around their dressing table. When you poked your finger into a new jar, the cream would crinkle up like stiff whipped cream before softening around your finger. I used to find it fascinating.

Lacura’s cream texture and smell is almost exactly like Hazeline Snow. It brought back childhood memories of poking around my mother’s and aunts’ dressing tables and of cuddling up against my grandmother after her bath. I nearly bought another jar to give my grandmother for nostalgia’s sake after my first use.

Lacura Night Cream is the best skincare product I have picked up during my 3 years in Australia. It sinks in well into my skin, has refined my pores and caused my blackheads to disappear. I even tried using the cream on a recent back-acne breakout and it cleared up beautifully after a few days.

My mother has sweetly requested that I get 2 jars for her this Christmas.

Both creams come in 50 ml jars but Nivea’s Q10 Night Cream costs AUD 17.99 while Lacura’s version is AUD 7.99. I am sticking to the cheaper version, thank you.

Note: Good grief, now I want a jar of this miracle stuff!

Review: Vichy Normaderm Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care

The moment I read the lovely Janine's review on Beauty Geek, I knew I had to have it. The need drove me to search in 3, yes THREE stores before finally snapping up the last bottle in a Guardian pharmacy located in Kelana Jaya LRT Station!

It would seem most Malaysian girls suffer from oily skin. *sighs*

That was just over a month ago, and I feel ready now to post my review!

Claims
Vichy, is very much like another French skincare line named Avene. Both claim to be gentle and filled with healing spa thermal waters that will miraculously do only good things to your skin. Yes I am a trifle skeptical.

Vichy is under the L'Oreal group, and the site doesn't mention if they test on animals or not. Petra, any insights on this?

Now onto this moisturiser. It not only claims to hydrate while still providing a matte surface, it also claims to go to the root of the problem causing oily skin, and fixing it. Using made-up words like "Zincadone" and "Intrapore Technology" the bottle assures you that "after 4 weeks, skin is visibly transformed, pores and tightened and imperfections reduced". Big promises, huh?

So, does it do what it says?
The quick answer is, YES! Although not as dramatically as they lavishly claim. I found that my skin is noticeably less oily during the day (or morning anyway) with this product than without. On the occasions that I forgot to put it on I was greasing up, through my primer, and powders, a lot faster than when I did use this product.

As the effects have been so gradual, I'm hesitant to assert that it has reduced my skin's oiliness overall. But I do know that it has hydrated my skin continually and this has helped it calm down, and possibly be less oily. It really is hard to tell. I broke out badly recently due to a combination of hormones and Mac's Concealer *glares at the tube I will now never shift* And I do believe that this moisturiser helped clear things up faster, and aided skin healing.

I will say though that this moisturiser is a joy to use every morning. It's delightfully fresh, feels cool when applied, smells green and lovely, and sinks in rapidly leaving skin comfortably matte. It has never broken me out, and I think it does work to help clear and prevent breakouts. Unless of course you slap on a product that does the exact opposite (do I sound bitter?).

Verdict
Price-wise at RM99 it IS expensive for a drugstore product. But I don't even use a full pump in the mornings so I have a feeling it will last me a long time as a little goes a long long way. I recommend this and Ill probably repurchase if I don't start up a lemming for another product along the way. What can I say, I want to be loyal, but I'm weak.