Hello my fellow beauty junkies, today I'm coming at you with an accumulated skincare haul! As usual, I've been suffering from terrible skin syndrome and I kind of wanted to venture out from my comfort zone of products with safe brands like Cetaphil, Simple and so on. See my old skincare posts for more information. I'm planning to make a whole skin-journey vlog someday, but the summary is that I started breaking out BAD around March this year, maybe due to stress but I haven't figured it out yet. Right now, I'm trying to heal, but I bought these throughout the semester so I've been using all for a while. Loved some, hated some, and if you want to find out you can read on.
And now the upsides. Rosehip oil is a great way to naturally moisturise your skin without containing any additional chemical-type ingredients. I found that it absorbs into my face better than argan, I think it just sits lighter compared to argan and that's a plus in a place like Singapore. It also manages to soothe any irritated patches and that is so important for me. Rosehip has Vitamin A, which helps to speed up healing of hyperpigmentation (basically pimple scars, those red/brown/pink patches leftover from a deadly one) and I am a VICTIM of those. I don't think it's a miracle product, it won't magically transform us to clear skinned hotties, but it's awesome to use and makes my skin more calm and soft.
And that's it! I want to know your skincare routine too, unless it's like splash cold water on face and go to sleep. Please that is helping no one. Wishing you clear skin, L x
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So this is going to be a bit of an interesting one. I hope you'll sit down and read through this whole thing with me, so you'll get the full picture of what it was like. While you're at it, go see my vlog on what else I did on this very week. :) What is sugaring? It's a method of hair removal that uses sugar paste made of sugar, water, and lemon juice. This paste is extremely sticky, and is pliable, so it's applied onto the skin and removed in the direction of your hair growth. Said to be better for the skin because it adheres exclusively to hairs and dead skin cells, v.s. waxing which poses the risk of ripping out live skin. Context: I don't wax any of my body parts regularly. There are several hair removal options for females in Singapore, and I would consider myself someone who uses the typical ones. Shaving, tweezing, etc. !WARNING!: If you feel squeamish reading about treatments involving female body parts, or if you're going to make any unwanted sexual jokes / references/ innuendos, please leave. This one is for my ladies and respectful male readers. Why I decided to go for it I already kind of knew what sugaring was when Em, my sister, texted in our sisters chat that Sugar(ed) was asking for models for their sugarists. It's like when beauticians need models to practice services on them, so the treatment is for free. They needed models for a Brazilian sugaring, which is the complete removal of hair at your privates area. This is different from a bikini wax, which is only at the bikini lines (to ensure that nothing peeks out of course). I've never really considered doing a hair removal procedure down there before, because it's never bothered me either. Pubic hair is natural, much like armpit hair or other types of hair people- most often females- want to eradicate. I believe that you should never remove it because of societal expectations, so-called beauty standards, or (God forbid) pressure from your partner. I don't find it disgusting and I think everyone should be at least at a neutral level with their bodily hair. Personally, I just wanted to know what a 'clean' area feels like and how the entire process would unfold. My sisters were also doing the sugaring, so we were going to make it a sort of adventure together. I figured that if there was even the slightest possibility that I'd get it done in the future, I might as well try it out now complimentary and see what all the fuss was about. So I booked an appointment to be a model there at their Katong branch. Click here to the Sugar(ed) website! The sugaring procedure To begin, let me say that the sugarists at Sugar(ed) are very kind, patient and gentle. If you're like me and have never had a person peer up your privates or been anywhere near it, you won't be awkward after the first few minutes at most because they are so chill about it- they've been around so many. Maneesha was my sugarist trainee for the appointment and she was gorgeous, AND explained every step of it to me because she could tell I was nervous. After you take off your bottoms, there's a wet wipe placed on the bench bed for you to wipe if you want to. The sugarist will come in afterward. She starts by trimming the hair, which I think just makes it easier to remove by the sugar paste later on. Then she'll use the paste and start on the perimeter of the privates area, almost at the thighs just to let you know how it feels. The hairs are removed by (I think) sticking onto the ball of paste and being essentially pulled or yanked off by the sugarist. They're trained to go in a specific way around the privates so that you're more acclimatised to the pain, because it does hurt, as you are removing the hair completely from a pretty sensitive area. The central part of your intimates would be where it feels the most rough, but you have ample warning as she kind of rolls around the paste, and there's a breathing technique you follow too. That might sound silly, but it does actually help. I rate the pain 4/10 on the outer areas, 6.5/10 on the inner parts. This is only a personal score though. Emma and Dorcas found it more painful than me, so use your pain tolerance as a gauge. Since it's a Brazilian, she really went in there and did her thing with my entire vj-area. I mean, places where you did not think there would be hair, but there is, because our bodies are honestly rather weird and surprising- and also amazing in their own way. She was careful and controlled throughout the entire thing. If you're friendly with them and chat to them, they'll be more than willing to chat too, which may make it more comfortable if you like to be distracted from the process. I actually liked the end procedure- it's where they apply a brightening and soothing paste to the sugared area, and it smells slightly herbal. Then they let you lie there with the lights off to think about what you've just done to yourself. Kidding. It is really relaxing though. She wipes off the mask later and you're done! The recovery of post-sugaring
Any body part you do will most probably be somewhat red and irritated after a sugaring procedure. For me, I didn't feel any residual pain or angry skin. However, it was slightly sensitive having bare skin down there and from the procedure itself. I wasn't supposed to exercise for 3 days afterward, because sweat could possibly spread bacteria and cause an infection. Truth be told I went back to exercising on Day 2 and just made sure to shower immediately after with cold water as it feels more soothing. By Day 5 my skin had returned to normal. It was back to pre-sugaring, sans all the hair. Overall thoughts Getting a Brazilian sugaring was new. Because I expected the pain, it went more than alright for me, and the sugarists are practiced enough to make such an intimate procedure comfortable. There's no practical purpose to removing all my hair down there. For me, the end result is mainly only for aesthetics, plus I'm the only one who's seeing it. I quite like how looks, being free from hair, and I think a bonus point is that for the ladies when you get your period it feels cleaner in general. I also think cleaning it becomes slightly easier since there's the removal of a sizeable chunk of hair there, so it's a tad more hygienic. Note that vaginas are self cleaning, and pubic hair doesn't obstruct anybody from cleaning their privates properly. I would definitely go for a sugaring again but definitely as a self-treat and not on a regular basis. One of the biggest considerations is that sugaring is a very expensive beauty treatment. You can see their prices here that one session of maintenance is $60, repeated every 5 plus weeks. It's not for me right now, but if you're in the market for this, I wholeheartedly recommend getting it done at Sugar(ed) too because their service was impeccable and that kind of thing is so important when you get intimate treatments done. I could talk more about body image related to women (and male's) sexual areas, why I think some commonly upheld standards are wrong, and the elephant in the room: the double standards between women and men when it comes to body hair removal; but this post would be far too long. So let me know if you want to see a post on that- or talk to me about it in real life! I was slightly hesitant to do a review on my blog because even if it isn't anywhere near famous, it is daunting to broach these areas that border on the female body, sexual health and so forth. Then I thought: my blog is a space to talk about anything, and I think at least it can start to open up conversations about these topics that should really not be sexualised and labelled taboo. To you who stuck all the way: you're a sunshine. Sending you my love, L x It's been a hot minute since I talked about my shopping list, so let's go through what I have been spending on fairly recently; from around the beginning of the semester till now. Disclaimer: all products are purchased with my own money. HEALTH
The brand is way out of reach for people with normal budgets, so I looked around on Carousell, and found one selling for $65 (originally $109), a year old, owned by this petite yet extremely sporty-looking Japanese lady. I've had it for a few weeks now and it has been a godsend in my small dorm room, on nights where the gym is not open to Zone C and anyway, I cannot bring myself to step outside to exercise. No worries. I pop on Bodycoach TV and do an easy 20 minutes of HIIT withOUT torturing my knees, wrists, or back. Main point is, I love this mat.
I really like Stojos because they're sturdy for something that's collapsible (and that makes it take up less space), it comes in a big enough size to store most store bought drinks, and the colour is just delicious. Jordan and I got the same one for $24 off Lazada, and when it's not being filled with an actual drink I will sip water from it like the pretentious bitch I am. If you are an avid bubble tea / coffee / liquids person, I would recommend purchasing a Stojo to improve your quality of life. An off-brand reusable cup would work too of course. I've seen some brand new ones from GNC that look almost the same on Carou before. SKINCARE
It definitely carries a sweet scent, so it's not suitable for those who must have fragrance-free products. But, the texture is gel-like and light, applying on smoothly with one or two pumps to cover my entire face. It absorbs quite quickly, and afterwards my skin feels hydrated without being overloaded.
It's only a sample size that my aunt gave to us for free, so I actually don't think I will get a full size version because I prefer Laneige which carries a much milder scent. But it's still a nice once in a while product to slap on on self care nights. TECH
Videos are a whole other ballgame for those that aren't vlogs. Since I've had ideas lately that are more talking, productivity related I wanted equipment that would be suited to that and also just improve on the quality of my videos even though they're only for fun. You shall see when they go up and tell me whether it makes my scenes better to look at or nah. The tripod is for indoor filming of course, and the nice thing is that you can mount either a phone or a camera on it for versatility. The ring light gives more bang too, especially if I want to film at night for some reason. The octopus tripod as its looks suggest is the more portable of the two, and I've been finding it more useful for getting in both stills and filming scenes for balancing the camera. I'm definitely going to whip it out when travelling opens up again though, and it will probably come in handy if I am traipsing around Singapore scouting for cute little cafes. These are most of the major purchases I've made since starting school that have given me life and not a small amount of hope. What have you been buying? What's on your shopping list? I would love to know.
See you soon, L x To make up for my dreariness lately, here's a post that's for all my fellow air-heads- not that there's anything wrong with being an airhead, or indeed, having characteristics of one. I am simply a girl who, like a lot of girls, quite likes taking care of her appearance. Specifically, I like skincare. Already there's too many likes in this intro. Well nothing like (cough) an apt start to a beauty entry. This is a rundown of most of the not-very-new-anymore skincare products I have incorporated into my daily routine because I found that in some way or another they really did help with my oily, acne-d palette of a face. Or at least, they tried their best. And you know, effort is commendable. 1. The Ordinary, Hyaluronic acid This little bottle looks innocuous but has quite drastically altered my skin texture ever since Em introduced it to the sisters gang a couple of months ago. HA, for short, is supposed to have moisturising factors, so it's an ingredient in a lot of products. This is a purer version of it with less ingredients. It has a really lightweight, serum sort of texture which isn't what you find for normal moisturisers, those tend to be cream-based. And they're fine for anyone with a normal complexion, but we have been blessed by genetics for an oily canvas that starts glistening by noon (not joking). I find that this is so lightweight it doesn't induce any extra oiliness but still gives it enough dewiness that my skin isn't somehow both dry as a desert plus a Middle Eastern oil sheik's wet dream, at least for the first few hours of application. You only need about 1-2 drops per application, so a bottle easily lasts for 2 months. More if you can stretch it. 2. Neutrogena, Oil-Free Moisturizer Yes, HA is my go-to day moisturiser, but there is a catch. I also use dermatologist-prescribed retinol, especially where there are bad breakouts, so sometimes my skin can get quite dry / red, in which case HA isn't really a good soothing product. It's not irritating, but it's too light to treat sensitive areas. For such circumstances, I appreciate the Neutrogena because it's still light but a tad more substantial for irritated patches. It is also one of those brands that cater towards sensitive, combination skin so it's meant to be non-harsh and forgiving. This version promises to be non-oily, and I do think it does make my skin shiny a lot slower than it would normally become. However, both Mels and I have noticed that some days it causes flaking, maybe it's the combination of this and sunscreen. 3. The Ordinary, Argan Oil (pic from Google) This might seem a little weird, like, Ly, why are you putting oil on your face when it's already so damn oily? I get that it looks stupid, but if you do some research on it you'll find that actually oils can do wonders for skin texture. It all boils down to which type you choose to target a particular concern. And, not all oils are made equal. There are some that can really clog up your pores (comedogenic). Argan oil is on the high end of non-comedogenic, meaning you can pretty much safely pop it on without worrying that next morning you'll wake up with a brand new, unwelcome friend. The pimpal. I find that my face feels really smooth the next day, and it's especially nice if retinol has done a slightly aggressive job the night before. I would just caution against wearing oil if you still have plans for the night, i.e. lounging around with friends. You'd be quite a sight looking like a shiny slick. Even better if you've got an alone night in and have a couple of hours to let it sink in. Also, I only use this about once a week, or twice at most. 4. Mamonde, SPF 50++ sunscreen Chieh Ling kindly brought this back for me from Korea. In my previous skincare post I talked about Biore Aqua, which I still use, but was told that it had alcohol in it which isn't the best for skin. Following Nise's recommendation, this is a lovely SPF to use, as it spreads relatively easily and has a very nice floral scent without being obnoxious. I'd say it's on the heavier side, so a little bit goes a long way, or you may end up looking like Mulan after her makeover. The good thing is that it will disappiate after some time. And for the benefit of not getting skin cancer, how can you say no, really? 5. Fresh, Sugar Roll On deodorant I'm only giving this a mention here because it's a new product that I wanted to try after doing some (extensive) research on more natural deodorants. The verdict is that it SUCKS. I don't know if my armpits have some disease that makes it resistant to this deo, but it really does not work, for the sole reason that it does not. Dry. Normal deodorants apply a little wet and dry into a powder or something. Of course if it's a spray there's no need for that. But this applies wet and stays wet, even if I sit around for ten minutes with no t-shirt. It's still fine if you're going to lounge in aircon all day. But we know that so much as stepping one foot in the outdoors, in Singapore, is going to make you sweat. In which case the deo will somehow pool right there and become sticky or worse, transfer. It's only redeeming factor is that it does smell really nice and pleasant, sort of sweet and lemony. It's what I would love to smell like, if only it didn't come with unavoidable sweat stink when 'antiperspirant' becomes an obvious lie. Did I mention it's extremely expensive? 5. Foreo, Luna Mini 2 (too lazy to take another pic)
Not a product but a tool. This somehow fell into my hands because Ku, my aunt, was hauling a lot of random things from her workplace for us toward the end of the year. I've been semi-interested in a cleansing tool so I started using this and I think, it's very good for deep cleansing my skin. I won't say it's a miracle worker, but I do believe it's effective at scrubbing out the dirt from your pores with its ridged brush surface, much better than hands can do anyway. The best thing is that you only need to charge it once and it lasts a whole year. I feel like Apple should really take a leaf out of Foreo's book. Okay, and that's all for this round. See you, L x new in: skincare, lifestyle, the futureIt's been a hot minute since I did a haul sort of post, and they're a lot of fun to make. So here goes- what I've been lucky enough to pick up in the midst of all the bustle. These things weren't the result of a once-off shopping spree, but accumulated over time. And because I'm a material girl (working on it), they make me oh so happy.
See here for another Cetaphil product I use!
That's a wrap for today! Until the next time we meet, Ly xx Haven't done one of these in absolutely ages so I thought it'd be fun to bring it back! This isn't a strictly monthly favourite, just some things I have been using a lot and liking recently. August has been a really good month, on the whole- I suppose you could count the days as a favourite in itself. Apart from exams obviously, being off school has been doing me so much good. Granted there are days where I just mooch around at home. But I love it- getting to decide what to do, what to eat, what to wear. I've had so much fun going for exercise classes with my sisters in the crack of dawn, journalling a lot, and throwing myself into studying as much as possible. Not going on Instagram at all. On my own terms. It's been amazing. August has been such a wholesome sort of month. So enough with the preamble, let's dive right in.
That's it for this month. I wonder what you guys have been liking recently. Tell me the next time you see me, Ly xxx The last skincare post I did was over a year ago, how time flies! I love doing real beauty blogger-esque posts, but that can only happen when I have time. Quite a rare commodity. Today I'm just gonna talk about the new products that I've started using in 2017 instead of a full blown skincare routine, because a few of the things I talked about here I do still use pretty frequently. 1. Simple Clear Skin Oil Balancing Moisturizer This has been a really great product since day 1. I used to use their Hydrating Light Moisturizer, but since meeting this I've switched it out to be my nighttime moisturizer instead, because this one is even lighter and fluid, if that's possible. I have very very oily skin, so anything that promises to keep the shine under control is an attractive deal. It did used to be more mattifying when I first started using it- nowadays the oil shows after several hours anyway- but it's overall still a pleasure to use. For someone with normal to oily skin this would probably work wonders. Superb on sensitive skin, too! 2. Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins, Mega Mushroom Skin Relief Cleanser Shauna gifted me this one a while back but I only started using it recently after incorporating regular toning into my routine. It's a small bottle, but I used it everyday for about 2 weeks to replace the normal Nivea toner in the morning. I really liked this too: it smelled good, and I felt it did an intense job of cleaning off all my face dirt from the night before. 3. Epiduo Benzoyl Peroxide gel Prescribed by my dermatologist, 'nuff said. It's supposed to keep acne under control, like preventing them from forming, but I stopped using it for about 2-3 whole months because it made my skin quite red and sensitive. I'm back on it again, but only on the T-zone, since my cheeks aren't a super danger zone and it actually gets dry and itchy if I apply the gel over my whole face. 4. Crystal Essence Mineral Deodarant Roll On (Lavender & White Tea) Em let me have this because she said it didn't work on her, and I can kind of see why- the scent's only strong when you first apply it, but after it dries you don't smell it anymore. But I love it. I've been wanting to try some natural deos for a while now, and I like that it doesn't have the usual chemical-y sweet scent a la Rexona. It just smells super gentle and floral. It just keeps my pits (hopefully) BO-free, at least until it starts to sweat. Essentially it's just a lovely natural alternative to your normal deodarants. 5. Bosisto's Tea Tree Oil This is a bottle of straight up tea tree oil, no frills. Instead of going for the dressed up tea tree products in Body Shop I wanted the real thing, which is bound to be heaps more concentrated and just less complex. I use a cotton bud and dab some of it directly on my pimples / problem areas in the morning. Tea tree oil is good for daytime application because it's basically transparent, so it doesn't show up at all, but you must be careful that you don't spread too much everywhere as it is an OIL, so it dries with a bit of grease. This helps to really kill all the bacteria on my pimples, so it's easier for it to go down and heal. Often it's hard to apply pimple treatment in the daytime because they're all rather obvious, so this is really convenient for me. 6. Mario Badescu Drying Cream Now this is a night application pimple treatment. It dries up the pimple area and reduces it (I feel), and this one is targeted towards 'small, under the surface bumps and blemishes'- therefore just right for those red and painful ones that don't have a head. Ok, this is the exiting extra bonus bit- additions to my makeup!! My makeup collection is sparse, only consisting of all the bare essentials like foundation (restricted to dance and stage use as it's not my shade), mascara from Cait, some red lippie and lipgloss, and dance falsies. In fact 99% of it is either presents or for strict dance use, so when I get some real life makeup it's big news.
Em got these 2 from her trip to 'Murica. 6. Eyes Uncovered Nude Palette Collection Since I'm no Cait who has several multicolored eyeshadow looks in her repertoire, a really neutral toned palette is the holy grail for me. I haven't used this for anything other than dance performances yet, but it'd be awesome to whip it out for more formal events, like a wedding or big bash. Or prom night. 7. Rimmel 001 Black Gel Eyeliner One of my favourite makeup products is eyeliner. I was real chuffed to receive this one because my old Silkygirl liquid eyeliner was getting pretty nasty. This came with its own sharp brush applicator. It's definitely not as smooth or fluid as liquid eyeliner, so I tend to lay it on a bit thicker using this as I have to reapply to make the line straight, and smooth. But I love it because it's just a good dark black, and it has amazing staying power. Almost waterproof I think, because you need soap to get it off. So that concludes this big beauty post! Already looking forward to the next one.... Ly xxx |
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