Description:

• Hydrates and soothes the skin, leaving it silky smooth and radiant
• Fortifies skin with potent antioxidants
• Calms sensitive or reddened skin with effective anti inflammatory ingredients
• Excellent for stabilizing and reinforcing the skin’s intercellular matrix and helps reduce dryness and flaking
• Contains no irritating ingredients such as alcohol, witch hazel, menthol, peppermint, lemon or grapefruit
• Fragrance and Colorant-free
• pH5
• Ideal pre-moisturizer or specialty product to restore essential components of skin’s intercellular matrix, lipids while gently and effectively hydrating skin
• In summer months or humid climates, this may be the only moisturizing product normal to slightly dry skin needs
• Borage oil and numerous antioxidants help restore skin to a healthy looking state
• A superior choice for anyone with sensitive, normal to dry skin and is an excellent as a non-occlusive post peel or post microdermabrasion repair technique
• Perfect for those sensitive to natural or synthetic fragrances and / or synthetic coloring agents

Ingredients:

Purified Water, Cyclopentasiloxane (silicone slip agent), Butylene Glycol (water-binding agent), Glycereth-26 (glycerin- and glycol-based water-binding agent), Dimethiconol (silicone slip agent), Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil (non-volatile plant oils), Sodium Hyaluronate (water-binding agent), Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol (vitamin E/antioxidant), Ascorbyl Palmitate (vitamin C/antioxidant), Niacinamide (vitamin B3/cell-communicating ingredient), Superoxide Dismutase (antioxidant), Panthenol (water-binding agent), Allantoin (anti-irritant), Glycerin, Hydrogenated Lecithin (water-binding agents), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil (emollients), Linoleamidopropyl PG-dimonium chloride phosphate (stabilizer), Laureth-4, Laureth-23 (emulsifiers), Disodium EDTA(stabilizer), Sodium Benzoate, Methylparaben, Phenoxyethanol (all preservatives).

When I first saw the attributes to this product, I thought “wow”. A toner that delivers all that would certainly appeal highly to me. It also sounds very much like the Aesop Parsley Seed Toner I had used before and very much loved but at a fraction of the cost. I was very excited to get my hands on this excellent sounding toner.

For me, this toner delivers all it promises excellently. I fell in love with it the minute I tried it on. It feels like a dream when you wipe it on your face with a cotton pad after cleansing. So very light and moisturizing, almost velvety like. The antioxidants and many potent ingredients that it contains are a bonus as well and certainly probably made my skin feels and looks better.

I use this day and night and the 177ml bottle which I purchased for $23.10 (Member’s Price) has lasted me about two and a half months, close to three months. I’ve even purchased my second bottle earlier this week. I love this product and for something that is as potent as Aesop’s Toner which was my favourite before but at a fraction of the cost, why not, right?

This toner leaves my skin wonderfully soft, moisturized, radiant and not sticky at all. Really calming and soothing. I can see the difference in my skin after almost 3 months of using this product, and this is another one of Paula’s Choice products which I intend to stick to in my skincare regiment from now on.

Description: Dry, sensitive skin will feel soft, smooth and beautifully clean with this rich, non-drying formula that cleanses gently but thoroughly and rinses easily.

 

Contains: Purified Water, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate (very mild cleansing agent), Hydrogenated Polydecene (emollient), Cocamidopropyl Betaine (mild cleansing agent), Acrylates Copolymer (suspending agent and film former), Soybean (Glycine Soja) Oil (plant oil/emollient), C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate (thickener), Polysorbate-80 (emulsifier), Carbomer (gel-based thickener), Glycerin (water binding agent), Laureth-4 (surfactant), Tocopherol (vitamin E/antioxidant), Ascorbyl Palmitate, Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C/antioxidants), Citric Acid (Ph-adjuster/stabilizer), PEG-8, PEG-7 (thickeners) Glyceryl Cocoate (emollient/surfactant), Butylene Glycol (water-binding agent), Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben (preservatives), Tetrasodium EDTA (chelating agent/preservative), Potassium Hydroxide (Ph-adjuster).

This is a cleanser that’s definitely on my favourite list! It’s not a “wow!” cleanser by any means but it is a beautiful cleanser that Paula has formulated which doesn’t strip my skin at all and leaves my skin perfectly cleansed, nice and smooth.

The texture is a milky texture and using the pump makes it easier to dispense the cleanser. The amount that comes out of the cleanser is just the right amount, about the size of a tiny coin.

This cleanser is recommended for normal to very dry skin and I felt that the statement justifies what it can do for dry skin. It does not aggravate or tighten the skin, but just a simple cleansing emulsion that works amazingly.

I purchased a standard size bottle of 237 ml for $26.60 (Member’s Price) from Paula’s Choice’s Australian website and I’ve only used a quarter of the product since I bought it about 3 months ago. Definite value for money and I think I’ll keep this in my ritual from now on as my morning cleanser.

Since the release of the Grand Duo collection earlier this year, I must admit I’ve been hooked and captivated with mineralized blushes which has resulted in me longing ever so desperately for the current Colour Craft Collection! As I walk past MAC counters, I’d automatically reach and play with the blushes and MSFs every single time. God help me (and my pocket!).

Anyhow, today’s review is about the Grand Duo blush from the Grand Duo collection. This beautiful collection caught my attention and though I would really have liked to own more of them, I only managed to get one – The Grand Duo – at the very, very last minute just before they discontinued the range! So much for decisiveness.

This collection basically has an amazing range of mineralized blush duos which have a tri-color veining on one side (similar to MAC’s MSFs) and a complementary shimmery mono shade as it’s other half.

They are quite pigmented so a little goes a long way. At $50, it is quite expensive, but it will undoubtedly last forever as you really need not apply that much on you unless you’re trying out for the circus! You need a very light hand when applying this.

The Grand Duo I got is a plummish sort of color or as MAC describes it Copper pink mélange / Plum. I heart this blush! Though it’s pigmented, the color / shade truly complements my skin and whenever I can, I’d wear this blush, so much so that a lot of my other blushes have been neglected lately (particularly my mineral makeup blushes – I just find it tedious to deal with the loose powder blush concept these days).

I wished I had purchased more of this range, but oh well, I now have a second chance with the new Colour Craft collection, so this might be my ticket to expand my MAC blush collection, which now basically consist of exactly just one product!

I use a skunk brush for this that I got from Priceline, similar to the one they use at MAC except it’s far, far more expensive!

Okay, back to Grand Duo, I love the plummish shade as it is a fairly versatile color and it’s quite easy to build up or tone down the intensity with this blush. I can even use just one side or the other on its own or just swirl in between for a little mix of both shades. I personally prefer to swirl it for a mix of both shades.

All in all, though I paid a steep price for it, I am quite pleased with the product and definitely feel the value of buying this from MAC.

Now I’m off to MAC to get myself more mineralized blushes!

Category: Citrus

Vibrant and fresh. Wet Citrus notes of luscious Bergamot. Orange Zest and White Grapefruit combine with Darjeeling Tea, colorful florals and sheer woods.

~~~~~~~

This was my wedding scent. As I had my wedding in Malaysia January this year, I wanted a fragrance that would survive the tropical heat and was light enough in fragrance so as to not be too overwhelming. I found the scent I wanted in Estee Lauder’s Pure White Linen Light Breeze. Probably not a usual choice for brides, most would probably go with Chloe or Vera Wang’s scents, but I’ve decided to go with this particular one simply because I felt it was light enough a scent, beautiful and perfect for summer and most of all, represented who I am and what I liked in a fragrance.

I bought this along with it’s shower gel and body lotion which further developed the scent for that day, the most important day of my life. The scent on this fragrance is a very uplifting and refreshing. I feel happy when I’m wearing it as well, certainly a scent I was glad I chose for my wedding day. Staying power is great as well.

Pure White Linen Light Breeze is a crisp and feminine scent, marketed with the tagline “the fragrance that is inspired by the days you want to relive forever”. Certainly perfect for a wedding scent for me, a day you want to relive forever. The Light Breeze version is basically a lighter, summery version of the original White Linen and Pure White Linen lines of fragrances. It certainly represents a younger and fresher scent and contains a lot of florals, citrus and woody notes.

All in all, I’m sure you can tell by now that I heart this fragrance. Not overwhelming at all, fresh, beautiful, fresh and basically captures a beautiful, fresh day in the gardens when it’s perfect, nice, warm and comfortable and most of all relaxing. My take on my wedding precisely.

Truly divine and beautiful perfume.

Description: Silky Hydrating Primer, with anti-oxidant Vitamin E, works to moisturize and prepare the skin for foundation by creating a soft, even surface. Helping the skin retain moisture and creating a silky smooth texture, it allows liquid and cream based products to glide on easily and stay fresh looking, longer.

Visibly improves the look and texture of the skin by smoothing fine lines and pores.

Provides a protective barrier, sealing in moisture.

Allows liquid and cream based products to glide easily over the skin and stay on longer.

Keeps makeup looking fresher longer.

Prevents moisture loss during air travel and in air conditioning.

Doubles as a moisturizer.

Provides the perfect base for eye shadow to glide over.

~~~~~~

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Glyceryl Stearate, Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Glycerin, Tocopherol, Ceteareth-25, Ceteareth-6, Phenoxyethanol, Stearyl Alcohol, Allantoin, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Parfum (Fragrance)

~~~~~~

I was hunting for a face primer a few months ago and sampled practically all the available primers in the market and finally settled on Becca’s Silky Hydrating Primer. At that time, I actually thought I’d spend just about $40-$50 for a primer, as I had Napoleon Perdis’s Face Primer in my mind, however, I ended up spending $60 for Becca’s Primer.

I was initially recommended to use the Mineral SPF Primer as that’s the latest one and proved to be quite a popular choice amongst many people. However, upon testing and sampling both the products, I decided that the Silky Hydrating Primer probably suited my skin better as it was more fluid in texture and seemed to be more moisturizing than the Mineral SPF Primer, probably due to the sunscreen content in the latter. As I have sunscreen in most of the products I used anyway, it wasn’t imperative that I had SPF protection in my primer too.

Anyway, back to the Silky Hydrating Primer. This Primer proved to be a great choice. It provided a great base for my makeup application and was immensely hydrating. I can always count on this primer to provide me with that additional moisture should I be lacking moisture in all my other products for a reason or another on that particular day.

The texture of this primer is very fluid and soft. It’s basically like a moisturizing lotion. It isn’t thick and isn’t runny. Just somewhere in between. You get the drift.

I love the way my skin feels once the primer’s on. Feels nice, soft and smooth, definitely a wonderful canvas to work on. Throughout the day, my face would never feel dry. I can feel the difference when I’ve skipped the primer step. By lunchtime, my skin would feel a teensy weensy bit dry, tolerable, but still, if I can have perfectly moisturized skin, why should I settle for less right?

I believe that it also makes my makeup stay on longer and looks better as well. I’ve been using it all throughout Autumn and Winter and it has served me well. I wonder if it might be too much for my skin during summer, but well, if so, I can always try another less moisturizing primer for summer.

On the whole, I must say I’ve been very, very pleased with this product.

Hi all,

It’s been a while since my last post, huh? Well, we’ve moved and it took a while to get all our stuff out, unpacked and get all of us settled in. It also took a fair bit of time to organize internet connection and what not for the new home. Anyhow, all is well now so regular posts will be commencing soon.

I’ll start my reviews again, probably tomorrow morning. I finally succumbed to getting myself an Ipod Touch after gazillion years of mulling it over in my head and playing around with it. I know, I know, I’m pretty slow. I’m not really an impulsive buyer, especially when it’s for a purchase that costs hundreds of dollars, so after years of lemming after the Ipod Touch and saving up for it, I finally got myself one today! So, as I’ll be busy playing with my new toy tonight, I’ll probably start posting on my blog tomorrow.

finally got myself to a MAC counter to actually spend a decent amount of time to play around and fully appreciate each item in the collection. After days, maybe a week or more, of just walking past MAC counters and just eyeing the collection at the corner of my eyes, today’s the day I finally found time to properly look and touch it.

At first glance, I didn’t think I’d like any of it, but after swatching it, I’m now lemming after two blushes, Improvise and Hand Finish; and two MSFs, Smooth Merge and Triple Fusion! Gosh, if I were to get all of them, that’ll put me out of pocket by $170! Hmm…perhaps I’ll just get two of them?? Sigh…See my thought process? It’s really that hard for me to get myself to buy anything. Often when I finally do decide to buy something, it’d be out of stock!

Well, I still have some time to think about it. Probably won’t get all that I’m lemming after, but maybe I might be able to afford two. But which two?? Sigh….:P