Clarins Multi-Active Day Cream-Gel October 31, 2007

Reviewer: Jenny, Skin Status: Combination/ Dry skin, Age group: 26 – 30 years old

This is a review of the day cream GEL and not the day cream version. This is a light weight gel with as strong citrus smell (The smells a good wake-me-up in the morning). It leaves you skin with a matte finish after you rub it in. I think this light moisturizer is best suited for hot summer days when you want something light and yet hydrating, but it wouldn’t be good for cold dry winters. Strangely, this day time cream doesn’t come with SPF, but I find this allows me to choose my favorite sunscreen to put over top of it without having my skin feel too heavy. I haven’t tried the other versions of this cream yet but for people who use a day time cream and a night time cream, I highly recommend for summer use.

Clarins Moisture Quenching Hydra-Care Cream October 31, 2007

Reviewer: Jenny, Skin Status: Combination/ Dry skin, Age group: 26 – 30 years old

This cream is one of my absolute favourites. It smells so nice and leaves my skin super hydrated without being shiny. The texture is very creamy and the cream sinks right into your skin. The only real drawback of this cream is that it smells so nice that I find myself reapplying day and night, so the 50mL jar only lasts about 2 months. This is a great product and I highly recommend you guys try it at least once. You’ll be happy you did. 

Confession of a Skin Picker October 30, 2007

The number 1 rule: Do not pick, poke, irritate, scratch, rub anything on your face that look, feel or resemble a pimple/ zit. Do not touch your face in search of lumps, bumps, flat spots, dry skin, wet skin, itchiness, and etc…

Unless you are a professional dermatologist or skin doctor, whatever it is, leave it alone.

Solution? Eye redness relieve product like Visine can reduce redness and make whatever it is less irritable. If you already irritate it, you may cause skin infection therefore, remember to clean the affected area, apply Polysporin to disinfect. If you think you will continue to pick, put a little band-aid on. If there is swelling, use ice or very cold water to reduce swelling before using Visine. There are alot of bacteria hidden underneath your fingernails, if you must pick at your face, remember to wash your hands with soap first.

If you see something that is freakishly weird, go see a professional. If it is just your standard pre-pimple bump, don’t even think about popping it until it forms a visible pop-able white head.

I tried applying toothpaste to my pimple before and it did not dried up my zit. so whatever you see forming on your face, just leave it alone and don’t irritate it. Zits come and go in weeks, scars from picking will last much, much longer.

If you know are you are going to be home for a few hours, apply Polysporin every few hour and it will speed up the healing process and less scarring.   

Basic Skincare Routine October 30, 2007

It doesn’t matter how old and which skin type you are, follow these 3 simple steps to maintain your skin.

Basic Daily Routine

Clean with a cleanser, pad skin dry, then moisturize, simple eh?

If you have an extra few minutes, when you use wash your face, wash in a circular motion. This will help get the blood flowing, do the same when you apply moisturizer, massage moisturizer onto your face gently and it will help your skin to absorb better.

For 1-2 times a week, exfoliate, it will remove any dead skin on your face.

I recommend exfoliate in the morning after cleansing your face because your face will look bright and smooth for the rest of the day =)!
Use a cleansing mask and a hydrating mask at least once a week to ensure your face is clean and hydrated.

If you are going to a big date or a special event, I recommend applying a hydrating mask a few hours before hand. Your skin will feel and look more refresh and it will look like you always have radiant skin.

When using an exfoliant or mask, make sure to apply on a cleansed face and rinse well after.

Now you are on your way to better looking skin!

Chanel Beaute Initiale Multi-Protection Cream SPF 15 October 30, 2007

Reviewer: Jenny, Skin Status: Combination/ Dry skin, Age group: 26 – 30 years old

This came out just a little while ago. From a little bit of research, I found out that it’s an improvement on the original Age Delay Cream SPF 15 formula. The SPF in this cream leaves my skin a little shiny, other than that, I really like the smell and it hydrates my skin leaving it feeling nice and soft. However, it is quite expensive to be used just as day cream. It is about 90 CAD dollars for a 50ml jar.

Instant Bright Skin – Yogurt Mask October 30, 2007

Yogurt Mask has always been one of my favorite masks. It is easy to find, easy to use and effective! It instantly brightens up my face! It was my cousin who first told me about using yogurt as a mask long long time ago and I’ve been using it as instant pick me up since then. Yogurt mask is really simple, you can buy them at grocery store, convenient store, and almost anywhere that sells food.

All you have to do is wash your face, apply a not too thick layer onto your face (about 1-2 tablespoon) and let it sit for about 15 – 30mins depending on your skin before washing it off with water. The most important part of yogurt mask is to use regular yogurt that has fat, do not use non-fat yogurt as a mask, the result will not be noticeable or the mask won’t work at all. Personally, I prefer using yogurt that is in cream form, it is easier to apply and no dripping problem. If you can only get the regular form of yogurt, there are 2 ways around the dripping problem. First option: Lick the excess, very yummy! Especially if you use the recipe with a twist. Or, apply a thin layer of yogurt onto your face and then gently press cotton pads on top of the area where you apply yogurt and leave the cotton pads on your face until you are ready to wipe and rinse off the mask. That way, the mask will stay and it won’t drip everywhere. My other personal preference of this mask is using organic french vanilla yogurt to use as my mask because of the pleasant vanilla scent sort of like aromatherapy. After rinsing off the mask, remember to use moisturizer immediately, yogurt mask may leave your face feeling a bit tight afterwards. I recommend using this mask the night before a special event of as a quick pick me up. This is also a great mask to use while traveling because your skin won’t look tired and you have less things to carry in your luggage. Plus, you can get it at the local food store at your destination.

* Remember always to a test patch on your skin before applying it all over the face to see if your skin has allergic reaction.

Yogurt Mask with a Twist!

Here are a few twists that you can add to the original yogurt mask:

1) 1-2 drops of lemon juice and mix it with yogurt before applying, do not use too much because too much citric acid may irritate your face. Citric acid has lightening properties, making your face brighter.  

2) 1-2 teaspoon of honey and mix it with yogurt before, honey will calm any inflammation in skin. Even better is to combine both lemon juice and honey =)! Honey alone can also be used alone as a mask to reduce redness.

3) 1 teaspoon of Cane or Brown sugar, if you add cane sugar with yogurt, it sort of became a natural exfoliant.

Healthy Lifestyle = Glowing Radiant Skin October 30, 2007

Having a healthy lifestyle is as important as using the right product for your skin. Sometimes, no matter what you use, the problem may not go away. Good diet and exercise help contribute to better looking skin. Excessive drinking, smoking (even second hand smoke), recreational drugs use, too much unhealthy food may cause bad skin reaction. Always drinks lots of water, eat fresh vegetables/ fruits(rainbow color vegetables) and try to have at least 6 hours of sleep each night. This may sound like a broken record, but hey, it always works! If you have extra time, try to squeeze in some cardio exercise. Exercise will also help get rid of bad body toxins. One last note, no matter how tired you are, especially women, always remove make up, wash your face and moisturize before you sleep (think about all the pollution, second hand smoke, car exhaust fumes that create a home on your face, unpleasant image right?). Remember, clean & moisturize + combine with healthy lifestyle, you will always have radiant looking skin and knock at least 10 years off your look!

Chanel Hydramax + Moisture Boost Cream October 30, 2007

Reviewer: Jenny, Skin Status: Combination/ Dry skin, Age group: 26 – 30 years old

Consistently one of my favourite creams. Besides being a great moisturizer for both day and night. It has a smooth-supple finish and has a refreshing starfruit fragrance. For a non-shiny finish in the daytime I just use a little bit and work it into my skin. This product hydrates well and leave my skin soft and supple. I find I can make my face too shiny if I go overboard by adding too much of this product (but that goes for any moisturizer).

I’ve recently tried a sample of the gel cream version of this and found it didn’t hydrate my skin as well as the cream (I have dry skin). I’d recommend people with oily normal skin try the gel out if the cream is too rich.

There is a new product from the same line called Moisture Boost & comfort cream. It is supposed to be more heavy duty than this one. I haven’t had the chance to try it out yet, but I’ll let you know how it goes as soon as I do.

Organic Jojoba Oil as Eye MakeUp Remover October 30, 2007

Reviewer: Jenny, Skin Status: Combination/ Dry skin, Age group: 26 – 30 years old

I’m so happy I decided to take a chance and try this idea out. I have sensitive eyes and have spent a long time trying to find an effective eye make-up remover. Most of the time, when I find something it ends up irritating my eyes and others wont even remove much eye make-up at all.

Then I found a remover made by Menard, it worked great and didn’t irritate my eyes at all. The only problem was not all places sells Menard (a Japanese brand). Jojoba oil can be found at any natural food store, or any place where essential oils are sold (make sure it is 100% pure jojoba oil and I recommend getting the organic one). This works as an excellent (one-swipe) eye makeup remover and is completely non-irritating. The one that I use is Saje Organic Jojoba Oil.

Just add two drops to cotton pad, and add a little bit of water. This will clean off any eye makeup quickly (including waterproof mascara) without drying your eye area. The same recipe can be used to remove face make up.

Stayed tune for other uses of Organic Jojoba Oil

*Jojoba oil can cause allergic reaction to some people, remember to do a test patch on your skin before applying it on your face.

There is an updated version of this recipe in home remedies section (December 4, 2007)

Let’s Talk Skin October 30, 2007

Let us be your skin care lab rats!!

Got a skin care product you’ve been dying to try out?
See what our team of loyal skin-care enthusiasts think before you gamble away your hard earned money on the latest product

The site where my close friends and I come to share our skin care product secrets, triumphs and tragedies. This blog is ongoing critique/journal as myself and each of my friends personally test out new products ranging from the highly experimental to the extremely luxurious. Expect us to try everything from drugstore brand to the most luxurious brands. Let us help you on your quest for perfect skin.

Click latest reviews on the right to see our latest reviewed product and be sure to check our SkinTelligence section to see what else can help make your skin look even better!