High Tea Sandwiches on my face - SkinFood Premium Lettuce & Cucumber Watery Emulsion

This is an emulsion, which is a step commonly found in AB routines, not so much in Western.  Emulsions are similar to light moisturisers, and some people might find this enough as their final step, but this fits into my routine at step number 4 (or 5 if I do a mask) out of 9.  My routine is based around getting moisture into my skin as I have dry and dehydrated skin.

Full Size, 140ml

I bought this as a sample pack first after doing some research on it, because I'm always hesitant to go full on and buy a full sized item straight off the bat.  I started using the sample when I had finished another set of samples and was waiting for an order to arrive.

Its a very light cream, halfway between a serum and a cream.  The bottle has a small opening and you have to top the bottle onto your hand to get some out.  I use around 1/6th of a tspn.  It would be more convenient in a squeezy tube or if the bottle had a pump.  The bottle itself is a clear minty plastic by the product itself is white.  It has a mild fragrance that really does make you think of cucumber, its not an offensively strong fragrance and it disappears after you tap it in.

I think that this product has helped to fill a "layer" in my moisture sandwich.  I now notice when I don't use this product.  My skin will get drier a little earlier and be more prone to flaking. Its not a precious like my Snail Ampoule, but I am enjoying using it currently.  It is budget friendly and cheaper than the Avene Skin Recovery Cream I was using instead.  I dont know if its any better than the Avene, but being a 1/4 of the price (RRS), I am happy to use this.




If anyone has the ingredient list I would really like the link please!  I cant find the ingredients in English.  So I am hoping that this is full of nice and friendly things.

Snails?! Snails ^_^ Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule

One of the items I picked up in my first RRS haul was the Mizon Snail Ampoule sample pack.  At first I used it only at night - I test every thing at night so if things go nasty I can re-wash and treat then sleep through the worst of the flare up.  This was the first AB product I fully introduced to my routine.

Full sized bottle (30ml)

Hello darling

Liquid Gold Magic Snail Stuff

I'd tried a snail mask I'd picked up earlier and was VERY impressed by the results I got from the mask and so decided to dip my toe in the sea of snail products.

I've been able to use this on my skin when it's in various stages of irritation.  It helped immensely clear up the most recent reaction.

Ingredients:

Things that do stuff.  SNAILS!!  Also sodium hyaluronate is very high as well as glycerin and pantenol (humectants doing their things).  Copper peptide is interesting because it is shown to help with healing in the skin and is anti-inflammatory.

I used this after my toner which my skin was still damp and was able to use a small amount to cover my face, between 1-2 drops (2 drop is a fullish dropper like below) and pat this onto my skin.  It is a bit "gloopy" and heavier than my Indeed Labs Hyaluron serum, but my skin drinks it all up.  I apply this also before I apply a sheet mask, which seems to help amplify the moisture absorption.

I now have 3 bottles of this precious ampoule and am using it both AM and PM.  It is definitely a game changer for me in terms of improving my skin in terms of "bounce", smoothness, and recovery from flareups. I have noticed that a skin flare up now recovers in a matter of days instead of two weeks.  In my eyes that is simply amazing.  

 I purchased it through RRS for around $14 AUS for a 30ml bottle.  After I had decided to buy the full size, RRS was out of stock for a bit and I was sad.  So when it was back in stock I bought up.  From purchase to receiving the delivery is usually 2 to 2.5 weeks (including weekends), which I am quite happy about.  This is also in the "Free Shipping" category at the moment with RRS which is why I bought multiples - its all about making the most out of your shipping "space" as well.
I have not found an Australian product that does the same for skin at such a price.  Even my Hyaluron serum is normally $30.  And don't forget the Dr LeWinns Diamond serum that is $70 (which does NOT SPARKLE, I was very disappointed when I tested it in Priceline.  No Sparkle.  Oh, didn't really do much either)  So to get something that is budget friendly and works a treat makes me very happy.

Mizon has a range of snail items that I am slowly acquiring.  I have noticed that some brands have "bee and snail" together which are very popular on the AB reddit forum, however I am allergic to bees and would probably need my epi-pen if I tried any of those.

So unless I find something better, I will be sticking (heh) with my Snail Ampoule.  If my skin is happy, then I'm happy.

What has been you skincare game-changer?

Product Review: The Face Shop Aloe Mask

I read somewhere in the past week that sebum decreases in the skin during winter.  Which might partly explain why dry skin flare ups can happen more frequently in winter. Also external factors like heating etc.
I have epic dry skin right now.  It is ridiculous.

Today's mask (which I have just had on my face) is The Face Shop's Real Nature Aloe Mask.
I purchased three of these from RRS in my April haul, this is my second use of this "flavour".  It's a very soothing mask and provides great hydration.
Side note - I'm going to start masking every day I think because of how dry my skin is <sigh>

I took about 14 photos.  Only one worked,  I really need to start taking photos earlier in the day with better light and when I am more awake.  My poor little camera tries it best, I'm just impatient.

Ingredients:Water, glycerin, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, butylene glycol, alcohol denat, betaine, sodium hyaluronate, xanthan gum, hydrogenated lecithin, dimethicone, phaseolus radiatus extract, betula platyphylla japonica bark extract, rumex crispus root extract, carbomer, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, triethanolamine, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, fragrance

phaseolus radiatus : Mung Bean.  Listed as being good for cooling the skin, helping irritations and removing toxins.  Slightly anti-septic as well.
betula platyphylla japonica bark : Japanese White Birch.  Various studies (1) show that this helps reduce flare-ups of atopic dermatitis (maybe I need a vat of this alone!)
rumex crispus root : Curly Dock (I admit, I read this first as Curly Dork and laughed for a bit - I am in post-exams and post-report exhaustion) Also used to treat skin inflamamtions (like psoriasis and dermatitis)

Again there was around 10 ml of essence left over in the packet.  I'll use that in my routine tomorrow morning.

The scent is mild aloe, very inoffensive.  Soothing, easy to fall asleep with this on.
I left this mask on for 30mins tonight and was just beginning to dry out along the edges, but was still quite damp and I wiped the extra essence on my arms (sharing the love).

Unless I find another Aloe Mask that is better than this one, I will always keep a few of these in my stash.  Lovely times guaranteed!

How do you keep your skin hydrated in winter?

Sheet Mask Review : Skin Food Hydro Fitting Snail Mask Sheet

It's the time of year for a teacher in Australia where there are mid-year exams and report writing happening AT THE SAME TIME.

Life just stalls for the month of June and then we have July holidays to recover.  I hauled hard and sensibly in May because I knew grown-up decision making would not happen with shopping in June.

Anyway, since jumping on the AB Train I have well and truly fallen in love with wearing sheet-masks (look there might just be an uber-order of masks coming from Sasa).  And snails.  

Snails get on mah face!

So today I'm reviewing a mask I got in an order a month or so ago (mixed order for myself and my brother whose skin a opposite to mine - that was a challenge).

Box of Happiness (snail angels singing)

Oh hi me in the shiny reflection

Comes with 5 in total.  I am rationing these delights of my life.

Ingredients 

Water, glycerin, dipropylene glycol, butylene glycol, alcohol, snail secretion filtrate, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, hydroxyethylcellulose, xanthan gum, cellulose gum, disodium EDTA, methylparaben, phenoxyethanol, parfum

(I am too brain dead to analyse the above apart from SNAILS - and no plant allergens wooooo).

There is around 15mls of excess essence! I decanted it into a handy-dandy Daiso bottle and have been using since my Mizon Snail Ampoule samples ran out and I am waiting for my new bottles to arrive from RRS (lets just say my AM and PM routines are now longer, better, happier).

I always apply a hyaluronic serum before a mask (cleanse, tone, serum, mask) because I am trying to shove as much moisture into my skin as possible.

This type fitted very nicely (so far the best fit of the sheet masks I've been using) and the hydration was amazing.  I always have a tingle at the beginning of a mask - due to very sensitive skin - but my skin was glowy and bouncy after this.  I kept poking it and going "bouncy".  Bouncy skin was very rare before the AB routine.  

Heh - "bouncy".

If you like snails and you have skin prone to dryness and redness I would definitely recommend this.  I will buy more of these once I work through a portion of my mask stash. 

I will be posting some hauls soon when my RRS order and Sasa order comes in!  And I will posting about my updated routine later on in the month.

Let me know what your favourite sheet mask is in the comments!

Triggers and Flare-ups Part 2 - Taking the heat out of the burn

I think the most frustrating thing with allergies and wearing makeup is reacting to an unknown part of a product.
I don't get hives on my face but a beautiful red rash, sometimes called a "butterfly mask", because of the way it covers the cheeks and nose.
This rash is not only red but burning hot, even with 5 layers of makeup on the heat can be felt.
So I've tried various things to cool it down, apart from physically putting an icepack on my face.  That cools it down, but does not treat the damage done to my skin.

An old fashioned remedy is Calamine lotion.  I always have a bottle of this around for when I'm ridiculously itchy and creams just irritate it more.
Especially in summer - high body heat+eczema+cream = unbearable night.
Calamine lotion soothes the itch but also drys out the already dry skin so it has to followed up the next morning with heavy moisturisation.

Creams that contain Zinc Oxide are also very good for helping with hives. I have a large tub of SudoCrem which I use on an as-needed basis.  Its great as a mask on hot hives and will soothe and cool the hives. A little bit goes a long way and a thick layer wont actually completely sink into the skin, and it makes a barrier.

I recently got a sample of Paulas Choice Skin Recovery Hydrating Treatment Mask. I got two uses out of the 3ml sample. I used it once at night and left it on as a sleeping mask and the next day underneath my maskeup as a primer.  It did work well, but it has to be ordered online and is $30AUD for 113ml.  It was very thick when I applied it and did not sting my poor skin.  That in itself was promising.

I have five full sized masks that I am trying out and I put in a huge order of samples from RoseRoseShop which arrived recently and includes a few masks - sheet and cream types.  So I won't make a decision about purchasing the Paula's Choice one until all of my testing is complete.  I seem to be on the search for the Holy Grail of masks for my skin.

Recent in store purchases

Palmers Cocoa Butter Purifying Enzyme Mask.  I bought this from Chemist Warehouse, but I've also seen it in Priceline.  Retails for under $10.  Not sure about this one - this was from a "freak-out-shop" after going to the Doctors.  Thinking was not occurring in my brain.

Quick Fix Facials Calming Clay Mask - For Red and Sensitive Skin.  I picked this up at Coles Supermarket, but its also available in Woolworths and Target.  Retails under $10.  Review coming soon.
Quick Fix Facials Mega Moisture Gel Mask - For Dry and Thirsty Skin.   I picked this up at Coles Supermarket, but its also available in Woolworths and Target.  It's under $10.

Dirty Works Rose & Glow Moisture Mask - With Rose and Vitamin E (and hyaluronic acid).  This I found at Target for $12.95.  Review here!.
Dirty Works Vitamin C Brightening Mask.  I picked this up also at Target for $12.95.

I don't expect a mask to perform absolute miracles, so what I expect from a mask is to remove a goodly amount of the redness and put some moisture back into my skin.  These are not regular treatments for my skin - in the case of calamine, its a last ditch effort before I turn to Prednisolone and corticosteroid creams.  I will go to these medications when the hives and inflammation start to spread down my body because that is indicative of a greater systematic problem.  Your skin's "turnover" can be anywhere from two to four weeks (*science time* technically a skin cell is around for 28 days before you shed the cell - going from the bottom of the epidermis to the top of the epidermis, but up to 48 days to replace the entire epidermis).  So it will take time for skin to recover from any trauma.  Skin will not recover overnight,

Corticosteroid creams/ointments will thin your skin over time, so avoiding these is a priority.  Also your skin can become used to these products and have a rebound if the corticosteroid cream is not used, which is just not fun.  Prednisolone has a plethora of side-effects which build up over time and mess with the immune system.  I have enough troubles with my immune system so I don't want to  damage it needlessly. I have also been taking Phenergan at night instead, but that also causes drowsiness and makes it hard to get going in the mornings.

It's really important to read labels to know what you are putting on your skin when you have allergies. What do you avoid in your skincare products?

Product Review : Dirty Works Rose&Glow Moisture Mask

I picked this up at Target about a month ago, just before Easter.  It retails for $12.95, but often can be included in 30% sales, which is when I bought it.
This particular mask is targeted as adding moisture back into the skin, seeing as my skin is quite dry overall and I get very dry patches on my cheeks I thought this would be good to help my skin while its recovering from allergies.  It's not meant to exfoliate the skin but has ingredients that will increase moisture in the upper layers of the skin.  It's applied onto the skin for 5 minutes and then washed off.

No roses were harmed in the making of this product.

Ingredients:
We can see that it has good ol' hyaluronic acid in (sodium hyaluronate) and collagen amino acids, both of these help to hold moisture in the upper skin layers, but glycerin is much higher in the list. Panthenol is another humectant which can also be useful in helping with skin irritations. 

I do admit when I first applied it, there was a bit of tingling (I always panic with a tingle!) but that settled after a minute and the rest of the time it was very comfortable.  I did not apply a thick layer and focused most of the product on my cheeks and forehead (being the driest areas).  Because it was only on for 5 minutes it did not have a chance to dry out and was very easy to remove.  I used a microfibre cloth and warm water.*
I then followed up with my usual layers of Indeed Labs Hyaluron serum and Avene Recovery Cream. But I did notice after I washed it off that my skin did look plumper and less dry.  However I haven't yet just washed it off and not followed up with moisturiser.  I seem to be stuck too much in a routine that I moisturise any time I wash my face.

*I've used this a couple of times and have increase the wear time.  I've actually kept this on for nearly 30mins once and it didn't go crunchy or dry, so it might have potential as a sleep mask.

There is a definite fragrance of rose (turkish delight-esque), but I happen to like it, so it was not too intrusive nor did it give me a headache.

I am definitely keep using this product and with the cold months now arrived I plan to use this more frequently through the week instead of a now-and-then treatment.  I might use this as a hand-treatment as well seeing as its so affordable (and easy to find!).

What masks do you use to keep dry skin at bay?

Hype Train: Asian Skin Care Haul

All aboard!

In my quest for skincare help during the beginning of this year, I stumbled across the Skincare Addiction Reddit Forum. Which then in turn lead me on the path to Asian Beauty Reddit Forum. Both of these forums have helped incredibly with improving my skincare routine.  Overall I have noticed that the SCA forum is more oily/acne based advice, whereas the Asian Beauty seems to have a greater variety of skin types and good advice for them.

However there is a *dark side*, they enabled the shopping!  I am still hunting down products that will stablise my skin.  I still love my Nivea Cream, but my dryness was getting worse.

So I eventually put in an order at RoseRoseShop, which is based in Korea and bought samples.  Do you know how excited I was to be able to buy samples?!
Just be aware that they charge shipping based on weight - so work out if it's more cost-efficient overall and keep an eye on products that have free shipping (I used that to my advantage in my second haul from there which-i-may-have-just-ordered-days-after-getting-this....).  I know here in Australia there is a considerable mark-up on products.  One item I bought from RoseRoseShop was ~AUS$8 (including the shipping cost share), if I bought that from a physical shop in Melbourne I would easily be looking at AUS$24 to AUS$30.  So this was very cost-efficient.  Its also difficult to source face masks, unless you regularly go to the CBD.
The Face Shop masks can retail for ~AUS$4 instore.  I could buy a pack of 3 masks for AUS$4 (again adding in the shipping cost share) via RRS, so this is a much more viable option.

I am trying to boost the amount moisture in my skin, when my skin is hydrated and smooth I look in my early 20's, but when its dry or recovering from allergies I can look late 30's (for reference I am 31, and I've been mistaken for a student in a class, not the teacher).

So here are some shots of my haul.  I've only *just* started trialling them because of a nasty allergic reaction which really ruined my skin.  Did not want to apply anything new until I was in the safe zone.

- [MIZON] Original Skin Energy Hyaluronic Acid 100 Samples 
- [MIZON] Multi Function Formula Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule Samples - started trialling on this
- [ETUDE HOUSE] Moistfull Super Collagen Ampoule Essence Samples 
- [MISSHA] Time Revolution The First Treatment Essence Samples
- [It's Skin] Pure Moisture Gel Samples
- [TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL] Pumpkin Sleeping Pack Samples (damn cute, damn damn cute samples)
- [THE FACE SHOP] Rice & Ceramide Moisture Emulsion - 150ml
- [LANEIGE] New Basic Trial Sample Kit - Normal To Dry Skin (the lids aren't all the same blue >_<)

I will be putting up a review on the Snail Repair Ampoule as soon as I finish all the samples.  I get 2-3 uses from one sachet as I only apply it in the evenings.

Mask part of the haul

-[3W CLINIC] Fresh Mask Sheet - Collagen
-[THE FACE SHOP] Real Nature Mask Sheets - Aloe
-[THE FACE SHOP] Real Nature Mask Sheets - Rice (I've tried this one already, so this was a repurchase)
-[MISSHA] 3D Bamboo Sheet Mask

So there we finally have my first Asian Skincare Haul,
Now my immune system needs to play fair...

What are you loving from your most recent hauls?