Mizon WaterMax Moisture BB Cream

I have been on a hunt for a BB Cream as my skin has improved and I dont need 6 layers of foundation.
Here in Australia BB creams are, shall we say, orange.  Great for tanned skin.  I dont tan.
I tried Garnier (got it in a subscription bx that shall not be named), Nivea (let down city), samples from Maybelline (but Maybelline foundations always oxidise on me.  Not their concealers however..) and swatched Australis and my beloved Rimmel.
All were "Nopes", not even a "if I work it into my skin really well can I make it work?".  Oh and Australis oxidised like hell - my hand looked like someone had drawn a line in fake tanner.

So when I did my large haul from RRS I saw that Mizon had a BB cream that was also in their "free Shipping", and it was a respectable price, so I put it in the order.

Ingredients: Aqua, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, cyclomethicone, titanium dioxide, glycerin, butylene glycol, cetyl ethylhexanoate, sodium hyaluronate, cyclopentasiloxane, dimenthicone, crosspolymer, cetyl peg/ ppg-10/1 dimethicone, dsodium chloride, trehalose, natto gum, rosa hybrid flower extract, biosaccharide gum-1, sodium pca, sorbitol, glycine, alanine, proline, serine, threonine, arginine, lysine, glutamic acid, iris florentina root extract, viola mandshurica flower extract, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) extract, glacier water, sea water, betula platyphylla japonica juice, hydrolyzed coralline officinalus extract, butyrospermum parkii(shea butter), mangifera indica (mango) seed butter, olea europaea (oluve) fruit oil, helianthus annus (sunflower) seed oil, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, disodium edta, polymethyl methacrylate, Ci 77492, Ci 77492, Ci77499 , phenoxyethanol, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, fragrance

It is a hydrating BB Cream - I have not found a BB cream for dry skin in my search from Australian shops.  They were all (the ones I tried) for normal, or even oily skin, essentially containing salicylic acid and mattifying ingredients.  So that in itself was another point towards this product.

I am please with how it has turned out.  It is a close colour match for my Rimmel foundations, just a touch greyer but that does not faze me overly as once you do the rest of your makeup you cant see any grey.  This BB cream doesn't inflame my skin at all (giving dark looks to a Nivea BB cream) and it doesn't dry out over the day so I still have a nice soft dewy look.  If my skin is a little flakey it will "catch" on the flakes, so use this on moisturised skin so it has a smooth base - or use a primer.

I cant use it when my skin is inflamed however, as it is too sheer for that even when layered and I think it oxidises if I layer it under my Rimmel foundation, but by itself it works very well.  I will definitely use this up.  If I cant find a better one (also trying out samples of Etude House Precious Minerals BB creams) I might repurchase it.

What BB Creams have impressed you recently?

Random haul from the City

I dont go to Melbourne CBD very often.  Maybe once or twice a year.

I had a mission in mind - to hunt down some physical AB Shops that had been listed in the AB and Australian Makeup Reddit forums.  Just to see what the prices were like compared to the online stores.

Walking past Haighs (one of the other missions of the day...) a few shops up I spied some sheet mask packets from the corner of my eye.  Wandered over into the shops - I initally thought it was an Asian Grocer because there were boxes of food and such.
There was a small section of the aisle that had Mamonde and Sexy Look masks so I was stoked to see them and picked up a few.  Went down the aisle and up the next one and realised that this was an AB store!  It had a range of products that I had eyeballed online and new some of the prices.
Some prices were quite comparable to online and shipping together.  Some I'm not sure of.  More research required.

THEN I went to the back of the shop where there was an aisle FULL OF SHEET MASKS.

SHEET MASK HEAVEN.

I was able to read the ingredients and make a choice easily - unlike online where I have to google the ingredients or hope for the best.
Most prices were quite reasonable as well! So nice to buy things and have them immediately and not have to wait 3 weeks or more and not have to convert the US$ to AUS$.

So a little haul.  Made even better by its randomness!  This will encourage me to go into the city again because I know where this is easily and found the other shop as well (did not have time to browse there fully).
With a list...

What random hauls have made your day recently?

Product Review : 3W Clinic Fresh Collagen Mask Sheet

Another sheet mask!

This is a simple one from 3W Clinic.  I bought this in a 10 pack off RRS waaaaay back in April and it was 80% so it may depend on how long stocks last (I tried ordering another type, but they had run out when I put my order in - but today 6/7/15, they still had these masks on the website).  I wish that RRS included an ingredients list - sometimes its really hard to find the ingredient list via Google.  Same with Sasa.  Just show a photo of the ingredients even!

This was the first sheet mask that really got me into the whole "lifestyle" of sheet masking - I had used random masks here and there but this was a purposeful bulk buy so I could mask more frequently.  I think I've used around 5 of them thus far.  They're a great go-to mask if you're not sure what your face needs in terms of treatments but really want to sheet mask (like after marking 60 exams in one day).

For me, there is not distinct perfume apart from the scent I now associate with Asian Skincare (like how my "It's Skin green base" smells and my Mizon Snail Ampoule smells).  Kinda sciencey and clinical.  Which I dont mind at all.  Having said that, I have a shocking sense of smell!

I leave this on for at least 15 mins, up to 30mins. I want to find one of the Daiso silicon mask cover to see if that helps at all.  There is a generous amount of essence with the mask which I think helps with it lasting longer and not drying out quickly.  There is usually around 10mls left in the packet after taking out the mask.
As per usual I will have layered some toners and serums/ampoules before putting this on.

I love the moisture I get from this mask.  The collagen is very low on the list, so a "token" nod to collagen.  If it had been labelled as a "Hydrating Mask" probably more apt.  I think the glycerin and sodium hyaluronate do most of the hard work here.  Good thing my skin likes to drink those two ingredients up!  This is a nice mask to use in the morning as well - I wear it while I watch the morning news while I'm waking up and having my coffee (hey coffee masks...ooooh),  My skin can get ridiculously dry during the day and my makeup looks dreadful by lunchtime and I've observed on days I mask in the morning I still look decent by 3pm (end of classes).

I've got a large stash of masks I'm going through at the moment so I'm not in a hurry to repurchase.
What sheet mask got you into the "lifestyle" of sheet masking?

Holy Hyaluronic Acid, Batman

Such science

*sparkles*

I.Love.Hyaluronic.Acid.

I didn't get onto the bandwagon until this year, but hot damn, so glad I did!
I have very dry skin - even when its nice and clear I'll still get a tight, sore feeling if I don't moisturise in the morning.  Usually I'll feel uncomfortable by 10am.

I started off with Indeed Labs Hyaluron serum.  I bought one tube when it was 40% off at Priceline to try it properly (full price is $35 from Priceline), when glamaco had it for $15 I snapped up 5 tubes, and wish I bought more).  The serum itself is a clear and odorless gel that spreads quite far.  I usually use a pea sized amount which does my face, neck, decolletage and any leftovers I rub into my hands. This product is designed to be used after toner and before moisturising.  It in itself is not a moisturiser but enhances the ability for moisture to penetrate the upper layers of the skin.

I tend to use this serum in my PM routine, in summer I also use it in my AM routine, but in winter when I'm at work I don't use it in the AM routine.  I found that because the air at work is much drier and the change from a warm classroom to the cold outdoors amplified the drying out effect that can happen when using hyaluronic acid without enough moisture.

Then the obsession began.  I found that the Cetaphil Restoraderm had hyaluronic acid (sodium hylyuronate) in it so that joined my collection.  The Restoraderm is a body lotion and works well in summer.  Also acquired some Mizon ampoule samples to compare to the Indeed Labs.

  

I found at Daiso a hyaluronic acid ampoule which I will experiment with by adding to moisturiser and a hyaluronic acid spray.  I have been using the spray (pump bottle) by alternating it with the Indeed Labs serum and both seem to have the same effectiveness.

I bought some samples of the Hada Labo Hyaluronic Lotion (heavy and light) from Sasa.com and I use that at night on my dry skin on legs and arms, followed up by Nivea Cream and the results have been great.  I think this combo is more effective in winter than the Cetaphil Restoraderm.

I may calculate the cost per ml between the Indeed Labs serum and the Hada Labo heavy lotion because they are both very effective.  However I have to include the shipping cost for both of them because I cant see myself willing to pay the $30 or so at Priceline when I know I can buy it cheaper online and that's including shipping.

I know that all of these serums have different ingredients in them, and I'm not after the product with the most/best sized molecules of hyaluronic acid in them, but I want to compare them all to see what my skin likes best.  Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV), or even Your Moisture May Vary.  Different external factors will also have an influence on how well these perform.  The Indeed Labs serum was excellent in summer, but not so great in winter which I why I'm trialing different types and combinations of products.

Now this is just a topic application of the acid itself, so it only penetrates the very top layers and keeps moisture (essentially water) there as well which is why the skin is hydrated.  This is a highly effective humectant (humectants hold moisture), but you do need a product to then trap that moisture onto your skin which is your moisturiser and an occlusive layer like vaseline or Dermeeze for really dry skin on top of that.  Otherwise the hyaluronic acid can pull the moisture OUT of your skin (which is what happens in winter to me like I mentioned above).

What skincare technology or active ingredient have you become obsessed with?