Weekly Favourites #13

Hello friends! It's the weekend! -does a squiggly jiggle- You know those times when you think all is good and then WHAM! you walk into a glass door? Well, just when I thought my skin was being a darling and clearing up, it turned into a rebellious teenage ahlian (singaporean female gangster) and broke out in a major kind of way again. Such is life. I think it was telling me that I've strayed from my derm-prescribed routine just a teensy bit to far and to get my ass back there. So for fear of more retaliation, I've headed back to the derm's routine and my favourite product is the DRX Max-C. Yes, my derm is the very well advertised DRX clinic, and no, this is not an advertisement for them. I paid a bomb for my treatments. Back to Max-C, this vitamin C serum seems to calm my skin down, reduce the scarring and sinks in just about immediately and I use it religiously. I also find that this is the only product that my skin doesn't seem to have build up a slight resistance to. Heng ah (singaporean for phew).

The only addition to the regime is the Olay Regenerist Night Resurfacing Essence, which I have included in my September favourites. I only use this under my eyes because it really seems to be helping with the one single deep crease that I have under my eyes. Don't freak out at the 'resurfacing' name, or the thought of putting AHA's near the eye because this is a really gentle product.

Freaking out skin = coverage and breathability in my foundation. Mostly because I would hate to scar people by giving them the full blast of my scarred face. For that I've returned to a mix of the Topshop BB Cream and the MUFE HD Foundation which are a dream team. Great coverage with an extremely thin and lightweight layer and SPF. Could not ask for more.

My last weekly favourite has got to be the Osim Umist Baby Humidifier. The boy got me this for christmas last year. Question: which girl really wants a humidifier for christmas? But turns out he knew me better than I knew myself and Umist Baby (cutest name evaaaaaa~~~~) has been a constant companion (for the year) and a lifesaver for the past week. Having a humidifier in Singapore may sound like the stupidest idea ever, given that our humidity is somewhere in the 70-80% region but I do quite like (that's a lie, I Really like) to use the air-conditioning and that makes my environment really dry which in turn is really hostile to sensitive skin. The Umist Baby lasts for about 6 hours which is kinda short but good enough for me!

What are your weekly favourites? And would you like a humidifier?

Pond's Cold Cream Cleanser

I have myself a cleansing addiction. I cannot stop myself from trying out different kinds of make up cleansers. When I read about balm cleansers, I just had to get myself an equivalent. Just slightly psychotic, right? Unfortunately, I did not really complete my homework on this cream, so read on to find out.

The Pond's Cold Cream Cleanser is a big un'. Just look at the size of that tub! All that cream (269g) for SGD$7!!! I could throw this tub at you and seriously injure wind you, no kidding. This cream is literally how its name sounds, it's cold and it's a cream. And it removes all the dirt and make up that you need removed.

Witness the creamy delight within. It's almost like a heavy whipped cream, but then you get a whiff of the heavy, heavy rose scent and know it's not for eats. Upon contact with the heat of the skin and some massaging in, the cold cream breaks down into an oil. I love the way it feels on the skin, it goes on super cooling and that's just wonderful!

It's also rather incredible at taking off makeup. On my hand I have swatched the K-palette 24HR Real Lasting Eyeliner, Jealousness Gel Pencil Eyeliner and MUFE Full Cover Concealer. I then dumped a small amount (you could use a quarter that and achieve the same effect), swiped it across the 3 swatches, rubbed 3 times and tissued off the cream. Only the Jealousness Gel Liner remained because that's one stubborn bitch of an eyeliner and I love it for that. When I massaged the cold cream in longer, you can see that all the swatches dissolved and was completely removed. I have used this on waterproof mascara, and it removed all that too! The only annoying thing was that I got oily blurry vision, though it didn't sting my eyes. Also, if you work at the massage long enough, blackheads/sebum plugs do work themselves loose and you can feel the little plugs when you massage the cream into your face. That's really nice because even normal face wash doesn't do that. This is one heck of an effective cleanser and makeup remover but...

This is where I didn't do my homework. It does not dissolve in water!!!!! Damn you, cream! The way to use this cleanser is to "Apply gently to skin, wipe with wet washcloth, and rinse if desired." This does not in any way, come off with water. So what do you do with the face full of oily make up? Tissue it off of course! Or use a cleansing wipe if you have. Then you can wipe with the wet washcloth for some extra exfoliation and to get more residue off. You can stop there and let the oils in the cold cream moisturize your face (that is if you're fine with mineral oil because that's the main ingredient) or thoroughly wash it off with a soap cleanser. I do mean thoroughly because any shoddy handiwork here will still leave you with a film on your face.

I don't like to leave the oil on my face because I find that it doesn't fully absorb and just sits on top of the skin. Worse still, the skin is dry beneath the oily film. That's probably because my skin doesn't really seem to like mineral oils as I've had the same problem with Bio-oil and Innoxa. But I've read many reviews that say that the oily film does the work of moisturizer and no additional skincare is required. There are also many wonder stories of grandmas having really great skin because of this product. That's up to you to believe, but for me, as great as this cold cream is at removing my makeup, I'm sticking to my fuss free water-soluble oil cleansers, thank you very much.

What do you think? Would you use the Pond's cold cream and even take the step to use it as moisturizer?

Estee Lauder CyberWhite Brilliant Cells Extra Intensive BB Creme

The Estee Lauder CyberWhite Brilliant Cells Extra Intensive BB Creme is my very first American brand BB cream and was gifted to me by a friend, so I don't know how much it is though I don't doubt it's expensive. It's a BB cream that's been with me for about a year (?) now and it's high time it deserved a review. It's interesting to see that the Estee Lauder BB cream comes in a 50ml tube, much more than the usual 30ml of other BB creams. It's very sleek, almost clinical, with a metallic baby blue twist off cap. I have professed my love for squeezy tubes, and this is no different. The hole from where the product emerges is really small, much smaller than normal (about 2mm diameter?) so yay to no leakages! 

L-R: MAC Studio Fix NC30, Estee Lauder CyberWhite BB Cream

In addition, the product itself is rather thick so it won't just drip out of the tube. As you can see, the Estee Lauder BB cream is very, and I mean very, pale and pink toned. If you're not a fair skinned gal like me, don't fret! The product has next to no coverage and does blend out to almost nothing. Though I still would suggest using a skin toned powder on top of it. There's a slight sunscreen scent to the BB cream, but nothing too offensive. 

Here's evidence that it is too fair for me. I have used it in the centre of my face and up my cheeks as well as on my chin. The camera does not capture the yellow tone of my face anymore but instead captures the brightness of the BB cream. In real life, I don't find my face looking too pale but just slightly brighter and more lively. If you have dull complexion, this baby is calling for you! It has passed the boy test too - I wore it to work one day with just concealer and the boy said it matched my skin tone. Since the cream is quite thick, I do find it to even out the pores and disguise them. On days I wore this, the boy commented my skin looked really smooth. Could this BB cream really be the answer to my skin woes?

The only downer is that as the day wears on, the BB cream that once disguised the pores becomes pooled in the pores so you might wanna just touch up in the middle of the day!

When worn on its own, the Estee Lauder BB Cream feels nourishing on the skin and lightweight. I would not call it feeling like nothing on the skin - there's a feeling of something, but it's not heavy. It also works quite well as a priming base for powders and concealers and does not ball up, flake off or rub off. Foundation on top of the BB cream would definitely feel heavy. 

I've found this BB cream not really to have oil control, so blotting at lunch time is a must (I'm sure you do that anyway!). Since there isn't much coverage anyway, I honestly can't tell when it fades away, which I guess, is a good thing! 

If I had good skin, I would slap this BB cream off and go, but unfortunately I don't so the no coverage is definitely a downer for me. My favourite way of using this is in the centre of my face for brightening, especially when I'm feeling shitty about my dull skin. Then I work my way to a full coverage through concealing. 

Summary:

Pros:

• Brightens the skin
• Disguises pores
• Seems to adjust slightly to match skin tone
• Lightweight
• Can act as primer

Cons:

• Doesn't match my skin tone if I wear too much
• No oil control
• No coverage
• Pools in pores if worn for long and requires touching up

Conclusion: The BB cream gets a solid B from me. Works well for quick days with concealer for a presentable and bright face. Or if you've simply got great skin and want some sun protection. Also passed the boy test in my case because he would compliment me without fail every single time I used this BB cream. Try it for yourself!