facial scrub i really love - cocoa butter

If I would tell you what I enjoy doing while washing my face, I would say that, what I really do enjoy is... the "scrubbing" part. 

I don't know about the many of you, but I just love to scrub my face especially with really nice and delicious smelling facial scrub. An extra bonus to that is of course, the silky smooth face you get after "the scrubbing session". 


I must say that I am no newbie to using facial scrub or exfoliator and in fact, I have tried numerous different types of these from the beads type, to the micro-beads type to the milk type and also to the cream type. However, when I first discover about Queen Helene's Cocoa Butter scrub, I fell in love with it almost immediately after just the first scrub!

Had to dig out some old photos. Top left (Queen Helene's Cocoa Butter Facial Scrub, followed by the famous Mint Julep Facial Mask & Burt's Bees Honey Lipbalm)

It's true. It might be for the smell, but I would say that not only it smells like chocolate, but it is really a gentle one too! Gives me a superb feeling especially after rinsing my face. ^^
Other bonus points would be:
- really exfoliate well (removes those tiny small little whiteheads, etc)
- feels clean yet moisturized 
- skin gets really smooth almost immediately after the first wash and I get soft and supple skin eventually after that
- skin got brighter (as in looks bright/ radiant and not dull)


It says it's gentle enough for daily usage.. but of course, we all know, excessive scrubbing leaves your skin thinner thus, a more sensitive skin. And this is exactly what happened to me. I really didn't quite notice this until my facial lady told me that my skin is getting thinner. See, I don't have a thick face! Hahhaa :P


Therefore, once or twice per week is really good enough!


Anyway, I've been a loyal user and my 3rd tub is finishing. Note: this is not available in my country and I always had quite a troublesome time to get this. I had to get a friend to order it from US and this time, I found another cocoa butter facial scrub in the local drugstore before I could place my order and I couldn't resist. Hehehs.


It's a new product on the shelf and I know I just had to grab it. It's the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub. Palmer's had always have a good reputation in its skincare lotion so I wouldn't mind giving this a try.

I would say, I love this too. Smells great too, soft, has micro-fine cocoa beans, and I think I saw some thin cocoa flakes. This really gives me a little illusions telling me that I am applying chocolates on my face and it's god damn delicious. 

What I love about this:
- very soft and creamy texture
- contains micro-fine crushed cocoa bean which makes it really gentle to the skin
- delicious smell yet not too strong
- non - drying/ moisturizing
- I can't say much on how well it does to my face yet since it's just the 1 month of me using it but I can say that it will do a really good job. :>








credits:
http://www.queenhelene.com

back! and with some "magic"

what MAGIC is this all about?
yeah, i actually found some "EGYPTIAN MAGIC" cream. *wink*
well, to be honest, i think this is already a well-known product and i've actually heard of it for quite some time ago, but i've only decided to give it a try till recently.


you can find out more about the history of the product here

 the ingredients are listed as shown, very simple ingredients indeed. made of beeswax, olive oil, honey, bee pollen, royal jelly & propolis extract. 

so, how do i find it? what's the texture like?
hmmm... first impression - "this is very oily!" >.<


well, i don't know if i should be long winded about this, but i really would love to share as much as possible. i understand, when i was looking for reviews, i was hoping to read a long review to help in making decisions on should i or should i not buy. haha


alright, i wanna be completely honest and as i've said earlier, my first impression of this cream is not really good at all. the cream is really oily when it is applied on my face. try picture your face like a frying pan after some bacons. :P


also, i had a hard time sleeping thinking that i will transfer the cream onto my pillow leaving it greasy. well, that happened to me the first few nights as i love sleeping on my side and sometimes faced down. after awhile, i get used to it and i actually wait a little longer for the cream to absorb before going to bed.


well, i gave it a good 2 weeks of trial and i turned to love this cream alot! *it is coming to 1month usage now* after just about 1 week time, i started to realize that i wake up every morning with very supple skin, and it actually looks more radiant, like having a natural glow. i used to have this feeling when i was using a sleeping gel mask from Polynia last time but i haven't had the chance to restock it. so yea, this is the "happy" feeling i get in the morning after i wash my face and seeing myself in the mirror. :D


one thing, despite its oiliness, it didn't make my skin breakout at all. i was actually worried that it will clog pores and giving me pimples but to my surprise, nothing bad happens so far. and i guess this is really good news?


i've also read some reviews saying that you can actually use this cream for everything and anything. well, on the skin of course. haha. so, you know what, i decided to swipe this cream lightly and these are what i've tried doing so far with it:


dry patch on my arm - patch disappeared the next day
cracked lips after a night out drinking (painful) - lips are not cracked anymore in 2 days
itchy patch - became not itchy (I don't know why this worked but i was just trying at the time, haha)
dry skin in between earlobes and neck (i love to peel the skin there and sometimes it's painful) - no more dry skin and no more pain
i have dry skin especially my legs (calves) - getting better each day


the texture actually is really similar to vaseline but i think this is oilier when applied as if it dissolved into a more liquid form. but fret not, it absorb pretty well too into your skin :)

this cream has also its expiry date printed at the bottom of the jar. i personally think that this is a good reminder as i don't see this often on most of my skincare products.

i ordered this online and got it shipped to me the very next day. i think there's an option where you can purchase a 30g sample of this first if you're wondering if you will like it. 
do let me know if you need the seller's contact (in Malaysia). 

*one of my best buy* =)

i'm back! + Liese's Bubble Foam Hair Dye

apology for being MIA for so so long. Has been caught up with work and projects and finally now, i'm taking a short break and am back here! =)

_______________________

Anyway, I bet u girls have heard of Kao's latest hair dye product - Liese and the famous Bubble Hair color!
I picked up a box for myself since I am so fascinated by the idea of dying your hair just like how u're shampooing. Haha. Sounds fun ain't it?

My last visit to the hair saloon was during right before Chinese New Year early this year. Yes I know it has been a long long while. And, my roots are showing and I just realized how ugly the black roots are after I snap some shots of it. Urgh.. I planned to darken my hair though and I was stucked in deciding for either Dark Chocolate or Chestnut Brown. I heard from alot of people saying that you should choose a shade or two lighter than the shade that you actually want for these kinda DIY hair dye.

Therefore, I've chosen Chestnut Brown and we shall see...

Sounds fun? Looks fun? I would say, definitely!

 Things you get from the box

Pour 2 into 1 and *invert* the container back and forth *gently*.... to avoid bubbles forming!
I didn't really read the instruction properly and I shook the bottle too soon and too fast..
So this is what I get:

 Whole bottle full of bubbles.  >.<

And I saw this too late.. ahaha..  Well, fret not, because...

We have this! I smiled at this one because out of a sudden, I felt that they really understand their customers! *thumbs up*

 Foam dispensed out. Cutes.

Cute bubbles!! ^^

Lather and massage your hair till you get a really thick foam covering your whole head. Yes as you can see, it's a really really messy business! Hahahahha. I got all the dye all over my face. >.<

But no worries, I washed it off with just my normal facial cleanser and I got myself a clean face again. :D

A little patience is needed when you first started applying the foam onto your hair. The foam kinda gets absorbed by your hair and you really need to do it again and again. My biceps got really tired too. After about 10mins standing in front of the mirror massaging my hair, I finally see foams on my hair and it gets thicker and thicker after that. That's where the fun part comes! Haha.

As much as I love the process, there is one thing I hate about it which is the smell. Erm, not so much on the smell but how the hair dye stings my eyes. I got teary eyes during the "waiting" period for a good 45 mins.

So after 45 mins, (the instruction says 30 mins but I waited longer because I wanted the color to show more) ... taa Daa!

From this:

*note the very dark roots*

 

To this...

 hair was still a little wet

 all black roots covered perfectly!

I personally think that the color payoff is really awesome and out of my expectations! I thought that the color wouln't turned up to be so bright and rich due to my past experiences of using DIY hair dye.

If I knew this earlier, I would have chosen Dark Chocolate instead because I actually wanted to darken my hair. Hmm,, maybe next time then.

Give it a try! I bought this at RM39.88 at Guardian. :D