Sorry that I haven't been updating the blog at all other than my first review. I'm finishing my last semester at school and am spending all my time trying to learn CG motion graphics before I graduate so i'm busy busy!
I promise to write soon. For now, here's a picture of my new haircut! I luv super short bangs n.n I also stopped wearing anything on my skin on most days (just a bit of concealer on my chin and Neutrogena sunscreen, which has quickly whitened my skin another shade. I'd love to try the ones by Hada Labo or Shiseido) and have mostly been wearing minimal amounts of makeup on my eyes (loving this Tony Moly lip tint and the little Lancome eyeshadow quad I found on ebay, with shimmery white, pink, purple and black shadows. I'll be doing an eyeshadow review at some point).
And here's how I'm dealing with this awful cold, dry weather (and being stuck in front of a computer 90% of the day). Plus do you like my new fluffy white comforter? :P
Lots of water (remember to ALWAYS drink a lot of water, to flush out toxins, improve your immune system, prevent dry skin/hair, and manage weight). I found this Bobble filtered water bottle for only $3 at TJ Max. These bottles are a great deal, even at regular price, I highly recommend buying one! You only need to change the filter once every couple months and those are $7.
Tsubaki oil from camellia flowers is a traditional Japanese hair and skin care product. I also use coconut oil as a hair mask a couple times a week lately.
I use sheet masks whenever my skin starts to break out of become dry or dull. This is the My Beauty Diary Black Pearl mask but I've found that the Aloe Vera ones work the best, especially for calming skin. Also honey with a little olive oil, worn as a mask for a couple minutes, is supposed to calm, sooth and soften skin. I tried it a few days ago and I can't tell if it helped much? Will try again in the future and do a post about skincare.
Also:
i try my best to always use hand sanitizer, especially since i live on campus and am constantly in closed rooms with sick people. I use aloe vera and vaseline for when my lips get cracked, and whenever I start to feel like I'm getting sick I take some Echinacea & Goldseal pills with ElderBerry syrup and feel fine the next morning. I haven't been sick once this past year!
plus lots of love from my baby to keep me warm and healthy :^*******
And as always, I take my vitamins (C, B complex, Iron, fish oil, multi, etc) and make sure to get exercise every day!
i just tried the hada labo lotion para your recommendation. At first my skin felt a bit sticky but now it feels great and refreshed! Im looking forward to reading more on your blog <3
Yaay glad to hear it! (that you like the blog and Hada Labo products lol) I will be updating this week. :)
If you're looking for a skin care brand that is effective, affordable, and good for sensitive skin, then I highly recommend Hada Labo products. Since I first tried their lotion I've been obsessed (◍*3*◍)
Hada Labo (meaning "skin lab") is a popular Japanese brand of skincare whose philosophy is "Perfect X Simple" and say that "one drop locks up an ocean!". They use quality ingredients with no fragrances, mineral oils, dyes or other things that may irritate your skin. Most of their products use Super Hyaluronic Acid, which allows skin to absorb and hold moisture for a long time in order to help the skin look young and retain its elasticity and glow. Their products aim to moisturize, whiten and brighten skin in order to give you a natural, healthy glow with an even skintone (and bouncy mochi skin!) Their product design is very simple and minimalistic, aiming for a refreshing, relaxing medi/spa vibe, instead of other brands that may spend money on a cute design but don't really work.
These are the best skin products I've ever used! It's the first time I've used something where I can actually see a difference in my skin. I have combination skin, my face gets slightly oily around my nose and forehead throughout the day but my cheeks and chin/jawline sometimes get dry (especially now that I live in a desert climate). By the time I started using Hada Labo I didn't really have problems with pimples, except for once in a while (from hormones, stress, illness or CHEAP SKIN PRODUCTS which I had never even considered before!). But if you're someone with troublesome skin this would probably be something great for you to try (they also have a special sensitive skin line! I'll mention it again below). I stopped wasting my money on American skin products. Although they're easier to find, none of them seem to actually do the things they claim to. Here's a slightly creepy/corny video about the brand:
They have 3 "ranges": Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydration Range, Arbutin Whitening Range, Retinol Lifting and Firming Range and ES Sensitive Skin Range. I will be reviewing the Hydration Range.
Here are the products I use:
1) Super Hyaluronic Acid Gel Makeup Remover
2) Tamagohada Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser
3) Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Cleanser
4) Super Hyaluronic Acid Gokujyun Lotion
5)Super Hyaluronic Acid Gokujyun Milk
6)Whitening BB Cream SPF 32/PA+++ in Natural Beige
I've been able to find products from this line at pretty much any US Japanese market I've been to (except the BB cream, maybe it isn't sold here yet). Products from the other ranges seem to be a little less easy to get ahold of. Most of their products range between $11-$20, and you can sometimes find them cheaper on ebay (shipping from China takes a long time but the ebay vendors will do anything to get good customer reviews!). If you want to try out something from Hada Labo buy the lotion, it's the most important thing to have out of all of these.
1) Super Hyaluronic Acid Gel Makeup Remover
They sell 2 types of makeup removers, this thin gel-like one in a blue bottle for your face and the olive oil-based one in an orange bottle for eye makeup. I chose this one because I already use baby oil for my eye makeup and this would allow me to wash off my bb cream without having to apply moisturizer right away. I just got it recently and am not totally in love with it yet but my skin definitely does feel less dry and tight after using it than when I just wash my face alone. Although it does help the skin retain its moisture instead of completely stripping it dry you still do need to use lotion afterwards. (I use this then face wash before applying lotion) I use a couple pumps and gently rub it onto my skin, then add water and continue to massage then rinse it off and my skin is bright and moist!
2) Tamagohada Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser
This is one of my favorite things by them that I've tried. "Tamago" means egg and "hada" means skin, because this face wash is supposed to gently exfoliate the skin and reveal a new layer of skin that resembles the surface of a hard-boiled egg with the shell peeled off: bouncy, white and moist. To use mix a very TINY amount with water until it becomes rich and foamy then gently massage in tiny circular motions all around the face to get rid of dead skin. Here's some directions:
It seems to do exactly what it says it does: "give clarity, brightness and promote skin cell renewal by preventing dead skin cell buildup. The gentle cleanser lathers into a fine, velvety foam to prevent blemishes and polishes away dullness for a renewed skin everyday." I'm noticing a large difference in my skin since I've started using this. I'm in college and I work, so I usually look tired when I wake up in the morning. But as soon as I wash my face with this I look more awake and my skin looks brighter again. Only problem is that it's winter now and it's dry where I live so it's a little too drying for my skin lately to use it twice a day. But after using it my moisturizer seems to soak into my skin more easily and my BB cream looks much better.
3) Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Cleanser
I just got this yesterday since my skin has been getting so dry in this cold weather and today my skin isn't dry at all! Like their other face wash you have to use only a tiny amount though. I can write more about this once I've used it for a while. I think I'll start using it in the evenings and the tamagohada wash in the mornings.
4) Super Hyaluronic Acid Gokujyun Lotion
The most important thing to try is the Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion. You use it after washing your face twice a day (you can apply it to your body as well). Put a pea-sized amount in your palm, rub it between your hands and then gently pat it all over your face until it is absorbed. Since it contains no alcohol it doesn't dry on its own - which means it won't dry your skin at all, but applying it is different than most other lotions. It feels slightly sticky and looks shiny. Continue to pat all over your face until it is completely absorbed and your skin feels smooth. And ta da! Beautiful clean skin! n.n for a while I was only using this Hada Labo product with a really cheap face wash and even though I could see a huge difference in my skin. It looked much healthier, energized and bright and looked moister and cleaner all day.
This is an amazing product!!!
It feels and looks like water only slightly thicker. It is beautiful, light and perfectly hydrates your skin.
5)Super Hyaluronic Acid Gokujyun Milk
The milk is applied after lotion in the same way, but is thicker and creamier with a slightly oily texture. it locks in the lotion and provides an added layer of moisture. I tried this after using the lotion for a while and now I always use them together!
6)Whitening BB Cream SPF 32/PA+++ in Natural Beige
I have been using BB cream for almost a year now and have only tried a few (this, one by Holika Holika and one by Etude House). The other ones I tried were by Korean brands, which seem to usually be cheaper and make your skin look bright and glowing by making it shiny instead of really fixing your skin and creating a real natural glow.
This seems to be the perfect BB cream ♥ It keeps your skin moist, provides light, natural coverage (but can be built up to a medium coverage), does not irritate or clog skin, and fixes scars and imperfections so that even when you aren't wearing it your skin looks much more fresh and bright! Also it's SPF 32, which is pretty good (Sun screen is also another important part of skin care, especially if you're aiming to whiten your skin). And the bottle is cute! It's a little white tube with very simple lettering. And although it's small you don't need to use very much at a time. After your moisturizer is done drying dab a few spots of it on your face and spread it around with your fingers in tiny circular motions until it's covered.
At first I was worried that it was too dark for my skintone when I tried it out on my hand. It's more yellowish than other BB creams I've used (it gives a much more natural look). But once I put it on my face it blends with my color perfectly :) I have very light skin and I tried the Natural Beige shade, it looks natural on me. The last BB cream I used (Aqua Petite Jelly by Holika Holika) would look too white in certain lighting and was thick and would sometimes clog my pores. It looked nice but I think my skin looks much better when I'm not wearing BB cream now since I switched to Hada Labo.
♥
I love all of these products by Hada Labo and would definitely recommend them to anyone. They have made a huge difference in my skin at a reasonable price! Here is how my skin looks now after using all these products:
And here's a picture of my skin on a day when I didn't put any BB cream or concealer on my face.
And that's my review! ♥ Thanks for reading, I hope you get a chance to try these and you can check out some of their pretty commercials below.
Hello, my name is Calla (meaning beautiful, like the lilly)
I’m currently living at art school in the LA county and working part-time. I am a rising artist who shows in galleries worldwide, designs album artwork for many rising musicians and I sell my artwork and posters online. I’ve gotten alot of followers on facebook and my tumblr pages but I wanted to start a blog specifically for my OBSESSION with asian beauty products(and kawaii blog layouts *0*).
Check out my links to the right and feel free to leave messages in my guestbook! If you have questions or things that you’d like me to review let me know and I will respond! Enjoy ✲꒡.̮꒡✲
