Beauty Haul: Foreo Luna Mini, Elizabeth Arden Intervene, Chanel Vitalumiere Compact

I spent a little over 250€ last Friday for this beauty haul.  It is certainly  extravagant and somewhat excessive for my ordinarily thrifty lifestyle, but my skin´s been pretty bad lately, so bad that even my ever-reliable Guerlain Lingerie de Péau foundation could not cover the red splotches around my mouth and the tired pallor of my face.

And then there is the fact that the sale season in Europe has began, with 30% to 50% markdowns on goodies.  And so I got a little crazy and bought goodies which will hopefully help me in my beauty battle against stress and ageing.

The Haul: Foreo Luna Mini, Chanel Vitalumiere Compact Powder, Elizabeth Arden Intervene Products (Anti-Fatigue Eye Cream, Time FightingRadiance Serum, Skin Tone Perfecting Capsules), and my freebie of Smashbox Makeup Pouch 

Simple UK´s Mint Shower Gel is a Freshness Bomb

2009, Manila. My friend Di raved and raved about this amazing mint body wash she got from the UK.  It´s so refreshing, it leaves you tingly!  And so being the great friend that she is, she transferred a not inconsequential amount of her prized stash into a 100 ml container and gave it to me to try.

My friend Di´s fave: Original Source Mint and Tea Tree Shower Gel

               

It.was.so.icy.cold.on.the.skin.  In a good way. Actually, that´s an understatement. It was  more like, holy cow, this is amazing! Mint in a shower gel! This is perfect for the Philippines! We loved it so much we even hatched a plan of distributing these products in the Philippines.  But then, as most plans go, we got waylaid to other things, and I went back to Korea.

2014, Madrid.  I was out on a girl talk session with A, a friend who, before meeting her in Madrid, was a client of TLC Shop way back in 2009.   We were talking about travel, online shopping and such, and she mentioned in passing how she loves Simple, a UK skincare line which she orders from the UK.

So two ordinary  events years apart. Nothing to it, except I remember them now, silvery threads of happenstance leading to this post. Which is essentially about Simple and mint. Or to be blunt, this is a rave about a new product I bought a week ago from the Madrid branch of Dealz.

Guerlain Cosmetics: Indulgent, Pricey and Oh So Precious!

                                Guerlain´s candy colored Meteorites

Ah Guerlain, you, the queen of  ultra-expensive french luxury beauty brands, you have been on my must-try-at-least-once-in-my-life list for some time now.  But for years I have felt that you were really out of my league.  I´d like to think that I have always tried to be a practical person, and so  in a sea of  affordable and pretty Korean beauty products,  it seemed blasphemous and too pa-sosyal to try you out at uber-pricey Seoul prices.

To be honest, I was scared too, what if I tried your products and became hooked? How sad would that be knowing that at  your prices in Seoul, I would be reaching way beyond my budget.  Because you see,  in Seoul a precious pan of your Meteorites costs 80000 KRW which is roughly 59€ or PHP 3,500.  How can I, in all my practicality, pay for a highlighter that expensive when I can buy a highlighter of the same shimmery effect from Skinfood for only 5000 KRW(PHP 250.00) ?

     Guerlain Meteorites Blossom Price in Korea

But here I am now in Europe, where somehow, it feels okay to finally splurge with your products.
 It also helps that Guerlain products here are almost 40% cheaper than in Asia. And what excuse do I have not to buy you and satisfy this secret longing when even my Pinay hairstylist at my favorite salon in Madrid brandishes her Meteorites Blossom Pearls and gushes about them like a secret love?

So one day, while I was particularly feeling blah,  I walked and walked and walked until  I found myself at my neighborhood Bodybell shop.  And what do you know, there was an additional 10% off all Guerlain products ! The Goddesses of All Things Kikay have conspired! A sign, a gentle push, a whisper:  Go, bumili ka na ng magtigil ka na sa obsession mong yan!

Caudalie´s Fleur de Vigne Reminds Me of the Light and Shimmer of Country Summer Days

   A perfect summer day out in a vineyard  (Photo from expatweddingamsterdam.com)

A light breeze, the sun´s rays prickling your skin just enough to feel warm, alive and happy.  I imagine myself in a cotton maxi dress, with a book or a friend, idling around, enjoying the greeneries,  the scent of leaves,  of harvest, of fruit and life.  Ah, my perfect summer day.  Out in the countryside, or perhaps, closer to home, back in my mother´s house in Ilocos, under the ancient Mango tree, perched on the bamboo slat bed of my childhood summers, with a book or a cousin or two, enjoying the hours of a beautiful day.

But alas,  I am in the middle of the city, beautiful as it is.   Still, I tell myself,  soon, soon I will have my fill of perfect summer days.

And so perhaps, it is partly because of  my  longing for these kinds of summer days that I am smitten with Caudalie´s Fleur de Vigne  Eau Fresh.

It is described as a delicate scent of grapefruit, pink pepper, white rose, mandarin cedar, and the precious grape blossom known as flour de vigne, precious because flour de vigne only blossoms once a year.

At first whiff it is the musky character of  pink pepper and white rose that dominate, but in a minute  the delicious grape and citrus scent so reminiscent of summer follows through.  It is this light, yet complex and earthy fragrance that I love about Fleur de Vigne.

The sillage is low and the lasting power of this scent is three hours maximum.  And to my mind, it is not the kind of fragrance you´d wear to captivate,  for that, one is better off with Parfum Divin .  But for  a scent to transport me to daydreams of vineyards and summer days,  to carefree hours in the sun, there is nothing more apt, more complementary than a whiff of  this fresh fragrance.

A 50 ml bottle for Caudalie´s Fleur de Vigne is about 25.50€  at Caudalie Europe but  there´s a current limited edition gift set for Fleur de Vigne that includes a 100 ml Shower Gel for free so I got it instead.

Of course a scent cannot take the place of sun and summery breezes but until I get the chance to go home or visit a vineyard,  I shall fill my senses with the promise of summer joys with a spritz or two of this fragrance.

MY DIVINE FRAGRANCE: CAUDALIE PARFUM DIVIN

The  Search for The Perfect Summer Scent
Summer in Spain:  40 deg Celsius dry heat and a sun that rises at 6:30 AM and sets at 10 PM.

Yes, the heat is definitely on in Europe!

So a month ago I felt I was in dire need of a new perfume, something long-wearing but not overpowering,with a good musky undertone.  The fragrance I was using, a RL Polo Big Pony 3 (Yellow),  just wasn´t cutting it.  I felt that it wasn´t really that long-lasting and  was just meeeh. 

Off I went to fragrantica.com  to search for a perfume that´s musky, warm, perfect for summer, and long lasting.

Oh just in case, note that fragrantica.com is not a perfume shop, it´s like a make-up forum where users rate the items they´ve tried,  but instead of make-ups,  the talk´s all focused on scents and fragrances.  What I like about the site is the variety of reviews,  even small artisanal perfumes from Europe  are reviewed not just the big perfume brands.


Enter Caudalie
After reading on a lot of reviews,  I finally settled on Caudalie´s new fragrance,  Parfum Divin, which was released just this year (2014).  What sold me on this perfume?  Let me enumerate:

1.  It´s a vanilla-based, musky perfume that isn´t  fruity.  I have had it with fruity and citrusy perfumes, they tend to be not so long lasting become slightly sour on my skin after a few hours.

2.  It got amazing reviews both in fragrantica  and in blogs.  It was described by The Sunday Girl so perfectly:

 "Parfum Divin de Caudalie is what I imagine the chic women in the likes of the south of France would use to douse themselves in. A simple but romantic blend of rose, musk and vanilla that is both comforting and oddly uplifting too. I don't tend to enjoy floral fragrances but the simple and soft tones of Parfum Divine de Caudalie is something else. It is almost dreamy in a sense. It's not everyday that a fragrance comes along in which I believe will talk to all ages but Parfum Divine de Caudalie is it. Of course it is similar to the scent used within Caudalie's Divine Oil but it is a little  softer and more refined with a stronger musk kick in my experience. In a nutshell Parfum Divine de Caudalie is a suit all wear everywhere fragrance in one of the most beautiful bottles I have seen this side of 2014."
    
 3.  Although Caudalie is considered a luxury brand in Europe  (up there among the ranks of Clarins, Chanel, Guerlain),  the perfume´s price wasn´t that bad  at about 50€  for a 50 ml bottle.  Definitely more affordable than Chanel perfumes which are 20-30€ more expensive.


Power and Sillage
I purchased my Parfum Divin from the Caudalie online shop in Spain,  and got the item in just four days!

The Parfum Divin comes in a beautiful golden bottle with a wooden cap! Even the bottle looks elegant and understated.

And the smell?  Yes, in a word,  it is divine.

It is warm, sweet, musky,  but not overpowering.  You know how there are perfumes that are good but  are just too strong ( Poison and most Nina Ricci fragrances come to mind)?  Parfum Divin isn´t one of them.  It settles on the skin pretty well, and at the end of the day,  what is left behind is a delectable musky scent that feels oh-so classy.  The sillage isn´t too bad, just moderate, which is good because who wants to be labelled as the walking perfume bomb?  Sillage, in case you haven´t heard of the word,  is a fragrance term used to describe the fragrance trail left by the wearer.  A strong sillage means that it diffuses well around the wearer, meaning it can be smelled by those around her.  But note that sillage has nothing to do with wether the perfume smells great.

I found solid proof of Caudalie´s long lasting smell one Friday when hours after spritzing the perfume, while I was all sweaty and klutzy in my 8 PM fitness class,  I smelled the Perfum Divin on myself.  My though was,  Bongga!  Amoy Perfum Divin ang pawis ko!

Caudalie also has this somewhat cool thing.  Whenever one purchases a Caudalie product,  a code is hidden in the product´s box which you enter in your myCaudalie personal online account,  every product corresponds to some points.  A purchase of Perfum Divin corresponds to 40 points.  And when I reach 120 points  I get to have one fullsized item from  Caudalie´s skincare line sent to me with my next order for free.  Cool, huh!

I honestly think Parfum Divin is my holy grail for perfumes.  Expensive but not unreasonably so.  It is potent so you don´t have to spray too much.  And the smell, oh the smell, its name is so perfect for this product.

Love and Reorder

How much do I love this perfume?  So much that I just ordered a set of Parfum Divin + Huille Divin (Divine Oil) again. 

Why? Because Caudalie has a promo now that for every  purchase of two items of Divin products (except the travel kits) , one gets a free  Sac Divin ( Divine Bag) oh and yes,  I want to try their skincare products (which are really expensive).  And  Caudalie do give free samplers for every purchase.

That Divin bag  is so pretty, no? I rationalize of course:  If by December I still haven´t used up my Parfum Divin,  I can always turn my extra Parfum Divin  into a gift for someone special! 

So, how about you?  What´s the perfume you´re currently loving at the moment?  Do you want to try Caudalie´s  Parfum Divin? :)

P.S.  A Short Note on The Brand

Caudalie (pronounced as kodali) is an upmarket French beauty brand based in Bordeaux, France,   known for its philosophy of making natural, preservative-free cosmetics.  Caudalie,  which has its roots in the vineyard owned by its founders, currently holds patents for Resveratrol, grapeseed polyphenols and Vineferine, potent beauty compounds extracted from grape plants.  

As per Caudalie´s site:

The brand uses natural and environmentally friendly active ingredients with raw materials of controlled origin and Ecocert-certified preservatives. No Caudalie product contains phenoxyethanols, phthalates, mineral oils, sodium laureth sulfate, synthetic colorings or animal ingredients and the products are not tested on animals. In 2005, the company went even further by removing all parabens from its products, and setting up a huge operation to reduce waste by optimizing transport, packaging and waste products to reduce its annual CO2 emissions (-4.7 tonnes of CO2 per year). In general, the cardboard boxes and PCR plastic tubes used to contain the products are recycled by around 50%. 

My Search is Over: La Roche Posay Effaclar K is the Key to Oil-Free Face

Summer Shine
Summer is slowly easing into Spain.  Although the locals love summer perhaps because their mediterranean complexions turn into amazingly beautiful sun-kissed tan,  the sun´s rays during summer  is feral and  can be painful to the skin.  Our beautiful 32 degrees summer days in the Philippines are no match to the 40 degrees heat in Madrid.  And unlike  tropical countries like Pinas where the daylight hours are  not too different whatever the season is,  the summer sun here in Madrid shines until mid past nine in the evenings.  In August, there is still light at ten in the evening.

Sun lovers love the long sun hours.  But those with normally oily skin like me might find summer a bit of a hassle.  Tanned skin is great if it´s fresh looking,  not if it is perpetually covered with an icky film of grease.  Thus, my constant search for a good oil control product.  

A few months ago,  I noticed how shiny my face was after a couple of hours.  I was (and still is) using the Infracyte Regimen I got from my derma in the Philippines, and it was helping to keep my face clear but it could not do anything for the oilies.  Worst thing was that every morning upon waking up,  I could literally sop the oil on my nose and forehead.   What´s the point in trying to make your face as clear as possible if it shines like a sparkly Brillo pad,  right?

So  I  googled and researched brands to find a good oil-control product.  I  admit, I am partial to French pharmaceutical brands because:
 1)  I liked my experience with Bioderma last year
 2) French brands are easily available in pharmacies throughout Europe
 3) While these brands are not exactly cheap,  the prices are reasonable and within my budget.


The Big Four
There are four big French brands that offer more or less the same product lines:
Bioderma, Avene, La Roche-Posay, and Vichy.

I have used a lot of Bioderma products last year and while its Micellar Waters are great, the other products I have tried,  the Sebium Mat Control and White Objective Vitamin C Serum,  weren´t really spectacular and not worth the high cost.  I have tried Bioderma  last summer and while it helped it
didn´t really control the oiliness  to the level I wanted so no Bioderma oil control products this time.

Apart from the Cleanance cleanser, I have never tried Avene´s skincare products but I have the impression that the brand´s strength is really its famous Eau de Thermale atomizers and cleansers,  items that I don´t really need.

I have used a tube of La Roche-Posay´s Toleriane Ultra  a couple of years ago  as part of a beauty kit I got from skincarerx.com.  I remember that I used Toleriane to soothe my irritated, dry skin during winter in Korea.  I also got a tube of La Roche-Posay´s Effaclar AI from the haul  but if I think I gave the Effaclar AI away because I got it on winter, the season when my skin is at its clearest.

Now, Vichy is  the French brand  that I will never try again for their skincare products.  Let me explain.  As many of you know, I lived in Korea for close to five years and have tried a lot of products there.   Vichy is widely available in Korea  (at stratospheric prices, I may add).   If you go to a pharmacy in Korea, chances are they sell Vichy products.  One time I asked a pharmacist for recommendations for my oily skin and she told me to get the Normaderm Toner and Serum.  Well,  I bought them despite the high prices and the only effect I got was they made my skin itchy as hell.   Since then,  I have stayed away from Vichy skincare products.  I still do use Vichy anti-perspirants because these are really long-lasting and  therefore very cost-effective.


The Effaclar Line
In the end,  I bought  the Effaclar K from La Roche-Posay:

The first time I bought Effaclar K,  there was a promo where I got a free travel kit containing two other Effaclar products: A 15 ml bottle of Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel   and a 15 ml bottle of Effaclar Lotion Astringent.  I have not used the free items, but these will be handy during my summer trips.


A note about the Effaclar line.  Effaclar is La Roche-Posay´s line for troubled or oily skin.  The line has cleansers, spot correctors, serums and such.  If you are interested to see the other Effaclar products, you can check the La Roche-Posay website here.

Aside from Effaclar K,  there are three more choices for  oil control  depending on one´s needs:

Effaclar Duo is the strongest among the Effaclar anti-trouble moisturizers.  This is for those with severe and/or cystic acne.  Its active ingredient is Benzoyl Peroxide , which is very strong, and an acne medication I had bad experience with. If you ask me, this should never be used by those with sensitive skin.

Effaclar Mat is the Effaclar product that´s really made for shine and pore minimizing.  But a check on the ingredient list showed Silica which is something that makes my skin react.  In my experience,  products with silica also have this irritating property of forming into flakes which makes applying BB cream/powders/foundations  on top of silica-based moisturizer/primers  a really frustrating process.

Effaclar H is not really for oil control.  It is a balancing moisturizer meant for those who are undergoing Roaccutane treatments or those who are using particularly drying acne regimens.

I chose Effaclar K because its active ingredients are Salicylic Acid and LHA (Lipohydroxy Acid).  Stuff that have been proven effective for prevention of acne  and are, more importantly,  mild enough for my  crazy/sensitive skin.  It also has Zinc, which is a mineral that´s good for the skin,  and it does NOT have Silica. Because I really don´t need a strong anti-acne product and really want just an additional product to control oiliness, this product works beautifully for me.





Why I Love Effaclar K

I am now on my second tube  of Effaclar K.  And  I have just ordered another tube because the free sampler kit is on again.  Sayang naman ang freebie!  Although I have not yet used any of the free travel kits,  I figured these will be perfect for my summer vacation trips in August.

A 30 ml of Effaclar K lasts me about two months.  I use it 2x a day, morning and night.  I really love this product.  The consistency is very light and does not feel heavy on the skin.  On days when I feel a pimple coming, I slab on an extra amount on the particular spot and the Effaclar K stops the pimple from forming. I also noticed that it leaves the skin with a soft velvety feel.  As for my main reason of use,  yes, it definitely keeps the oilies away.

Price:  A 30 ml tube costs 15€ in Spain.   A check at La Roche-Posay´s US site showed that the 30 ml Effaclar K costs $31.  Yikes, about 40% more expensive!  French beauty brands are definitely cheaper in Europe.

Availability:  Not really widely available outside of Europe and the US.  Philippine-based clients can order this or other goodies from La Roche-Posay (or Bioderma/Avene/Vichy)  from the
TLCShop.  The next scheduled spree for European goodies is late June 2014.  For any queries, please contact Brad of TLCShop directly through email:  davaotlcshop@thelittlecoolshop.com

Living With Acne and Scars: My Story

Once upon a time, when I was in high school,  I considered myself pretty.  I was tall and people would tell me I looked like Kuh Ledesma / Marina Benipayo / Ruffa Gutierrez, which thinking back now, was weird, because these three beautiful women don´t really resemble each other.  I suppose what they meant then was that I had the dusky color of Kuh Ledesma, the small oriental eyes of Miss Benipayo, and the facial shape of Ruffa.  My cousins and even taxi drivers tried to prod me  to join beauty contests or try out modelling,  but even then, I was a shy introvert and could not for the life of me, think of going out of my comfort zone,  so I retreated to books and doing good in school.

My journey to ugliness came rolling in college.  It must have been the combination of teenage  hormones, the stress of studying engineering at UP and the psychological fear I had going from a small all-girls' school into the free-for-all, do-what-you-like-as-long-as-you-pass-your-exams culture of UP.  Acne became my one constant, unwanted companion  in college.  It marred my face so horridly that even my cousins, those who just a year before were pushing me to join beauty contests,  commented how my face have "changed".  "Change"  being their gentle way of telling me how  I went from pretty to hideous.

It wasn´t for the lack of effort that my college acne wasn´t treated.  I think I went through three dermatologists all throughout my college years.  All three did nothing but prick my skin every single session.  The word "tiis-ganda" was the perfect word to describe the pain a young pubescent girl has to endure in the hands of a dermatologist who pricks her face to get rid of whiteheads, blackheads, and to push out the pus and little balls of dead skin out of those painful, swollen  zits. With all the meds  I was given,   I became an expert in Acne medications --- Clindamycin Solution,  Azelaic Acid, Erythromycin Solution, Acne Aid Soap, Benzac Wash,  Benzoyl Peroxide of all forms, Salicylic Acid and Glycolic Soaps, I have tried them all.  The dermas I saw while in college  have prescribed combinations of these supposed acne fighters in the hope of getting rid of my acne.

But despite trying out three dermas,  nothing totally eliminated my acne.  There were months when it would go from severe to mild and then all of a sudden I would have this massive flareups of zits.  In desperation,  I even tried to self-medicate with benzoyl peroxide.  Covering my face with the stuff every night in the hope of drying out those big, swollen, painful zits fast.  Well,  I learned too late that my skin does not really agree with benzoyl peroxide.  It left me with dry, scaly skin with dark marks.

The painful thing was,  despite all my effort to clear my pimples,  I would  still  hear random people comment on how terrible my acne was.  As if, I didn't know about it.  It was hard to look at the mirror every day, trying to be brave, trying to be dismissive and nonchalant with the burrowed looks and the turning of heads away from my acne bomb of a face.  Imagine what that does to a girl who is in her late teens.  I remember one time hearing someone on the bus say  "Tignan mo yung dalaga o, buhay pa pero parang naagnas ang mukha" then laughter.    Or that time when someone in an escalator looked at me commented, "Yuck pimples!"  loud enough for other people to hear and for them to also  take a look at  my horrendous face.  People would remark," Sayang ka, maganda ka pa man din sana kaya lang bakit nagkaganyan ang mukha mo?"  I  learned to take them all quietly, gritting my tears, thinking, they're rude and harsh and insensitive, but what can I do? What they're saying was the truth.

College was somewhat depressing for me in part  because the course I was taking was incredibly hard,  but more so  because I felt like a walking monster, ugly as hell.  At an age when I should have been enjoying my youth,  I was secretly hoping for a life where I would never need to leave home and show my face to the world.  Because, here´s what I learned while I was in college,  people look at those with physical deformations, from a disability to  severe acne, with a mixture of pity and dismissal, as if  these these flaws render  us  less of  of a person. Yet even though  I had no love life to talk of in college,   I was lucky to be a part of a large group of friends who took me in,  oozing pimples and all.

After college,  I looked for a new dermatologist, and finally! The good doctor, recognizing how severe my acne was and how sensitive I was to harsh topical medications, ordered me to take  a battery of blood lab tests to check if I could take what was then a new revolutionary drug that could help me get rid of acne for good.  The drug, Roaccutane, was potent and could and cause depression, liver problems and high cholesterol so strict doctor's supervision is needed.  Taking Roaccutane for close to a year was not a walk in the park,  but I must say that it started the turnaround of my skin from severe acne to a more manageable breakout cycle.    These days, Roaccutane is a popular dermatologist prescription for those who have moderate to severe acne,  but this is still a potent drug and must be taken with strict monitoring of the dermatologist.

Roaccutane paved the way for my acne to be manageable, but by then my face have been marked by scars. After the acne treatment  came the nearly impossible task of improving the ugly pitted scars on my face.  I think I have tried it all : subcision, diamond peeling, two sessions of Fraxel, deep peelsand skin needling.  But they have not done anything  remarkable to my scars.  Up to this day I carry these pitted scars on my face,  testimony to my terrible bout with acne.

Acne is an awful disease, acne because not only does it destroy your skin  it can also leave you with psychological stigma. More so if you are left with disfiguring scars.    is neverending.  But it is a battle I have learned to live with.  There are people who at even the age of 60 would still  go and jump into the latest hyped treatment to eliminate acne scars.  A few years ago,  I decided that I do not want to go into that cycle again --- hope, dissilussionment, and sadness.  I told myself,  accept your scars, accept that you will never be that flawless beauty people would fawn over.   And so no,  I have said no to all those beauty treatments that subjects one to days and days of downtime,  no to ablative lasers that practically skins you with the slim hope that your inner skin could produce enough collagen to be more supple and to raise your pits.


Not to say that I have stopped using any beauty products,  I am like any other girl who wants a skincare regimen that can make my skin better.  But I know that these skincare regimens can only do so much.  They can make my skin a bit whiter, a bit brighter,  they can help me prevent pimples and wrinkles from appearing,  but I know that they cannot do anything for the deep scars that are already in my face.

Acne and my scarring changed my personality.  And there are still bad days when I wake up, look in the mirror,  and see nothing but these pits,  but these days are  now few and far between.  And everytime I feel this way,.  I tell myself, yes I am flawed,  but I am still beautiful and I have so much to offer to this world.  And I look at what I have accomplished despite these flaws,  and the other things that I can still do and I settle down into  the rational  realisation that,   hey,  my scars, these are my battle marks.  They show how I have conquered something limiting and how I continue to face the world bravely with hope and dreams despite being imperfect.

And that´s the biggest lesson, the biggest gift horrible acne gave me:  You don´t need to be perfect to be  loved,  to be special or to accomplish something.   Life will gives us curveballs.   My curveball in college was  my acne and scars.  And until now the scars are still with me.  My scars are both  sources of consternation  and a metaphor for how we can go on to follow our dreams if we can just take our limitations as they are.   It took years, but now, older and more mature,   I  have finally come to terms with the fact that I will always have imperfect skin.  And that in the scheme of my life,  it´s not really that big a deal and it will not limit me from becoming my best self.

                                          Acne Survivor:  This is me.  Acne scars, flaws and all.

                   My worst side:  I have particularly deep pitted scars on the left side of my face.


Scars will not kill you  but if you let  them, they may kill your spirit. So be vigilant.  Always remember, it is okay to be imperfect. 

My Expensive Mistake: Clarins Double Serum

The title says it all. I bought this serum for 70€ in November 2013 hoping for the best. I ordered it directly from www.clarins.com and to be fair, my Clarins package came three days after I made my online purchase.


My Clarins Haul

I only paid for the Double Serum but I got a lot of freebies! Mini tubes of their Eye Revive Beauty Flash, Multi-Active Serum, Vital Light Serum, One Step Gentle Cleanser plus a full sized perfumed soap, a10 ml tube of the Eye Contour Gel and a 30 ml Hydra Quench Cream.



Why did I try Clarins? First, because I wanted to try an anti-ageing serum that could control my skin's oiliness. Second, because as per my constant googling, Clarins products use plant-based ingredients, and I figured, that must be good right? Besides, it is Clarins, a popular french brand.
To learn more about the product's potent ingredients, I read this blog.

Of course, I checked the reviews of the Double Serum and found most to be positive. It was also a bonus to know while I was ordering my Double Serum that I could choose the samplers I'd get. As I have ran out of eye creams, my priority was to get the Eye Contour Gel.

The Double Serum is supposed to be both an anti-ageing and a brightening serum. It is called the Double Serum because it has an oily phase and a watery phase. These two phases are stored separately in the serum bottle. To use, pump out the bottle to get a slightly unmixed suspension of the oily phase and the watery phase of the serum. Then you mix them with your fingers, and tap the serum to the face.



I bought the serum in early November and used it twice a day. I thought to myself, I will be able to gauge its effectivity if by December before coming home to the Philippines, my skin is better. Well, what do you know, the first thing I did when I arrived in the Philippines was to go to my dermatologist to have those little pesky whiteheads on my entire t-zone treated! Even the derma remarked how come I got so many tiny whiteheads, when the past year, when I visited her, she remarked how my skin improved :-(

I also tested the Double Serum on my neck, just to convince myself that it was the serum, not my diet or any other stuff I placed in my face, that was causing those tiny eruptions. And true enough, on the second day of my serum application, small rash-like eruptions have appeared on my neck.

The only good thing that came out of my Clarins purchase is the Eye Contour Gel which I am still using until today. I do think it helps with the puffiness. If only it were not too expensive for an eye gel (34€ for a 20 ml tube), I might just consider purchasing once my 10 ml tube is used up.

So goodbye and good riddance to my Clarins Double Serum! I wanted it so much to work but it just isn't for me. Now I am back to the Infracyte Protocol Program recommended by the dermatologist. I think if I ever run wild again, itching to try other products, I will stick with Bioderma and Vichy (which I have used before when I ran out of Infracyte) and stop being swayed by rave reviews of expensive products.

My Staples from Bioderma

I have the ickiest skin ever. At my age (early thirties) I still get a pimple or two during the hot months. That and the fact that my skin goes from being dry and flaky in winter to an over productive oil well in summer. There is no middle ground in this battle at all.

Most of the time, I buy medical grade products to combat my skin's erratic behavior - Kiehl's, Murad, Obagi, and Infracyte, I've tried them all. Of the four, I like Obagi and Infracyte the most. But Obagi is really expensive. So the last time I went to Pinas, I settled on Infracyte as per the recommendation of my doctora. Infracyte being a sort of a milder and cheaper (by about 7k pesos) version of the Obagi Nuderm protocol. Like Obagi though, Infracyte is only sold by dermatologists in the Philippines.

I am almost out of my Infracyte skincare products and I still have four months to go before I go on vacation to the Philippines. That and the fact that because Infracyte has Tretinoin and Hydroquinoine, my skin just can't tolerate Infracyte in the summer months so I've stopped using them at the moment. Using tretinoin during the sweltering summer days in Madrid, even under thick sunblock creams, is like ensuring you'll get a red, baked from the oven, sunburned look.

Thankfully, serendipity and client requests brought me to Bioderma. Bioderma is a French dermatological brand found in most pharmacies in Europe. This brand is known for its Micellar Water cleansers. I have used both variants of the cleansers and reviewed them here. But I have explored beyond Bioderma's cleansing water and have used only Bioderma products for my skincare needs in the past couple of months.

I have stripped down the things I use on my face to these Bioderma goodies:

Bioderma Sensibio H20: The much hyped and raved about micellar water cleanser which I use at night to remove traces of powder and blush. Yes, it works well and does not dry out the skin. Hypoallergenic and fragrance-free. Price: 17€ for 500 ml

Bioderma Sebium Cleanser: A cleanser that removes oil and impurities. Nothing really spectacular about this cleanser. I just like it because it has no fragrance and is non-drying. You also need just a single pea-sized blue blob to cleanse your whole face so it's very cost effective. Paraben-free and hypoallergenic. Price: 17€ for 200 ml.

Bioderma White Objective Serum: The one muck I plomp on my face every night. A fragrance-free lightening serum with vitamin C and alpha hydroxyl acids. The vitamin C comes in a separate vial, and you have to mix the vitamin C with the AHA base, prior to using. I suppose, this it to ensure that the vitamin C remains potent longer. Price: 32€ for 30 ml.

They're not exactly cheap. These three products cost about 65€ total but considering that these are the only products I use for my skincare and these last at least three months, I think 65€ is a reasonable expense for dependable skincare, no?

A note about the White Objective Serum, it did not really lighten my face. It just brightened it a bit. But the thing I like about this serum is that it has this tightening effect and does help in lightening discolorations. If you are familiar with M2 Skin Refinish, the serum's texture is the same as M2's, except Bioderma doesn't sting unlike M2.

I suppose when the cold months come, I can start using tretinoin again to combat time and aging lol. But I am enjoying a relatively easy-peasy, no brainer skin regimen at the moment, thanks to Bioderma.

Dry in the Sun: A Review of Vichy Laboratoires' Anti-Perspirant Treatment

The summer season in Spain is worse than the hottest days in the Philippines. The temperature rises up to 40 degrees Celsius and the days are unforgivably long and infernal! The sun rises at 6 AM and dusk comes only at 10 PM. Even though I usually work an extra hour at the office, at 7 PM, as I bravely walk my way to my house, the sun is still at its fiercest. Madrid at 7 PM in the summer is like 12 noon on the hottest summer day in the Philippines. It is so hot that my skin has darkened by a few shades despite my religious use of sunblock and my avoidance of going out on weekends because of the the dizzyingly hot weather. I can only blame this melanin-dose to my daily thirty minute walk from the office to my home.

The days are so hot that even my trusted deodorant of choice can no longer keep up its sweat proof promise. I have noticed that after walking 30-40 minutes out in this hot summer sun, my underarms go moist and icky.


My once trusted deodorant: Vichy Laboratoires Stress Resist Deodorant (Made in France)


Last week, while in France, the friend and I dropped by a pharmacy to buy our Bioderma hauls and I came across another Vichy Product that's made especially for underarm perspiration. I was so intrigued by its promise that I bought one to try. What makes this antiperspirant different from my old Vichy Stress Resist deodorant and the other so-called "24 protection" deos available in shops and drugstores all over?


The old and the new. My old and new antiperspirant of choice

Well, first off, the Anti-perspirant Treatment is an odorless cream. A thin layer must be used at night before sleeping. In the morning, you take a bath then start your day! You do not have to reapply the antiperspirant cream (or any other deo) again!

Second, it's a treatment program to stop excessive perspiration, similar to the now hard to find, pharmacy grade DriClor. In the first two weeks of treatment, the Vichy Anti-perspirant Treatment must be used four times a week, then from the third week onwards, it's to be used only twice a week.

Here's a photo of the actual instruction for use as printed on the product box:




I've been using the Vichy Anti-Perspiration Treatment since Sunday, applying it after my evening shower. The next day, I don't use anything for my underarm and surprisingly, my underarms have been absolutely dry! Sweat proof for the past four days! Hurray! An awesome product for less than 15€!

I researched a bit about its formulation and this is what I found out: The treatment contains micro-refined aluminum sesquichlorohydrate, the active antiperspirant agent in its formulation. It has no alcohol, no paraben, is tested to be hypoallergenic and is made with thermal spring water from Vichy, France.

At 12€ for the 30 ml cream, it might seem a bit too expensive, but considering that one will only use a very thin layer for 2x a week (after the first two weeks), it's actually value for money. I also checked Amazon US and it is sold there for 24$. Almost 2x the price in Europe!

PRODUCT SUMMARY: Vichy France AntiPerspiration Treatment
7 Days Treatment 30 ml

Country of Origin: France
Dispensation Form: Cream type (odorless, white color)
Allergens: Product is guaranteed to be hypoallergenic, paraben free, alcohol free
Availability: 5 pieces arriving in TLCShop Paranaque in October
To reserve or order in bulk, please use our TLCShop Query Form
TLC Retail Price: PHP 750.00 (Limited stocks arriving in Oct. 2013)

How I Conquered Hair Loss: Pilexil

For a long time I was scared that I was going bald.

It began in Korea when I noticed that my hair was falling in clumps in the shower and my scalp was itchy as hell. I went to a dermatologist in Korea and he gave me an anti-fungal lotion to apply to my scalp 2x a day. It helped if I used it, but because the lotion had steroids, I could not use it for a long time and it gave me pimples.

I also tried all the anti-fungal shampoos available in Korea. I even bought pricey shampoos such as Kerastase's white Specifique anti-hairfall line and Kiehl's Argan Smoothing Shampoo. Believe me when say that I tried every dandruff and anti-hairfall shampoo imaginable in K.

Most times, the anti-dandruff shampoos I tried worked only for a few weeks, and then my hair became immune to them and the hair fall and itchiness resumed.

When I went to Spain, I armed myself with sachets of Nizoral, but of course a couple of months later, all my stocks were gone and the hair fall and itchiness came back.

But then I discovered Pilexil.

Pilexil is an anti-hairfall treatment range made by the Spanish pharmaceutical company, Lacer. It is a pharmacy grade shampoo specifically made to help with hair fall. I googled it first before buying and saw some great reviews in Amazon US.

Pilexil has a complete line of hairloss treatment products: Shampoo, spray, ampoules and even oral supplements.


I, however, only use the hair shampoo. Though the last time I bought my Pilexil shampoo ( my second bottle!), I received some hair ampoules for free!


What it's made of: Serenoa Serrulata (Saw Palmetto), Zinc, Vitamins, and Conditioners.
Pilexil is formulated to maintain the hair pH at 5.5.


My current stash of Shampoos: a still unfinished Kiehl's Shampoo, a recently emptied Pilexil 300 ml Shampoo, and my newly bought Pilexil 500 ml Shampoo.

I'm into my second bottle of Pilexil. I realized how I have depended on Pilexil when I went on a long trip ( 5 days) recently and used the complementary shampoos in the hotel. I came back to Madrid with burning, itchy scalp, dandruff and more falling hair.

I have also noticed that my hair has become finer and more manageable after using Pilexil. Note that I have my normally curly hair rebonded every time I go home to the Philippines, and usually, after three months, the roots start to curl and my hair begins the transformation into one frizzy mess.

It's been six months since I've had my hair treated and thanks to Pilexil, it still manageable with very minimal hair fall! I use Pilexil everyday because I noticed that if I skip a day, my dandruff flares up and I get itchy scalp.


Pilexil Prices in Europe (Spain)

Pilexil AntiCaida Ampoules (15 ampoules) Box 29.00€

Pilexil AntiCaida Capsules (to be taken orally) 50 capsules 19.00€

Pilexil AntiCaida Shampoo 300 ml 13.00€

Pilexil AntiCaida Shampoo500 ml 500 ml 14.75 €

Pilexil AntiCaida Spray 120 ml 31.00 €

A Review of Bioderma Sebium Micellar Water: The Good and The Bad

My road to product discovery is often borne out of a client's request for a particular item. And that is how I discovered Bioderma Sebium Micellar Cleanser. Special thanks Kat for the heads up on Bioderma!

What is it?
It's a toner-like cleanser and makeup remover specifically made for oily skin. The word "micellar" is the key. It simply means that the solution is made up of tiny suspensions called micelles, made up of cleansing oils, suspended in water. The droplets of oil are so small that they form a uniform phase at least to the naked eye.
That is the key why Bioderma's Micellar cleansers are so efficient at cleansing the skin and yet they still do not leave that greasy afterfeel one often gets from using cleansing oils. And unlike normal cleansers, the Micellar Water is alcohol-free, so there is no drying effect.

I think of the Bioderma Cleansing Water as a hybrid of cleansing oil and an alcohol-free cleanser with the gentle qualities of a toner. Makes sense? :)

How to Use
Place a few drops on a cotton pad, use on face. Done!


Before


After

Variants
There are actually two variants of Bioderma Micellar Water. The Sensibio (the red one) is fragrance-free and is formulated for sensitive and/or normal skin. The Sebium (the green one) has a slight flowery fragrance and is formulated with additional sebum (oil!) removing properties for acne-prone and oily skin.

I use the Sebium variant since my skin tends to be oily nowadays.

Where it's Made
It is made by Bioderma, a French dermatologic company based in Lyon, France. They develop dermatologic products for dermatologists and skin centers. Sensibio and Sebium are their brand lines which can be bought in Pharmacies and Parapharmacies all over Europe. It's like their drugstore brand, in the same price range as other European drugstore brands such as Avene, La Roche Posay and Vichy, which are all French drugstore brands widely available in Europe.

Price
Bioderma products are not cheap. The 500 ml bottle of Sensibio or Sebium Water, TLC Shop sells for 1300.00 retail. The trial size 100 ml bottle is sold for 400.00 retail. I get these directly from the pharmacy. I am hoping that these are at least 2-3€ cheaper in Lyon, because if they are, I will hoard bottles of Bioderma in mid-June on my weekend trip to Lyon, France.

However, I noticed that it only takes 2-3 drops of the solution to cleanse the face. So the small 100 ml bottle that I use on my trips is still half full. If one can afford to spend a little bit more for the convenience of using only one product for cleansing, then it's a good product to splurge on.

My Thoughts
Does it clean as it promises? Yes and No. It was the only facial cleansing product I brought with me to Granada and I was happy that at the end of each long, walking filled day, all I needed to do to clean my face was put a few drops of Bioderma on a cotton pad and rub it on. No cleanser and water necessary. It is a perfect item to include to one's travel kit. When I feel I placed more gunk on my face (i.e. used foundation and blush and primer), I cleanse twice, that is, two cotton pads of Bioderma to ensure all gunk is removed.
One thing though, it cannot remove waterproof eye makeup, so if you are using waterproof mascara, use a dedicated eye makeup remover for that.

Do I use it every day? No, I use it when I have trips and when I am too tired (or too lazy) to wash my face after a day at the office. In a week, I use it about 2-3x. The rest of the week, I use my normal facial cleanser. Bioderma is not cheap so I only use it when I need its convenience.

Pimple Breakout Rating
I did not cause me any breakouts and I do feel that it does have a good balancing effect for oily skin: i.e. less oil. However, some people find the subtle floral scent too much and prefer to use the fragrance-free Sensibio.

To summarize,

The Good
Great cleansing power, non-oily, very convenient. It does what it says which is to cleanse and balance out the greasiness of oily skin.

The Bad
It's not cheap, not widely available (though you can preorder from TLC, and there are incoming on hand stocks in the April box) and not effective for removing waterproof makeup.

Chocolate, Almond Milk and a Whiff of Musk: BATH THERAPIES

The past few days have been really busy. I finally moved from the hotel to my apartment in Madrid . Moving houses in the middle of the work week is such a hassle. Last night I was up until 2 AM at my new apartment unpacking my stuff .

Long days like these and nothing is more stress-relieving and pleasurable than a long drawn bath to blank off my mind from worries and soothe my tired limbs.

Thankfully, the apartment provided by the company I work for has a bathtub which makes bath time more pleasurable. A tub + scented body washes + Yiruma's music = my current favorite mode of stress relief.

These are a few of my current bath therapy items. All items are Made in EUROPE but are surprisingly not too pricey. Seriously, I was surprised how inexpensive and big the bodycare products are in Spain. 750 ml for 3.0€?!When I lived in Korea, a 450 ml bodywash from Skinfood costs at least 5.0€ .


Instituto Espanol Chocolate and Glycerine Body Wash 750 ml ( 3.0 € per 750 ml, Made in Spain) ~ I saw this at Carrefour and it was choco love at first whiff. Instituto Espanol is a brand more famous for its line of body and skincare products for atopic dermatitis, but the brand also has less expensive lines such as their body wash lines which are sold in big supermarkets and pharmacies. I have been looking for something similar to the now discontinued Skinfood Cappucino Body Scrub, and I think this is it. It's a body wash so you don't need a bathtub to use it though I sometimes use it for bubble baths. Because it has a lot of cocoa butter it is labeled as a moisturizing body wash. Chocolate indulgence wihout the calories! There is something so exquisite about taking a bath and smelling all chocolatey and yummy, no?



Le Petit Marseillais Leche de Almendras Dulces Body Wash (650 ml for 3.20€, Made in France) It's a Milk and Almond scented body wash made for children. The brand, Le Petit Marseillais, is actually owned by Johnson & Johnson but I think that this body care brand for kids is only marketed in Europe at the moment. I love this brand, all the items are formulated for kids so these are very mild products. The prices of Le Petit Marseillais goodies, while not the cheapest, are reasonable. I've tried both the Vanilla Milk (in yellow bottle) and this variant of their bodywash but I like this more because it smells like candy. I love using this body wash with Denenes Agua Colonia at night. I guess, in my delusion, this would help me sleep (and smell!) like a baby. :)


Veckia Relaxing Body Salts in Rose Musk (500 g, 2.90€). It's a product specifically made for long soaks in the bathtub. The scent is not too strong and really clings to the skin. Not for everyday use since a bottle will give you only about 10 bath soaks. So I try to make a bottle last me a month. The one in the picture is my third bottle of Veckia. There's another variant but I like the rose petal scent too much to venture into trying out the other Marine-inspired, green colored salt variant.

These are my bath joys at the moment, how about you? Do you love taking long baths too?


Note: I made this post fourteen days ago but I only got my internet connection at the apartment today, so it's a bit overdue. The pictures above are the pictures of the items when they were newly bought.
BEFORE (Newly bought stocks):


Here's the AFTER :-)