3-in-1 Hadalabo Perfect Gel ★

I'm a fan of Hadalabo's products, they're effective, good quality and inexpensive. Their Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion was the first ever lotion I ever tried, and the Hadalabo Skin Conditioner was another amazing item I bought a lot of back ups for ★ Now, I've discovered yet another amazing find, the 3-in-1 Perfect Gel. It can be used as an essence, sleeping mask and moisturizer, though I mostly use it as a sleeping mask.

The jar, inside and the gel. 

It comes in a simple plastic cylindrical jar, which I'm not really a fan of due to hygiene hazards...So if you're a stickler for cleanliness and hate contamination like me, use a spatula or spoon to scoop out what you need, and always make sure it's clean before dipping into the jar.

The ingredients list, all conveniently listed in English. Like many of Hadalabo's products, the Perfect gel is mineral oil-free, colorant-free, fragrance-free and suitable for sensitive skin. The expiry date is also a long way away, March 2016. 

More into the ingredients. 

Hadalabo's star product is the Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion, and many of the other items in their lineup also feature Hyaluronic Acid. The Hadalabo Perfect Gel contains 3 types of Hyaluronic Acid: 

★ Nano Hyaluronic Acid

★ Super Hyaluronic Acid

★ Hyaluronic Acid

These deeply penetrates the skin to provide intense hydration. It also contains Ceramide, an ingredient which moisturizes deeply and prevents moisture loss. Another key ingredient is Collagen, which has long been known to improve skin's elasticity and radiance. Combined, the ingredients in the gel penetrates deeply into the skin to provide long-lasting hydration, and forms a barrier on the surface of the skin to prevent any moisture loss. 

Testing the texture.

The gel is semi-transparent and light in texture, applies very smoothly without leaving any greasy or sticky residue, and is easily absorbed into the skin. I do feel that it's too thick/rich to be used as a day moisturizer or essence, especially given Singapore's heat and humidity, but as a sleeping mask it does its job very well. 

Sleep is when our body repairs itself, so what better way to boost regeneration that during the optimal time of the day? I generously apply the Perfect Gel onto my face and neck, massage it in, go to sleep, and wake up to soft and radiant skin! I could really see a difference in moisture levels and skintone the morning after, all my dehydration lines are gone and my skin is smooth and supple.

Retailing at S$35.90 for 100g of product, the Hadalabo Perfect Gel is a steal and well worth its price, given its effectiveness.

The kind folks from Hadalabo also sent this panda eye mask, it's soo adorable! And extremely soft and fluffy, perfect texture to induce sleep~ I foresee this tagging along with me on many airplane trips!

klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream SPF 40 PA++

I love trying different BB creams and foundations, and something I recently added to my stash is the klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream SPF 40, PA++. I've read many positive reviews of older klairs items by Korean bloggers in the past, but I've never tried the brand because it's difficult to get outside of Korea...It wasn't even available on Gmarket Korea (´Д`)

Packaging.

First impression: I love the minimalist packaging, it looks very chic. The long tube shape also feels nice to hold it in my hands ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

This product can be used by both women and men,

check out the video of Tay applying the BB cream and other makeup on her boss, Eddie!

The opening of the tube is long and narrow,
which allows for good control of the amount of product you want to get.

This BB cream's main functions are:

✿ SPF40 PA++

✿ Whitening

✿ Wrinkle care

✿ Sebum control

All functions are certified by the KFDA (Korean Food and Drug Administration). 

Details/information on the packaging.

The BB cream is made in Korea, and expires 12 months after opening.

Great news for non-Korean speakers/readers, they have English instructions and ingredients list on their packaging, and it's proper English not Engrish^^ They even leave an email address for you to report adverse reactions, very thoughtful. 

For people with sensitive skin who might be worried about the suitability of the product, here's some information about klairs products in general (not just the BB cream):

☆ Low-irritation cosmetics specialized for sensitive/troubled skin.

☆ Collaboration with professional dermatologic cosmetics

☆ No alcohol

☆ No animal testing

☆ No paraben

☆ No artificial coloring

☆ Eco-friendly

☆ Minimal fragrance

The tube.

The first time I've seen BB cream come in a tube like this, it really reminds me of a toothpaste tube! But I love the long design, personally it's more convenient and aesthetically pleasing to me^^ Plus there's the line "You look so wonderful just the way you are", which is always nice to see when I pick up the tube to use it.

klairs' recommended instructions on how to apply, I'm sorry if my translation are a bit off!

For me I do step 1, apply dots on my cheeks, nose, forehead, chin, then use the Sigma F80 flat top kabuki brush to blend everything on.

Oiliness test:

It's not as oily as the ElishaCoy CC Cream, so this would be suitable for daily use in tropical weather countries like Singapore. It's not very dry , and would be great for ladies working in an air-conditioned environment. If you don't work indoors, I would set this with loose powder because it does tend to melt after a few hours of wear outdoors...

Consistency test:  It's quite thick and creamy, but is non-sticky and blends into skin easily.

Personally, I prefer creamier BB creams because they blend easier on my skin and end up less streaky. Streakiness is a problem I encounter with products having thinner consistencies...anyone else face the same problem? Although the klairs BB cream has a thick consistency, it doesn't cake and it blends well into my skin.

Coverage comparison.
The BB cream has buildable light-medium coverage and leaves a dewy glow.

It can cover some freckles and redness, but not totally, so you might need extra concealer if you have a lot of redness. The product has a smooth, dewy finish, and if you work in an air-conditioned environment you can probably forgo loose powder when using this.

Right now WISHtrend.com has the klairs BB cream on offer at a 20% discount, going for USD18.50.

http://www.wishtrend.com/beauty-steal/587--klairs-illuminating-supple-blemish-cream.html

I don't know how long the offer will last, but the regular price is USD22.99.

Some of klairs' other bestsellers are the Rich Moist Soothing Cream and Rich Moist Soothing Serum.
I've read lots of Korean reviews on these^^

But the item that totally caught my eye was the CHERRY BLOSSOM AND ROSE FACIAL MIST
http://www.wishtrend.com/toner-mist/262--klairs-essential-facial-mist-cherry-blossom-rose.html

Almost all my Korean friends carry around some sort of facial mist to refresh their faces throughout the day.  Feels really good to spray ♡ I used to use Avene's Thermal Water, but now I'm currently using Innisfree Green Tea Mineral Mist (smells great!) and Hanskin Hyaluron Facial Mist.

Anyway, you can use the code "RFXLSCOZ" at checkout for a USD3 voucher. 

- Minimum USD20 order

- Expires end of 2013

- Can combine with other vouchers

If you live in Singapore, WISHTrend also has a Qoo10/Gmarket shop to cater to Singaporeans. They've narrowed the selection to their more popular items, so not everything on the WISHTrend website will be there. But they often have promotions and special deals, so the prices come up less than the main site prices.

za 15th Anniversary ♡

2013 marks za's 15th anniversary, and what are birthdays without parties and cake? 

The theme was pink and yellow!

I remember my first encounter with za, waaay back in the year 2000, when I was just 10. The first za product I ever used: their Two-duo Lip Gloss. Each large tube of gloss had two colors, and as a 10-year old I was so fascinated because when you squeezed it, a bit of both colors came out, and you got a magical mixed color! ♡ (Credits to Google for these images of the gloss, I don't think I even started using the Internet or had a digital camera in 2000^^)

Instead of cake, there was a lovely selection of pies and drinks at the event, which was held at Window Sill Pies, a quaint little cafe with an amazing selection of pies~ ♥ I tried the Funny Apple Pie and Banana Brittle Pie, yumms. 

Dangling from the ceiling of the cafe were adorable decorations featuring illustrations by Naho Ogawa!

A Tokyo-born freelance illustrator, Naho Ogawa graduated from the prestigious Parson's School of Design in New York. While still in college, she collaborated with Anna Sui to design T-shirts! I love her illustrations, they're so sweet and delightful, and I love the style of how her colors sometimes exceed the black "outlines". Her works have also been featured in Vogue Bambini Italia and Vogue Girl Korea.

To commemorate its 15th birthday, za will be releasing a super cute, limited edition foundation case designed by Naho Ogawa...can you spot it amongst the sea of cuteness?

Awesome pink handmade "cake" decorated with some of za's current best-selling products.

And topping the cake, the lovely foundation case!

The foundation casing is for za's Perfect Fit Two-way Foundation, which is formulated with hyaluronic acid and collagen for all-day moisture and hydration. It provides decent UV protection with SPF20 PA++. It also has pore and oil control properties to keep skin matte and fresh. 

The 10 functions the foundation claims to provide:

★ Spreads lightly ★

★ Applies smoothly ★

★ High coverage ★

★ Even finish ★

★ Reduces pore visibility ★

★ Evens skintone ★

★ Corrects dull skin ★

★ Non-greasy over time ★

★ High staying power ★

★ Retains brightness ★

Close up of the uber cute limited edition 15th anniversary foundation case.

Love the colors, illustrations and girlishness of the design ♥ I'm definitely a girly girl, so anything this sweet, pink, colorful and pretty gets my stamp of approval ☆ Mark your calendars for 4th July 2013, for that's when the adorable foundation case will be launched in Watsons stores island-wide. It will retail for S$9.90, so grab it while you can as it's limited edition! 

V 10 Plus, the World's 1st Skin Supplement Concept

I first came to know of V 10 Plus a few years ago, after seeing some colorful bottles on a Japanese friend's vanity desk. At that time I didn't know what they were, but the cute little colorful bottles were just so pretty, and that image of colorful vials have since stayed imprinted in my head^^ Never knew that the company's headquarters are actually in Singapore!

The whole range of V 10 Plus serums, very colorful! Evokes a sense of happiness, like when you see a rainbow~ Last month, they had a bloggers event at Spa Symphony, where they gave an introduction to the brand and explained their concept/philosophy: "Beautiful skin = clean, bright, shining skin even without makeup."

The CEO and founder of V 10 Plus, Ms Akiko Yokota was speaking to introduce the brand and their products. You'll never guess her age, her skin looks so good! The 10 points the brand emphasizes on are:

★ No parabens
★ No artificial coloring
★ No mineral oil
★ No chemical fragrance
★ Water-based
★ Customized serums for 10 skin problems
★ Visible results in just 10 days
★ Dermatologist-tested
★ Color therapy from colorful bottles

★ Made in Japan 

About the color therapy point, I think color therapy actually works, or at least to me! In daily life, I enjoy making my possessions/surroundings colorful and pretty, because that makes me happier...for some reason. I'm a very visual person, when I do note-taking I need to have colorful headlines or different colors to highlight different things, or I won't pay much attention to it! Colorful or aesthetically pleasing things make me happy and give me a greater sense of well-being ♥

V 10 Plus stands for Variety 10 Plus, because there are 10 varieties of serums, which are can be supplements to any skincare regime. There are 10 varieties of serums in the product lineup: 

♥ PYCNOGENOL (red) - for anti-oxidation. Contains pine bark extract from Bordeaux.
♥ AMINO (orange) - for treating dryness and roughness. Contains 8 amino acids.
♥ VITAMIN C (yellow) - for pimples and pores
♥ COLLAGEN (light green) - for wrinkles and elasticity. Contains marine collagen from sea bream scale.
♥ CERAMIDE (dark green) - for dry and sensitive skin. Contains vegetable ceramide from rice polishings.
♥ LICORICE (dark blue) - for irritation and inflammation. Contains licorice from a pea family plant.
♥ HYALURONIC ACID (light blue) - for hydration. Contains sodium hyaluronate.
♥ PLACENTA (purple) - for whitening
♥ VITAMIN A (pink) - for eye area
♥ BIO CELL (peach) - for DNA repair. Contains 8 active ingredients, 2 of which are Nobel Prize ingredients (EGF and Fullerene).

A "Consultation Sheet" to identify your skin concerns and to determine which serum is most suitable for you.

V 10 Plus' #1 bestselling serum, the Hyaluronic Acid Serum. It's non-sticky and is very easily absorbed into the skin, leaving it hydrated. Comes in a squeeze-dropper bottle, and you only need three drops for each use. I must say that I like this product, it really rehydrated some dry patches on my cheeks. After it's absorbed into the skin, the next step of skincare goes on with no problems either, so the whole supplement concept totally works. I use it in the morning before sunblock and BB cream/foundation.

I use very little skincare products, currently I only have a night routine - Lancôme's Advanced Génifique and Lancôme's Visionnaire. Every three days I'll do a sheet mask. Twice a week I'll do a wash-off clay mask (Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Ash). Sometimes I'll use SKII's Facial Treatment Essence as a toner, or soak a mask sheet with it and mask.

Directions: Before using any other skincare, apply three drops all over face and neck, morning and night.

Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Glycerin, Lysolecithin, Carbomer, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate.

Other products in their skincare lineup 

Back row: Brightening Cleanser, Okinawa Deep Sea Water Mask, Cleansing Ceramide Gel

Middle row: Water Base Peeling, 5 in 1 White Gel

Front row: Water Base Sun Block SPF 40/PA+++

There's also a Vitamin C Night Cream and Brightening Serum.

The Water Base Peeling is a peeling gel containing rice bran extracts and seaweed extracts to effectively remove dead skin cells without harsh scrubbing. It's suitable for all skin types, even acne-plagued and sensitive skin. Gets rid of dead skin quite effectively, revealing smooth and soft skin. And since it's water-based, there's no tight/stripped feeling.

However, the left side of my face broke out very horribly after using this, so I stopped using it. First time I've ever broken out from something, and I'm still waiting for the scars to disappear :/ It was fine for a friend with oily skin though, maybe it's too much for normal to dry skin?

Directions: Take an appropriate amount and spread onto cleansed and dry skin. Leave for 5 seconds. Gently massage with finger tips in circular motions. After a while, dead skin cells in the form of tiny flakes with appear. Rinse flakes off thoroughly with water.

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Acrylates, Dicocodimonium chloride, Steartrimonium bromide, Algae extract, Rice bran extract, Butylene glycol, Isopropyl alcohol, Phenoxyethanol.

The event was held at Spa Symphony. Ceilings of the spa rooms. To create the feeling as if you're relaxing under trees, very pretty! 

If you're free, please help me like/vote for this picture on Facebook, and stand a chance to win mystery items from V 10 Plus~ ♡ 3 lucky voters will win a mystery gift.

For more information on V 10 Plus, check out their website or Facebook page.

Complete list of locations on where you can purchase their products internationally. 

V 10 Plus has won many awards in Asia and in Finland. Anyone from Finland seen this around or tried it before? Would love to know what you think! ♡

WISHTrend + ElishaCoy Always Nuddy CC Cream Review

Just got the ElishaCoy Always Nuddy CC Cream from WISHTrend~♬ Yepp that's right, move over BB cream, now comes the CC cream craze! After an over-saturation of BB creams in the market, many Korean cosmetics companies have moved on to coming up with their version of CC creams (Etude House, Innisfree, Tony Moly, Banila Co, to name a few). Even Western brands have some too! (Lancome, Chanel, smashbox, Clinique, etc). I personally don't think CC cream is a substitute for BB cream, but instead it's a complement to BB cream, you'll see why later. First, I'll introduce WISHTrend, and you can watch their super easy-to-understand video introducing CC creams vs BB creams!

If you've read one of my Gmarket Tips from a looong time ago, local Korean cosmetics brands are divided into several categories like roadshow, word-of-mouth, brands under larger companies etc. WISHTrend.com is an online portal selling Korean cosmetics, stocking mostly word-of-mouth brands like ElishaCoy, Skin79, Tosowoong, Skinsmo, Ciracle, etc; and Korean makeup artist-produced brands like Liz K and Seo Su Jin Palette. Basically, brands that are difficult to get outside of Korea.

Some of the brands available on WISHTrend.

Their mission is to "Help you become more beautiful." Believing that all women desire to be better and more beautiful, WISHTrend aims to be a place where you can find the best solution for being a better you. Though located in Gangnam, Seoul, WISHtrend ships worldwide and provides free shipping with orders over US$70. Though they're a Korean company, the site's entirely in English! They give freebies/samples with every order, right now they're offering a USD3 voucher to all new and existing users, just use the code "RFXLSCOZ" at checkout (minimum USD20 order).

Not just another store, WISHTrend also has a YouTube channel (WISHTrendTV), where they regularly upload videos featuring Korean cosmetic trends. Best of all, their videos are in English~ Check out their introduction to/ comparison of  CC creams from Banila Co, Tonly Moly and ElishaCoy:

The current host, Tay, is such a joy to watch~! ♥
The previous host, Liah, was adorable too ♡

Anyway, onto the ElishaCoy Always Nuddy CC Cream review. A noticeable difference in CC cream is that while BB cream is skin-colored, CC cream is usually white. But the micro-encapsulated color spheres in the white CC cream are activated by the warmth of your skin to change and blend into your skin naturally.

Another main difference is that BB creams offer coverage, building on the concept of foundation with skincare benefits; whereas CC creams focus more on the skincare benefits part, like hydration/ moisturization. Hence, most CC creams offer minimal coverage.

Description and benefits of the CC cream.
The ElishaCoy Always Nuddy CC Cream has a 10-in-1 formula that claims to have the functions of:
★ Whitening
★ Anti-wrinkle
★ UV Protection
★ Hydration
★ Correcting skin texture
★ Correcting skin tone
★ Covering imperfections
★ Long-lasting
★ Excellent application
★ Making skin look instantly refreshed

Consistency test: It's quite runny, not very thick, and extremely easy to spread.

Left to right: [1] Out of tube, [2] Spread, [3] Blended.

As you can see, it totally matches my skin tone after blending, and has a soft sheen. It's also very moisturizing and hydrating, so if you're gonna be in an air-conditioned place most of the day, this is great. However it  might be too rich if you're not, especially since Singapore's humid weather is such a bane...T_T The CC cream provides SPF30 PA++ sun protection, which is fairly decent, though I would still use sunscreen with higher SPF/ PA.

When I wiped the back of my hand with a tissue, the product that got wiped of was skin-colored. So you can see that within just a matter of seconds, the color of the CC cream changed from white to a color that totally matched my skin.

For me, this CC cream works great as a base/primer, and with BB cream over it the BB cream applies smoother and lasts longer, for a more flawless finish. I wouldn't use the CC cream on its own, because it has very little coverage, and I need coverage for redness...Overall, I think the ElishaCoy CC cream is good as a primer/base/moisturizer, but is definitely not a substitute for BB cream unless you have really good, even-toned skin or don't require coverage.

This is the first CC cream I've tried, so I've got nothing to compare it with at the moment. However I will be getting the new Innisfree Real Skin CC cream from a friend soon, so I'll update and compare when I try that ♥

Anyway, I was browsing through WISHTrend and came across a couple of other items of interest:

ElishaCoy 3D Spin Cleaner 

A rotating, vibrating facial cleaner that's kind of like a Clarisonic Mia. And it's pink! 

The bristles look really soft and finer than that of the Clarisonia Mia, 

and it comes with two power settings, low and high.

Looks awesome doesn't it! Definitely want to try ♥

Skin79 BB Facer 
A vibrating puff  to help spread foundation on more evenly. 
Hanskin has one of these too, saw it when I was in Seoul last year!
Worth a try as well~ (^^)

O.S.T Original Pure Vitamin C20 Serum
A serum containing 20% pure Vitamin C,
it first started selling at Shinsegae (department store in Korea),
and sold so well that it's commonly just called "신세계 빨간병", or "Shinsegae red bottle".

Ciracle Pimple Solution CC Powder
(Ciracle = Ciramisu + miracle? Hahaha, just kidding!)
A concealer + treatment to cover up blemishes whist treating them.
A mixture of liquid + powder, looks promising~

If you live in Singapore, WISHTrend also has a Qoo10/Gmarket shop to cater to Singaporeans. They've narrowed the selection to their more popular items, so not everything on the WISHTrend website will be there. But they often have promotions and special deals, so the prices come up less than the main site prices.

Check out their Facebook pages for your region:

Wishtrend Global/ Korea || Wishtrend Singapore ||  Wishtrend Thailand || Wishtrend France 

Wishtrend Japan || Wishtrend Taiwan || Wishtrend UK

Aerial Yoga! St. Ives Ambassadors YogaFly

Way back in January, St. Ives was searching for girls to be their first batch of Brand Ambassadors, and since I absolutely adore their Apricot Scrub, I just had to try my luck! Years before I even started using the Apricot Scrub, my family was already aboard the St. Ives ship; in particular my dad had been using their Hair Repair Thickening Shampoo since I was less than 10; its smell is still ingrained in my nose hahaha. Sadly they discontinued that product a few years ago (´Д`) Anyway, this was the picture I submitted! And a few weeks later, I was so happy when I got the email saying I had been chosen~

They organized a little get-to-know-each-other session in the form of a yoga class at UpsideMotion. Not just any yoga class, but YogaFly - aerial yoga! With the help of a stretchy hammock for support, you can do a whole bunch of acrobatic poses and "fly" in the air~ And because there's the hammock to support your weight, a lot of inversion/upside-down poses can be done, which decompress your spine and help alleviate back pain. Plus, it felt really amazing to swing and flip in the air!

Before the actual session I was looking at UpsideMotion's website and Facebook page, and when I saw the pictures of their classes I was thinking, OMG, it looks terribly hard and possibly even painful? But you don't even need any yoga experience to try aerial yoga! Just have faith in the hammock ♪(*´ω｀*) And voila, we were doing those actual poses that I had thought were super hard! Needless to say, despite the sweat and initial fear of dropping, it was an extremely enjoyable experience. 

The lady in pink was our instructor for the session, Saniya. She's super cute and really nice! Aerial yoga was so fun, I'd definitely try it again someday. Pleasantly relaxing and great for destressing; my joints felt good and the tension was gone. Though over the next two days my upper arm/thigh muscles ached sooo much...because I'm not a very active person and lead a very sedentary lifestyle (^^") 

I tried regular yoga for the first time last week, it's not as fun as aerial yoga but still relaxing! Found out I'm a lot more flexible than I thought, though I can't bend backward enough to connect the back of my head to the soles of my feet. Gonna try kickboxing soon cos I received a free pass, hope I don't die hahaha!