Lancome--mascara

Love this mascara.

My experience with it

makes eyelashes:

lush

darker

longer looking

short and sweet but this baby works it by itself. At least for me anyways!

One Stop Face Cleanser

At the end of the day, I just want to hurry into bed with that absolutely FANTASTIC husband of mine. Unfortunately, still have to wash off the day before I lay my head on my pillow. Used to use a separate eye make-up remover to take off the eye makeup and mascara before washing my face with the other cleanser I used back then, then I found this... Neutrogena One-Step Gentle Cleanser. It's about $7-8 at most drugstores and it really takes off both the face (I use tinted moisturizer) and eye makeup, and yup, mascara. Best of all, it really is gentle - I've had it on my lids to take off the liner/shadow and just like baby shampoo - no tears. Doesn't over-dry my skin, but still feels really clean when I wash the cleanser away.

Suncreen part deux

Yep another sunscreen one. But this one is tinted! Ok so I have a confession to make, I have just recently started to do all the skincare stuff--I was always a bit apprehensive on putting too much stuff on my face. This all stems from when I was a kid to seeing adults who had a full face of makeup on and then one day seeing them with nothing on--pale, yellow, washed out. I didn't want that to be me. Fortunately, with a bit of education I realized a bit of that had to do with not putting on primer before the foundation. Did you know that? I just found that out. Anyways, the reason behind this is that if you just put on the foundation, it soaks into your skin and seeps into your pores (even with your moisturizer and sunscreen on your face) leaving that "lovely" patches of foundation left over color on your skin.
So basically with the use of the primer, it provides an outer coating over your skin to protect the foundation from seeping into your pores and also provides a nice even coverage. My friend recommended smashbox's primer, she said it feels silky smooth and not that tack-like feeling which I guess other primers feel like? She said it's supposedly one of the most popular primers.

Digression, that's what I should title this entry--I didn't really talk about the tinted sunscreen. It's Sisley, it's great, I put a little bit on places where I want to even out skin tone and it has SPF. Smells clean too. pricy. Not attractive packaging but I guess with their high reputation they don't seem to care?

Sunscreen

Within the past couple of years I've jumped on the bandwagon on applying sunscreen as a daily ritual. I know I know, bad Yunna for not doing otherwise--and yes I have paid with unwanted sunspots and freckles. In lieu of this, I've gone on the search for suncreen, in particular one for the face. With that said, I love N.V. Perricone facial sunscreen. I believe it is organic too. It is light on the skin, doesn't have that sunscreen tack-like texture that most of them have, and doesn't leave that icky white color over the face. It is a bit on the pricy side, but it's worth it's weight in quality. Application wise, I've been putting on a dime size and that seems to spread quite a bit around the face--I believe on a nearly daily basis it's lasted me about 7-9 months?
And remember, even during the winter, I've heard that about 80% of the sun still peeks through the clouds.

Ready to Expire

It's tempting to hold on to that lipstick you bought that was a perfect shade for that one perfect night, but like most things - lipstick has an expiration date.

Here's a general guide to the life of some things you put on your beautiful face:

Lipstick, Moisturizer, Foundation: 12 - 18 months
Concealer, Lip pencil, Eye pencil, Eye Shadow, Eye Cream: 1 year
SPF Lotion: 1 year
Powder: 2 years
Mascara: 3 - 6 months
Cream Blush: 6 -12 months

Foreign Languages - Hair Care

If you happen to live near a Japanese market that sells Shiseido haircare, you might be a little confused which one to get because the English translation sticker reads like a two year old trying to talk.

After a trip to Japan, my little brother brought back travel samples of Shiseido's Ma Che'rie shampoo and conditioner - the yellow and orange bottles which after looking it up are for dry/damaged hair. Bought the pink bottles at our local neighborhood Marukai. The pink one smells like cherries (subtle) and made my normally wavy/slightly frizzy hair smooth and still a little wavy. The bottle is just too big and for someone like me who gets bored of products fast, there was just too much of a good thing. Still, I would use it again.

Recently tried the green bottles of Shiseido's Super Mild shampoo and conditioner (they sold a travel pack at the . The smell isn't as strong and works really well. Removed all the buildup and like the last Shiseido brand, made my hair smooth without hairdrying. This one does come in smaller sizes so when I'm done with my Paul Mitchell (that'll be another post) I'll probably try this for more than one day.

toning with the hippies

Remember the time before green was hip???

This movement towards all natural was bound to happen but there were always companies that made their products all natural before it was cool to be all natural.

That said, Burt's Bees has been around for a long time - why I never tried it til this past year, well, didn't have a reason to. But trying to save some cash means you can't buy those expensive toners and you need to find something that works as well but is under $15.

Used to use Shiseido's "the Skincare" Hydro-Balancing Softener Lotion - for the step between washing and lotion time. It is gentle enough for sensitive skin, doesn't over-dry skin, and has a mild scent. But the costs can add up.

So found a recommendation in a makeup book for toners and spent $12 on Burt's Bees Rosewater & Glycerin Toner. 8 fl oz of 100% natural goodness! After using it, your face does feel extra clean. Smells like witchhazel though but since I started using it, those mild breakouts before those monthly visits just don't come. Too bad it can't stop those cramps from coming.