Review: BeautyMate Hydro Power Collagen Cream

4:13:00 PM mandy 4 Comments

Product Description & Ingredients:

Places to Purchase:
Sasa< Try your local Asian beauty store!

What you'll see after opening the box





Packaging:
Glass jar with a plastic lid. I love glass jars because it gives the packaging some weight. I won't feel like I'll knock it over very easily. However, the lid is such a disappointment. It feels so cheap and flimsy...Besides that, I'm usually not too bothered by jarred products but this one is a little different. You can see that the jar actual tapers from small at the bottom to bigger at the top and then even smaller where the opening is. It was very difficult to get the product out from under that crevice!




Directions:
✻ (From packaging) Cleanse face and used toner, apply cream to the forehead, chin, cheek, and neck area, then spread out evenly and gently massage until thoroughly absorbed. Recommended use in mornings and evenings.
✻ (What I did) Take some product onto my fingers, rub my fingers together slightly, smooth the product onto my face, and then pat it into my skin.

I tried their method and I prefer my method. I'm not too sure how to massage my face and I don't want to just massage randomly and possibly cause wrinkling.




Positives:
✻ Affordable, but can be pricey depending on the seller. Sasa's price is relatively low.
✻ Moisturizes well, but sometimes wasn't enough against my flaky skin.
✻ Did not break me out
✻ Isn't oily. I felt it was actually very light for a cream product.
✻ Has hyaluronic acid

Negatives:
✻ Difficult to get a hold of. Must buy online for the low price.
✻ Packaging is a big turn off.
✻ Other than moisturizing, I didn't really see the other claims happen on my skin
✻ Has parabens
✻ Has fragrance

Repuchase?
Probably not. It was okay while it lasted but nothing wowed me...

Recommend?
Hard to say...Maybe if you need to add something for free-ship on Sasa? As a moisturizer, I think there are better alternatives out there.

Rating:
3.5

Disclaimer: These are just the results I had while using the product. Remember, everyone else's skin is different!! What may have worked for me, may not work for you & what may not have worked for me, may work for you. Try the product at your own risk! I bought this product with my own money and am in no way connected to the companies mentioned. This is my honest opinion!

Review: Olay Active Hydrating Beauty Fluid - Original

3:31:00 PM mandy 5 Comments

Description/Claims (taken from the packaging):
Provides your skin with an immediate surge of active moisture to soothe dryness without a greasy feel. Leaves skin softer, smoother, and more supple. Diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

I'm not sure how well their line-soothing and wrinkle-repairing properties are because I do not have these skin conditions yet. But as for softer, smoother and more supple skin...I think it did that well for me.

Places to Purchase:
In the US, any drugstore will probably have this.
I'm not sure about other countries though. Sorry! :| If anyone sees this post here and I'll add it to the list!
I've also seen these in two different sizes, the one I bought and used is the smaller of the two. There is also a cream version that is in a jar rather than the tube.

Packaging:
It is a squeeze bottle. After you open the cap, there is a hole where the product can come out which makes it very easy to control how much product you want to use. However, I find that it is difficult to get every last drop. As I got to the last bits of the product, I had to keep the bottle upside down so I wouldn't have to stand and shake the bottle like a crazy person so the product would come out... Although for the price, I guess I can't complain too much?


Ingredients:



Directions:
✻ (From packaging) Smooth onto your face and neck every day to help restore softer, smoother skin. Avoid contact with the eye.
✻ (What I did) I put a generous amount on my hands, rub my hands together slightly, lightly "smooth" the product onto my face, and then pat the product into my skin.

I like doing it this way because I found that when I directly rubbed the product onto my face it would leave patches/lines (like pictured below). The product is pretty thick so it takes a while to fully rub the product in. Sometimes I do not notice the patches until after I wear my glasses because it doesn't feel patchy at all, so it's a hassle to have to take my glasses off to make sure all the product is applied well.




Positives:
✻ Very affordable
✻ Easy to get
✻ Very moisturizing and made my skin feel pretty smooth
✻ Didn't break me out
✻ No parabens ... for those who are conscious of that ingredient

Negatives:
✻ Has fragrance. It's a very...powdery scent? I can't place my finger on what exactly it is but there is a scent to it. However, I got used to it after a while and it didn't bother me as much afterward.
✻ Has mineral oil & petrolatum & silicones ... could be potentially pore-clogging even though they say it won't.
✻ Has color ... if anyone is sensitive to that.

Repurchase?
Yes! Despite the bad ingredients, this moisturizer really did help my skin during the winter time. Also, I bought this because Lil Lady's Life recommended it to me after I mentioned how the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo was giving me terrible dry patches when I initially used it. This worked wonders to help the patches subside. Remember a few posts ago I mentioned how my skin felt very soft and I didn't know if it was my moisturizer, Genie in a Bottle serum, or Josie Maran sunscreen? After this item was finished and I only had the latter 2 products left in my regime...I knew the answer. It was the Olay Beauty Fluid. I hate it when something works so well but could potentially be bad for my skin. But if it comes to it and my skin needs it, I will get it! However, before my skin gets to that state I will be diligently looking for a better alternative :] This will be my backup/last resort...emergency moisturizer!

Recommend?
Depends. If your skin isn't too bothered my mineral oil/petrolatum/silicones/fragrances/color and is in need of something pretty moisturizing, give it a try!! But if your skin is rather sensitive...I'd stay away just to be safe.

Rating:
4.5

Disclaimer: These are just the results I had while using the product. Remember, everyone else's skin is different!! What may have worked for me, may not work for you. Try with your own risk! But since most drugstores (at least in the US) have a good return policy if this doesn't work well for you. I bought this product with my own money and am in no way connected to the company. This is my honest opinion!

Where did winter go?

11:15:00 PM mandy 5 Comments

Spring is here, but I still miss the snowy winter that never came this year.


Sure the flowers are pretty and the weather is warmer.
The grass is greener and the trees have life again.
But all this means for an allergy sufferer like me is pain and lots of tissues...
It sounds gross, yet that is the reality of what goes on every March to sometimes even May.

Although I don't love the slushy black mess after a snow storm any more than I like allergies.
Right now, I feel anything would be better than this.

Plants and flowers...please bloom faster!

Any others suffering from Spring allergies as well?

How do you handle/fix the dry and hard skin around your nose after going through so many tissues? Help!

Recent Love Package

3:21:00 PM mandy 10 Comments

I recently received this package all the way from Singapore for the giveaway I won at Atelier Beauty. I wasn't expecting to win, as usual, but here it is! :P


Although I remember entering a different item for the giveaway, I was sent something else. But I'm not really complaining since it's free and she didn't have to have a giveaway if she didn't want to. I guess other winners got the other prizes before I did.





I'll have to play around with this to see how I like it. I've tried the Black liquid liner from L'Oreal before and wasn't too happy with the results...

Swatch: OPI Lucerne-taintly Look Marvelous

4:11:00 PM mandy 2 Comments

I found that I really love how dark glittery polishes look on my nails. Something about how it creates shadows/depth that makes my very wide nails look so thin and pretty in shape! This isn't to say I don't love pastels of course! Also I find that microglitter is a way easier to remove than chunkier glitter polishes.

I actually got to try this particular polish shade when bestfriend bought it about a year or so ago. I loved it then but could never find it at the nail supply store myself. She said they were there but I could never spot it. Luckily we all went a few days ago and with her help I finally have one to call my own!
To what I can see...this is a metallic black with fine purple green and silver microglitters. However don't quote me on this since I'm not very versed in the nailpolish vocabulary department.

It doesn't look this bad in person, really! I think the flash made a bit more extreme.

If you really want, I think you could wear one layer. I probably would if I didn't have the time to sit and wait for many layers to dry. I don't think that under normal circumstances, you'd be able to see the nails this much. It'll probably look like how the ring finger looks...or a little darker.

After this point, the swatches are with 2 layers of the polish and a base and top coat.


What are some of your favorite polish shades?

Feeling Accomplished & New UGG Boots

11:36:00 AM mandy 12 Comments

I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again...I'm a huge drama junkie! Probably too much for my own good, especially when it's school time. I have curbed my habits a lot the past few months but during winter break...I was fulfilling my drama lemmings.

One, in particular, was Park Min Young's Man of Honor or Glorious Jane. I became a fan of Park Min Young after watching her in City Hunter and couldn't wait for her new drama. It didn't disappoint. Definitely wasn't as good as City Hunter and was a bit on the traditional k-drama side but was still interesting enough where I wanted to watch until the end.

However, throughout the whole drama, I was very distracted by her shoes. Of course, I liked her character's style, as I do for almost all Korean celebrities' styles, but for some reason, her boots stood out to me most. Maybe because I could see myself wearing it? hehe

I was obsessed...almost, maybe a lot lol...I really wanted to find out what the brand was. I knew in my mind that it will be probably really expensive. But I still wanted to know. I searched through google and some k-pop fashion blogs, yet had no luck. School started again and studies took priority.


Then a few weeks ago, I thought...why not try Naver? (Naver is a Korean search engine.) I know some Korean...maybe I could navigate my way through?

When I FINALLY found what I was looking for I was soo excited! Typing my search wasn't too hard. (박민영 영광의 재인 신발 ...translates to Park Min Young Man of Honor/Glorious Jane shoes...was what did the trick!) Clicking through the searches is just like any other search engine. The real problem was reading through the Korean websites...I can type, read, write, speak a little bit...but can't comprehend xD Luckily my limited knowledge of Korea was enough because I was able to find what I wanted. Thank goodness for Koreans and their love of celebrity fashion & of course photos! :D




I was very shocked to find out that it was actually an UGG boot, UGG Sophia to be exact. I guess UGG stepped outside their normal boot realm and made heeled boots. Unfortunately, this was very hard to locate because I think this was an older release/limited release item.


It was so difficult to find a place that sold these shoes. I actually spotted a physical store that sold heeled UGG boots, but they were the knee-high versions =.= Luckily, I came across them on zappos.com and their sister site 6pm.com. 6pm had it almost for 50% off! Whereas Zappos had it for ~40% off. However, by the time I finally decided to buy the shoes...both ran out of my size. I've never ordered from either before. So I did some review searching and found Zappos' to be way better than 6pm's. Since I decided to risk it and order half a size up from my normal size I went with Zappos (the more expensive one) for the better return/exchange/customer service.



The shoes came very fast! I forgot the actual number of days because bestie helped me order and I got them from her a few days after it arrived, but it was definitely under a week. Very fast! Especially since it's free shipping. I wish I found these a bit earlier so I could actually wear them in the colder weather. Spring just started to really show in NYC and the warmer weather is here :[ I've tried them around the house and having it half a size up isn't too big of a problem. In fact, if I choose to wear thicker socks it would probably fit just fine!




The whole time I was searching through English shoe sites I thought the heels were stacked heels but it is actually a rubber material. Not complaining, just wasn't expecting it. Now I have to satisfy my stacked-heel lemming!








Like I said, I was so obsessed with finding the shoes. I noted everything about the shoes while watching the drama and Googled as many photos of her wearing them as I could.

They looked suede...which these are.
They had metal rings around the shoelace holes...check.
I thought they were stacked style...I observed wrong but that's okay.
I noticed some fur in certain promo pictures...check!


However, I wasn't expecting fur on the bottom of the shoe as well! A great plus for winters. My feet get cold soo easily. One of the reasons why I love my normal UGGs (I know they're not a very pretty style but they're warm!). Now...the best of both worlds? Warm and stylish :P

Has anyone also had moments like this? Seeing someone wear something you really like/love and want and then finally find it after what seems like an endless search?

Giveaway Winner!!!

3:24:00 PM mandy 1 Comments

Thank you to everyone who entered!
Although you didn't win this time, hopefully, I'll be able to have more giveaways in the future! ^___^
Thank you also for the lovely comments and suggestions! I'll make sure I try to incorporate what everyone mentioned for the future.







The lucky winner is...Beauty to Love!!
I will be contacting you through email. But if you don't reply within 3 days, I'll have to choose another winner :[

In case my e-mail somehow doesn't get to you, please e-mail me at mhuang36[at]gmail[dot]com by April 11, 2012!