Review: Avon Anew Clinical Eye Lift

I'm blessed with double eyelids but the depth of the cut was different on my two eyes.  As I get older, the droopiness seems to make this difference more obvious.  Hence, my search for a good eye cream began.

So far, the only eye cream I've used is the Olay Definity eye illuminator which only helps with discoloration.  After reading some reviews, I ordered this Avon Eye Lift gel/cream.

Lid off~ The container is pretty small and cute. 

There is a protective cover to prevent the gel and cream from leaking or mixing.

Top: upper eye gel, Bottom: under eye cream

Information on the packaging:

 Product information about the gel and the eye cream.

Ingredients

The first time i tried this, I thought I saw immediately result after sleeping with this serum on.  However, I'm not sure whether I was just seeing things.  I have been using this serum/cream for 4-5 months and I don't see too much difference anymore. 

What I found

• Nice texture: the lower cream is super moisturizing and very soft
• Upper gel glides on your lids nicely 
• Not sure about the lifting effect. 
• The duo-pocket packaging is not really practical.  Some mixing of the gel/cream near the lid occurs very easily. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5

Overall: I'm not sure what to think about this after so long.  I was using it continuously for a few months.  However, even after stopping for 2-3 weeks, I don't really notice much difference.  Maybe it wasn't that much effective on me to start with.

Review: Clean & Clear finishes pore perfecting moisturizer

I can't resist showing you a lovely pic of my newly-acquired stuff animal. Ta da~  Squirt from Finding Nemo. Unfortunately he is not the main focus of this post. Look closer, closer, much closer! I actually want to talk about the moisturizer in its hands (or perhaps feet?).

So here it is...Clean & Clear finishes pore perfecting moisturizer

 

According to Clean & Clear, 

it softens the appearance of pores with light diffusing minerals to give you a beautiful, smooth finish. It’s lightweight, oil-free and won’t clog pores.

Active Ingredients: Avobenzone (3%), Octisalate (5%), Octocrylene (1.7%), Oxybenzone (3%)

What I like about it....

• SPF15
• oil free but fairly moisturizing
• no heavy or sticky feeling on the skin
• mattifies the skin
• very cheap 
• no sparkles (although it mentions about light diffusing minerals, not visible to my eyes at least)
• hygiene packaging: sleek squeezable tube

This moisturizer is fairly moisturizing even for the Canadian fall weather.  However, I did have to put on a bit more than during the summer time.  I am not so sure how it would perform during the upcoming winter time though.  I would say this is a cheap and effective moisturizer.  Don't expect anything fancy but it'll do the job.  I didn't experience any noticeable changes to my skin, which is not very sensitive to begin with.

Score: 4 out of 5

Overall: Great day moisturizer for the ones with skins that don't require special treatment.  I would recommend giving it a try.  I might repurchase it if I run out of my moisturizer stock.

Lastly, we have Squirt again...

Review: Gatsby Oil Clear Sheet...Let's blot those oil away~

If you have oily or combination skin, you definitely want to look into blotting paper/sheets.  Of all the ones I've tried, I have to say Gatsby makes the BEST ones out there.  Their classic oil absorbing blotting sheets (official name: Oil Clear Sheet) are amazing, effective and heavy duty.  Yes you heard me.  Heavy duty!  

What Gatsby website says...

Unique film with advanced micro holes for powerful absorption of facial oil. Matte and cleans skin without stickiness Micro holes on surface of the film adsorbs sebum and user can actually feel the effect.  Soft touch, tear resistant and palm size (9cmx6cm) soft film. 70 sheets per pack. What I like about them... Soft to the touch do NOT break when using...you can TuG and PuLL on it.   Quickly absorbs oil like no other You can clearly see the oil which turns the film transparent Remove oil without drying your face Available in Asia or online.  Made in Japan.  Costs about Cdn $3 in Taiwan and on eBay.  North America stores (Pacific Mall) sell them for Cdn$6.  I usually use one in the afternoon.  My face feels clean and refresh after. Photo of a (kind of beat up) single pack Inside cover shows how you can easily remove a single blotting sheet with the adhesive tape.  I just finished the last sheet so the container is empty.  ^__^  Gatsby In Action... Here is a pretty gruesome photo showing how effective this blotting paper is. Warning: view at your own discretion.  It's kind of GROSS....ha

Review: Burt's Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey body lotion

According to Burt's Bees....

This naturally mourishing lightweight lotion feeds your skin with milk to soften, and honey, a natural humectant, to deeply moisturize.  It's enriched with vitamin E to soothe and emollient coconut oil and beeswax to retain skin's moisture.  Long-lasting, nourishing moisture for naturally soft, smooth, and healthy skin.  It is 98.3% Natural and paraben free. 

Ingredients: water, sunflower seed oil, glycerin, coconut oil, stearic acid, beeswax, fragrance, non-fat dry milk, honey, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, sweet orange peel wax, rosemary leaf extract, tocopherol, beta-carotene, xanthan gum, sucrose stearate, glucose, sodium borate, soybean oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, lactoperoxidase, glucose oxidase, benzyl benzoate, limonene, linalool, coumarin, butylphenyl methylpropiona. 

What I found...

The product I reviewed is actually the sample version found in their travel pack.  

To be honest, I was disgusted by the smell of this lotion.  The color of this lotion is a light beige color, which reminds me of foundation or tinted moisturizer.  However, the color disappeared once it was rubbed onto the skins. 
 
Pros

• Moisturizing effect is not bad. 
• Absorption is fast.

Cons

• Weird fragrance smell is way too strong for me.  It smells a bit like coconut mixed with some chemicals.  Actually I HATE IT~
• Watery when you first applied for about 20-30 second.  The lotion then gets abosrbed, leaving a slight oily feeling.
• Doesn't give your skin a smooth feeling.  I'm sorry, but when I touched my hands, there is a strong resistent feeling that prevents my hand from gliding across.  About 2 hours after the application, the resistent feeling was gone and my hands DID become soft and smooth to the touch.
• A bit pricey.  Full size Cdn $15 for 8oz (236mL).

Score: 2 out of 5

Overall: To me, the smell of this lotion outweighs any benefit it offers.  I tried using this lotion a few times but still can't bring myself to like it.  I wouldn't buy this again nor recommend people to buy the full size product without testing this first.  Sorry Burt's Bees, this lotion is just not for me.

Homemade tendskin

Have you heard of an ingrown hair removal product called Tend Skin?  I was almost sold when I found their website (can't trust everything a business say, can we?).  According to the website, it can reduce redness of skins fro waxing, shaving and laser hair removal.  It also prevents new and removes existing razor bumps and ingrown hairs. 

Caution: do NOT use if you are allergic to Aspirin. 

Tend Skin Liquid may be applied with a cotton ball.  Make sure skin is dry prior to application. Rinse hands after use. The product may be rubbed on thus acting as a cleanser. It also acts as an astringent for oily skin. To avoid irritation to the eyes, do not "splash" on when applying to facial area.

Ingredients: Isopropyl Alcohol, Water, Propylene Glycol, Acetylsalicylic Acid (aspirin), Glycerin, Cyclomethicone.

On their website, Tend Skin liquid is selling for USD$20, $35, $50 for 4oz, 8oz and 16oz. 

As I mention in my previous posting on an epilator, I constantly have problems with ingrown hairs.  So if Tend Skin really works, it would be a life saver.  According to reviews from MakeupAlley, a lot of people swear by it and said it was effective.  So....I decided to give it a try.

What about a HOMEMADE VERSION?

I started looking at WHERE I can get the TendSkin liquid in Canada then I found a fairly popular homemade recipe for it.  Now usually we would be suspicious to homemade skincare products but this recipe has even been reviewed on makeupAlley.  Surprising!  I rushed to Zeller and grabbed the 3 main ingredients: aspirin, isopropyl alcohol and pure witch hazel.

I have used the homemade version for a few days.  I want to try this more before I make a review.  Below is the step by step instruction that I found on the net for making this.  Please note I am not responsible for the following recipe.  Please make your own judgment on its safety.   You might want to test this on a small area of your skin first to see if you are allergic to anything. 

Recipe for homemade Tend Skin liquid:

• 26 uncoated aspirin (aka Acetylsalicylic Acid or ASA)
• 5.5 oz (165 mL) 70% rubbing alcohol
• 2.5 oz (75 mL) pure witch hazel
• A measuring cup/bottle
• 2 bottles used to shake mixtures
• 1 8oz (250mL) bottle/container to keep finished product 

Steps
1. Pour 5.5oz of 70% alcohol into one bottle.
2. Drop 18 uncoated aspirins into the alcohol. Cap bottle and shake.  Optional: ground up aspirins into fine powder.
3. Pour 2.5oz of witch hazel into the second bottle.
4. Drop 8 uncoated aspirins into the witch hazel. Cap bottle and shake. Optional: ground up aspirins.
5. Wait awhile (30 minutes to a whole day) for the aspirins to dissolve in the liquids. Shake periodically to help dissolve aspirin and mix.
NOTE: not all of the aspirin pieces will dissolve.  See "Other Questions" below for details.
6. Now combine both the alcohol and witch hazel mixtures together into one bottle. Make sure you shake it up before you pour them out so you also get the aspirin residue into the new bottle. This last bottle is your Tendskin! 

Use 1-2 a day. Reduce usage if you experience dryness or flaking or irritation. Make sure you shake it well before each use.  

The resulting homemade Tend Skin looks like this.  After filtering, the remaining solution is clear with a little bit of white residues left on the bottom of the bottle.  If you don't filter, there will be a lot more powder left. 

Review: Biore Cleansing Pore Strip

Every time my family goes back to Taiwan, me and my sister would request PACKS of Biore Pore Perfect Stips be brought back for us.  It wasn't an essential part of our skincare routine but more of a fun thing to do when we have the time.  Although we only use them once in awhile, we just like them enough to stock up on these.  However, this past weekend, I have learnt something new about these strips and discovered how powerful they can actually be.  I was really amazed by it.

As you can see below, the packaging for the pore strips is quite different between ones sold in Taiwan and in Canada.  It is a lot cheaper in Taiwan so we never purchase them in Canada (another reason to stock up). 

It functions as a quick fix to unclog pores and remove the dirt, oil and blackheads.  What I recommend is to combine this with your pore-cleansing routine.  After all, prevention is always better than cure. 

How to use them?
These pore strips worked to lift off pore-clogging dirt.  You wet the nose area slightly with water then press the strip onto the nose, removing any air bubbles.  Wipe off excessive water with a towel and let the strip air dry [usually 10 minutes, depending on temperature and humidity of your location].  Peel off the strip from one edge.  Wash face with water and carry on with your typical skincare routine. 

Useful Tips...maybe these can explain WHY it didn't work for you.

• Don't over wet your nose.  Splash your nose with handful of water then let excess water drips off.  Make sure all areas of your nose are wet.  The strip needs the water to bind properly to your skins. 
• IMPORTANT!  Pull off the strip as slowly as you can.  I saw a HUGE difference.  Hmm...I think I took about 45-60 seconds.  
• Buy the version for men.  They are bigger!  
• You can cut off the edge and place these mini strips below your nostrils or wherever you wish.

Pros

• Quick fix for those ugly blackheads
• Easy to use
• Fun to examine the yucky things that get pulled out from your pores.  I'm not ashamed to say that I can spend a few minutes staring at all those nasty white and blackheads on the strip.  ^__^ 

Cons

• Expensive in North America but cheap in Asia.  
• Won't remove all blackheads.  But with patience, you can improve the success rate.  

Score: 4.5 out of 5

Overall: I would definitely recommend this if you have oily skins, whiteheads or blackheads on your nose.  These work great to quickly unclogged some pores however, you need to follow up with regular face cleaning.  Be persistent in your routine to thoroughly clean out your pores everyday.  Can't really comment on its effect in reducing pore size, as I only occasionally use these.

P&G brandSAMPLER for May

This past Monday, I finally received the P&G samples that I ordered back in May.  I have been wanting to try the Magic Eraser sample but it just wasn't offered after I answered the P&G survey.  However, I was really happy to receive 2 Olay samples (YEAH~) and the Secret Clinical Strength antiperspirant sample.  See below for the close up photo of the beauty samples I've received.  If you are interested, P&G periodically offers samples to its Canadian and USA subscriber. 

In the above photo, we have the Olay Regenerist Touch of Concealer eye cream, Panteen Medium thick shampoo and conditioner, Old Spice Odour Blocker body wash, Secret Clinical Strength Sport antiperspirant in marathon fresh scent and lastly the little jar contains Olay Regenerist micro-sculpting cream.

I'm mostly interested in trying the Olay eye cream and micro-sculpting cream.  Reviews will follow shortly after. ^___^

Review: Burt's Bees Lemon butter Cuticle Creme

(Pardon me for the dent in the cuticle creme.  I have been using this for awhile.  At least it shows that it's really being loved by me. ^___^)

Product Info

A soothing blend of natural ingredients for intensive care of dry cuticles, brittle nails and chapped, cracked fingertips.  Massage into and around nails nightly.

95% natural and not tested on animals.

Ingredients: sweet almond oil, beeswax, lemon oil, cocoa butter, vitamin E, candelilla wax, sunflower oil, rosemary leaf extract, beta carotene, vegetable oil.

8.5g/0.3 oz