L'Oreal Paris Advanced Haircare Extraordinary Oil

So usually I do not really post my hair or face really in public because I'm a little shy to do so, so in this post you may see a small bit of my face. This is not the main point. I just wanted to share with you guys of this amazing set of haircare treatment that I got to experience!

Here I present the L'Oreal Paris Advanced Haircare Extraordinary Oil Treatment!

This picture belongs to escentialplus, please ask for my consent prior using.

This picture belongs to escentialplus, please ask for my consent prior using.

This picture belongs to escentialplus, please ask for my consent prior using.

This picture belongs to escentialplus, please ask for my consent prior using.

Contains: Argan Oil, Chamomile Extract, Coconut, Amla, Soja, Sunflower Oil

How Did I Use These Products?

After wetting my hair I first used the shampoo to clean my hair which then I left it on for about a minute or so, then I used the conditioner. I left the conditioner on for about 2-3 minutes, and after washing everything clean, I dried my hair. I used about 3 pumps of the serum on my damp hair and just let it air dry and here are the results. 

Before and After Comparison

This picture belongs to escentialplus, please ask for my consent prior using. 

See how shiny and soft they look !! I was so excited about it! I usually curl or straighten my hair everyday and they tend to look dried and not soft. After washing it once, my hair as presented on the right, very very shiny and soft! 

PROS

- Easy to Use (not super dense in consistency) 

- Nice Scent (not overpowering)

- Many good oils for the hair and our skin in general

- Good size product that can last for a while

- Leaves your hair extremely soft to touch and silky 

CONS

- Has Sodium Laureth Sulfate (sulfate based) 

- Non-natural Fragrance (I was hoping from the flower extracts), so it has added fragrance oils 

- Shampoo bottle design , I did not like that the conditioner was set downwards and the shampoo was upwards, very inconsistent, this is more of an opinion, I'm no designer anyways. 

Do I Recommend This? 

ABSOLUTELY!! For those that saw my before and after picture can clearly tell that my hair was very very flowwy (is this even a word?) and nourished looking! I was extremely happy (if you can't tell yet) that I got silky, smooth hair! It is not easy to find products that can leave your hair that shiny as well. 

I am in no way affiliated with L'Oreal, but I know enough chemistry to answer some ingredient based questions. Please let me know if you have any thoughts that you can advice me or want to share with me, I will be happy to answer. All pictures taken were on my own, if you want to use it, please ask for my consent. 

Disclosure: I did receive this product for free in exchange for my reviews, but there were no requirements for a blogpost, this was all done on my freewill. All reviews posted and thoughts are my own opinion and they are true and honest. If anyone feels different about this, please post a comment below, I will be more than willing to share additional thoughts! 

Laneige BB Cushion Compact Review and Cleaning Cushion Sponge

With the newest makeup innovation, instead of making your fingers messy with the bb or cc cream, korean skincare have now been developed to making it convenient for women! There are many brands for these cushion compacts which all targets different ages, here are a few:

Dr. Jart+ BB Bounce Beauty Balm $48 at Sephora

These has only a few shades to choose from, so it is quite hard to find your exact color.


AmorePacific $60 at Sephora

I do not have much experience with this because it is more expensive for me
Givenchy's TEINT Couture Cushion Portable Fluid Foundation $50

This is more geared towards those that do not care about the skin benefits of bb creams. I absolutely love the packaging of this product, very smart. This is more of a regular liquid foundation rather than bb cream.


Laneige BB Cushion $34 at Target
So now that we have seen what these are, cushion compact is just a fancy way of saying bb cream in a compact form. It comes with a cushion pad applicator for easy handling and also perhaps, a cleaner method of cream application to face.

Picture was taken on my own, please give credit when using 

Picture was taken on my own, please give credit when using 

Picture was taken on my own, please give credit when using 

Why did I choose Laneige over any other brands?

 It was more affordable in my opinion, and it is geared towards women in their early 20's as well. It is not as heavy as any other cushion compact I've tested. It also has a lot of benefits for the skin, it helps brighten my skin.

For more specifics, I got myself two colors, the Light & Light Medium because my skin tends to be lighter in the winter and darker in the summer, therefore I wanted two different colors.

Swatch

So right now is Spring time, so my skin hasn't been exposed to much sun yet therefore the Light works a little better. Here are more comparison between both.

This is the Light Medium

This is the Light

Here's my face with a nice ugly zit (Cries...) This is to show you how effective this product is, I'm sorry about the ugliness of it. I have imperfect skin so that's what I have to work with.

Pros:
1) High, high high SPF!!
2) Moisturizing, gives you the dewy look that Korean girls get.
3) Extremely convenient
4) Mess free
5) Nice scent
6) Good skin benefits (as they claim)
7) Skin brightening

Cons
1) Need greater coverage, as you can see the product doesn't really cover up my acne it just sits there, so I would need better coverage
2) Not as much product as you think they give you
3) Most of the product is absorbed in their sponge

Essentially, I will definitely buy this product again because I absolutely love the dewy skin look and how it can at least remove a lot of redness in my face.

HOW TO WASH THE CUSHION SPONGE?

Many women tend to forget this part because it is moist so I assume more bacteria, which I do not want on my face. According to many many many sites I have looked at, almost all recommended an oil cleanser or makeup remover to remove the actual product from the sponge. Which I tried, here are the results:

Three types that I used to clean,


(1) Water-based makeup remover by Lancome
(2) Oil-based makeup remover by Shu Uemura
(3) Soap bar I made myself

The "claim" that worked:

Results in a still dirty sponge. (NOT GOOD)

Oil dissolves oil right? NOPE, used a whole bottle and still didn't work (small sample bottle), so what now?

Here's what I did : my own method (different, but it worked!! )

After cleaning , it was so much cleaner ! Steps to dry: 

Press hard enough 

See, CLEAN!! No yellow marks/bb cream residue

That's all for now, I have clean sponges and a great product. Please let me know if you have any other questions! 

Disclaimer: Both products were bought by myself, there were no sponsorship or shipping for review of any sorts. All reviews are honest and true.

Shu Uemura Skin:FIT Water Foundation

Today I want to share with some of you guys about what I have been using recently as a foundation. This foundation is quite interesting, definitely one of a kind. I purchased this bilayer foundation when I was traveling in Malaysia but this does not mean you cannot buy it in the United States.

So what skin type is this foundation appropriate for? 
I would say it is more suitable for those with a combo-oily skin type. It is more drying on your face therefore if you already have dry skin, it may not give you the ideal result.

I personally have more oily skin during the summer and dry skin during the winter so my skincare and makeup routine alters.

How do you use this foundation if it has two different layers?
Shu Uemura provides a sponge that they created specifically for this product. Quite impressive if you would say. Anyways, I first shake it so it forms sort of an emulsion.Then using the sponge (absorbent side) to pick up the product, put it on your skin. Using the spongey side to smudge it in.

How long did it take before you got it to look good?
I do have to admit however that it took quite a bit of time to learn how to use this product properly. My very first experience with it caused me to have a very cakey look and it was quite bad. After that first time I basically got it down.

IT TAKES SOME TIME
Wanting a natural flawless look requires time. If you are in a hurry, this is not exactly your go-to foundation. If you want a matte-finish but a liquid base foundation this is it!

NOT SWEAT PROOF
Just like any other foundation, this is not sweat-proof. I wear it only when I am attending formal events that requires me to put my face on. I don't like it when I take pictures, my face looks glossy, shiny, oily and such. I like the matte look. If you want a more natural look with some "shine" I actually use blush before I use this foundation.

How to get the inner glow/pink look?
First you apply blush to your cheeks, I mean you can be quite drastic with it. Give it a minute or so for the blush to fully soak in. Then apply the foundation to your face. Make sure you blend it well throughout your face. DON'T FORGET YOUR NECK! This gives it a nice glow from underneath.

OVERALL RATING 
Easiness : 2/5 Quite hard to learn in comparison to others
Finish look: 5/5 Since I like the matte look)
Quality: 4/5 I'm still not too sure what's the point of water being the base here since it gets evaporated
Price: 2/5 Quite expensive ~USD 42

My Skincare Routine

Two years ago I had very bad acne but now it has clear up. Many of my friends asked me what had I done differently. So here's me answering some questions . Perhaps I can post pictures when I'm a little bit more comfortable with the Internet.

1) What was the biggest change ? 

I started exercising and that caused me to sweat a lot ! I don't mean full on swearing for hours , I mean by walking a mile or so a day and sweat a little . 

2) Did you take any medications or apply any? 

No, I squeezed a lemon and mix it with a full cup of water, but after four months of improvement I calm that down a little. I would drink my water with lemon slices instead of a full lemon. I believe this works because lemon works as a detoxifier and cleared my face 

3) Why did you not take a whole lemon after just four months? 

Lemon is extremely acidic which can hurt your body (I believe) there's enough stomach acid in a body. I want my body to produce and balance the hormones to clear my face itself rather than using things. 

4) What about skincare ? 

I am very into skincare. I guess this is the Asian side of me that believes skincare works. 

5) What do you use? 

Facewash : Dermologica Ultracalming Cleanser

Scrubs : Origins Modern Friction and  Skinfood Brown Sugar Mask

Toner/Skin Softener : Dermalogica Ultracalming Toner

Emulsion : Laneige Bright Renew Emulsion 

Moisturizer: this differs by season 

(Summer) : Dermalogica Active Moist 

(Winter) : Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance or Laneige Brighten Renew Original Cream 

Serum : this depends on what I am targeting 

Now I am using Clinique Pore Refining Serum and Laneige Brighten Renew Serum

6) Do you use any facial sheet masks ? 

Yes , the black pearl mask from my beauty diary collection 

7) Do the sheet masks work ? 

It is interesting because it makes me feel good but I don't actually believe it works. It almost gives me time to sit and relax having this nice thing on my face. So to answer the question, I'm not sure. But it allows me to relax so I like that, therefore I use it. 

8) Have you heard of overnight masks ? 

Yes , I call it the lazy way to skincare. I actually invest in a lot of these because I don't have that much time for sheet masks. 

9) What kind do you use? 

-Origins Drink Up Intensive 

-Laneige Overnight Water Sleeping Pack

-Kiehl's Ultra Hydrating Overnight Masque 

10) Why so many masks? 

My skin gets extremely dry in the winter , therefore I need heavy hydration during those time. I don't use it as much in the summer . Instead I try to tackle my blackheads in the summer because i use charcoal clay mask for that and it is very drying . 

11) what's a charcoal clay mask? 

So origins makes this charcoal mask to help remove blackheads or clear pores. It is quite drying to the face but it works well. So I tend to use their Drink Up intensive mask right after to keep hydration . I have actually made it myself as well, all you need is 1 tsp of activated charcoal and 1 tsp bentonite clay , mix with a few teaspoon of water until you get your desired texture . 

12) Where did you learn about skincare ? 

Ever since young my mother taught me about it and growing up in a culture that relies heavily on it. I believe in the Korean 10-step routine but I don't have the finances for all 10. I actually make my own soaps as well for my body and through that I learned quite a lot about the ingredients that go into soapmaking which I use charcoal and clays heavily . 

Disclaimer: These are my real opinion and there were no company sponsorship to advertise any of their products.