Operation Use It Up!

Just finished another batch of products!

1. Lush American Cream hair conditioner: This was not moisturising enough for my color-treated hair. Fortunately, this was just a small 100ml bottle that lasted about 10 uses for me.

2. Lancome Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover: Many ladies swear by this dual-phase non-oil eye makeup remover but it was not able to remove some waterproof mascaras completely for me.

3. Urban Decay Clean & Sober Oil-Free Makeup Remover: I received this as a GWP when Urban Decay was launched in Singapore earlier this year. One bottle lasted just over one month with daily use. I usually use three pumps on a cotton pad. It does remove foundation and other face makeup quite effectively but I still follow up with a foaming cleanser to make sure that I cleanse thoroughly. I tried using it to remove eye makeup but it stung my eyes and was not able to remove some waterproof mascaras completely.

4. DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask: I liked how this mask left my skin feeling very soft and clean. It dries quite fast in Singapore's weather and was easy to wash off. It did not completely prevent acne for me but still, I liked it. Despite containing sulfur, it does not have any odious sulfur smell.

5. John Masters Organics Zinc & Sage Shampoo with conditioner: The first time I used this, it kept reminding me of some dessert. It took a few washes before I realised that it smells like pulut hitam, which is a black glutinous rice dessert with coconut milk! It cleanses well but leaves my hair tangled and still in need of a heavy duty conditioner. I wouldn't re-purchase as the current Sala shampoo that I'm using leaves my hair soft and tangle-free even without conditioner.

6. Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Relaxing Balm: This worked quite well to keep my hair neat and tame stray flyaways but wasn't really anything special.

7. Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gio eau de parfum: This Mediterranean-inspired fragrance has notes of mint, calabrian lemon, brown sugar and Sicilian cedar. I found the mint note to be a bit too strong and clinical.

Heroine Make Mascara Remover

Mandom provided me with this Heroine Make Mascara Remover a few months ago but I only started using it recently.

Priced at S$14.90, this is basically an oil-based remover that you comb through your lashes, leave it to soak for a couple of minutes before wiping off with a cotton pad.

While the Mascara Remover is gentle on the lashes and effective in cleaning off waterproof mascaras, I find the whole process too troublesome and time-consuming. I prefer using Cleansing Express Eye Makeup Remover which removes all of my eye makeup in one easy step. With the Heroine Make Mascara Remover, I have to make sure my lashes are thoroughly coated with the remover and then wait a couple of minutes for the mascara remover to do its work, after which I still have to use a separate eye makeup remover for my eyeshadow.

The diagram is a bit misleading as the comb applicator does not actually have such long 'teeth' as you can see in the photo above.

Here's the ingredients list. You can read another review of the Mascara Remover on Makeupstash.com.

Cleansing Express Cleansing Lotion

This week, I've been trying out Cleansing Express Cleansing Lotion (Bright Up) to remove my makeup instead of my usual Shu Uemura cleansing oil. This was provided by Mandom Singapore for me to review. The Cleansing Lotion line comes in four types: Moist, Sebum, Agecare and Bright Up. They are non-rinse, water-based formulas that help to cleanse, tone and moisturise in one simple step.

Here's the product description and instructions.

For ladies who are not keen on cleansing oils, the Cleansing Lotions are an excellent alternative because all you need to do is douse a cotton pad with the lotion and wipe your makeup off, without having to massage and emulsify like with cleansing oils. It is fast, simple and effective. Another plus is that the lotion is free of parabens, oil, preservatives, colouring agents and alcohol.

I was able to clean off most of my makeup with just one cotton pad, and then I used a second cotton pad to ensure that there was no makeup remaining. The pic below shows the first cotton pad which all the removed makeup. The second cotton pad usually looks much whiter and cleaner. Although the instructions advise that there is no need to rinse as the cleansing lotion contains moisturising ingredients, I still follow up with a gentle face cleanser in the shower as I like my skin to feel freshly clean (but not stripped, squeaky clean). I have not noticed any significant brightening effect but my skin is already quite fair.

The travel size bottle I received (looks like 50ml size) is already half empty after five days' of use. The full size is 300ml and retails for S$18.90 at Watsons, Guardian Pharmacy and Sasa. (The Moist and Sebum versions retail for S$16.90.)

Here's the ingredients list.