Lush Ayesha Fresh Face Mask

When my skin is feeling congested and troubled, I usually turn to Lush Fresh Face Masks for a good spot of detoxing. Ayesha is designed for those times when you want to make a quick difference to your face, e.g. for a night out, by helping to make the skin look smoother and firmer, making you feel "as though you are bathed in the flame of immortality – even if it is only for a few hours!"

Like all of the Fresh Face Masks, it is preservative-free and needs to be used up within one month from the purchase date. The 75g pot may look puny but I got more than 8 uses out of it, without skimping on the amount of product per application. At £5.95 for a pot (S$17.90 in Singapore), that works out to be cheaper than using a sheet mask and you get the benefit of ultra fresh ingredients like honey (for moisturising), Vitamin C-rich kiwi, elderflower infusion and elderflower vinegar (for balancing), asparagus (for gentle exfoliation), Fuller’s earth and witch hazel (to absorb grease and dirt whilst tightening the skin).

Some may not like the elderflower scent but I like the fresh, green floral aroma. The kaolin-based mask dries in about ten minutes, and rinses off easily, leaving my skin feeling cleansed and softer with pores looking smaller and more refined. It's no miracle worker in terms of reducing oiliness and acne but it does help to cleanse and tone the skin. I will definitely re-purchase this in the future.

The list of ingredients: Fullers Earth, Honey - Elderflower and Limeflower Decoction, Glycerine, Fresh Asparagus, Fresh Kiwi Fruit, Kaolin, Witch Hazel Extract, Rose Absolute, Rosemary Oil, Patchouli Oil, Elderflower Vinegar, Bentonite Gel, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume.

My Beauty Diary Chocolate Mask

Spotted this new My Beauty Diary "I Love Chocolate. I Love Rose. I Love Mom" set at Guardian Pharmacy in Ion Orchard yesterday!

The set includes 6 pieces each of the Chocolate Mask and the Bulgarian White Rose Mask. Retailing at S$18.90, that works out to be $1.57 per sheet mask. The set is exclusive to Guardian Pharmacy. The masks were manufactured in January 2011 and have an expiry date of January 2014.

I like to use My Beauty Diary masks when my skin is looking dull and dehydrated. I've tried the Chocolate Mask before and the chocolate scent takes a bit of getting used to but otherwise, it works pretty much like any other My Beauty Diary mask and leaves my skin looking more hydrated and nourished.



Also spotted the new Heroine Make Impact Frame & Curl Mascara (S$23.90) at Watsons. There are only six reviews on Cosme.net for this mascara, which is supposed to provide lush lashes rivalling false lashes. It seems like most of the reviewers preferred Heroine Make's Long & Curl mascara to Impact Frame & Curl. Some reviewers mentioned that Impact Frame & Curl was good at keeping the curl of lashes but not for separating the lashes. The bulky brush also tends to get mascara on the eyelids by mistake. Impact Frame & Curl is priced at 1470yen in Japan, quite a bit higher than Heroine Make's other mascaras which are 1050yen.

The Impact Frame & Curl Mascara has a comb side for adding volume to the lashes (step 1 in the diagram) and a "separate brush" for helping to separate the lashes (step 2). The "compact head" at the tip of the brush is for use on the lower lashes and fine lashes at the inner corners. You can read Lotus Palace's review of the mascara here.

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.

Kosé Seikisho Mask White

Kosé Seikisho Mask White is a peel-off mask that is supposed to help improve your skin’s clarity and radiance by removing dirt and impurities as well as suppressing melanin production. It contains herbal extracts such as coix seed, angelica, moutan bark, Japanese coptis and artemisia capillaris. It usually retails for S$35 for a 75ml tube, but I purchased this at half price during an earlier promotion in August.

As the instructions advise, applying a thick layer is key to helping the mask peel off in one neat piece. Also, do use a hairband to keep all your hair off your face as you don't want any of it to be trapped in the mask accidentally. Do take care to avoid your eyebrows and not to apply too close to the sensitive eye area. Kas told me that she had taken off a bit of her eyebrows while doing this mask!

The mask dried in about 20 minutes and felt a bit tight. Trying to roll up the edges of the mask proved to be somewhat tricky but once I picked up a corner, it was relatively easy to lift off the rest of the mask. It was easy in the sense that the rest of the mask came off in one smooth sheet (except for a few random bits) but definitely not easy in the terms of the ouch factor! This is definitely more painful than using a Biore nose strip as the tiny hairs on your face get tugged at when you pull off the mask. But I wasn't tearing so it's still bearable. My guess is that the more hirsute you are, the higher the pain factor. I have tried a similar peel-off mask by the Body Shop from their Tea Tree range but as it was quite painful, I ended up using it only a couple of times.

Reminds me of Edvard Munch's The Scream! After lifting off the mask, the random small bits that were left behind were easy to remove by just rubbing them off.

The mask mostly removed small skin flakes. I didn't see any pore clogs but my skin is relatively clear at the moment. After using the mask, my skin did look clearer and it definitely felt smoother to touch. I'll probably continue using this once a week but not sure if I will re-purchase it yet.

My Beauty Diary Masks

My Beauty Diary is a very popular Taiwanese line of sheet masks thanks to the super affordable price (less than US$2 per mask) and the wide variety of masks designed to meet various skin concerns such as hydrating, oil control, brightening etc. In Singapore, you can find them at Guardian Pharmacy where a box of 10 retails for S$21 and a 2-sheet sampler pack costs S$3.95. I decided to get the four sampler packs to try them out: Mixed Berries (Anti-oxidant and firming), Cooling (Refreshing & rejuvenating), Provence Lavender (Soothing & Restoring), Yogurt (Oil Control & Nourishing). Unfortunately, Guardian Pharmacy does not have the larger sampler packs containing several different types of masks.

The box packaging in Singapore is mainly in English. It is recommended that you use these two to three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes each time. After using the mask, do not wash off the mask serum as you can simply follow up with your normal skincare.

The ingredients list.


Amazingly, despite the low price of these masks, there are actually many counterfeits and fakes floating around. Skindeco.net has an excellent post about how to distinguish the fakes from the real product. One way to tell if your masks are legitimate is to look for the embossed marking at the lower right hand corner of the front side of the mask packet. The abundance of fakes is the reason why I would only purchase the masks from Guardian Pharmacy instead of blogshops. Why take any risks with your skin just to save some pennies?

Each mask packet is stamped with the manufacturing date and expiry date, which I felt was very useful.

I was not expecting any miracles from using the masks. While the antioxidants and emollient ingredients are indeed beneficial to skin, fragrance does not do anything for skin and in fact can irritate it. I tried the Mixed Berries mask last night and left it on for one hour until the mask started to feel a bit dry and all the serum had been absorbed into my skin. It did an excellent job of hydrating and softening my skin. I have oily, acne-prone skin with some dry patches. After using the mask, the dry patches were gone and what was impressive was that my skin did not get oily as it usually does. My skin sometimes gets super oily after using certain lotions or moisturisers but after using the Mixed Berries mask, my skin stayed hydrated until the next morning without getting super greasy.

The sheet mask feels well-made and of good quality with decent thickness. It also fits nicely over the contours of my face without too much excess cloth flapping around the edges. I also liked the fact that it did not come out of the packet dripping messily or leaving a lot of serum inside the packet. Instead, all the serum was absorbed on the sheet mask itself.

Overall, I think My Beauty Diary masks are a quick and very affordable fix if you are experiencing skin dryness. Do note that these masks do not work for everyone. My buddy, Kathi of Lotuspalace had a bad reaction to these masks. You can read her experience here.

Biotherm Source Therapie Mask

Having lived through the Tokyo summers, I thought I would be fine with New Delhi. But unlike Tokyo and Singapore which are humid and hot at the same time, New Delhi is sweltering and blistering dry. It's the kind of heat that makes your skin feel like it's literally burning off within ten minutes of being outdoors. But the dry climate also means I still need to slap on moisturiser constantly on all parts of my body as even my palms have started peeling.

My skin is very oily and acne-prone so I'm usually wary of putting any moisturiser that's too heavy duty and creamy that can further clog up my skin. But with the dry heat here, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out the Biotherm Source Therapie Spa Concentrate Tissue Mask, which contains 7 essential trace minerals (Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Sodium, Potassium & Calcium) combined with Bicarbonate ions and Biotherm's signature Pure Extract of Thermal Plankton to soothe and reduce redness.


The instructions said to leave it on for 10 minutes and then massage any residue into the skin. I left it on for more than 20 minutes until it felt like it was almost dry. Afterwards, my skin felt visibly plumped, moisturised and soft without any greasy residue or redness. My skin also stayed fresh and took longer than normal to start getting oily again.

The mask is made of a luxuriously thick and soft cotton that spreads easily and fits well over the contours of my face. It also contains just the right amount of moisturising liquid and does not come out of the packet dripping in a gooey mess. All in all, I thought this mask is excellent for when you want to rebalance stressed, dehydrated skin. I'm not sure whether it can produce any longlasting improvements in your skin since I had only one piece to try out (as part of a GWP) but it's a good option to explore.

Lush Haul

To my great surprise, I found a Lush store at Ambi Mall in Gurgaon! Lush used to be available in Singapore's Isetan Orchard department store in the 1990s but it pulled out after a couple of years, probably 'cos few Singaporeans were keen on the idea of $10 bath bombs. And being a tropical country, most people take showers rather than baths. Although Lush is also available in Japan where I lived for a few years, I never got into it but I got to know the distinctive aroma of a Lush store as there was one just two minutes from my apartment in Tokyo.



But my buddy, The Muse is a big Lushie fan and reading her reviews got me interested in trying out a few products. I picked up:
1. Mask of Magnaminty (125g, Rs380)
2. Herbalism Cleanser (Rs 550 for 100g)
3. Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser (Rs 550 for 100g)
4. Fresh Farmacy Cleanser (Rs 520 for 100g)
5. Coolanlin conditioner (250g, Rs 750)
6. Veganese conditioner (240g, Rs 720)

I've only tried out the Herbalism Cleanser and really liked it. It's a kaolin and glycerine-based cleanser with ground almonds, rice bran, rose petals, powdered nettle, rose absolute, chamomile oil, sage oil, and chlorophyllin water. It's meant to be mixed into a paste with some water and then applied in a scrubbing motion. It left my skin baby soft, smooth and feeling refreshed!



As you're supposed to use only a peanut size amount each time, this little tub should last for about three months, which is the typical shelf life of Lush's skincare products as they contain no preservatives. It costs 550 rupees for 100g, which is about S$16.60, which is quite affordable and about the same price as the US where it's US$10.75 (about S$16.13) for 100g. Once you add in the US sales tax, the prices in India work out to be cheaper! UK is still the cheapest though, where it costs £5.14 (S$11.40).

Angels on Bare Skin



Mask of Magnaminty



I've also tried out the Veganese hair conditioner which has lemon for shine and seaweed for softness, plus lavender flower infusion and rosemary infusion. It worked quite well and left my hair smooth and untangled without any heavy buildup that you sometimes get from heavy conditioners. I wished it had a stronger lemon scent though!

Bihada Ichizoku 3rd Anniversary

To commemorate its third anniversary, Bihada Ichizoku has released a set of masks that includes a clear lip gloss, the three sheet masks from the regular line and a new Sheet Mask DX that is available only as part of this set (1850yen). As this is limited edition and a great deal (the sheet masks usually retail for 450yen each), not to mention you get to try out four different masks, this is definitely worth buying if you have the chance! Sheet Mask DX is made with moisturising ingredients such as royal jelly extract.



Bihada Ichizoku is a popular manga-inspired line of skincare that can be found in most Japanese drugstores.

Bihada Ichizoku

Just two more days before I leave Tokyo so naturally I had to go around my favourite haunts. Picked up the new Kanto region-exclusive version of the Bihada Ichizoku Sheet Mask (pack of 4 for 1800yen) and the new Kurobara Kamen Sheet Mask (450yen for one sheet) which comes in a distinctive jet black packaging. The Kurobara sheet mask itself is also black, unlike the usual white sheet masks. The Kurobara version contains extracts of artichoke, daisy and yellow flax as well as alpha arbutin while the Kanto-exclusive version has an apple scent and extracts of ginseng, lettuce, tomato and nutto (fermented bean). The other regional versions include Hokkaido (lavender fragrance and crab essence[?!]), Chubu (grape fragrance and grape extract), Kansai (orange & lemon fragrance and tea extract) and Kyushu (strawberry fragrance and extract).

These are the Kyushu and Kansai versions.

I also picked up the Testimo DG-01 single eyeshadow that was just released as part of the autumn collection. It's a gorgeous deep emerald green. Do check it out if you can!

Bihada Ichizoku

If you've shopped at drugstores in Japan, there is a very high likelihood that you would have seen the Bihada Ichizoku line of face masks and skincare. It's a popular brand made by Labo Labo with packaging that features characters from a popular serial novel. Here's an article on the origin of the brand:

http://web-jpn.org/trends/business/bus070306.html

The current line-up includes the following items. I've also included their average star rating on @Cosme. Each sheet mask contains 27ml of moisturiser.

1. Sheet Mask (pink packaging) 450yen for one sheet, or 1890yen for pack of 4: for more translucent, glowy skin. Contains pearl and seaweed extracts. (4.1 stars)

2. Sheet Mask RM (purple packaging): For dry skin. Contains trehalose, hyaluronic acid and cactus extract. (4.7 stars)

3. Sheet Mask SK (beige packaging): For deep moisturising and countering skin discolourations. Contains birch extract and alpha arbutin for whitening. (4.2 stars)

4. Milky Bath 180yen (4.3 stars): has a rose fragrance, hyaluronic acid and collagen

5. Hot Bath 180yen (5.3 stars): Supposedly improves your skin by making you sweat!

6. Clear Gel 1890yen (4 stars): for exfoliating

7. Cream 2100yen (4.6 stars): Described as an "aqua gel", this is a moisturiser in a gel formula. Contains egg protein, pearl extract. On this webpage, just scroll down to the middle to see what it looks like upon application.

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/aptcare/o210#o210