Monday, March 21, 2016

Skincare Routine Mondays: March 21, 2016

Back from my allergy attack!!! The adverse reaction happened on Sunday, and I actually went back to normal (kind of) around Thursday.

First Impressions, basically a short NPE!!! for the Lovemore mask (#6) and a further impression on the Mizon AIO Snail Repair Cream (now that I've phased out the Nature Republic Combination Watery Cream).
  1. Oil Cleanser: None. Still none. Whatever. I don't wear make-up.
  2. Water-based Cleanser: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser.
  3. Toner: Missha's Clear Toner (in the Time Revolution Starter Set). Actually made my irritated skin tingle a bit, but such a slight reaction. I think using this and the First Essence really helped to rejuvenate my skin.
  4. Serum or essence: Not quite an essence/serum, but a "First" Essence-- Missha's The First Treatment Essence (in the Time Revolution Starter Set).
  5. Moisturizer:
     AMAveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30. But sometimes I just use NR's Combo Watery Cream with Biore's Watery Essence PA 50+++. Depends on how greasy I  feel.  
    PM 
    :Mizon - All in One Snail Repair Cream (75ml)
  6. Treatment Sheet Mask: Lovemore's Pearl Barley and Milk sheet mask
First Impressions, basically a short NPE!!! for the Lovemore mask.

Think about this name... Lovemore and hell yes! I'd lovemore of this mask, because it really is, simply put, that fabulous!

As you may have read, I was suffering from a very adverse allergic reaction on the lower half of my face. It was awful and instantly blew up, making my poor skin suffer. After the redness and swelling had died down, I was left with skin that felt like sand paper, like the winds of time themselves hit my face and left my skin coarse with windburn.


It was horrific.

However, on Thursday, I had the great idea (and unlike the accidental numbing agent, this was a great idea) to try out of my of precious Lovemore Masks. I tried out the Pearl Barley and Milk soothing mask, because I needed the smoothing part for sure. Not to mention that the "pearl barley" they are taking about is none other than Job's Tears (薏仁 yi ren) which is the main ingredient in one of my favorite traditional Chinese breakfast shop beverages Yi Ren Jiang (薏仁漿), which all the ladies at the bakeshop loved to tell me that it helps me skin become even white. Not a goal I actually want to attain, but I LOVE THIS DRINK. It reminds me of oatmeal, but not quite, much lighter and SO MUCH BETTER. So good, that it made me sooooo happy to put it on my face.

Here's a googled image that shows you the difference between "pearl barley" and "Job's tears"

Unlike other brands, Lovemore only comes in five to a box. The box itself cost me around $250 NTD, or in American, about $7 to $8 dollars. It wasn't as easy to find, especially not at a good price. I think it was a deal that I got at Poya which is an AWESOME place to get masks. They have so much variety, you can buy the pack of 5 (or ten, as it's with My Beauty Diary), individual packs (which is how I sampled a million types of My Scheming masks). Seriously, I know people like their (overpriced) Watson's, and then there is (the occasionally limited) Cosmed, but NOTHING beat Poya and the fact that Poya stores are HUGE and have vastly selection on basically EVERYTHING (even got my beloved panty-liners here for mad cheap, but that's another story). According to this week's Poya DM, My Scheming Masks (ten pack) are 2 for $285 NTD, which according to Google is around $8.81 USD. That is TWENTY masks for 44 cents a PIECE. Can we talk about how AWESOME that is?! Because it's damn awesome. Though I "dan dian"d my My Scheming masks and it was only twenty cents more per mask and I didn't get any duplicates; there were too many types to choose from!! Right now My Beauty Diary (which is also quite high in quality) is being sold at two for $419 NTD, which is about 12/13 dollars a pack, making it less than $1.30 a mask, which is why I think mask prices in the US are really so absurd. They also have kept up with the trends and do offer some random K-beauty. I got my teeny tiny Guerisson horse oil cream from there. Which is more like a salve, so maybe I bought the wrong thing?

Bottomline: Got these Lovemore masks along with a variety of My Scheming, My Beauty Diary, and NRK masks, and that's only the Taiwan side of things.

What makes this mask different is that it's not only thin, but it understands that it needs a protective layer as to not let the serum evaporate as quickly. Therefore, though I did cover it with my silicon mask from Daiso, it already came with it's own cover. The plastic white sheet comes off, and you're supposed to keep the blue sheet on. Except I didn't read the directions (which, for once, I can read and understand without English translation) and took the blue sheet off. But you can see how transparent and thin it is, almost like the new My Beauty Diary masks.

And the smell, the light sweet milky smell!! It was so aromatic and lovely and I have to say I really enjoyed smelling the mask itself as well as wearing it. It was delicious!!

This mask also has the thinnest lip slit ever. Which is fine because I have some rather thin lips, and actually worked out in my favor because as a part of the allergic reaction I was having, my lips were equally chapped and rough. But look how it cut off the tops of my lips, aka, the Cupid's Bow. My lips are so thin, that this is something I rarely if ever had to deal with. The mask lined right up with the bottom lip and it was snug, but I can't say I was going to complain. My lips/face needs as much pampering as possible.

I LOVED IT SO MUCH. It is truly my current NO.1 mask. Is it HG status worthy? Quite possibly. The serum that this mask is soaked in, really, really, really saved my poor suffering skin and I am so grateful for that.

Thank you Lovemore, for making me love you more.




Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Whine and Cheese: Jolse and Online Shopping for Asian Beauty Products

This is me whining, so please, look away!


Allergic Reaction Part Deux: The Accidental NUMBing Cream

This morning my face still feels like a wreck from the allergic reaction. Just using Aquaphor at night was not enough and my skin feels sandpaper even with all the oils.

Having a fair amount of facial skin issues, I found a small (re: sample) tube of Locoid Lotion (hydrocortisone butyrate 0.1%). The lotion is very thin and I apply a small layer to my gross dry allergic reaction skin. But in three seconds, it feels like nothing has changed and I am still getting ready to leave for work and I can't stand the idea that my skin will feel like this all day.

Time to bring in the BIG GUNS. Meaning, my stash of eczema cream. My cousin suffers from an extreme case of eczema, so having random eczema creams around isn't unusual.

However, being a fan of Asian Beauty products, I had purchased a very small pot of Japanese Mentholatum AD Cream. It's very small and I have yet to use it up. It looks like Eucerin on appearance, but has a much lighter consistency and even less of a smell. Good for dry patches and itchy, scaly skin.

So with my face being all windburned feeling, I decide that it's a good idea to try the cream out since it's very mild and I've never had a problem with it before.

Key phrase: before.

Took a q-tip, and started to smear a thin layer across my chin and upper lip. So far it feels nice and soothing. But, ack, of course I am a klutz and got some on my lips and it's tastes terrible!!

But worse than tasting terrible.... it tastes... NUMB?! Wait, what?!? My lip is numb exactly where I accidentally swiped the AD Cream. In wiping it off I realize that my whole face is going numb. It feels like I have been stung by a ghost of a hive and my face does not look red, it does not feel hot, but it simply does not feel.

Somehow, my poor skin has been zapped and I immediately go and wash off whatever it is on my skin.

via Taipei Beauty Blog
My skin is not fully functional until over an hour later. Maybe two, and by three it feels more normal, but it is getting red. Smiling while numb is hard, and it makes me realize how many facial expressions I usually have especially since they are all repressed by this numbing agent.

In Googling "Mentholatum AD Cream," a lovely but out-date beauty blog by the title Taipei Beauty Closet pops up as  second to purchasing the cream via Amazon. The blog has a review with pictures of a the product identical to the one I just washed off my face (as pictured here, all rights got to TPBC, thank you).

She writes that, "[t]he AD Cream [...] contains anti-itch ingredients (crotamiton, lidocaine and diphenhydramine)" which I am thinking are NOT good ideas to mix with hydrocortisone butyrate. Something along the lines of "these drugs don't mix, you dumbass" goes through my head as the list of unknown ingredients mixing and interacting with each other is probably not a good thing.

However, I have never felt numbing the way that I have felt this way. Now, terrified of all ointments I retreat back to something more natural... my Holika Holika Purity 99% Aloe Soothing Gel. The ingredients are quite simple, and it usually does the trick when I have sunburn. However, it is not oily, is a but sticky when it's drying, and overall, sometimes I can't deal with the scent of aloe. It just doesn't smell that great to me.

It is now four hours later and my face looks like I have sunburn. It is not longer numb and does not feel as sandpapery as before, however it is VERY red. The aloe is probably soothing over whatever it is that burned it in the first place. Probably my regrettable decision to layer two creams with such chemical ingredients.

This is bad news bears, guys. My face is inflamed looking, which is bad for people who have to look for me, but at least I feel a bit better. The aloe might not be completely effective, but at least my skin doesn't feel bad. It just looks awful.

So every now and again, I pump a bit of aloe out and blot it on my face. The redness is pretty awful, but I have to say it feels better than when my face was numb and felt like it had been botox'd.

Ah, what a stupid thing to do. I don't know why it seemed like a good idea to me in the first place. Dumb allergic reactions and silly randomly sensitive skin.

Monday, March 14, 2016

ALLERGIC REACTIONS: Sadface Mondays

Usually I would be doing my Skincare Routine, however, I have had to take a break from that since I am suffering from an allergic reaction all over my face and parts of my neck.

Last night I scooped up my precious kitty, Sum-sum, and gave him a big ol' kiss on his head as I do every other day of the week. I was gone for a night or two and missed his fuzzybutt terribly.

However, I noticed that as I was walking around with him in my arms that my face started to get itchy. No big deal, and he is quite the fuzzy cat and it's probably a couple of his long hair just sticking to my face.

Passing by the kitchen mirror I notice that something is wrong, wrong, wrong with my face. It looks like I just got slapped across the chin!

My face, eyes down, is swollen, red, and splotchy. What an adverse reaction to showing affection to my baby Sums. It makes me sad.

Put ointment on it, as it feels quite dry and chapped, and though it is not a red as it was yesterday, it still feels like sandpaper has been dragged across my face.

Skincare routine on hold until my skin returns to its normal state.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Skincare Routine Mondays: March 7, 2016

  1. Oil Cleanser: None. Still none. Whatever. I don't wear make-up.
  2. Water-based Cleanser: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. Only wish this company was cruelty-free. That would make my year!
  3. Toner: Missha's Clear Toner (in the Time Revolution Starter Set). It turns out that it's supposed to be wipe off dirt kind of toner, not the set in the skin toner (as I have been treating it). However, every time I have used the cotton-ball method, I don't get any coloring on the cotton ball. Does that mean my face is too clean?!?! What is going on? I rather like using it as a prep, instead of a wipe-off. I think I am will stick to my old methods instead.
  4. Serum or essence: Not quite an essence/serum, but a "First" Essence-- Missha's The First Treatment Essence (in the Time Revolution Starter Set).
  5. Moisturizer:
     AMAveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30. But sometimes I just use NR's Combo Watery Cream with Biore's Watery Essence PA 50+++. Depends on how greasy I  feel.  
    PM 
    Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Combination Watery Cream.
  6. NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTION: Mizon - All in One Snail Repair Cream (75ml)
First Impressions, basically a short NPE!!!  Lookee here at numero 6! 

I am making the transition because I am nearly out of the Nature Republic Combination Watery Cream. Which I am sad about, but more so because I won't be able to get it at amazing duty-free prices anymore. Out with the old and in with the new.

However, any this is definitely a did she really go there? Yeah, she did... kind of moment. 

---IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OLD STOP HERE, DON'T READ ANY FURTHER----!