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.

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.

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:
    AM: Aveeno 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----!

Skincare Routine Mondays: Feb 29, 2016 Leap Year Edition!

1. Oil Cleanser: None. Still none. Still feel unnecessary. My bad.
2. Water-based Cleanser: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. This is also the Sephora birthday gift. I can't wait to get mine and then I can play with the rose mask. 
3. Toner: Missha's Clear Toner (in the Time Revolution Starter Set).
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:
    AM: Aveeno 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.

Nothing much has changed except for the fact that I am now including a chemical peel once or twice a week (depending on how I feel). The lady at Sephora gave my friend and me three days worth Dr. Dennis Gross extra strength daily peels, and the first time I used it I was nervous at how much my fine lines really did decrease. However, I have used it twice in conjunction with an assortment of "revitalizers" in order to compensate for their harshness. 

The first time I did the peel, a clay mask, my usual routine of #3 and #4 and then a hydrating face mask. Boy did my skin feel great!!

Right now, I used a peel (evenings only since it makes normal skin photosenstive and I'm naturally "photosensitive" anyway and don't want to risk sun damage). Then the rest of the Caudalie Pink Clay mask and my usual 3/4/5. I hope it's enough and that I don't feel sad tomorrow when I wake up with skin trying to re-balance itself.

Still have an oily t-zone, but not nearly as bad as when I was using the Donkey Milk 3D moisture. After my NR Combo Watery Cream is done (and it will be done before I know it), I'm moving on to the Mizon AIO Snail cream. Hopefully that won't be too crazy and make my t-zone greasy again.

Sephora Sample Wonderland: SUPER PORE KILLER EXPERIMENT

To be honest, when I talk to the associates at Sephora, I really take EVERYTHING with a huge grain of sand. Sometimes a boulder of sand. But really, the advice that they give out is not always the best, nor applicable towards my skin. It's really important not to just feed in and think what they say is by the book, especially when labels note otherwise.

Getting another Glamglow SuperMud mask sample as well as three days worth of Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta® Peel Extra Strength Daily Peel, has given me the guts to try Fiddy Snails's "Super Pore Killer" method, which these two ingredients would be great for. Plus, I have an Eve Lom cleanser sample I would love to try out.

However, I am nervous about trying out multiple products at once since two out of three will be new. Either way, trying out anything that is supposed to be a "super pore killer" is going to be terrifying in my eyes. On my face, rather. Let me put on my purple ears headband and get to work.

While I'm doing that-- follow-up from last week:

ONE IMPORTANT THING I noticed, after the last Clay Mask SSH (Sephora Sample Wonderland) Experiment, was that the right side of my face... on the chin at least, I had MORE defined sebaceous filaments. Yes, those pores got bigger, darker, and more pronounced on only HALF of my chin. It was the side where I tried Glam glow, it was also the side that I tried the Kakadu C Amethyst mask. WHAT MADE THEM POP UP?!? It had to be a product because the line between regular pores and new big pores is just so definitive, it's almost ridiculous.

Continuing on with the Super Pore Killer Experiment brought to you by Sephora Sample Wonderland and a Fiddy Snails Post:

Step 1: Apply the AHA/BHA whatever it is that is going to loosen the sebum. The Dr. Dennis Gross soaked pads made my face a little red, but half is from my rubbing my face down, and the other half is from the face that I am rubbing my face down more harshly over my "problem spots," aka, my schnoze.

Happy Ears and Clogged Pores!

Mistake 1: Did NOT wait 20-25 minutes for the thing to do its thang as Fiddy Snails directed. Honestly, it was not a stridex pad and my skin felt dry as bone after a minute or two of doing it. Since it's a two step peel, I feel like the first step was where Stridex would have stopped and the second step stopped it. Who knows.

Step 2: Apply clay mask. SuperMud is coming into play here. It is only on my problem spots as I do not need to apply it to my whole face. It is drying, I am five minutes into a very thin layer that has already dried on what portion of my forehead I have applied it to.

Wet, Dry, Up Close and Personal

Mistake 2: Not using tepid/lukewarm water to wash off the mask... The sink in my bathroom has a new faucet and I have not yet mastered the temperature. It was lukewarm when I started rinsing the mask off my face... and then it got hot really fast. Good thing I was just about done with the mask, but it didn't help that it was hot by the end of the rinsing. Also, my skin did not feel overly dry, another good indicator, I hope.

Step 3: Apply cleansing oil/carrier oil. Fiddy Snails uses Banila Co, which I couldn't bring myself to purchase at Incheon Duty Free. However, as I noted above, I have Eve Lom Cleanser, which the first ingredient is mineral oil, so it satisfies the oil need. There are these little bumps in my Eve Lom, but once I applied it in a gentle way to my face, they disappeared. The Eve Lom cleanser is a sort of cleansing balm, and feel like I'm rubbing that naturally smelly kind of mineral oil on my face. It becomes kind of liquidy once it hits the heat of my face. Still waiting 10-15 minerals before I see if I have any "grits" though I doubt it. Hmm, my lips feel dry. That's odd.

Step 4: Gently massage for 2-3 minutes. No Grits. Just Oil On My Face Being Rubbed In Circles. Oil. Oil. More Oil. Milky Oily. Ew, Rinse Said Oil.

Step 5: Take a look at the work that's been done. Are my pores minimized? Have they been SUPER KILLED?! I do feel like I took the skin that is my face and put a layer of plastic wrap and wrapped it back on to my face. It is a shiny and tight as it looks and feels. No after pictures, they all came out blurry and out of focus-- I think the shine was throwing it off.

Mistake 3: Maybe it's not a mistake, but this is the first time that I have used a clay mask and not instantly used a sheet mask to compensate for the sucking outtage of oils from said face. However, I felt like the Eve Lom cleanser was very oily and balanced it out a bit more. Still using and I am going to use up my Nature Republic Combination Watery Cream. We will see how my poor face fares tomorrow.

Sephora Sample Wonderland: Clay Masks Part Deux - DERMADOCTOR Kakadu CAmethyst Clay Detox Mask vs Caudalie Instant Detox Mask

First things first: read the directions. So I headed over to find the directions. One sad thing about the Sephora Sample Wonderland is that though they print out a little "receipt" of sorts about the product, they never actually tell you how to use it. Yay for the Internet to provide such simple things. 

DERMADOCTOR Kakadu C Amethyst Clay Detox Mask:

Apply a generous layer to clean, dry skin. Leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with warm water, and pat dry. Use three times a week.

Caudalie Instant Detox:

Smear a thin coat over clean skin twice a week. Leave for 10 minutes then rinse, following with your favorite serum or moisturizer.

As you can see, both of these masks suggest being used multiple times a week. Would I really suggest that? Cannot say for sure right now, but they're definitely no super power that Glamglow has. I do say that I like how the Caudalie directions tell you to follow with what ought to be common sense, but is something I highly doubt people take into consideration. I actually used my normal toner and first essence regieme post-mask since I already did a sheet mask yesterday. Following with Missha's snail cell new sleeping pack (which I think of more as a nicely fragranced, kind of stickier moisturizer) which I have yet to really see any results from, but wanted a protective barrier.

The Kakadu C was thicker and smelled like blueberries, or maybe it just looked like blueberry colored, but definitely had a grape or sweet very like smell. It was thick and not very easy to spread, however I do wonder if that was because this was the bottom of the jar that I received the sample from. It smelled nice, but was very tacky and reminded me of the Peter Thomas Roth Irish Moor Mud. This mask also did not change colors when it dries, or if it did it was very subtle.

The Caudalie mask was pink and had a light refreshing and almost kind of minty smell. The texture was smoother and more like Glamglow, but without the grains. It went on smoothly and very nicely, I have to say that part really felt nice. Akin to Glamglow, when it dries it changed colors and had this air pocket all over where my sebum probably is the most. The instant gratification kind of fell knowing that your trouble spots are being properly targeted. It's a pink clay, so maybe the bubble or circles in the mask when it dries are really a property of clay masks. This needs more research.

However, the Sephora lady this time was stingy, and I hardly had enough to put in my entire face, especially the Kaladu C, that ran out on half of my face and I wasn't even that generous. It was difficult to spread and I didn't have enough to do a whole face, what a bad sample. The Caudalie spread so nicely and even generously spread it was not tough and there is enough for another go. Best make it to Sephora again for another sample, hopefully out of a fresher jar this time.

Sorry for the yellowish lighting, but it's really more of a blue/purple than gray. Kakadu C is made from a sort of plum, though the color seems artificial to me. The Caudalie is a light pink that almost looks like a nude when on, which is how I missed a small spot. However, it's dries very obviously and turns a white-ish pink.

On the lower right you can see the instant gratification spots I mentioned earlier.

Bottom line: Needs a part deux, but I am definitely leaning towards the Caudalie. Finally, something Caudalie that I like! Their other products usually have a smell that I just can't stand.