August is Over {Haul}

Yay for August. I was actually surprised that its already over and yes, September is here. Anyhoo, here are some of the stuffs that I got from last month. Pretty much facial stuff which are part of my routine and a body mist which I bought because I don't feel like just standing there so I had to buy something for me not to look weird or what :p

First up, is my complete set of Daiso Charcoal Products. Yay! I am so glad my mother bought them for me from a local Daiso shop (called Saizen here in the Philippines). I got all three from the charcoal series, which includes the charcoal mask, the cleansing cream and the cleansing foam. I already have a charcoal mask and have posted a review of the product, and the one below is just a spare one in case the other will be all consumed.

Daiso Natual Pack / Charcoal Mask

Daiso Cleansing Cream

Daiso Cleansing Foam

The second item is another variant of St. Ives' facial scrub. I remember the first one that I bought was a smaller one. It was an apricot scrub but the label says invigorating, and so for my second bottle I bought a bigger one but a different variant this time. I was actually having a hard time deciding between this and the other one. Not that I know the difference but I was mainly basing it on the ingredients, this St. Ives Blemish and Blackhead Control which contains salicylic acid and the other one which has AHA. I really wanted the AHA one because I have gone through an AHA treatment, but my previous blog readings told me that I should be more on the lookout for products containing sacylic acid (yeah oily combination skin sucks), so thats how I ended up deciding on this one. Maybe I'll get the other one next time :D

St. Ives Apricot Scrub, Blemish and Blackhead Control

And then of course I didn't forget to grab a bottle of eRAse oil. This keeps me sane eveytime I have breakouts. Though I find it more useful in helping me clear out acne scars, and believe me it really works, well at least for me it does. The peeling would start even after a few hours and in the morning I would wake up to a sunburned face. Ha! Not that I mind peeling, but if it gets rid of the scars, then lets peel all the way because I have all the time in the world. Haha.

eRAse Peeling Oil

And lastly is this bottle of Daily Spell Body Mist from Bench/. Like I said, I really don't need one but was forced to buy because I am not a fan of window shopping, so I have to actually buy something to avoid feeling like an idiot. The tester on the shelf actually smelled good, but when I tried it at home somewhat it smelled like a boy's parfume. Lol.

Daily Spell Body Mist from Bench/

And there it goes. Hopefully I'll be back to full time blogging in the next few days.. I really did miss writing, and so does my friends from here :)

Review: Daiso Charcoal Mask

Hello there :) I'm back again with another product to review. I've had this product for quite a while already and I have been using it ever since I got hold of it, but not on a weekly or monthly basis. And since I have already tried it more than once, I feel confident now to post my review of this product, the ever popular Daiso Charcoal Mask ^_^

Originally, Daiso products can be bought in Japan as these are from their 100 yen shop. Super affordable right? But when you buy this online like on ebay for example, it would really cost you much so I suggest that you try to look at your local shop if they have Daiso products. As for someone like me who lives in the Philippines, this can be easily found in a shop called Saizen, which is an eighty pesos something shop. So its just like the original Daiso which is 100 yen per item only.

Its a charcoal peel off mask that promises to remove blackheads, whiteheads and other skin dirt as well as tighten pores. Hmm. Considering the hype that this has become, the reviews online are actually fifty fifty, a mix between good and bad ones. But then again I still think that in whatever product, there will always be good and bad reviews because of course each person has a different skin type. What might work for someone might not work for the others. But here is my honest review of this product :)

SPECIFICATIONS

• Item Name: Charcoal Mask Natural Pack
• Brand: Daiso
• Country of Origin: Korea
• Size: approx. 134 (L) x 36 (W) x 36 (D) mm (5.28 x 1.41 x 1.41 inch)
• Net Weight: approx. 80 g (2.82 oz)
• Weight with Packing: approx. 91.7 g (3.23 oz)

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

This is a Charcoal Mask is made by Daiso that is formulated with Natural ingredients from Oak trees. It removes oils, dirt, keratin and sebum in the sebaceous follicles of the skin. It deeply cleans the pore, leaving your skin clearer and smooth with less visible pores.

INGREDIENTS

Water, Polyvinyl alcohol, Ethanol (alcohol), Charcoal, Magnesium aluminum silicate, Crystalline cellulose, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil Methylparaben, Cortex mori extract, Xanthan Gum, Butylparaben, EDTA - 2Na

MORE DETAILS

Formulated with Natural ingredients from Oak trees

Removes oils, dirt, keratin and sebum in the sebaceous follicles of the skin

Deeply clean the pore and leaving your skin clearer with less visible pores

Made in Korea

Produced by Japanese Brand Daiso

HOW TO APPLY

After cleansing your face, apply evenly on the entire area on your face in appropriate amount. Please ensure that eyebrows, eyes, and mouth do not come into contact with mask. Let it completely dry for 10 ~ 15min. If completely dried out, peel if off starting at the bottom, pulling toward the top. (You will know this when it's no longer sticky and skin feels tight.)

• Use it once per week
• It can be very sticky so peeling it off can be a bit difficult. You can apply an amount that's just enough to cover your skin's surface (Don't layer it on thickly)
• For sensitive skin, test the product on a small patch first to test for irritation and allergies. Apply facial essence before use, and slowly peel it off starting at the top toward the bottom
• After peeling off the mask, cleanse your face well with cold water to close up the pores

After cleaning my face, I applied it for the first time on my entire face just for this review. I usually only put it on my nose, T-zone and jaw because the peeling process hurts :D

PRECAUTION

• If any irritation occurs, stop using it and consult with doctor
• Keep out of reach of children
• Having it on your eyes please wash it immediately.
• Remove the residue with water after peeling it off from your face.
• Keep away from the reach of children.

I had two layers of this mask applied on my face because I figured it works best if it is thick. But you have to apply it layer by layer and just build it up.


After it has dried up completely, I started to peel it off. Yes, its painful :|  But you'll get used to it too. Haha Its just painful because facial hairs are removed too. Here's how the peeled mask is. It looks dirty and gross and ew and all, sorry :)

MY THOUGHTS

I really love this mask. Now I totally understand the hype about this product. It works well and is also very affordable. The only thing I dont like about this product is that its not locally available, and buying on ebay would cost me a lot. But other than that, this product really works well for me and I like it. Also, it says it can remove blackheads but I cant seem to see any black heads on the mask because uhm its black? Haha I'm not sure though

Pros

✓ removes dead skin 

✓ removes facial hair

✓ removes white heads

✓ very affordable when bought in Saizen or Daiso

Cons

x not locally available

x expensive if bought on ebay

x painful when mask is removed

x sticky when applying

x black color makes it impossible for me to see if blackheads were removed too

RATING

♔ ♔ ♔ ♔ ♔

If you want to try out these mask, you better check out your local Daiso stores. I also saw that there are 2 more other products of this range and I am hoping to get my hands on them soon when my mother visits Saizen again in Davao City. I will be reviewing them soon, and a lot more other products :)

Review - Garnier Pure Self-Heating Sauna Mask

I have bought this product last year but I was only able to do a review today. I was out looking for a facial mas or a mud pack to try out on my skin and I stumbled upon this product on the store - Garnier Skin Naturals Pure Self Heating Sauna Mask. I bought it because it says its a mask :D

The upper half of the sachet

The product comes in a sachet divided into two parts. I was already able to consume the upper half, and the other half is almost gone too.

The product says it deeply purifies the skin for 7 days. Well, I don't know about that but here's my experience. After applying the mask, I suddenly felt my face getting hot. I guess its because of the self heating sauna effect that it has. After a while I washed my face and when I look at the mirror I saw whiteheads coming out and popping. I do not know if this is good or bad, but upon reading blogs of other users, they said that the product caused breakouts on their skin so I guess this is a sign of a breakout too, though I am not certain. But still, I love it when the whiteheads come out because its easier for me to remove them. Also, I can feel that my skin is already clean and refresh, though the effect does not last longer.

Garnier products that I am using

Me with the mask :D

Overall, I am a 50-50. I am undecided about the product because I am quite happy with the result, but still sad about the breakouts. I am not sure yet if I will purchase this again, but I will finish the pack. Maybe I will just look for another facial mask or mad pack to try. I am currently searching for those mud packs so Im gonna blog about it here if I already found one :)