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Iman Ridzuan

Ayyyy, as promised. Here's my morning skincare routine! Not much difference though, I only switch one or two products from my night skincare routine, and the rest stays the same. My morning routine is a lot simpler than the night, that's because I don't like to layer too much in the morning.

1. Cleanser



Same product, I use the Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleanser for my morning cleanser too, but without the clarisonic. I used to use it only at night, and use a foaming type cleanser in the morning but I find that my T-Zone still gets oily throughout the day. So I figured that the foam in the cleanser might be drying for my skin, causing the sebum to produce more oil to compensate the oil loss by the foam cleanser. I switched to this gentle cleanser and viola! The sebum production on my T-Zone has been reduced tremendously! I'm just gonna stay away from foaming cleansers from now on. Sorry for the torn looking bottle, I've had this for almost a year now haha!

2. Toner



I use the same toner in the morning too, which is the Son&Park Beauty Water. For some days, when I am in a hurry or don't feel like washing my face with facial cleanser after shower, I only use a cotton pad and this toner to clean off any debris from last night and that works just as good.

3. Serum



In the morning, I only use 2 instead of 3 drops of this serum for my entire face. Like I said, I don't like to layer too much in the morning. I like to keep it light, avoiding as much causes for an oily skin as possible. But I still want the benefit of this serum to speed up the process of brightening my hyperpigmentation so I have to use it in the morning too.

4. Eye Cream



I just included this eye cream from Skinfood to replace my Garnier one, so I can't really tell how much it has improved my dark circles. But it has been moisturizing my under eyes very well I would say. Will keep you updated!


5. Moisturizer



I have only used this Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel for around two to three weeks, but oh my god. It has become my holy grail moisturizer! I never thought I could find anything that would work so well for my oily T-Zone, but this moisturizer really hydrates your skin very well that my sebum forgot to produce its oil like they usually do lolol. My foundation applies so smoothly on top, it never looked so flawless before. And it feel so light on the skin too! Really, no complain at all if you can overlook at the price. But hell no I am not gonna switch to anything anymore. I even bought for my mum for Mother's Day and she loves it too that she asked me to buy the whole 3 step set for her hahahaa. This one is a BAE. Okay enough, I'll do full review on it soon, but I'll have to test it long enough first okay?

If you have been following my blog before I think you'd know that I used the Royal Expert White Cream as my moisturizer. I still have it, but I stopped using it just because I needed something that would help with oil control. It's still a great cream if you're looking one for brightening, but I guess it's not moisturizing enough for my skin. Maybe I'll use it sometimes for night time, just to finish up the jar hehe.
Update : Lately there has been a scandal about the Royal Exoert Cream that says it contains a high amount of mercury but they are running a second test for it. Thank God I've stopped  using it! No mercury withdrawal symptom happens on me so far so the scandal might be true or no, we'll just wait for the test result.


5. Sunblock


Sun protection is a must. There's no way I'm gonna let the Sun to darken my hyperpigmentation after every effort and money I've spent to brighten them up lol. My favourite two to use would be this one by Biore and another one from Innisfree. But I like the Biore one slightly better just because the Innisfree can get a little oily on me throughout the day, so if you have dry to normal skin, go for the Innisfree one!
Tuesday, May 30, 2017 2 comments

I've been wanting to post about my skincare routine for the longest time ever, but ya know me, I'm a girl who change my skincare products pretty regularly so I wanted to wait until I have found the products that I am confident to not be able to live without. I want to share the products that I know have been doing miraculous changes for my skin, and so here they are! As a guide, I have a combination skin where the area of my cheeks are normal, but the T-Zone is pretty oily.

1. Makeup Remover

I do double cleanse. For some reason I forgot to put the product that I use to take off my makeup before I cleanse my skin using normal cleanser lol, but I use the Senka's Perfect Watery Oil  to first melt off any makeup that I have on. I find that double cleansing is really important because your normal cleanser should be cleansing your skin, kills any nasty bacteria and clean all sorts of gunk inside the pores, so you should really take off that layer of makeup first for your normal cleanser to be able to do its job to the maximum potential. Any makeup remover will do!

2. Cleanser


I am currently using the Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel as my morning and night facial wash, and I specifically use it with clarisonic at night time. These two together, is like peanut butter and jelly. It's just perfect! Clarisonic itself can be a little harsh to use daily, but I do want to use it daily anyway because I find that it really helps to really clean any excess makeup that my makeup remover couldn't remove. And it has helped so much in clearing out my skin, therefore I have to make sure that I use a really gentle cleanser with it. I have tried using my clarisonic with a bunch of other foaming cleansers but they just dry my skin out so I decided to use with with a non foaming gel cleanser, and it's just perfect. Highly recommend these two.

Full Review of Clarisonic 
Full Review of Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gell

2. Exfoliator


One of my skin concerns right now is blackhead, so I try to incorporate BHA (Salicylic Acid) in my skincare routine to help with that. Most of the nights, I'll use the Cosrx's BHA Power Liquid after toning my skin. This is a chemical exfoliator so it is gentle enough to be used regularly. But once a week, I'll use a physical exfoliator to really scrub the dead skin cells and dirt off. Also containing BHA, I loveee scrubbing with this St. Ives Green Tea Scrub.

Full Review on St. Ives Green Tea Scrub

3. Mask


I do not have any specific nights to put on a mask, I just use them whenever I feel like. But the two out of my masks collection that I use the most are the B&Soap Apate Black Mask and the Skinfood Rice Wash Off Mask. The Black Mask I use specifically when my skin is going through a breakout or during that time of the month when I have one or two pimples showing up because it contains ingredients such as charcoal and ash which are great for drawing out impurities. It is a bit drying, that's why I only use it for that purpose. The Rice Mask is great for brightening and moisturizing, so I always use it when i know I have somewhere important to go out tomorrow, so I'll just slather this on the night before. I love it so much, almost running out of it.


4. Toner


I use Son & Park Beauty Water as my toner. It's a great hydrating toner. I find that it really works wonders to take off any excess makeup after cleansing. This product is super famous in Korea and I can clearly see why. Kinda like micellar water, but this one works as a toner too as it has the pH balancing and hydration properties. So it's like 2 in 1 product. This takes off the most stubborn waterproof mascara and liquid lipstick like a breeze. But if you have troubled skin like acne or clogged pores, this won't really help in that department. It's a great product, but I think I love my Eucerin Dermo Purifyer toner a lot more so i'm gonna repurchase that once I am done with this.

5. Serum


I use the Dr. Color Effect Red Serum to help lighten up my hyperpigmentation and acne marks. So far, it has done a great job at that. Doesn't make my skin oily or anything. I usually use 3 drops of this at night, wait for at least 5 minutes for the product to completely absorb into my skin before proceeding to the next step because I don't want whatever product that I apply after to interfere with the ingredients of this serum.

Full Review of Red Serum

6. Eye Treatment


I was hesitant to share about this product, but it's the one that I'm currently using so why not. I use the garnier Light Brightening Eye Roller for my dark circles, but I haven't seen any changes. Been using it for months now, definitely won't repurchase lol. It's more like a serum, so it's not potent enough for my severe dark circles. I guess if you just want something to give a little bit of hydration and cooling under your eyes, maybe you can try it. I  have placed an order for an eye cream from skinfood, so I am just waiting for that to arrive. Hopefully that one will get the job done.

7. Moisturizer



To seal everything, I use Rire's Lucent White Pearl Cream as my moisturizer. You can get it from Althea.kr, not sure about anywhere else. Overall it's a nice moisturizer! My skin looks a bit brighter in the morning. But the most exciting about this cream is those pearls! I mean omg, aren't they the cutest thing ever? These pearls are soaked in essence of goodness and I'll just take one, pop it and smoothen it onto my face. One pearl is enough for one use. Full review on it, coming soon. 

And that's it! That's my night skincare routine. I know it seems like a lot, but trust me, it's gonna be really worth it to invest some time and money on our skin. I find it very therapeutic to do these every single night after a long day of work. Pampering my skin feels very relaxing to me. Hey, at least I only have 7 steps, don't let me start talking about the korean 10 steps skincare routine lol. 

But really, our skin is very important that if you don't start getting to know your skin now, who know's what's gonna happen in the next few years, and what should you do about it then. That's why you always see me reviewing skincare more than makeup. I do loveee makeup too, but skincare will always come as number 1. If you don't have to worry about your skin, you really don't have to worry about makeup. I have been through a whole lot of downs in this journey to clear skin. I won't say that I have a perfect skin right now, because I certainly do not, but I am so thankful for what I have achieved! It's all about try and error guys, what works for you may not work for someone else and vice versa. So just try them until you've found your true love. lol. Good luck!
Saturday, May 13, 2017 2 comments

It can be pretty hard to find the perfect foundation for every skin tone. Living in an asian country, drugstore foundations especially do not come in a wide variety of shades as they do in the westerns. I would say the variation of shades to choose from for every brand would be around 3-5 shades on average. I often have to mix match my foundations to get the perfect match for my skin tone. Even if I do found the perfect one, they always oxidize throughout the day making my face looks a lot more tan than the rest of my body.

Reviews.com have done an incredible research to help us girls and guys regarding this matter. They did a 40 hours of research and managed to narrow down the best 2 out of 364 types of foundations out there in the market with the help of experts and professional makeup artists. 

The best foundations picked is the best in every aspect that you would want in your foundation :

Ingredient
Shades variation
Performance
Coverage
Longevity


After the long searching, they came up with the best 2 foundations that live up to the expectations and they are Mac's Studio Face And Body Foundation for people who wants sheer to medium coverage, and Estee Lauder's Double Wear Stay In Place Makeup for medium to full coverage. Now it all make senses that people actually rave about these two a lot. 





I thought I would share the in depth article with you guys because it really did help me understand. Now I am really intrigued to try the foundations that they recommend in the article. Don't worry, drugstore option in provided! Click on the link provided below for the full article. Until then, see ya next time!

Link to full article : http://www.reviews.com/foundation/

Tuesday, May 09, 2017 No comments
Laneige is a mid end korean skincare brand which is very famous for their water sleeping mask and I have heard tons of hype around this product. It seems like everybody loves it so I thought to give it a try. This is indeed my very first sleeping mask!



This mask claims to hydrate and brighten the skin overnight. It's like your regular night moisturizer but better. Some people even use this as their nightly moisturizer because it is that good. The price is a little bit up there, but hey it's Laneige, and you do get a huge amount of uses out of this tub anyway. 70ml is a lot.




The mask is an opaque gel with a hint of blue hue, which appeals to me very refreshing. Note that it is fragranced, but the scent is not too overwhelming. I do actually like how it smells. Upon opening the lid it actually has a protective film on top to cover the mask but I took it off already. Loveee how this thing comes with a spatula, it makes everything so much more easier and hygienic! One scoop is enough for my whole face.




My skin drinks this mask like a dream! It is very easy to absorb into the skin and does not leave any greasy feeling at all. I do not apply any other moisturizer if I use this mask. Just slather it on, and go to sleep. This mask supposed to suit all skin types, however I find that it can get pretty oily on me when I wake up in the morning. My face definitely feels so much softer and smoother, it definitely brightens, and it is indeed, hydrating! My face looks a lot more plump and well moisturized. But then, I have a combination skin type and I find that sometimes, this mask causes some tiny acnes on the oily areas of my face like my chin. 

I had a really bad breakout last week where my skin got really sensitive after trying out a new moisturizer. +psst, it's cosmoderm* My cheeks became very dry and red, and and my chin was covered in tiny pimples. I switched my night moisturizer with this mask for a couple nights, and instantly my cheeks got so much better. No more dry patches and redness. My chin however, just grow some more new pimples lol. I treated that with a simple DIY Yoghurt and Honey mask every single night and alhamdulillah my skin has recovered in less than a week. Phew!

Skincare is very subjective. You just gotta try them out because what works for others may not work for you, vice versa. I won't say that this product is bad, I think it is amazing! It's just doesn't really work for my sensitive skin. But if one day my skin is on a rage of dryness again, I'll totally put this bad boy on!

Pros 
  • Very hydrating
  • Brightens
  • Plumps the skin
  • Affordable for the amount that you're getting
Cons
  • Breaks me out on my oily areas.
Sunday, April 30, 2017 2 comments

I purposely bought this serum for my acne marks and hyperpigmentations. I have actually received a sample sachet of this product a while back and fall in love with it so I decided to purchase the full size from Althea.


As the name suggests, the red serum is charged with ingredients that are highly enriched with phyto red such as pomegranate, raspberry, acai berry, blueberry, cloudberry and lycium. These ingredients are said to be very helpful with moisturization, antioxidation, improving skin elasticity, vitality and overall tone. Vitamin C content in the raspberry is responsible for the lightening of the scars and hyperpigmentation.


This serum comes in a red glass bottle with a glass dropper to dispense out the product. I love how clean and simple the packaging is, and the fact that the glass bottle is not completely opaque, so you can still see how much of the product you have used up inside. The only thing is, I don't know how safe it is to travel with this one, but I did a several times and never encountered any leaking or some sort. You do want to be careful of not dropping this serum onto the floor though, lol.

I usually use two to three pumps, twice daily ; morning and night. I believe this serum works for every skin type. I personally have an oily to combination skin, and this serum does not cause any excess oiliness to my skin. I think it even helps to add an extra moisturization to my skin. The consistency is not too runny or too thick, so it is easily absorbed when you pat it in. Because it is packed with vitamin C, applying sunscreen during the day is super important to avoid a reverse effect that you are hoping with this serum lol. If you don't apply sunscreen,  your marks are just gonna get darker.



After about two months of using this serum, I would have to say that I am very pleased with the result. I've noticed that most of my hyperpigmentations have completely faded if not all. I wasn't so impressed after only a few weeks of using it because I wasn't seeing results, but I'll have to say that you really have to give it a chance, be consistent and be patient for it to do its job. Good things take effort and time! My skin seems to be glowing and brightened when I wake up in the morning. Overall complexion seems to even out now, I only have some redness on certain areas of my face, but all the pigmentations that I had before, POOF! Gone. Of course I can't give all the credits to just this serum, because I am using some other products targeting to lighten my marks as well, but this serum is definitely is helping to speed up the process.

Will I repurchase? Maybe. It works great for brightening, but other than that, I am not completely sure whether or not it had helped in improving my skin texture or anything. But overall, a serum that works!
Monday, April 24, 2017 5 comments
Hey everyone! Whether you like it or not, sun protection is crucial to prevent your skin from variety skin problems including aging, dark spots, pigmentation, cancer, and the list goes on and on. Nope, you cannot solely depend on the SPF content in your bb creams or moisturizers to do the protection for you 'cause they're just not enough. There are ton of choices of sunscreen in the market and today I am gonna write about my favourite one from the drugstore!



The first time I used this sunscreen was when I was in high school. I was looking for the best sunscreen to bring with me on a parade competition ( I represented for scouts!) at my school. I remembered picking this up for the oil control claim and the good reviews that it gets online. It was scorching hot but my face felt so comfortable that it didn't sweat much at all. So after the parade was over, I went to the toilet along with my friends, flipping my hijab away from my face to check on the tan line and to my surprise, I didn't had any! I knew exactly on that spot that I had fall in love with this thing.

First, let's talk about the fact that it provides such a hugeee amount of sun protection; SPF50+ PA++++ girl! If you don't know yet, the SPF value is for UVB protection and the PA is for UVA protection. Both of the SPF and PA value for this sunscreen is very high, so I know I'll be well protected as long as I apply enough amount of product on my face for maximum protection.



As the name suggests, the consistency of this sunscreen is very much like a milk, a very runny white and opaque liquid. Something different than your normal creamy sunscreens. So you need to shake the bottle up before pouring it out to make sure the product inside is thoroughly mixed. There was one time that I forgot to shake the bottle up and only clear liquid comes out when I poured it onto my palm lol.

One of the reasons I think most people do not want to apply sunscreen is because of the white cast that it gives. Well I'll say that you just haven't found the right one. Though this one from Biore still have a tint of white cast, it is not too crazy. Actually, it looks like it brightens up the face a little instead of looking like I have a white powder masked on. It dries down a matte finish which is a huge plus for people with oily skin as it also works great as a makeup base.


Comes in a screw cap bottle containing 30ml amount of product is really not that much, but to be honest, for the price point and the performance, this product is a major win for me. It's only about RM30+- at Watsons, and you can also find it at other drugstores like Guardian and SaSa. I have tried several other ones from Biore like the Aqua Rich Watery Essence, Aqua Rich Watery Jelly and from other brands, but I keep coming back to this one. Until now, I think that my finding-the-perfect-sunscreen journey is over lol, I am just gonna recommend this one to anyone who asks.

Pros :

  • Oil Control
  • Matte finish
  • Waterproof
  • Sweat resistant
  • Easy to absorb
  • Really works to avoid sun tan
  • Affordable
Cons : 
  • Can't think of any!


Monday, April 10, 2017 No comments

Is there such thing as 'too much of highlight'? With all of the obsessions over highlighters in 2016 towards 2017, pretty sure the answer to that question to a lot of people is heck No. But for me, yes. There is such thing as too much of a highlighter, but it's just personal preferences aite.

But that does not mean I don't enjoy blinding people with my highlight. I LOVE TO. LOL. To me, if it's not blinding, it is not worth it. Unless you purposely buying one for a natural makeup look, then maybe, it's gonna be worth it. Buuuut, if you're looking one that is really gonna kill it in terms of the price and quality, this is what I will usually suggest to people. Most of the time, this is where my confidence comes from when my face hit the light, no exaggeration.

The Balm Mary Lou Manizer is a gold highlighter, which suits people with deeper skin tones the most. I would say that my complexion is more towards the medium shade, so this thing complements my skin perfectly. I have tried several pearly highlighters and didn't really enjoy them. I personally think that warm colors suit me the best, hence why I love this highlighter so much, colorwise.



First, let's talk about the packaging. I really appreciate the fact that it comes with a good size mirror because I don't have to bring a pocket mirror anymore whenever I take this along with me for touch ups. Comes with 8.5g of product, it is packaged slim without any bulkiness, so I can save a lot of space in my makeup pouch. Hate bulky makeup packagings. Love the vintage print, just like any other The Balm products, they nailed it.



The pigmentation tho, gurlllllllll, it is insane! Insanely good. Like, perfectly insanely good. Literally just one swipe onto the product with my brush, one swipe to the cheek and it gets the job of blinding done. It just makes you glow. It is not a glittery highlight, which is a huge thumbs up. It is shimmery, but not to the point where it looks chunky because the texture is finely mild, like a soft almost creamy powder. You can definitely build up the intensity if you want to. I use it on my cheeks, browbones, nose, forehead, well.. pretty much all over my face yet it still looks dang prettay without being too much.

Blended, see how it catches the light!


The only downside to this highlighter to me is that it is so fragile and brittle. Just don't travel with it. My heart breaks seeing this thing shattered, but I fixed it! Hence why it looks a bit uneven on the pan if you see the second picture. Comment below if you want me to do a tutorial on how to fix broken powder makeups.

It did lasts all day long for me, I don't have to worry about touching up unless if I have to remove it for prayers of course. Overall, I am totally satisfied and would recommend it to everybody who's seeking for a highlighter that won't disappoint you, at all. Two thumbs up!
Tuesday, March 28, 2017 No comments

Finally! This is a long overdue review because I have purchased this bb cream somewhen in last year lol. Better late than never, I guess I just have a lot of foundations to go through each day so I kinda forgot to do a review on this one lol. This is the Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream that was once a hit in the rise of BB Cream era.




Other than online shops, I am not sure where else can you get your hands on this bb cream if you're living in Malaysia. I personally got mine from Althea. The color selection there is poor though, which is only 2 shades. The one that I bought is in the shade No. 23 Natural Beige. 

Just like other BB Creams, this comes with more than just one benefits. The Missha  Perfect Cover BB Cream claims to be high coverage to cover up dark spots and anti aging. This BB Cream is formulated with SPF 42, which is a great number for a makeup product. Not saying that you can skip sunscreen altogether, but it is great amount if you're in a hurry. 


What I really love about this BB cream is the fact that it comes with a pump. Very clever! Though I heard some people are having problems with the pump disposing inconsistent amount of product, I personally never experience that problem at all. The cap attached makes travelling so much easier because it protects the pump in my bag. 




I find that the formulation of this BB cream to be beautiful as it blends onto my skin very easily. The consistency is thicker than most of other bb creams in the market so I like to use a wet makeup sponge to apply it rather than using a brush because it can get streaky being applied with a brush.

It is definitely high coverage. I personally like a more natural look so I only use half a pump for my whole face. Believe me with this guy, a little bit goes a very long way. Definitely build it up little by little instead of slathering a whole pump onto your face and regretting the heavy look, lol. Shade wise, as you can see it applies a little grey on the back of my hand at first. But once you blend it in and let it sit and set on your skin, the color will match your skin tone perfectly. I was so afraid when I applied it the first time because I thought it made me look ghostly. But just give it a few minutes to set, now I am obsessed haha. It doesn't break me out at all.

I have a combination skin, so it is normal for any foundation to be a little oily on my T-Zone after a while. This BB Cream lasts about 4 hours on my face before it kinda melts with my natural oil. But it's not a disaster, a little bit of blotting should do it, and a good primer with setting spray will do a great job at holding it. Definitely recommended!

Pros :

  • High Coverage
  • High SPF
  • Lasts pretty well
  • Doesn't clog the pores
Cons :
  • Nothing. I love this stuff.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 No comments
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