Here’s the 2nd part of the Skin79 Reviews! We’ll hear from guest blogger Valentina Lim about her experiences with Skin79.

“My maiden attempt with the much raved BB cream.
I like how it moisturizes my skin and at the same time providing rather good coverage but still manage to feel so light and airy. It makes my skin look and feel so smooth and soft. It gives the same results as my Bobbi Brown Liquid Foundation but not as heavy or time consuming to put on – it creates a very primed and airbrush look for me. I still love that foundation but will save it for special occasions, this will definitely be an easier alternative for everyday usage.
I just have to use a minimal amount of it and it is enough to blend in seamlessly onto my face. Best of all, it doesn’t clog my pores and is able to last throughout the day on my combination skin.
I am thrilled to learn about this BB cream and will definitely purchase this product!”

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I sent some samples to a couple to girls that were so sweet to help me review and test our Skin79 BB cream! Since I’ve sent the girls different type of Skin79 BB Cream, I’ll show case their reviews in three posts. The first post will be Wendy Sim and Donna Tay who both received the Skin79 Super Beblesh Balm Gold label BB Cream.

Firstly we have Wendy Sim.

And here’s what she had to say about Skin79 Super Beblesh Balm Gold label BB Cream:

“I’ve always been trying to find a BB cream that can go well with my skin type, but after trying out quite a few brands, I kinda concluded that BB cream probably isn’t for me. When Renzze mailed me the Skin79 BB cream after I told her about my skin combination, I have to say she really predicted the right one for me. I’ve been using the Skin79 BB cream for a week now, and I have to say I totally love it. For one most important reason : unlike most other BB creams I have tried, my skin does not feel oily even until late afternoon when I use Skin79! Furthermore, the BB cream blends easily and it does not leave my skin sticky! This is especially important for me since I have acne-prone + sensitive skin and anything that leaves my skin oily and sticky is a definite NO. I’m so glad I’ve finally found a BB cream that can serve me well! All thanks to Renzze! =D”

Next, we have Donna Tay.

And here’s what she had to say about Skin79 Super Beblesh Balm Gold label BB Cream:

“First of all I do not know exactly what this product is suppose to do on me except from the lable on the box ( on whitening n wrinkle improvement. After using it for three days, I realise that my skin is less oily compared to other creams. It could last till evening and my skin is still pretty matte. Texture of the cream is nice too and application is very easy with good coverage using a small quantity. It does not have a strong scent which is good for people with sensitive nose. In terms of coverage on blemishes, it does not really work on me, or perhaps I did not use enough cream ( i only use a tear drop on each application). As for wirinkle improvement, it could be too early to tell so will keep u updated on this! But I’m glad to say I’ve no negative comments on this product.”

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Gobi desserts are my little indulgences. Consider them as small perk-me-ups through my long days. I like buying them as gifts for family and friends too because most of the girls I know seem to have a relatively sweet tooth.

Recently a friend bought me a whole box of macaroons and immediately finished them up! My favorite one is the rose macaroon. Though the dark angel chocolate cake makes a very good runner-up too.

See how absolutely cute those little baby macaroons are? Well I have to say that Laduree has much nicer desserts and macaroons but until they come to Singapore, Gobi does a nice job in perking me up in the middle of a long deary work day.

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I guess for my regular blog readers, you’ll probably know by now that for the last 2 years I’ve started to be more and more interested in skincare. I guess it’s probably because I started to see new problems with my skin only in the last 2 years which is fuel for the drive to do something about it. While on the surface, most people would look at me and see that I seem to have “flawless” skin, it’s only a misconception. Yes it’s true that I don’t really get major pimple breakouts nor do I have any obvious acne scars but my hectic lifestyle, late nights and lack of a discipline skincare routine through the last few years have definitely helped in my skin’s deterioration.

What I have is tiny oil bumps under my skin that never surfaces as pimples (so they may go undetected to the unobservant eye) but are actually one of the most difficult to get rid off because the excess oil is trapped under the skin instead of erupting out as pimples do. And I also have rather large pores around my nose region.

I’ve looked and shopped around and finally settled on Porcelain The Face Spa to be the center of my skin consulting needs as well as provider of my facial services so that I may regain what everyone wants – beautiful skin.

My first appointment with them took me to 31A Cantonment Road, Singapore 089747 (tel: 62279692). The nearest MRT is Outram Park station and the nearest car park would be at the infamous Pinnacle@Duxton. It’s along the row of shop houses facing the Singapore Police Headquarters.

Up a little flight of stairs and you’ll find Porcelain The Face Spa.  Knowing that the owners have 18 years of experience in creating solutions to achieve beautiful skin is a reassuring factor. Being in a facial spa for the first time and being at a new hair salon is equally filled with tension for me. The idea that I’m placing my beauty (yes I’m vain) in the hands of someone else scares me but once that initial contact has been made and a great job has been done, you can be sure that I’ll always be a loyal customer.

Porcelain The Face Spa has a cozy interior that sooths me immediately once I enter even though it’s just steps away from the bustling streets.

A little form to fill and chat on my previous and current skin care routine helps my therapist to get to know my skin history a little better. Their company’s direction has been based on a simple concept that have proved successful on their many customers. Many of them who are regulars with them. Porcelain The Face Spa aims at customizing a detailed treatment specially for each individual customer that will definitely produce effective results. I think it’s a fantastic idea! Nothing speaks more than results right?

The whole concept of their skin care is for their customers to eventually achieve naturally porcelain clear complexions that will no longer need any sort of foundation or makeup to look good. I made a decision that day that I will no longer use any make up on my skin with the exception of eye makeup. No concealers, foundation, BB creams, loose powder or any of that sort. (Well I guess it’s easier for me to give it up cause I’m so lazy to put them on most of the time anyways!) And hopefully my readers can track the progress of my skin as I journey with Porcelain The Face Spa on my search for beautiful glowing skin.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the treatment room to start on the first of my facial treatments.

A quick analysis of my skin by the professional skin therapist confirms my problems of oil bumps, uneven spots and large pores. I also have an oilier than usual T-zone and all the many traveling has basically made my skin rather volatile with no sense of equilibrium. I cringe whenever I look at my skin up close like this and being a vainpot, this picture is already the best one of th e 4 I took. Look closely at my nose bridge and forehead to see the many little red bumps, my oversensitive red skin too.

The whole facial routine took 2 and 1/2 hour which means that nothing was rushed and nothing was left to chance. Most other facial spas finish up in just 60 or 90 mins so they can slot in more appointments for the day. Porcelain The Face Spa on the other hand, makes sure that there is more than enough time to do major deep cleansing and prep each and every oil bump, pimple and black head for extraction. Facial includes double/triple cleansing, exfoliation, skin analysis, deep cleansing extraction, customized concoction of serums & ampoules, customized blended mask and use of one selected equipment as recommended by the Therapist.

Looking like a total Egyptian mummy here but it’s all worth it when you see the scary amounts of white heads I have when the scraps of paper were peeled off my skin! I also underwent LED light therapy which is a NASA approve treatment and is used by dermatologists all over the world. The doses of red lights help cell rejuvenation, increase collagen, prevents lines and helps to heal the skin after all that extraction. Then the doses of blue lights kills bacteria, prevents infections and controls acne. All these would have easily emptied my pockets at the doctor’s office but now that the technology is finally released for usage in spas and no longer just at the dermatologist, it can be more affordable for everyone.

A nice herbal tea afterwards while I listen to Pauline explain the skin care I need to embark on. The best thing is that their skin care treatments includes take home products catered specially for each individual. So everyone takes home a different set of products depending on what your skin needs.

My customized take home facial care includes a good gentle cleanser and a special treatment tonic.

It also includes a specially formulated preservative free “Balance” serum to help control oil secretions and to help soften my oil bumps for easier extraction the next time round. The Aloe recovery gel helps to sooth my very sensitive skin and heal the tiny wounds from the extraction process. Lastly, while I don’t wear foundation or any form of powder, I have “Doll”, an oil free tinted sunscreen specially formulated to absorb fast into the skin and won’t clog any pores. Their products have gone through many years of research in the USA and are manufactured in USA, Japan, Taiwan and Switzerland. They basically took the ingredients of the same expensive products you get from dermatologist and big brand names, repackaged it without the frills of marketing costs so that their customers can enjoy the same benefits without the hefty price tags.

Right after the facial, my face looked worse and the bumps highlighted with redness! But within a day or 2, the redness subsided and my skin is remarkably much clearer with much fewer bumps and unevenness.  All these after just one session! I’ve just booked my appointment for my 2nd session with Porcelain The Face Spa and I can’t wait to hurry up the journey to better skin! The part I love most about them is that there is no hard selling. They believe that results and good service is enough to send customers soaring back to them and they are probably right; seeing as how packed their appointments are.

For my dear readers, you can also try Porcelain Trial facial at only $38!!! It’s worth $380 so that’s major savings! Quote KR1 and you even get an additional eye mask! How much better can it get! You can visit their website at www.porcelainfacespa.com for more info or if you can’t wait to get started, click here for their online appointment forms and don’t forget to quote KR1 for your free eye mask with your $38 facial trial.

PS- The special code will be located at my side bar links under ” Renzze Recommends” in case you need to find it in a jiffy!

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It was another day at work but instead of casual Friday, I wore this pretty dress (given to me by dear Sushi) under my blazer in anticipation of the Shiseido’s 40th Anniversary party that evening.

The party was a few weeks back but all my travelling made it almost impossible for me to upload the pictures to do up this post. But it’s never too late! Especially since their 40th Anniversary celebrations are still on going!

Arriving at their headquarters, our lovely hosts took us around to show us the history of Shiseido and the reason for success with countless of women all over the world. As their current campaign reads ” This Moment, This Life, Beautifully”.

I marveled at their beautiful adverts and symbols of Shiseido that they’ve adopted through the years. Mostly I came to see how Shiseido is an art form in its own right with many of their artworks, collaboration with various artists. Simple, elegant and beautiful. A perfect blend of Japanese technology with French sophistication.

There are countless of memorable advertising but the 2 above are my personal favorites and strike a chord with me in their very simple yet telling form.

A look at their current products show how much Shiseido has grown. As Shinzo Fukuhara, Shiseido’s first president says ” Let the product speak for itself”.

Remember the White Lucent Range I blogged about earlier? Has it been as good to you as its been to me? The success of Shiseido’s White Lucent range is the result of decades of research. They became a pioneer in the whitening skin care industry with the launch of Freshure in the 1970s.

The company is now a beauty powerhouse with 6 brands – Shiseido, Cle de Peau, Ettusais, Shiseido Professional (hair), Za and Majolica Majoraca. Their extensive ranges covers women of all ages in all their needs and price ranges.

W

While Shiseido has many products in the last 40 years, the most enticing one for me was their perfume, Zen, which they produced in tandem with the opening of the Olympics in Japan in 1964. Zen is a masterpiece that I wished I remembered to grab off my mother’s shelf before she cleared all her old stuff away.

As with any celebrations, there was loads of Japanese sushi, pastries and sake!

Kampei to Shiseido!

It was also a great opportunity to catchup with some familiar faces and supporters of Shiseido.

Everyone is incredibly kind, friendly and full of enthusiasm. Most of them are beauty pros which I will gain lots of insights from; seeing that I’m in the infancy stage of dabbling with beauty and skin care innovations.

Thank you Shiseido and Happy 40th anniversary. I’ll look forward to many great years ahead with even more innovations and products from you guys. The gift of richness, human science and “omotenashi” (hospitality in Japanese) will remain in hearts for many years to come.

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When I think of sportswear, NIKE always pops up but I usually don’t think of NIKE as fashion wear. But attending the media launch of their new Spring/Summer collection has given me a new perspective on the term “sportswear”. The photo above is actually a scanned copy of my press pass… lol… I don’t really have the reporter look do I.

NIKE’s new collection is surprisingly very fashion forward and yet retains the durability and comfort of sportswear. They successfully fused classic styles with fantastic artistic street wear elements and technical innovations. It’s the sort of sportswear you’ll wear not just for sports but for casual outings as well.

NIKE event was a mini fashion show cum stylist competition and it was such a fun idea! Daniel Boey, Singapore’s famous fashion director was the special guest and it was interesting to see his inputs and ideas on how to mingle street fashion in Singapore.  The host was Teigan Nash and she was so pretty! I love her sassy looks and she is such an experience presenter. BTW, she was the media face of Belle in Hong Kong Disneyland!!!

4 local celebrities were roped in to be styled by 4 design students from the Raffles Design Institute. A clear recognition of our local artistic talents!

Cameras were rolling and the media were snapping away while the stylists, Anchal Seth, Sarah Chen, Xara Lee and Melanie Ow worked dressing up on their celebrities.

Of course I should also tell you the celebrities involved. There’s Hariss Harun, Singapore National football player who is the team’s youngest player! He was really friendly and humble even though he’s such a sports talent.

And the hottie, Bobby Tonelli was another celebrity contestant. He looked really good up close and I think he acted as “Paul” in Channel 8’s  ”Little Nyonya” show that was all the rage in Singapore last year. I really loved what his stylist, Sarah did for him cause she made him wear the sports jacket upside down and inside out. The result was really funky and stylish! It’s a amazing how everyone can look at a jacket and come out with different interpretations of wearing the same piece!

There’s Fitness Instructor, Naila Nadwana, with the rock chick theme and she embodied her role really well.

And finally, the audience favorite as well as winner of this competition is Pamelyn Chee. Her stylist, Xara Lee, has an amazing sense of color and style! She made Pamelyn a Harajuku Street Style babe out of NIKE sports apparels in ways I wouldn’t have thought of combining. There were so many colors going on at the same time but the bright contrasting colors actually work out to be fantastic instead of tacky. I love especially the lower half of the body where tights, socks and shorts were paired up!

After the event and the many photo opportunities ( I didn’t go up to take photos with the celebs cause I was too shy ). We all had a chance to check out the new arrivals and the cut, material and design available for sale in Singapore.

And I do love their Summer 2010 collection! There were plenty of colors and I was naturally drawn to the pink stuff which is more suited to my girly tastes. In fact I bought that pair of pink trainers!

And if nothing caught your fancy (which I doubt so), you could aways customize your own NIKE tee at their booth!

Being ever so inspired by the fashion show I had earlier on, I decided to try out some outfits myself! I’m rarely strutting street fashion but maybe this could be my turning point.

LOOK #1

Love the cropped jacket which is something different from the usual track jackets. And I love the pink trainers! Haha… it was the first thing I eyed and of course bought.

LOOK #2

Love the sides of this uber comfy cotton pants. You can easily adjust it long or short! And while I usually won’t go for neon yellow shoes… these actually look not bad!

LOOK #3

My favorite outfit of the 3. I am very very tempted to go back to the store to get the shoes and the jacket. I didn’t get them that day cause I didn’t want to be impulsive but looking at the photos again makes me wish I was!

Hope you all enjoyed getting a glimpse at what NIKE has to offer this summer but there are so much more so head down to their store at Wisma Atria to check it out soon.

I’ll end the post with my usual outfit post. Here’s what I wore to attend the event. Not really appropriate for a sportswear fashion event but I had to head into office early that morning and work comes first.

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This is going to be a long post but there’s so much of wonderful experiences I want to share with you!

Sometime not too long ago, Strip - Ministry of Wax, asked if I was interested to test out their Brazilian wax. I was both keen to give it a go yet extremely afraid of the pain. If you guys don’t know by now, I have extremely low tolerance to pain. It absolutely doesn’t help that I have had no experience of waxing before. Not even underarms or legs!

Still, I was pretty game to check out Beauty Emporium at Dempsey. It was not at all disappointing. The whole place was quirky yet very relaxing and cozy and I had so much fun just browsing and chilling that it was hard to leave!

I brought along Clara and Sai Mun with me to try out the Brazilian and Boyzilian wax. Since all 3 of us were virgins to waxing our nether regions, even with the lovely atmosphere, we were all still jittery and excited.

For those who is still clueless about what a Brazilian/Boyzilian wax is, it’s basically the extreme form of bikini waxing where you strip everything bare! Not a shred of fluff left. Of course Stip also does services for other forms of bikini waxing, underarms, legs, etc. But we were there to try the all clean, zero-tolerance to pubic hair variety.

Clara has been nervous all day before we went while Sai Mun was a little more collected. Maybe it’s because he has been thinking about doing a Boyzilian for a year now and it was time for him to take the plunge.

So straight to the Strip counter we headed. It’s at the far end of the Beauty Emporium, nicely tucked it a private area.

We met Samantha who did a great job of warming us up and answering our questions about the procedure. They gave me a really good impression cause they were so confident and knowledgeable and it helps to know that you are in good hands.

The counter  staff also introduced us to their virgin to Brazilian guide book. I’m going to share this part with you all cause I was really impressed by how they came up with all these to minimize the fear of a first time waxing customers.

I definately agree with this one! ” The more you know, the less you fear.” Ask all the questions you need to know before heading in. There’s no need to be shy. It is the same reason why we always ask those who have done it before for their feedback and one of the main reasons why I am sharing my experiences here with you.

Strip is one of the most prominent and popular waxing services in Singapore and I can totally understand why. They have strict hygiene rules, uses the best wax and they have the speed to end the session in a breeze. You definitely don’t want to scrimp when it comes to any sort of waxing.

This step was a surprise to me and I don’t think there are any other waxing places that offer this. Bach flower extract is given to help calm you down. Clara and Sai Mun absolutely loved it!

Clara and Sai Mun seemed to be more at ease after taking their bach flower or at least it made them feel more prepared to conquer whatever comes their way next.

I think that other than the fear of pain, the biggest fear for virgin brazilian/boyzilian waxers is the fear of letting a stranger full excess to your most private areas. Sai Mun was shy about having to flash his parts! But once you are in the room, the professionalism of the therapist puts you so much at ease that you don’t feel awkward. They’ve seen it all and yours really is no big deal to them.

All prepped up and ready to go!

You can grab a squeeze toy for additional security.

Individual rooms for everyone so I followed Clara in while Sai Mun dealt with his experiences alone.

Here’s one last look at Sai Mun!

Lots of reminders everywhere to re-affirm your decision and remind you to breath.

A wet cloth for you to clean and prep yourself. And a brand new waxing kit just for you. All sterilized and new! See the number of wax applicator sticks they have? Thats because Strip has a policy of using a new stick each time they dip into the wax, assuring maximum hygiene.

Clara was all ready to go!!! Unfortunately, here comes the anti-climax. She shaved just a week ago and they can’t wax hair that is too short! So the lesson learnt is that you kinda need to let you hair grow for about 3 weeks since your last shave before you can wax!

But if you think that that’s all I have to share with you then you’re wrong! Because we both still got to do our Brazilian. Just that we did Brazilian IPL instead! IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light and it’s the cutting edge of epilation technology. Every time you go for IPL (whether it’s for underarms or brazilian), you prolong the time the hair takes to grow back and the amount of hair that would grow. After 6-7 sessions you should be semi-permanently hair free!

I’ve got quite a few girl friends who have IPL packages and they tell me it can be quite painful as the light zaps away the hair follicles and it feels a little like short and sharp ant bites though the pain doesn’t last. But Strip had bought in some new IPL machines which are currently available at only 4 outlets that is 100% pain free! And I was eager to try it out! How could I resist to be more aesthetically pleasing without any pain factor!

The IPL process is actually really fast but before you begin, you need a clean shave. You could choose to shave at home first before coming but I recommend you do what I do and leave it to the professionals to handle it.

The first 2 seconds of flashing was a little shy for me but that was it. The professionalism of the therapist and her soothing voice took over and I just relaxed. Up on the ceiling I could read this reminder…

And looking straight ahead through the glass windows (you can choose to leave it close or open) is nothing but greenery. It was raining that day and some how the raindrops on the window was really calming.

Once you are prepped, you’ll be given these enormous shades to wear so you can protect your eyes from the bright lights during the process. And as promised, there was no pain at all!!! At some parts I felt a warming sensation similar to a hot towel but it wasn’t uncomfortable. In just a few minutes the whole thing was over!

I emerged back to the main area feeling happy, contented and a little silly for worrying so much about it. We headed to the test kitchen in the middle of the emporium to catch some freshly baked goodies and to chat about our experiences!

The test kitchen is exactly like the name suggests. They try out gorgeous great tasting recipes here and you get to sample all of it!

Very few things in this world feels and smells as good as freshly baked goods from an open kitchen. And the food really does taste better than it looks! The black forest cookies were a hot favorite and I fell in love with the pineapple tarts which had floral designs inspired by the peranakan tiles. Who knew you could make pineapple tarts look and taste so good!

The person responsible for churning all these goodies out is Nora! Talented and pretty, it’s hard not to be a fan!

Sai Mun who finished his Boyzilian wax was so happy with his wax then he was stuffing himself  with all the goodies! He looked so blissful I couldn’t tell if stamps from his new clean freedom or the power of the pastries.

I did a few Q & A with Sai Mun about his boyzilian experience and here’s what he shared.

Renzze: What is the reason or motivation for you to do a Brazillian/ Boyzillian.

Sai Mun: The girls will definitely like it better hehh and well hygiene.. i guess. haha

Renzze: How painful was it?

Sai Mun: Less painful than a tattoo. 4/10

Renzze: Did you feel shy or embarrass with the therapist?

Sai Mun: For like the first 10 seconds.

Renzze: Do you think they did a good job?

Sai Mun: Definitely! Swift and smooth!

Renzze: Would do it again?

Sai Mun: For sure!

Renzze: How did having a Brazillian/Boyzillian empowered you?

Sai Mun: In ways i’m sure you could imagine heheh

Renzze: Do you have any words for someone else who is thinking of trying a brazillian/ boyzillian?

Sai Mun: Think about the results, just keep thinking about the results.

I think Sai Mun’s answers pretty much echoes my sentiments, except for me it was an even better deal cause it was pain-free!!!! Clara loved it so much that she is considering signing a whole package and another friend Celeste who heard us rave about our experiences took a cab down immediately to have a go!

We were pretty much distracted otherwise by the food! We all loved the concept of the test kitchen where you try out what they have and then fill out the report card so they can improve on the recipes. Based on what we had though, I could hardly find any faults for them to improve on.

Here are our verdicts!

And if you are wondering how much those lovely cakes cost or if it’s going to be one of those absolutely beautiful but affordable foods. Here’s the most wonderful thing. You pay what you think it’s worth!!!! Yep! Any amount at all… if you don’t like it, don’t pay and if you think that the food was overwhelmingly good then tip accordingly. All the money goes to buying new ingredients and the running of the kitchen.

We’ve all been going gaga over the test kitchen and I can’t wait to pay them a visit real soon. In the words of Sai Mun “I LOVE THE TEST KITCHEN TTM!”

Hope you all gained more insights to brazilian/boyzilian waxing

And if you want more info you can check out Strip’s fan page on FB. They got lots of fun sexy information other then just waxing as well!

Oh and as always, my outfit shots.

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Another common request I get from readers is to share with them my skin care products and routine. But I’ve been reluctant to do so because I feel that I have no expertise on this subject.

I’ve been blessed with relatively good skin (my mother’s genes) and never thought much to look into skincare much. My mother adopts a less is more policy and rarely puts anything on her face except for baby cream.

Since my mother wasn’t a strong advocate of skincare, I started skin care routines rather late in life and for the longest time I used to use only Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser and Hazeline Snow Moisturizer. As for masks and scrubs, they were all organic made from an array of household food stuff like oats, sugar, honey, yougurt, olive oil. etc.

And then I hit 25 and the fine lines started appearing. My body was ageing and dragging my skin along with it. All the hectic travelling and late nights wasn’t helping much either! And with the encouragement of many of my girlfriends I started to venture into the foray of skincare.

As a late bloomer, I absorbed information like a sponge and tried out different brands and I learnt how price may not be a good indication of product effectiveness and how some skin care would give short term improvements but loses it’s effectiveness in the long run. But that is another long story.

This post I’ll be sharing on my experiences with Shiseido White Lucent Series and what I learnt from their skincare experts. I gained a lot of insights from this workshop, being able to understand the technology and science behind whiting products as well as how it is applicable to end users like me. I brought home an entire range and took a couple of days to test drive the products before blogging about it.

What I found really interesting was the Shiseido’s choice of application of their products. Instead of the usual wash, tone and moisturize, theirs was wash, soften, serum, moisturize then tone! When asked why the toner was applied after the moisturizer, the answer was a really logical one. If toners are supposed to close up the pores… wouldn’t it make sense to close it up after the moisturizer has been absorbed?

There was a lot of talk of the cellular activities of cells and how skin turns dark but I think more relevant to those that are intending to try out Sheseido’s White Lucent range is the application the the effectiveness which will be my main focus in this post.

Firstly, the Brightening Cleansing Foam. What makes a good cleanser? A good cleanser must be water soluble, rinse of easy and does not make the skin feel oily or clogs up your pores.  You shouldn’t need to scrub but still have a clean skin with no burning in the eyes or redness and tautness. And in these aspects, this White Lucent Brightening Cleanser has met my requirements.

Before using any cleansing foam (SWL or others) you should always froth it up into a bubble like foam. When I tried it at home I didn’t manage to get it as frothy as the one Erica whipped up but it wasn’t hard to generate some nice foam. You should have at least squeeze out 1cm each time. It’s very light on the face and with the middle and ring finger you can cleanse your face in a circular motion. After rising off you can immediately feel that your face is softer and brighter! It was quite stunning because generally one doesn’t expect much of facial cleansers.

Next, apply the Brightening Balancing Softener. The softeners are not toners but are formulated to enhance the absorption of the nutrients and to remove some surface dead skin cells. Which is why if you have a lot of dead skin cells on the surface of your skin, wiping your face with a cotton wool saturated with the softener can leave it looking greyish and you skin more radiant.

Next would be the Intensive Spot Targeting Serum. It not only works on preventing spots but at minimizing the existing ones. My favorite part about the serum is the gorgeous texture. After hearing such good testimonials from users like Glitzy and Pearlin, I couldn’t wait to try it out myself!

I use about 2 pumps each time. It’s lightweight and absorbs fast! This little baby is also the star buy of the collection. Being sold out when they first launched and subsequently the demand still couldn’t keep up with the supply.

Next we have the moisturizer… they have a few types but the one I’m using is the Brightening Protective Emulsion for day and the Brightening Moisturizing Emulsion for night.  They did skin analysis for us during the workshop to determine which ones were suitable for us.

The day Brightening Protective Emulsion has a SPF 15PA++ and can help to prevent the damaging UV rays though if you intend to stay out in the sun or head out to the beach you should always add on another layer of SPF. I learnt from my chat with Erica that in order to figure out how much SPF you need you need to first know how easily your skin burns. So go out to the sun with a clean face and no products and see how long it takes before your skin feels hot or turns red. Mine was about 7 mins. Then take the time and multiply it by the SPF you are using. So if I’m using SPF 30 then I’ll take 7mins  X 30 = 210. Which means if I am using an SPF 30 sunblock, it would protect me from burning for 210mins which works out to be 3.5 hours. It’ll be great if I intend to stay out in the sun for that duration but if I intend to stay out longer then I either need to touch up after 3 hours or wear a sunblock with a higher SPF.

As for the nighttime Moisturizing Emulsion, it locks in moisture works its Melano Sensor System on your face while you sleep. I use only one pump each time when I use the moisturizers… applying to my cheeks first before my t-zone.

Another question I posed during the Q & A was how long does it need before I see the full effect of the products. Well, the slogan for the SWL series is that you would see visible difference in just 2 weeks but assuming in best case scenario where you protect yourself well and don’t get excessive UV radiation from the sun and have a good healthy diet with enough sleep. You’ll probably still need about 6 weeks to have really bright and clear skin. Shiseido is not an advocate of immediate results as it usually involves harsher chemicals. Instead they try to get their users to maintain a long term routine so as to get long term results in a sustainable fashion.

I’ve only been on this range a few days but I can say that my sensitive skin is absolutely loving it. No redness and a good balance of hydration without having to feel greasy. As for glowing radiant skin, I probably need to use it for another 2 weeks to see that.

Hope you all gained some insight from my experiences with Sheseido White Lucent.

As for my outfit that day.

I switched heels to drive and ended up wearing my driving shoes to the event instead but I wore these CD heels the rest of that day. I wanted to go Timbre that night with Regina but lazy me ended up having supper with Sushi instead.

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I’m always on the lookout for handmade items. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pair of earrings, a dress or just a birthday card. Somehow handmade items brings with it a sense of wholesomeness that mass produced items can never replicate.

I often dream of creating my own jewelery or design my own dresses. But the reality of my life doesn’t give me the time or luxury which is why I get so excited when I come across lovely handmade items such as the puff angel dolls handmade by puff-accessories.

They are so sweet and so cute!!! And you can have them as earrings or bracelets or necklaces or anything you can imagine. I wanted one as a bag charm! It’s actually difficult to choose just one because they are all so cute and enticing in their own ways but here’s my puff angel.

A little girl scout with crystals, pearl and a beautiful pink flower to complete the charm. The best thing is that the quality is exceptional! I love how the charm gave my simple Longchamp tote a little more personality.

If you have a particular bag or hand phone or outfit you want to match, Puff-accessories does customization so you can find your perfect angel. All the puff angels are handmade from scratch, pieced together by hand, not machine. They’re sturdy and not easily breakable. Each Puff Angel is unique and differ in colour and design which means the angel is uniquely yours. I can imagine giving them to friends as a special lucky charm to remind them of my blessings.

And you might also be glad to know that Puff-accessories uses 14K gold plated and rhodium chains, findings and wires. No flimsy cheap metal that will cause your skin to breakout in rashes upon contact!

Besides these lovely puff angels I’ve been raving about, Puff-accessories does also make other types of accessories with a vintage vibe. Their cameo pieces are worth taking note of.

If you want to know or see more. Please visit Puff -accessories at

http://www.puff-accessories.blogspot.com

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I’ve just received a few gorgeous pieces from ClubCouture but have yet to wear them out. My latest dress has got to be one of my personal favorites! The lovely lace dress with sweet heart neckline with a gorgeous bow has won some of my friends over even though I haven’t worn it out. They just happened to be at my place when the ClubCouture parcel arrived! Click the photo for the link to this pretty lace strapless dress!

But I will definitely wear this piece out soon and I’ll promise to upload the photos here on my blog.

Meanwhile, for those of you that are interested in ClubCouture latest offering, I’ve got fantastic news for you. ClubCouture has it’s own page on Facebook. And as a ClubCouture Ambassador, I’m pleased to invite you to join. Just click here or the picture below to join and you will be entitled to many exclusive benefits including an upcoming private sale on the 7th of March 2010 for ClubCouture Facebook fans only!

With a cool 30% off store-wide, it’s a sale not to be missed!

On top of all these, you can also view more photos of the different ClubCouture Ambassadors that will be available for viewing in the ClubCouture Fan Page. Here are some of the photos that of the photo shoot that were not released previously. Join the Facebook page to view even more.

As and when I have time I will also load up photos of myself wearing ClubCouture outfits into the fan page. You are welcome to do the same too! Join today so you don’t miss the upcoming private sale!

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