Facial – a first time experience.

***Warning: This is a really LENGTHY and WORDY post***

BigDeal.Sg was having this  “120min Customized 1-to-1 Makeup & Hands On Practice + MENTSU Face Therapy + Eyebrow Shaping + Assorted Gift Set @ $38 only” promotion sometime back.

Well, I have never had a facial done before and my makeup skills were still quite raw (i still can’t line my eyes properly!), which explains why I have never posted any FOTDs or EOTDs to date. So I caved in when I saw this promotion. I did some research on MENTSU and found out that it’s a Japanese-inspired beauty salon which uses individually packed products (Thumbs up for hygiene!) for your facial needs. woah! I couldn’t find much reviews on it. Hence, I decided to write this review. Anyways, I paid the SGD 38.00, a 83% discount from their original value of SGD 215.00. GOOD DEAL HUH? Well, I thought it was.

Made an appointment, and went for the facial cum makeup session sometime last week. Before I continue, I just wanna say that making appointment was a breeze for me. I thought I would have to book a week in advance but I was able to make an appt for 2 days later.

So I reached on time and was ushered into a room at the side of the salon. The lights were dim. I was asked to fill in this form and then this lady came and attended to me. Looked at my skin for a while and then told me that I have some freckles (?? I thought they were just some pimple spots which were clearing up?), enlarged pores and dehydrated skin (okay, yes). And then she concluded that I have combination skin. I dun wanna doubt these trained beauty advisers but I believe oily yet dehydrated skin is different from combination skin??

Anyways, she recommended some products to use for my facial which weren’t included in the promotion I paid for. All are for one-time use only.

“The ampoules were $38, mask sheets were $12, whitening cream was $5, sunblock was $4”.

The lady even introduced this hydrating serum (more concentrated than ampoule) which I didn’t check out the price.

Okay, I’m not thick-skinned enough to turn her down so I took one ampoule, mask sheet, the cream and sunblock for an additional $66 on top of the $38 which I’ve paid!! For better penetration into 6 layers of your skin, the lady said. I felt kinda cheated at that moment but then if I can see good results after that, I won’t feel that sore.

(Photo credit: ameliakindness-heart.blogspot.com)

After the consultation, I was led to this small room for my facial which surprisingly didn’t make me feel claustrophobic. Everything was going on well with the natural-smelling products until it was time for steaming. I seem to be gasping for air because all I was breathing in was water vapour?  So I kinda shifted my face a little to the best position where I could get more air. Okay okay, noob. I know. The lady came back after wad seemed to be like gazillion years to me, and proceeded with extraction. Grrrr.. I was also gasping for air when she was doing extraction on the sides of my nose.

After that was eyebrow trimming, toning and then the application of THE ampoule,mask, whitening cream and sunblock. While I was at my masking session, I could hear the other staff talking outside??

thumbs down to that.

…

..

.

Alright, I was led then to another room for the make-up session after the facial.

I stared into the mirror and didn’t see any difference in my skin while the lady said that it looks fairer. It did look more hydrated though, but I could have attained using a normal hydration mask. BLAH.

Alright, I’ll sum up this make-up part by saying that the lady wasn’t really good at makeup cuz she dabbed the concealer ALL over my face and didn’t blend it well with the concealer brush. I could see obvious streaks of brush marks on my nose?? I thought the lady was gonna blend it again before dusting on the foundation but NAH. It was still visible after the make-up was ‘done’. I could also see the concealer creasing at my eyes. Fortunately, I brought along Biore removal wipes that day.

At the end, I was given a “Gift Set” as a little consolation. Okay, the gift set was actually stated in the promotion.

Yup! That kind of sums up my not so pleasant first facial experience and I’m done with my ranting. Hee!

Now, how about some sharing on your first facial experience?

Skinfood Rice Mask Wash-off

Finally a review after so longgg! Fret not, it’s not ANOTHER BB cream review. Heh!

It’s a review on the famous Skinfood Rice Mask! *claps*

I bought sample packs of this mask in my first Gmarket Haul (no overseas shipping for full-size Skinfood products!) but I haven’t got a chance to use it till that day when I wanted to do a DIY clay mask but the Chamomile distillate turned yellow and yucky. So I decided to try this rice mask which also has exfoliating and perhaps, purifying properties (??? I thought).

Description (stated on the packet)

Mask with nutritious rice extracts for soft skin texture

To use: After cleansing, gently massage over dry face. Avoid eye area. Rinse off. (The instructions were kinda ambiguous?? )

First impressions?

I think it works alright. But I’m not wowed at the effect. It’s a rather gentle scrub?  My skin looks a tad brighter after ‘scrubbing’ . I liked the smooth and supple effect. And it didn’t cause any irritations to my sensitive skin. Good. But I’m not wowed as the Moroccan Rhassoul clay mask would have done better.

And then, I came across some reviews stating that the instructions were clearer on the Skinfood Singapore website.

Taken from Skinfood Singapore website:

“Apply evenly after cleansing. Avoid eye and mouth area. Gently scrub and wash off with lukewarm water after 10 – 15 minutes.”

My version

So this is how I apply it now…

The texture of this mask pack is in between a lotion and a cream..so it’s kinda like a creamy lotion?? With crushed rice bits in it to give the exfoliating effect. There is a body-lotion-like scent to it which surprised me initially as I was expecting it to smell like rice…or even scentless.

Anyways, I’ll gently massage it onto my skin, to give it some exfoliation…

Massage it a little while more to get this…

What’s left is a greasy film and some rice bits.

Afterwhich, I’ll leave it on for 10 mins before washing it off with lukewarm water.

TADAH! Can you see the difference??

BLAH. My skin was a little brighter, softer and supple after use. I’ve used this 4 times to date and it doesn’t exactly whiten my skin, just makes it a little bit brighter. I actually have a zit on my chin because I “over-scrubbed” it while I was applying the mask just now. My bad. This rice mask still works fine as a mild scrub though. Just don’t get too excited with the scrubbing and you should be fine. 🙂

That being said, I think I’ll still turn back to my Moroccan Rhassoul Clay Mask if I ever need to wake up my dull skin.

It was definitely worth a try and if I have to rate this, I’ll give it a….  7/10.

Sorry for the lengthy post and thanks for reading!!

***Just an update on the Gmarket spree, one local reader has indicated interest to date. So if you’re also interested, lemme know by 30th April 2011! You can check out the details HERE***

Have you eaten your kimchi?

Okay, another quirky title, another post totally unrelated to skincare.

SO I came across this interesting blog –> www.eatyourkimchi.com  about a month ago and I totally enjoyed the videos.

And so, I thought I should share this with you guys.

The blog is ran by this awesome Canadian couple – Simon and Martina who went to Korea to teach English back in 2008. Simon then went on to become a full-time blogger while Martina is still teaching at a high school.

Alright. What is so interesting then?

They actually do videos about their life in Korea, how they integrate into the society, and some KPOP! Yay to their Music Mondays! I particularly like their weekly Wonderful Treasure Find aka WTF (definitely pun intended) series where they’ll introduce a wierd product that they’ve discovered in Korea. Btw, they’ve also been interviewed on Arirang!

Argh…I think I’m making this sound really cliched. But if you wanna know more about how it is like to live in Korea, or wanna know some wierd products in Korea,  or preparing to go to Korea, or just excited about everything Korean (that’s me!) , do check out their blog! 🙂

Gmarket Spree, anyone?

Sorry! I’ve been ignoring this blog for a while. Ha!

Alright. So I’ve been enjoying hauling from Gmarket and then it suddenly struck me that maybe I could organise a Gmarket spree for readers residing in Singapore??

What do you think?

I don’t know how many of you would actually read this but here are some details.

Website: http://english.gmarket.co.kr/

Exchange rate that I’ll be using, USD 1 = SGD 1.30 (using USD as it’s the currency that is charged to the credit card)

Shipping charges: ~ SGD 7 -8 / KG

Leave me a comment if you’re interested, latest by 30th  April 2011.

Do include the number of items which you’re thinking of getting!

I will collate the comments and come back with the results of the “poll” on 1st May 2011.

This spree will be realized ONLY IF the response is good (i.e., more than 15items or more than USD 150, whichever amount is higher)

Looking forward to your comments!

What’s for today?

The postman came with my 4th Gmarket Haul!

This time, it took quite a while to reach though I didn’t order alot of stuff. Orders were placed on 29th March and were received on 11 April.

It took like 13 days cuz one of the sellers took a week to ship out the stuff. More on that later.

Yes, the long awaited EMS package which was half the size of the usual EMS package.

It’s skincare products AGAIN! Plus a Holika Holika Mascara which I’ve forgotten to include in my previous haul 🙂

Here’s after ‘un-boxing’ all the stuff…

Sorting according to sellers…

From 약박사닷컴 건강식품 , BRTC Enzyme Refining Facial Wash (Item No : 181905714).

From ★자미안★ , Zamian Gold Cocoa Pack (Item No : 188684070).

From 홀리카홀리카 , Holika Holika’s Enamel Magicara Mascara (Item No : 191204412). Does it remind you of Majolica Majorca’s mascaras??

From 거기야 , samples from various brands! (Item No : 194263446).

This was the seller that took a week before dosmetic delivery was made, and 2 of my orders were cancelled. I’ll definitely choose other sellers if I’m gonna purchase samples in future. Btw, if you’ve been watching Invincible Youth, the Cel-Derma Hydrogel Mask was actually used by Yuri in one of the episodes. I hope it’ll do some good hydration to my skin!

Yup. That kinda sums up my not-so-haul haul (does it make sense? Heh). It seems like I’ve been doing a monthly purchase from Gmarket ever since the 1st! It’s just sooo addictive! I’m already thinking of ordering some Spring apparels! oh no! 🙂

p.s. There’s a Holika Holika store at Wisma Atria now! Will Baviphat be the next??