Biore UV Aqua Rich Whitening Cream SPF 50+ PA+++ Sunscreen Review

Summer is here, and although it's has been hazy here in Singapore these couple of weeks, it's still hot! All the brands have started putting their sun protection products found and center, so here's one that's recently been launched - the Biore UV Aqua Rich Whitening Cream.

If you've read my blog before, you'll know I've reviewed Biore products before on my blog, including one of their other sunscreens. And I've also reviewed other Asian brand (and non-Asian brand) sunscreens too (Sunplay, etc.). And the Biore UV Whitening Cream, to my surprise, struck me as being a little different from all the other Asian-brand sunscreens out there - but in a good way!

Biore UV Aqua Rich Whitening Cream: A little different from what's out there on the market now.

Alternatives to Google Reader: Don't be a Stranger Come Tomorrow!

So everyone by now knows that Google Reader will be retired from July 1st (that's tomorrow!). And if you read blogs, so many of the blogs I've been reading are like "NO MORE READER FROM TMR! PLZ TO FOLLOW ME ON THESE 235234324 ALTERNATIVE METHODS!" So I've decided to join in too. I only have 3, though, not 235234324.

Yikes! But there are alternative ways to follow... (Image source)

So here are the ways to follow this blog. I'm not on Google Plus (whatever that thing is) because they don't let you use a pseudonym. And that's not cool given that I have a grown up job and stuff in real life, so I'm not supporting it because I'm not too keen for people to google my real name, only to have my blog rank above my LinkedIn page in search rankings. So I found out that you can indeed use a pseudonym on G+, which is what I've done! But I am on other platforms:

• Bloglovin (I'm so happy to see there are nearly 700 of you guys over there although I haven't been promoting my BlogLovin! You guys like me! You do, don't you? Someone out there actually likes me!)
• Twitter (If you want to start a conversation, this is the best way. Because I check it more often than I check my email, hah!)
• Google Plus (I know, I started an account after I said I wouldn't...
• And my RSS feed still remains the same if you do want a direct link to that, too (it's old skool, but it lets you import the feed into any service).

And you can also migrate your Google Reader to Feedly.

So, please do follow me (these links are all already in the "Connect" sidebar, along with other cool follow methods like FB, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. which aren't blog-related, but which are just things I do for fun), and don't be a stranger come tomorrow! One of the things about being a relatively long-lived blogger (4 years come end of this year, woohoo!) is that the "hip" method to follow the blog changes so much. First it was bare RSS, then Google Reader, then now it's BlogLovin/Feedly. And of course you weren't cool unless you had a Facebook page, but since Facebook engagement has been down everyone's looking out for the next big thing, which depending on what you read, can be Twitter, nope, Tumblr, oops I meant Pinterest, no wait, really Instagram, because mobile is the future, except that Snapchat is cooler because it has auto-delete videos. It all just goes to show you how fickle the tech space is.

Anyway, I'll confess that I will dearly, dearly, miss Google Reader, because it's tied so closely to GFC, which has been my - and everyone else's - method of choice for following blogs to date. Damn you, Google.

Haul: Two Pretty Neutral Eyeshadow Palettes

Oh yes, it's yet another haul post! I know that I've been hauling lots recently, from the Illamasqua sale, the KATE sale, a Sleek haul (no sale, though). So why am I still hauling? Because it was on sale, duh!


The Body Shop Smoky Moonstone Palette - Gorgeous Metallic Frosty Neutrals

Enavose Swiss Glacial Loose Powder SPF 15 in Nude Glow Review and Swatch

Enavose, the Swiss-based skincare line, has officially launched a line of makeup items, too, and I'm pretty excited! The previous skincare products I've tried were pretty good, so I had good expectations for their makeup line, too. The product I tried was the Swiss Glacial Loose Powder with SPF15, which the company touts as a face powder perfect for setting your makeup, or for touch ups on hot summer days - perfect for the summer season. Enavose claims that the product has "encapsulated Swiss Glacial Water" that "releases hydration gradually into skin to provide up to 24 hours of hydration". Sounds great, right?

Enavose Swiss Glacial Loose Powder with SPF15 - look at the cool container!

The Perfect Hot Pink Magenta Lip: MUFE Aqua Rouge 16 (It Stays All Day, Too!)

I think I have officially found the perfect hot pink magenta lip colour. Ever. And when I say perfect, I mean perfect in every way - not only do you get awesome, super-saturated colour, it also lasts forever. So what is this awesome product? None other than the MUFE Aqua Rouge in 16. This is actually part of MUFE's Summer Collection this season, but if you're anxious about stocking up, relax, it's a permanent item and you can get it anytime.

MUFE Aqua Rouge in 16: It doesn't move, and it's hot pink!

MUFE is starting to become one of my favourite brands - almost everything I've tried from them to date has been pretty darn good. So of course I did have some expectations for the Aqua Rouge, but this surpassed even those. The Aqua Rouge is a dual-ended product. One side houses the colour, which is a thick cream that dries to a perfectly matte finish. The shade I have, 16, is an absolutely awesome shade of hot pink - kind of like neon pink highlighter, only more pigmented!

MUFE Aqua Rouge in 16: Hot Pink That Doesn't Budge!

Beauty Blog Link Love

Over at LipstickRules, Michelle takes a look at Yu, a satin pencil from NARS.

Stila comes out with a gorgeous Festival Collection that Spiced Beauty thinks you must get your hands on!

The internet's all abuzz over Sephora's upcoming Disney Ariel collection, but Rae's attention is elsewhere. Find out what beautiful Sephora x Disney eyeshadow palette has captured her heart over at theNotice!

Addicted to Beauty tries circle lenses and is less than impressed with the results.

Musicalhouses does a Julep DD Creme ingredient analysis, and finds out if the product lives up to its hype!

Hada Labo ES Sensitive Skin Range: Review and Analysis

Hada Labo, the Japanese skincare brand, has launched a range for sensitive skin, the ES range. ES actually stands for "Enjoy Skincare" - the idea being that with the ES range, even sensitive skin can enjoy a full suite of skincare products. If you've seen the ads for Hada Labo, a sellling point is that the products are fragrance, colourant, preservative, alcohol, and mineral oil-free.

This new Hada Labo range has Hyaluronic Acid, which is the ingredient that most consumers associate with the brand, but the sensitive skin line also features some forms of Zinc Hyaluronate in some of their products. The inclusion of Zinc Hyaluronate is an interesting one - Zinc Hyluronate is a salt that has some effect in helping wound healing, and is the main component of Curiosin, a preparation for wound care. This seems like a good choice, as I imagine that since sensitive skin is prone to being aggravated, an ingredient like this would help.


Hada Labo ES Sensitive Skin Skincare Range: Four simple but necessary products

Kao Liese Bubble Hair Color Jewel Pink Review: A Pink You Can Wear To Work

Kao's Liese brand of Bubble Hair Colour released a new shade, Jewel Pink, sometime back. Yes, this is another slightly overdue review, because life has been somewhat busy and I'm catching up on my reviews. The Bubble Hair Colour is named as such because of the foam that is generated from the hair colour. Basically, the ingenious idea is that by using foam to dye your hair, instead of liquid, there will be less messiness and dripping!


Kao Liese Bubble Hair Colour in Jewel Pink - lovely hair on the model

Kiehl's Powerful Wrinkle and Pore Reducing Cream and Powerful Wrinkle Reducing Eye Cream Review

Kiehl's launched two wrinkle-busting creams, aptly called the Powerful Wrinkle and Pore Reducing Cream, and the Powerful Wrinkle Reducing Eye Cream. These were actually launched around a month or so ago, so obviously this post is slightly overdue, but well, like I always say, good skincare is timeless!


Kiehl's calls these two products "Powerful" - and we'll find out why.
I've always been fond of Kiehl's, because there is something refreshing about a skincare company that doesn't rush out to put fad-based products that are just lackluster in quality, like so many others do. Although I haven't exactly been a heavy user of Kiehl's (so far I've tried the Midnight Recovery Concentrate and the BB Cream, and am in the process of testing out a couple of mini-sized samples - so stay tuned), every product I've tried from them so far has actually been pretty good, and the formulation has also been unique, as far as skincare products go - if you've read enough ingredients lists, you'll notice their products are definitely not a slavish copy of whatever trend setter is putting out on the market. Case in point was their BB Cream, which was the lone BB cream formulated without silicones. But this is waaaay more interesting than BB cream. It's skincare!

Julep DD Creme Ingredients Review and Analysis: Is It Really Different?

So Julep has decided that BB creams are so old hat, and consumers aren't going to raise an eyebrow at a CC cream either. So what's a marketing team to do? That's right - move to the next letter of the alphabet and double it! Hence, the DD cream was born. And as you might expect, every blogger and emagazine laps it up, and Julep gets a lot of press even before the product is launched. All bodes well, so the marketing team thinks, "Ha! Gotcha suckers! Fall for a change in two letters in the product name! We'll all be getting great bonuses this year! Muahahaha!"


Not even launched, and all the hype already...(Image source from Julep website)
Okay, I kid. The above is just my "artist's impression", as they call it, of how the Julep DD Creme (note the tres posh spelling - the English word for "cream" apparently isn't enough to justify a high price tag, so "creme" it is). But I came to the conclusion that Julep's DD Creme is probably more a marketing-driven effort than any technological breakthrough because there is fundamentally no big difference between the ingredients in Julep's DD Creme, and the existing products already out in the market. It really is the same old stuff, just rebranded.

Cure Natural Aqua Gel + Hot Guys = Vote for the Cure Summer Boy (And Win a $100 Goodie Bag)

The event invite from Cure, the brand famous for its Natural Aqua Gel, was a strange one. Unlike other events, I was asked to bring along a guy. At first I thought, "Why on earth would a guy go to a beauty event? It would be like bringing them to the dentist!" Turns out, it was so that we could begin selection for the Cure Summer Boy. And you know what that means - ragging the guys by putting them through some fun games!


The Cure Natural Aqua Gel is a pretty famous product that needs no introduction.

The Skin Regime by Dana Ramos: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Skincare

There's so much misinformation and exaggeration in the beauty industry, so sometimes it's great to have someone tell it like it is. The Skin Regime by Dana Ramos is just that - it's a frank, refreshing  read that debunks beauty myths, shows you a step-by-step, inexpensive program to improve your skin, and shows you how to maintain it.

Perhaps the best description of the book was made by Dr. David Bank, technical advisor to The Skin Regime, and the founder and head of The Center for Dermatology, Cosmetic and Laser Surgery in New York. In the foreword, he writes that The Skin Regime "uses humor and in-your-face bluntness to tell the truth about skincare — and sometimes that means telling you what can NOT be attained (at least, not yet) either by products or medical intervention". And so it does. The tone of The Skin Regime is sometimes laugh-out-loud entertaining, sometimes wham-bam-in-your-face, and sometimes just a little aggressive in its enthusiasm. But everything she says and recommends in this book (glycolic acid, tretinoin, etc) are backed up by the best science available, and are methods actually proven to work.


For once, a book that has skincare advice I actually buy into. (Image source)