Hada Labo SHA Hydrating Light Lotion Review and Ingredients Analysis

Hada Labo has launched the Hada Labo SHA (Super Hyaluronic Acid) Hydrating Light Lotion, its newest product in Singapore recently. The Hydrating Light Lotion is a variant of its existing Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion (which I've reviewed before), with a twist: this version of the product is formulated for oily skin.

The new Hada Labo SHA Hydrating Light Lotion

To be honest, I've found all the Hada Labo lotions I've used to be pretty light and oil-less to begin with, so I couldn't imagine coming out with a special version for oily skin - it seemed to me that even oily skinned-people (like myself) should be able to use the original version. But, I guess if there is demand, then there will be supply! And voila, now we have the SHA Hydrating Light Lotion, and I'm glad to be able to bring you a review!

Halloween Manicure: Neon Orange, Glitter, and Stripes (aka I recycled an older nail look)

Remember my previous Halloween nails? Well, I decided that they could use a little more something - glitter! So I decided to glitterify them to my heart's delight!

Halloween Manicure: Neon, glitter and stripes!

I happened to buy a bottle of China Glaze Glitz Bitz 'n Pieces from Beauty Asia 2013 earlier this year, so I thought that would do it perfectly for glittering up my existing manicure.


Halloween nails: Neon orange, glitter and stripe designs.
The thing is, I'm not sure if I love the result more than the original. I have mixed feelings about it.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream Review and Ingredients Analysis

Kiehls has recently tweaked and re-tested the formula for its classic Ultra Facial Cream, and I got to put it to the test, with myself as guinea pig! The Kiehls Ultra Facial Cream has certainly got a reputation as one if THE face creams for hydration, and is one of Kiehl's most iconic products. So of course as you might imagine, I was excited to give this a go and subject this to (what I imagine is) my rigorous testing!

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream: The facial cream with a big, bad reputation.

I did say the Kiehl's ULtra Facial Cream is famous. The moisturizer is known to provide 24-hour hydration, and in fact, Kiehl's partnered with adventure explorer and polar guide Doug Stoup, on his recent expedition to the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean. So if it is the cream of choice for someone making an expedition to the North Pole, it's gotta be good, right?

Explorer Doug Stoup uses Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream! If it works for him in the North Pole, it would probably work on me too! (Kiehl's website)

Because of the Ultra Facial Cream's reputation for being used by explorer to the North Pole and such, when I tried the Ultra Facial Cream, I expected it to be all thick and heavy and greasy. But to my surprise, it wasn't. In fact, it fared much better than I expected!

BCA Manicure: Pink and Girly with Illamasqua Loella and Etude House WH901 Cotton Candy Kiss

One of the things I love about nail bloggers is the fact that every year, they do a BCA (breast cancer awareness) initiative in October. This year, it is #polishuspink on Instagram (if you search for the hashtag, you'll see lots of pretty pink manicures from bloggers doing their bit to raise awareness). Since here in Singapore, breast cancer is actually the top cause of deaths in women, I thought another BCA mani wouldn't hurt!

My pink and girly BCA nails this year!

This time around, my mani is a simple one - no nail art, just glitter on top of pink. I had bought the Illamasqua polish in Loella during one of Illamasqua's online sales (the haul post for that is still sitting around in my Drafts folder, oops), and I had also bought the Etude House nail polish, WH901 Cotton Candy Kiss from their Dear My Nails range when my colleague went to Korea (they were cheaper there, and I couldn't resist asking her to get me a few bottles).


BCA manicure: Illamasqua Loella and Etude House WH901

Benefit Porefessional Zero Shine Powder Preview and Ingredients Analysis

I got to take a sneak peek at the soon-to-launch Benefit Porefessional Zero Shine Pro Powder, and I can't wait to share my thoughts on it with you guys! The Zero Shine Powder will only be launched next year in February, but hey, it's never too early to take a first look, right?

Benefit Porefessional Zero Shine Pro Powder: A sneak peek before it's launched!

So what is this Porefessional Zero Shine Pro-Powder? Initially I was a little confused, especially since Benefit already has a Porefessional product that is a primer. Turns out, this new addition to the Porefessional family of products is totally different. The new Porefessional Zero Shine Powder, as the name suggests, is first of all not a primer, but a finishing powder. So unlike the existing Porefessional, which you use before applying makeup, this is used after makeup, for shine and oil control. It promises to banish the shiny, oil-slick look from your face all day long.


Benefit Porefessional Zero Shine Powder: Oil and shine control all day long.
If you don't have the patience to wait until 2014 for this too look, and want a closer look at the Porefessional Powder right now, you're in luck! I've managed to try out this powder, and I do think this is worth checking out.

Halloween Nail Art: Neon Orange, Purple and White Stripes

Halloween is coming, and part of the festivity means that a Halloween manicure is a must! This year, I happened to buy a neon orange nail polish, Illamasqua Gamma (which was also featured in a chalkboard manicure tutorial), and as you might expect, I couldn't wait to use it!

Halloween nail art - a very Halloween-y colour scheme!

I combined this with a purple, Illamasqua Baptist, and a white (a random LA Colors white striper, which was last seen in my Easter manicure), and I got this! I've been seeing this stripey design around lately, so I thought, why not try this out with some Halloween colours?


Halloween nail art: orange, purple, and white colours.

Etude House & Rose Review and Swatches: Rosy Lip Tint and Flowering Nails

Etude House's & Rose Collection has just launched, and it is indeed a gorgeously girly collection. Etude House claims that the & Rose Collection is inspired by the fairy tale ‘Sleeping Beauty’, and is supposed to capture the magical moment when Princess Rose is blossoming out into a alluring lady from a pure little girl. So that explains the name of the & Rose collection.

Etude House & Rose Collection: Pink and Pretty!

Name aside, I've had a chance to try the & Rose Rosy Lip Tints and & Rose Flowering Nails from the collection. Both have really impressed me! Both have really impressed me, and I think they are worth getting! I'll start off with the & Rose Collection Rosy Lip Tint and then move on to the & Rose Flowering Nails sets.


Etude House & Rose Collection Rosy Lip Tint: A range of 8 shades of pinks and roses.

The Thing About Applying Face Masks When You Have A Guinea Pig

Last weekend, I tried applying a face mask to relax. And I realized that guinea pigs really influence the effectiveness of your face mask. No, really! As you know, I also now have a guinea pig (I introduced him in this post, but he is a lot bigger now). And I realized that before Blondie joined our family, face mask time was spent applying the face mask, relaxing on my bed/in front of my computer/doing my nails/doing whatever relaxing girly solitary activity I felt like doing. I apply the mask, wait, and wash it off. Like so:


But then, after Blondie came, face mask time became an-extra-half-an-hour-to-sit-around-Blondie's-cage-and-pet-him-and-coo-over-him-or-play-with-him-because-he-just-gave-me-that-cute-begging-look time. So now I apply the mask, scuttle over from the bathroom to wherever Blondie is, pet him/play with him/feed him/whatever Blondie wants. And my mask will start melting off because I'm moving around. And then Blondie will pee (it's quite hard to toilet train guinea pigs, so if you do get one, they may or may not be able to learn where to potty - just sayin'!), so I will have to clean up after him. And pet him some more after that (no point scolding him since you can't potty train him anyway). And then the however-long-period-of-time-I-was-supposed-to-leave-the-mask-on-for will be up, and then I will wash off my face mask. But since I just played with/petted/cleaned up after Blondie, my hands probably shouldn't touch my face. So I will go back to the bathroom, give my hands a good cleaning, and then wash off my face mask (which was already starting to drip off my face because like I said, I've been moving around).


So, what's that about guinea pigs influencing the effectiveness of your face mask? You never sit still enough to let it dry if you're attending to them. And you have to be prepared that your face mask will drip off your face while you're doing so. That's all I really wanted to say today. Obviously I have products to review and beauty trends to write about, but sometimes you just gotta take a step back and enjoy the little things. Including cute little guinea pigs! Sorry if you're not an animal person - regular programming will be back with the next post. Promise!

PS - if you want to see what Blondie looks like now, I have photos of him on my Instagram feed. Because you can't keep a guinea pig who is SO SUPER CUTE without posting a few photos of him. Just not possible. (I now understand parents who post copious pictures of their babies online. I try hard not to do that with my guinea pig. He is kinda like the baby of the house now.) But anyway, here is a photo of Blondie (plucked from my Instagram) anyway, because OMGZ LOOK AT THAT CUTENESS!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Manicure: Pink Gradient Glitter Nails

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I thought I'd do a BCA-themed manicure because breast cancer is actually the 5th top cause of deaths. If you're in the at-risk age group (50 to 74), the best way to detect breast cancer is to get a mammogram once every 2 years. And as with all illnesses, early detection helps!

My BCA manicure that's pink, shimmery, and IMHO, awesome!

Skincare and Makeup I Actually Used Up! Pan Porn (OMG!)

One of the utterly pathetic first world problems I have is that as a beauty junkie, I have more makeup and skincare than I could ever use up in my entire lifetime. But, sometimes strange things happen, and I actually, actually, use up a complete product. Yes. For real. No lie. And because it's not that often that this happens, I just have to blog about it. Behold! (And that photo's not all, by the way! There's still more!)

Stuff I used up: MAC Dazzlelight, LipIce Lipbalm, and Milani Snow Frost

In the above photo, you see not one, not two, but three products! Yes. Let me just italicize it. Three. So let me start on a little mini-review of each of these products (if I haven't reviewed them already), and see where that takes us!

L'Oreal HydraFresh Review: Mask-in Lotion, Spa Water, Supreme Emulsion, Creamy Foam (With My Ingredients Geekery)

L'Oreal has launched its HydraFresh line, which is meant to restore moisture to the skin. The range contains French Grape Seed Extract, for 50X anti-oxidant power, French Vosges Spa Water, which has 16 minerals to strengthen skin’s moisture barrier, and Double Hyaluronic Acid.

The L'Oreal HydraFresh line: with French Vosges Spa Water and Grape Seed Extract.

I've been trying out the products in this line, and I have to say that the entire range is pleasant to use - most of the products in this line feel light on the skin, absorb fast, and do make my skin feel hydrated. The HydraFresh line also seems to be fragranced with a fruity-floral smell, that while a little on the stronger side, isn't unpleasant. I imagine some consumers would like the smell.

So now that we've done some of my initial thoughts on the L'Oreal HydraFresh range as a whole, let's do a blow-by-blow review of every product in the range! And because I'm a huge skincare nerd, you'll also get to see me talk about the ingredients in each of the products. So, here we go!

Beauty Blog Link Love

Addicted to Beauty geeks out over teenage ninja turtles and time lord nails.

Phyrra shares her all time favorite cruelty free beauty items! From hair to skincare and makeup, she's got you covered!

This week at theNotice, Rae's found a high-end eyeshadow palette that isn't worth shelling out for. Find out what it is, and why you shouldn't fall for its beautiful presentation!

All-natural, luxe skincare that will seriously change your life? Head over to Makeup Morsels for the scoop on Osmia Organics.

FabDiva20 has done it again with another sunset look, but this time it's purple with a hint of glitter!

Inspired by this season's runways? Musicalhouses shows you a fall nail art look inspired by NYFW!!

Jessika from polish insomniac doesn't own many MAC products, but there are two she never leaves the house without. Find out which ones they are in her What's In My Bag Top Ten post!

Kim Porter reviews Valentina Assoluto. See if it will be your new fragrance.

Have you scoped out any new Fall beauty collections? Pammy Blogs Beauty shares her favorite fall beauty items from Target!

Gouldylox Reviews tried more than 15 irons to find which one gives the longest lasting curls. (Even on hard to curl hair!)

Lacking volume in your hair? Prime Beauty found the Moroccanoil Volume Line plumps up her tresses nicely and smells fabulous!

Do you like hexagonal glitter? Check out what Fleurissante thinks about the Born Pretty Nail Art Glitter Set.

Beauty Reflections shows you why you need a red eyeshadow for fall!

If you could pick every lipstick from one line would it be Lipstick Queen? Learn what lipsticks from Poppy King made Lisa from Beauty Info Zone pick LQ as her favorite.

Jenn from Spiced Beauty has swatches of the new RiRi Hearts MAC Eye Shadow Palette in Her Cocoa! Do you like it?

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed can't decide whether she likes the insides or the outsides of the new Anna Sui lipstick and polish collections - check out her swatches and decide for yourself!