Sunday, August 21, 2016

Palladio Velvet Matte Lip Cream Color Reviews, Swatches, Ingredients Analysis

Palladio is a US-based beauty brand, that's probably better known for its cosmetics that include vitamin and herb-based ingredients. The brand is somewhat niche within the US due to its limited distribution (when I was there, I only recall seeing it at some Sally Beauty stores), but nevertheless, it still has a good customer base with strong reviews, and some of its better-known products are the Velvet Matte Lip Creams (as well as other lip products), Rice Powder and foundations. Palladio is now coming to Singapore, and fortunately is much easier to get here than the US, with some Guardian stores carrying the brand. So, I figured now is a perfect time to do a review on some of their products!


Palladio Velvet Matte Lip Cream Color: One of Palladio's cult products

Since Palladio's Velvet Matte Lip Cream Color is one of the brand's more popular products, having received lots of rave reviews, I figured that these were probably a great place to start! I have three shades, Sateen, Brocade, and Boucle, that I'm reviewing today, and these are probably my favourite shades from the entire range.

Palladio Velvet Matte Lip Cream Color Review Liquid Lipstick
Palladio Velvet Matte Lip Cream Color: Since the brand is new to Singapore, I figured I should try these first!

So, let's get on to the review! Unfortunately for some reason I wasn't able to find the ingredients list for the product - the ingredients list wasn't printed on the individual tubes, nor could I find it online. But, I do have lots of swatches for you!

Monday, August 8, 2016

Etude House True Relief Review: Moist Cream, Mist Toner, Emulsion, and Ingredients Analysis

Etude House's True Relief skincare line consists of 3 products - the Moist Mist Toner, Moist Emulsion, and Moist Cream. As the line indicates, this is supposed to offer "true relief" for sensitive skin, without irritation. This certainly is pretty unusual as compared to Etude House's typical skincare range, which tends to be geared for a pretty young age group, as it seems geared towards a broader age range. So this is actually a fairly unusual step as far as Etude House skincare goes, and I'll be taking a look at how this fares!


Etude House True Relief Skincare Range: Meant for dry and sensitive skin

If you've read some of my Etude House reviews, you'll probably know that while I do love their makeup products in general, their skincare tends to be something I'm more ambivalent with - in fact, my last Etude House skincare product review wasn't exactly a positive one. This is perhaps because at nearly 30, I'm slightly older than the typical Etude House customer, and a lot of their skincare products are really best for very thick and oily skin. So, I was kind of interested to see if finally, there was a skincare range from the brand that made more sense for my skin type.

Etude House True Relief Review Moist Mist Toner Cream Emulsion
Etude House True Relief Moist Toner, Emulsion, and Cream: Slightly different from the typical Etude House skincare products

And as usual, for each of the products - the True Relief Moist Mist TOner, Moist Emulsion, and Moist Cream, we'll start off the review with a look at the ingredients list! We have three products here, so it might be a tad (just a tad, don't worry) longer than the average review, but I'll try and keep it as short and sweet as I can!

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Reader Question: Elizavecca Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask Ingredients Analysis

As some of you may know, I do feature reader questions on my blog from time to time, especially when they provide inspiration for science-y posts, like this post on parabens and safety, and this other post on talc and safety. Recently I received a reader question on the Elizavecca Bubble Clay Mask, and it's an ingredients analysis type of question - exactly the sort of questions I love to take a stab at!
Elizabeth asks:
Do you think you could evaluate the "Elizavecca Bubble Clay Mask"? I bought it but I'm not sure if it actually works...it does make my skin feel smooth and soft right after but I'm not sure about any long term effects. I'm afraid this product might be mostly skintertainment because of the bubbles.


Elizavecca Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask: A niche product that has gained a little bit of a cult following (Source)

The Elizavecca Bubble Clay Mask is something of a niche cult product that has gained popularity among some kbeauty fans over the past couple of years or so, along with other bubble masks. Elizavecca is a fairly niche Korean beauty brand, and their Bubble Clay Mask seems to have gotten popular in part due to the novelty factor. Basically, the Bubble Clay Mask goes on like a normal clay mask, but once applied, quickly foams up with lots of little bubbles when you apply it, like so:


Elizavecca Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask: A large part of the novelty is the bubble and foaming effect (Image source)

I'm pretty sure a part of the reason why they're so popular is because the foam gives rise to all sorts of really cute, funny, or weird (sometimes all at once!) selfies, like this. I mean, imagine applying a mask and then having it foam and bubble up right on your face! That's pretty fun, isn't it?


Elizavecca Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask: Possibly the most fun ever when masking (Image source)

That said, bubble masks, despite the novelty value, aren't actually anything super groundbreaking, and masks of this format have existed for awhile. In fact, waaaay back in 2011, I reviewed just one such bubble mask from another Kbeauty brand, The Nature Lab Oxygen Shield Bubble Mask. And more recently in 2014, I reviewed a sort-of-similar product from a Western brand, the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Boosting 5-Minute Facial, a 2-part skincare product where the first part also consists of a foaming mask. So while the Elizavecca one is more popular, it certainly isn't the first of its kind.

Anyway, since this is a reader question, let's get back to the question, and then we'll talk a bit more about bubble masks in general. What's inside the Elizavecca Bubble Mask, and what makes it bubble? Does this bubbling really help skin? Do bubble masks in general really bring any skincare benefit beyond being novel or entertaining? Let's take a look, starting with the ingredients list!