Top 10 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2013, and 3 Honourable Mentions

Now that it's almost the end of 2013, I thought it might be good to do a recap of some of the most popular posts from the year. Some of the results are expected, some were unexpected, meaning that when I wrote them, I didn't think too much about it - it was just a post I threw together that surprisingly did well among my readers.

I've chosen the top 10 by raw number of blogpost views, because it's the simplest way to go about doing things, but I feel like this method invariably leaves out posts that are popular but were written at the end of the year, or posts (like posts on classic topics like skincare, foundation, etc) that may not garner as many initial views, but tend to do very well over a longer period of time. I tend to think of these as "evergreen" versus "trend" posts, e.g. a post on sunscreen, versus, say, a post on MAC's latest collection. But regardless, every method has its flaws or is just too much work, so I'm just going to roll with the raw views. (As an aside, I briefly thought of roughly pro-rating the number of views to length of time post was up, but that seemed quite problematic because the pro-rating wouldn't be linear for all posts, and assigning linear vs non-linear pro-rating would be an on arbitrary basis, and even with pro-rating, it's impossible to predict posts with long viewership tails anyway.)

Alright, without further ado, let's do a quick recap of what you guys read in 2013!

Bio-essence Royal Jelly + ATP Shape V Face Skincare: Does it Really Work?

A couple of months back, Bio-essence launched its Royal Jelly + ATP Shape V Face series of skincare products. As the name implies, the products claim to reshape your face, giving you ugly square-jawed girls (Wait, that includes me too! what? You mean I can't be beautiful without a V-shaped face? Oh nos!! *dramatic faint*) a beautiful, slender V-shaped face. Not surprisingly, the slogan for this range is "Royal Jelly creates feminine charm". I was sent three of the products from the line to blog about:

1. Deep Exfoliating Gel with Royal Jelly + ATP
2. Radiant Youth Essence with Royal Jelly + ATP
3. Face Lifting Cream with Royal Jelly + ATP

Bioessence's Shape V Face Skincare: So much promise, but does it stack up?

So how do these products stack up? And do they really live up to the claim of giving you a more V-Shaped face? I know other local bloggers are giving it raves, left, right, and center, but you know me - I like to look at everything with an analytic mind, and I always like to dig a little deeper. So, we'll look not just at the product, but also the ingredients lists, as well as what the scientific literature out there says about the product. And we'll do this for each product, one by one! And we will see whether the products really live up to the "Royal Jelly creates feminine charm" tagline, as espoused in all their ads:

So much hype, but what does the science say about "Royal jelly creates feminine charm"? (Image from Bio-essence FB)

So, without further ado, let's buckle up your seatbelts, and get this show on the road!

Bio-essence Miracle Bio Spring Water Review

Bio-Essence's latest product, the Miracle Bio Spring Water, is touted as having soothing, anti-irritation and calming effects on the skin. It's Bio-Essence's latest try at facial mists and sprays, although Bio-Essence also mentions that you can also use this as a hair mist, too.

When I tried it, I did find that it did moisturize and refresh my skin, but only temporarily. Like other face mists, this won't replace a daily moisturizer, but is a great way to cool off or just refresh yourself. I'm not sure if I counted "20 Excellent Efficiacies for face, hair and body" as the packaging claims though - to me it was neither better nor worse than any other facial mist I've tried.

When I looked at the ingredients, I saw that there was really just water, and nitrogen. The nitrogen is a propellant, and can also be found in other spray can systems, most notably in the food industry (e.g. cans of whipped cream also use nitrogen for a propellant). Nitrogen is an inert element (fun fact: 78% of the air we breathe is nitrogen! Oxygen is only 21%), so the ingredient that acts on your face is just water. So akin to splashing water on your face, I felt like this product did help to perk up my skin in the short run, but in the long run, I'm doubtful whether it really does everything the advertising claims. I think, like a commenter below mentioned, the best use of this product would be if you were travelling and wanted a quick pick-me-up.


So, would I recommend this? Well, if you're looking for a refreshing face mist, and something to boost your skin's hydration temporarily, and that feels great on the face, then I'd recommend this. It's a good facial mist, and affordably priced, so if you're keen on the product, it's worth checking out. But beyond that, my expectations for any long-term skincare benefits are moderated.

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

Bioessence Inchloss Body Cream: Does it Really Work?

Do creams that claim to give you a slimmer figure really work? While these creams seem to be duds, their popularity seems to indicate that at some leve, consumers believe (or want to believe) that there must be something out there that helps to tone that flab. You know I've always been skeptical of such creams, so I decided to finally put the creams to the test.

For the uninitiated, Bioessence is a local brand whose range of products consists mostly of skincare and bodycare. One of the most popular product lines is its Inchloss line, which has recently added the Inchloss Body Cream Extra Strength to its lineup. I previously blogged about the Bioessence Inchloss line, so I won't go into further detail. Instead, I'm sure you're dying to know if it worked on me.



The two products I used were the Bioessence Inchloss Body Scrub, which is meant to be used in the shower, and the Bioessence Inchloss Body Cream Extra Strength, which is meant to be applied as a body cream after your shower.

The Inchloss Shower Scrub is a clear pink gel, with rather large buffing grains suspended in the gel. The scrub claims to also have some ingredients that help to promote circulation and have a slimming effect. I used it for a week, and while I felt it was inconclusive terms of slimming, it was pretty effective as a body scrub in the shower. The producct has a sweet, fruity scent which is quite pleasant.



The Inchloss Body Cream extra strength is a thick white cream that also has the similar sweet, fruity smell, although I wouldn't advise you smelling at very close range, since it has capsicum inside, which made me sneeze when I inhaled too deeply. However, the cream absorbs well, and also functions as a very light moisturizer.

One of the things I noticed about the cream is that it gives off a burning sensation, and makes the areas which the cream was applied to feel hot. This is supposed to be a sign that the cream is working. Because of the stinging sensation, I strongly recommend that after application of the cream, you wash your hands before you rub your eyes or touch your face, otherwise the cream could get onto the more sensitive parts of your face or eyes and cause a lot of discomfort. Don't say I didn't tell you! :P



I tried out both the Body Scrub and the Body Cream Extra strength for one week, and various measurements from my flabby body parts were taken before and after the week. So did the products work? The results are below. And OMG yes, I just posted all my bodily statistics on my blog. Great, now everyone can figure out how many inches I have round my tubby tummy. *Groan*



Anyway, as you can see from the details, over five parts of my flabby body (both arms, tummy, and both thighs), the total sum of centimeters lost was 1.9 (or 0.75in), which was a bit disappointing. So sadly, the cream didn't really work for me. To be fair though, one week is a rather short period of time for a trial, and during the one week, I didn't significantly change my eating or excercising patterns, as requested by the company.

However, the other bloggers who were there reported much larger losses than I did. The blogger who lost the most lost 15cm (5.9in), and there were quite a few people who had losses of near 10cm. So I was one of the people who lost very little. However, that said, even the girls who lost a lot of inches didn't look any different - everyone looked the same in appearance. To be fair, though, the products claim to make you appear slimmer through toning, so I wouldn't expect any major changes in body size, especially after just one week.

So do these products really work? As with all things, I believe that there's no shortcut to health or weight loss. You do need to watch your diet, eat healthy, and exercise, and these should be the cornerstone of any attempt to keep healthy. So the creams will just be a supplement to the routine. I'm sad to say that for me, any effect was minimal, although perhaps a longer trial period would be needed. However, given that others seem to have acheived better results with this product, I wouldn't write the product off totally - it just didn't work for me.

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

I Actually Exercised! Zumba Workshop + Bioessence Weight Loss Cream Event

You know I'm a lazy girl - I don't really eat healthy, and I don't exercise. I think the last time I exercised was, um, in January. So I found it vaguely amusing that I should attend, of all things, an event featuring a weight loss cream and a zumba workshop.

Bio-essence is a Singapore-based facial and bodycare brand that is sold regionally. Their latest product offering, the Inchloss Body Cream Extra Strength is rides on their already popular Inchloss line of weight loss body products, including the best-selling Inchloss Body Cream.

You know me, and you know I can't help but be a bit skeptical about being able to losing inches with a cream. To be fair, though, the company doesn't claim that the creams will lose weight, but that they will tone and firm the skin, and heat up the areas the cream is applied to in order to stimulate metabolism of the fats in that area. The net result is that the body gets the appearance of being more slender. I'll have to try it to believe it, but for those who are interested in products like these, here's a little more about the line. The current line consists of the Inchloss Shower Scrub, which is mean tto be used in the shower before application of the body cream, the Inchloss Body Cream (their current bestseller), and the Incloss Bust Firming Boosting Cream (yes, like, for your special ladyparts!). The latest addition, the Inchloss Body Cream Extra Strength, is essentially a re-working of the Body Cream, to make it more efficacious. So it should please all the current fans of the Inchloss line.

Here's a product shot:



And here's a shot of the entire range of products (sans bust cream):



Anyway, I'll be trying out the Bio-essence Inchloss Body Cream Extra Strength for the whole of this week, along with the Inchloss Shower Scrub, and I'll be able to let you know if my skepticism is warranted or not! :P To be fair though, Bio-essence does stress that you also need to manage your diet, exercise, etc, etc to see any results with the creams. I mean, it does make sense, right?

Speaking of exercise, I moved that lazy butt of mine. Finally! After almost 6 months! Along with the body cream event, there was a Zumba Toning Dance Workshop. I've never heard of Zumba before the workshop, so I was curious to find out more. Basically, it's a dance fitness programme, where you do lots of dance-like exercise actions (squats, playing around with weights, steps, and so on), all synchronized to Latin music. To me, whose idea of working out is running on a treadmill, that's pretty cool. It's like getting your groove on while working out!

The Zumba workshop was held at California Fitness, which despite the "California" name is actually a Hong Kong based chain of gyms. They had nicely-maintained facilities, and the room we had our Zumba workshop in had nice glass window walls.



Now this one will really help you shed the pounds. My entire body was sore the next day after just a half-hour session!



Anyway, between the exercise and the body cream, I have to admit, although I know the exercise is the proven way to go, I'm still really really curious about the body cream, because I'm just that lazy. So I'll be reporting back soon after I've tried out the body cream, and hopefully I'll get to say it worked for me!

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)