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!

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!

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

Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Lotion Review: New Nano Formula

Sometimes, Asian drugstore skincare brands can be excessively gimmicky and trend-driven, rather than truly effective. That's why Hada Labo (literally "skin lab" in Japanese) has won my respect out of a plethora of available options, just because they have simple, cosmetically elegant products that work. While they do have a supremely effective marketing slogan ("one drop locks up an ocean", anyone?), I generally feel that Hada labo actually also has products that have proven to be effective. The latest product, the Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Lotion, is also similarly promising.

The company previously had a Lifitng and Firming Lotion for bouncy skin, their famous moisturizer with the "one drop locks up an ocean" tagline and even an olive oil cleanser, so what's missing from a complete repertoire of products for the Asian market? A new-and-improved whitening line, of course!


Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Lotion: pretty bottle, effective ingredients, easy to use - great!

Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion (New Nano Formula)

Hada Labo, famous for its Hyaluronic Acid line of products with the tag line, "one drop locks up an ocean", has released their new-and-improved version of the star product in their line, the Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Lotion. Now, we have ...*Drumrolls*... the Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion, in a brand new nano formula! This one is supposed to give the skin more moisture, by allowing the ingredients to penetrate deeper into the skin layers.

To be honest, I can't really tell the difference in feel or look between the new and old version. Both come in the same type of packaging, and both are clear, water-like liquids. They both feel the same to me, but if I had to split hairs, I guess I kind of feel like the newer version (SHA Hydrating Lotion) is a little less water-y and sliiightly more gel-like, and thus easier to apply. I don't really know. The difference is super, super slight. I could be imagining it, for all I know.


Application-wise, the SHA Hydrating Lotion absorbs well, and only feels sticky for the first few seconds. Within a minute, it quickly absorbs, and my skin feels nicely moisturized, without any oily or creamy residue on top. In that sense, it's also quite similar to the original Super Hyaluronic Moisturizing Lotion.

I feel like both are good, but I have a slight preference for the newer version, because I kind of feel like it moisturizes better, although I'm not sure why, since the ingredients list for the old and new versions are exactly the same. Maybe there are some subtle differences in formula I'm not getting here.

Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, PPG-10 Methyl Glucose Ether, Methyl Paraben, Disodium Succinate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Succinic Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate.

(For anyone curious, the "Super Hyaluronic Acid" is the Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate - a form of Hyaluronic Acid that binds more water to the skin.)

I generally like Hada Labo products - I feel like they live up to the hype, and the ingredients list doesn't have any fragrances or or colourants or extra stuff, and are generally good. I've liked the Hada Labo's Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion before, and I don't see much difference to make me not like it this time round. Although I'm not too sure what's the difference between the nano formula and the old versions, I'm glad it still does what it claims to do, so I'd recommend it.