BonjourHK Haul and Mini-Reviews: DHC, Hada Labo, Dr Bauer and More!

I'm always discovering new ways to buy more makeup and beauty products from, and recently I was introduced to BonjourHK's onlince website! I'm actually somewhat familiar with Bonjour, as it is a chain of stores across Hong Kong selling beauty products at accessible prices, much like Ulta (if you're in the US), Watsons, Guardian or Sasa (if you're in Asia). When I visited Hong Kong 3 years back, I stepped into quite a few Bonjour shops, although I didn't buy anything (I ended up with the smallest haul ever - sigh!). But the thing I liked about Bonjour is the eclectic mix of brands and products - there's everything from mainstream brands to niche Asian beauty brands I've never heard of before.

My BonjourHK Haul: A whole bunch of skincare and makeup items from various Asian brands

I actually never realized that Bonjour had an online website, but they do! And the website has pretty cheap shipping (which is free if you buy above a certain dollar amount threshold), and they ship internationally, too. And of course, the range of brands and types of products are just as varied as ever - there's everything from skincare to makeup to skin devices, and the brands range from fairly mainstream Asian brands (like DHC and Hada Labo) to more niche ones (like Choosy and Yu Mei). I was super excited when the package arrived, right on time within the 7-21 days window stated on the website.


My BonjourHK Haul: Includes brands both fairly well-known, as well as some undiscovered gems
The mass of products above, as well as the fact that I actually want to do a mini-review for each product rather than just run through the haul, means that this post is going to be pretty long (and photo heavy). So if you're going to read onwards, don't forget to buckle up before you go! And if you're all ready, let's just head straight into my product-by-product quick review!

I Blind Test and Review 7 Micellar Cleansers: Dior, Nuxe, Caudalie, Avene, Bioderma, Vichy, and La Roche-Posay

Some of you may know that rather than evaluating a product based on the marketing or brand name, I always prefer to evaluate it on performance. And I recently got to do what possibly is the most scientifically sound test of not one, not two, but SEVEN micellar cleansers, and find out how they really performed!

Samples A to G: Which One is the best?

Basically, the idea behind this test is that I am given seven samples of micellar cleanser. They are all market Samples A through G, and are all packed in identical brown glass bottle droppers, so I didn't know which is which when I did the trial. (For those of you who did science in school, you'll know that this is a blind study. Properly blinded studies FTW!) My contact with Escentual, the people running the study, was entirely via email, and focused solely on the instructions (test out all 7, report findings by which date) - so although I'm sure Escentual knew which sample was which, effectively it's as close to a double-blinded study as you can get with a non-double-blinded study, because there's no in-person interaction so there aren't any facial or body micro-expressions that influence the subjects (i.e. bloggers like me). So, properly designed experiment FTW! (By the way, I do believe it is important to double-blind experiments. Really, really important.)

After all the results were in, Escentuals tabuaated the results (you can read them in more detail here). The results were released just a few days ago, so I thought now might be a good time for me to incorporate everything into one post for you all. I think this may be the first decent beauty study I've ever been asked to do, so kudos to Escentuals!

The samples I used were:
- Dior Instant Cleansing Water
- Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals
- Caudalie Make-Up Remover Cleanser Water
- Avene Micellar Lotion Cleanser and Make-Up Remover
- La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution
- Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution
- Vichy Purete Thermale Calming Cleansing Micellar Solution


The 7 samples are put to the test!
So, I put all the seven samples to the test. I've also taken some photos of my testing, because I know you guys will want to know what I did in detail. Well, maybe not, but I have photos regardless!

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

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Rose and Lavender Special Edition: ComingSoon!

If you liked Liz Earle's flagship product, the Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, then you'll like this news - the award-winning formula is being updated to include rose and lavender essential oils.

Starting 6 September, we will see the launch of the Cleanse & Polish Rose and Lavender Special Edition, which I'm sure will smell absolutely heavenly. The calming and relaxing lavender oil combined with the soothing properties of rose make this product ideal for night-time use. The Special Edition Cleanse & Polish retails for £19.25 for 150ml, and wow, the bottle is beautiful.

(Image source)
Also, Liz Earle will donate £2.00 from every product purchased to The Prince’s Trust, helping young people into jobs and training. So you can indulge yourself and do good both at once! It's a little more expensive than the current Liz Earle 100ml (£12.75) and 200ml (£24) sizes for the normal edition, but hey, you're doing a good deed! (If you remove the £2 donation from the cost of the Special Editon Cleanse & Polish, you actually get a better deal per ml than the normal editions.)


There's actually a further backstory to this, centering around Liz Earle's involvement in The Tomorrow Campaign (basically the new Special Edition Cleanse & Polish is a result of the company's work with the campaign which will be sold to raise funds for the Trust), but for beauty fanatics, all you need to know is that the favourite Cleanse & Polish is going to have a gorgeous smell, and that if you buy it, you'll be contributing to charity!

(Information provided by company. I am not affiliated to the company and do not benefit in any way from sharing this information.)

Enavose Floracomfort Micellar Cleansing Water Review: Feels Like Water, Cleans Like Oil

Micellar cleansers have been all the rage lately, so I finally got my hands on one to try! Micellar cleansers are supposed to feel like water, but clean as well as oil-based cleansers, which is why they have been so popular. Basically the technology involves suspending tiny oil particles in a watery base, thus giving micellar cleansers the best of both worlds.



After doing much reading up, I finally figured out what the difference between micellar and non-micellar cleansers is. An emulsion (in this case a oil-in-water emulsion) is defined by the particle size. There are 3 types - macroemulsions (particle size >1000nm), microemulsions (10-300nm), micelles (5-10nm), and anything with smaller particle size than a micelle is considered a solution. So basically, a micellar cleanser consists of many many really tiny droplets (micelles) of oil, suspended in water, held together by emulsifiers. Hence, you get the cleaning power of oil, but the nice light feel of water.


I recently tried Enavose Floracomfort Micellar Cleansing Water. Enavose is a Switzerland-based brand with some really good products - I previously tried their Black Tea Quench Mask with really good results. So, I had high expectations for their Micellar Cleansing Water as well.



One of the differences between Enavose and other brands' micellar cleansers is the natural slant to Enavose's product. Enavose's cleanser comes packed with a lot of botanical-derived extracts, so it's good for those who want something a little more power-packed. As with all Enavose products, the packaging is very clean, simple, and functional. The Enavose Floracomfort Micellar Cleanser comes in a plastic bottle. No fussy jars or breakable glass! And I like the pump top. Pump tops are my favourite type of packaging, since they're a lot more airtight than other alternatives.



The cleanser itself looks and feels just like water - it's a clear, watery liquid with no smell or colour. Very light-textured, too, in contrast to the heavier oil cleansers I've used.



So now on to the key question - how does this work at removing makeup? Well I've got a demo for you! Below, I've totally coveered my arm in all the most waterproof makeup I have in my arsenal - Bobbi Brown and MUFE eyeliners, Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge, Bobbi Brown No Smudge Mascara (serious - I wore this to a waterpark and it didn't budge), Benefit's Creaseless Cream.



Right, so let's see if the Enavose Cleansing Water removes all this! I poured some onto a cotton pad, and then swiped the cotton pad back and forth across my arm.

And...below are the results! Ta-da! Impressive right? I didn't expect it to, but the Enavose Cleansing Water removed all the makeup, and actually did so quite cleanly! And it didn't leave behind any weird sticky or oily residue, unlike most oil-based cleansers. I guess the technology behind this oil-in-water thing must be pretty darn amazing, to get something that feels like water clean like an oil!



So, do you need this? I think so, if you're still looking around for a cleanser that would remove your makeup fully, and is easy to use. If you like the cleansing power of cleansing oils, but find them to hard or time-consuming to handle, but at the same thing want something stronger than your average cleanser-type makeup remover, then this would be the jackpot for you. It combines both ease of use and serious cleansing power to give the beset of both worlds.

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