Sensitive Skincare Routine

Posted on October 18, 2012 by tinnipoo

As mentioned a few times before, cosmetic procedures are common in Taiwan, and as a result, fairly cheap. So much so, that a lot of people (including me) treat them as facials, and incorporate them into their skincare routine.

I’ve been getting IPL and Clear & Brilliant Laser fortnightly, which I’ve found to have good cumulative effects in improving the clarity and firmness of my skin. It has no downtime, however does make the skin more sensitive so a milder skincare routine is required.

This is the routine that I’ve worked out so far, which would also be suitable for post-peel, and anyone with long-term or short-term sensitive/allergy skin. It’s gentle, yet still has enough nutrients in it to improve the skin (I can never be a cold cream kinda girl).

Generally, it’s all about what NOT to use when you’re post laser or have allergy/sensitive skin:

No brightening/whitening products
No Alpha Hydroxy Acids of any kind
No abrasions eg. scrubs, exfoliants
Some fragrance

Cleanser & Toner

POD Liquid Detox is great if you have sensitive skin that is oily (review here). My all-time favourite cleanser, Simplicite Plant Gel Cleanser for Oily/Combination skin would work quite well too. Both effective at removing all the dirt, excess oil and makeup from the face at the end of the day, without leaving the face feeling tight and dry.

For toning the skin I stick to plant or mineral water sprays. Kuan Yuan Lian Cucumber Water Moisturising Mist is a good, cheap option. Even better is Uriage Thermal Water Spray (left it at work so I couldn’t photograph ) as it has healing as well as soothing and moisturising properties.

Serums & Creams

Hydration is paramount post-laser as laser zaps away some natural oils. It’s equally important for sensitive skin as it aids the natural healing abilities of the skin. Unitec Advance Hydrating Essence is a great cheaper alternative to For Beloved One HA serum, both hydrating and don’t break me out.

For night time, I layer on the Hyaluronic Acid serum with Avene Skin Recovery Cream, which I completely adore for serious cases of allergy on the face. It immediately relieves the itchiness, and in the morning I can see visible reduction of the redness and allergy bumps on my face.

For day time I switch to Uriage Aquaprecis Refreshing Gel-Cream* (also applied over Unitec serum), as it hydrates my face without making it more oily, and is great under makeup. Note that this does a fair bit of fragrance, but does not cause me any irritation.

Uriage Aquaprecis Relaxing Eye Gel* is a great general purpose eye gel that reduces puffiness.

Masks

Stick to hydrating masks without any brightening agents. I love my emerginC Vitality Mask as it soothes and delivers a huge dose of antioxidants to my skin (get your hands on it if you can, it’s seriously good stuff). For lazy days I opt for L’Herboflore Q10 + Marine Collagen Anti-Ageing Mask that gives my face extra bounciness.

Makeup

First of all, sun protection is a MUST. It’s a must for everyone everyday but especially so post-laser/peel. I have been and will continue to use Bioré UV Aqua Rich SPF 50+ Watery Mousse, which is the best sunscreen I’ve ever come across.

For base makeup, I choose products that don’t say that it whitens (like a lot of Asian base products now), but have added SPF and are mineral based. Face of Australia Stick Foundation ticks all those boxes, and offer good coverage that is also buildable. I top it off with Face of Australia Translucent Powder to set the foundation and reduce shine without adding more coverage.

So there you have it, my post-laser skincare routine that I’ve nutted down after 3 months of trial and error. This should work well for most people, however my last and best piece of advice would be – consult your dermatologist when in doubt. Also note that good cosmetic clinics should offer you a take-home sheet of post-procedure skincare instructions.

Products marked * have been provided for consideration, for my disclosure policy see here.

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Review – 1028 Visual Therapy Naturally Fair Foundation

Posted on December 5, 2011 by tinnipoo

Isn’t procrastination a wonderful thing? This review (along with another one on Nutox birds nest serum) is so long overdue and I have no idea why. I’ll cut to the chase and tell you that this is one of the gems amongst my Taiwan beauty haul.

What They Say:

Ah, so herein lies the cause of the procrastination. The features & benefits are in Chinese and I’m a terrible translator!

Primes, conceals, nourishes and hydrates skin
Weightless perfecting liquid foundation
Ultra fine silky texture with mineral and “soft focus” particles to even skin tone and minimise the appearance of pores
Reduce dullness, improve the appearance of skin texture to create natural luminosity
Hyaluronic acid, Sea shark oil & Ginseng extract hydrates the skin
Sage & silk protein firms the skin
Green tea extract, grape seed extract & licorice extract nourishes the skin & absorbs excess oil
Available in 3 shades: Ivory, Natural and Tan (I use Ivory)

Ingredients:

My Experience:

The texture of this foundation looks like any regular liquid foundation, though it is quite light: almost feels like a whipped foundation.

The amount above is enough for about 1/3 of my face. That may seem a lot, but this foundation really sinks into the skin, so a little more is needed to build up the coverage.

Once applied, this foundation melts into the skin and leaves a satin finish. The satin finish is due to the alcohol in the formula, which evaporates once the foundation is applied. I know lot of people are worried about alcohol, but in my opinion, it does not cause any allergic effects, but rather it leaves a weightless finish and removes excess oil on the skin.

I apply this foundation with my fingers, after a hydrating serum (Nutox Oyfusion Advanced Serum Concentrate) and my sunscreen (Biore SPF50+ Aqua Rich Watery Mousse).

You can see from the above picture that the 1028 Visual Therapy Naturally Fair Foundation does a great job at concealing pores, alleviating mild redness and reducing dullness. It does seem to have a firming effect and blends in really well into my skin.

However, bear in mind that you will still need a concealer to cover spots/pigmentation including dark circles and excessive redness. For me, I use a cream concealer under my eyes and on the sides of my nose, then set with translucent powder.

If you have combination or dry skin, I think this foundation will still suit. As this is a water based foundation, for extra hydration use a gel moisturiser on the drier spots and the foundation should still apply nicely without leaving dry patches.

1028 Visual Therapy Naturally Fair Foundation retails for NT$523 and is available in Watsons, other pharmacies in Taiwan and PayEasy. For non-Taiwanese residents you can purchase 1028 Visual Therapy range on Sasa.com (US $21.10).

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FOTD – Sparkling Smokey Eyes

Posted on November 7, 2011 by tinnipoo

This was the makeup look I wore to my friend’s engagement BBQ yesterday. It was a pretty casual event, just friends and family from both sides at the future groom’s back yard.

Seeing I’ll be one of the bridesmaids, I forewent my usual weekend daggy getup (T-shirt & jeans, no makeup), and glammed up a bit. Hey, I don’t want to be faced with shocked looks of “geez she looks DIFFERENT with makeup on” at the wedding OK?

Key products:

Clockwise from top left: Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Illuminator Angel Flame, Lunasol Cream Cheeks EX03 Light Coral, Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Illuminator Angel Mist, 1028 Visual Therapy Naturally Fair Foundation, Face of Australia Lip Quench Lipstick Lychee Crush, Face of Australia Divine Shine Lip Lacquer Morning Mist

Face:

Being a casual day event and that it was such a glorious, sunny day yesterday, I wanted a luminous base that is still sweat and oil proof. Don’t forget the sunscreen!

Nutox Oxyfusion Advanced Serum Concentrate
Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Mousse Water Base SPF 50+
Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Illuminator Angel Mist
1028 Visual Therapy Naturally Fair Foundation
Lunasol Limited Edition Cream Cheeks EX03 Light Coral
Face of Australia Translucent Loose Powder
Face of Australia Blush Nutmeg - used as contours

Brows:

Face of Australia Eye Definer Brown
Laura Mercier eyeshadows – Coffee Ground, Cafe Au Lait, and Fresco

Eyes:

Keeping with the luminous base but glamming up as part of my bridesmaid duty, I wanted to create toned down a smokey eyes look that is sparkling. In addition, as an engagement is about LOVE (awww), I used a peachy shade instead of the corporate-y browns/greys.

Urban Decay Primer Potion
Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Illuminator Angel Flame
88 palette – a shimmery bronze on the outer half of my lids, a shimmery gold on the inner corners and bottom lashlines, and a dark brown on the outer bottom lashline (there was a bit of dark blue on the makeup brush left from previous use, but I kept it there cos I liked the extra bit of colour)
Solone Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Pencil Black - to line the upper inner rims. This gives definition to the eyes but no obvious lines when my eyes are closed.
Face of Australia Impact-Full Mascara Black – new formula to be launched 2012
Chanti Eyelashes No. 135 - 1 full pair cut into half for just the outer 1/2 of my eyes. Daytime BBQ does not require full-on Barbie lashes!

Lips:

I would have liked a bit more colour and shine on my lips, say like a strawberry gloss. But as I usually put my lipcolour on at work, I am very limited to supplies at home. Plus I was already running late by this stage so just grabbed the first things I saw.

Face of Australia Lip Quench Lipstick Lychee Crush
Face of Australia Divine Shine Lip Lacquer Morning Mist

This look would suit any daytime event, or a casual evening one.

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Review: Bioré UV Aqua Rich SPF 50+ Watery Mousse

Posted on September 21, 2011 by tinnipoo

I am proud to say, that in spite of my frequent bouts of laziness, I almost never leave the house without wearing sunscreen on my face. In addition to my obsession with keeping a fair complexion, exposure to UV rays is the number 1 contributing factor to premature ageing – which makes it my number 1 enemy

As this has been in my daily skincare routine since my mid-20′s, it has been imperative that my sunscreen feels comfortable on my skin in every way: no greasiness, no ghosting (not leaving a white cast) and no sunscreen smell (personal pet peeve).

The Bioré UV SPF 50+ Aqua Rich Watery Mousse ticks all the boxes, plus more!

What they say:

Contains unique Aqua Micro Capsule with UV block ingredient to provide superior SPF 50+/PA+++ protection while keeping skin refreshed.
Enriched with Hyaluronic Acid & citrus essence to hydrate and soften skin.
Water-based texture makes it easy to spread onto skin and is instantly absorbed.
Suitable to be used on face.

Ingredients:

My Experience:

The texture is a slight whipped lotion, which is a good thing as I think a true mousse would not provide enough sun protection unless you use 10 times the amount of a regular lotion sunscreen.

You can see that this sunscreen does seem to have a slight watery appearance when applied. I find that I still need to lightly rub it in for it to fully absorb into my skin.

Once absorbed, it’s not sticky at all (YAY) and smoothes out my skin, making it a good makeup base as well (double YAY). This is a great sunscreen for oily skin ladies!

An important thing to note is that Bioré UV Aqua Rich SPF 50+ Watery Mousse has a PA+++ ranking, which means it protects against UVA as well as UVB (SPF only measures UVB). UVA rays are the rays which may cause long term skin damage and therefore age the skin.

Bioré UV Aqua Rich SPF 50+ Watery Mousse is available in Watsons, for non-Asia-residents please try reputable Ebay sellers.

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FOTD – Doll Eyes

Posted on August 28, 2011 by tinnipoo

I know my last FOTD post was on monolids (see here), but seeing Lancôme’s latest campaign on their new Hypnôse Doll Eyes mascara has me inspired in another direction. And hey, isn’t part of the allure in makeup the ability to transform oneself?

Before you ask the question – I do have true monolids. But the process of ageing has made my eyelids more saggy, so now I find strip eyelashes to have the ability to prop my eyelids up and create the creases of open double lids.

Face

Nutox Oxyfusion Advanced Serum Concentrate
Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Mousse Water Base SPF 50+
1028 Visual Therapy Naturally Fair Foundation
Face of Australia Stick Foundation Ivory - used as concealer under my eyes
Face of Australia Translucent Loose Powder
Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Blush Berry Pink
Face of Australia Blush Nutmeg - used as contours

Brows

Face of Australia Eye Definer Brown
Laura Mercier eyeshadows – Coffee Ground, Cafe Au Lait, and Fresco

Eyes

GEO Bambi Chocolate circle lenses
Solone Magic Waterproof eye pencil black – unbelievable pencil. Glides on easy, dries to gloss finish and same great staying power as a gel eyeliner. Line the top lashline with a slight extended wing, and thin line in both the top & bottom inner eye rims.
Face of Australia Opulent Eyes – an old limited edition eyeshadow palette. I used a terracotta colour over the entire socket and a dark suede brown colour over the eyeliner to soften the line.
Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner Black - used to enhance the wings extended 0.5cm over the outer corners of the top lash line.
Undisclosed mascara – can’t wait to launch this as this has now become my go-to mascara.
Princess Lee fake eyelashes No. 7 Bold – slightly denser than no. 7 which is the best selling variant in the Princess Lee range. But the length is still natural.

Lips

Clinique Chubby Stick Woppin’ Watermelon - I whisper sweet nothings to this chubby stick whenever I see it, then kiss it all over after I’ve used it. The word LOVE is not dirty enough to express the adoration I feel for it

I’ve never been one to cam-whore, but couldn’t help myself – the great weather Melbourne finally got this weekend gave fantastic lighting!

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FOTD – Muted Day Look

Posted on July 30, 2011 by tinnipoo

Today I had lunch with Ponikuta, and had an awesome afternoon filled with good food, trashy celebrity gossip, and LOTS of beauty talk. We also went for a stroll in Mecca Maxima and other beauty stores – but had enough self control to only look and not buy (this is RARE, but a pleasant relief for my credit card).

I was planning to break into my Lunasol eyeshadow palette for the occasion, but alas woke up to a gloomy Melbourne day which is unsuitable for swatching. So instead I did a FOTD of my usual get-up: this is the makeup look that I usually do for work and weekend brunches; as it is understated, flattering to almost everyone, and quick to do.

I am a huge fan of the Korean makeup look – thick-ish brows, defined eyes, luminous skin (ie. invisible foundation) and natural pink lips. The advantage with this look is that if during the day I feel like a dramatic twist, I can simply put on a brighter lipstick without having to worry about it clashing with the rest of my face or looking like a drag queen.

Face

Nutox Oxyfusion Advanced Serum Concentrate
Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Mousse Water Base SPF 50+
1028 Visual Therapy Naturally Fair Foundation
Face of Australia Stick Foundation – Ivory as concealer under my eyes, and Beige as concealer for residual pimple mark on my chin
Face of Australia Translucent Loose Powder
Catwalk Blusher Gossip (pale candy pink)

The first 3 products are from my Malaysia/Taiwan haul (see here) which are working their way to HG status – just give me a few more days with them for the reviews.

Brows

Face of Australia Eye Definer Brown – I have such sparse brows I need to define them with a pencil first.
Laura Mercier eyeshadows – Coffee Ground, a dark chocolate colour to fill in my brows esp at the outer ends (where the brows should be the darkest); Cafe Au Lait, a mushroom colour to soften the pencil line across the entire brows; and Fresco, a medium beige colour to soften the inner ends of the brows and to contour the nose and eye sockets.

Eyes

Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner Black – the most easy to use liquid eyeliner, the right blackness for everyday or night use, smudge proof yet easy to remove. I do a line along my upper lash lines with a little flick that extends 0.5cm over the outer corners of the eyes. I also line the very inner corners of my eyes to balance out the extended flick (otherwise my eyes would seem too wide-set).
Face of Australia Eye Definer Brown - applied lightly along the lower lash line. I find that eye makeup looks ‘incomplete’ if only the top lash line is lined – so I always line the bottom lash line, even just with a very light wash of brown.
Lancome eyeshadow – I don’t know the shade name as it’s a very old limited edition eyeshadow that I still hang on to. It’s a dark olive/grey shadow with just the right amount of shimmer that is buildable. I dab a small amount onto the middle part of the eyelids and blend it into the sockets.
Undisclosed Mascara – and that’s all I can say at this point, will update when it’s launched.

Lips

Clinique Chubby Stick Woppin’ Watermelon – O.M.GEEE & AWESOMESAUCE big time! There have been plenty of blog post on this so I may not swatch it. But I have to say this: for a person with naturally brown lip colour like myself I am absolutely amazed that this is able to give me the pink coloured lips I’ve always wanted, yet feels light AND moisturising on my lips. It is pure genius, GENIUS!!!

If you’re a makeup novice – I highly recommend this look as a starting point. From hereon you can then build on either the eyes or the lips – stay tune for more FOTD.

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Chasing Elixir

Staying 25… forever

Tag Archives: Biore

Post Laser/ Allergy/ Sensitive Skincare Routine

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Review – 1028 Visual Therapy Naturally Fair Foundation

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FOTD – Sparkling Smokey Eyes

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Review: Bioré UV Aqua Rich SPF 50+ Watery Mousse

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FOTD – Doll Eyes

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FOTD – Muted Day Look

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