1

Skinceuticals recently launched their HA Intensifier, or Hyaluronic Acid Intensifier. As the name suggests, it's a serum/booster product with hyaluronic acid - but more than that, Skinceuticals also claims that the HA Intensifier will also help to boost your skin's ability to make its own hyaluronic acid, beyond just replenishing it. Application-wise, Skinceuticals recommends this go after your toner, but before your other skincare products. Skinceuticals HA Intensifier - in case you didn't know the HA stands for Hyaluronic Acid Skinceuticals is one of those brands that's a little niche, but has quite the following among skincare devotees, particularly for its CE Ferulic (which is sometimes considered the gold standard in Vitamin C serums). So I was pretty excited about the HA Intensifier, and was hoping that it would also live up to the brand's reputation for good skincare. Skinceuticals HA Intensifier: A key claim is that the product helps to boost skin's own ...

Sulwhasoo's Snowise Brightening Serum was launched earlier this year as an addition to Sulwhasoo's already very successful Snowise skincare range, which is a whitening range (as you might guess from the name). Sulwhasoo is a niche, high-end skincare brand that hails from Korea, with a focus on " holistic beauty " that is " inspired by Asian philosophy ", which in their skincare line, means the use of plant extractsa nd ingredients that are traditionally used in Asian cultures. Sulwhasoo Snowise Brightening Serum: A new addition to Sulwhasoo's Snowise whitening range If Sulwhasoo's Snowise Brightening Serum sounds slightly familiar, it's because previous iterations of the same product have been released. This version, according to parent company AmorePacific, is the " advanced eighth-generation " version, with " enhanced white ginseng extract, moist and smooth finish and a new packaging design ". A whitening serum, punched up o...

Dr Ci:Labo's Super 100 range is part of the brand's "Special Care" range, and it consists of 5 different ampoule/serum type products, featuring different ingredients, including Hyaluronic Acid, Marine Collagen, Vitamin C, EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor), and Placenta. These serums can be added to your moisturizer, or else used on their own before moisturizer. When mixing it in your own moisturizer, I'm told that you just add a drop or two into the appropriate amount of moisturizer in your palm, and mix before application. Dr Ci:Labo Super 100 Collagen, Vitamin C, Placenta, Hyaluronic Acid, EGF Serums These all come in blue or brown glass bottles of 10ml or 30ml, with a little tip that dispenses the serums one at a time. The Super 100 serums are all unscented, and in my opinion can be used with any moisturizer, although Dr Ci:Labo recommends that you use them with the other Dr Ci:Labo serums. Specifically the Hyaluronic Acid, Marine Collagen, and Placenta Super 100 S...

This is a pretty major empties post, because the last time I blogged about my empties was half a year ago in December last year (it was also a pretty large post, that I split into two parts, part 1 and part 2 ). This time around, I have even more stuff! The nice thing about empties is that, for me, using a product up comes with a sense of accomplishment (as in, hey, I actually stuck to something long enough to use it up!) and also a sense of permission (as in, hey, I've used up a lipstick, now I can buy another lipstick)! So for a beauty junkie like me, it's both gratifying and enabling! Obviously, there's a lot to go through, so without further ado, let's jump right in! Continue Reading . . .

Origins' Original Skin Retexturizng Mask and Renewal Serum aren't new products - they were actually launched end of last year - but since I'm catching up on some old reviews at the moment, I figured, better late than never! And I suppose as far as skincare reviews are concerned, it's always a bit better to wait til you've tried the product more before reviewing it, because then you really get a better sense of how the product works. Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask and Renewal Serum: Targeting A Slightly Younger Crowd From some of the promotional material I've seen, the Original Skin range is meant to target ladies with a "quarter-life crisis", so unlike traditional anti-aging lines it has a younger target audience. The Original Skin Retexturizing Mask is supposed to be a " two-in-one purifying mask and skin refiner ", while the Renewal Serum is billed as a " renewal serum (duh, I guess) designed to restore the glow of younger sk...

The Body Shop's Drops of Youth collection of skincare products has launched, and this range targets the first signs of ageing and delivers hydration to skin. It is a surprisingly comprehensive range, with a Essence Lotion, Eye Concentrate, Youth Concentrate, Youth Cream, and Bouncy Sleeping Mask. So yes, a total of five products are being launched! The Body Shop Drops of Youth: A skincare range to target the first signs of aging Some of you may remember my old review last year of The Body Shop's Drops of Youth Concentrate , which is part of the Nutriganics Line. And while I didn't review it last year either, the Nutriganics line also had a Bouncy Sleeping Mask too. The packaging of the products in the Nutriganics line is slightly different - the "older" Bouncy Sleeping Mask, for example, has a white cap rather than a black one, while the Concentrate had a different lid and dropper. The Body Shop Drops of Youth: Five products, ranging from lotions to concentrates t...

SKII's Facial Treatment Essence, with the acclaimed Pitera as the main ingredient, is one of the most famous products in the world of Asian beauty. It's got a cult following despite the high price, and people swear by it. A year ago, I reviewed the SKII Facial Treatment Essence (together with the Clear Lotion and the Mask) , I talked about the science behind Pitera (aka Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate), and also tried the product on myself. Once the review was up, I had a number of questions on whether there were any dupes for the SKII Facial Treatment Essence. Of course, I had to go and investigate myself! SK-II Facial treatment Essence Dupes: Some of these products are said to be dupes for SK-II Initially, when I started in my dupe hunt, I thought it would be an easy task - maybe a handful of products, and that's it. It wouldn't take long to do or be a lot of effort, right? Turns out, I was wrong! Upon closer investigation, however, I found that there were really many w...

The Body Shop's Drops of Youth Concentrate is a new skincare product, and according to The Body Shop's website , it "works to help boost surface skin cell renewal", so that your "skin feels immediately moisturized and instantly softer". For those who like such products, it also claims to be silicone-free and paraben-free, with "99% natural ingredients". The Body Shop Drops of Youth Concentrate: Part of the Nutriganics Line With such a description, I was very curious to check it out and see exactly how it works! I mean, even the packaging has a whole list of awesome things the Drops of Youth Concentrate does - smoother skin, firmer skin, more even skin, fresher skin. What more could a girl want, right? The Body Shop Drops of Youth Concentrate: Advertised skincare benefits include smoother, firmer and more even skin With that in mind, I decided to take a look at the product's ingredients list first, in order to really get a sense of how it works,...

CNP Laboratory is a Korean skincare brand that boasts that it is started by doctors, and has an emphasis on skincare science - now, doesn't this sound like the kind of skincare brand I would like? So of course, as a beauty blogger who's into the science and geeky stuff behind skincare, I felt like I just had to review at least one of their products! CNP Lab's most famous product is their Propolis Energy Ampule (yes it is spelled "Ampule" not "Ampoule" - apparently "Ampule" is an acceptable spelling of the word, but the lack of an "o" in the word just throws me off when I'm reading it visually), so naturally I figured I'd start with this! CNP Laboratory Propolis Energy Ampule: CNP Labs' bestselling product The CNP Labs website claims that this prooduct "contains Propolis extract also known as Honey Essence, it is well known for its antioxidant and moisturizing benefits" . Interestingly, though, although CNP Labs c...

ISOI is a Korean skincare brand that touts itself as using natural products and " no harmful chemicals " (quote directly from the front page of the website). ISOI stands for "I SO Intelligent", and the main page of the ISOI site also encourages people to "Be an Intelligent Customer, and use isoi" and its "speed-effective natural skin care". And, the bestselling product from ISOI is its Bulgarian Rose Blemish Care Serum, which I'm reviewing today. ISOI Bulgarian Rose Blemish Care Serum: The best-selling product from ISOI Let me first say, the irony of encouraging people to be intelligent consumers while trashing "harmful chemicals" and promoting "natural skin care" in general is not lost on me. The fact is, as far as skincare is concerned, chemicals are not inherently bad, and not everything natural is automatically good. This is particularly the case for skincare, where the application is topical, as opposed to ingested, ...