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Archives for June 2014

Review: LUSH Mask of Magnaminty

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Oh, hai! It’s been a while. Just wanted to do a quick review of one of my favorite masks at the moment, the LUSH Mask of Magnaminty. I got the little tub and it cost me around PhP300+, which I would say, is pretty affordable considering The Body Shop’s Tea Tree clay mask is around PhP500+. mask Don’t be fooled by the small-ish tub, inside is a generous amount of the mask. According to LUSH USA:

Mask of Magnaminty isn’t technically a daily ‘facial wash’; it’s actually a deep cleansing face and back mask. China clay and fresh peppermint reach deep down to pull the debris from your pores, giving you that delightful tingly-clean sensation. We add loads of aduki beans to exfoliate flaky or dry skin, vanilla absolute to calm redness and honey to soothe. Our inventors created Mask of Magnaminty to be the ‘ultimate face mask’, intense but not harsh or abrasive on the skin. We recommend using Mask of Magnaminty weekly to keep the skin in good condition. mask2

I was actually hoping to get more facial masks from LUSH but it appears that LUSH PH only stocks on the Mask of Magaminty because among all their variants, this one’s got the longest shelf life. You see, LUSH prides itself for using super fresh ingredients and their concoctions are typically free of preservatives and all that bad stuff. This is great and all but if you life in a tropical country where the weather’s as crazy as the people, then most of LUSH’s products go bad really, really quickly.

In short, you’d be hard pressed to score any of LUSH’s wicked delicious fresh face masks.

As soon as I read the description of the product instore, I knew I’m going to love Mask of Magnaminty. And I was right! Unlike most minty masks I tried, this one’s super minty and smells like chocolate mint cookies! And in case you don’t know, my ultimate fave flavor is chocolate mint. So yeah, I knew I’m going apeshit over this stuff.

Now, the mask is, as you can imagine, as green as can be. Expect a lot of granules from crushed Aduki seeds. The mask is filled with the stuff. This is a super grainy mask. Because a tiny tub is filled to the brim with the mask, one tub will last for a while. In my case, the mask lasted so long even when I am super generous with each application.

I keep my tub of Mask of Magnaminty in the fridge. As soon as I slap it on, deym, it’s super-icy-sexy, like party on my face! The best part about the whole experience, for me, is the smell. Yum! Chocominty goodness!

After each use, my face is sooo smooth! My skin feels invigorated too, pores appear smaller. I typically use this mask once a week and so far, I love it (no surprise there)!

I returned to LUSH Shangrila hoping to buy another tub but they haven’t re-stocked on new masks. I was advised to wait a couple of weeks and I am going back this Saturday to hoard dem masks, hahahhaha!

Review: LUSH Karma Soap

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I’ve never given artisanal soaps much thought. I mean, I like souped up soaps loaded with essentials oils and whatnot but I’m also okay with my Dove soap and shower gels. But since I started developing a serious crush on LUSH, I decided to pick a couple of things, another face spritzer and the karma bar soap.

Truth be told, I know shit about the brand except it’s the one with the strong scent emanating from its mall store, right across The Body Shop store, which I’m more familiar with. The choices were vast and I had no idea where to start so I asked the sales rep which ones are the bestselling  variants. She quickly told me that Karma soap is their top soap. It’s also one of their most expensive at around PhP 450 per 100g.

Youch.

Well, I’m on a bath products kick anyway so I told her to cut me off a slice, threw in a  spritzer and I was off. Here’s what Lush USA has to say about the Karma bar:

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“An all-time classic, Karma is the ultimate LUSH scent. Spicy patchouli is complemented with refreshing lemongrass, orange oil and pine oil to create a clean and lovely smell that lasts on the skin for ages after you’ve washed. One whiff and you’ll be hooked – for this life and the next. There’s enough Karma fragrance in each bar to perfume your whole body each time you wash, and transport you back to the days of free love and flower power. Give yourself good Karma; if you’ve been mindful and brimming with loving kindness, this is the soap to reward you.”

Pineing for Karma: Known for its refreshing green scent, Aromatherapists use pine oil for its cleansing and antiseptic qualities.

Lovely lavendin: Lavendin oil is used in our Karma range, from soap to fragrance and hair care. It helps to soothe the skin and promote a calmer mood.

Good Karma: Due to customer demand, we’ve created an entire range so you can wash, bubble and bathe in Karma from head to toe.

Right. For me it was love at first sniff. If it weren’t for my love for choices, I would totally buy more of the Karma soap simply because the smell is divine. Unless you hate patchouli. Or orange. The scent is multi-layered, I would say. It just leaves a beautiful scent on the skin and on the bath. The minute I walk into my bathroom, I am met with an invigorating smell of lavender, orange and patchouli, it’s just fabulous!

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I typically go all fancy in my second shower of the day and with the Karma soap, bath time became an amazing indulgence. However, while I am absolutely crazy over the scent, this soap does not lather easily. If you want serious foam, use a scrubbie. Rub the soap all over the scrubbie puff and then work a lather. if you simply rub the soap on wet skin, all you get is slickness of the soap, none of the lather. I suppose because this soap has a lot of essential oils? I dunno.

Ironically, this is not moisturizing either. I know, it’s supposed to be packed with essential oils but for some weird reason, this does not translate to the texture of my skin after showering. In fact, my skin is so squeaky clean that it felt like I used a regular soap. Overall, I will repurchase this soap if only for the scent (seriously contemplating on hunting the perfume version of this soap).

 

 

Review: Snoe It’s Oat K! It’s Alright Hydrating Facial Mist 3-in-1 Refresh, Cleanse & Moisturize

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I am a fan of Snoe products, particularly their It’s Oat-K, It’s Alright range. I’m somehow surprised that I don’t see a lot of reviews about the It’s Oat-K range because I’m convinced it’s one of Snoe’s better offerings out there. Sure, they’ve gone hi-tech with the fusion creams, bee venom serums and whatnots but I’d like to try less complex beauty products simply because I feel that it won’t break me out as much? Does that make sense? Snoe is a hit and miss for me (mostly hit) so as with any other new stuff to try for the face, I approach with caution.

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Now, one of the stuff I love about their range is the face mist. As I said a couple of blog posts ago, weather here in the PH blows hot and dry all day everyday during the summer season. Now that we’re transitioning to the rainy season, the weather has become a clusterfuck of hot, dry, and humid. So yeah, that lightweight BB cream of yours won’t be as lightweight in this weather.

I have been hunting for great facial mists and one of the stuff I got way, way back is the “Snoe It’s Oat K! It’s Alright Hydrating Facial Mist 3-in-1 Refresh, Cleanse & Moisturize.” K, so name of the product is long so we’ll just shorten it to Snoe’s It’s Oat K!Facial Mist. The Snoe’s It’s Oat K!Facial Mist contains(taken from their website):

Oat Extract: anti-inflammatory, anti-irritant, and moisturizing. It can soothe, smooth, and nourish skin.
Goat’s Milk:is one of the finest moisturizers and has excellent emollient properties. It contains vitamin A, and several B vitamins including riboflavin, niacin, B6 and B12.
Acerola Cherry: contains the highest form of vitamin C that can easily be absorbed by the body. It has a high content of polyphenols, some of which are unique to this particular fruit.
Probiotics: helps reduce cellular damage and activate skin renewal. Stimulates the skin’s immune system, repairs natural defenses, prevents collagen damage and hydrates the skin.

What Snoe did not highlight is that this face mist contains ethanol. It’s a type of alcohol derived from sugar cane, corn, etc. Now, ethanol can be a good thing and a bad thing for the skin. But for those who does not like any trace of alcohol in their face products, this might be a pass. I don’t mind it, I use Eskinol every day for Pete’s sake.

What I love about Snoe’s It’s Oat K!Facial Mist is it instantly cools down the skin. I use this when the weather is particularly hot and I spritz this not just on my face but on the nape and the back of my knees where I feel heat tends to concentrate the most. The mist imparts a cooling sensation (maybe because of ethanol) on the area where it is applied. My skin feels refreshed almost instantly! It’s a great facial mist for perking up your makeup at certain times of the day.

Best of all, this didn’t really break me out. At first I thought it did but I found out later on that it was the Emutox. Bleurgh. So overall, this is a nice facial mist. Might not be a great choice for people who prefer an alcohol-free formulation but personally, this isn’t really much of a deal breaker for me. However, it’s worth noting that while it’s marketed as hydrating, this facial mist really didn’t make my skin feel hydrated. Refreshed, yes, hydrated, not really.It’s definitely the thing I reach out for when I’m in a sticky situation. And by that I meant when my makeup is about to melt off from the heat.