Inexpensive exfoliator: Face Towels

It's been a while since I've truly blog.  My blogging mojo is still off, but hopefully things will get back in a swing in a bit.

My skin hasn't been all that good since earlier this year, and it does annoy the heck out of me.   The cheeks area were flaky and yet, pimples still occasionally pop out around my t-zone and  lower chin area.  I was at a loss to what to do.  

I came across Paris B's entry on the use of face towel and it reminded me of the time I was using face towel back in the heyday (think primary and high school times).  I didn't put much mind to it though.  Nonetheless, a couple of weeks ago, I was just telling  my aunt that my skin was getting crankier of late and she suggested to use face towel as well.  I guess no harm giving it a try right?   So off I went to dig through my cupboard to look for those few face towels that I knew were lying around somewhere.

(Pictures from Indiamart)

Well, it's been a week since I started using it and I could already see a difference.  It's not miraculous, but I could see that my skin is much clearer and it isn't as flaky.  I also notice that the blackheads on my nose area were reduced too.  I find that overall, there's this clarity to my skin and it doesn't look as dull too.  I believe that the gentle exfoliation through the use of face towels allowed my skin to better absorb my serums and moisturisers and thus, giving the face what it needs to be better.  What a change a simple routine could do to one's face!  I'm impressed and I guess, age long method does work wonders.  

How to use?

At the start, I used the face towel to gently wipe my face twice a day (morning and evening during shower times).   During the evening shower, I would place more emphasis around my nose and the side of my mouth to try to exfoliate the blackheads (it works).  As my cheeks were flaky, I would also wipe it, but upwards, so that I don't pull my skin down.

After a few days, I've now moved on to pat my face with the face towel during the morning and do the wiping motion in the evening.  Don't be harsh when you're doing the wiping motion.  Just lightly wipe all over your face one time (don't go back and wipe the same spot a few times) and then rinse it and wipe to dry the second time.

Frequency of change

I don't have a lot of face towels at home (trying to remedy it) so what I do is to use the towels for two days and wash it.  What I do is to really rinse it well after use and hang it near the window so that it can air dry and sun dry for the next use.  I don't recommend using it for more than 2 days.  Then again, this is me and maybe you have other ways (or maybe like Paris B, change on a daily basis?)

I'd recommend you to give it a try =D  It does save you from buying and trying out the variety of exfoliators out there (though, it's no harm using it alongside towel, maybe once a week)

Biotherm Biosource Hydra-Mineral Cleanser Toning Mousse

Biotherm Biosource Hydra-Mineral Cleanser Toning Mousse is by far one of favourite facial wash.  This is one facial wash that I catch myself reaching out for most of the time (I do rotate and have different kind of facial wash on standby for different days' needs =D)  The name is definitely a mouthful eh?  Let's refer to it as the Biotherm Toning  Mousse  .

Packaging wise, I love the green.  It feels refreshing in a gentle way, if you know what I mean.  However, I do find that it can be quite hard to read the words (and even tougher when snapping pictures of it!)  It comes in a tube form and I do find that the tube itself is quite sturdy.  The cap too, is pretty reliable and doesn't open easily.  Once the click is in place, you don't have to worry about it popping up and opening itself easily.

Although it is called a mousse, it doesn't exactly feel like one. However, it does foam well and that makes it easy to apply onto my face.  All I need was just a tiny little squeeze (smaller than pea size!) of the Biotherm Toning  Mousse  and rub my hands together to foam it.  Viola, nice and dandy to apply onto my skin.

I love the fact that it cleanses my skin well.  This Biotherm Toning  Mousse  does not leave my skin feeling tight after the wash, nor does it make me feel as tough I needed to wash my face another time.  The feeling is just right.  I believe this has to do with the fact that this Biotherm Toning  Mousse  is part of their hydrating series (which I definitely adore!)

I tend to grab their 50ml as this is my to-go facial for as and when usage when I'm out of the house.  I believe the regular size the 150ml.  Like I said, this is my favourite and I'm already using my 3rd tube =D  Definitely a re-purchase product for me.

January 2011 Pan Out Session

Like I said earlier, I'm on a mission to finish!  Hehe... so here's some of the stuff that I've binned for the month of January 2011:

Daiso Cleansing Make Up Remover Sheet
Red Earth Perfect Liner
In2It Liquid Eye Liner
Red Earth Lip Gloss
Ianti Green Shimmer Eye Shadow
Sunplay SPF 130
Johnson's Body Care 24H Lasting Moisture Body Lotion (mini size)

Daiso Aloe Vera Facial Scrub - Simple, non-abrasive type of facial scrub.  Don't expect too much out of it. I think my natural mung bean powder paste I use as scrub works better than it.  

Loreal Total Repair Shampoo - A re-buy item for me.  My hair is quite sensitive, as is my skin.  If I use the wrong shampoo, I literally am shedding hair!  Utterly scary to see the amount of hair coming off when I use the wrong product.  With this, I don't, and that is enough to make me want to rebuy it.  Best part of it is, it doesn't trigger a bout of acne spree for my face. Hehe... so this is good.

As for total repair, I don't think it works as much as it claims.  But it does well to keep my hair clean and well maintained for a short while.

Will continue my binning habit for the coming months to make sure that I finish what I used.

So what have you binned thus far?

Guess what I got in my mailbox!

I came home from church today (yes, on a Sunday) and I saw this package on the table!  Without bothering to check who it was to, I ripped it opened and I saw this!

It was quite silly really! I somehow knew that it was for me, and it was only after ripping off the package that I check and see if it's directed for me @.@ I know, I can be quite lame that way sometimes! Haha... But OH MY!!! Hada Labo sent me these few goodies and I'm honestly very, very happy!

The items included in the packaging are:

     Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Lotion 9ml

     AHA-BHA Face Wash 12g

     Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Cream 3ml

I've been very tempted to give the Face Wash a try and was wanting to purchase it when I realised that I still have another Facial Wash at home that I got from Nature Republic.  Plus the fact that I'm still on a ban, I resisted.  Such a lovely surprise!!  Hada Labo, you really just made my day!

I gave in recently and purchased the Hada Labo Moisturising Lotion (remember I said I allow myself the lee way to make two purchases?? hehe..I made them within a vast of 2 days because both items finished one after the other =p)  Will review it after I used it a few months down the road ya.

Allow me to digress a little.  I recently had to change my phone due to my careless (I dropped it and the phone was turning on and off on its own, so I went to DiGi, waited a few hours and got an iPhone 4 =D  It's my latest toy (I do love them, but they are so expensive to play with) and I downloaded this application called Instagram.  It functions like a twitter for photos.  Below is a picture that I took of the freebies with using Earlybird.  

Since I am on shopping ban....

Since I'm on shopping ban, I've been digging around my room for goodies to use as well as trying to finish up some items that I have with me.  Good girl right? Hehe... So for this month, I'm going to blog about things that I've panned out/ finished as well as my existing stuff/ samples bla bla bla...

I don't know about you, I find satisfaction in being able to finish up whatever that I could buy.  Being one that likes to keep moving on to the next thing, this is not such an easy task to fulfill.

Nonetheless, I am proud to say that I've finished up four of my items recently and I just really want to share with you all.

I'll share a bit more on the rest of the items later.  You can check out my review on the Johnson's Body Care Lotion here.

Suki Q Facial Wash

Oh what's this?? A new facial wash?  Okay, okay, yeaps! It's my current facial wash.  It's called Q10 Whitening Foam Cleanser.  I got this from Sasa because I was rather intrigued by its pinkiness!  I can be quite a sucker for pink colour.  Well, to be honest, I've been eyeing it for weeks before I made the move to purchase it.

This is manufactured in Korea, however, I guess it's catered for the Japan market since the description is in English as well as in Japanese.  I couldn't help but laugh when I read the description!  What's with Korean cleansers and the word "horny"?  It's definitely not the first time that I've seen it as part of some Korean skincare description.  Do let me know if you know eh...

Here's the list of ingredients for those who are interested.  I'm not very good with reading ingredients and me being me, I can tell you I'll forget the instant it's out of my sight.  Truly, out of sight, out of mind.

Here's the description on how to use it.  I would definitely recommend foaming the cleanser before application as it works better in cleaning your face.

Now, how does it fair?

Well, what strikes me first was the smell.  It was a rather sharp perfume smell.  It does annoy me a little initially but I guess I got used to it.  Every now and then though, the smell does catch up on me at times.  Is it a big deal?  Not entirely, but it'll be good if the smell is lightened a little.

It does leave my skin relatively clean; albeit not squeaky clean.  However, like I said earlier, this facial wash works better when foamed.  When foamed, my skin does not feel tight at all.  Just right I'd say.  However, at times when I got too lazy to foam and just splat/rub it on my face, it does leave my skin a little tight and somehow, it does not feel as clean.  Nonetheless, bear in mind I do tend to double cleanse, so the skin won't be as crazy dirty kind of feeling when it comes to using this cleanser.  

I'd recommend you to use this as a night facial wash and choose a milder one for the morning.  As my skin is dry combination skin; it does leave certain parts of my skin feeling a tad dry when I use it in the mornings.

Well, it being a whitening facial wash, I'd say that it works relatively well.  My skin does look slightly brighter (was having dull skin recently) and all.  Of course, I don't expect a cleanser to remove my pigmentations and all, but definitely on the overall, my face does look a little bit more even.

Would I re-purchase?  I might, but I'm not going to say 100% re-purchase as I guess there are other brands better out there =p

Ianti Luxe Jewelry Facial Foam Cleanser

It's tough finding the right facial cleanser when your skin seems to be having a preference of its own. I have problem finding a right and suitable cleanser, thus I always end up changing cleanser everytime and it's been going on for years now!

Guess what! I've finally found the RIGHT CLEANSER FOR MY SKIN! haha.. okay okay, I should calm down, shouldn't I? I'm excited with this, because, not only it is right for my skin, the price is reasonable too. How did I came about it? Well, there's sale at Ianti right now (as mentioned here) and I was just scouring the products there for bargains. My colleagues and I noticed that there is a 50% discount for the facial wash, which means it will only cost me about RM11 for the facial wash (mind you, it's for 120ml). We thought to ourselves, what a bargain and proceeded to purchase it to test, and I was about to finish my facial wash anyway. So thus, we made the purchase and I ended up leaving it lying around for like a couple of weeks.

Two days ago, I started using it, and boy, am I happy with the results. Not only my skin was not having that pulling effect (due to the skin being too dry after a wash), it cleanses well too. The previous facial wash I was using, Bio Essence Tanaka White Facial Wash, left my skin feeling oily and sticky after a wash, and this is totally different! I can feel that it cleanses deep into my skin, and it still leaves me feel refresh and vibrant after the wash.

I think the best part is that I only need to squeeze very little and the foam does wonders. Trust me, I've used foam type facial wash which left my skin feeling dry and yucky, but this doesn't. I'm so happy with the result!! Oh, my colleague who bought it gave me the same comment too, she loves it! We are planning to do some stocking of this product since Ianti will be giving the 50% discount for it again next week (2 Aug - 8 Aug)! I'm so excited... can't wait for it.

By the way, I bought it's Milk Mask too! Shall share the review on it another day, but it's definitely a positive review!)