Rohto Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Shirojyun Lotion

Hello ^^
Today I would like to review for you my first Japanese product: Hada Labo lotion. Hada Labo products have great opinion across many reviewers and are well know to everyone interested in Asian skin care products.
Hada Labo products are available on-line on e-Bay and Amazon, however be careful as many of them are offered by sellers from Thailand. As I said in my What you should be careful about when buying on e-Bay post, I always make sure I buy cosmetics from country of origin. With that particular product I've been lucky, as one of my colleagues was on holidays in Japan and kindly agreed to buy Hada Labo for me :) He said that Hada Labo lotions are so popular that they can be bought basically everywhere, not only in drugstores, but in places like railway stations as well! 

Product description: Fulfil your dreams of a white, perfect skin with Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening range that contains Arbutin to help fight dark spots and brighten up skin tone. Also contains Vitamin C to enhance skin fairness and reawaken dull skin caused by exposure to UV rays.

Hyaluronic Acid is a powerful anti aging ingredient in skin care. It is naturally occurring in the skin, but as we get older it's level decrease causing our skin to age and sag. It has ability to absorb water up to 1000 times its weight, what makes it one of the best moisturising substances known. Arbutin brightens up skin tone and Vitamin C

protects skin cells and skin's support structure from UV-related damage, improve the appearance of sun-damaged skin, reduce inflammation and promote collagen production. 

How to use: Use twice a day after cleansing face. Apply on palms and gently pat onto skin until thoroughly absorbed.



The lotion comes in 170ml plastic bottle. It doesn't have any other external packaging, the top of bottle is thermally wrapped in plastic.

The lotion has very watery consistency, whitish colour & subtle, hard to describe scent. I must admit that I find application a bit problematic, I'm very clumsy and always spill a little :P But even though I waste some of it one the floor, the product is very efficient. I use if from over a month and used up only 1/4 of the bottle.

Tapping lotion in the skin brings an immediate relief to skin dried out after cleansing. Depending on how much you use the application may take longer - on the beginning I was using too much and had to pat my face for a while. The amount shown on the picture is just about right for me - moisturises well whole face, I have to pat for a moment, but not too long. Straight after application skin is a bit sticky (both face & hands), but this feeling fades away after a moment or as soon as we top it up with another product.
What I really like about this lotion is the weightless feeling of ultimate moisture. Before I started using light moisturising essences like that (I was using Missha First Treatment Essence before Hada Labo) I often had problem with dehydrated skin - in the middle of the day under the sebum (I have oily skin) I would feel that my skin is tense, dehydrated. With Hada Labo I don't have this problem any more.
As for it's whitening properties - I definitely can see improvement in my skin, my acne scars faded. It's not a dramatic change and it takes a while to notice it - if I would use other products from line it would probably be more significant.

Price: from £13 on e-Bay (incl. postage), my friend payed for it in Japan approx. £8.

Pros:
+  moisturise skin
+ weightless
+ it does brightens a little
+ a little goes a long way

Cons:
- easy to spill during application
- a bit sticky after application

In general I'm really pleased with this product. Even if it wouldn't brighten my skin I would still be happy with it, thanks to it's moisturising properties. I am tempted to try other Hada Labo products :)

Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Arbutin, Sorbitol, PPG-10 Methyl Glucose Ester, Methylparaben, Disodium Succinate, Styrene/VP Copolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Succinic Acid, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid

Hada Labo Lotion is available in three versions: original Hyaluronic Acid one (white), whitening one with arbutin (blue one, my choice) and anti-ageing one with Retinol (red). In general all of them contains Hyaluronic Acid, so all of them are good for giving your skin extra moisture :)

Korean skincare routine: Layering

When you first start to browse for some Asian brands skincare products you may notice that each line has quite wide choice of products. In Europe we stick to approx. 3-5 step routine, ie. cleanser, toner, eye cream, day/night cream + eventually make up, in Asia skin care routine can take even 10 steps. It's called "layering" and the main idea is to go from the most light and absorbing into skin ingredients, to ones that stay on the top of skin creating protective layer.

Missha Stem Cell Line: Toner -> Serum -> Eye Cream -> Emulsion -> Defending Cream/Recovery Cream

Here is an example of steps with short explanation of each step:
1. Cleansing - in Asian way of beauty this is almost the most important part of a skin care routine, often extended to a "double cleansing" - first we are supposed to remove make up, sebum etc. with cleansing oil/cream/milk/butter and then follow with cleansing gel/foam/soap, we can also add some peeling gel. Remember - the cleaner you face is, the tighter pores are, as usually they are widen as a result of sebum/dirt stuck in them.
2. Toner - in Europe most of toners are astringents, supposed to make sure there is nothing left on our skin after cleansing, in Asia toners are usually more caring, moisturising and packed with goodness. Sometimes it has thicker consistency than a typical water-like toner. Some of them are containing alcohol, but they still aren't as harsh as some of European ones.
3. Essence - it's moisturising product, but with very watery consistence, sometimes as watery as toner. It's supposed to absorb completely into skin without leaving any residue. In some lines it may be recommended to use despite of toner.
4. Serum - Korean serums differ from what we know as a serum in Europe. When in Europe serums are often richer than creams and can be an alternative to cream in Korea they are rather light, non-greasy, supposed to absorb completely into skin. In some lines it may be used despite of essence.
5. Emulsion - it's another light moisturiser. It absorbs quite well and as I noticed from careful lecture of different reviews, some people like to apply a few layers of it. It may have milky or gel texture. In some lines it's supposed to be used straight after the toner, especially if line doesn't contain essence, in some lines it goes before serum, in some after serum.
6. Cream/Gel Cream - in some lines gel cream is supposed to be used first and then to be followed by cream, when in others they are substitutes of each other, so we can choose according to which one we like more. Both of them are supposed to leave a protective shield on the top of our skin, to prevent water loss etc. BUT it's not very common that creams would contain SPF.
7. Sun screen - sun protection is extremely important in Asian beauty care (read why [HERE]).
8. BB Cream/CC Cream/Foundation - as a last step of skin care and first step of make-up at the same time, BB Creams are also containing SPF; BB Creams offers some care + medium coverage, CC Creams are more caring, but with only light coverage.

Mizon Snail Line: All in One Cream -> Ampoule -> Eye Cream -> Recovery Gel -> BB with SPF -> Face mist

There is also a few steps that are either optional or depending on line, are supposed to be used in different order:
- eye cream - in some lines they are recommended to use after essence and before emulsion, some before cream, some don't specify.
- lotion - another type of fully absorbing light moisturiser, in some lines it's watery and used as a substitute of essence or toner, in some it's supposed to be used after essence or serum.
- mask sheet - it's a piece of material cut into a face shape soaked in product, which we put on face for some time. Depending on line, it's supposed to be used before or after toner or just whenever you like. There are also small "moustache" shaped masks specifically for nasolabial fold.
- patches - many variants of gel shapes or foil "stickers" designed to target certain skin concern - the most popular are acne patches and eye patches.
- ampoule - usually appears as a substitute to serum.
- primer/make up base - may be used as a make up product or instead of sunscreen if contains SPF.
- pact/powder - to mattify and/or add SPF.
- facial mist - usually there are two types: moisturising one, which can be used as a essence and during the day, whenever we feel we may need some refreshment and moisture or finishing one, working as make-up fixer.

Secret Key Snail Line: Face Soap & Face foam -> mask sheet -> Toner -> Essence -> Eye Cream -> Emulsion -> Gel Cream/Cream -> BB with SPF

As you can see order can be a bit different according to particular line, so it's always worth checking with particular product. You are also welcome to create your own routine, using product from different lines. The only time when I was actually using products layering was when I was testing out Skin Food Royal Honey Gift Set. The only problem with using so many of steps is that you can't see exactly what influence each product has to your skin, so I prefer to try only one/two moisturising product at once, to see how they work and be able to create my own perfect skin care routine one day.

Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream & Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule

Snail secretion is known from it's regenerating properties. The story is that people working on snail farms discovered that any scratches or wounds on their hands were healing quicker when they were handling snails and then it ended up in cosmetics. I already reviewed my very first snail product - Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream, now I would like to follow it with reviews of two other Mizon's snail cosmetics.

The whole Mizon's snail line.

Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream

Product description: The original snail mucus takes care of your all kind of skin problems in all in one skin care system on your first skin care step. It repairs tired and ageing skin, leaving it refreshed. It also the first protector of your naked skin.

The product comes in brown glass jar with capacity 75ml.

From the whole line, the All in One Repair Cream has the highest snail secretion content - 92%.
The cream is basically unscented and has kind of jelly-cream consistency. It is not sticky, but it kind of stretches, follows the finger a little bit:

It's the first skin care routine step, so it's very lightweight - absorbs in skin quickly and completely. After use skin is well moisturised, smooth and matte. For oily skin it may do the AM job on it's own, specially under some moisturising BB Cream, but for more thirsty skin it has to be followed with other moisturising product. A little goes a long way - the jar lasted for approx. three month of everyday use.

This cream is a great companion of Snail Recovery Gel. Gel provides more moisture and locks it into skin. For my oily skin this duo worked well, but I had to be careful with amount of gel I used - too much would make my skin feel a little bit heavy. If the right amounts were used creams worked well - didn't make my skin more oily. It also worked well for my acne - helped the skin to heal quicker. The only downside of the duo was that skin was shiny.

Price: from £10 on e-Bay.

Pros:
+ very lightweight
+ absorbs quickly and completely
+ matte finish
+ a little goes a long way
+ skin is nice and smooth after use

Cons:
 - may be not moisturising enough used on it's own (but it's supposed to be used with other products, so it's not a real con).
- Recovery Gel on top of All in One is more shiny than on it's own

Ingredients: Snail secretion filtrate, cetearyl olivate, sorbitan olivate, cetearyl alcohol, stearic acid, glyceryl stearate, hydrogenate vegetable oil, dimethicone, triethanolamine, carbomer, butylene glycol, PEG/ppg-17/6 copolymer, polyacrylate-13, polyisobutene, polysorbate 20, sodium polyacrylate, caprylyl glyocol, ethylhexyglycerin, tropolone, adenosine, sodium hyaluronate, portulaca oleracea extract, betula platyphylla japonica juice, amica Montana flower extract, Artemisia absinthium extract, achillea milefolium extract, gentian lutea root extract, alcohol, camellia sinensis leaf extract, centella asiatica extract, copper tripeptide-1, human oligopeptide-1, propylene glycol, rubus idaeus (raspberry) fruit xtract, beta-glucan, palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, disodium edta
Ingredients analysis [HERE] 

Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule

Product description: High content of snail secretion filtrate and EGF* help skin regeneration and improve skin elasticity while moisturising skin.

*Epidermal Growth Factor -  an age-prevention ingredient that supports cell renewal and wound repair by stimulating cells to produce collagen.

The full size product is a 30ml glass bottle with pipette applicator. I was using set of ten sample sachets. One sachets lasts for two applications.

The product has consistency of very runny gel. It's clear and unscented. It has second biggest content of snail mucus in the line - 80%. During application there is some slimy feeling to it - it absorbs quite well and laves skin a little bit sticky, but this fades away when topped with another product.

I tried to use the ampule in as many combinations as possible, so:
- with All in One Cream - skin is a bit shiny, but well moisturised without heaviness, a little bit sticky but in pleasant way; the application of ampoule is much smoother and efficient on the top of All in One, than on bare skin
- with Snail Recovery Gel Cream - gel reduces the sticky feeling of ampule, skin is well moisturised; skin is very shiny, but not much oilier than usual; skin feel smooth, nourished and elastic; have to be careful with BB Cream - to heavy one on top of this two products will make skin oily
- with All in One Cream and Snail Recovery Gel Cream - skin very well moisturised, but shiny; for oily skin it may be too much for AM use; for PM use very pleasant combination - skin feels smooth and elastic in the morning.

Used on it's own ampule gives nice moisture boost to the skin and it's quite lightweight - it could be easily used with any cream. It also works on it's own, just under BB Cream - but only for not very thirsty skin.

Price: from £8 on e-Bay.

Pros:
+ nice moisture boost for skin
+ quite lightweight
+ can be used with any cream

Cons:
- a little bit sticky (however it goes away when topped with another product) 
- the whole line used together makes skin very shiny

Ingredients: Snail secretion filtrate, sodium, hyaluronate, butylene glycol, glycerin, alcohol, panthenol, glycereth-26, carbomer, triethanolamine, trehalose, copper tripeptide-1, human oligopeptide-1, palmitoyl pentaopeptide-4, cornus officinalis fruit extract, nelumbo  nucifera flower extract, caprylyl glycol, ethylhexylglycerin, tropolone, sodium polyacrylate, adenosine, coptis japonica extract, disodium edta
Ingredients analysis [HERE]

In general I think that Mizon's Snail Line is worth trying. Each product is interesting on it's own, but I think it's really worth to try them together to feel that "snail power" :D You can easily buy samples of All in One Cream and Ampule on e-Bay (sets of 10 for approx. £3) and the Recovery Gel is cheap enough in full size version (from £3) to give it a go.

Etude House Vanilla Moist & Mint Cooling Eye's Cream

Eye's cream or an ice cream? Both!
The moment I saw this cute little eye sticks, I just knew I cannot say no to them. And here they are :)

Vanilla Moist Eye's Cream
           

Product description: Eye cream stick with a moisturising, brightening and anti-wrinkle formula to promote youthful skin around the eyes. Contains anti-wrinkle adenosine, moisturising hyaluronic acid and nourishing pumpkin enzyme.

The stick form of the cream is super convenient! It glides easily and smoothly on the skin, doesn't pull the delicate eye area. The stick looks white, however cream on the skin is clear, but shiny until absorbs. I apply it quite generously, so it does take a moment to absorb, but I don't mind as I always do my make up some time after skincare. If you like to do your make up straight after skincare, be careful with amount used or prepare to wait :P Overall this cream is quite lightweight and moisturises well enough for everyday use, but sometimes when my eye area is extremely dried out (I have allergy that manifests itself by irritation of skin around the eyes) I have to come back to my Skin Food Salmon Eye Cream. Product has nice smell, however it smells more like citrus than sweet vanilla. As for the performance - my skin area is in good condition and I think it is slightly brighter, but I'm not sure. As for the wrinkle care I cannot say, because the only wrinkles I have in eye are there since always and I think they are just part of my feature.
As for efficiency - I am using it form almost 3 months and getting to the end.

Price: £5-6 on e-Bay.

Pros:
+ handy form of stick
+ glides smoothly on the skin
+ moisturising
+ nice smell
+ cheap
+ super cute packaging

Cons:
- may be not moisturising enough for very dry skin
-  slightly shiny after application

What's interesting, in product called "vanilla moist" there is no vanilla ingredient - but they are citrus oils, what would explain citrus smell.

Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Propanediol, BIS-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Sodium Stearate, PEG-40 Stearate, Niacinamide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Polysorbate 60, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Lactobacillus/Pumpkin ferment extract, Tetrasodium EDTA, Dipeptide-2, HesperidinMethyl Chalcone, Chlorhexidine Digluconate, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Steareth-20, Chrysin, N-Hydroxysuccinimide, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantifoila (Lime) Oil, Pinus Sylvestris Leaf Oil, Eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, CI 19140]
Ingredients Analysis [HERE]

Mint Cooling Eye's Cream

Product description: Cool the eye area. Components of pumpkin enzymes and haloxyl* gives a refreshment and nutrition to your eyes. Prevents skin ageing protecting eye area with SPF30 PA ++.

*Haloxyl - substance containing few ingredients, used in eye creams to reduce dark circles and moisturise.

This stick is blue coloured and has nice fresh scent, but I can't smell mint in it. It has slightly tougher structure and doesn't glide on skin as smoothly as the Vanilla one, but thanks to that is leaves skin dry and matte, so you can put you make up on immediately after use. I noticed that for some reason it doesn't go with primers - primer rolls up on top of it. However just a cream BB or Salmon Dark Circle Concealer are fine. Maybe it's because it contains silicone and adding additional silicone from primer causes it to roll up. It gives an eye area some refreshment, but personally I didn't find it cooling. Immediately after use skin around the eyes is whiter - it's result of containing Titanium Dioxide, physical SPF filter. It does moisturise, but not as much as his Vanilla brother - for dryer skin it definitely won't be enough. It's more efficient to Vanilla one - when Vanilla is almost finished, I still got 1/3 of this one.

Price: £5-6 on e-Bay.

Pros:
+ handy, travel friendly packaging
+ refreshes eye area
+ quite dry - we don't have to wait for it to absorb
+ contains SPF
+ cheap
+ cute packaging

Cons:
- doesn't moisturise very well
- doesn't glide so smooth on the skin
- doesn't go with primer - primer rolls up on top of it.

Similarly like in Vanilla version name has nothing to do with the ingredients - there is noting minty there.

Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Stearate, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Titanium Dioxide, Glycerin, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Dimethicone, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Polysorbate 60,  Glyceryl Stearate, Silica, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Bis-Ethyl-Hexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Alumina, Mangifera Indica (Mango Seed) Butter,  PEG-100 Stearate,  Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Sodium Polyacryate, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Ferment Extract, Tetrasodium EDTA, Dipeptide-2, Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone, Chlorhexidine Digluconate, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Steareth-20, Chrysin, N-hydroxysuccinimide, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Xanthan Gum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Dissodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Fragnance, CI 42090.
Ingredtiens analyzis [HERE]

Green ingredients are Haloxyl.

For me both products worked well when Vanilla was used at PM and SPF containing Mint on AM.

Enlarged pores problem? Mizon Pore Refine Deep Cleansing Foam & Pore Control Peeling Toner.

A lot of people has problem with enlarged pores. If you are one of them I have a bad news and a good news for you. The bad news is, that the size of your pores is depending on your skin type and there is nothing you can do to change it permanently. For example my forehead has visible pores and no matter what I use, they always look like that - it's just the structure of my skin. The pores on my cheeks near nose are even more visible, BUT I manage to control the size of them. And here is the good news: pores appear bigger because of excessive sebum and waste in them = you can minimise appearance of them by properly cleansing. And here is where this Mizon's products come handy :)

Mizon Pore Refine Deep Cleansing Foam

 

 

Product description: Minty cooling foam containing kaolin and charcoal that effectively absorb excessive waste, sebum and dead skin cell in pores and help keep skin clean while killing bacteria. Shooting botanicals leave skin moisturised and smooth.

Mizon's 'Genuine product' sticker.

The foam has fresh and minty smell, a little bit like a toothpaste :P It has thick and creamy consistency, a little amount easily leathers up in nice, thick foam. As you can see on the pictures, it contains tiny little particles (I suppose it's charcoal related?), but you can hardly feel them, so this is not exfoliating product. It leaves skin refreshed and squeaky clean. As for the cooling effect - I delicately stings skin, but tings not in a painful harsh way, but in a nice refreshing way.

Price: £5-6 on e-Bay.

Pros:
+ a little goes a long way
+ cleanse very well, leaves face squeaky clean
+ refreshing feeling
+ nice scent
+ leathers up well into thick foam
+ cheap

Cons:
- can be a little drying/harsh for sensitive skin

I was using this product before I started to double cleanse with oil. It's good to remove all the make up - I'm a hardcore and used it on my eyes as well (takes off mascara), but be careful with that as it stings if it gets into an eye. I don't plan to repurchase so far, as since I use double cleansing I choose more mild foam (oil does the "dirty job"), but I bear in mind this foam as a really good one. If you don't double cleanse and want just one good cleansing product - this is a good choice. It does minimise pores a little, however effect is MUCH better if used with toner.
  It contains Lauric Acid and Pottasium Hydroxide that may be recognised as a potential irritants/acne triggers, however I didn't notice any influence on my acne or irritation while using this product.
  Ingerdients: Aqua, myristic acid, kaolin acid, lauric acid, stearic acid, potassium hydroxide, cocamidopropyl betaine, hydroxyethylcellulose, charcoal powder, sodium hyaluronate, beta glucan, vaccinum myrtillus fruit/leaf extract, saccharium officinarum (sugar cane) extract, acer saccharum (sugar maple) extract, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) fruit extract, citrus medica limonium (lemon) fruit extract, amica  Montana flower extract, Artemisia absinthium extract, achillea millefolium extract, gentian lutea root extract, carica papaya (papaya) fruit extract, gypsophila paniculata root extract, hedera helix (ivy) extract, hydrolyzed extension, collagen, disodium edta, caprylyl glycol, ethylhexyl glycerin, tropolone, fragrance
Ingredients analysis [HERE]

Pore Control Peeling Toner

 

Product description: Specialised formula removes makeup residue and calms skin after cleansing, while balancing skin pH. It keeps skin oil free and fresh all day long.

First of all I must say that I absolutely LOVE the sleek square bottle design. It's not well visible on the photo, but bottle is coloured in gradient green (darker on the bottom and lighter on the top), and the silver "Pore" word is holographic. It has such a elegant and modern look! The only downside is the size of the bottle - I consider 80ml as quite small for a toner. Gets used up much quicker than foam.

Mizon's 'genuine product' sticker.

The toner has a very handy pump dispenser, which reaches right to the bottom of the bottle, so we can easily use it the the end. I was using six pumps of product on a cotton pad to tone my face. Toner has citrusy smell with a hint of alcohol, but in general smell is quite subtle and not bothering.
When I was using just western products, the toner was qualifying for me as a cleansing product and astringent. I noticed that Asian toners are more on the skincare side, but some of them are still more cleansing (the containing alcohol ones) and some of them are more moisturising and caring. This one is more on the astringent side, which is fair enough as it's supposed to control pores.
The toner gives refreshing feel to the skin. When used on it's own slightly minimise pores and has a bit of moisturising touch to the skin. When used with foam it has great impact on my pores on the cheeks (the ones on the forehead don't react to anything...).

Price: £8-9 on e-Bay.

Pros:
+ elegant packaging
+ refreshing feel
+ has impact on pore size

Cons:
- I didn't notice any extra sebum control, my skin was as oily as usual
- small capacity - for that price we can get at least 100ml, or even 210ml like Mizon's Witchhazel toner. I think we are paying for the pretty bottle here :]

It contains Alcohol and Salicylic Acid that may be irritating for some skins. For my skin alcohol is almost neutral and my skin loves Salicylic Acid.

Ingredients: Aqua, alcohol, glycerin, sodium lactate, peg-60 hydrogenated castor oil, glycolic acid, salicylic acid , theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) extract, copper tripeptide-1, collagen, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower/ leaf extract, carica papaya ( papaya) fruit extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, disodium edta, caprylyl glycol, ethylhexyl glycerin, tropolone , fragrance 
Ingredients Analysis [HERE]

In general this two are a great products for pore control. I ordered foam first and then toner and I noticed that used together they have much better influence on pore size. However, as I said on the beginning of my post we can not change our pore size permanently, so the effect won't last after you stop using the products. I also didn't notice any extra sebum control, my skin was as oily as usual while using this products. Unfortunately used together they have a bit more drying effect on the skin than used separately, so if you want to give them a go, make sure you have some good moisturiser handy.

The whole Mizon's Pore Line.

The line contains also Pore Refine Silky Smooth Essence and Pore Tightening Lotion.
Note: On many websites the recommended order of use is Foam > Toner > Essence > Lotion, however Essence contains silicons and sun screen, so I would recommend using it last. If you put silicone first, the ingredients from Lotion won't be able to reach the skin.

Skin Food Peach Sake Pore Pact

I was meant to do this review long time ago, as I use this product from almost a year... Well, better late than not at all, right? :D

Product description: This Pore Pact is made with rice sake that controls sebum production, while peach extract provides vitamins A and C. Rice extract and witch hazel help normalise pores leaving a smooth and lustrous appearance.

Product is a very handy 9g pressed powder pact with mirror and puff included. Like a lot of Skin Food's products it doesn't have any box/cardboard packaging, comes just sealed with film.

The moment you open the packaging you can feel a gorgeous peach smell. The smell fades during/after application. I'm really fussy when it comes to powder puffs - it has to be sponge like, but also soft and fluffy (I don't like velour ones). Since I thrown away my old favourite puff I couldn't find anything good enough, until I bought this pact. The attached puff is amazing - when I use up the powder I'm going to keep the puff!

A little peach symbol imprinted in powder ^^

A lot of people dislikes this product as "it doesn't do anything" - the funny thing is that it's subtle performance is what I like most about this product.
First if all - it has a very delicate colour, on the Skin Food website it's claimed to be transparent. It goes with every BB cream! :)
Secondly - it does mattify, but... not completely. And that's the part I like the most. As you can read in my 5 things you should know about BB Cream post, the majority of BB Creams are leaving skin dewy. It's nice and fresh effect, but slightly annoying on the T-zone. But as much as I want to matiffy my nose, I don't want to completely kill off the dewy effect - and that was happening with other powders. This one is just perfect to use with BB Cream - it does mattify a little bit, but not to a full flat matt, skin is still enlighted. Lovely!

The only downside is, that it's too subtle to be used on it's own - sometimes when I have lazy day and can't be bothered to put the whole make up on I just use dome pressed powder to even out and mattify my skin a little bit - but I have to use different one for this purpose, as this one is just not enough on it's own.

Price: £5-6 on e-Bay.

Pros:
+ beautiful peachy smell
+ transparent - goes with every BB Cream
+ mattifyies, but without completely killing BB's dewy effect
+ cheap
+ a little goes a long way

Cons:
- too subtle to be used on it's own
- no SPF

I really love this product! However I'm not sure about re-purchase as I would like to get some powder with SPF.

Lioele AC Control Trouble Patch Review

For some reason I tend to forget about my essentials when doing reviews. Lioele's Trouble Patch is one of the products, which I HAVE TO have and if I reach half of packaging I start panicking and immediately order it no matter how long until pay day it is. Pretty bad, huh? xD

Product description: Lioele's A.C. Control Trouble Patches help to relieve and care for troubled skin. It contains Salicylic Acid & Tea Tree Oil to help disinfect the area as well as reduce redness and assists with healing. If you feel a pimple arising, place a sticker patch directly onto the area. For best results, place onto the spot directly and leave for 8-12 hours (overnight while sleeping) then remove and continue with regular skin care routine.

Directions of use.

I came across this product accidentally, browsing some e-Bay stores with Korean cosmetics. I've tried many things to help my acne, but never heard of acne patches before, so ordered one sheet as a sample. Full size product contains five sheets of patches, each sheet has 12 patches.

The patches themselves are made of clear PU film, with one side sticky. They stick very very well - I already used up three full size packs (180 patches! 0o) and it happened to me only once that the patch didn't stick very well - when I put it next to my mouth corner on a day time, so every time I smiled or opened my mouth the patch was affected and started to peel off after few hours. During the nigh time they stick wonderfully. A few times I had forgot that I have any patch on and washed my face with the patch on - it still didn't peel off! But don't worry, even though they stick wonderfully they are easy to remove - it sometimes tricky to be able to catch the edge (a little bit like when you loose sellotape end!), but once you catch it, the patch pull out easily enough to not be painful.
Because they are made of film they are slightly shiny, what makes them visible, however I found that visibility depends on where we stick them. On "harder" base, like chin or forehead they are more noticeable, when they are on soft skin like cheeks they kinda blend better. I don't know why xD

Now the performance: for me this patches work absolutely wonders BUT they have to be used in the right way:
1. They work best on the spots that didn't "pop out" yet, the ones without white/yellow top. My biggest skin problems are nodules and cysts - painful form of acne forming under the skin, and these help to make them go away quicker.
2. The sooner you put it on the better they will work - I can usually feel nodule or cyst forming under my skin before it even discolour/bump surface of the skin. Just some part of my face would be sore to touch or mimics. These patches used early enough can even prevent the nodule/cyst from forming! :)
3. The longer you keep them on, the better they work - if for some reason you can't keep the patch on at least 8 hours it won't work as good. 8 hours is a minimum! Don't worry, they won't cause inflammation or anything like that - few times I kept them on longer than 12 hours and they did a good job.
Depending on the size/kind of spot it can takes me from 1 to 3 patches to heal the spot. 

I love this product and wouldn't be without it. It magic lays in Salicylic Acid - my skin seems to react well to it acne-wise. What I love most is that this stuff doesn't dry out skin - I got a very good medical cream for acne, but it dries out quite  badly and creates dry patches on my face, which are pain when it comes to make up. With this product I don't have dried out skin anymore - however if you want to use it in a day time you need to know that this patches don't go with make up very well. Because they are made out of PU material, the make up just don't stay on top of them, it impossible to put anything on top of them. And a foundation/corrector will form a circle around the patch. So if you can't be without the make up, it's better to use this patches at night time.

Price: you can buy single sheet as a trial for £1.80 or full pack of five sheets for £5.40 on e-Bay.

Pros:
+ sticks well
+ clear - not very visible
+ used early enough prevent spot from fully forming
+ helps heal spots quicker
+ quite cheap

Cons:
- don't work with make up

I would strongly recommend this product to all acne sufferers, especially those with nodular acne.
Have you ever tried acne patches before? What are yours favourite brands of them? :)

Ingredients: Acrylates Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Water, Alcohol Denat., Salicylic Acid, Water/Butylene Glycol, Alcohol Denat., / Vitis Vinifefa (Grape) Seed Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Polysorbate 80, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phytosphingosine
Ingredients Analysis [HERE]