BRTC Jasmine Water BB Cream Review

Hello ^^
BRTC seems to be quite popular recently, so I purchased some samples. Here is review of the most popular one, Jasmine Water.

Product description: BB cream that helps soothing and moisturising of dry and sensitive skin.
Wrinkle improving  + Whitening functions + UV protection SPF30 / PA++

The full size product is a 60g tube, I was testing out sample sachets.

I ordered three samples and for the convenience I've emptied them to a little jar container. Samples are quite generous and the cream is veeeeery efficient - I can't even count how many times I already used it, probably somewhere between 7 and 10 times and I still didn't finish the sample off.

Among other BRTC samples.

The moment I open the container I can smell jasmine. I am not the biggest fan of this smell, but it also doesn't bother me much. Fades away during application. The consistency is quite thick, so works well with make-up sponge. When applied by fingers must be pat into the skin. With this you need to be very careful about how much you use - it's very moisturising and nourishing, applied in excess is too heavy, especially for my oily skin. I noticed that when I apply is straight from the container I tend to overdose, so now I scoop out half of a pea size from the container onto top of my palm and apply it on face from palm. When carefully applied my skin becomes oily after approx. 3h, which is my standard time. I need to blot my face approx. three times, with every blotting cream seams to disappear a little. If I apply it in the morning I would have to completely re-apply it in the evening to go out.

There is no much shade difference between Jasmine and other BRTC creams.

 The colour match my complexion quite well. Coverage is nice, evens out skin tone, but looks natural, blends well into skin. It also doesn't roll in my wrinkles which is a plus, however it doesn't conceals enlarged pores very, I think it actually makes them more visible. It's probably because of quite strong "glow effect" - for me leaving the house without the mattifying powder is a complete no-no, but glow lovers will be delighted. The pore covering primer is also a must for me.
As for the whitening - I didn't notice any effect on my skin.

Price of full size product: from £9 on e-Bay. Product is also available in set with vibratory puff applicator from £22.

Pros:
+ moisturising
+ nice shade, blends well into skin
+ a little goes a very long way
+ evens out skin tone, but looks natural
+ doesn't roll up in wrinkles

Cons:
- need to be careful with application - heavy when overdosed
- makes pores more visible
- quite strong shine/glow effect (but it may be a plus for someone) 

I believe that this would be a great product for people with rather dry skin. For me it is a good enough product, however I don't plan to re-purchase, I would rather be looking for something lighter.

Ingredients list and analysis [HERE]

Crabtree & Evelyn - La Source Mini 60 Second Hand Fix Kit

Good evening xx
Unusually for this blog, today I am going to review European product today. I actually received it by accident, but I like it so much I wouldn't be without it!

So first at all - how did I accidentally get it? I ordered some cosmetics from Korea and parcel must have fallen apart on it's way, as I received it in special Royal Mail's bag for damaged parcels. It was still kind of holding together, just side of the box was torn. When I had unpacked it, it turned out that there is completely different product inside...

Sorry for poor quality.

This is a picture which I took as a proof to contact the seller, that I received wrong item. Seller told me that they never seen this product and there must had been another parcel that fell apart and Royal Mail's people must have mixed them up. Anyway, Seller been absolutely ace and send me stuff that I ordered again, so I ended up having this for free ;)

Now for the actual review :)

Product description: Restore dry, parched hands to silky smoothness in just two easy steps with our La Source Mini 60 Second Hand Fix Kit - a rich blend of nourishing marine extracts and intensive shea butter.
How to use: First apply La Source Hand Recovery, our revolutionary hand treatment that cleanses, exfoliates, and moisturises. Follow with our intensive La Source Hand Therapy hand cream for beautifully soft hands all day. Our Mini 60 Second Hand Fix Kit is perfect for travel and on the go treatment and care.

The Kit contains two 25g tubes: hand scrub and hand cream.

Unfortunately I cannot show you the cream, as I use tones of hand creams and it's long gone. But anyway, hand cream is a hand cream and there is no magic in it - thick consistency, pleasant smell, well moisturising, but takes a moment to absorb. Can be easily replaced with any other hand cream.

The main reason for this review is Hand Therapy, which is a scrub. Do you sometimes after applying hand cream feel that under the first layer of skin is still dry? This products fixes that problem. It's absolutely phenomenal!

This scrub has very thick and kinda dry texture. It has really nice scent, floral and marine note, quite fresh and feminine. It contains very fine peeling grains, so it's suitable even for sensitive skin. It's supposed to be applied and massaged into dry hands, but because of it's thick and dry texture this may be a little difficult. I always start off dry, then add a few drops of water and continue massaging. It gives a bit of warming sensation on the beginning. After washing off with water I can immediately feel that my hands are smoother and softer. Brilliant <3

Price: £8 on official Crabtree & Evelyn website.

 Products are available separately in 100ml versions, but they are quite expensive - £18 for Hand Recovery (cream) and £16 for Hand Therapy (scrub).

Hand Therapy Ingredients: Macadamia  Ternifolia Seed Oil, Calcium Stearate, Sodium Chloride, Maltodextrin, Pumice, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour, Butyrosepermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Eleais (Palm) Butter, Spirulina Maxima Extract, Fucus Vesiculosus (Bladderwrack) Extract, Algae Extract, Emulsifying Wax NF, Isopropyl Maristate, Water, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Stearic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2 - Hexanediol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Caprylyl Methicone, Cetaryl Alcohol, Sucrose Distearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Potassium Stearate, Glycerin, Fragnance, Benzyl Salicylate, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Eugenol, Linalool, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate.
Ingredients Analysis: http://www.cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_09ac135739.html

Missha Super Aqua Marine Stem Cell Intensive Serum Review

Good morning ^^
Today is International Woman's Day, so dear ladies - all the best! ^^
A quick review for the weekend :)

  
Product description: The Super Aqua Marine Stem Cell Intensive Serum contains Ulvalax from seaweeds to fill in the gaps in the inner layers of the skin and effectively create firmness and elasticity. 

According to Missha's New Zeland website, product is aimed at mid20s ~ mid 30s "Who has dehydrated, rough and dull skin - Who wants richly moist skin care series - Who wants to get moist and firm skin care benefit at the same time".

The full size product is glass bottle with pump, I was just resting out the 1ml sample.

Product has consistency of a light, opaque cream. It has very subtle and refreshing smell. It glides very smoothly among the skin and absorbs quickly and completely, but it leaves skin slightly shiny. I was testing it out in the morning, under BB Cream and it worked perfectly. For AM use on my oily skin it offers just the right level of moisture without feeling heavy.  However for the nighttime, when I would like to give my skin as much moisture as possible, this product wouldn't be enough and it would have to be followed by some cream.

Price of full size product: from £12 on eBay.

Pros:
+ lightweight
+ offers just the right level of moisture for day use
+ absorbs quickly and completely

Cons:
- too light for nighttime use on it's own (but since it's only a serum not a cream it's fair enough)

I am really torn apart by this product. It was nice in use and refreshing and the whole line has such an elegant and fresh look, I just want to buy it all! But it's not the cheapest (in general Missha is more expensive than for example Tony Moly) and I would really want something preventing wrinkles or brightening not only moisturising... but on the other hand my oily skin feels a bit dry recently, so it produces even more oil than usual and this done a good job on hydrating it without oiliness... Maybe I will just buy more samples and see how it goes (there are also samples of toner and emulsion available). If you fancy purchasing some samples I really strongly recommend this product, it's soooo nice! :)

 Official Aqua Marine Stem Cell advertising. Looks very appealing for me :) 

Ingredients: Water(Aqua), Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Hydrogenated Poly(C6-14 Olefin), Niacinamide, Silica, Glycosyl Trehalose, Hizikia Fusiformis Callus Culture Extract, Rhizophora Mangle Callus Culture Extract, Chaetomorpha Solitaria Callus Culture Extract, Salicornia Hebacea Callus Culture Extract, Sea Water, Caulerpa Lentillifera Extract, Chlorella Vulgaris Extract, Nymphaea Alba Flower Extract, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Spirulina Platensis Extract, Sargassum Pallidum Extract, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Hydrolyzed Algin, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone, Panthenol, Pentylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Triethanolamine, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Caprylyl Glycol, Adenosine, Dipropylene Glycol, Sodium Palmitoyl Proline, Sodium Hyaluronate, Octanediol, Lecithin, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance(Parfum), Limonene
Ingredients analysis: http://www.cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_fbe0133511.html

Skin Food Royal Honey Premium Kit Review

Hello honeys :)
Quite a massive review ahead! I was actually quite sure I already wrote about it, but I was trying to refer to it in another post and guess what, it's not there :] It can't wait any longer!

Premium Kit contains 4 pieces: Toner, Essence, Emulsion and Cream. I will review them in the order of use.

PS. If you wonder why this set has so many pieces, what is essence and emulsion etc. there is a post about cosmetics layering coming. I will link it here when it's done.

Royal Honey Toner

You can see full size product [HERE]

Product description: A treatment toner with royal black honey and royal jelly extracts that hydrates and transforms skin into a nice honey-glazed complexion.

The sample size is 20ml. Toner has slightly thicker consistency than average water-like toner, but it's still very runny (runny enough to make it very hard to make picture without wasting the product lol). It has very subtle smell, I could smell something honey-like in it, but my sensitive nose smells alcohol in it as well. It absorbs into skin quite well, but leaves skin a tiny little bit sticky. It cleans face, as sometimes I could see on a cotton pad some dirt left over after face foam.

Pros:
+ moisturise skin
+ cleansing
+ nice smell

Cons:
- slightly sticky
- contains alcohol (fortunately not as a top ingredient, like some toners do)

INGREDIENTS: WATER, HONEY EXTRACT, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, PEG/PPG-17/6, COPOLYMER, ALCOHOL, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, GLYCERING, GLYCERETH-26, ROYAL JELLY EXTRACT, GLYCERYL ACRYLATE/ACYRLIC ACID COPOLYMER, BETA-GLUCAN, BIOSACCHARIDE GUM-1, YEAST EXTRACT, BIS-PEG-18, METHYL ETHER DIMETHYLSILANE, PEG-60 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, HEXYLENE GLYCOL, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, TRIETHANOLAMINE, AMMONIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYLTAURATE/VP COPOLYMER, DISODIUM EDTA, SODIUM HYALURONATE, METHYLPARABEN, PHENOXYETHANOL, CI 19140, CI 15985, PARFUM
 Ingredient analisis: http://www.cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_8e40135359.html

Royal Honey Hydro Essence

 You can see full size product [HERE]

Product description: A hydrating treatment essence with royal black honey and royal jelly extracts that replenishes moisture and transforms skin into a nice honey-glazed complexion.


This essence has consistency of very runny clear gel. It has very subtle, sweet smell. It absorbs into skin quickly and completely. Somehow it reduces stickiness of toner :) In general whole Royal Honey range is rather aimed at driers complexion types, but I think that this product can be easily used by every skin type. I have very oily skin and this essence moisturised it a little bit, without leaving heavy or oily feeling. BUT essences in general are very light and supposed to be absorbed completely, so if you are looking for short skincare routine, with only 1 or 2 moisturising products, this product may not be moisturising enough.

Pros:
+ quickly and fully absorbs
+ reduces stickiness left by toner

Cons:
- so light, that can't really be used on it's own, must be followed by other moisturiser (but this is typical for essences, so it's not really that much of a con)
- not very efficient - from whole set this run out first

Royal Honey Emulsion

 You can see full size product [HERE]

Product description: A treatment emulsion with royal black honey and royal jelly extracts that moisturises and transforms skin into a nice honey-glazed complexion. 

Essence has a consistency of very light cream, opaque colour. It has very synthetic smell, slightly sweet, but not so obviously honeyish like other products. A little goes a long way - when other products almost run out, I am hardly in the middle of the essence. But the packaging annoys me - it's hard plastic, so I can't really squeeze it, shaking doesn't really help as well, so I ended up picking it up from bottle with cotton bud. Hygienic, but annoying and time consuming, as I have to dip the bud at least twice to get the right amount of product. In full size version you may experience same problem, as it's glass bottle without any applicator. WHY? =.=

Pros:
+ nicely moisturise
+ lightweight
+ a little goes a long way

Cons:
- synthetic smell
- it's hard to get product out of bottle


INGREDIENTS: WATER, GLYCERIN, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, HONEY EXTRACT, MACADAMIA TERNIFOLIA SEED OIL, ROYAL JELLY EXTRACT, LANOLIN, GLYCERYL STEARATE CITRATE, BETA-GLUCAN, SORBITAN STEARATE, PEG/PPG/POLYBUTLENE GLYCOL 8/5/3, GLYCERIN, GLUCOSE, DIMETHICONE, CYCLOHEXASLOCHANE, DIMETHICONE/VINYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, YEAST EXTRACT, OCTYLDODECYL LAUROYL GLUTAMATE, DIGLYCERIN, CARBOMER, BIOSACHARIDE GUM-1, POLYACRYLAMIDE, LAURETH-7, C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN, TRIETHANOLAMINE, SUCROSE COCOATE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, ALCOHOL, SODIUM HYALURONATE, HYDROGENATED LACITHIN, DISODIUM EDTA, GLYCEROPHOSPHOCHOLINE, SUCROSE LAURATE, SODIUM POLYACRYLATE, CREATINE, MANNITOL, LYSOLECITHIN, CERAMIDE 3, SODIUM ASCORBYL PHOSPHATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, CI 15985, CI 19140, PARFUM
Ingredients analysis: http://www.cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_0ce1135371.html

Royal Honey Hydro Cream

You can see full size product [HERE]

Product description: A hydrating treatment cream with royal black honey and royal jelly extracts that replenishes moisture and transforms skin into a nice honey-glazed complexion.

This product is has rich, but rather gely than creamy consistency. It has nice and subtle honey-like scent. A little goes a long way - the amount shown on the picture was enough for the whole top of my palm. It moisturises very well, but is slightly sticky and leaves face shiny, so I was using it only at night time. Also it's quite "heavy duty" moisturiser, so I was using it only when I felt my face is quite dry, for a regular use it's to heave for my oily skin and could break me out.

Pros:
+ very nourishing and moisturising
+ a little goes a long way
+ lovely scent

Cons:
- slightly sticky
- leaves face shiny
- too rich for everyday use on my oily face (but this is fault of my face lol).

INGREDIENTS : WATER, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, HONEY EXTRACT, GLYCERIN, OCTYLDODECYL MYRISTATE, GLUCOSE, HYDROXYETHYL UREA, PHYTOSTERYL/BEHENYL/OCTYLDODECYL LAUROYL GLUTAMATE, ROYAL JELLY EXTRACT, BIS-PEG-18 METHYL ETHER DIMETHYL SILANE, DIMETHICONOL, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, BETA-GLUCAN, HYDROLYZED VIOLA TRICOLOR EXTRACT, TRIETHANOLAMINE, YEAST EXTRACT, CARBOMER, DISODIUM EDTA, NATTO GUM, TOCOPHERYLA ACETATE, AMMONIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYLTAURATE/VP COPOLYMER, ALCOHOL, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, SODIUM HYALURONATE, HYDROGENATED LECITHIN, CREATINE, GLYCEROPHOSPHOCHOLINE, MANNITOL, SUCROSE LAURATE, CERAMIDE 3, LYSOLECITHIN, SODIUM ASCORBYL PHOSPHATE, METHYLPARABEN, PHENOXYETHANOL, CI 19140, CI 15985, PARFUM
Ingredients Analisis: http://www.cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_9001135374.html

 Summary

 In general this line is dedicated for rather dry complexions. I have an oily skin, but it tends to be dehydrated or dried out in some places - I've bought this set to find a product for my "dryer days" and it worked well for me this way. I was thinking about getting some full sized products from this set to use as my PM routine, but I decided to test out some other products first and preferably look for something anti-aging or/and brightening.
If you would like to introduce some honey into your skincare routine, but you don't want to invest money in the whole set, I would recommend:
- for an every day moisturising, for all skin types: toner + essence or toner + emulsion, or essence + emulsion.
- for heavy duty moisture any from set + cream.

Overall I really enjoyed testing out this product. It's actually the first time I had chance to experience product layering with product from the same line. If you ever have chance to catch set of samples - go for it (don't put it away because of your skin type - every skin needs some heave duty moisturising from time to time) ;) it may also be a nice gift.