Review: Bihada Ichizoku 美肌一族 Hyaluronic Acid Mask

Bought this mask for $8/pc @ sasa. Really expensive for a mask, in fact my most expensive one so far. But I saw quite a few positive reviews for it so I decided to give it a try.

Main ingredients: Diptoassium Glycyrhizate, allantoin, Trehalose, opunia streptacan tha stem extract, collagen, soya bean extract, aloe, pueraria lobata root extract, methylparaben, alcohol

MAsk claims to Balance the water to oil ratio. contains pearl ingredients, hyaluronic acid, hydrolyzed collagen and 3 types of seaweed extract ( Red, brown and green algae) for instant elasticity repairment to fight aging, whitening effect

Result:

Mask was really wet and material felt comfy on skin. The cut was great too, 1 of the best for me so far. Scent was ok, pretty decent and not overwhelming, I dont think mask has added fragrance.

Face felt hydrated, but not too much of a brightening effect. Next morning, face felt soft and smooth and skincare glided on easily.

Verdict: 6.5/10

For this kind of price, I expect better results. But I guess this mask dint able to satisfy me :(

Hong Kong Skincare & Cosmetics Price List!

Yes, Im back from my Hong Kong trip!

As usual, lots of loots from HK =p

I've previously wrote a post on buying skincare & cosmetics in HK a few months back, I will do a update on the prices and stuff available in HK now.

I will start with stuff @ Sasa first. I've learnt my lession from my previous trip, ALWAYS go SASA 1st before shopping @ HK departmental stores. Sasa is always cheaper!

Here's a rough guide to some of the items sold @ hk sasa:

- L'occitane cherry blossom hand cream 30ml @ hkd60 ( sgd10). The loccitane shop in HK is selling 3 30ml for 210hkd.
- Biotherm 360deg eye roll on @ 232hkd (40sgd). singapore is selling it @ $69!
- Shu Uemura cleansing oil 500ml @ 440hkd ( sgd70+)
- laneige sleeping mask @ hkd158 ( sgd30+)
- elizabeth arden 8hr handcream, 30ml tube @ hkd120 ( sgd20)
- h20+ oasis @ less than hkd300 ( less than sgd50)
- hada labo masks x4 @ hkd72 ( sgd12)
- kosa capsule mask x4 @ hkd10
-sofymo eye remover 230ml @ hkd56

Now, loccitane handcream, h20+, elizabeth arden perfume & handcream can be found in Sasa.

Silk whitia is rather expensive in HK. I still think the $1.95/pc offer in Sg is cheaper. Sasa in hk seems to have more taiwan & Japanese masks as compared to korean masks i feel. They have sexylook, kracie ( not the ones that are available in sg), my beauty diary, ELG, hada labo, aqau moist, hisamitsu, silk whitia, clear turn, mandom beauty, skinlite. They dont have alot of Jap masks actually.. so for this trip, I stocked up my mandom beauty (new formula).

The lucky me met the SOGO xmas sale again! I met the anniversary sale in May too haha.

- Paul & Joe lipstick @ hkd162
-shu uemura limited edition brush travel set ( takomo set thats released this season!) @ hkd420 ( sgd70 only!! Sg is selling @ $120!! changi airport terminal 1 selling @ sgd 102)

As usual, the price diff for shiseido items in HK is not big compared to SG. I think its almost the same price there even when sgd is strong now.

Origins is found in HK too. From causeway bay mtr station to Sogo, origins can be found on the way there. Clear improvement + drink up mask + out of trouble package is only selling @ hkd415 ( sgd70)! single tube is hkd210.

I found the highly raved bioderma @ hk guardian too! I saw from cosme that their makeup remover is very popular in taiwan.. so when I saw the xmas package i just cant resist it! 3 bottles ( 100ml, 250ml, 500ml) is retailing @ hkd299 ( sgd50)!! a single bottle of 500ml costs hkd240. I was rather skeptical about it cos that package was totally too good to be true. So i went on to check the expiry date, only to know that it expired in 2013. So i went ahead to buy it :)

Sofina is available @ sogo too. They are famous for their sunblocks..

All in all, below are the brands which are available and cheaper to get in HK than in SG:

- Anna Sui
- Ettusais
- biotherm
-h2o+
-shu uemura
-paul & joe (some items)
-clinique
-laneige
-loccitane
-origins
-kanebo

Review: Kracie CO Q10 Mask

This is my last pc of mask from the kracie range. This Q10 mask targets firming since it consists of Q10.

Review:

Essence is milky and thick, which I dont really fancy. But the cut is good, and mask is soaked with loads of essence. No significant scent.

After usage, face felt a bit sticky. but face felt soft and supple. Quite hydrating too. Face was radiant and smooth the next morning though I slept at 2am. Skincare glide on easily the next day too.

Verdict: 8/10

Though essence felt a bit thick for me, but the effects were pretty good. I realised for some masks, their effects can be better gauged after a night while some produce immediate effects.

I just tried the highly raved 美肌一族 ( Bihada Ichizoku) Hyaluronic acid mask. Look out for my review :)

Review: Kracie Pore Tightening Black Mask

Bought this black mask along with some other kracie when its retailing @ $1.95/pc @ watsons a few months back. A box of 5 is actually retailing @ $18.90, so $1.95/pc is really a bargain.

Tried and reviewed the whitening & moisturising mask sometime ago, was not that impressed with this range of masks so far. The black mask is prolly the best one out of the 3 to me.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol, Onsen-Sui, Glycerin, PEG-75, Phenoxyethanol, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Methylparaben, Methyl Gluceth-20, Potassium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Dimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Polysorbate 20, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Polyglyceryl.

Review:

Similar to shills charcoal mask, this kracie mask is black in color too. The texture of the mask is much smoother as compared to shills'. Mask was well soaked with essence, though its stated 18ml on the packaging.

The cut of this mask is perfect! Fits my face nicely.

After usage, it did not irritate my zits, face was left quite smooth, no sticky feeling, quite hydrated, no brightening effects though. Face din really look very refined after masking.

Face was less oily the next day, and a few of my red bumps actually reduced in size. I realise charcoal mask always do wonders for my face haha.

Verdict: 8/10

I still think shills perform better than this charcoal mask in terms of price & effects. But wellm i think it deserves a score of 8.

Review: Galady Fragrance Hair Spray

I bought this hair spray when i was in tokyo, at the rankingqueen store @ shinjuku station. It was ranked no2 for the hair section. Because I cant really read jap, I am not sure if its ranked no2 among all hair products or only among the fragrance hair sprays. I bought it for around 15ooyen if i din remember wrongly.

I was interested in sexygirl fragrance hairspray after miao introduced to me. I thought such fragrance hair sprays are very handy especially when I go to hawker to have my lunch almost everyday. But I got this hair spray instead since it was highly rated in tokyo. I shall do a product comparison if i were to try sexygirl in future.

Result:

This hair spray smells really nice! But I dont think the scent is lasting, or probably because I've short hair, so I cant really smell it haha. But I think it does helps to rid the food smell a bit.

After spraying, hair felt really smooth for a moment. But it does not helps to tame flyaway hair. Not that moisturising either. But well, we cant really expect the fragrance hairspray to work like a hair serum right?

Verdict: 8/10

This is my 1st fragrance hair spray. As long as the scent is nice, I think it has does it job haha. Moreover, after spraying, my hair did feel softer and smoother after spraying, though that effect din last long.

Review: Anna Sui Face Color Accent Review

Bought this anna sui blusher when I went to Hong Kong in May. It is slightly cheaper in HK as compared to Singapore. SG is probably retailing @ close to $40 if I dint remember wrongly.

I got color 300. I always prefer my make up to be minimal, so miao suggested that I go for something lighter so I can add the intensity easily.

The main reason to why I got this blusher is simply because of the gorgeous packaging!! I've always been a fan of Anna Sui's products, since I couldnt use their foundation cos I think its meant more for dry skin rather than oily skin, the next thing to target is their blusher. Moreover, the online reviews for their blusher were quite promising.

Review:

There is added fragrance as usual, I love the signature rose scent! Even though I only have 2 Anna Sui products (blusher & eyeshadow) in my make up box, but whenever I open my box, I could smell the rose scent. Simply love the scent.

The brush given was soft and enables me to apply the blusher easily. Friends told me they can see the blusher applied on my face (finally) and was natural.

I personally feel its rather lasting too.

Verdict: Love it to bits!

This is only my 2nd blusher so I cant really compare. But for me, as long as the color suits me, intensity can be build easily, natural, lasting and din give me zits, its a good blusher to me. Moreover, the packaging is nice.

Review: DHC Make Off Sheet

Bought this DHC make off sheet (50 sheets) in tokyo. It was retailing at 630Yen (around sgd 10), refill is 525Yen. the DHC make off sheet packaging in HK looks different from the one in Tokyo. Not sure if its the same composition of ingredients. They are similar in price though. Both are not available in SG currently too.

Result:

The size of this make off sheet is about 3/4 to that of simple remover sheets. Sheet is very wet, more wet than simple's. No fragrance or alcohol detected.

Sheet texture is smoother as compared to simple too. I find simple sheets too rough for face.

I tried removing foundation with this sheet. Have to wipe a few times before it thoughly removes foundation. No sticky feeling after usage. Gentle enough for my sensitive skin.

Verdict: 9/10

Smooth enough to be used on skin. Gentle enough for my sensitive skin too! Cleansing power is quite good. Too bad its not available in SG. I intend to buy the HK DHC make off sheet when i visit HK in 2 weeks time :)