Review: DHC Olive Hand Cream

Bought this hand cream when I visited Tokyo earlier in May. Well, Im a sucker for hand cream and of cos when I saw this going for less than $10, I grabbed it almost immediately haha. If I did not remember wrongly, its retailing @ 500-600yen.

Review:

Cream texture which smells a little weird. I guess its probably the olive, but its definitely not unpleasant and overwhelming.

Hands looked oily after usage but did not left my hands feeling smooth.

An average handcream I would say, nothing too fantastic.

Verdict: 6/10

Though hands looked oily and did not felt smooth, but it did moisturised my hands in a way haha. Hands did not feel dry after usage like some lousy handcream.

Review: Herbacin Wuta Kamille + Glyzerin Hand Cream

Was introducing this brand Herbacin in my blog some time back after seeing some great reviews at Urcosme.

I bought the 20ml tube to try 1st and now, Im back with the review!

Herbacin can be found at Watsons. Details are found in my previous post.

Result:

There is added fragrance and I wasnt too used to the scent in the beginning. But after using it daily, I got used to it. It can be rather overwhelming at first, towards the powdery floral scent I feel.

The texture is like thick gel rather than cream. After application, it can be absorbed almost immediately, leaving no sticky feeling at all! I dono how to describe the feeling, but its just like you could feel a layer on your hands but not sticky at all. Hands felt moisturised after usage, can last 2 hand washes.

Verdict: 9/10

I would prefer something that smells better haha. But this hand cream really kept my dry hands moisturised, even in air-con room! Very affordable too.

Herbacin 德国小甘菊: Highly Raved in Taiwan

A few months back, I started to see this new green stand at Watsons. The bright green color with the white flower caught my attention. But I dint bother to look at the products since Ive never heard of the brand, and the packaging dint look appealing to me at all.

Well, when i was browsing the UrCosme taiwanese review forum last weekend, I saw something familiar. Yes, its the green tube with white flower again! Oh god, I dint expect Herbacin to be so highly raved in Taiwan!

Herbacin is apparently a german brand ( I dint realise it from the name, oops). They cultivate its own plants and herbs for decades. All their products undergo dermatological testing.

From their stand at Watsons, I realised they only brought a few items to sg.

So whats the highly raved item in taiwan?!

Wuta Kamille Glycerine Hand Cream & Wuta Kamille Skin Care Cream!


1 of their highly raved product is the wuta kamille skin care cream. Its meant for intensive care for legs and hands. It has got 6/7 in UrCose, with 270 pple rated it. It was voted the no1 foot cream in 2007. $4.5 for the tin.


Another highly raved will be their Glycerine Hand cream. It got a rating of 5.8/7 at UrCosme. This rating is considered very high, cos i seldom see products with such rating. Moreover, its rated by 1224 people in that forum! 312 pple gave it full marks and 501 pple with 6/7. This result is considered very good in my opinion. It was voted the no1 hand cream in 2007 and no2 in 2006. It was beaten by crabtree in 2008. I will write the results of this UrCosme poll in another post since i guess alot people don like reading traditional chinese haha. retailing at $3.50 for the 20ml, $8.50 for 70ml.

There are 2 types of hand cream. Both under Wuta Kamille range. I guess the difference is the Soft hand cream is the lighter version. The soft hand cream got a rating of 5.6/7, with 185 people rated on it. $4 for the 20ml, $10.5 for the 70ml.

The lip balm ($8.5) and exfoliant ($18.9) have rating of 5 and 5.3 respectively, with about 200 over people rated on them. The rest of the products either do not have rating or dint get good rating at UrCosme.

The brochure at Watsons is quite informative, stating the available sizes of the products. For eg, the glycerine hand cream come in 3 sizes, 75ml and 20ml tubes and 20ml tins.

Well, im a sucker for handcream, I'll most probably get the small sized one to try though i still have 2 brand new ones (DHC & Venus Spa) at home! hehe.

Review: Kose Cosmeport CoenRich Q10 Hand cream

Got to know this handcream (80g) at nishino pharmacy (Taka basement) sometime in april. I was thinking if nishino brought this hand cream into sg, it must be quite good, or at least popular in japan. If not why would nishino bring it in right haha.

It was selling at around $20 at nishino. Since i was going japan, of course i bought it there. I managed to get it at about 500yen (sgd8) if i dint remember wrongly. I dint see it elsewhere other than nishino in sg.

It consists of conenzyme Q10, coix seed extract and pearl extract. It claims to be able to whiten hands.

Ive been using it everyday since i came back from japan in late may.

Results:

Cream is white in color. Very faint scent which doesnt smell like added fragrance. Scent was ok, not too overwhelming.

Cream is rather thick, quite hard to massage in. Its one of the thickest handcream that I've tried so far. Its not moisturising for my hands at all. My hands did not look radiant after application too.

I was planning to condemn this handcream till lately i realised what it have did to my hands. I realised it did whiten my hands a little. The tiny brown spots on the back of my hands seem to disappear and lighten quite a bit.

Verdict: 7/10 Though its not moisturising enough for my dry hands, but im glad at least it did whiten my hands a little. Please note that my hands and fingers did not become fairer, its just that the tiny freckles look -alike spots did disappear or lighten. I'm left with half a tube, i shall update if I experience better results from it.

Review: Anna Sui Nail Remover

I bought this remover as a package when i was in HK last month. Kinda disappointed cos it dint come in a pretty bottle. Hopefully the full sized item do.

Results:

It smells like the signature rose scent and has a cooling sensation when i was using it. Since it does not smell like the usual nail polish remover, this makes me pretty happy with it. It does not sting my fingers like some brands out there in the market too. It removes my nail colors quite easily, except for those with lotsa shimmers.

Verdict: 8.5/10 I may consider buying the full sized if the bottle is nice and reasonably priced.

Review: Hand Cream Showdown - Loccitane VS H2o+ Spa VS Ahava!

Yes! its hand cream showdown again woohoo~

this time its between L'occitane shea butter, H20+ Spa & Ahava Mineral handcream :)

Ive compared them when i used them in air con places, cos tts when my hands are really dry i realised.

Round 1: Price

Its hard to compare the price because they are in diff sizes & i got them in packages etc. but since i will be bringing them out, so size is v impt to me. For this round, per ml price will be the most impt factor here to be fair.

Loccitane: 30ml, bought it with a small tub of shea butter for $41. If im not wrong, another package is 3 for $43 too. well, its v expensive no matter what! i'll tak it that its $11 then. the 150ml is not v portable, i forgt the exact price but i think its above $40.

H20+ Spa: I bought it as a xmas package, 5 for $25, so this is only $5 for 30ml. the other size they have is either 150ml/200ml cant remember, its around $20+ if im not wrong.

Ahava: Mine has got 50% extra, so its 150ml. but the usual 100ml is $22.

Result: I'll update the prices asap, but for now, i think its rather clear. L'occitane is the most expensive, next will be ahava then h20+. So for now, i'll put h20+ as the winner for this round 1st.

Round 2: Scent

L'occitane: smells lk baby lotion, a milky one haha. not too bad.

H2o+: Ive alr said in my previous post, i hated h2o+ handcream's scent.. smells v artificial.

Ahava: quite a powdery scent, smells like baby powder too haha. its the natural smell of the product cos there is no added fragrance.

Result: my fave got to be ahava! 2nd will be loccitane of cos.

Round 3: Texture & absorption

Loccitane: Not too thick in texture. Rather easy to absorb.

H2o+: most watery out of the 3 here.

Ahava: not as thick as loccitane. take some time to be absorbed.

Result: H2o+ will be the easiest to absorbed.

Round 4: Moisturising

Result: I think Ahava is slightly more moisturising than Loccitane. Last will be h2o+.

Overall: Well, to me, moisturising will be the most important factor, next will be price. so Ahava seems to be the winner here. Loccitane is far too expensive for me. h2o+ is really not moisturising enough

Review: BabySkin Collagen Hand Mask

Saw this hand mask on offer at guardian, $1.95/pair, usual price is $6 if i dint remember wrongly. As usual, im a sucker for hand stuff, so i bought to try.

this hand mask moisturise, soothing & promote anti-aging care for skin.

Ingredients (part of it): Alcohol, hydrolyzed collagen, acacia concinna fruit extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, pathenol, COQ10, punica granatum seed oil, fragrance.

The material of this mask is similar to clarus, cloth like & stretchable. I like this material, mask can worn easily too. gloves are provided so i can wear them after the mask, prevent me from dirtying the place when ive the mask on my hands. Mask is rather wet too, 45g/pair.

Result: After putting on for 30min, my hands looked 'crumpled' haha. I applied some steam cream (moisturiser) and went st to bed, never wash hands. Hands felt v smooth and soft the next morning.

Verdict: 8.5/10 I wont repurchase unless i can get it below $2 again, $6/pair (usual price) is too expensive!!

那天看到这款护手膜在guardian打折，$1.95/片，原价$6，所以当然要买来试一试啦！

这款除了能滋润手，也能抗老化。

手膜很像布，有弹性，所以穿起来也很容易。手膜蛮湿的，45g。也附有手套，所以穿着手膜也不怕会弄脏东西。

效果：穿了30分钟后，手的皮皱皱的，但蛮滑的哈哈。擦上护手霜就抱头大睡，千万不要洗手。隔天起来手滑滑嫩嫩，很不错。

评分：8.5/10 除非有促销，低于$2，不然应该不会回购，$6真的太贵了！

Review: Ettusais Vacances Nails 2010

Ettusais came out with a few collection of nail colors lately. Dint really notice them since i am not a nail polish person mainly bcos i don know how to paint them well myself haha!

Got interested in them last week when i saw these lovely colors at the counter. Most of the colors are rather mild, or rather pastel, come with nice shimmers too! Those shimmer colors look somewhat similar though..but i find them suitable for my yellow skintone.. in a way i need not worry they will make my fingers look more yellowish since the colors were light hee. I bought 3 colors at 1 go haha!

the nail colors condition nails with jojoba oil and do not contain toluene.

and the fun part is they smell NICE! Scents of coconut, peach, raspberry or citrus in these nail colors. If i am not wrong, diff colors come in diff scent. so some may smell lk coconut while some of them are peach.

For this limited edition collection, there are 15 colors available, selling at $4 each. If you are 1 of those who paint the nails quite regularly, you may find this slightly expensive since each bottle is only 2ml. but if you're like me, one who seldom paint the nails, most probably you will find the price alright since getting bigger bottles will be a waste cos i don think i will ever finish them.

Spending $28 at ettusais, inclusive of a nail color, will entitle you a free manicure @ JUUP (somerset). I had my free manicure there and the service was great! complimentary cookies & drinks for me & friend. The place was well furnished too.

Review: Nature Republic Steam Massage Hand Mask

Got this hand mask at $4.3/pair. Q an expensive hand mask so i really hope to see good results from it.

Well, the mask is made from sheet material, similar to those of our usual sheet mask, not very stretchable.

Verdict: Hands dont really feel soft nor moisturised for such an expensive hand mask!

Review: Hand Cream Showdown - H2o+ Nature Spring, Milk and Spa

bought h2o+ travel sized pack last dec. five 30ml tubes for $25, q worth if one wanna try their hand cream, esp when the sizes for their handcream is nt exactly portable. they come in pump and v big tubes only.

tried 3 ‘flavors’ : natural spring, milk & spa, spa is their best seller for hand cream if im nt wrong. a 30ml tube can last me for like 2-3mths when i used it daily, i apply at least 2x/day when i go to school.

Round1: Ingredients

Natural spring: vitamin & mineral rich marine extracts, aloe vera and provitamin B. silk protein and vitamin E to help nourish nails and cuticles. sea fennel, wakamem and sea lettuce are in the list too.

Milk: milk protein and hydrolzed silk help fortify nails and cuticles. vitamins A, D, E and provitamin B blend with seaweed and mikl thistle to help hydrate.

spa: silk protein and vitamin E help nourish nails. vitamin and mineral rich marine extracts, aloe vera and panthenol help restore moisture. sea fennel, wakamem and sea lettuce are in the list too.

the ingredients look gd right! i tnk Spa has a combi of marine extracts and proteins, so i guess in terms of ingredients, spa seem to be the best, milk wil be 2nd.

Round 2: Scent

they all smell horrible! but ive friends who think they smell ok, so i guess its subjective. i think spa smell the best, milk the 2nd. my friend agrees with me. and i tnk the scent is q strong, cos whenever i apply in a enclosed area, my tutees would complain haha.

Round 3: Moisture

i tried them 1 after another, meaning 1 tube after 1 tube; im on my 3rd tube (spa) now. i feel that spa is able to moisturise my dry hands better, milk 2nd. but still, they cant really satisfy my ultimate dry hands, esp when im in air-con room. within 5min, my hands feel dry again and i usu need to apply 2x in a row >.<>only happen in air con room though.

Verdict: a v clear cut win by spa, and 2nd for milk. i wont repurchase cos i really dislike the scent and they are not the most moisturing handcream tt ive tried so far, ahava is my fave for now. but if u do not really have dry hands, u can gif it a try cos the ingredients really look impressive haha! its v affordable too, if i dint rmb wrongly, a big tube (200ml i tnk) of spa cost $21 only.

one thing to tak note when u are buying h20+ stuff in Sg — look @ the expiry dates of the pdts you are buying. im rather annoyed and upset abt this cos i bought the hand cream in dec 09, but the manufactured dates were actually 2008. tts like almost 2yrs apart! im q pissed cos i prefer ‘fresh’ pdts. i believe the efficacy wil decrease as time goes by, so the furthest i can accept is 6mths fr the date i bought it. since the h2o+ hand cream were manufactured so long ago, it made it q impossible for me to keep them for long too tts why im trying so hard to finish them even though i dont really lk it im q disappointed with this actually. if drugstore brands can do it, i dont see why h2o+ cant seriously. so chk the dates when u r buying h2o+ stuff.