Etude House Dear Girls Be Clear Moisturizer SPF 30/PA++ Review

We know that applying toner and moisturizer before going with your BB cream or foundation is very essential. When I first started doing make-up, I didn't own any moisturizer at the moment, so I grabbed this right after Etude House released their Dear Girls line which used only organic ingredients and comes in 5-Free System; paraben, talc, mineral oil, artificial colors, animal ingredients.

Etude House's products always have pretty packaging! Look at those flower and ribbon decorations!

Pump for your hygiene's sake. Contains 50g of the product.

'Ingridients'? What.

So what do they say about this product? (from en.koredepart.com)

Adheres to skin to brighten skin tone without stickiness.
Blocks UV rays to create healthy skin.
5-vitamin extract and 7-organic extract offer full of nutrition to skin.
5 Free System (Paraben, talc, mineral oil, artificial colors, animal ingredients)

It's always good to have some sun protection in your make-up, I was happy finding out this moisturizer has SPF 30 in their formula. And that 5-Free System is just great!

Now, let's see how it works.

Hada Labo's moisturizer comes in transparent white liquid while Etude House's has thick white liquid with refreshing floral scent that stays on skin for minutes.

Blended out.

With flash.

While Hada Labo Ultimate Moisturizing Milk gives clear, watery finish, Etude House Dear Girls Be Clear Moisturizer leaves you with a matte white cast. Note that it doesn't last long, but you need to give some time for it to give you the brightening result you want before you start going with your BB cream or foundation. There was one day where I applied it with BB cream and powder in a rush, the white cast wouldn't tone down even if I waited for minutes. It was horrifying, my face was way far brighter than my neck. I ended up restarting my whole make-up.

I have to tell you that you need to be very careful with this moisturizer, apply it thinly with your fingers! With Hada Labo, I don't need to worry about applying too much moisturizer, let it dry for a while and BB cream time! With this one moisturizer, one full pump is too much. When it's too much, it leaves you a white cast that lasts long and if you go out, being exposed to the sun, IT MELTS.

IT.

MELTS.

No kidding, when I visited my boyfriend he asked, 'what is that white thing on your forehead?' FREAKING EMBARRASSING GRAAAAHHHH

*cough*

Well, if you apply it evenly, thinly, and carefully, you will get the result you want. I really like how it brightens my dull skin without sticky feeling. And it has SPF 30 so no need to apply more sunscreen! I don't get breakouts from this moisturizer too. But having to be careful upon application is too much of inconvenience for me, so I switched to my Hada Labo.

Price?
Rp 76.000,-/around $6.7

Where to buy?
eBay. I purchased mine from Chic Princessa.

What I dislike :

• One full pump is too much? WHYYY. The pump should have been designed as its own measurer that gives you the perfect amount! Or do I expect too much?
• White cast that stays forever when applied too much.
• It melts (again, when applied too much) under the sun.
• Wtf why so much work to get the result I want. 

What I like :

• Refreshing floral fragrance.
• Cute packaging.
• Hygienic pump.
• SPF 30/PA++ for your sun protection.
• Brightens the skin tone--when applied correctly.

Repurchase? No.

Thanks for reading, have a good day!

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion Sunscreen SPF 50 Review

Summer! What do you guys do in summer? Do you go to the beach, to the lake (not possible in Indonesia, I believe), or to the pool? Do you enjoy the sun? Don't forget to take a sunscreen, the extreme sunlight will damage our skin! And here, I picked the best sunscreen I have ever tried. First review I wrote during my stay in Montpellier, I guess (I don't have a DSLR neither supporting tools to create white background, nooooo).

I love this product so much I want to post the review as soon as possible.

I use this sunscreen everyday. Even when I woke up late, I made the effort to apply it all over my exposed skin before I go to school, I feel insecure without it (and it has to be SPF 50!). When Europeans try anything they can do to tan their skin, we, Indonesians, have enough sun already, we'll say no to tanning! I'm happy when people compliment me for my skin but I don't want my skin tone to go down by two shades, no (which already did).

Now, we want to enjoy the summer without getting sunburned!

Ingredients :

Aqua, Octocrylene, Benzophenone-3, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Ethylhexyl Benzoate, Glycerin, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Diisopropyl Adipate, Isopropyl Myristate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Phenethyl Benzoate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Polyethylene, Sodium Polyacrylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethicone, Coco-Glucoside, Ceteth-10 Phospate, Dicetyl Phospate, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Paraffin, Silk Amino Acids, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Mangifera Indica Seed Butter, Panthenol, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Carica Papaya Fruit Extract, Colocasia Antiquorum Root Extract, Mangifera Indica Fruit Extract, Passiflora Incarnata Fruit Extract, Plumeria Acutifolia Flower Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Parfum, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, May Contain:, Mica, Bismuth Oxychloride, Iron Oxides.

It has Benzophenone-3 (or Oxybenzone) which is commonly found in sunscreens and is believed to have side effects. There are good sunscreens with Benzophenone-3, I assume this is one of them, it even has a recommendation stamp from Skin Cancer Foundation on the back label, but if you're really concerned about it, forget this product.

Anyway, here is what they say for the product on their site (which offers useful informations about sunscreens too, go check them out) :

Introducing our new sunscreen lotion, the only sunscreen with hydrating ribbons for continuous in-sun moisture. With its ultra-luxurious hydrating silk ribbons, Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration™ lotion sunscreen nourishes and pampers skin while providing broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection and 12-hour moisturization when out in the sun.

Features & Benefits:
• Lightweight, luxurious hydrating ribbons infused with silk protein pamper
  and protect skin when in the sun, providing 12-hour moisturization
• Safe and effective broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection
• Nourishing antioxidants
• Exotic botanicals
• Warm tropical fragrance
• Lightweight feel

The bottle contains 180 ml of the product.

Sounds great. We all hate the greasy feeling that sunscreen gives. How about this one?

Refreshing orange color. Can you see those orange lines of the hydrating ribbons? Yup, you can actually see them!

It's not greasy AT ALL. Super light. Water resist. High protection from both UVA and UVB. Nice fragrance, but rather than 'warm tropical fragrance', it reminded me of chocolate the first time I smelled it. It's not a strong fragrance, so those of you who are sensitive with smell, no worries.

And, bonus! It moisturizes your skin for 12 hours.

Left : without. Right : with Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration sunscreen. I super love how it gives instant glow to my skin!

I have headache now and I need to go to sleep early so let's just move to the final judgement.

Where to get?
Amazon, maybe. I got mine from Monoprix near my flat.

Pros :

• High protection from both UVA and UVB.
• Good fragrance.
• Light texture, nothing greasy.
• Moisturizes skin for 12 hours, gives glowing effect to skin.

Cons :

• Contains the controversial Oxybenzone.
• Maybe--just a bit pricey, 14€. But it's totally worth-it.

Repurchase?
Definitely! I have used 3/4 of it!

Have a great summer!

By the way, do any of you know where I can find Shu Uemura stores in Montpellier, near Place de la Comédie? Please tell me if you do!

Baviphat Strawberry Toxifying Mask Review

Mask sheets are cheap but if you're going to go to use them for daily skin care, you'll still spend a lot! There's this alternative, wash-off masks! Baviphat, launched in 2009, offers various kind of mask and make-up, I would say they're better in the skin care product market, compared to other Korean brands they're much cheaper and good!

I picked their Strawberry (De)toxifying Mask, one from Baviphat's fruit mask series.

Yep, there's a lot of them (all in super cute packaging!). Since I want my pores around nose to be less visible, I picked the Strawberry one. I'm thinking of getting Peach some other time.

There's a plastic divider to avoid getting the product spilled and a tiny spoon that falls off from its holder very easily. I would recommend using your finger or a mask pack brush to apply.

Generous amount, it has 130g product. Clay-type mask, nice texture, easy to apply. Peach-pink colored and smells very sweet! When I used it, my brother walked into my room, asked whether the mask was to make my face smells like strawberry lol embarrassing moment, getting caught using white clay all over my face.

Here's what it claims (from sasa.com) :

Baviphat Strawberry Toxifying Mask A wash-off facial mask packed with vitamin C enriched strawberry extracts help detoxify and tighten pores for a more refined looking complexion. It helps detoxify and tighten the enlarged pores of our skin, Strawberries contain loads of vitamin and it helps the reborn of our skin, curb the formation of any pigments and promote the blood circulation, discharging any undesired dirt in our skin.

Apparently the mask is suitable for all skin type.

It's always good to have Vitamin C supplied on our skin because it helps our skin to repair themselves.

How to use :
Take appropriate amount out of product, apply it all over the face excepting eyes and mouth. After 20 - 25min, wash off with lukewarm water.

Use it after your basic skin care--face wash, toner--apply it all over your face with your finger or mask pack brush, then go for a shower! While it's not the hardest mask to remove, it still takes a lot of work to wash them off completely. Do note that it's not a sleeping mask.

After using for at least four weeks, I don't think I have my pores tightened, they're still annoyingly visible. But I liked (or rather, a bit hype) how smooth my face was after usage, I rubbed my cheek against boyfriend's to get a bit of 'what are you doing?!' and 'wait, yeah, it's so smooth!'

Where to get?
eBay, Sasa, Amazon. I purchased mine from Chic Princessa.

Pros :
1) Affordable.
2) Leaves your skin smooth after usage.
3) Easy to find in stores.
4) Super cute packaging. Don't throw it away after you have used it all up, use it as a box for your accessories.
5) Has a generous amount of product.
6) Smells delici--very good.

Cons :
1) I just don't get the result I want.

Repurchase? No, I'm going to try other masks!

Four reviews and all 'no'? I must be joking.

Anyway, if you're going for good daily mask, you could pick this one! It doesn't really work on me (probably because of my combination skin type that requires more effort to take care of), but some people have claimed that it worked awesome on them!