Light weight Body Lotions for a non-sticky life in the Tropics

A common first world problem of living in the muggy tropics: body lotions that leave a sticky feeling after application. Why? Because we already feel perpetually hot, sweaty and sticky!!! Given the fact that the tropical heath makes us shower more often, stripping our skin from essential oils, simply scrapping body lotion from our beauty routine isn't the smartest option. Luckily there are some light weight body lotions available that do the trick, giving our skin what it needs without a trace of stickiness.

I've been an over-bather for about 2,5 years now: from the moment I set foot in tropical Singapore, I amped up my habitual shower frequency to at least twice a day. The sticky heat and sweaty humidity just make me yearn for a shower so badly, that I chose to ignore the fact that too much showering is not good for the skin. Dermatologists state that taking a shower twice a week (yes you read that correctly) is more than enough.

Although lots of showering makes us feel clean, too much cleansing can strip the skin and hair of essential natural oils and disrupt the skin’s population of immune system-supporting bacteria. The latter is especially true when you use antibacterial body cleansers, so better ditch that Dettol shower gel and the likes, a category of body wash that I’ve only seen around in mysophobic Singapore anyway.

Regardless of whether you’re just dead scared of germs or, like me, simply can’t deal with the constant damp and sweaty feeling that comes with living in a tropical climate; if you shower a lot, you should really use a body lotion to maintain the right level of moisture in your skin, ideally after every shower. The picks below are my absolute favorite body lotions to use in the tropics: they give the skin what it needs but feel incredibly light and are absorbed by the skin really fast, hardly leaving a trace.

#1: Vaseline Intensive Care - Spray Moisturizer Deep Restore

This product doesn't get absorbed as fast as Vaseline's TV commercial (a girl sprays the moisturizer on her body and immediately dresses herself happily - in reverse, that is, but still) tries to make us believe. However, it's still impressively fast: if you rub the liquid white lotion into the skin immediately after spraying, it takes only about 3 minutes to get fully absorbed. Quick and effective - a highly functional spray. 

The scent is the same as other Vaseline Intensive Care products from the brand's yellow range, a bit shea-buttery. Pleasant and not too heavy. The spray moisturizer contains two key ingredients to repair and hydrate skin, which are Oat Extract to deeply pull moisture into dry skin and micro-droplets of Vaseline Jelly to lock the moisture in, leaving the skin deeply nourished. A winner, if you ask me.

Vaseline Intensive Care - Deep Restore Spray Moisturizer, 190g 
Price: 11,90 SGD
Available at most drugstores (a.o. Watsons, Guardian) and supermarkets (a.o. Fairprice, Cold Storage and Redmart)

#2: Aveeno - Daily Moisturizing Lotion Sheer Hydration

Like Vaseline's Spray Moisturizer, this hydrating, ultra sheer lotion is absorbed in seconds. The lotion contains Active Naturals® Oat. As a skin protectant active ingredient, oatmeal can help restore skin's normal pH and aid in the maintenance of skin's moisture barrier to help prevent and protect dry skin. The lotion goes on feather-light and leaves skin feeling velvety soft. It's unscented, which sometimes result in a stale smell, but not in this case. Great all-round body lotion. 

Aveeno - Daily Moisturizing Lotion Sheer Hydration, 350ml

Price: 16,90 SGD
Available at most drugstores (a.o. Watsons, Guardian)

#3: Fresh - Fresh Life Body Lotion with Vitamins C & E

Fresh's nourishing lightweight lotion provides 24-hours of moisture, infused with a sensual citrus scent. And yes, it IS fresh, both scent and texture. According to the brand, the lotion's scent conjures the freshness of a clear blue sky, sweet morning air, a sparkling sun, and velvety water. My personal associations: crispy clean cotton, a ray of sun on a fresh summer morning. Reminds me of Narciso Rodriguez' Essence perfume. Contains vitamins C and E, shea butter and antioxidant-rich vitamins.

Fresh - Fresh Life Body Lotion with Vitamins C & E, 300ml

Price: 36 SGD
Available at Sephora (online and in store) and Fresh stores (only 2 in Singapore)

#4: Sephora - Nourishing Mousse Body Oil

Last on this list because this product isn't absorbed as fast as above body lotions, however for an nourishing oil (which it is), it's still really fast. I love the mousse texture, which adds to the feather light sensation. It looks and feels like shaving foam, but once you rub the foamy mousse into the skin it becomes a light oil. The scent to me is a mix of sun care and baby care products, which I personally like a lot, but might be too much for some.

Containing castanha oil, it's as rich as most oils, yet it's absorbed by the skin quite fast. It nourishes and moisturizes the skin, leaving it supple, soft, and comfortable. Great product to add to your beauty routine; not for every day for me, but a great option for some extra nourishing pampering once in a while.

Sephora - Nourishing Mousse Body Oil, 150ml
Price: 20 SGD
Available at Sephora (online and in store)

Dreaming away with Sephora's "Beach Vibes" Shower Jelly & Shower Balm

I've been living in Singapore for more than 3 years now, and feel the fall weather hasn't been as extreme as it currently is: either scorching hot or raining cats and dogs. Remarkably, both types of weather make me long for the beach, as I find myself in need of either a serious cool down or warming up. If the weather or my busy schedule doesn't allow going to the beach, I go for a quick fix with Sephora's Beach Vibes Bath & Body range. One whiff of the addictive scent makes me instantly feel like I'm spending a lazy day on a beautiful tropical beach, laying on a stretcher while drinking from a coconut, with a pleasantly warming sun and refreshing sea breeze. Sounds tempting? Come dream away...

From their masks and deodorant wipes to their makeup remover, I absolutely love Sephora's house brand "Collection" products. Needless to say, I was devastated when I found out their mono-scented (a.o. Mango, Vanilla, Grean Tea, Cotton Flower) Bath & Body collection was to be discontinued this summer. Luckily, their new Bath & Body range is just as good, if not better, with fabulously scented products such as Shower Jelly, Granita Scrub and star-shaped Fizzing Bath Bombs (too cute).

Sephora's new Bath & Body Collection

The new scents are designed to awaken experiences, like a pillow fight in clean sheets, rolling in the grass on a fresh summer morning, and (my favorite) the aforementioned lazy afternoon at a tropical beach. Sephora doens't mention the actual fragrances notes of Beach Vibes on their website, but what I smell is Coconut and Monoi Flower, reminiscent of a combination of beach, Piña Colada, sun, luxurious sunscreen, and warm sand caressed by a fresh ocean breeze.

I love how it instantly makes me relive the carefree moments I spent on the most awesome beaches allover the world: Uruguay's Punta del Este, Crete, Fiji, St Lucia and Mustique. Yup, I'm a lucky b*st*rd. Dreaming away in my bathroom, I tried both the Shower Jelly and Shower Balm. The Shower Jelly is a refreshing gel that melts onto your skin and produces a gently cleaning, luxurious lather, whereas the nourishing Shower Balm feels richer and creamier.

Sephora "Beach Vibes" Shower Jelly (left) and Shower Balm (right)

Both are equally awesome and will definitely go with me when I travel to the rainy, cold, and Sephora-less Netherlands in December; I have a feeling I will need them!

Sephora Collection: "Beach Vibes" Shower Jelly, 250ml
Price: 14 SGD

Sephora Collection: "Beach Vibes" Nourishing Shower Balm, 150ml 
Price: 7 SGD

Available at Sephora, in stores island-wide and online.

Asian Beauty Ingredients Discovered: Pearl

At first sight, ‘Pearl’ or ‘Pearl extract’ sounds like a luxurious and far less frightening beauty ingredient than sheep placenta, pig collagen or Bird’s Nest. It could unquestionably belong to the category of products with pure gold or caviar as ingredient (yes – these exist). What refrained me from trying any skincare with pearl, were the results that products with pearl as ingredient promote: brightening and whitening. Is pearl really a whitening agent? Or do products with pearl merely suggest skin lightening, piggybacking on the attractive bright and spotless attributes of pearls? What else does this centuries old ingredient, that has been worshiped in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda for ages, do for our skin?

Loved by empress Wu Ze Tian

Pearl Powder is made from crushed fresh or salt water pearls, that are below jewellery grade. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) it is used as an anti-inflammatory and detoxification agent, and as a relaxant. The use of pearl powder, both as medicine and as cosmetic, dates back to empress Wu Ze Tian (625 AD – 705 AD). The empress used pearl powder internally and on her skin, and was famed for her impeccable complexion. 

In ancient India, pearl powder was used in Ayurvedic medicine. Earliest sources go back to 1240, when pearl was praised as an antidote to poisons, cured conditions of the eyes and increased general strength and health. In addition, powdered pearl was an ingredient of love potions as well.

For skin in particular, pearl powder is believed to stimulate the skin’s fibroblasts, help regenerate collagen, and accelerate healing of damaged skin because of the following active substances:

• Amino acids; Fundamental constituents of all proteins found in the body, nourish skin from within to be healthy, smooth and clear. Some amino acids have antioxidant properties and wound-healing abilities as well;
• Vitamin B Complex: Helps to maintain the vitality and energy of the skin cells;
• Trace minerals: Over 20 different kinds, amongst which are Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium and Iron, that aid in the proper functioning of the skin cells;
• Antioxidants: Help to counter the cell-damaging and aging effects of free radicals.

Pearl powder is furthermore believed (some studies have been done but not much details can be found) to whiten the complexion. The common assumption is that pearl powder enhances the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), which is one of the strongest antioxidant enzymes in our body. SOD acts as a tyrosinase inhibitor, through which formation of pigmentation is prevent and reduced. Technically, this would categorize pearl powder as a “lightening” agent instead of a “whitening” agent (see my blog on the differences between Whitening, Lightening and Brightening skincare)

Although I have absolutely no intention or desire to lighten my skin, I do want to try pearl powder to see what it does and feels like – and maybe even become famed for my flawless complexion like empress Wu…

PRODUCT REVIEW: 

Etude House “I need you, Pearl!” Bright Complexion Mask Sheet

Packaging

The packaging of this face mask from South Korean cosmetic brand ‘Etude House’ (over 100 boutique outlets throughout South East Asia) looks incredibly cute: a baby pink sachet with darker pink sea shell drawings, and of course some big, lustrously glowing pearls are depicted as well. I really love this type of sweet, princess-like, girly look for products, but I do realize it’s not for everyone. 

The text printed on the front of the sachet is in Korean except for “Etude House”, “Pearl” and “Bright Complexion”, but reading the text on the back I learn that this product is actually called “I need you, Pearl”, which I find –again- just too cute. If you do like a good dosis of 'Kawaii' (i.e. the quality of cuteness in the context of Japanese and other South East Asian culture), also check out the other masks from the "I need you" range in which even the depiction of collagen has a cute smirk:

On the back of the pack, it briefly states that the mask contains “Pearl Extract (Hydrolized Pearl) full of amino acids and minerals, to brighten up dull skin for a bright and clear complexion”. The list of ingredients confirms this; it contains Hydrolized pearl indeed, 20 mg to be exact. Other ingredients that are worth noting are Grapefruit Extract, that serve a brightening peeling function, exactly what the mask promises.

The product
Upon opening of the sachet, the mask feels very wet and sticky; there's a lot of product absorbed in the sheet, and also quite a lot of the gel-like product is left behind in the sachet after taking the sheet mask out of it. I initally feared that it's another one of those masks that annoyingly keeps dropping from your chin the entire 15-20 minutes when applied to your face (and hinders you to do anything else in the meantime, because of the sticky liquid trace you leave behind with every movement you make), but fortunately this was not the case. Once applied, no dropping on the floor or your clothes. The product is translucent, non scented and has a formula that reminds me of a serum.  

I'm not a fan of the way the sheet mask fits, I know I have a rather long, oval and very non-Asian face, but the shape of the sheet makes me wonder if it was designed for toddlers or midgets - small and round. My Western nose is more or less  halfway covered and my eyes are struggling for sight. 

Not so great fit; my eyes struggling for sight. Look especially at that poor right eye, lashes trying to peek out from underneath the mask...(right eye on the mirror selfie left; left eye for the viewers in the right picture - still following? :))

Results:
As far as I can see, none. The hours after I used the mask (after massaging the residue product from the sheet into my skin) my skin looks a bit greasy, at least not bright and fresh as I expected. The morning after, after cleansing, no results are visible either. Will I use it again? No. Which is a pity because I absolutely adore the cute and girly look of the product. 

Etude House “I need you, Pearl!” Bright Complexion Mask Sheet
Price: 1,90 SGD

Available at Etude House Boutiques (find Stores), around 16 outlets in Singapore.

Mascara Test: "Kiss Me Heroine - Impact Frame Mascara" for Asian Dolly Eyes

Dolly eyes, or “big eyes” are extremely popular among Asian girls and women. In Asian culture, large eyes are one of the main features that constitute the ultimate beauty ideal, that furthermore exists of a.o. porcelain white skin, a small face and lustrous black hair. Large eyes are thought to be more feminine and innocent, and align with some of the expected qualities of women in past times – submissive, obedient, naïve and feminine.

Although large eyes have been regarded as the beauty ideal for centuries in Asia, pop culture from Korea and Japan largely influenced the popularity of dolly, cartoonish “anime” eyes over the past few years all across the region, especially in cosmetics.  Eyelid surgery, or “blepharoplasty”, is a very common procedure  to make the eyes appear larger by creating 双眼皮 (shuāng yǎn pí) or "double eyelids”, as -for example- around 50% of the population from Chinese descent is born with monolids.

Gladly, apart from cosmetic surgery, there is an overwhelming array of beauty products available that enlarge the eyes without having to resort to drastic measures such as going under the knife. Within this category however, there’s a large scale of ‘drasticness’. In drugstores you’ll find aisles full of eye makeup and tools, ranging from mascara’s that screamingly promise doll-like eyes, to more extreme products like eyelid stickers and tape to glue eyelids together and make monolids look like double eyelids. There are also several tools available aid in flipping and glueing your eyelids. Paradoxally, these in my eyes torture devices, are just as cute as everything else in the aisle, and can even be found clad with Hello Kitty and My Melody figures.

Eyelid Glue, Stickers and Tape

Glue, Stickers and Tools in action

Must See Video's to understand the Principles

Check out this video - turn off the volume because (in my humble opinion) the music is totally depressing - and be patient because it's quite a long video, however it is greatly interesting to see how one-sided tape, double-sided tape and glue work to create a double eyelid. 

My jaw literally dropped with this video that shows how to use glue with help of The Torturous Tool (in Japanese but the images alone tell enough....). Quite a technique!

Western Eyes go Dolly Eyes

Initially, I vigorously avoided the Asian eye makeup aisles in drugstores. As the products and brands were so unfamiliar, they felt intimidating to me, and made me feel like I landed on another planet. The amount of mascara’s, eyeliners and eyelid glues that is bombarded at you in these aisles, is overwhelming. Even more so because the packaging of the products is mostly screaming pink, clad with doll-like figures, and product descriptions are mainly in Chinese, Korean or Japanese – not something that appeals to a big eyed Western lady.

But intrigued by the beauty ideal and curious to the intergalactic looking products, I started to check out these aisles, step-by-step, each time browsing a bit longer before fleeing back to the aisles with ‘safe’ Western products. Each visit I would be more at ease, and would care less and less about staring teenage girls and store personnel, who looked clearly puzzled on why on earth a Caucasian lady would show interest in double eyelid glue.

I’m blessed with a set of big eyes, and love to emphasize this feature in my makeup. As I can’t live without a good mascara, I’m always on the hunt to even better ones. And if the Asian mascara’s can create big, dolly,  puppy eyes for monolid eyes, I can’t help but to be incredibly curious what they will do for my lashes.

TESTED: Kiss Me Heroine “Impact Frame Mascara”

Packaging

The product itself is packed as you’d expect from a typical “Dolly Eye” mascara; pink, glitzy gold, an anime cartoon girl with lashes to kill for, flashy text amongst which the only English word is “SUPER”, and a lot of Japanese characters that I don’t understand.

Promise

On the back, some explanation is written in English, and I especially love the tagline (when reading it in store, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud):

“Never be defeated by short lashes”

This mascara promises to “lift my lashes to new heights” and give them dramatic volume and length through ‘Triple Wax’;

“Triple wax allows the mascara liquid to spread smoothly to the ends, which both volumizes and lengthens your eyelashes. Extension Wax creates length while Hyper Volume Waxvolumises up to 180% and finally, both are blended seamlessly together with Joint Wax for flawlessly long and voluminous lashes.”

Moreover, the mascara is said to have a unique brush that creates beautiful lashes with no clumps; to give a long lasting curl effect; and to offer high resistance to tears, perspiration, water and sebum for comfortable and long-lasting lashes.

Given the hot and humid environment in Singapore, I’m especially fond of this last promise! I’ve read reviews from other bloggers saying that the mascara is indeed incredibly heat- and humidity-proof (and even survives sweaty workouts), but that the downside of this feature is that the mascara supposedly is difficult to remove from the lashes. Let’s find out.

How to use

This is a thing; apparently, you can’t simply slather the mascara onto your lashes. To be honest I never just ‘slather’ mascara onto my lashes unless I’m in a serious hurry, but I do know loads and loads of ladies who do randomly apply mascara without any technique – which is fine, if this works for you.

My own technique isn’t that special, yet I do stick to it: I start with a first layer on my top lashes left and right, then move to my lower lashes. I alternate between combing and brushing, to add volume and length while separating the lashes and avoiding big clumps of mascara to form. I then apply a second layer in the same manner. 

I applied this mascara my own way too, however any mind-blowing effect stayed behind. When I followed the exact instructions on the pack however, this did make an actual difference! Which makes sense, as the brush is really different from any other brush I’ve ever tried. Especially the first step made a big difference, in which you must hold the comb part of the mascara brush on the roots of the lashes for a few seconds, before brushing the liquid into the rest of the lashes.

Results

As said, using the right technique (as described on the product) to apply the mascara is a must. The first layer of mascara seems OK but not doesn’t look more spectacular than any of my other mascara’s. After applying the second layer, the product lives up to its promises: my lashes look deep black, full, defined and especially longer - almost like fake lashes!!!

To compare: no mascara on my left eyelashes (right side for the viewers)

I find that the mascara –unfortunately, I was hoping for a holy grail- doesn’t smudge less than any other mascara that I’ve tried. It is indeed incredibly water proof; working as a freelancer with a tight deadline, I had locked myself up in my study and neglected my looks for a few days. But no matter what I do, I always wash my face twice a day. When I looked into the mirror again after 5 days of mad work, the mascara was still on my lashes and thus hadn’t come off with water and face cleanser.

Conclusion

I love the effect that this Asian mascara creates for Western eyes and will definitely keep using it. I do need to find a good waterproof makeup remover through...Moreover, reading about the all the crazy methods to create bigger-looking eyes I do plan to try the eyelid stickers and glue, I do have double eyelids already, but look isn't as fresh at is used to be and my eyelids started to show some signs of time after I turned 30. I am incredibly curious to this beauty ritual millions of Asian girls and women undergo daily and whether it does anything for me...I guess not, but afterwards I can at least say I tried :)


Kiss Me Heroine “Impact Frame Mascara” in Black
Price: 23,90 SGD
Available at a.o. Watsons

Level up your Look in the Mushroom Kingdom with Shu Uemura's Holiday 2019 Mario Bros. Collection

This week I came across what must be THE coolest makeup collection ever in Isetan on Scotts: Shu Uemura's Holiday 2019 Mario Bros Collection. 1-Up!

When you're an 80/90ies girls like me (born in 1985, baby), I dare you to resist products like Koopa Troopa eye primer, Peach's Custom Palette and Mario Sublime Beauty Cleansing Oil...*heavy breathing*

I didn't have the time to try all products in store nor the budget or PR contacts in Singapore to get the entire collection, but luckily there are a lot of beauty bloggers and vloggers that did get their hands on pretty much everything:

Gosh I feel old, I don't think this girl about half my age experienced the marvelous 8-bit moments of late 80ies / early 90ies childhood, but alas, she does a decent job in makeup and vlogging and gives a good impression of the collection. 

Go to Shu's Singapore website to discover all available Mario Bros products, visit one of their boutiques or find them in island-wide department stores; prices range between 38-128 SGD (and 550 SGD for the Adventure Makeup Box that guarantees to power you up for your invincible beauty adventures).

Shu Uemura Boutique stores

Bugis junction

230 victoria street,

bugis junction level #01-12

+65 6336 1453

Ion orchard

2 orchard turn,

ion orchard #b2-40/41

+65 6509 8931

Jem

50 jurong gateway road #01-62

+65 6734 1887

Vivocity

1 harbourfront walk #01-12

+65 6221 6253

Shu Uemura in Departmental Stores:

Isetan scotts

350 orchard road,

shaw house level 1

+65 6333 6674

Isetan Tampines

4 tampines central 5,

tampines mall

+65 6782 9225

Metro paragon

290 orchard road #02-28,

paragon

+65 6333 8289

Robinsons Raffles City

252 north bridge road,

raffles city shopping centre, level 1

+65 6339 9273

Robinsons the Heeren

260 orchard road

+65 6736 0726

Takashimaya

391 orchard road,

ngee ann city tower, level 1

+65 6735 5318

Tangs at Tang Plaza

310 & 320 orchard road,

tangs beauty hall

+65 6734 6279

Asian Skincare - Your guide to Whitening, Lightening and Brightening

As a result of the prevalent white skin beauty ideal in South-East Asia, it can sometimes be difficult to find skincare products -even shower gels and deodorants- that aren’t advertised as ‘whitening’. Until recently, I would stay away as far as I could from these products. Any substance that is labelled ‘White Perfect’, ‘Blanc Expert’ or that mentions ‘whitening’ or ‘brightening’, imposes an image of a repulsive white-greyish Michael-Jackson-like complexion on me. No thanks, I love my healthy tan. However, even in products that aren’t necessarily advertised as whitening, the same active substances can be found as in those who are. How do we make informed choices of what we apply to our skin? And is a translucent ghost-like skin with all pigment bleached out of it, a realistic expectancy when we use a product that claims to be whitening? 

Don't touch my tan!

It happened to me too many times when browsing a Singaporean drugstore or cosmetics department. I would stay away from explicitly whitening Asian skincare, as these products are culturally not my cup of tea. Instead, I would head to a counter or shelf with Western brands that I trust and that I‘m familiar with. I would pick a face cleanser or moisturizer, which would initially appear perfectly ‘normal’ to my Western frame of mind. On first sight, the package would ‘just’ say moisturizing or cleansing or firming or whatever I would be looking for in particular. However, when turning around the pack to study the detailed description and ingredients, words like “brightening” and “lightening” would all of a sudden be bombarded at me. Not what I’m looking for!!! I would, frustrated that I wasted my time yet again, put the product back on the shelf and continue my browse, and the same would happen again.

Not as Black & White

Frustrated by this cycle, overwhelmed by the huge amount of lightening skincare products available and stunned by the observation that even established Western companies offer whitening skincare lines in Asia, I decided to do some thorough research on Asia’s most thriving category of skincare. In addition, I really wanted to try out a face mask with pearl powder in it, however pearl powder is at times advertised to be whitening, so before trying any remotely whitening substance on my skin I needed to know I wouldn’t set off any depigmentation in my healthy sun-kissed skin.

Questions I wanted to find an answer to were amongst others: Is there a difference between “whitening” and “lightening” products? Am I right to resolutely reject a product, because it says “lightening” or “illuminating”? Is a translucent ghost-like skin with all pigment bleached out of it, a realistic expectancy when using these products? Will I turn into MJ instantly?

Remarkably, the category of skincare products that are advertised as whitening and lightening proves to be not as black & white as I –and many with me, I dare say- presumed. First of all, a broad distinction should be made between the following type of products: (1)Whitening, (2) Lightening and (3) Brightening/Illuminating. 

Understanding the difference between these products, their ingredients and their promises provides a solid ground to make informed choices on what products to drop and what not; and in the latter case, to actually benefit from skin care that we otherwise would have rejected.

(1) Skin Whitening Products: Dangerous

Extreme measures; now we are talking Michael Jackson, who underwent skin depigmentation treatment with monobenzone for years. Skin whitening treatments are typically a lot harsher than brightening or lightening the skin, as it concerns actual bleaching of the skin. Bleaching agents strip all or most of the pigment out of the skin which severely irritates and damages the skin. Other whitening agents inhibit the production of melanin, the chemical in our cells that turns skin darker in the short term.

Whitening Ingredients: a.o. Toxic mercury chloride (banned in most countries), Hydroquinone (banned in a.o. Europe, Japan, Australia – only available upon medical prescription), Monobenzone (restricted, only available for treatment of vitiligo). 

Watch this video from Huffington Post on Whitening Skincare in the US: very interesting and informative.

(2) Skin Lightening Products: Caution

The goal of skin lightening products is, as the name already says, to lighten the skin several shades. Most skin lightening products contain chemicals called tyrosinase inhibitors, which stops enzymes in the skin from producing melanin - without melanin, skin won’t darken in sunlight. Melanin actually protects our skin from sunburn, so when melanin is no longer produced, skin is no longer protected from sun and exposure to sun thus leads to severe sun damage and often random, uneven pigmentation patches. Note that this is one of the reasons why many Asians walk around with an umbrella outside; not just to prevent themselves from a tan, but also to protect their lightened skin from serious cell damage and pigment blotching.

Lightening Ingredients: Kojic Acid or Kojic dipalmitate (a by-product in the fermentation process of malting rice for use in the manufacturing of sake), Tretinoin, Arbutin (natural sources of hydroquinone – mulberry, bearberry, cranberry, blueberry), Azelaic acid, licorice extract (specifically glabridin) and Niacinamide or Nicotinamide.

(3) Skin Brightening & Illuminating Products: Safe!

Unlike skin whitening and lightening, the goal of skin brightening agents is not necessarily to whiten the skin. Instead, the goal is to reinstate natural clarity, a beaming glow or vivid radiance to the skin. Our skin, as an organ, continuously renews itself. New skin cells are formed and old, dead skin cells are shed from the upper layer of our skin. When old skin cells remain on the surface of our skin, this can make our skin look dull and tired. What skin brighteners or illuminators do is basically the same as what products we know as exfoliants or scrubs do for our skin: getting rid of the dead skin cells that obstruct the upper layer, so that newer cells can take their place.

These products are safe to use and won’t “lighten” or “whiten” the shade of your skin; sun tan will come off to some extent though, as the tanned dead skin cells will be removed. Do be careful and don’t use an exfoliant more than twice a week, as this can cause skin irritation.

Brightening or Illuminating Ingredients:

Mechanical Exfoliants (i.e. physically scrubbing the skin with an abrasive): Micro-beads, Crushed apricot kernel, Almond shells, Sugar or Salt crystals, Rice bran and Date seed powder.

Chemical Exfoliants (i.e. act to loosen the glue-like substance that holds the cells together, allowing them to ease away, or normalizing cell turnover in the upper layer of the skin): Ammonium glycolate, Sodium bicarbonate, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs – such as Glycolic acid, Lactic acid, Citric acid, Mandelic acid, Malic acid and Tartaric acid), beta hydroxy acids (BHAs- salicylic acid), polyhydroxy acids (PHAs – such as gluconolactone and lactobionic acid), natural enzymes from a.o. Papaya (Papain) and Ananas (Bromelain) and urea.

Confusing Marketing Methods

Although most Asian skincare brands promote their products to be “whitening” or name them ‘White Perfection’, ‘Blanc Expert’ etc, this is not truly the case for the actual products; in theory, most products should be labelled “lightening” or “brightening” instead, depending on their ingredients and whether they lighten the skin a few shades or just brighten the complexion through exfoliation. 

Misleadingly, this is not the case: adhering to the Asian beauty ideal, sought-after white skin is promised through products named “White” or labelled as “Whitening” for utter marketing purposes. Unless of course you are dealing with a prescribed topical cream to treat dark spots like melasma’s, or an illegal black market cream with (high levels) of hydroquinine – that you should stay far away from!

In addition, unfortunately the three categories as described above aren’t used uniformly throughout the industry, which can cause some additional confusion. Some products that are labelled “Brightening” might nonetheless contain Kojic Acid or Arbutin, whereas some products that are called “Lightening” may be limited to above mentioned “Brightening” ingredients, and not contain any actual lightening ingredients at all. 

When a product says to be whitening, lightening, brightening or illuminating, best thing is to just check the ingredients based on above ingredient indications, and judge whether it is suitable for your skin and for what you aim. If you want to stay away from “lightening”, pay attention to the presence of Arbutin (natural source of hydroquinine) and Kojic Acid in particular, as these are most used in Asian skincare with Lightening properties.

Happy Wednesday to Me - My Althea Order Just Arrived!!!

Happy Wednesday to me: my order from online Beauty Webshop 'Althea' just arrived! Unpacking my products felt like Christmas came early this year, and was so much fun already - can't wait to try out all the products and share my experiences with all of you! 

This Korean Beauty Webshop is still very young, and was launched only in June 2019 to 'bridge authentic K-Beauty (Korean Beauty) to SEAsians'. Korean Beauty products are increasingly popular allover the world, however a one-stop-shop for K-Brands did not yet exist until the launch of Althea.

What I love about Korean cosmetics is the price-quality ratio - most products are incredibly effective, pleasant to use, fun, and not expensive at all, which makes it great to experiment with.

Curious? Take a look at the Webshop at http://sg.althea.kr/, and be surprised and amazed about all they offer. From a Western point of view, there's some pretty crazy stuff for sale as well (e.g. products with horse oil, snail slime, placenta and pig collagen) that's however very populair in South East Asia, which is the perfect exuse for some good online shopping: "Cross-Cultural Research" :)

Asian Beauty Ingredients Discovered: Snail Slime

Snail Slime Time! With great devotion, yours truly once again conducted some thorough research (you'll be amazed how snail slime is harvested...) and tested another ingredient that is populair in Asian Cosmetics: the secreted mucus from our slimy little garden friends, snails.

Skincare with Snail Slime, or “Helix Aspersa Muller Glycoconjugates”, is not typically Asian. The use of snail slime to improve skin dates back to Europe instead. In ancient Greece, the famous physician Hippocrates reportedly prescribed the use of crushed snails on the skin to get rid of inflammation. Nowadays, creams with snail slime (not crushed snails) are sold all over the world.

I very well remember the first time I saw snail slime skin care being advertised, which must have been late nineties, in an infomercial on Tell Sell. It was featured somewhere between the Tiger Torso, Ab Shaper and Window Wizard, which to me didn’t add much to its credibility.

Across Asia, popularity of snail slime products increased in the past years, following a hype that -of course- started  in beauty-obsessed Korea. Face masks in particular are popular, but products with snail slime are available in many different forms, from face creams to foot masks.  

The most extreme end of the snail slime spectrum seems to be live snail treatments offered in Japanese spa’s, where actual snails are placed on your face to crawl on your skin to release their fresh mucus.

What is Snail Slime?

When a snail crawls, it emits a thick fluid trail of mucus, commonly called snail slime. Chemically speaking, snail slime consists of a.o. proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans, glycoprotein enzymes, hyaluronic acid, copper peptides, antimicrobial peptides and trace elements (copper, zinc and iron). It’s rich in proteins and antioxidants. Many of these nutrients are already commonly added to beauty products for their assumed benefits to the skin, like hyaluronic acid and antioxidants.

Why is Snail Slime believed to be good for your skin?

I couldn't withhold from sharing the pic on the right - this woman looks insanely extatic with her 
dubious-looking snail slime...

Thanks to abovementioned nutrients, snail slime supposedly has a double function when applied to human skin: 

1. It is claimed to stimulate the production of collagen, elastin and dermal components that repair the signs of photoaging (i.e. changes to skin induced by chronic UVA and UVB exposure);
2. It is claimed to minimize the damage generated by free radicals that are responsible for premature skin aging (research by Maria José Tribó-Bixareu et al, 2004).

In particular, this is supposed to lead to the following particular benefits for skin:

• Reduction of inflammation and redness;
• Softening and Healing of troubled skin (a.o. acne);
• Softening scars and smoothing out stretch marks;
• Regeneration of damaged skin;
• Prevention of dryness;
• Improved elasticity, firmness, density & texture of the skin;
• Stimulation of skin regeneration.

How is the Snail Slime used in Skincare obtained?

Reading about snail slime got me wondering how the slime is obtained – are there actual snail farms? Commercially, snail slime turns out to be obtained from the common garden snail species Helix Aspersa. Apparently, snail slime even varies in appearance and quality according to the environmental conditions, season, and food sources used by the snails.

Turns out there are actual snail farms, but not as romantic as I had envisioned them to be. No wobbling around freely, chewing some crisp leaves, chillin’ in the farm field for these snails – instead, they live in buckets and are taken to a lab where the snail slime is harvested manually. The lab workers stimulate the snails with a small wooden stick, whereupon the snails discharge their slime.The slime is collected in glass jars which actually looks really gross. I found a video that shows this process, and although it’s in French, it’s a good watch for non-French speakers as well (most interesting part is starting around 2:13):

Another (horrific) technique that is used, is to dehydrate the snail with sodium chloride. Apart from the lack of animal friendliness in the latter case, all manual techniques have a low productivity. Allegedly, several snail farms are therefore developing mechanical methods to stimulate the snails and collect the mucus that promise to be more snail friendly. Let’s hope so.

PRODUCT REVIEW: ElishaCoy “Skin Repairing Snail” Eco Pulp Mask Sheet 

I must start with the description in Konglish (Korean-English) on front of the sachet, as it’s just too amusing (and totally incomprehensible):

“Elishacoy is which can cause irritation to the skin to maximize the chemical composition of vegetable ingredients to the skin a valid prescription for the skin, optimized for “natural cosmetics”

On the back of the sachet,  most text (amongst which the ingredients - yikes) is in Korean and Japanese. The only English explanation given is the following:

“This essence-type, eco-friendly pulp mask sheet is containing purified snail slime. It gives your skin a cool feeling, rich with moisture and nourishment for your skin, while tightening your skin to give the long lasting moisture you desire.”

Upon opening the sachet, I'm very curious whether the formula is as sticky and slimy as the stuff I've seen during my pre-post research. Turns out it's not; the mask formula is transparent and although initially it looks somewhat slimy on my hand, it doesn't feel sticky or slimy at all.

The fragrance is very pleasant, a fresh and invigorating botanical 'green' scent. When applying to my face, the mask gives a cooling sensation that lasts for about 5-10 minutes. There's no product dripping off the mask, which enables me to lacquer my nails in the meantime - I love beauty multi-tasking.

What I especially like about this mask, is that after removing the mask it feels like my skin absorbed most of the product. Usually, after using a sheet mask, the formula residue from the sheet needs to be massaged into the skin, which can result in a sticky complexion. Not with this mask, as there is not much leftover product to massage into my skin or to get rid of!

So what about the snail slime? It honestly did not gross me out at all, not like placenta and Bird's Nest. I can't tell yet if the snail slime did anything significant to my skin, but I do feel like my skin looks healthier than before, with a nice dewy glow. 

I really like this mask because of the scent, fresh sensation and ease of use (no dripping, no residue) and will definately use it again!

ElishaCoy “Skin Repairing Snail” Eco Pure Pulp Mask Sheet, 23 grams - 10 pieces for 25 SGD
Available at a.o. Selektiv by Sasa (find stores)