Category: Review

5 to 5 skincare Gentle Cleanser review

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Bought this because I saw it going around in IG and also #supportlocal. Bought it from their shopee store!

Shopee link

Gentle Cleanser

It is in a gel form and it comes with a pump dispenser which is pretty normal. And to get to the last bit I just opened the pump up and mix in a little water and pour it out. I don’t think i wasted any!

I like the gel formula. It doesn’t foam very well but it’s ok, cos it doesn’t have the ultra drying SLS but it uses a more gentle surfactant. I’ve been using it as a morning cleanser. When I was using an oil at night which was particularly oily it was a bit hard to clean off in the morning but after I finished the sample of that oil I realized the cleansing power is actually fine and can clean off the heavy creams and another oil.

The texture and colour
Here’s how much foam it creates. Not a lot.

One thing though is it doesn’t contain fragrance and I do enjoy some sort of fragrance or it really has to smell like nothing to me but it has a kind of smell which kinda reminded me of psyllium husks which imo is not really very pleasant. It’s not exactly like such a huge turn-off until I can’t use it but it’s a thing which made me not look forward to it.

Overall it is indeed a very gentle cleanser and is non-drying and it did serve its purpose as a gentle morning cleanser.

Full ingredients list from their website:

Aqua, Glycerin, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Propanediol, Ahnfeltiopsis Concinna Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Hydroxy-ethyl Cellulose, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Phenoxyethanol

Review: J.ONE Moisturizing Beauty Water

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J.ONE Moisturizing Beauty Water

I reviewed this on my IG earlier, thought I will write a full review! My IG review

What it is: J.ONE Moisturizing Beauty Water – Rehydrating and comforting toner for all skin type.

Packaging: Round, sleek, solid and matte. Cover is screw-on type and even has the J.One logo on it.

Smell: I super love the smell! To me it smells pretty comforting. It is also not too overwhelming and over-powering.

Texture: Slightly viscous, maybe just a tad tacky after application.

Ingredients: Water, glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Alcohol Denat, Pentylene Glycol, PEG-75, Linum Usitatissimum Seed Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Octyldodeceth-16, Arginine, Carbomer, Fragrance,  Sodium Hyaluronate, Glyceryl acrylate/acrylic acid copolymer, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Dipropylene glycol, Sodium Palmitoyl Proline, Nymphaea Alba Flower Extract, PVP, Sorbitan laurate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl ester, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5, Fullerenes

Source: J.ONE Moisturizing Beauty Water CosDNA ingredients list

Below are some benefits I googled for some of the ingredients.

Portulaca Oleracea Extract – may have skin soothing effects, anti-oxidant

Nymphaea Alba Flower Extract (water lily) – may sooth irritated skin, reduce redness, skin firming, reduce wrinkles.

Arginine – amino acid, anti-oxidant, skin regeneration.

Sodium Palmitoyl Proline – a modified amino acid, reduce wrinkles, skin firming

Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl ester – signal agents that trigger happiness and feelings of wellness.

Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5 – boost collagen production

Fullerenes – antioxidant. refer to this link for more info: https://labmuffin.com/fullerenes-in-skincare-juva-review 

Writing this review makes me wanna use this product again. HAHA.

Using experience: I kind of neglected this for a very very long time because of new products and also because I don’t really know what to and how to incorporate a hydrating toner into my routine. This is really good as a moisturizer though! I had a brilliant idea to use it on my arms. The sunblock I was using caused my arm to dry out and itch and this beauty water just solved all of these. I patted it in and did not use cotton pads. I kind of “wasted” this on my arms cos I bought like 3 in total and they were expiring, as of now one is expired and I’m still using it on my arms.

Will I repurchase: I love J.One as a brand somehow as it was one of the first k-beauty brands I encountered. I will definitely repurchase if I have space for a hydrating toner!

Where I got it: Qoo10.

Review: Illiyoon Mugwort Calming Sheet Mask

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I’m not really sure if it’s worth writing a review for each and every sheet mask I used. Let’s see anyway? Today the review is on this mask!

Illiyoon Mugwort Calming Sheet Mask
Illiyoon Mugwort Calming Sheet Mask

Why I chose this mask: Basically my skin do get quite red easily so I thought I should get something calming. I got it off my favourite Qoo10 on the Official Amore Pacific Store. I bought a bunch of bb cushions as well. The mask came in a pack of 10, so I have finished all 10 of them as of 7 November 2018. The packing is really pretty! I mean, for this series. 

Ingredients: Someone has uploaded it here on CosDNA.  I did not look at the ingredients list before this. Well, because it is a sheet mask and I was in a I-wanna-try-a-pretty-looking-mask mode. Only now then I realise mugwort is actually Artemisia! There are a few different species/names. Wikipedia has the best summary I feel. 

Mugwort does indeed look good, in the sense that it can do something for my skin and I’ve seen quite a few pure Artemisia products on instagram so I’m sure it does help the skin somehow. 

Texture and feel and smell: Not sure what the mask is made out of, but it’s really thick. It doesn’t cling well to the face. The mask is also not quite juicy enough. I usually use this when I only have like maybe 15 or 20 mins or so for my mask. The essence is kind of goopy and sticky. It’s clear and non-coloured. There is a kind of a smell, I think maybe now it could be the smell of mugwort, but I’m not really sure. The scent is not strong.  Other notable ingredients are glycerin, ginseng, beta-glucan (maybe that’s why it’s sticky?) The foil pack feels thick and solid too and doesn’t feel cheap upon touch. 

Pardon the messy hair

Whether it does anything for my face: I don’t think it really does anything, really.

Repurchase: No.

P.S. Just today (09 Nov 2018) Layna suggested that I tag my posts as such: e.g. #belindajonellexilliyoon. So I will try to go back and edit my IG posts and try to tag as many as possible. Sometimes I do talk about how I feel when I did the mask.

Review: Sephora soothing cleansing milk

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2018-09-17 21.14.23

I finally finished this bottle of Sephora cleansing milk after about 4 months? Here is the evidence:

2018-09-17 21.14.42

I like writing the date I open a product on the bottle.

I have tried this cleansing milk out in Sephora stores which I thought was ok and I bought it. I previously bought the Sephora Micellar water which I was ok with as well but I decided to stop using Micellar water and turn to cleansing milks and oils.

Anyway, this was before I got into studying ingredients list. Well, imagine my shock when I saw that many of the ingredients are not really safe. Let’s go straight into it.

2018-09-17 21.14.31

Ingredients List:  Aqua, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Propanediol, Dicapryl Carbonate, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Wheat Straw Glycosides, Sodium Polyacrylate, Xanthan Gum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Parfum, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Sodium Phytate, Limonene, Linalool, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide, Tocopherol, Benzyl Salicylate, Alcohol, Hydroxyethylcellulose. I typed out everything 😦

Note: Acne/irritants are in bold. Safety scale in yellow on CosDNA are underlined. Safety scale in red on CosDNA is in bold and underlined. 

Ingredients analysis on CosDNA

Surprisingly Alcohol is not listed as an irritant? I am not really bothered by alcohol though I thought I probably should avoid it since I consider my skin sensitive.

I did a search on macadamia nut oil‘s profile and Wikipedia says that it is 60% oleic acid, 19% palmitoleic acid and 1-3% linoleic acid which probably makes it not so good for my acne-prone skin (I googled once again that I should go for oils with more linoleic acids which are the thinner oils) (my bad, I can’t get it in my brain though I watched both Liah Yoo’s oil video and Gothamista’s oil video).

Honestly, limonene and linalool scared me when I googled on them since they might cause sensitivity. Cassia Angustifolia Seed PolySaccharide is probably the only soothing thing I see in the ingredients list.

Price: SGD24 for 400ml (very cheap imo) from Sephora

Texture and feel: Creamy, and I can spread it out over my face easily. I also used it on my arms to remove sunscreen. I do rub it very vigorously over my arms and sometimes it ended up on my floor and furniture. I don’t like to use it with a cotton pad as it just doesn’t get absorbed into the cotton pad easily so I figured the easier way is just to use my hands.

Spreaded out
Thick and non-drippy

It does a decent job of removing makeup on my face. I don’t use it on my eyes though, since I don’t really want it to get into my eyes. When I kept it on after wiping off with tissue paper, my skin doesn’t feel dry. It emulsifies quite easily and rinsed off easily BUT it leaves a tacky film behind, which I don’t really like.

Conclusion: I don’t think it has irritated my skin in any way. As for cleansing power, I am also pretty satisfied. I am worried about the ingredients though and I don’t really think I should give it any more time in case they irritate my skin. My preference now is to try more cleansing oils. Last but not least, the film it leaves behind is the most annoying thing about this cleanser, which was bearable considering that I almost always wash it off immediately with my second cleanser anyway.

Will I repurchase?: No.