I'm a Junkie

I've been super lazy and tired on weekdays, and on weekends, I tend to just laze around or go shop. But today I had a sudden urge to blog. I have a confession: I've become a cosmetic junkie! I blame it on my internship. I'm currently working as a summer marketing intern at Mary Kay, a direct selling cosmetic company. Most people probably have never heard of them since they use the direct selling route, as opposed to the traditional retail route. Over the past few days, I've attended two skin care classes and done tons of browsing and research through magazines and competitors' websites. All this marketing has just made me want to buy buy buy. What amazes me is that a month ago, I couldn't care less about cosmetics! I have THE worst skin care/beauty routine. In fact, it's pretty much non-existent, only including buy-one-get-one-free Natio Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser, Muji Light Toning Water and Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturing Lotion. All the products I use are mostly purchases from my sister or mom, gifts from my Aunt or random discount buys from Sasa.


Me (left) & the other two interns. Taken with my shitty Nokia 2.0 MP camera, first skin care class using the Mary Kay Clay Mask!

What really opened my eyes (and wallet) to cosmetics was definitely attending skin care classes. Depending on the topic of these "classes", you learn the basics about skin and the full routine and steps you should follow, how to apply products and you get to actually use it on your face. More importantly, these classes are free and they really try to emphasize that they aren't going to pressure you into selling. While they may still try to subtly sell to you, its definitely less pushy than the sales you encounter in Hong Kong. The ones I attended were both for skin care routine, which includes five steps (Cleanse, Exfoliate/Mask, Toner, Moisturize, Protect/Sun Screen). We tried out their Botanical Customized Skin Care line and their Clay Mask. After really learning more about skin care, it really made me buy some Mary Kay products or run down to Lane Crawford or Sasa to buy masks and try out different brands like Origins, Nuxe, and Dermologica. Not to be biased because I'm working at Mary Kay now, but their skin care products are actually quite good! You can actually see the results of the Clay Mask whitening, tightening and lifting the skin! They also do a lot of research and consumer studies to support all their product claims.

Here are a few of the products I'm currently lusting over as I am (im)patiently waiting for my mom to come down to Hong Kong so I can make use of that Lane Crawford and Sasa discount of hers!

Top to Bottom, Left to Right:

Pretty much the whole Aveda Botanical Kinetics line, Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel

Aveda Intensive Hydrating Masque, Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask, Nuxe Masque Frais Hydratant

Mary Kay Botanical Customized Skin Care Mask, Kiehl's Pineapple Papaya Facial Scrub, Aveda Deep Cleansing Herbal Clay Masque

On another note, over the weekend, I paid a visit to Langham Place to shop for some Monki and Kiehl's. Monki was having a 50-75% off sale, which was AWESOME. The sale section was around one third of their whole store, I think a lot of the stuff I wanted was still regular priced. I ended up buying a white holey sweater (HK$250 to $125), a pair of jeans (HK$250 to $125) and a pair of boots (HK$400 to $150), which altogether cost me HK$350! As for Kiehl's, I got my boyfriend some skin care products and got myself the Ultra Facial Cleanser. Here are two of the photos I took that day, more on my camera that I still haven't uploaded yet.

Got those boots on the right! Looking forward to the weather getting a bit colder soon! Though I do love summer.



Enough information overload for now, until next time!

eyelash serum review/comparison

So two days ago, I was curling my eyelashes and then my elbow accidentally slipped off the table while the eyelash curler was still clamping onto my eyelashes. So I currently have a blotch of missing eyelashes on my left eye. I think I pulled out about 20, and I really only have about 21 eyelashes on each eye, ARGH. I took photos that I can show you, but I don't want to put it up because it's so devastating. I researched online and I found out that it will take about 2-6 months to grow back, so there's not much I can do except use eyelash serums to help it grow out faster.  I've wanted to do this eyelash serum review/comparison for a while now, and this is probably the most appropriate time.

The four that I have used throughout the last 2 years are:

Talika Lipocils (expert) $425 (340@sasa)



Trendaholic Eyelash Serum ~$220



DHC Eyelash Tonic ~$130



L'Oreal Renewal Lash Serum $80

1) Talika Lipocils (expert) - Made in France - 10ml

I actually repurchased this one. Before I was using the normal Talika lipocils, but they came out with this 'expert' version last year and from reviews I have seen, people say the only difference is that there is the new tip on the applicator. I'll have to test it out myself to see if it's true. Either way, the formula still beats all the other three in my opinion. So what Lipocil claims is that it helps lash growth by 36%, intensify lash color by 50%, and increase lash curve by 50%. I won't be able to tell you whether or not the statistics actually prove itself correct, but it definitely does do all three of it to some extent. What I like about this serum is that it isn't greasy and perfectly fine to put mascara on top of it. My lashes fall out significantly less when I take off my eye makeup - this I can really I swear by. For as long as the tube lasted (about 8 months), probably only about 3 fell out during makeup removal. It really is that good.

This is the applicator. As mentioned before, the sponge top is only for the 'expert' version, which is about HKD95 more expensive than the original lipocil. Honestly, I probably wouldn't pay that price just for the applicator, but I wanted to try the expert because the original one worked really well for me, so I'm hoping the 'expert' would help fill in my eyelash gap that I have now...

2) Trendaholic Eyelash Serum - Made in Japan 

I got this one at city'super/log-on for about HKD220. The applicator of this one is just a sponge tip without a brush. It works well for getting to the roots of the eyelashes and also on the eyelashes itself, but it picks up a lot of product so I only used this at night and not in the morning when I needed to put on mascara. Even using it just once a day, this product was very good for promoting new lash growth, and also helped strengthen my eyelashes. In terms of length and volume increase though, it was not as apparent as Talika.

3) DHC Eyelash Tonic - 6.5 ml

This product has very high ratings in Asia. I've heard many people talk about it, and how effective it is. I must admit it's not bad, and definitely worth the price. The applicator is probably the worse aspect of it. It's a fiber brush that doesn't pick up much product so you have to be patient and put on a several coats. It did come to an advantage in the morning though, because a thin coat of this underneath mascara works quite well for holding curls (make sure you let it dry a little first before applying mascara). The formula is good for lash grow both in length and promoting new ones. My eyelashes didn't get thicker and darker with this product though.

4) L'Oreal Renewal Lash Serum - Made in China

Sometimes people save the best for last, but not me! This product did not work well for me at all. My eyelashes were so droopy after using it. The formula is very thick, and once you apply it on, it weighs down the lashes. After it dries, it also leaves a lot of residue. It did not promote any new lash growth, nor did it help improve the existing eyelashes. At first I thought maybe it was because I didn't give it enough time, but I've used it for about 4 weeks now, and still nothing. Usually these eyelash serums take 2 weeks for results, and I gave it double the time. There is one positive thing I can say about it though, the weird rubber applicator was surprising good. 

So to sum up everything: you get what you pay for. Of course these are all just my own opinions and how the products worked for me may be different for others. I definitely recommend the Talika Lipocil, and for someone that is looking for a cheaper alternative, then the DHC Eyelash Tonic.