Pages

Monday 20 March 2017

PACKage Masks

I owe the peeps at PACKage an apology. I received the Melt Me Softly nose strips and Everyday Bouncy sheet mask a while ago to test out. Then I totally forgot about trying them out. So my sincere apologies for this super late review of the two masks.

As I have mentioned, these are received from PACKage as a result of an event they had on Instagram months ago. I received these free of charge but I am going to provide my honest opinions to these masks. Believe me, I don't hold back on items I received for free. Just look here..πŸ˜…πŸ˜…πŸ˜…
Can I just say the package of these PACKage masks are very cute? I love the design on all of them! 😍 Second of all, I am glad PACKage sent over more than one of each masks because I had trouble with the Melt Me Softly nose strip the first time around. Lastly, I wish PACKage's official website has an English option. There was no English instructions on the back of either masks and the website was only in Korean. Luckily, there are numerous websites that has the product so I was able to obtain instructions through a Google search. But I am lazy and wish I didn't have to do that. πŸ˜†

Melt Me Softly nose strip 
 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, MethylPropanedial, Carbomer, Tri Ethanol Amine, Disodium EDTA, Xanthan Gum, PEGHydrogenated Cator Oil, Fragrance, 1,2-Hexanedial, Phenoxy Ethanol, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Arctium Majus Root Extract, Mentha Pierita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Viscum Album (Mistletoe) Extract, Juniperus Communis Fruit Extract, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Saponaria Officinalis Root Extract, Hypericum Perforatum Extract, Portulaca Leracea Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Cymbopagan Schoenanthus Leaf Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Hamamelis Viginiana (Witch Hazel) Water
 When I opened the package, I was hit with a very strong smell that I want to say is spicy and minty. Which makes sense given the presence of the peppermint extract in there. The mask itself is in the shape of a nose strip from Biore or any other brand. But it is a soft cotton (?) fabric that is very stretchy but doesn't tear easily.
It is also drenched in a clear essence that is very liquid. In fact, there was still so much of it left in the package, I probably have enough to completely soak the nose strip in it and reuse it. (Of course I wouldn't do that as it is unsanitary but that's how much essence was left in the package.)
My strawberry nose~~πŸ“πŸ“ 
Let's talk performance. I tried this mask twice as the first time didn't yield anything for me. But each time I used this mask, it felt very cool and slightly tingly on my nose. But I do have to say, don't use it when you have an open wound. The first time I used it, I had an open wound on one side, and it felt tingly and irritated my eyes a little bit. 
The first time, I had the mask on for about 30 minutes. The mask itself was very moist still when I took it off and I had essence left on my nose. I massaged it and tried to extract but I couldn't get much out. But looking at the pictures, it looks like the sebaceous filaments on my nose, aka the strawberry seeds on my strawberry nose, got lighter in the flash images. 
I tried it again, and this time I found instructions of massaging the nose with the mask still on. I had the mask on for 15 minutes and then massaged my nose with the mask for a good minute. Once I removed it, I started to try and push down on my sebaceous filaments with an extractor while my nose is still wet and things started to pop out! It's quite gross actually.. Hahaha. πŸ˜…And you are about to see that grossness! 
Also, word of advice, it comes out much easier when it's wet. I started one side of my nose while it's wet and the extract was much easier than the other side as it was dry by the time I got to it. 

The mask is advertised to melt away your blackheads and gently extract them. I managed to extract quite a bit of sebaceous filaments with much less pressure than what I would normally use. So I would say this mask does what it is advertised to do, but only to a certain extent. It doesn't completely melt it away, but it does make extraction much easier. I have seen Instagram posts where the after photos shows a completely smooth nose, which is bogus as it is not THAT strong. But it does do a pretty good job in reducing the look of a strawberry nose. These seem to be a lot less harmful to your skin than the traditional nose strips like Biore's. So I would definitely recommend this mask as it cost roughly the same as the nose strips but much less painful and actually work to a certain extent. 

Everday Bouncy facial mask 
First of all, how cute is the package?! It's a little bear under a beehive! Which makes so much sense as it is referring to the honey that is in the mask! The nose strip has a farm with lemon trees, which refers to the lemon extract within it!
 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, MethylPropanedial, Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Arginine, HydroxyEthylCellulose, Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Honey Extract, Propolis Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Glycerin, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Proplyene Glycol, PVM/MA Copolymer, Trehalose, Panthenol, Allantoin. 

Ooh... Galactomyces ferment, honey extract, propolis extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, all these hydrating ingredients.. I am impressed. πŸ˜„
The mask is made of the same or very similar material as the nose strip. So it is very soft and pliable. It came soaked in a thick clear essence, but it didn't drip as much as the nose strip. 
As for the fit, I was very happy that it goes almost all the way up to my ears, which doesn't happen often. BUT! The overall fit of the mask is terrible. The mask comes with eye flaps, which is great because the eye sockets were so huge, I had to arrange the eye flaps to cover some of my under eye area. The nose area was also terrible, in that the nose flap sits perfectly fine on my nose, but the area next to my nose is exposed. I tried to move the mask over to cover it, but that just distorted the rest of the mask and I just couldn't cover that area at all. Luckily the essence is so thick I just slather the essence on the exposed area and it stayed moisturized the whole time. The same issue goes with the mouth area. -_- 
I had the mask on for about 15 minutes, and the mask itself was still moist when I took it off. I had a ton of essence leftover on my face and it was very sticky. I tried my best to pat it all in but it just wouldn't sink in.  I wanted to see how long before it stops being sticky/tacky so I didn't put anything else on top until it stops feeling tacky to the touch. That took about an hour and half and multiple touches. So I assume it stopped being tacky partially due to the multiple touching of my face with my hands. 
The stickiness aside, my skin feels soft and hydrated so all those hydrating ingredients did well! However, I probably wouldn't purchase this mask by itself as I have other masks that does similar job and does not leave my skin feeling tacky for so long. 

Overall Thoughts

I am very grateful that PACKage sent me these masks to try and review. Once again I am sorry I took so long with the review. 

I didn't mind the scent of the Melt Me Softly nose strips despite not being a fan of minty smells. It does its job in reducing the look of a strawberry nose, and making it easier to extract the sebaceous filaments. It feels like it does less damage than a traditional nose strip and I would purchase this on its own. 

On the other hand, the Everyday Bouncy facial mask provides the much needed moisture to my skin. However, it's poor fit and how it left my skin sticky for so long made it a no buy for me. Sorry! But I can get masks that provide similar results with a better fit and less stickiness. 

P.S. I didn't include any sites to purchase these masks as they are readily available on different U.S. and Canadian websites, as well as some European websites. 

Sunday 19 March 2017

Lioele - Waterdrop Sleeping Pack

Remember how I talked about using a sleeping pack on top of my Whamisa products to supplement them? Well, this is the sleeping pack! And spoiler alert! I love this product! 
I purchased this products years ago from eBay after reading a review on it. Obviously, I forgot about it and didn't bother using it until now. I was a bit worried that this product has been discontinued but it looks like it just went through a repackaging instead. As you can see from the TesterKorea listing, It is in a white tube with a more simplistic design than the blue tube I own. But I believe the formulation hasn't changed, only the package. (Also, what is going on with the pricing? The product is selling for only $16USD on Sokoglam and they are notorious for their markups.. So what the heck TK?!)
I threw out the package before I took a photo of it as I thought the product would not be worthy of a review since I am pretty sure it's expired now. But oh man.. I wish I had taken it...
The sleeping pack comes out in this light blue hued gel like consistency. The blue colouring intensifies the more products you squeeze out. But honestly, you don't need that much for it to work. I use about a quarter size, which is quite excessive, and it is MORE than enough to cover my face and neck in a thick layer. *Just note that I am using much more than necessary in my attempt to finish it up as fast as I can*
The sleeping pack spreads out easily, similar to a gel cream. But then .. magic happens~~ *wooooooo~~~*
Can you see it? The sleeping pack forms water droplets as it is being spread out. I am not sure how it all works because I don't understand the chemical reactions behind it. But damn it, it's so cool! It reminds me of the Elizavecca Water Coating Aqua Brightening Mask  that I also quite like. But this one is a bit more sanitary as it is in a tube instead of a jar.

Oh, before I forget, for the peeps who are concerned with fragrances. This has a sweet smell to it, it is not as sweet as say a candy, but it definitely has a strong presence. I find it tolerable as it does go away after a while.

I quite like this product, not just because of the whole water droplets forming. That is cool, but when it's on my face I can't see it.

What impresses me is how it really helps in adding/retaining moisture to my skin. I can't really identify if it is adding or retaining but it's one of those. (Yes I know, it's very irresponsible for me to say that when I am a blogger, but I really can't figure it out.. )

The cause for me to reach for this sleeping pack is that my Whamisa set of toner, lotion and cream was not providing sufficient moisture to my skin. I was having lots of visible flaky skin, even in warmer winter temperatures close to 0C. As soon as I added this into my routine, my skin has improved significantly! No more visible flakes and my skin feel much softer. I can actually pinch my cheeks!

I am very impressed as I am pretty sure this has expired, and yet it is still performing well without causing any reactions to my skin. I think this is definitely a repurchase item for me.. But maybe in a few more years.. As I have quite a collection of products to go through still.. ^__^;;

Tuesday 14 March 2017

Whamisa set

Wooo~~~ I been lazy again~ Bad me! Sorry peeps! I just been quite bummed out by how Canada Post has been withholding my packages and I am left in the dark as to where my packages are. It is now middle of March and I am STILL waiting for a couple of packages from November.. That's REALLY bad and confusing considering I am getting packages mailed out in December and January already..   -__- Sigh.. 

Anyways, today's post is on the Whamisa set I purchased from TesterKorea a while back (this means a few years ago.. ^_^;;). They had this set on sale for a fraction of its original price. It includes a toner, lotion and a cream! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it and I kept on researching it to make sure I am getting the real thing! Then.. of course, it sat in storage because I couldn't bear to use it..-__- I am such a hoarder~  
Isn't this packaging so gorgeous? I don't care if it's just a plastic casing with shiny fabric covering it. It looks nice and hence makes it feel so much fancier. 😍

The set includes the Organic Flower Toner in Original, Organic Flowers Lotion in Double Rich and Organic Flowers Nourishing Cream in Day & Night.

I have been using these as the main components of my routine for the past few months now and I have to say. These things last a LONG time and I wish I started using them earlier and not so close to the expiration dates.. T__T Which is another point that sucks. In that the toner and cream has similar expiration date, but the lotion has an expiration date that is six months earlier.. Urg.. Timing people.. Timing is everything!



This toner comes in a nice thick frosted glass bottle and contains 120ml of toner. I am just in love with the bottle to be honest. 😍
 Ingredients:  

*Aloe Maculata Leaf Extract, *Chrysanthemum Morifolium Flower Extract, *Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, *Lactobacillus/Chrysanthemum Sinense Flower Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus /Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Rhizome/Root Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Ferment Filtrate, Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, *Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, *Rhodiola Rosea Root Extract, *Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract, *Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, *Alcohol, ***Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, ***Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, ***Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Xanthan Gum, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, **Fragrance, d-Limonene, Linalol
(*Certified Organically Grown **Natural Origin ***Natural Preservative / Bergamot Oil Bergaptene Free)
The toner itself is very watery and spreads easily. It has a herbal smell to it, I am not sure how to describe it. But if you ever tried the Whamisa hydrogel masks, I would say it's similar? Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad smelling scent. It just takes some use to because I am not too used to such scents. The smell hits your nose very strongly first, but lightens up and dissipates soon after. 
The toner sinks in relatively fast into my skin. I am not going to comment on the products and how it performs on its own as I have used it as a full set. So I will comment on the whole set in a little bit. But I just want to point out that 120ml is A LOT for a toner and takes forever to use up. I think I have been using it for few months now and I use about a quarter size of it each time. It is more than enough for my face and my neck and I am ONLY 1/3 way through the bottle... So.. if you aren't in a hurry to use it all up like me, it could probably last you a good six months if not longer. 

This comes in a thick glass pump bottle and has 120ml of products. 
 Ingredients:  

*Aloe Maculata Leaf Extract, *Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, *Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, **Cetearyl Alcohol, **Cetearyl Olivate, **Sorbitan Olivate, *Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, *Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, *Glycerin, *Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, *Helichrysum Arenarium Flower Extract, *Beeswax, *Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, *Lactobacillus/Chrysanthemum Sinense Flower Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Rhizome/Root Ferment Filtrate,  Xanthan Gum, ***Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, ***Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, ***Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, **Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, **Fragrance, d-Limonene, Linalol
(*Certified Organically Grown **Natural Origin *** Natural Preservative / Bergamot Oil Bergaptene Free)
The cream also has a herbal smell to it, but a much lighter note and differs from the toner. It has the typical lotion consistency, so it kind of reminds me of regular yogurt. ^_^; 
The lotion spreads very easily and sinks in so fast! I been trying to use this up so I been using full pumps every time and it sinks in within a minute. I love that!

Also, this takes FOREVER to use up as well! I been using it for few months and it's one pump at a time and I am only 1/4 through.. WHY!!!!!!!!!! I only got one face! 😒😒

This cream comes in a thick glass jar with a plastic top and contains 50ml of products. 
Ingredients:  

*Aloe Maculata Leaf Extract. *Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, *Corylus Avellana (Hazel) Seed Oil, *Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, **Cetearyl Olivate, **Sorbitan Olivate, **Cetearyl Alcohol, *Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, *Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Caulerpa Lentillifera Extract, *Centella Asiatica Extract, *Beeswax, *Lactobacillus/Maculata Aloe Leaf/Molasses Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Chrysanthemum Sinense Flower Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Nelumbium Speciosum Flower Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Rhizome/Root Ferment Filtrate, *Rhodiola Rosea Root Extract, Royal Jelly, ***Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, ***Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, ***Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Xanthan Gum, **Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, **Fragrance, d-Limonene, Linalol   
(*Certified Organically Grown **Natural Origin ***Natural Preservative / Bergamot Oil Bergaptene Free)
The cream has a different herbal smell to it than the toner or the lotion. It's almost like... I want to say a wet smell to it?  It has the thickest consistency, but that's not saying much. It is still relatively thin for a cream.. It kind of reminds me of a yogurt that's slightly turned? It's not quite as thick as a Greek yogurt, but it's also not as thin as plain yogurt. 
This cream spreads out well and sinks in very quickly, similar to the lotion. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is in a jar. I can totally see why people don't like using jarred products. I can see sometimes my finger leave little pieces of fiber behind and it grosses me out just a little bit.. 

Overall Thoughts
I was surprised that I didn't mind the smell of the Whamisa set of toner, lotion and cream. But if I have to rank them in terms of strength of smell and offensiveness, I would say the lotion has the most pleasant and light scent, while the toner has the strongest and longest lasting scent.

I was pleasantly surprised that the products sink in SO fast! I love products that sinks in fast so I don't have to wait around for it to sink in and worry about getting it on clothes or pillowcases. 

However, I don't think the set provides sufficient moisture level for my skin in a very dry environment. Cowtown is very dry as it is, it doesn't help that I also sit with a unit heater at work to keep warm, and doesn't have a humidifier at home. So my skin requires a heavy hand in the moisture department, especially during winter.

This set sinks in beautifully but I think part of the reason why may be due to the fact that my skin is so thirsty? I honestly thought it was providing enough hydration for my skin until I started to get lots of flakes and I had to use a sleeping pack on top to supplement it. 

I know these products are suitable for all types of skin, but I have to say it is probably not enough for dry or dehydrated skin. But it should be good for normal, oily or combination skin.