Skin Food Black Sesame Hot Mask

This mask is another ‘interesting’ product which I bought from Skinfood. The packaging is so lovely, looks like a tiny tub of sweet paste. The mask opens up pores with a warm heat of salt and sugar powder and eliminates waste material in a rough skin affected by the accumulated keratin. It also nourishes the skin with black sesame extract.The product also consists of little tiny pieces of the black sesame seeds so it helps with exfoliating the skin.

This mask smells quite lovely, if anyone has had the Chinese black sesame paste dessert before, this smells just like that and even the texture is similar! You apply the mask after you cleanse your face, gently rub it on your face in a circular motion and let the tiny seeds exfoliate the skin, then let it sit on your face for around 3 minutes. You will feel your skin getting warmer and warmer. The heat opens up the pores and also helps with blood circulation, which is all very well. But then again, I don’t know exactly what is used in the products to create such heat on the skin. When skin products gets a little too scientific for me, I will usually try to use less of it. 1 tub is enough for me. I wouldn’t like to use this all the time on the skin. I am more comfortable with using products which are more natural, like Dr Hauschka's cleansing cream.

The result is not bad. You will end up with shiny and smooth skin, but this product will not get rid of clogged pores and deep blackheads. It works quite superficially. But it does give a nice pick-me-up silkiness to the skin. Not a bad product to use prior to a night out. If you have sensitive skin though, I would get a test patch done first.

- Not too expensive, around AUD35.

- Makes the skin appears more smooth and glowing.

- The warming sensation can be too much for people with sensitive skin

- Cleanses well for surface oils/ dirt, but not deep enough to bring out pore-clogging dirt/sebum underneath the surface of the skin

Overall Rating:

Aveda Intensive hydrating Masque

I saw this product whilst i was at Aveda buying their foot cream. I had a bit of flakiness and patches of dry skin in that period of time, and seeing that it claims to 'Give soothing relief to skin suffering from excessive dryness, stress and exposure to the elements', i thought i must give this a try! I went straight home and tried this mask on. But was sooo disappointed with the product. It didnt provide much moisture at all to my skin and i have mainly oily skin, only dry in certain areas. Still it didnt provide suppleness to the skin. I cant imagine what it will do to people with dry skin? Also it stung quite a bit when first applied to the skin.

There are so much hype around Aveda's products, since they have spent millions of dollars on research & development in creating their products. I do like their foot cream, their body wash and body cream. Their hand cream is really lovely too, but somehow my skin just dont like their face products much at all?


Review:
- honestly, i cant think of any??


- I cant remember exactly how much this cost but definitely was not cheap. None of Aveda's products are ever cheap.
- doesnt do what it claims to do
- Skin didnt feel soft, supple, or moisturised after use

Overall rating:


(i think you know what that means?)

Orbis Foam Esthe Pack

This is a moisturising mask in a rather unusual texture- foam. Orbis is a Japanese brand which emphasize a lot on having 'no additives' in their products. They claim that their products are very pure and does not contain additives like preservatives, colors, fragrance etc. Their products are known to be kind on sensitive skins.

I find that this product does a good job when my skin needs just a little bit of 'pick-me-up' and good to use in the summertime. But not so useful in the cold winter months when you need lots of moisture. It gives the skin a little bit more plumpness but don't expect too much from this product. If you are after a radiant dewy glow to the skin then this product will not do.






Review:

- not expensive
- need only 1 small pump and can easily spread throughout the entire face
- adds moisture to oily skin in summer months
- quick 'pick-me-up' product before applying make up.

- does not provide enough moisture if your skin is very dry, especially in the colder months of the year.
- not easy to remove after use. The foam tends to stick onto to the skin and i always have to wipe my face twice with a face cloth and then use toner afterwards. It can leave a thin 'film' on the face if not removed properly- which i think can lead to blocked pores.

Overall Rating (out of 5)-

Bernard Cassiere (BC) Paris- Avocado hydrating mask

I am starting my product review with this BC Avocado facial mask simply because- i LOVE it! It moisturises my skin so well, i can feel it penetrate deep into my skin, and after use my skin feels very plumped and refreshed. Not to mention it smells absolutely fantastic!

BC is actually owned by the famous French skincare company called Sothys. It is not big here in Australia but HUGE in Europe and i find that many people in the Asian beauty forums often speaks of this brand. Sothys uses a lot of natural ingredients like plant extracts, essential oils and things like that. BC however concentrate on using fruit and vegetable oils. That's why they smell so good!

BC is more for younger skin (20-30) though, or those starting to see signs of aging. If you have mature skin, I won't recommend this brand, their products are too soft to fight aged skin.




Review:

- add lots of moisture to the skin, making my skin producing less natural oil itself
- makes the skin very supple after use, and not greasy at all
- OK to use on sensitive skin (was told by the beauty therapist who sold me this item)
- It doesn't block my pores at all

- quite expensive, around USD40 per 50ml bottle
- cannot be found everywhere. If you live in Australia then the bad news is threes not a single stockist here. I had to get mine from Hong Kong.

Overall Rating (out of 5)-