skin care review : Innisfree originated Mint Pore tightening finish essence

This is another product from innisfree mint line, to continue my previous post abouth the skin (toner) and lotion from the same line. For more information about this mint line, you can check my previous post.

So this is the essence, or some named it serum, to apply after toner and before the lotion. When i first got this, i was quite shock and dissapointed to see it's only 20ml!! i know, it's my fault i didn't check how big or how many ml it is when i ordered it online. When i ordered online i always ignore the information about quantity of the product, that's why when i got this i was surprised. i thought it would be 50ml, just like some other serum from korean brand. 20 ml is too little for the whole face!

Aside of the small quantity i got, the packaging comes in this plastic tube packaging, and it's easy to scoop out the product. so, i like it! much much better than the heavy glass packaging for lotion, that is hard to scoop the lotion out.
 

The texture is a thick gel-balm like, and it smells like.. minty balsam.. like a medicine cream for your muscles. i wrote it before on my previous post, that at first time, it kinda smells like balsam cap kaki 3.

when i applied to my skin, it turned the skin to this silky smooth finish, which i like.

my experience with innisfree originated mint pore tightening finish essence.
At first, i applied this all over my face, and woaaaa... my face turned into silky smooth skin, ready to put make up. so my first impression, this would be a good primer, specially for those with large pores. But after some days, i started to think that if i use this everyday for my face i will finish it in no time, since it's only 20 ml. So i just apply this on my nose and chin only, the area with large pores. Besides i think that's why it comes in onlu 20mlc because it's an essence, not a lotion or primer.

But seriously, i think it works better as a primer than a pore tightening essence. After applying this, my nose felt smooth, and hides the pore, not make them go away. lol. i have been using this continuesly for more than 2 months, together with the skin and lotion. And yea, i think after awhile i could started to see the result, although not WOW or spectacular result that make me want to buy more of these. Besides still, rp.110.00- (pre order for internet) for 20 ml only is a little bit expensive for me..

skin care review : Innisfree originated mint Pore tightening skin and lotion

 

Everyone has different skin condition, means different problem and complain. Some complaining about dry skin, some must deal with oil paper every day because their oily skin, others complaining about their acne prone skin, sensitive skin, dull, uneven skin tone, and so on.. Even those with normal skin sometimes experience some break down. Well, as for me, my obsession is focus on my nose.What's wrong with my nose? well, large pores, oily, white heads..if i touch it, it's not smooth like the cheek area.. i could feel the large pores and white heads.. No matter how many times i peeled them off with nose pack, they always came back. My chin also has the same condition, but not as bad as the nose area.

Regarding that problem i have, i decided to try skin care from innisfree that targeted for pore tightening, which is Originated Mint. Last year i got innisfree olive line skin care sample, and i was satisfied, so i decided to buy the full bottle this time, but Mint line.

Before i start with the review, let me provide you with some information about this line i got from the net

 

 Pictture and information from ebay seller

From the mint range, i have mint pore tightening skin (toner), lotion and essence (serum). Review for essence coming up.. This time i'll just write about the skin and lotion first.

Innisfree originated mint pore tightening skin

This pore tightening skin is actually a toner. Some korean brand named the toner as "skin". First, the packaging is this heavy glass bottle, same like some other korean brand. So it's not convinient for travelling. 

The top and the cap of the bottle. I'm glad that there's is a plastic cap with small hole, so no need to worry that you will spill the toner or pour too much.The texture is the toner is watery liquid, not sticky.


Innisfree originated mint pore tightening lotion

The packaging is same like the toner, with this heavy glass bottle.

The top and the cap of the bottle. Of course for the lotion the hole is bigger than the one for the toner but heyyy... it's still hard to push the product out. You have to shake it hard. I'm now used to it but first time it was hard.... i even spilled the lotion everywhere. i kept wondering why many korean products use this kind of bottle. i think it would be easirer if it comes with plastic tube that you can squeeze easily or bottle with pump.

The texture of lotion is light and sooooo watery. i think it's the most watery lotion i've ever tried. Even once my husband tried this lotion too on his face and he said.. what is it? is it water or what?


my experience with innisfree originated mint skin and lotion
First, both toner and lotion smells like.. menthol? actually on the first week i didn't like the scent.. it smells like.. balsam? if you are indonesian.. do you know the smell of balsam cap kaki tiga? omg.. it smells something like that, but in softer side. seriously, it smells like medicine.. not that kind of sweet scent i like. But after awhile i'm used to it.

So, First time i applied  the toner my face,,, ouuuccchhh it's cold!! i could feel the mint sensation straightaway.. it's like a menthol feel.. you know, when you use menthol shampoo, you could feel your the cold sensation on your scalp. I'm not used with those feeling on my face, so first time i felt like burning a little instead of cold. it felt like my face was on sensitive mode although it wasn't. it was just the effect of this mint toner.
Then i continued with the lotion. As i wrote before, this is the most watery lotion.. in fact it's tooo light for me. well, it's good for a day light in summer. But still, with the dry weather here in Yemen, it's still too light. This lotion doesn't give me enough moisturizer hor my skin. I tested it one day when i stayed at home, just applied the toner and lotion and nothing else, no make up. and the result... after lunch my skin started getting dry. i could feel those dry flakes!!!  So the next day after the lotion i still have to apply more moisturizer, in this case i applied tony moly multi play cream, and it was perfect. So definetely not enough moisturizer for sleeping at night too. At night i have to add more moisturizer or sleeping pack.

Other thing, the first week of using this line, i felt like my skin shocked a little bit. with cooling sensation, with the formula, i don;t know.. but i remember on the first week i almost gave up with this line. i almost put them aside and stopped using it. My skin was getting dry and the cooling sensation sometimes felt more burning than cooling. But i decided to keep using it because i thought my skin just need some time to adapted with new skin care. and yeaf, after a week, my skin started getting used to it. the cooling from the toner started giving me the fresh feeling, not burning. And as for the lotion, i just need to add more moisturizer cream or bb cream that will keep my face moisturised.

and of course, the most important thing here is the pore tightening effect. because that's the reason why i bought this and also that's the promise of this line. After a month, i still didn't fell any improvement. so i continued using it, now it's more than 2 months.. i started to see the improvement. well, with the help of Baviphat rice make up remover (read my previous review for that) too, now i don't have to apply pore nose pack as often as before. My pore on my nose felt tighten after the application, and the most timportant thing is i think you don't expect express result. Just be patient and wait.

Overall, This products just so so for me. i don't hate it, but also not love it.Nothing too special that will make me repurchase this one. Comparing to other pore line i have tried, Peach sake line from skin food is better.
Sorry innisfree, but your olive line is much much better than this.

make up remover review : Baviphat Rice total make up remover

 

This is my new make up remover to replace my skin food milk shake point make up remover that i finished. I opened this one many many months ago but i didn't use this everyday because i also have innisfree lemongrass cleansing lotion that also good to remove make up. But recently i started using this everyday.

So it is Baviphat rice total make up remover. Not a popular product, as i was search for it on google, i couldn't even find the information in english about this product, and also no review. I know, i bought this without any recommendation or good review. So, how is it..?

First, the texture is not a lotion or gel. The texture is just like toner. even it feels like toner on the skin. clear/no colour, almost no smell.

 The power to remove make up is good..check this out

various make up from gel eye liner, pencil eye liner, lipstick, bb cream, cream blush.

i waited for a while til they get dry, and then.. let's remove it. Pour the make up remover into cotton pad, then gently swipe on the area.

Taraaaa...! it's clean! the gel eye liner is harder to remove than other make up, but it's still easy to remove with this one.

My experience with Baviphat rice total make up remover :

• Because the texture is just like toner, i suspected it contains alcohol (cannot find the ingridients in english), and i think it does. Because i felt my face a little bit dry after cleaning with this, specially if i didn't put moisturizer after right away. But if i put moisturizer right away, no problem.
• it's only to remove make up on ur face, not including eye and lip. it would be too hard for your eye and lip area. First time i tried this make up remover, i used it on my lip too. Actually it was quite accidently, as before using this i was using skinfood milk shake point make up remover, which is all in one make up remover, that i always use for lip and eyes area too. When i used this on my lip, not just that it was bitter, but also my lip gets dry straight away, and i remember... OMG.. i'm not suppose to use this on my lip and eyes too! it's not like skin food. So the next day i went to buy special make up remover for eyes and lip.
• Some weeks ago, i came home in the afternoon, and i removed my make up with this and i didn't put any moisturizer or anything else after that. At night, i noticed that my nose stay matte during afternoon. Not oily at all and as i touched my nose i couldn't feel the large pores or any white heads that used to stick there. I was quite surprised, and as i was recall what did i put to my face, i only cleaned my face with this and didn't pu anything else. So the next day, i was curious to try again. i cleaned my face with this in the morning (normally in the morning as i have no make up i just clean my face with facial foam), before putting any moisturizer and bb cream. The result is... it helped my nose to stay matte. no oily on the nose... woaaaa... greatt!! But i was affraid that it will make my face dry, so the next day i applied this make up remover on my nose only in the morning. woaaa... it's like a serum that treat my problem area now... (nose and chin). Normally i need to remove white heads on the nose twice a week with nise pack. But during the week i applied this make up remover on my nose after three days my nose still clean! woaaaa,,, but after a week i started to see those white heads again so i still have to removed them with nose pack. But from twice a week to once a week? that's a great progress for me!!
• I think thismake up remover is suitable for oily skin, or maybe normal to oily. Dry skin may experience some dryness after application. On that day i didn't put any moisturizer, oily part of my face which is nose and chin stay matte, but my cheek experience some dryness.

Overall, i really like this make up remover, not just because it good to remove make up but i also got some benefit which help my oily area.  My only concern is only that i don't know how many alcohol contained in this product. i think Baviphat should start putting some english information on their packaging like skin food or etude house.

Hair creambath review : Makarizo hair energy anti aging creambath with aloe vera

Another creambath cream for hair... Yeah, hair creambath is one of my must weekly treatment. My hair is tangled and i need some extra cream to smoothen my hair and make it easier to comb. So this is another Makarizo product, not a new brand for me. In fact Makarizo is one of mt favourite product. Not the best, but one of my fav because of the nice smell is a point plus for me :).

This one comes in sachet packaging, contains 60 gr. For me with medium hair i could use it twice and there is still more left, but not much. There is some information at the back of the packaging, as you can see.

My experience with Makarizo hair energy anti aging creambath with aloe vera
First, from all Makarizo hair creambath variant i've tried, this one smells the best.. i smells niceeee... can;t describe the scent, but it smells fresh and sweet and the scent last long.

The texture is creamy lotion, a little bit sticky for me, specially when i applied it on my dry hair. You know, i like to apply it on my dry hair before shampoo, not after shampoo. I think this one is better to apply after shampoo, because when i applied on the dry hair it was sticky and a little bit hard to apply evenly on my hair.

I applied this on dry hair, wait for around 15 minutes then jump into shower and rince it off.
The result? same result with any other makarizo hair creambath i've tried. My hair became smooth, easy to comb, nice smell.. On the packaging for maximum result You should apply this twice a week. woaaa.. how many sachet i need for a year? plus, who have time to do that twice a week? lol.

eye brow pencil review : Skin food Choco powder eyebrow wood pencil

Many many years before (ok, maybe my college years when i started to put something else on my face other than sun block, lotion and loose powder) i always used random eye brow products. i don't really care about brands or type for this cosmetic product. For me all of them are just same. In fact i never bought one that time. i just asked my mom to give me one of her eye brow. Normally she gave me the old one, the one that already short or half pencil, then i would just use it. Oh, and the colour is always black.

Then after i finished college and started to work, one day i stopped by at maybelline counter and i was interested with the eye brow product, i forgot the name, but it's not a pencil type, like thin crayon, with a brush on the other side. the colour was brown and i loved it straightaway, and i bought it, and even repurchased for the same product.

Now back to the reality at the present day, since i am into korean brands now, and always purchased many items every year, i thought, why not trying eyebrow pencil from one of my favourite brand, the skin food?
so i chose this one, the choco powder eyebrow no.#2 which is black brown.

information from skinfood website :

Choco Powder Eyebrow Wood Pencil #2 Black-Brown

This long-lasting powder brow pencil has a velvety-smooth texture that allows for easy application, leaving no chalky residue. It creates beautifully natural brows without smudging.

My experience with skin food choco powder eyebrow :

First, from the look, it looks just like any other ordinary eyebrow pencil, nothing special, AND..... one day i put it inside my cosmetic bag to carry with me, and when i went back home,,, You know what happened?

TARAAA...

it was broken! somehow it was just teared apart into 2 pieces..

WHAAATTT....!how could it be so fragile?! i was sure that my make up bag was big enough and this eyebrow pencil was fit perfectly there.. but whhhyyyy....?

anyway... apart from how it was broken like that, of course it was still working and didn't damaged the whole product so i could still use it.. until Now.

The pencil?

 This is how the pencil looks like. it's easy to sharpen. I think i did sharpened it twice. the application with this eyebrow pencil is easy.

swatch

the perfect colour for my eyebrow! yeaaaaayyy... it looks natural on my eyebrow and the colour is perfect match so i looove it. The colour is even better than my previous favourite maybelline. The one from maybelline is brown, so it was actually a little bit too light, but this one is black brown so it is just perfect!

My conclusion :
oh, i looove this eyebrow pencil specially because of the perfect colour. and it's cheap!!! range around RP.35.000-Rp.40.000 if you order online. it's cheap and will last forever! lol. This one gave me a good impression of korean brand eye brow pencil. when it finish one day i will definitely buy eyebrow pencil from skinfood (maybe another type) or other korean brands like etude house, baviphat or tony moly.

BB cream review : Hanskin caviar gold bb cream

Hanskin? This is my first try of Hanskin product. When i saw this on iheartkoreanbeauty, i just wanted to try it. First because it's sample size, then because it contains caviar, which i had a nice experience with skin food gold caviar line and BRTC caviar bb cream (both i tried the sample size only).
To be honest, i think Hanskin is not too popular brand in Indonesia or among beauty bloggers i follow. I bet thet know about the brand Hanskin, but not many using this brand.

Anyway, i got the sample/travel size only for this one, with no information in english on the packaging of course, so i googled before writing this review.
This is the full size tube looks like ;

and this is sample/travel size i got;

information about this product (from http://www.buybbcream.com) :

Product Description

A luxurious BB cream with caviar extracts to moisturize dry skin and diminish the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Enriched with caviar extracts and white gold peptide Hanskin Caviar Gold B.B Cream is suitable for those with dry skin, protects skin from loosing its moisture and harmful UV rays. Aside from caviar, Aloe, Vitamin B, vegetable vitamins and other nourishing ingredients strengthen and whiten skin to create a healthy glow and improve elasticity. Boosts the resilience of skin, makes skin velvety-soft and rejuvenated. It also has good oil control power without compromising your skin’s moisture level.

• Anti Wrinkle, Whitening and Sun Protective (SPF 21)
• It is suitable for those looking for a lighter shade B.B cream with a dewy finish
• Features caviar extracts amongst other natural ingredients
• 30ml

Recommended for dry skin types

How to Use:

Apply as a foundation or as a base before your foundation.
After applying basic skin care products, use appropriate amount and apply the BB cream evenly on the skin staring from the center of the face.

My experience with Hanskin caviar gold bb cream :

Firat, the packaging, i like this sample size packaging. with a gold plastic cap and gold tube colour, it looks elegant and expensive!

 it's very handy, convinient to carry around.

The bb cream, first the texture is creamy, not watery type, but it's light and easy to apply.

The colour/ swatch, at first i thought it would be too light for me, but turned out it blended well and adjust my skin tone just right.

without flash

with flash.

the good thing about this bb cream is that the oil control is good. i could feel the different effect on my oily-large pores nose. on my previous post Holika holika soda pore cleansing i mentioned about the good oil control when i was using both holika-holika cleansing and Hanskin. i tried to use them seperataly, like today holika holika soda pore cleansing and not applying this bb cream, and next day using other cleanser and then apply this bb cream. And the result is.. it was better when i applied this bb cream only. So the result i felt lateley was mostly from this bb cream. But of course, with a right cleanser, like Holika holika soda pore cleansing for example, the effect would be even better.
What effect ? well, my oily nose stay matte longer, started to get oily only after around 6 hours (normally around 3 hours only). although from the information i found this bb cream is targeted for dey skin, but it turned out the oil control is great too. and the moisturizer also great! my face didn't get dry and keep moisturised with this bb cream.

ok, so far it's all good. but it's still not perfect though. what i don't like is the coverage. it's like almost zero coverage. like i don't wear bb cream. i like my bb cream to give me nice natural flawless look, the look that after applying bb cream i felt like i don't need to apply powder on top ( i'm a house wife with daily activities only cooking-shopping-mall window shopping-playing with my daughter-hang out with friends--so that kind of look is enough for me). in fact it's been awhile that i didn't use loose powder and compact powder. But this bb cream,, hhhmmm it's just like a tinted moisturiser. after applying this my face still looks pale and naked, and also it didn't cover my old spot. In conlusion, i don't like the finish look of this bb cream.

So, it's a little bit confusing here, the oil control and moisturizer are good, but the coverage is not good, not like bb cream finish look i wanted. so i like it as a base only. yup, maybe it will be good as a make up base. But definetely not my type of my fav bb cream.

cleansing foam review : Holika Holika Soda pore cleansing foam

I loooove sample size product like this! yeah, i bet you knew that already by now. Well, this time i got holika holika soda pore cleansing. When i first saw it, i really thought it's a baking soda cleansing just like the one from etude house. When last week i decided to try this one, i just noticed that the name is soda pore cleansing, without a word "baking" on front. Wait.. so it's not a baking soda. it's a soda. what's the different? lol. i have no idea because there's no english explanation on the packaging

This is how the full size packaging looks like;

the information about the product (i just googled it)
 Product description

：Formualted with Harrogate soda water 10000 ppm, mineral, baking powder, switzerland alpine herb.

：Provides nutrition and cares of pores to create bright and smooth skin

   

▶ Instruction

 

：Make a foam enough, apply it to your face, and then wash it off with lukewarm water.

 

.. and they also released some other cleansing type for this line ;

Hilika holika soda cleansing powder wash, O2 bubble mask, cleansing water, cleansing oil and foam. Look at the packaging. it's blue! just like etude house baking powder line, aren't they?

Anyway, here are some more information about this line:

 

(pictures from ebay, seller bellogirl)

Ok, now let's back to the cleansing foam and my experience using this for a week and more.

First, the scent is actually similar like etude house baking powder cleansing foam, but this one is a little bit too overpowering. the senct of etude house baking powder cleansing foam is sweeter than this. This one smells like an air perfume that you hang on the car. but it's ok though. still nice scent for me.

Second, the texture. it's a light creamy lotion with white colour. There is this tiny super soft scrub particles that i couldn't feel it on my hand, but later when i massage around my face i could feel those tiny super soft scrub particles

 when i rub it on my hand with water, it doesn't foam much. But it's ok, in fact some people prefer this way. for me it's just ok as long as it cleans well.

when i applied and massage gently to my face, i could feel that the formula is soft and light, but as i wash it off with water, just like many other cleansing foam type, i could feel it took off some natural moisture from my face, leaving it felt dry. For some people maybe will even experience some tight feeling. not for me, though.  just need to applied toner and moisturiser and everything will be good, no dry feeling.

What i like most about this that i felt this cleansing foam mattify my nose area (the oily part of my face). i like tha matte feeling adter washing and applied moisturiser. I really think it really did a pretty good job on that. For this last 1 week i felt my nose less oily, and there are 2 new product i tried this week, which is this one and a bb cream from hanskin. which one helps to reduce the oily on my nose, could be both, or maybe i should make some test to make sure.

in conclusion, yeah i like it! and i'm thinking to get another type from this line, like the cleansing water. i think this one will be good for oily skin. so, have you tried other type of this holika holika soda cleansling line? tell me your experience!

Mask sheet review : VOV daily fresh mask green tea collagen

After trying some Vov daily fresh wash off pack, now i'm trying the mask sheet version. it's green tea collagen. The packaging is same like any other vov mask, with a shape of an old style bottle, only the mask sheet version is bigger than the wash off pack.

I'm glad that there is english information on the packaging, although some words are still weird :). but anyway, here is the information on the packaging :

Front packaging :

Green tea collagen
For all skin types, This natural mask sheet containing essence extract of facial treatment with excellent moisturizing and purifying effects helps keep your skin silky and fresh.

Back Packaging :
 Green tea collagen - yammy mask pack without skin trouble    .....(yammy?)
green tea extract helps to purify your skin against harmful circumstance, and botanical collagen helps to provide a moist and elastic to your skin.


application :
after cleansing, soothe your face with toning water
apply the mask on the face. smoothing the mask geently to ensure good contact with the skin.
(please tap pouch two to three times before opening)
leave it 10-20 minutes on your face until the nutrients of the mask are absorbed and then remove the mask from your face.
if essence is left on your face after taking off the mask, tap your face completely baing absorbed essence into your skin.



My experience with Vov daily fresh mask green tea collagen :

When i opened the packaging and taking off the mask sheet, i was quite surprised, that there is also part to cover my eyes. it's the first time i found a mask sheet like this. normally the eyes part would be left opened, you know.. with holes for the eyes. but this one will also cover your eyes. Take a look at this;

Can you see the eyes area? i thought, woaaa,, it means i have to close my eyes during my application? because normally i would read a book or playing games on ipad during mask application. But i thought, wait, this will even better. i bet this will give a nice treatment and refreshment on the eyes, specially below eyes area. So i applied it, wait.. it's too big... yeah, the mask size is a little too big and too wide for me. it's a little bit hard to adjust it on my face. Many folds here and there. But finally i managed it. i closed my eyes, laid down and wait.  Niceeeeee....

After 15 minutes, i started to feel that the mask was getting dry on some part. Not like my beauty diary mask that after 20 minutes still not dry, this one get dry quicker. and after 20 minutes when i removed the mask, not much essence left on my face. But overall, during and after application i didn't get any itchy or uncomfortable felling. everything seems good.

Result? nice fresh looking face, a little brighter face, but im moisturizing effect, compare to my beauty diary mask sheet, my beauty diary is better. But i still like this mask because it covers eyes area too. it gave a special treatment on the eyes too. I have this dark circle around my eyes, and it was nice to cover my eyes with a refreshing mask like this too.

I just wih that they sell this on store like watson or century in jakarta (or tell me if you know which offline store sell this), because it's just too unconvinient to order mask sheet online, unless you are also buying some other stuff, then it's ok to put this on the list too.