Cetaphil Pro Acne Prone Review

Hey gorgeous, welcome back to my blog!

Recently, I received the new Cetaphil Pro Acne Prone Oil Control Foam Wash as well as the Oil Free Moisturising Lotion from Hometesterclub and I've been trying them out religiously for the past 2 weeks. So in today's post, I'll be sharing my thoughts on these new Cetaphil products, if you are interested to find out more, keep on reading!

Cetaphil Pro Acne Prone Oil Control Foam Wash

The new Cetaphil Pro Acne Prone Oil Control Foam Wash is formulated for acne prone skin and claims to be clinically proven to be able to remove up to 98% of excess shine and oil. It contains Zinc Coceth Sulfate, a mild surfactant for effective yet gentle cleansing and is non-comedogenic (not pores clogging) with its well tolerated and non irritating formulation.

The facial cleanser is in the form of a foam wash and I usually like foam wash because it would save me the hassle of emulsifying the normal creamy facial cleanser into foam, thus saving some time. However, I do find that this Cetaphil Pro Acne Prone Oil Control Foam Wash is a little too watery instead of foamy. My favourite foam cleanser thus far has got to be the Too Cool For School Mousse Soap which has the best foamy texture in my opinion. The foam is creamy yet foamy and solid. As compared to the Too Cool For School one, this Cetaphil one is very watery and I've got to pump at least 5 times to get the sufficient amount to cleanse my entire face. I think this facial wash is alright, not fantastic and I definitely didn't feel that my face was deeply cleansed after every wash. My face did not break out so far but I can't tell if it's because of this facial wash. This foam wash is retailing at $32.90 and honestly I think it is slightly pricey for a drugstore facial wash and I most definitely will not purchase it.

Cetaphil Pro Acne Prone Oil Free Moisturising Lotion

The new Cetaphil Pro Acne Prone Oil Free Moisturising Lotion claims to have been developed with carefully selected ingredients suitable for acne prone skin. With ceramide technology, it provides moisture to replenish the skin barrier which includes broad spectrum UV protection against the harmful effects of UV rays.
This is definitely a day time moisturiser since it has the UV protection. It says that this mosuturiser is fragrance free but to me I think it smells very much like the typical sunscreen lotion (Banana Boat one to be specific) and I actually hate this smell.

It does have a thin, creamy texture which allows it to be easily absorbed by the skin and I appreciate that. It is very light on the skin and it almost feels like I am not applying anything. I like that it is not oily and not too drying in the day but definitely do not use it at night because you will wake up to a very dry and dehydrated face. Overall I like that this moisturiser comes with SPF25 so you can skip the sunscreen if you want (but i dont recommend you do this). It is very lightweight so it's good to be used as a day time moisturiser or before you apply makeup. This moisturiser is retailing at $42.90 which again I think is slightly pricey. I don't think I will want to purchase this just because I think there are much better and cheaper moisturiser out there.

So all in all, I must say I am not very impressed with the new Cetaphil Pro Acne products. I feel that they are definitely on the higher range in terms of drugstore pricing and I just don't see myself purchasing these products with my own money. I don't see any improvements to my skin after 14 days of testing but to be honest I don't usually have too much break outs as well even though I do have oily skin. If you have very bad acne problem and this works for you, do let me know as well!

And that's all I have for this post. I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Please follow me if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.

Flormar Perfect Coverage Foundation First Impression + Wear Test

Hey gorgeous, welcome back to my blog!

So in today's post, I'll be doing another foundation first impression as well as wear test and the product that I'm testing out today is none other than the Flormar Perfect Coverage Foundation! As previously mentioned, our very local drugstore Guardian had recently brought in this Italian drugstore makeup brand and I was very intrigued by its friendly price tag and so I decided to try out their liquid foundation.

As you know, I love a foundation with good coverage and so when I saw this Perfect Coverage Foundation, I knew I had to get it. It claims to provide a fresh looking makeup to up to 12 hours, helping the skin looks smooth and protect the skin from harmful UV rays with SPF 15 in its formula. Aside from the SPF, it also has almond oil and olive oil extracts in its formula, giving us a healthy looking skin. Sounds amazing!

The packing of this foundation is pretty simple, with an acrylic bottle and a pump. It feels really solid but slightly heavy to bring around. I think i got it from Guardian at $18.90 but I cannot really remember the exact amount and it's also not available on their website. You can only get this brand in the physical Guardian stores and so far I know PS and Funan IT Mall outlets have it.

I got mine in the shade Classic Ivory and I found that it has a really pinkish undertone which I don't mind because it helps brighten up my skin.

The foundation has a really creamy texture and it does seem a little hard to blend, in my opinion. And it has a really strong powdery smell to it and I hate it. I actually teared a lot while applying this foundation and I was quite sure it's because of the smell. If you are unable to handle strong fragrance, then this is one foundation you should avoid at all cost.

So like my other foundation first impression and wear test, I'll be doing my right face first with a brush to compare the before and after effect.

In the picture above, my right face was visibly brighter and less dull as compared to the left face. And my dark circles were more or less covered so I would definitely agree that this foundation has got a good coverage. But it definitely felt a little heavy on the skin and it was also very tacky to the touch. It is also slightly dry in my opinion and I did notice that the area around my mouth got a little cakey.

And as for the left side of the face, I applied the foundation with a beauty blender. I must say, I prefer the beauty blender application to the foundation brush one. In terms of coverage I think they are both equally good but in terms of the finishing, the side with the beauty blender application felt more lightweight and less tacky as compared to the right side with the brush application. So for this foundation, I recommend going with a makeup sponge or beauty blender for a satin finish. And because this foundation is so tacky, I had to set it with a powder and the powder that I used was the IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores pressed powder as I didn't want to go with anything that's mattifying or anything that will affect the foundation's longeivity.

So with that, full face makeup was completed and I was ready to go out to run some errands in the warm weather as usual.

Okay gorgeous, the above photos were taken after a good long 12 hours of wearing the Flormar Perfect Coverage Foundation. The coverage was more or less still there but I did notice that my nose was exceptionally shiny. The foundation around my nose and mouth area was mostly gone but I believe it was because I had 2 full meals in the day and I probably wiped them off unknowingly. I think the foundation did a pretty decent job in my opinion and it did manage to last 12 hours, as per its claim. I do feel that this is one foundation that is suitable for normal skin because like I mentioned earlier, it definitely felt a little dry when I was applying it but then throughout the day, my T Zone got a little shinnier so I really don't know what's in the formula. If you have dry skin, definitely go with a moisturising primer before using this and if you have oily skin like me, make sure you set it down properly and if possible, go with a mattifying primer.

So all in all, I would say this Flormar Perfect Coverage Foundation is pretty average, and it is probably not a foundation that I would reach for in my collection. I really couldn't quite take the smell and I think there are much better drugstore foundations out there with the same effects. So this is a meh for me.

Alright, that's all I have for this post. I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Please follow me if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.

If I could only keep 5 makeup products, what would they be?

Hey gorgeous, welcome back to my blog!

So in today's post, I'll be talking about the 5 makeup products that I absolutely cannot live without, and I'll definitely repurchase them if one day I lose them all. If you are curious to see which 5 products I'll be sharing, keep on reading!

1) IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness Correcting Cream

I have never talked about this product in my blog before but this is the one product that I always go to on days when I have to go out but feeling lazy to put on makeup. The IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness Correcting Cream claims to be able to completely cancel redness in your skin from view. Rich in anti-aging ingredients and technology, it instantly camouflages redness and any red-toned skin discolourations from rosacea, broken capillaries, blemished skin, scars, irritated skin, sun damage and more. And in my opinion, it honestly does what it claims. There are a total of 3 shades for you to choose from and I have mine in shade Transforming Neutral Beige.

A little goes a very long way for this product and what I usually do on lazy days is I will apply a little bit of this correcting cream onto my scars and any other redness on my skin that I have on that particular day. Due to the high pigmentation of this product, it is able to cover and conceal everything completely but at the same time, it magically matches my skin tone so perfectly that I don't even have to apply the whole face to get an even skin tone.

See, the correcting cream matches my skin colour so well that my skin instantly looks so flawless. I love that it really is not tacky and it really gives a "my skin but better" finish. This is definitely one product that I'll always keep stock at home. It is retailing at $52 for this small tub of product but because you really only need a very little amount each time so I believe this small tub can last more than 6 months.

2) Daiso Eye Brow Pencil

I believe this is not the first time that this product appears on my blog and that is because I really do love this eye brow pencil from Daiso. It has the highest CP value in my opinion. It is only $2 and it has sufficient product to last me a few months. I literally stock this item everytime I go to Daiso, just in case it went out of stock.

So what I like about this product is that it is duo ended, on one end you've got the brow pencil itself and on the other end you've got the spoolie which is so convenient and useful. I like that the pencil is of the right texture, not too hard and too soft and it glides on so smoothly making it so easy and effortless to draw the brows.

Also the brown shade match me perfectly since I have pretty dark hair now. Enough of my raving about this product because I am about to give a short tutorial on how to draw your brows effortlessly so if you are always taking too much time to draw your brows, just follow these simple steps and it will change your life forever.
Regardless whether you are using brow pencil, brow powder or brow gel, use the brow pencil or brush to make some markings on your brow first. So for the start of your brow, hold your pencil vertically upright from the side of your tip of the nose. If you are drawing the right brow, then you should be placing the pencil vertically upright on the right side of the tip of your nose as per the picture below.

Then moving to the arch of your brow, place the pencil vertically upright next to your iris and make the marking.

Last but not least, for the end of your brow, you need to place the pencil diagonally from the side of your nose to the outer corner of your eye and make your marking there.

So once you have gotten these 3 markings made, you can start my connecting them together, starting from the arch to the end of the brow because that's where your brow should be the darkest. Then with a light hand, connect the arch to the start of the brow, drawing lightly and using the spoolie to blend the colour out.

And there you are, a completed brow. One tip is to always start with the side that you are most uncomfortable to draw on. For eg, if you are a right handed person, it is most of the time easier to draw the right brow so i usually start with my left brow so that it will be easier for me to match my right brow to the left. Let me know if this markings work for you or if you have better tricks to draw your brows, do let me know as well!

3) Etude House Curl Fix mascara

There's a saying "the eyes are the windows of the soul" so one of the makeup product that I can never live without is definitely a mascara. To me, a good mascara opens up my eyes, creating more definition to the eyes, making me looks more energetic and livelier. And in my opinion, the Etude House Curl Fix Mascara is one good mascara that is able to do the above effortlessly for me.

There is something about this wand that makes it so easy to lift my lashes up, giving it a natural curl at the same time. My lashes also look more voluminise everytime I use this mascara. It is also very waterproof and it is able to last a long day, without any smudging. But because this mascara is so waterproof, it is also very hard to remove. I always find myself having a hard time to remove this mascara and it only works well when I use the mascara remover from Heroine Make. This Etude House Curl Fix mascara is so inexpensive and I believe you can get it from Qoo10 or G Market for less than $10.

4) essence pure nude highlighter in be my highlight

This essence highlighter is the very first highlighter that I've purchased and I love it so so much. If you are looking for a very shimmery and glittery highlight then this is not something for you. The sheen in this highlight is very subtle and soft but that's the reason why I love it. It makes you look like you have a natural healthy glow so on days that you really just want a no makeup makeup look, this is definitely a good highlight to go for.

And on top of using it to highlight, I would sometimes use it as an eyeshadow as well for a simple eye look. This is definitely my ride or die highlighter and I'll repurchase it till the day it is discontinued.

5) Aritaum Ginger Sugar Tint Lip Balm

Last but definitely not least, the last product that I can never live without is a good lip balm because as you may already know by now, I have eczema prone lips and they are usually very dry so I have to carry a lip balm with me wherever I go. I don't usually wear lipstick unless I'm trying a new product or doing lip swatches so to finish a simple makeup look, I would usually go for a tinted lip balm instead. The tinted lip balm that I really love is the Aritaum Ginger Sugar Tint Lip Balm and I love the shade dreaming coral.

I really like that this lip balm is very moisturing and nourishing to the lips and it somehow makes my lips so healthy looking with a slight shine to it. I also love that it has an orangey fragrance which reminds me of orange juice everytime I apply it. It is also very inexpensive and I believe I paid $4 for it, from Ezbuy. I'll definitely repurchase it when I am done with the current one.

And tada my completed no makeup makeup look with just the 5 items. Ps ignore my messy hairdo pls

So that's all I have to share in this post. These are the items that I will definitely purchase if one day I lost all my makeup products and I can only have 5 products. I hope you have enjoyed reading this post. Please follow me if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.

Full Face Focallure Makeup + First Impressions

Hey gorgeous, welcome back to my blog!

In today's post, I'll be doing a full face makeup with the China makeup brand Focallure and since this is the first time I'm using their products, I'll also be sharing my first impression on the brand and its products. So if you're curious about this brand, keep on reading!

1) Focallure Skin Evolution Fluid Foundation in shade 02 Porcelain

The first item that I got was the fluid foundation which claims to be able to camouflage imperfections, delivering a long lasting velvet matte finish that never looks flat. The packaging is rather simple, with a plastic bottle and a pump. It is very small and handy and perfect for travelling.

I got mine in shade 02 Porcelain and I thought that it has a rather warm undertone and looked slightly orangey on my skin. The foundation has got a creamy consistency and a strong fragrance to it.

Applied the foundation to the right side of my face

In my opinion, this foundation has got a very low coverage and as you can see from my photos above, I was only able to conceal my dark circles very slightly. It is also quite tacky so definitely got to set it down with a powder. Longevity wise was surprisingly beyond my expectation (I had very low expectation with this foundation) and it lasted a whole 7 hours without me looking greasy or cakey. So if you are looking for a budget and natural looking foundation, you may want to consider getting this. Oh and before I forgot, I got this foundation at $3.54 from Shopee.

2) Focallure Liquid Long Lasting Concealer in shade 03 Light

Next up is the liquid concealer which claims to be long lasting. I got mine in shade 03 light and I thought the shade was a right fit. But the coverage of this concealer was the lousiest I've ever tried. There's no coverage at all! It has a watery consistency, but I had a hard time blending it out because it dried up way too quickly. The formula was very weird in my opinion. And to make things worse, it creased very badly. I bought this concealer at $2.85 and honestly I wouldn't even pay a single cent for this kind of quality.

3) Focallure Full Coverage Concealer in shade 02 Light Cream

Perhaps I already foresee that the liquid concealer would be a total failure because I bought another concealer which claims to be full coverage. I got mine in shade 02 light cream and it is slightly lighter and brighter than the previous concealer. It has a creamy consistency and I like that it is very blendable. The coverage is definitely much better than the previous concealer and I was able to conceal my dark circles. It does crease a little but not as bad as the previous concealer and I think the coverage is definitely buildable, depending on your needs and preferences. I got this concealer for $3 and I think it's so much worth getting as compared to the liquid concealer.

4) Focallure Filtered Light Setting Powder in 01 Transparent Chiffon

Next we have the flawless setting powder and boy I hate this product, maybe even worse than the liquid concealer. Let's talk about the packaging first which I really like it comes in this California-ish looking pink packaging that is so adorable. The sponge is also very soft and comfy to the touch. It also comes with a stopper as well as a mesh for you to pump the setting powder out so that you won't make a mess out of it and you can save more product.

See, just the right amount of powder with one pump. 

But the smell of this powder is so overwhelming! It almost smell like those cheap powder products you get from roadside stalls. And apart from making me look like a piece of white paper, I really don't see other effects on my face. It's like if you think you are not fair enough, then go for this because it will instantly make you 50 shades fairer. And because of this, I really wanted to do a flash test on this powder and to my surprise, it didn't produce flashback.

Flashback test passed! But even so, I cannot see myself using this powder for a second time and I actually paid $7 for this product, probably the most expensive item in this haul. Definitely not recommended.

5) Focallure Blusher in Prim & Coral

When I saw these blushers online, I had no idea that it was gonna be in this refill pan packaging because if I knew, I most probably would not purchase it.

So I clearly bought 2 different shades, Prim and Coral but somehow they looked exactly the same to me. I thought coral should be slightly orangey in colour? Correct me if I am wrong but the coral blush looked more pinkish to me instead. In fact it has the same pink undertone as Prim. Aside from the shades, the blushers are finely milled and the colour pay off is good.

It also lasted a whole day which is not too bad in my opinion, since I only paid $1.71 for it. However, I do think they can improve on their shades selection because how is it even possible that shade B03 is almost similar to shade B09?! There are like 6 shades in between but they still ended up looking quite the same? Hmmm.

6) Focallure Highlight in Hippo

Again, this highlight is in the refill pan packaging which I didn't like because it's very troublesome to find an empty palette to hold them in.

This highlight sucks. The powder is very coarse and it emphasised on the pores and flaws on the face. It has a total different formula as compared to the blushers even though they seem to be from the same collection. And honestly, I think this highlight did not serve its purpose at all because it didn't give off any sheen at all. I only saw my pores and flaws, that's all. Again, it is very inexpensive and I only paid $1.71 for it so I guess you cannot place too high hope on it.

7) Focallure Brows Cream in Dark Brown

Next up is the brow cream that I bought and it is like the typical brow gel or pomade. It didn't come with brush so I had to use my own brush when I applied it.

The brow cream looked very brownish in the tub and when I swatched it on my hand, it was also very brownish. However when I applied it to my brows, it became very reddish which I didn't quite understand. The formula is very smooth and it glides onto the brows easily which I like. I just wish that the colour didn't turn up to be so red on my brows but formula wise, this brow cream is totally worth buying. In fact, I got this in a set, together with the liquid eyeliner and mascara for $5.19.

8) Focallure Eyeshadow Pencil

Next up, I purchased some eyeshadow pencils to try out too and I got myself in 4 different shades.

The pigmentation of these shadows are really good and the formula is very creamy too. They are also very blendable and buildable. The shade Frost is very suitable for highlighting the inner corners in my opinion. In fact, I think if the highlighter that I mentioned previously has this sheen and smoothness to it, then it will be a good highlight too.

All in all, I think the eyeshadow pencils are very pigmented and they serve their purpose to create a decent eye look. If you have oily lids like me, do make sure to apply some eye primer before using this because it will wear off after some time. I got them individually at $2.14 each and I highly recommend Flame and Frost because they are the colours I think look best even if you wear them alone.

9) Focallure Intense Liquid Eyeliner

The next item was the liquid eyeliner that came together with the brow cream that I mentioned earlier on. I love the all black packaging but I did find that the felt tip was slightly thicker making it harder to draw a fine line. The black was really intense as well. Thankfully, the eyeliner glided smoothly in the lid but like I predicted, I wasn't able to draw a thin line. So this is definitely more suitable for those who love drawing thick cat eye look. Also for those who have oily lids, you may also want to avoid this eyeliner because it didn't last long for me.

10) Focallure Liquid Glitter Eyeliner in Galaxy & Platinum

I thought the packaging looks good with the gold cap and I had such high expectation for it. Unfortunately, the formula was too watery with no pigmentation at all.

See, I could hardly do a proper swatch on my hand. The colour came out very uneven so it's almost impossible to use these as eyeliner. I could still use them as eyeshadow, I think but it totally defeat the purchase of getting these because I initially wanted a glitter eyeliner. I got these eyeliners for $3 each and I think they are not worth purchasing at all.

11) Focallure Mascara

This is the last item in the brow cream set that I got and I love this mascara. It didn't have any voluminising or lengthening effect but I like that it wasn't clumpy at all and my lashes looked very natural. It is a good mascara for a no makeup makeup look and I think you definitely can wear it everyday.

12) Focallure Lips Crayon Kit

Last but not least, I got this 3 in 1 lip crayons kit and I love it! The formula is very creamy and it glides smoothly on the lips, giving a velvety matte finishing that is not drying to the lips at all. The colours also look amazing, don't you think so? Got this kit for $3.70 and I am so tempted to get the other shades as well!

So that's all I have for this Focallure full face makeup and first impression. I feel that this brand really offers very affordable makeup and some of the products are really good. If you are new to makeup and you are on a tight budget, definitely try this brand out. I got all these products from Shopee and guess what, if you are new to Shopee, I have a discount code specially for you. Simple key in "SHOPEEA7711" before checking out and you will be entitled a $7 off with a minimum purchase of $15. So hurry up and go get your makeup fix! Don't forget to follow me if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.