Ai Cawaii

Cosme.net Ranking Page

PWSWCZQHWP55 Sometimes when I am free, I will visit cosme.net to check out what’s hot in the beauty industry for Japanese market. Many times at the Review Ranking page under Body Care or Leg/ Foot Care category, I will see this product,

Dr Scholl Medi Qtto Sleeping Socks

appearing among the top ranked items. Curiosity got the better of me and I read some of the reviews posted and discovered that many users gave thumbs up for this item. Normally they either have problems with tired legs from standing up too long or bloated legs from too much sitting at work or swelling because of pregnancy. So they wear this socks while sleeping, thus the name ‘Sleeping Socks’ and they feedbacked on how the bloating or swelling is reduced the next day and how light and refreshed the legs feel after wearing the socks.

I have problems with water retention on my legs as well as suspected Restless Leg Syndrome which usually causes me to be deprived of sleep. How do you know whether you have water retention troubles? Using your thumb, apply pressure on your leg and release. If the spot where you pressed appear white and slowly turn back into normal skin colour, you have water retention. Water retention makes your legs appear bloated.

Let’s hope that you do not face sleeping problems caused by RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) like me because it is so darn annoying! You feel REALLY sleepy and your eyes literally can not stay open but you just can’t fall asleep because you have this numbing or floating (in my case) sensation on your legs and you have to move them around for relief. This can go on for the whole night and sometimes I feel so helpless… and tired.

Seeing the amount of positive kuchikomi (review(s) in Japanese) on the site- over 3700 as of today and still counting, I thought, “Why not give it a try?” and I ordered a pair. Priced at 2625yen a pair, it is not cheap but these socks are not mere normal socks that keep your legs warm at night, they are specially designed and developed by Scholl to provide graduate compression on your legs to promote blood circulation and thus reducing water retention and tone up your legs at the same time.

Medi Qtto Sleeping Socks

Honestly, I am really impressed with it. The first time I wore it, it felt really tight and slightly uncomfortable but the results on the next morning was marvelous. I wore it for just one night and my legs were noticeably shapelier and slimmer, and felt light. Well, it doesn’t burn fat though so don’t get the wrong idea here. On the second night I did not wear it as I wasn’t used to it yet. I was sharing about my RLS condition earlier and I found that Medi Qtto Compression Sleeping Socks certainly gives me some relief but not entirely. Realizing that I could sleep better when I am wearing the compression socks, as a result, I wear it more frequently and that was when my sister commented about my legs looking much slimmer than before.

Other than that, this is a must-have item for trips because I usually walk a lot during trips and always ended up with sore legs. So this year I brought it with me when I went for holidays overseas. My itineraries have to do with lots of walking around looking for good eating places and shopping and Medi Qtto Compression Sleeping Socks lets me enjoy my trips more as after wearing it my legs feel renewed!

It has been almost a year already since I started wearing this socks and it starts to expand at the edge at the top part and usually will roll down to my knees whilst I sleep so I am on my way to get a new pair. Although it is quite pricey but it is considered it a good investment as it lasted this long. Anyway I decided that I want to try out Dr Scholl Medi Qtto Sleeping Spats (even pricier, 3675yen!) as shown below for slimmer butt and hips, and needless to say, legs! ❤❤❤

Dr Scholl Medi Qtto Sleeping Spats

Dr Scholl Medi Qtto Compression Sleeping Socks are highly recommended for ladies who face similar problems like me! If your work requires you to stand up the whole day or walk a lot (sales promoters & shoppers too =p), or sitting behind a desk most of the time (office staff) or pregnant ladies, do consider getting a pair of these! You will see the difference.

Do you use deodorant everyday? I do. To ladies out there who don’t, I ENVY you! It would be nice when you do not have to worry about whether you will smell or not during the day. I used to use roll-on types but never liked them as usually the products felt sticky and were not very efficient. They kinda mask your body odour and I do not like the way it ended up smelling. Worse still, since they are scented, some caused my skin to itch. I have tried spray-on types too such as Marks & Spencer one with magnolia fragrance and Shiseido Ag+ in fruity rose scent. The spray-on deodorants were nice as I like the cooling sensation when the contents touched your skin. However you have to be careful not to breath in at the same time or soon after you sprayed as on a few occasions, I choked when I accidentally inhaled the contents. XD

Nevertheless, I find spray-on deodorant can be quite costly as it finishes fast and does not keep away the odour for long. Then I discovered Deonatulle deodorant range from Japan and the brand seems to be popular over there. Over the last 3 to 4 years, I have tried all 3 deodorant items from their products line-up which are

• Crystal Stone
• Sara Sara Cream
• Soft Stone W

How do I like these products? Read further…

Deonatulle Crystal Stone

Deonatulle Crystal Stone in old packaging

Crystal Stone was my first Deonatulle deodorant. I bought it because at the same price as Soft Stone W (1050yen), Crystal Stone’s content weight is 60g while Soft Stone W is 20g so I figured this would last longer. And indeed! It lasts me at least two years and still counting! This excludes the time I spent using other products in between because I actually started using it easily since 3 years back (possibly earlier!).

Other than being lasting usage-wise, does it work? For normal daily use, yes. You wet the stone slightly with water (preferably warm) and apply. I usually don’t wet the stone. I just leave my underarms wet after shower and apply. It is fragrance-free, and claims to help prevent sweaty underarms. Mine still sweats but slightly lesser. But for some users, they said that they perspire much lesser after using so I guess results depend on individuals. If you have serious odour problem, Crystal Stone may not be potent enough. You will have to consider either Sara Sara cream or Soft Stone W although I will recommend the former.

Conclusion is, this is a very value-for-money option and I certainly prefer this better than most roll-ons and spray type deodorants that I have used as it is not sticky, doesn’t cause itching, deodorizes more effectively and has some anti-perspiring effects. Good for light-to-medium level of activities and daily use.

Deonatulle Sara Sara Cream

Deonatulle Sara Sara Cream for Serious Users

I need one of this because it is a heavy-duty deodorant, good for when I am out under the sun for a long period of time or when I am wearing certain clothing that I don’t want to show that I am sweating much on. In short, when I absolutely want to keep my perspiration and body odour in check.

I haven’t found any products that fully deodorizes and for a long period of time like maybe 8 hours or more but Sara Sara Cream is the best so far. Actually I don’t recommend anyone to use this regularly. Why? Because I believe sometimes you have to let your body releases toxins through sweating and this is a strong anti-perspirant product.   It helps to keep body odour at bay for a longer period of time than Crystal Stone and Soft Stone W and has powerful anti-perspiration function.

Priced at 1155yen for 30g, this can lasts quite a long time as you only have to apply a small amount. It is cream type and you apply on clean, dry skin. It has no fragrance and does not leave a white residue. After applying, it takes a short while for it to dry though.

By the way, the photo shown on the right hand side here is of the old packaging. Deonatulle Sara Sara Cream now comes in a 45g tube packaging for more usage convenience (see photo below). I am really glad that they improved the packaging as the cream gets inside my nails sometimes when I try to scoop it out with my finger.

Sara Sara Cream in new tube packaging

This is a very effective anti-perspirant deodorant for users with serious odour problem and although usage-wise it is not as lasting as Deonatulle Crystal Stone, but if you are looking for a reliable deodorant, I recommend Sara Sara Cream. Try to use it interchangeably with other deodorants that don’t block perspiration so that your body can expel accumulated toxins healthily.

Deonatulle Soft Stone W

Japan best-selling deodorant, Deonatulle Soft Stone W

So I have shared my reviews for Deonatulle’s two other deodorants which are good deodorants in my opinion. But know what, both are not even Deonatulle’s best-seller item! See the red box at the cap part of the product? It says that for 2 consecutive years (2007-2008), this product is at No.1 rank at cosme.net’s Best Cosmetics Award Hall of Fame under Body Care category. What bout 2009 and 2010? In 2009, it was one of the Hall of Fame items. In the following year, unfortunately it hasn’t acquire any awards at cosme.net and seemed like the popularity was shifted to another product which is from Deonatulle too, Sara Sara Toe Cream which is a foot deodorant. Nonetheless Soft Stone W still appears as one of the top ten items for the weekly Review Ranking under Body Care category.

I like this deodorant because it is easy to use and effective. It is a stick type which you apply on clean, dry skin. There is a cooling sensation after you apply. It dries as soon as you apply and has a mild minty scent which does not clash with your perfume. There is not white residue too. It keeps me feeling fresh and odour-free for a long time too.

Soft Stone W works better than Crystal Stone in controlling body odour and sweat, and for a longer period of time too. So I can understand why this is more popular than the other two Deonatulle deodorants with it being affordable- 1050yen with content weight of 20g, easy to use and effective. Besides, unlike the other two deodorants, this product is dry when apply so there is ZERO waiting time!

Stick type Deodorant Soft Stone W

In A Nutshell…

If you have problems with body odour which is moderate, Soft Stone W is a recommended choice. If you have mild body odour problems, then go for Crystal Stone. For user with serious body odour problem, definitely Sara Sara Cream. The same goes for perspiration problems.

The BB cream craze…

When I wanted to jump onto the BB cream bandwagon more than a year ago, there were so many brands available in the market- BRTC, Skin79, Missha, Skin Food, Dr Jart and many more! Most may wanna try these popular brands due to many reasons and I wanted to get something with good reviews but I wasn’t sure which brand…

Even though BB creams are so popular, some of you may not have the slightest idea what is it. Well, it is said that BB creams (stands for Blemish Balm) are originated from Germany but are popularized in Korea. BB creams are used by patients who undergo laser treatment to protect and soothe their sensitive post-treatment skin. BB creams have many functionalities such as moisturising, sun protection, as foundation, skin regeneration, whitening, oil-control, anti-wrinkles, prevents acne, evens out skin tone, reduces blemish marks and more. But of course, different BB creams have different  numbers of these properties. Imagine skipping your moisturizer, sun block and foundation by using just one product; it is a dream-come-true for lazy people like me or for when you are in a hurry.

One day, as I was browsing through Cosme.net (while looking for other stuff), I saw this BB cream…

Unusual tube packaging...

The packaging attracted my attention because unlike other BB creams, it has a sponge applicator. This item wasn’t even in the top 50 rankings but at that time many users gave 5 to 7 stars rating and I read some of the reviews, many users said they would ‘repeat’ (Japanese users use the word ‘repeat’ for a product that they will definitely buy again).

I don’t know why I was so interested to try Jadilla J BB cream but certainly it was fueled by my sister’s similar interest with the convenient sponge applicator so in the end, we managed to order from Korea. We purchased the lipsticks too because the colours looked pretty and at that time, they were 4 colours- two shades of pinks, a nude shade and a rose shade. Four pretty easy and versatile lip colours.

Jadilla J Lipstick in 4 colours

There were lip glosses too but I’ll cover that later.

Upon first application…

When I first applied Jadilla J BB cream, I was astounded by the results as my skin looked flawless and radiant, almost like Song Hye-kyo’s dewy skin in Laneige’s posters! The coverage wasn’t too thick but good enough to cover some of my both open and clogged pores, uneven skin tones, pigmentation and fine lines. My skin stayed oil-free too for a good period of time. But I love how dewy-looking my skin was. ♥ However, I found that there are some users who mentioned that Jadilla J The Original BB giving them a matte finish but for my sister and I, we ended up having a dewy finishing while for a cousin sister, it was between dewy and matte… So I reckon perhaps because we have oilier skin so the finishing ended up looking glowy (because of the oil??). My cousin who has normal skin type and her skin looks more matte with slight glow. Anyone out there having similar experience with BB creams?

After I bought Jadilla J BB cream, I have also bought and tested a few other brands such as BRTC, Dr Jart, Dr G and Skin79. I will not say that my holy grail item, Jadilla J fares best in every aspects but do read on to find out why it is my favourite. ^^

BRTC Blemish Recover Balm

Dr Jart Black Label

Dr G Brightening Balm

Skin79 Hot Pink Super Beblesh Balm

Jadilla J The Original BB

The Comparison

BB Cream Texture, Smell & Coverage

I usually prefer lighter texture for foundations or almost any products that I apply on my face because I find that products with thicker consistency usually ends up giving sticky feel and are harder to be absorbed (for skin care products). I guess for BB creams or foundations, its density is kind of related to its coverage ability, to a certain level. The thicker it is, the better the coverage. Jadilla J The Original BB’s texture isn’t really light though but it isn’t too thick either.

Among the these brands in the comparison, Skin79 Hot Pink has the lightest texture and coverage is not bad. I think for light use, for instance as a daily foundation/ sun block, Skin79 is a very good choice. Dr Jart Black Label has the thickest texture and the best coverage here. Jadilla J The Original BB’s texture is between Dr Jart and Skin79, and like I mentioned earlier, it does a good job covering most of my skin imperfections, even my strawberry nose. Hehe. Although Dr G Brightening Balm has a thicker consistency than Jadilla J and a little of it can cover the whole face, unfortunately its coverage is not as good because fine lines and open pores were still visible. BRTC Blemish Recover has good coverage as well, similar to Jadilla J.

Texture Thickness & Coverage Comparison Table

Oil Control

I have combination skin and usually around noon, my face, especially the T-zone area will be oily so I need a good BB cream that will at least delay or absorb the oil production and keep my face oil-free as long as it can. I tested these BB creams oil control ability by applying the BB cream after my moisturiser in the morning, before 10am and checked it at around noon time, then evening, and night time (from 8pm onwards to see how they last for more than 10 hours). I actually applied two different brands on each half side of my face to compare.

BB Creams Oil Control Comparison Table

From the table, it seems that all the brands I tested have quite similar performance in oil control, except for BRTC. Dr Jart has the best oil control while BRTC, although it says it has sebum control properties on its packaging, it doesn’t live up to its claim.

The Shade & Finishing

I am using the lighter shade, No.1 in Light Beige. No.1 Light Beige evens out my skin tone and makes my overall complexion looks brighter with a gentle sheen. The other shade, No.2 Original Beige is for darker skin types. A lot of BB creams come in 1 shade so this is a plus point for Jadilla J. But if you have really tanned skin, No.2 may still be too light for you. For fair skin types, it is said No.2 can be used as well, to create a more healthy and natural complexion. I have not try Original Beige yet so I can’t comment more about it.  Anyway, Jadilla J No.1 Light Beige does give a nice, natural fair skin tone without looking out of place and, it does not have a grey or pinkish cast.

Below is swatch comparisons for Jadilla J in No.1 Light Beige, BRTC Blemish Recover & Jasmine Water, Dr Jart Black Label, Dr G Brightening Balm and Skin79 Hot Pink.

BB creams swatches. Camera focus on left side.

BB creams swatches. Camera focus on right side

As you can see, Jadilla J has the closest (and lightest) shade for my skin which is on the fair side (I purposely do the swatches on the inner side of my hand because the skin here is fairer. (n_n)) BRTC Jasmine Water and Blemish Recover are very close when applied even though Blemish Recover appeared darker in the picture. I applied each of them on half of my face and it turned out as though I was applying one shade but honestly, I find that both shades looked odd on me as they did not match my neck colour and had this pinkish or greyish cast that makes me look weird. (O_o)

For Dr Jart, it was too dark for my complexion although it had a natural shade. I use the word ‘natural’ because if you were to look just at my face, you would think it looked fine but when you look at my neck, then you would see the shade dissimilarity. Skin79 which may appeared darkest, but when applied it was surprisingly light in shade and very natural as though I was not wearing any base make up. Dr G gave a natural shade too although when first applied, there was a bit of pink cast.

BB Cream Shades Comparison Table

The Conclusion, Well, Mine at Least…

The main reason I love Jadilla J The Original BB best is because it gives the best matching and natural shade for fair skin tone. I guess if the shade of a foundation or any base make up does not match your skin tone, it does not matter how good it is at oil-controlling or coverage. I also like its ‘clean’ scent, it feels as though you are killing germs while smoothing over the BB cream on your face.

Additionally, there are other icing on this cake which I would love to share about. I will be sure to write another review for Jadilla J The Original BB, my holy grail make up item soon with some good news.

Am I showing favouritism here? Well… I admit ‘yes’ because I have fallen head over heels with it… ❤❤❤

Kao Essential Nuance Airy Shampoo Up Close

Kao Essential Nuance Airy Shampoo Back

Just finished using Kao Essential Damage Care Nuance Airy shampoo & conditioner. I chose the Nuance Airy range over Rich Premier because I wanted to have something lighter for my hair. I quite liked them actually as after washing, my hair felt smooth and airy (light). Lather from shampoo was quite rich and was easy to rinse off.

Kao Essential Nuance Airy Conditioner Up Close

Kao Essential Nuance Airy Conditioner Back

The conditioner worked well too. Although I still find Shiseido Tsubaki conditioner works best at detangling for my hair, Kao Essential’s wasn’t bad. I just needed to leave it on slightly longer and it would detangle easily.

In my opinion, Ichikami and Essential are very comparable with each other fragrance-wise and detangling-wise and I wouldn’t mind getting both brands again. But before I get my hands on Nuance Airy again, I would like to try its Rich Premier range to see whether it can give me the sleek and shiny look that Tsubaki provides.

Fragrant-wise, it was a pleasant fruity floral scent which wasn’t too overpowering.

One more thing, if you read behind the bottle, it says, “Hair shines all the way to the end”. Hmm… well, I think if you are looking for something that really gives shine, go for Tsubaki conditioners or treatments or masks, especially the Red or Shining range. You can use shampoos from other brands and follow with the conditioners. It will result in sleeker and glossy hair.

Kao Essential Nuance Airy Shampoo & Conditioner

Having tried a number of different brands of Japanese haircare products, I think I should post my reviews about these brands (listed alphabetically):

• Fancl
• Kao Segreta
• Kracie Ichikami
• Shiseido Tsubaki

Fancl

I love using Fancl products because they are preservatives and addictives free. When I discovered that they have shampoo and conditioner (a few years back), I couldn’t wait to try them. Pricewise, they are not cheap; selling in Japan for 2470 yen (around USD24-30) for the set. And mind you, it is a 200ml bottle!

200ml set

But it didn’t work for my hair…

The lather was so-so and after shampooing, my hair felt kind of dry. Of course, I followed with conditioner but the result wasn’t smooth and silky hair that I expected. Hair did not felt dry or rough overall, it was just MODERATE. Moderately smooth, moderately soft, moderately shiny. I believe with prolonged use, my hair can be very nice and healthy because of all the good ingredients the products have (or the absence of the not-so-good ingredients) but for the price, I hesitated to continue after my first set.

Nevertheless I like it for its scent. Very mild and soothing  citrusy scent that I still remember until today. Anyway I might try it again in future, when Fancl has new improved formulations.

Luscious ingredients that attracted my attention to try Segreta back then

Kao Segreta

Segreta was one of the earliest Japan imported haircare brand that I have tried and loved. The brand actually aims for the more mature market but I was feeling very keen to try when I saw some of the ingredients it has such as the pomegranate extract which gives shine to your hair.

I love the smell of Segreta too. Fruity but not ‘sweet’. And did it work? Yes, my hair felt very soft and smooth to the touch. I noticed after a few uses, there was a gentle sheen on my hair.

Kracie Ichikami

Ichikami shampoo & conditioner

This is another one of my favourite brands. I haven’t managed to try its hair pack, Ichikami Premium Mask, which was ranked as No. 1 under ‘Hair Pack/ Treatment’ category in 2010 at cosme.net yet. However, the shampoo and conditioner were good.

Ichikami Premium Mask

Shampoo had a good lather and conditioner detangled well. The products had a pleasant fresh blooming wild cherry trees fragrance. And, Ichikami is silicone-free.

Another point worth mentioning is, it did not cause irritation to my scalp as some shampoo/ conditioner brands make my scalp itchy.

Shiseido Tsubaki

Shining (Red line)

Tsubaki has three ranges, namely Shining (Red line), Damage Care (White line) and Head Spa (Gold line). I prefer Red Shining line over White Damage Care line but I love the Head Spa (Gold line) most because it does not only made my hair shiny, it cared for my scalp too.

Shiseido Tsubaki Shining (Red line)

A lot of users will prefer the white range because it is the Damage Care range but I found the Shining range doing a good job in repairing my damaged hair plus making it shinier too. I have used all three ranges for the shampoo and conditioner but I don’t think that the Damage care range actually repairs your hair better than the other two. Not saying that it doesn’t but I just didn’t see or feel the improvement any more than when I was using the other two.

In addition, its fragrance was much nicer than Damage Care. I really like its fruity camellia scent which is a delightful mixture of Camellia, Hamanashi or Shore Pear (a rose that grows on the coasts), Nankobai (a type of Japanese plum), Shiro Budo (White Grape), pomegranate, Ogonto (Golden Peach), ginger, and Kosuinashi or Kosui pear.

	Scent:	★★★★★★★
	Shampoo Lather:	★★★★★★★
	Conditioner Detangle:	★★★★★★★
	Overall:	★★★★★★★

Damage Care (White line)

Shiseido Tsubaki Damage Care (White line)

As I already mentioned above, I didn’t really like the Damage Care range but it is popular because it’s specially for damaged hair. It worked fine really but I didn’t fancy its fragrance of Camellia, bamboo, moss, willow, water lily, and sweet-smelling daphne which resulted in a very ‘green’ scent.

	Scent:	★★★★★★★
	Shampoo Lather:	★★★★★★★
	Conditioner Detangle:	★★★★★★★
	Overall:	★★★★★★★

Head Spa (Gold line)

Shiseido Tsubaki Head Spa (Gold line)

Tsubaki Head Spa is my favourite of the three ranges. Sometimes my scalp will get itchy when I did not rinse off the conditioner cleanly when using either Red or White range (the usage instructions did actually ask users to rinse off thoroughly), but with Head Spa, I have gotten almost no irritation. Head Spa actually helps preventing dandruff and itchiness on scalp.

As usual with Tsubaki products, my hair was shinier and smooth. The fragrance is a mind and body relaxing aromatic blend of natural essential oils which I enjoyed.

Albion Moisture Milk I & Ski-Con Essential in box

Wanted to post my review about these two wonderful products quite sometime ago but um, I procrastinated… ^^;;

Anyway, Albion is one of the top brands in Japan and I read somewhere that even the royalties of Japan are using this brand. I got to know about Albion from malaysianbabes.net. There are many good reviews about Albion skincare products, especially for its Moisture Milk and Skin Conditioner (or Ski-Con). In Cosme.net, these products are easily among the highest ranking on its related categories. (These rankings are based on the amount  of reviews + the stars rating given by users on each review.)

I started using both products since June or July this year. I am on my second bottle of Albion Moisture Milk, but for this time I am trying its Exage White so I will review on it this time too. :3

I have always have problems with blackheads, and VERY oily t-zone.  Usually around noon, my t-zone area is SHINY and I hate that greasy surface on my face. I have tried and tested quite a number of different brands, but none were able to improve the condition much. Actually there is one exception, there is something that helps clear all the oil secretion away- Isotretinoin. The results were marvelous! I had oil-free skin that, unfortunately, lasted not more than four months and the oiliness returned. ; ; But this medication is not something I will recommend to everyone especially women who are planning to have children soon because it can cause birth defects. Doctors will have you sign a paper that you are aware of the side effects and that you are not planning to have children at least within a year’s time.

On a trip to Taipei this year, I had a consultation at an Albion counter at Sogo. The consultant asked what were my main concerns about my skin and I mentioned blackheads and oiliness, and was looking for products with whitening effects too (well, who don’t want translucent and fair skin?). The beauty consultant checked my skin condition with a pen-like object attached to a small machine. I think Lancome is using something similar too to help analyse customers’ skin condition. Since my mandarin is not very good, but with the help of my sister who can speak mandarin fairly well, I managed to understand that my skin was very dehydrated despite the few layers of Shiseido White Lucent moisturizers I had applied earlier to confront with the cold weather. The consultant also explained that for dehydrated and oily skin types like mine, it is not recommended to use whitening range of products as they are tend to be drying.

She let us tested Albion Moisture Milk I on the back of our hands; it was applied with a cotton pad. The consultant explained to us that our fingers have fine lines and are not the best means to apply products on our face (or in this case,Albion’s products). We are recommended to apply Albion Moisture Milk with their special cotton pads to maximise absorption. Maybe some of you may think that this is a marketing gimmick to increase sales. But Albion’s cotton pads are different than normal ones. Besides the larger size, its fibres are much longer than regular cotton pads, and you can easily tear out thinner sheets (I can tear out about 6 to 8 sheets ) and saturate the cotton sheets with Ski-Con and leave on your face.  It feels very soft and smooth too on the skin but I believe not many are ready to fork out NTD220 in Taiwan or 399 yen  in Japan for 120 pieces of Albion Facial Cotton-L.

Albion Facial Cotton-L

Regular cotton pads & Albion cotton pads

Not sure if the photos below are clear enough to see but as what the Albion consultant mentioned, the fibres on Albion Facial Cotton is longer than regular cotton pads which are usually made from broken fibres.

Regular cotton pad

Regular cotton pad up close

Albion Facial Cotton pad

Up close. I set higher contrast in this pic so that the fibres can be seen easily.

Can you see the fibres which are longer and there is not much strayed broken fibres when you separate it?

Moisture Milk & Skin Conditioner

Albion has a Four-Step Skincare System which consists of Cleansing –> Milk Lotion –>  Lotion/ Toner –> Serum & Cream. The second step- Milk Lotion basically refers to Albion milk lotions. Unlike most other milk lotions which are used to cleanse your face before washing, Albion Milk Lotions are very much like our moisturisers. The difference is Albion milk lotions are used BEFORE toner.

After cleansing my face, Moisture Milk I or White Milk I are applied using cotton pad. My Albion products are stored in fridge so it feels more cooling when apply. I love it because the lotion does not leave a sticky feeling after and this is really a plus point for me. Another thing I like is you can apply the milk lotion on your eyes area- just gently spread the lotion from inner eye to outwards. The smell is pleasant too, nothing too over-powering but very mild and soothing scent.

Up close on the back of the box.

Next, the Skin Conditioner. On the box, it says something like, “Soak a cotton ball generously with Skin Conditioner and pat all over face (except eyes area). Let it be absorbed by skin.” But what I do is I pour a few drops of the contents on my hands and pat on my face. The cotton pads and Ski-Con are a bit too precious for me to allow me to use both every night in my beauty regime. I might try cutting the Albion cotton pads into smaller squares and do as per the directions on the box though. After a short while when the products are absorbed, my skin feels smooth and supple.

In the next morning when I wake up, my face does not feel sticky and oily at all and only a bit of sebum start appearing from late afternoon or evening . (Do note that I do not use Albion products in the mornings.) This is a big improvement for my skin as I used to feel the area between my forehead and hairline and nose to be kind of oily (I guess the rest went to my pillow sheet – -”) and sticky when I wake up.

With or without milk lotion comparison

Above is a small comparison test to show that Albion milk lotion (in this case, I am using the White Milk I) does help increase absorption of products applied after. I dropped a droplet of Ski-con on both hands with my back of hand on the right side already applied with Albion White Milk I (using cotton pad). On the left side (the hand with ring) there was nothing applied prior. If you look closely, the droplet on the left side was still in its rounded puddle form but on the right, the lotion has spread out. I tilted both hands a bit but the droplet on the left remained in its circular form. When I looked closer, I can see the droplet is starting to spread out but very slowly indeed.

White Milk I & Moisture Milk I

Moisture Milk I & White Milk I

For those with dehydrated skins, I will recommend you to try Albion milk lotions. Depending on your needs, you can choose from a number of ranges such as Exage, Exage White, Infinesse, Exage Corses White etc. Under Exage and Exage White ranges, you can choose the milk lotion from I, II and III for different skin types:

I for oily skin
II for normal skin
III for dry skin

In Japan, Exage White and Exage milk lotion in II and III are most popular  most likely due to more Japanese women having normal or dry skin types. Is anyone of you using II or III here as the Albion consultant told me that these two may be too rich to be used in hot and humid weather such as in Malaysia. Do let me know what you think of either.

For myself between the two types I have tried, I think I will prefer Moisture Milk I than White Milk I. Moisture Milk I feels lighter in texture and White Milk I feels more slick when applied. I also feel that Exage Moisture Milk I is more moisturising because my face seems to stay oil-free for longer compared with when I am using White Milk I. Perhaps the consultant is right after all about whitening products being less moisturising.

Anyway, I have also tried using normal facial cotton pads to apply my Exage White Milk I. Honestly, the effect after application looks similar to when I am using Albion cotton pads. My face still feel smooth in the mornings. But there IS a difference! The regular cotton pads DOES feel more rough compared with Albion’s. Albion cotton pads feels oh-so-smooth on the skin.♥

Japan No.1 Lotion ^^

Skin Conditioner Essential

Rarely will you find an Albion user who don’t love Ski-Con.  It helps improve skin condition that has acnes, dullness, dryness and is suitable for sensitive skin too. Many users say that Skin-Con helps in healing acnes faster too. Actually I wasn’t aware about dabbing some Ski-Con on acnes until I read one user who swears by this method. I tried it on a really painful acne on my ear (of all places – -”) and it became less inflamed the next day.

I like to use Ski-Con as a pick-me-up mask too. Soak an Albion cotton pad or two and tear off thin sheets and leave on my whole face till all the cotton sheets dry off. My skin will look refreshed and glowy after. ^^

If you like to get more information about Albion products in English, please visit Albion. Its Japanese language site has more details and you can always use Google Translate but it is not that accurate though.

While many of you may prefer liquid form of face cleanser or body wash, i like to try different brands of soaps. Not sure exactly why, but i have tried a few of those ‘popular’ ones such as Cyleina, Rice Day, Amoorea and now, Cow Brand. Cow Brand has many quality product ranges such as Mutenka (無添加), Bouncia, Celeb and more. I am using their Beauty Soap.

There are 2 types of soaps-  Blue box and Red box. Both soaps are in the highest rankings (means they gain high review points)  in Japan’s Cosme.net with Blue Beauty Soap usually in top 3 position (this applies to both “Cleanser” and “Soap” categories). I was curious how such a simple-looking bar of  soap can be so popular among Japanese ladies, and possibly men, so i bought both types to try. Many of the reviews at Cosme.net are about how soft and smooth the skin feels after using the soap, rich lather, affordable prices and some even claimed that it is good for skin with acne problems.

Cosme.net is a popular comprehensive portal where you can find a variety of beauty  and cosmetics products information. It has an interesting product ranking system which can be based on a variety of categories (age, product categories, reviews etc.).

What are the different features of these two soaps, one may asks. Both contains the main ingredient, butterfat which is derived from milk that gives your skin soft and smooth feeling. Blue soap gives a refreshing experience and Red is moisturizing. Fragrance-wise, Blue has jasmine-like scent and Red has scent similar to rose.

'C-O-W' embossed nicely on one side of the soap

It has been a month or so since i started washing my face and body with my 100g bar of Cow Red Beauty Soap. It was finished before i finish writing this so actually now i have already started using the Blue one. (^^) Before the Red soap, i was using Amoorea. (May write a review on that too, later.)

The lather was rich and the scent was nice! It made my skin so smooth that i could really felt the silky smooth feeling on my legs when i walked! The next day, i found two painful pimples on my sideburns area dried up too but this could be just a coincidence.

On the other hand, the soap did cause some minor peeling on my ankles area. Possibly because of dryness but this happened only on that area. On my face, i didn’t feel any tautness where you usually experience after using an overly drying cleanser (the type that gives a squeaky clean feeling) so i guess it was fine . Anyway i don’t think Beauty Soap is actually drying because  my face would have secretes more oil. However this could be because i am using Dr Ci Labo Aqua Collagen Gel which helps keeping my skin hydrated and thus no further oil secretion.

The Blue soap with cow image imprinted on one side

The Blue soap, which i am using now, gives a clean and fresh feeling. I like how both soaps don’t leave the that you-have-not-rinse-off-thoroughly feeling. Blue soap does not cause any peeling on my ankles area. Another thing i love about the Blue soap is, my skin feels even smoother. So smooth that even my eyelids feel nice to touch!

Scent-wise, it is not really jasmine.. I cannot describe it (^^;;) but it is nice.

Comparison between Red & Blue Beauty Soaps
Size: Red is 100gm; Blue is 85gm. Bath sizes (bigger block for bathing use) are available too with 155gm for Red and 135gm for Blue.
Scent: Both scents are pleasant IMO with Red smells sexier (rose-like) and Blue is certainly more refreshing.
Lather: If you prefer a richer, creamier lather, go for Red. Blue lathers quite well too but not as generous as Red. (I know some of you (for convenience purpose) likes to hold the soap bar and rub it on your skin directly, but try lathering the soap on your palm first, put the soap away and add a bit more water to your palm and lather again. Then spread over your skin to cleanse. This way, it is actually less drying and also you can use the soap for longer. )
Results: Although Red is supposed to be more moisturizing than Blue,  i could still experienced some peeling on my ankles area. Overall it wasn’t not bad though as  it cleansed well and i like its rose-like fragrance and rich lather. I will use it again in future although i certainly prefer the Blue soap better. It makes my skin now feels much smoother!

Would definitely recommend the Blue soap for those of you who is looking for an affordable face (and body) cleanser that makes your skin feels so smooooth!

Edited: Get these here.