Here is a major throwback. Eau Thermale Avène; my first ever full set skincare products that I bought when I was 19 years old. I still remember the day I brought a few hundred ringgit with me to Mid Valley. I headed to Guardian and I stood in front of Avène shelf. The lady who attended to me was super nice. That day I decided to get a full range of Avène to treat my acne skin. I cannot remember how I get to know Avène but it was probably from sampling exercise prior before that. And I remember I paid RM400+, went home with tons of products and samples. Mind you Avène samples are in mini tubes and bottles, not sachets. At that time, splurging a few hundred on skincare is considered a lot for a 19 year old. But I did it anyway. It was my first skincare. I even mentioned about my first love in this review post on Avène Sérénage Nutri-Redensifying Vital Serum & Day Cream!

Eau Thermale Avène is widely known for its iconic Thermal Spring Water and for its soothing and softening properties on sensitive skin. Now, Eau Thermale Avène is also known to help with eczema skin, which I have a few patches now on my skin so I was looking forward to test it out. I still remember vividly that I chose Eau Thermale Avène for my problematic skin last time because I have heard so many people talk about how mild the products are but highly effective. Sometimes less is more . Being a maven in beauty, I tempt to hop around different brands and products but one fine Saturday morning roughly 2 weeks ago had me rediscovering and revisit my first love. A trip down memory lane I say. Since that day I have readapted Eau Thermale Avène into my skincare routine. In fact it is my current skincare routine. A simpler but effective one.

My Current 5-Step Skincare Routine

Well, it is actually 4-step skincare routine now for me but if I add Thermal Spring Water mist in it, that makes it five . Let’s start with me by telling you what is my skin condition at the moment. I am no longer the same 19 year old girl with breakout on my skin. My oily skin has now become dehydrated. Dehydrated means my skin is lack of water inside hence it is sending a signal to the brain, then to my skin to tell it to start producing oil to keep my skin hydrated. That is dehydrated skin. It has pros and con I would say. Pros is I can slap on a thick layer of moisturizer and my skin does not look oily throughout the day, just dewy. Con is fine lines and wrinkles will pay me a visit soon

Step 1: Eau Thermale Avène Gentle Cleansing Foam (RM95 / 150ml)

My all time cleanser from Eau Thermale Avène is the green bottle Cleanance Soapless Gel Cleanser which everyone raved about. The Gentle Cleansing Foam would be a new discovery for me. I love self-foaming cleansing as it is so much convenient. This is a very mild soap-free gentle cleanser for all skin type, especially for sensitive to irritated skin.

What is like about this Gentle Cleansing Foam is that it has composition that are rich in Thermal Spring Water. As you know, Thermal Spring Water are widely used to soothe irritated skin. However, this is after all still a foam cleanser therefore if you only use it on it’s own, you will feel slight tightening sensation on the skin especially under air-conditioned area. So please properly moisturized your skin after cleansing. Why is that so? That is because the formula contain Glutamic Acid blend to mattifies the skin by rebalancing sebum production and tightening pores. Having said that, it is not drying at all as it has moisturizing agent in it.

Step 2: Eau Thermale Avène Gentle Toner (RM89 / 200ml)

Oh my gosh! This Gentle Toner smells exactly like Cleanance Soapless Gel Cleanser! If you like that scent a lot like me you will like this toner too. Eau Thermale Avène Gentle Toner is an alcohol-free toner, suitable for dry to very dry sensitive skin. What suits sensitive skin will suit every other skin type as well. This toner matches perfectly with Gentle Foaming Cleanser as it is very moisturizing thanks to natural silicates in it. It contains Thermal Spring Water in it as well. Together with silicates, it gives the skin a complete moisturization, softness and protects the skin from external aggressions.

This Gentle Toner looks like a dual-phase toner. The top layer is clear to softens while the bottom later is milky white to protects skin. Simply shake the bottle up a bit and you are good to go! The best part about this toner is that I do not need a lot. I just quickly tilt the bottle onto my cotton pad 3 times and I have more than enough for the whole face. I cannot get enough of the scent

Step 3: Eau Thermale Avène Hydrance OPTIMALE Light Hydrating Cream (RM109 / 40ml)

Now comes the star of my skincare routine. As I am writing this now, I am left with just a few dollops of this Hydrance OPTIMALE Light Hydrating Cream and I am kind of bummed about it because it is so good!

Hydration is the key to a healthy skin. I cannot stop repeating this again and again here in Street Love. I learnt it through the hard way so I am making sure you do not have to :). Let me share with you a story I learnt from a recent gathering with Eau Thermale Avène. Pretty interesting. You know why tears stay inside our eyes to keep the surface moist at all time? That is because our eyes are covered by a special protective film containing 2 specific proteins – lipocaline and mucine. These films stabilises the protective film, curb evaporation of tears and encourage an even distribution of moisture to all over the eye surface. Based on that and utilizing the same concept, Avène came out with Hydrance OPTIMALE range, which provides 4 times hydration to the skin.

Within Hydrance OPTIMALE range, there are two types of cream – Hydrance OPTIMALE Rich and Light. The Rich version is for dry to very dry dehydrated sensitive skin, while Hydrance OPTIMALE Light is for Normal to Combination Dehydrated Sensitive Skin aka my skin

Eau Thermale Avène Hydrance OPTIMALE active ingredients includes Eau Thermale Avène Thermal Spring Water for its soothing and anti-irritating properties, Lipomucine – an active complex to promote even distribution of water over the skin and holds it on the skin, keeping it perfectly hydrated, NEW ingredient – Meiboserine that limits the evaporation of Thermal Spring Water and Lipid Trio to restores an effective skin barrier against dehydration, distributes water over the skin and holds it.

If you know me you will know that I like to go generous when it comes to my moisturizer. Same goes to this Eau Thermale Avène Hydrance OPTIMALE Light Hydrating Cream. Now that explains why I am running out of the cream within 2 weeks of usage . It is lightweight for daytime use and surprisingly provides enough moisturization for night time for me.

Usually natural products smells earthy but I was so relieved that this cream smells like Eau Thermale Avène Cleanance Soapless Gel Cleanser and Gentle Toner. What I was even surprised to find was that this cream disappears into my skin right when I am about to jump onto the bed. I no longer need to lie down flat on my back waiting for the cream to be absorbed. My face was not even tacky when I am done with my night skincare routine. More brownie points for the cream!

This is how my skin looks like immediately after applying Eau Thermale Avène Hydrance OPTIMALE Light Hydrating Cream.

Besides looking forward to a much healthier and hydrated skin, I was looking forward to treat the eczema patch on my right eyebrow with the cream. I start to have eczema patches a few years ago when I was put on Hyperthyroidism medication. I managed to get rid of the patch on my left nose but seems to fail to treat the one on my eyebrow/forehead. My doctor told me that eczema is actually dry patch and all I need to do is to hydrate the skin more. So far none of my skincare managed to do so. And Eau Thermale Avène Hydrance OPTIMALE Light Hydrating Cream did it! No photo editing as you can still see the “mark” aka leftover. There is still a bit of redness left but looking at how the dry patch is almost gone and the redness was toned down so much, I am more than pleased.

Step 4: Eau Thermale Avène Day Protector Tinted SPF 30 PA+++ (RM99 / 40ml)

Eau Thermale Avène sun care is the first sun protection that has triple action innovation. They recently added Day Protector Tinted SPF 30 PA+++ into their sun care range and it has bagged No. 1 European Market Leader Sun Care Products in Pharmacy in 2015 award. Eau Thermale Avène sun care products are also the brand recommended by Skin Cancer Foundation International. Now that says something, isn’t it?

Did you know that people with sensitive skin is prone to be affected by UV radiations? Not only that. Photoaging is put on speed and that will cause signs of aging such as brown spots, uneven skin tone, wrinkles and loss of firmness. Another fun fact that you might not know is that many brands came out with SPF50 sunscreen but if you bring them for a lab test, you may not find a full SPF50 protection but a mere SPF protection not more than SPF30. Naturally, the higher SPF protection it is, the more oilier it gets. Eau Thermale Avène understand this and our hot humid weather hence the born of the NEW Day Protector Tinted SPF30 PA+++. Tinted means it has a skin tone tint to it rather than the usual white cast. The shade of the tint are made to match most Asian skin complexions.

Day Protector Tinted SPF30 PA+++ comes with Triple Protection.

1. Photoprotective complex SPF30 PA+++ – a photostable and effective against harmful UVA and UVB.
2. Pre-tocopheryl (stabilized precursor of Vitamin E) – a powerful cellular antioxidant property.
3. Avène Thermal Spring Water – of course, a natural soothing and anti-irritating properties for the skin.

The Tint is quite subtle and natural-looking on the skin that it also acts as an uneven skin tone cancellation for me. It has a bit of a scent to it, quite an earthy smelling sunscreen in my opinion. But it is definitely not smelly, don’t worry . A little bit goes a long way but knowing me, I knew I would go crazy with face sunscreen. You can get away with just applying this as it does even out your skin tone. It leaves a bit of a tackiness on the skin and that is normal. Just lightly dust some powder on the face to remove the tackiness.

The tackiness also means that the product Hydrates your skin. The Tint shade may appear fair upon application but once it is on the face, the tint gets slights darker and blends with your skin tone. It is formulated with a few combination of mineral pigments and brightening pearls. What the combination does is that it unifies your complexion by covering blemishes, fine lines, and pores.

Step 5: Eau Thermale Avène Thermal Spring Water (RM25 / 50ml, RM49 / 150ml, RM69 / 300ml)

I thought I would do a separate mention on the Thermal Spring Water as I did mentioned before that I do not like this face mist before. Here’s why. Many years ago I had a severe skin allergy attack. My face was burning and itching so badly that I resorted to Eau Thermale Avène Thermal Spring Water to cool my face down. I heard it is the best remedy. At the same time I had a few bottles at home from previous haul. Talking about right timing, eh? The water droplet was too huge and when the water evaporates from my skin, it makes my face itches like mad. I never dare to touch it since then until 2 weeks ago. I took the tester bottle and start misting on my face. It was not the same as my previous bottle so I kept misting and misting, wondering why and how come. I like it there and then. I even brought the same big bottle with me to Malacca the next day. Then I know why. You see, I had the small 50ml travel bottle and somehow maybe mine was faulty that the water mist was rough and wet my whole face. Naturally with so much water on the face, you tend to feel the evaporation. The bigger bottle misted finer mist that you will not feel anything, even when the water evaporates. I finally found out what is the problem and I thought I would come here to clarify it

There are so many ways you can use the Eau Thermale Avène Thermal Spring Water and my favorites are two – to set my makeup and as mid-day mist. I am a sucker for face mist and I could not step out of the house without one! My skin now is much more dry and dehydrated so a mist shower of the Thermal Spring Water somehow managed to set my makeup and kept them on my face, without any meltdown. As this is water, it does not put on any additional product on my face therefore no extra sebum production. In fact, it kept my face hydrated AND keeping sebum at bay. If you have a dehydrated skin like I am, you will start appreciating face mist lol.

However you have to be careful with the Thermal Spring Water mist as well. You may go crazy with it hence drenching the whole face of makeup, like I did with the above photo and I managed to blot it down. Phew! Eau Thermale Avène suggested to use it as soothing mist right after cleansing and before toner. I find it to work best right after Gentle Cleansing Foam, which I said can be a bit drying if you cleanse and walk away.

There you have it! My current skincare routine with a success battle on the stubborn eczema patch issue I had for years, and a walk down the memory lane. I was reminded once again to why I chose Eau Thermale Avène as my first skincare brand when I was 19 year old. Eau Thermale Avène is more than just water.

Disclaimer: Product was sent to me for review consideration. This doesn’t affect my judgement in the review in any way.

The post Rediscovering and A Stroll Down Memory Lane to My First Ever Skincare Brand; Eau Thermale Avène + My Current 5-Step Skincare Routine appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

It has been quite some time since I last purchase anything from my favorite eBay Malaysia seller jjj*2008. Yes that is the eBay seller ID so please read properly before bombarding my email asking for seller ID. It’s all written in the post and you should read. That’s what blog are for. To read!

Anyway, this week I spotted 2 things I want from her store and I placed my order in the morning, paid in the morning, parcel sent out in the morning as well and I received the parcel the next day! The most satisfied and efficient purchase ever.

Jenny (the seller) is known for her most secure wrapping, nice box packaging and extra gift generosity. My purchases this time arrived in a L’Occitane gift box.

Let’s see what I get in the box shall we?

First up is a travel size Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder & Mini Fan Brush Set which I got for a steal at RM35. What a perfect time to test out the highly raved powder. I’ve always wanted a fan brush but didn’t exactly have a real purpose for it except for sweeping excess loose powder off the face which I rarely do. Kinda excited to get a mini one from Laura Mercier.

Previously I wanted to go for Crabtree & Evelyn member preview sales to get the Crabtree & Evelyn Mini Floral Room Sprays which means I need to spend certain amount and be the first 20 in the store which is kinda hard since there’s so many people everyday. Thank goodness I spot this set at eBay. I rather buy this set alone than to spend a lot just to get this GWP. I bought this for RM59 which is kinda okay since it’s worth RM118.

Knowing Jenny, she always include some extras in the parcel and she did. Quite generous of her too although I spend just very little this time. She gave me a Avene Cleanance Exfoliating and Absorbing Cleansing Mask (Full Size), Avene Cleanance K Cream-Gel 5ml and Pure Beauty Youth Restore Essence with Black Pearl 3ml.

Always a pleasure buying from jjj*2008. I spotted a few more but on tight budget so need to hold on. Do visit her store if you don’t mind buying cheaper, branded and with extra goodies. I love her speedy response with emails, parcel delivery speed, her extra careful handling with parcel packaging and generosity.

The post eBay Mini Haul Time! appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

This week I rekindled with my first love. Skin care first love that is. Many years ago I remembered driving to Mid Valley, stepped into Guardians and bought a whole set of Avène. I was given a bunch of trial size too and the products succeeded in combating my acne problem. As I mentioned many times before in my blog…I get bored easily with the same routine everyday so I stopped using skin care once and for all. Talking about being lazy LOL! Don’t worry. All that is history now. I’m very devoted to my skin care routine now that I know the importance of using skin care.

At my age now (gosh I feel so old saying this) I’m more suitable with anti-aging range. I was told that Avène has a new range called Sérénage. In today’s review I’m going to review two product from the new range which is Nutri-Redensifying Vital Serum and Nutri-Redensifying Day Cream.

Avène Sérénage Nutri-Redensifying Vital Serum – RM159, 30ml

The serum is in a frosty white bottle and it’s light on hand. It comes with a dense pump system with a small dispensing hole that doesn’t dispense more than enough amount of serum. I accidentally dropped the bottle and there’s no dent or chip at all. I notice that the inner white pump head could be unscrew. That means you can recycle the bottle for other liquid next time!

What the serum claimed to give you. It is also said that the serum soothes and comforts mature skin immediately after application. In my experience of using the serum, it does indeed soothes and comfort my skin without giving me any irritation and breakout.

The ingredient list for those that are interested. I notice that Avène products is infused with 70% with their famous Thermal Spring Water. It also contain high concentration of H.A.F. (Hyaluronic Acid Fragments).

This is a milky light serum and slightly scented. The scent went off a few second after patting on the face. Even if you are not a big fan of fragrant skin care you will like this. I actually like the scent very much. It is recommended to use 2 pumps for the whole face and neck. The serum is so light that it’s rapidly absorbed into the skin before you know it. I find that 2 pumps is not enough for me so I’m using 4 pumps at night. Below picture is just one pump.

My Verdict
I like the serum’s texture, easily absorbed, not oily and doesn’t give me breakout. I also know that I can safely use this product without any worries as it is also Paraben-free. During my testing period, I notice that my skin is more smoothed, revitalized and hydrated. Maybe because of that my makeup stays on longer and more defined. I believe if I use this in the long run I’d have more toned, strengthened skin.

Avène Sérénage Nutri-Redensifying Day Cream – RM139, 40ml

Sérénage Nutri-Redensifying Day Cream on the other hand is slightly more in content than the serum and it’s in opaque white tall bottle with a similar pump system. The pump also dispense just the right amount of cream out.

What this day cream claimed. It is also said to restore density, vitality and comfort in mature skin besides the many many benefits in using the product.

The ingredient list is below. This cream contains 52% of Thermal Spring Water, Glycoleol which is a new inductive ingredient that reactivates skin’s lipid synthesis. It also provides the skin with the nutrients it needs thanks to it’s reservoir effect. Same with the serum, H.A.F. is also found in the day cream. Besides that Pre-tocopheryl is also added in to strengthens age-weakened skin

The cream is thick and creamy thus pumping out the content is a bit tricky. This is also lightly scented which will go away after a while. It is recommended to apply the day cream on the face and neck. I don’t recommend using more than 1 pump as it’s very thick. Just 1 pump is enough for the whole face and neck.

My Verdict
The texture is too thick for my liking. I’d prefer this kind of creaminess as my night cream instead of day. However the good news is my skin is more nourished and moisturized due to the texture! I guess nothing is perfect eh? Just like the serum…my face is more smoothed. As I haven’t use this in the long run, I have not seen the reduction in fine lines and wrinkles yet. I’d be very very happy if this cream and help to reduce the lines on my forehead

I’ll definitely continue using these two products in the long run as I wanna benefit from all the goodness that was packed in the lil white bottle.

I believe most of us tried Avène before. What was your first Avène product?

Disclaimer: Product won from Avène Merdeka Surprise which was conducted in Avène Facebook page. This doesn’t affect my judgement in the review in any way.

The post Review: Avène Sérénage Nutri-Redensifying Vital Serum & Day Cream appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

Beginning of this month I opened up quite a number of new products to use.

Clarins Instant Light Perfecting Touch 1ml
This is a sample unit and I currently have 3 pieces which I’ve used up 2. I’m using this as a concealer to cover up my acne scar. The color of this is slightly tinted and appears pinkish. So far the concealer does a good job.

Kanebo Coffret D’Or Eyes Appeal Shadow in (01 Sweet Brown)
Bought this from last week’s Kanebo warehouse sales at Kanebo Internation Salon Bangsar. The color payout is very light and but very shimmering. I like that it’s not just shimmering, it also contains shimmer particles.

Skin79 Crystal Finish Pact
A Taiwan Marie Claire magazine freebies. The shade is a bit light but with my darker shade liquid foundation, it’s not a biggie. I usually swirl this with Ecotools Blush Brush. This compact powder also contains shimmer particles.

Avene Cold Cream Lip Balm
It says “Lip Balm” but I don’t recommend using it as lip balm alone as you could look like a ghost! There’s this satin sheen on the lips and I like to apply this just before my lipstick. It gave my lipstick a beautiful sheen and it’s quite moisturising too.

Clarins Concealer Stick 2.6g
Bought two of this from Clarins beauty fair last year for RM30 each. Original price of this is RM92 can you believe that. It’s something like Instant Light Perfecting Touch. The only different is the texture. This is more solid creamy and Instant Light Perfecting Touch is more liquid.

Bio-Essence Aqua BB Cream 30g
I got this from an exchange program back in January. Read here. If you know me then you’d know I hate the company Ginvera and all the products under it’s umbrella. This BB cream is a crap. For some reason I don’t feel safe applying this on my face. I’ve used it once and it’s now in my rubbish bin.

Clarins Pure and Radian Mask With Pink Clay 15ml
Review: Read here
One of the best mask I’ve ever used! Apparently this is my 2nd last 15ml tube. If you use this mask on the night, you’d get a more radiant skin the next morning. Makeup glides on smoothly and stays on smoothly too.

Clarins Advanced Extra-Firming Neck Cream 15ml
This was given to me as one of the GWP. I’ve been using it on and off. Maybe because of that I haven’t seen any significant result. I think I need to use it more often to see a better result?

Clarins Multi-Active Skin Renewal Serum 30ml
I gotten this from October last year points redemption and this baby costs RM238. I was advised by a BA at Jusco MV in September 2011 to purchase this but I refuse as I find it expensive for a 30ml hehe. I didn’t use this everyday as I was alternating between 3 serums.

Clarins White Plus HP Whitening Velvet Emulsion SPF20 15ml
This is given to me to try by Clarins Malaysia as this is their new White Plus HP product which just launched not long ago. This will be replacing the current Whitening Day Emulsion. The new Velvet Emulsion comes in 2 version; one with SPF20 and the other one without. The one without SPF20 could be use at night time. I kinda like this new version as it’s less oilier and felt more light on the skin. This will definitely suitable for combination skin.

Kanebo Coffret D’Or Natural Clear Liner BK-28
A non-refillable liquid eye liner by Coffret D’Or. First impression is this is kinda watery. It’s like the water and the black ink is not properly mixed. Then I start to shake the pen vigorously and it’s ok now LOL. Hard to remove though. Don’t expect this to be easier to remove like Maybelline HyperSharp Liner cause it’s not.

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch 4ml
Review: Read here
Makeup artist around the world called this the second skin. I couldn’t agree more. I’m using this to cover up my forehead lines. Yea I tend to frown and lift my brow when I do my eye makeup. Bad bad habit. And I’m using this to cover up my pores on the cheek as well.

Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Lotion 9ml
A sample from Hada Labo FB redemption. I always wanted to apply something liquid and moisturizing after each mask session and this is perfect! I could see myself purchasing the full size bottle of this soon.

The post Newly Opened – 1st to 3rd Week Feb 2012 appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona