Ahhh favourites of the month. I never do any of this favourites post before because I never find it interesting. Besides favourites, most people also do empties. I don’t do empties post but two years ago I gave it a twist and did something called “Newly Opened” because I’m rebellious like that

The reason why I never find reading favourites of the month interesting is because most people either (1) repeat the same product from last month and they can like it for a few months in a row. Nothing’s wrong with it though, don’t get me wrong. (2) Most favourites product had been reviewed before. So if I’ve already read the review, there is no need for me to know if you like it or not for a second time. (3) Most favourites product is the product that was reviewed within the same month. So long story cut short, I was itching to do something different and I’ve decided to come out with favourites of the month post too BUT, it will be on things that are not in the blog.

With all the non-stop shopping, I do try loads of new products off camera and usually these are the things that either make it to the blog or it never come near at all. Here is my August 2014 Favourites.

Bioderma Sébium H20 Purifying Cleansing Micelle Solution
I met up with the beautiful ladies of Bioderma two weeks ago and Datin Juli Azmi, Chief Marketing Officer even came out to meet me. It was such a privilege to be able to meet with the people behind the highly raved brand and they brought me gifts! Datin Juli said that if I like Sensibio H20, I would like Sébium H20 even more. And she was so right. After trying the cute 20ml Sébium H20, I can say that I would prefer it over Sensibio. It has a pleasant scent to it and it is not as oily as what I’ve heard.

Bioderma Sébium Pore Refiner Corrective Care for Enlarged Pores
I had my eyes on this one the first time I saw it at Guardian KLCC. I was extremely happy to find a sample size in my gift bag and I put it on my face the next morning. I like that it mattes out my skin but due to the fact that my pore size is extraordinary larger than ordinary large, I haven’t see any difference yet. Afterall I only had a 5ml tube. I think I would need to get the full size and try for a few months straight in order to see anything. However, that doesn’t stop me from liking this product. It smells amazing and it makes a good makeup base too. *waiting for sales*

ZA Perfect Fit Liquid Foundation #OC10
This is one of my favourite liquid foundation! It is not out in the market yet and due to be released by October 2014. You can read about the product at this link. Initially I was given the shade PO10 which is a pink base foundation but I exchanged it with OC10. OC10 is too dark and OC00 would be a better match for my skin tone. This is a water based foundation that goes on slightly matte. It offers medium coverage that is buildable to full coverage. I also like it for it’s flawless smooth finishing. I would definitely get OC00 soon.

Dr. Brandt XYY Eye Cream
Right after my trial with Clarins Extra-Firming Complete Rejuvenating Cream, I was eager to use my press sample bottle of Dr. Brandt XYY Eye Cream. During the blogger event, I found out that this range as well as DNA range is powerful in combating signs of aging. You all know how bothered I am with my under eye wrinkles so I HAD TO TRY THIS. This eye cream works best in smoothing all the fine lines by moisturizing the area. It is an anti-oxidant eye cream to protect, hydrates and smoothes eye area by providing a 12 hours of protection agains free radicals. After a few tries, I was impressed. Makeup on my under eye doesn’t cake up and concealer doesn’t accentuate the wrinkles I had. I didn’t want to neglect my Clarins so I only use this at night with just a rice size amount. Review will be up in a few months time.

Dior Diorsnow Iconic Overcurl Mascara #090 Over Black
I can’t remember where I got this travel size mascara. It has a normal brush size that is curvy like an eye shape. The formula is slightly dry, which is the type of consistency that I like. It gave my lashes volume, length and curl at the same time. The best part is that it doesn’t smudge on me. One thing good about travel size mascara is that the wand is shorter so I can get a better grip near my eye lashes.

Zoeva 127 Luxe Sheer Cheek & Zoeva 228 Crease
My latest Zoeva brush purchase is also my favourite brushes at the moment. I got the 127 Luxe Sheer Cheek for contouring. It gave my cheek a diffused contour line which no other brush can do. It’s either I get a harsh line or I get a blush-like effect. This brush is in between both .
I was looking for 227 Soft Definer but it was not in stock so I got the 228 Crease instead. I get this brush mainly to apply transition color on my upper crease before eyeshadow. The reviews online is 50/50. I’m so glad I bought this because it fits the purpose superbly.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Brow Mousse with Eyebrow Brush & Spoolie
I was eyeing on Too Faced Bulletproof Brows but the shade I want was out of stock. Thank goodness for that because I later found out that the gel dried up fast. Tarte had something similar as well so I bought that instead. I usually use a small plastic spatula to scrap some product out and only dip my brush from the spatula instead to prevent the gel from exposing to air for too long. It does take me a few usage to get used to the whole brow filling with a brush and gel. I used this product a lot but when I’m really rushing out of the door, I would go back to my ZA Ever Brows lol. Okay, this rushing thingy only happen once in a blue moon.

Make Up For Ever 210 Round Shader Brush
Recently Make Up For Ever launched a whopping 75 brushes and I’m already eyeing a few. Bless my wallet please . One of the press sample brush that I had is the 210 Round Shader Brush. To be honest I had no clue what I was going to use it for. At first I used it to line my upper eyes with darker eyeshadow and it work out well. But lining my upper eyes with eyeshadow is something that I don’t do very often. Contrary to that, I do line my lower eyelash on everyday basis. This brush has quickly become my favourite eye brush. I love the handle the most. The bristles are the softest that you can find for the delicate under eye lash. There is no fallout when I used this brush at all.

Some Random Mask Brush & Spatula
I bought this in a set from Mr. DIY for RM1.90 if I’m not mistaken. I have no idea why it took me this long to get a mask brush because I get the job done in a jiffy! I mainly bought it to apply GlamGlow mask and every other cream mask that I had at home. Best tool to get as I no longer need to waste tissue papers to wipe off the excess mask from my fingers. Mud mask is the most troublesome to clean I tell ya.

Honda Water Flask
Something not beauty related . I was given a limited edition water flask by my friend who happens to be the Sales Manager of Honda when I pick up my car one year ago. Being in the automotive media for a few years, I get countless of water flask from various media launch event. You can say I’m a bit bored with getting water flask although I do collect Honda merchandise. When I did a furniture reshuffling of my room a few weeks ago, I threw away every other water flask I had and decided to take this out to use instead. This one stays on my work/vanity table as I’m too lazy to walk to the kitchen for water. Usually merchandise like this is not in the best quality but I discovered that this one is different. One particular day I pour in 10% of hot water and left it on my table for a good few hours. When I opened the cap, the water is still warm! I am already thinking to put coffee in the flask instead

Glass Containers
You see this coming didn’t you? It is not a secret that I’m very much into crystal-like, shiny glass containers at the moment. It all started when I found a large glass container that was meant to put candies after watching Huda Beauty beauty storage ideas. That’s the large one you see on the right below. I wouldn’t just buy any glass container available as majority of it is dull and yellowish looking. What I was looking for is something clear, clean, crystal-like and with good workmanship. A few weeks after that I stumbled upon an identical but smaller size glass container so I bought that too. The larger one I used to store cotton buds, MUJI Peelable Cotton and normal cotton pads. The smaller one on the other hand is a bit small to store anything that I have so I used it to store travel size skin care that I wanted to use up, thumb drives, tweezer, brow scissors and so on.

Phew! That’s a lot of products that I like eh? I hope you like this new favourites post. Do let me know what you think so that I know if I should continue for the coming months. What’s your favourites product for the month of August? Anything interesting?

The post August 2014 Favourites: Things that are not in the blog appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

Being someone who started using cleansing milk and cleansing oil to remove makeup, I can never quite get cleansing water. How could I? A full day worth of makeup, dirt and sebum are thoroughly removed at the end of the day with my usual remover product so there wasn’t any need to change to something milder that is mostly just water.

Despite how I feel about cleansing water and after reading all the raving reviews online, Bioderma has become something that I wanted to get my hands on for the longest time. It is not available in Malaysia directly although I nearly bought from an online seller at one point of time. You have no idea how happy I am when I found out Isetan KLCC brought in Bioderma since March 2014 and I think I was among the first to notice it from Isetan Newsletter, rushed over and got my hands on my first ever Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution. I am a late bloomer in this new bandwagon but hey, it’s better late than never eh?

Overall, there are three types of Bioderma micelle solution available namely Sensibio H2O (red cap) for Sensitive Skin, Sébium H2O (green cap) for Combination or Oily Skin and Hydrabio H2O (blue cap) for Sensitive Dehydrated Skin. I chose Sensibio H2O because that is the best seller among three and the BA also highly recommend Sensibio for me.

After I bought it and used it, I still don’t quite understand the whole micellar water craze. I know it’s a waterless makeup remover / cleanser. What I don’t understand is how something that has the texture of a water works in removing all makeup, dirt and sebum after a long day. That was like an inch thick to be removed! Okay, I was exaggerating. It feels like an inch thick of stuffs on my face after a long day . Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution is not just a makeup remover, some used it as cleanser and I’ve even heard some used it as toner. A few months after I bought a huge 500ml bottle, I’ve only used up less than 1cm of the content. That was also because I force myself to use it. For someone to have such an oily skin and with makeup on the whole day, I feel that the Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution doesn’t remove all my makeup, even after going through six pieces of cotton pads. I know I always double cleanse thereafter but what’s most important to me is the first cleansing step. It’s a waste of time and waste of cotton pads. I could have just step into the shower, pump some cleansing oil onto my palm and remove my makeup.

Recently I’ve reorganized my beauty storage and I have the huge Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution bottle staring at me from where I sit. Spontaneously I reached out for Sensibio H2O to remove my makeup nowadays and you know what, I’ve grown to like it more and more. Because of that, I started to find a better way to use it so that I won’t be wasting time and cotton pads in removing makeup. I find that MUJI Peelable Cotton works the best as it’s huge and it’s peelable into four pieces but I would prefer to separate one piece into two.

This is how I usually do it. I take a piece of MUJI Peelable Cotton, peel into two and soak bit by bit of the cotton pad and squeeze the cotton pad gently so that the micellar solution saturated the whole piece. Reason behind this is that the cotton pad is relatively larger than usual. I’ve tried pouring bit by bit but my makeup wasn’t removed properly. Squeezing the cotton pad is the fastest way to soak the whole piece!

Some like to start with the face but I like to start with removing eye makeup first. I used half of MUJI Peelable Cotton for the face by fully utilizing the front and back of the cotton pad. As half of the cotton pad consists of two peelable pieces, I don’t peel and use the inside because the layers are quite thin and inside are all soaked with foundation from the face. Sometimes when my face is extra oily or when I have thicker base makeup on, I’d use the whole cotton pad, which also means I repeated the removal process four times.

I also read numerous reviews that Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution doesn’t remove waterproof eye makeup properly so I’ve never tried using it on my eyes. Just the other day, I thought why not use this to remove EVERYTHING from my face. It turns out way better than I’ve imagined it to be. The micellar water managed to remove all my waterproof eye makeup such as the Estée Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara (which can be a pain in the butt to remove) and Make Up For Ever AQUA Liner. All I did was to pour some micellar water out on the cotton pad in a straight line, placed it on my eyes for one minute and everything came off easily. I used the rest of the cotton pad to clean up my eyebrows, eyeshadows and any residue that was left.

Oh and, just to be safe…I also used a normal cotton pad (I prefer The Body Shop Organic Cotton Rounds) and run it gently all over my face to catch any residue before double cleanse in the shower.

Here comes the odd part. I, somehow or rather, seems to disagree with what I read online about Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution.

1) Most user said this removes makeup thoroughly and I think it’s not quite thoroughly.
2) It doesn’t remove waterproof eye makeup and I think it’s great on waterproof makeup.
3) It doesn’t sting the eyes and I think it does sting a little bit.

Apart from that, I have to agree that this doesn’t leave a sticky residue behind. Why would it right? It’s just water solution after all. And that it’s fragrance free. It does comes with a scent to it and you WILL taste the scent when used to remove lipstick. I always always make sure I use a tissue paper to wipe off the access thereafter. Did I mention this works superb on the lips? Now you know

Here is the ingredient list for those who are looking forward to it.

My friend, Jennifer spotted Bioderma in https://guardian.com.my/ a few weeks ago and she Whatsapp me about it. We were both unsure if it’s available physically in Guardian outlets so I took a stroll to Guardian KLCC and spotted Bioderma shelf a few feet away, which you probably already know if you’re following me on Instagram and Facebook . Bioderma originally is sold at pharmacies in other countries so it was no surprise that it is now available in Guardian. Having said that, do take note on the price difference. Isetan is a tab bit cheaper than Guardian. Another difference between both retailer is Isetan carries the 500ml bottle, not the 100ml and Guardian is the other way round.

Now that I’m already liking Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution day by day, I did intend to go back to Isetan and grab the latest promotion, which is exactly the same promotion as I bought before. Maybe later. Perhaps I should let other people enjoy the ‘buy 500ml get 100ml for free’ promotion

Have you jump onto the Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution bandwagon yet? Which would you prefer as your makeup remover? Cleansing water, milk or cleansing oil still? As much as I am a-okay with this whole micellar water now, I still don’t use it everyday. It depends on how much makeup I have on and how tired I am

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored review. I bought the product on my own.

The post Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution: Getting the hang of the whole micellar water craze appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

This post is suppose to go up on Sunday but it will be too late if I scheduled it for Sunday. So I’ve decided to push it to Saturday instead.

A few days ago I received a copy of Isetan exclusive newsletter through the mail. It’s quite a surprise because usually I update myself with their latest newsletter by going to their official website. This time I don’t have to. If you did not receive the hard copy newsletter, fret not. I’ve uploaded the whole newsletter for you in the blog a few days ago. Click on Isetan Exclusive Beauty Treats (28th March to 30th March 2014) to see all the promotions available.

I was quite happy to see page 26 in the newsletter because Bioderma is here! So I note down on my calendar to remind myself to pay a visit to Isetan on the 28th March.

Yes girls. Bioderma is finally available for us Malaysians. Here’s how I found out. Initially I thought Bioderma is just having a promotional counter, just like Spanks previously so I speed up to second floor where the Event Hall is located. I couldn’t spot Bioderma so I make an enquiry at i-Club Counter. i-Club Counter personnel told me Bioderma is at cosmetic floor. I speed down to first floor and search through the whole floor and still couldn’t find them. I was getting quite anxious because I need to be the first 30 customers to be entitle for a promo which I’ll explain later. I went up to Burberry Beauty counter and ask the makeup artist there. He’s someone I know and he’s very much into all the imported beauty related so he should know. It turns out he didn’t know. What I do next was like amazing race. I search through floor by floor, section by section and I still fail to spot Bioderma. I took out the newsletter book and read again. See I told ya it’s like amazing race show lol.

Then I took notice of the small yellow blurb on the bottom left corner that said “New At Isetan KLCC”. This means they have a permanent counter/section. I could guess that Bioderma is under the same distributor with Phyto, Nuxe and Lierac and I make a wild guess that Phyto is somewhere near cosmeceutical section. I rush back down to first floor and voilà. I spot Bioderma and I was right

Bioderma have a very very small section in Isetan KLCC. The product selection is also very small. It’s no wonder I could overlooked.

Before I show you what I bought from Bioderma, here is the 3-Day Special promotion starting from 28th March to 30th March at Isetan KLCC. This is one of the reason why I went to Bioderma. The main reason is I wanted to check out what’s the hustle and bustle with Bioderma that got everyone raving about.

I bought a bottle of Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution 500ml for RM100 and I got the same Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution 100ml worth RM38 for free. If according to my calculation based on the price for 500ml, 100ml is only worth RM20. I’m not sure how RM38 value came about. Anyway this promotion is only valid for Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution. I’m not sure if you could squeeze the same promotion for other Micelle Solution range.

So far there is only two sizes available for purchase. 250ml is selling for RM70 while 500ml is selling for RM100. You should know which one is more worth it . The cute 100ml is not available for purchase though. Too bad because it’s super cute!

Bioderma is also having an Early Bird Special for the first 30 customers. I thought there will be a crowd but seems like there’s none. Most of the customers there went to purchase Phyto instead. I was the first customer actually so I’m entitled for a 4-piece deluxe miniature gift set with any Bioderma purchase. The gift set is nothing related to Bioderma. In fact I was given products from Phyto, Lierac and Nuxe. Nonetheless I was pleased with it. The products I got is Lierac Coherence Day & Night Cream Anti-Wrinkle & Firming 15ml, Phyto Botanical Hair Relaxing Balm 15ml, Nuxe Hand and Nail Cream 15ml and Nuxe Youth and Radiance Revealing Fluid 15ml. Not bad eh? All generous size.

That’s not all. I also get a chance to participate in Sure Win Lucky Dip for the purchase of RM100. I sure do love the sound of the lucky dip. It means everyone will get something . Coincidently I won another Nuxe Youth and Radiance Revealing Fluid 15ml. I’m already a happy girl.

After I paid and collected my purchase from Bioderma, I went to Isetan voucher redemption counter to redeem my cash voucher. I turned back and saw the Bioderma BA standing behind me, waiting for me. She ask me if I could fill in my details in a form and I could take home another set of samples. I was so shocked with her kindness and I told her how grateful I am with the gesture. So I fill in the form and she hand me a set of samples. She took time to explain to me what each of the sample is for and how to use. Two thumbs up for the nicest BA in Isetan!

The set of sample contain Phyto Botanical Hair Relaxing Balm 15ml, Nuxe Pore-Reducing Serum 2ml, Lierac Premium Extreme Regenerating Serum 2ml, Phyto Phytorhum Energizing Shampoo 12ml and Nuxe Eye and Lip Global Anti-Aging Cream 2ml.

Bioderma have always been in my wish list although I’m not so into cleansing water. It took me zero second to think if I should purchase it. I just did it without any consideration. I’ve been wanting to get this for so long

Just for your info, Bioderma only entered Isetan KLCC early March 2014. I ask the BA if it will be made available in SaSa and she said most probably it will. Until that is confirmed, do drop by Isetan KLCC to get your Bioderma fix. They are located at Isetan First Floor, at the cosmeceutical section where Talika is. When you spot Nuxe and Phyto, you will spot Bioderma as well.

This promotion is only available until this Sunday 30th March. After that there will not be any GWP available anymore.

The post Bioderma is Now Available in Malaysia! + My Haul appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona