Recently I had a bad breakout. I’m still breaking out till to this day, can you believe it? This has got to be my longest, most miserable breakout of all these years. So I took a drastic change with my skincare routine. Because I have not had breakout like this for years, I was actually clueless as to what to do.

The first thing I did was to stop everything I was using and re-plan my new skincare routine. The key is to go back to basic. But what? I start from the cleanser and move upwards. And these are what I had come out with.

Day time routine

To me day time was the easiest to plan. I don’t really pile up a lot of skincare products as I was before. So it was just cleanser, toner, eye care, beauty oil, moisturizer and sunscreen.

Cleanser – Neal’s Yard Remedies Deliciously Ella Rose, Lime & Cucumber Facial Wash
This one is easy. It is my existing cleanser and I’m ran out as I’m typing this. It’s very mild, doesn’t foam up a lot but does a good job in cleansing the face.

Lotion – Estée Lauder Micro Essence
Micro Essence is actually my night time toner and I’m also using it in the day time. When used along with ANR, the result is amazing. Alone on itself it is just any other lotion, only more sticky and moisturizing lol.

Eye Care – Clarins Enchancing Eye Lift Serum
I’m trying to get through this as this eye serum is not enough when used alone. As it is a serum, it is recommended to use alongside an eye cream. You know me, I’m lazy these days

Beauty Oil – Trilogy No. 15 Limited Edition Beauty Oil
I should stop using this beauty oil as well and be on a super basic regimen but since I just started using it, I didn’t want to leave it alone. It’s harmless and such a waste if I stop using it so there you have it.

Moisturizer – Clarins White Plus Pure Translucency Brightening Emulsion
I have a theory with breakout. You MUST implement at least one whitening skincare in your skincare regimen so that the marks are easier to tone down or get rid off. I never ever ever go on with my day without any whitening product. I find that by using a whitening product, the marks are less red and heals faster

Sunscreen – Murad City Skin Age Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 50 PA++++
And of course, always end your day skincare routine with a sunscreen. I’m always on min SPF50. Nothing less. Recently I took out this Murad’s new sunscreen to use. It’s slightly tinted and heavy on the skin. Not my favourite at the beginning but it grew on me. Now, I like how it makes my skin healthy.

Forea Luna Play Plus
This is a new toy I purchase recently from Sephora. I’m using it once a day aka in the morning after I woke up and it makes my skin so smooth and glowy. Weird. It works!

Night time routine

From cleanser to moisturizer there are only 6 products, same as the day time. I thought it’s more. Hmmm.

Cleanser – Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser
I really like self-foaming cleanser. Recent discovery and love is this one from Caudalie. Night time is the time I really indulge in my beauty routine. Even this cleanser which I’ve been saving is only meant for night time as I’m scared I ran out lol.

Eye Care – Clarins Enchancing Eye Lift Serum
Nothing different here compared to day time. Still the same product for the eyes but sometimes I do stray to others. Sometimes

Lotion – Estée Lauder Micro Essence
Same as day time, Micro Essence is the essential as I’m pairing it with ANR.

Serum – Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair
Now, this is the main key product in the whole Breakout Skincare Routine. As I was re-planning my entire skincare routine, I was thinking hard on one product that can help with skin rejuvenation. I mean, most of the anti-aging products claimed to be one but I only knew ANR would work and worked before. So I bust into a brand new Limited Edition Golden ANR bottle from the Monkey year. Nothing feels as good as a brand new bottle of ANR haha.

Beauty Oil – Trilogy No. 15 Limited Edition Beauty Oil
Because I was using this beauty oil in the day, why not continue at night as well? Plus I feel more moisturized if I had this on to sleep.

Moisturizer – L’Occitane Reine Blanche Whitening Rich Cream
Like I said, I must have at least one whitening product to reduce acne marks and to accelerate the healing process. This cream is potent! It’s not drying for the skin and does a good job. I still do ended up with breakout marks but I believe it will be gone in no time with continuous use of this cream. I’m left with just a medium blob. Hope it will last me lol.

Treatment

On every alternate days, I would be putting one some kind of mask. The only I can’t stop using is the L’Oreal Pure Clay Mask Anti-Pores. I don’t care what people say about PRC made or UK made. This is what I can get in Malaysia and that’s what I’ll be using. Other masks on rotation are REN Evercalm™ Ultra Comforting Rescue Mask (review here) which works in calming down the skin or redness,Dr. Brand Magnetight Skin Recharging Magnet Mask (review here) to suck out all the impurities from the pores, and hella lots of sheet mask. The one I’m currently using are of course from my LoveFace X #IWillBeOkay collaboration box

Tell me, what do you do when you have breakout? Do you stop using everything or do you go back to the basic 3-steps?

The post Breakout Skincare Routine appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

Apologies on the late posting of this NEW Murad City Skin Duo. The plan was to do a review instead of the usual beauty news but then I realized I am going to be super busy until the end of the year so I scrapped the review plan. However don’t give up on me yet as I believe individual review will definitely be up. Just no idea when

I can never stress how good Murad products are. They were also the very first sponsor for #IWillBeOkay Beauty Bag who agreed to be on board within 5 minutes of telling them about my campaign. So far I have received nothing but good feedback on the products received. Why am I telling you this? Well, Murad recently launched Murad City Skin Duo, consisting of City Skin Age Defense SPF 50 and City Skin Overnight Detox Moisturizer, and I am confident they are just as good! Yes I’m bias LOL.

I’m going to skip all the lecture talk on how our skin works and how damaging environmental aggressors are towards our skin because we’ve been through this countless of times and I believe all of you are more expert than me by now . So, Murad City Skin Duo products are made especially to protect the skin against FIVE environmental aggressors such as digital devices like phone, computer, ipad etc, infrared radiation, UVA / UVB rays and also pollution. What’s new with City Skin Duo is its ability to detoxifies the skin from past damages. Hah! Now, that’s something different.

City Skin Age Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 50 PA++++ Mineral Sunscreen (RM298 / 50ml)

This City Skin Age Defense has been receiving nothing but numerous rave and positive reviews every corner I turned into on the internet. Even before it enter Malaysia. This is a mineral sunscreen that is said to be ultra-lightweight. Murad combined physical SPF50 barrier with antioxidant lutein, which forms an additional layer to counteract IRA damages and pollution which levels are at an all-time high. It shields the skin from FIVE environmental factors – blue light, pollution, infrared radiation, UVA and UVB. This sunscreen is a part of Murad’s Environmental Shield® range with formulas harnessing the power of antioxidant Vitamin C.

It has a pinkish tint to it, doesn’t feel sticky nor oily on the skin.

City Skin Overnight Detox Moisturizer (RM398 / 50ml)

When your skin are exposed to all sorts of aggressors and pollution during the day, therefore you need to detox the skin at night time. City Skin Overnight Detox Moisturizer is a night moisturizer that detoxifies the skin through the night from all the pollutants and toxins that was accumulated throughout day time. It’s formula feature super-charged antioxidants from Marrubium Plant Stem-Cells to neutralize pollutants as well as to strengthen the skin’s barrier during sleep time. Vitamin C in the formula brightens and evens out skin tone while nourishing botanicals plumps up the skin to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

The texture is said to be lightweight on the skin but I personally think slightly heavier texture cream for the night time is better for the skin, so if this cream is too heavy on you, it’s really never too heavy on the skin. Not especially when you are asleep.

Rapid Resurfacing Peel (RM268 / 16 Applications)

Another existing product within the range is the Rapid Resurfacing Peel. This is a skin “peel” product in a towelettes form, meant to be used before the City Skin Duo. This product is potent, an extra-strength treatment formulated to help reverse signs of aging and detoxify the skin. Made using unique blend of 10% Glycolic Acid, Vitamin C and other soothing ingredients, it also instantly brighten and smoothen the skin without irritation on the skin.

From now until 31st October 2017, enjoy a 10% discount on City Skin Duo products when you make a purchase online by entering cod CITYSKIN at checkout at Murad Malaysia Website.

The post Murad City Skin Duo To Combat Against All Environmental Aggressors appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

If you are obsessed with anti-aging skincare products, you would be obsessed with Retinol as well. Retinol is known to be THE ONE anti-aging ingredient that is well-known to fight signs of aging and also the most sought after product. However finding the right product with the right Retinol ingredient can be a little tricky. Most of us ended up buying and trialing whatever come our way, with the hope that it work and no money was wasted. Most Retinol products are relying heavily on a single form of Retinol. Nothing wrong with that except that it can take several weeks for the effect to be noticeable. Murad’s latest Retinol Youth Renewal Serum, which was launched a few months ago are the result of years of research and development of Dr. Howard Murad. And, it is formulated with a combination of three Retinol technologies for a quick noticeable result minus the irritation.

Regular user of Murad products will know that their products are really good and effective. So when the Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum was launched, it got many of us excited. Oh God, age is really catching up when we are excited with anti-aging products lol. Now, as I mentioned earlier, the serum has 3 types of Retinol technology namely Retinol Tri-Active Technology for optimal levels of Retinol to be delivered to the skin for a faster, delivering sustained results and boosting efficacy.

Retinol Tri-Active Technology delivers and worked in three ways:

1. Fast-Acting Retinoid: Retinoid and Retinol are basically the same and made from Vitamin A. This boost the results for it to kick in much faster by boosting the skin cellular’s turnover.
2. Time-Released Retinol: This is a Retinol that is encapsulated in a lipid shell which will melts on the skin slowly for a consistent, sustained levels of Retinol supply for the skin over time.
3. Retinol Booster: You have result boosting Retinol and long-lasting Retinol and so the third one is also a booster and this efficacy booster enhances the Retinol efficacy by turning itself into a magnet-like to assist the skin’s receptivity to accept Retinol benefits.

I had the opportunity to bring home a bottle and I was particularly excited with the part where I was told that this Retinol Youth Renewal Serum is efficient in minimising deep wrinkles. We all know my all-time concern is my forehead wrinkles due to the way I lift my eyebrows when I do my eye makeup. Bad habit, I know. But I have typical Asian hooded eyes with limited lid space so that is the only way I can do my eye makeup. Because of that, I have forehead wrinkles forming and it is getting worse. I do not want to get Botox all the time so the only way I can tackle this issue is through Retinol skincare. The launch of this got me really excited.

I started using the serum the same night I got home. I used two pumps for the whole face. One pump I generously applied onto my forehead alone, while the second pump is for everywhere else. The pump does not really pump out a lot of product per pump so I was quite glad about that.

It does have a scent to it, which I can’t quite put my finger on it. The scent does not bother me, just like every other Murad products. Besides all the Retinol goodness, Murad also used Swertia Flower Extract, the first ever brand and product that ever adopted the use of this flower extract. This Swertia Flower Extract is a native ingredient to the Himalayas for the ability to aid the regeneration of skin cells after a burn. Hyaluronic Acid Spheres were also added in for skin hydration to plump and smooth up the skin.

For me the result is almost immediate. Over the next few days, I continued with my normal skincare as usual with the implementation of this Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum. After I did my makeup is where I was amazed. Forehead wrinkles still formed, again because due to how I do my eye makeup BUT, it is almost 50% smoother thereafter. Usually it takes a long time. If I had super matte base makeup, it takes even longer. Over the course of a month, I did spontaneous test to see if it is really the serum or I was over reacting. On the day where I did not have the serum on before makeup, true enough those nasty deep forehead wrinkles stay on. On days where I diligently applied the Retinol Youth Renewal Serum, especially with a pump full on the forehead alone, those wrinkles are smoother. It is still there no doubt but relatively smoother. Results can be seen on the recent few photos I had on other product review.

Because I have been using this Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum a lot, I am also paranoid that I would ran our without knowing. You see, the product is enclosed in a opaque white case. I can see the bottom of the bottle which revealed a little bit on how much I have left. Not being able to know and get a backup freaks me out. There is a reason behind the opaque packaging. Any forms of Vitamin A tend to deteriorate when it is exposed to light or even air. That is why you see most Retinol products are in an opaque packing. If you ever see one without, don’t buy it because opaque packing eliminates and minimizes the product exposure to air or light. Those without opaque packaging are probably not good to use anymore.

Here’s the downside. The price. This Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum costs RM498 / 30ml. Ouch! I would definitely repurchase this serum provided the wallet permits. So far the serum has been working well on the area I am most concerned about so I don’t see why I won’t repurchase. The only thing that refrain me from doing so is the price LOL

Disclaimer: Product was press gift given to me at the launch event. This doesn’t affect my judgement in the review in any way.

The post Surely, Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum Smoothen Those Forehead ‘Railway Lines’ Faster Than I Pronounce the Product Name appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

I LOVE HOLIDAY GIFT SETS! They are so pretty to look at and much more cheaper and value for money. One of my favorite skincare brand – Murad came out with the Merry & Bright Collection for their 2016 holiday gifts.

The Merry & Bright Collection features four specially curated collection gift sets from the brand’s best-selling products and fan favorites. Each sets comes in bright and colorful festive holiday gift box. That is all you need and you are all set for that gift exchange

Merry & Beautiful (RM498, worth RM860)

The Merry & Beautiful set is an assortment from award-winning Age Reform® line. This anti-aging range is specifically to target all the nasty fine lines and wrinkles. It also helps to restore elasticity and suppleness to the skin.

Set includes: AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser 200ml FULL SIZE worth RM228, Rapid Collagen Infusion 15ml, and best-selling Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisture 50ml FULL SIZE worth RM388.

Merry & Renewed (RM498, worth RM833)

Also an anti-aging range, the Merry & Renewed set is curated from Resurgence® line. What’s different is that this range helps to reduce the appearance of medium to deep wrinkles while delivering essential moisture for a smoother, more hydrated complexion.

Set includes: Intensive Age-Diffusing Serum 15ml and Age-Balancing Moisture BS SPF 30|PA+++ 50ml FULL SIZE worth RM398, as well as the award-winning Renewing Cleansing Cream 200ml FULL SIZE worth RM230.

Merry & Glowing (RM498, worth RM825)

My personal favorite “orange” range! The orange range is actually Environmental Shield® line. In this Merry & Glowing set you will find a set of maximum-strength Vitamin C products that are designed to brighten skin’s tone and refine its texture.

Set includes: Advanced Active Radiance Serum 15ml, Essential-C Day Moisture BS SPF 30|PA+++ 50ml FULL SIZE worth RM348, and Essential-C Cleanser 200ml FULL SIZE worth RM228.

Party Perfect (RM398, worth RM593)

Invisiblur is like my all-time product to use when I want to “marry” sunblock with makeup primer. This Party Perfect set is a set designed to prep you skin for party-ready!

Set includes: Invisiblur Perfecting Shield BS SPF 30| PA+++ 30ml FULL SIZE worth RM338, Eye Lift Firming Treatment 5ml, and Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisture 15ml.

The post Murad Merry & Bright Collection 2016 Features Special Curated Gift Sets of the Best-Selling Skincare Products appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona