Review: Snoe Hair Heroes "Intense" PM Repair

I've always believed that local products are generally cheaper. But as with every rule or pattern, there will be exceptions. Snoe's Hair Heroes "Intense" PM Repair is one of those.

Review: Nature Republic - Bamboo of Damyang

For the financially average person like me, stocking up on products (especially Korean/Japanese) is not feasible. Which is why I sometimes run out of HG products - I run out of HG product X, I buy at the nearest product X retailer but end up with product Y because there's no stock at the store. Which is how I got to this product I will review: Nature Republic's Bamboo of Damyang.

I bought this product for around 900 php at the NR's SM Megamall branch. I bought it because it reminded me of my HG product wherein bamboo water is a main ingredient. It did not feel too heavy on the skin when I tested and it is absorbed fast enough without containing alcohol. So it was good enough for a purchase.

We Need to Sleep More + Life Updates

Hi! Sorry for being away for a while. I recently have not been feeling well - sleepy, tired, dizzy all at the same time. I am not sure if this is due to very hectic work or pregnancy (FYI: we are trying to conceive, but cannot do a pregnancy test yet), but yesterday, it got so unbearable I had to rest for the day -  I cannot even blog!

Anyway, as a result of that mandatory rest time, I was able to get a lot of rest and sleep. I still did not feel well after additional hours of sleep + bed rest, but I had one nice surprise: I had instantly better skin. I still have it now!

You might have noticed I am the type of person who is cynical of skin care tips people suggest. I do not believe in the instant effect of a "beauty rest", but I do believe in the plethora of benefits a good sleeping habit provides. In fact, I've read in this study that lack of sleep is linked to reduced skin health and accelerated aging. Yikes!

According to the article (which was based on a study commissioned by Estée Lauder), lack of sleep may lead to:
- premature skin aging
- decreased ability of the skin to recover after sun exposure
- skin's barrier against water loss being compromised

The effect was generally an "intrinsic aging" of the skin, or simply put, aging from within. So yeah, one could slather all that sunblock (and prevent "extrinsic aging"), but the skin ages faster anyway because of lack of sleep as compared to those who get enough sleep.

For the record, I usually sleep 5-6 hours a day. Think it's enough? Are you getting enough zzz's to keep your skin healthy? Feel free to comment below.

Essential and carrier oils you should be careful of (Part 2)

Phototoxicity is a chemically induced irritation which needs light. Phototoxic substances undergo molecular changes when they absorb light particles - and these transformed chemicals are what causes burn-like patches such as this.

From vitiligosupport.org

Now, most products I see which are catered towards natural ingredients contain essential oils. Some of these "brightening" oils increase the risk of photosensitivity and for skin care conscious individuals like me, care must be ensured that products using essential oils are well formulated.

Drugstore Product Review: Petroleum Jelly

As promised in the previous post, I will be reviewing drugstore products from time to time - which is why I will be reviewing good old Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. Before you stop reading this review because "petroleum  = cancer", let me be clear that cosmetic grade petroleum jelly is safe. This very affordable and useful product is simply stigmatized by some unscrupulous marketer of "natural" cosmetics.

Bad luck Vaseline. 
Image from unilever.com.ph

5 Skincare Practices That Are Messing Up Your Skin

I've heard a lot of skin care myths from the totally ridiculous to the more logical sounding ones. I even practiced some of such skin care regimen (which I did not know made my skin worse) until /r/SkincareAddiction.

Here are five of those logical, and probably well-known beauty practices you could be doing and is bringing more harm than beauty:

Do BB and CC Creams provide adequate sun protection?

You may have seen on the packages of BB and CC creams their SPF and PA ratings. The friendly sales assistant from your favorite cosmetics store even swears you can forgo sunscreen since the product has enough SPF. Heck, even this Yahoo article says there's no need for sunblock. So would this mean BB and CC creams, along with their light concealing properties, make sunscreen obsolete?

Read on to find out.

Image courtesy of Amy Nguyen (absolutelyfobulous.com) 

Review: Etude House Sunprise SPF 30/PA++ Water Jelly

Hello! Back again for another sunscreen review, this time it's Sunprise (Aquamoist) SPF 30/PA++ Water Jelly. Before I begin, let me remind you how important it is to keep calm and inspect your product before buying.

Let me also stress how important it is to first make sure a sunscreen can adequately protect. That is, it has to be at least at an SPF of 30 and PA+++. And photostable.

Behold, my mistake!

Random: My 2014 New Year Beauty Resolution

I usually do not make a list of new years' resolution, but when I do, it should be about skin care. It's pretty much because I've got my real life planned out somehow and because I want to improve my skin care regimen. And no, it's not an additional skin care step or an overhaul of products I use.