Paul & Joe Hand Cream

Almost done with this 40mL tube of Paul & Joe Hand Cream so here's a quick review for it. I've been resisting P&J as I was annoyed with the recent revamp of the lipstick line that exactly the same thing in different packaging, which of course also means different lipstick cases that were sold separately.

Blame Beauty Habit for running such a great GWP promotion that successfully tempted me into picking up the P&J hand creams and trying two new lippies while at it. Urgh. I'm such a sucker.

Kiehl's Rosa Artica Youth Regenerating Cream

A whole year later, I'm still not finished and is bored out of my mind with the gigantic 100g jar of Cici Care Rose Oil Placenta Cream, so I moved on to this 7g deluxe sample pot plus a 0.25oz. packet of Kiehl's Rosa Artica Youth Regenerating Cream.

Ettusais Medicated Skin Version Up Essence

Here's me being totally silly with this 85mL/2.8fl. oz. refill of Ettusais Medicated Skin Version Up Essence. Back in the fall of 2016, when I bought the Lip Essence Stick Color SPF18 PA++ I wanted a cart filler and was curious to try a skincare item. But I didn't want their whitening things or the one mister they had. So out of all the options they offered I had to pick a medicated facial treatment that's meant for acne-proned skin, even though I don't have acne-prone skin and already have several serums queued up at the time. Urgh. What was I thinking (I wasn't...)?

L'Occitane Divine Eyes

Received seven of these 1mL/0.03fl. oz. sample packets of L'Occitane Divine Eyes along with an order last summer, and as with the Divine Extract I squeezed them all into a 7mL jar for daily morning use. 

L'Occitane Divine Extract

Update Saturday, January 20, 2018.

Somehow ended up with a several sample packets of L'Occitane Divine Extract. Squeezed them all into a 7mL jar and been using it for a few weeks now. I feel like this stuff hasn't changed at all since I tried it last 3+ years ago. It's still a runny emulsion that absorbs quickly and is pretty substantial on its own, whereas most serums and essences feel like water on my skin. This alone is still not enough for my skin in the winter. May be I'll have to try this again in the summer and see if I can skip layering moisturizer over it.

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Original post Sunday, November 23, 2014.

Just like the L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Essence, I finished this 7mL/0.2oz. bottle of Divine Extract really quickly, may be in just over a week. It was from Divine Secret Collection, from which I have also reviewed the Immortelle Precious Cleansing Foam and Immortelle Essential Water.

Opera Lip Tint

I'd been eyeing these Opera Lip Tint for a long time, since their release in the fall of 2016 when I'd just moved home from Tokyo in fact. As it happened, they were sold out on Opera's official online shop for the longest time, until the summer of 2017, can you believe that? As soon as I saw them in stock again, I grabbed one of each color, 01 Red, 02 Pink, 03 Apricot, 04 Orange, 05 Coral Pink, and 06 Pink Red.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Nivea Sun Protect Plus UV Waterproof UV Milk SPF50+ PA++++

Update Monday January 8, 2018.

I was going to post a separate review for this 40mL bottle of Nivea Sun Protect Plus Waterproof UV Milk SPF50+ PA++++ (2016 packaging), only to realize that there wasn't any changes in the 2015 version reviewed below and this 2016, save for the packaging. So I thought I'd post a quick update instead. It took me months just to get through about half of this bottle! I've been avoiding waterproof formulas in fear it would irritate my little one's facial skin. He likes to bonk his face with mine a lot ^.^"

From left to right: Creamy UV Essence (reformulated in 2016), this Waterproof UV Milk (repackaged in 2016), and a new Water Milk Mild which I haven't gotten to yet. Will review later.

At the time of this writing, the 2016 packaging of this Waterproof UV Milk is still available and, as far I as know, has no further changes in formula or packaging. Not yet at least, though changes might happen this year, who knows. They like to keep us guessing over there.

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Update Saturday July 15, 2017.

I finished using candidate #2 Anessa Perfect Essence Sunscreen to mix with the current bottle of Nivea Sun Protect Plus UV Waterproof UV Milk. Moving on to candidate #5 Allie Extra UV Gel Mineral Moist N, the old version with SPF50+ PA+++ that was discontinued in 2015.

I started out with 5 loops of Allie (left) and 30 drops of Nivea (right). This yielded a gel-cream texture akin to Allie but was way too thick and took forever and a half to set on my skin. Even then, it left a sheen and although a subsequent dusting of sunscreen powder did help, it felt as if I was wearing a kabuki mask the whole time. Bad combination. Will not try again. Moving on to a different candidate. Will update later.

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Original post Friday May 5, 2017.

Finished up my backup bottle of Allie Extra UV Protector Perfect Alpha S and moved on to something new, though technically something old because it's a 40mL bottle of Nivea Sun Protect Plus UV Waterproof UV Milk, a 2015 formulation that has since been discontinued. There was also a Creamy UV Essence in the 50g white tube, also a discontinued 2015 formulation which I'd already reviewed.

Jurlique Hand Cream

Here's the other object of my (temporary) obsession: hand creams. I bought so many hand creams I'm probably good for the next couple of years. But I'm using them up like crazy, and I'm already half way through with this 40mL tube of Jurlique Hand Cream Lavender. So who knows, by next winter I'll have to stock up again.

From left to right: Citrus, Jasmine, Lavender, and Rose hand creams from Jurlique.

Origins Smoothing Souffle

It seems every winter, I'd go nuts on stocking up on a specific skincare item. Last fall/winter, it was eye creams. This fall/winter, it's body moisturizers and hand creams. You see, I'd ran low of both. Having a little baby means losing track of all inventories except for baby stuff. It's so dry where I live that a couple of days without body moisturizer means I'm itchy all over, and my hands and feet crack. Add in the constant hand-washing and my cuticles crack and bleed. So I panicked and bought a bunch of stuff.

The first of those purchases was one with Origins back in August. For the past couple of weeks, I've been using this 100mL/3.4oz tube of Smoothing Souffle at night, right after the shower.

Chicca Mesmeric Lipstick

So Citrine tempted me to try Chicca, and I picked up four Mesmeric Lipsticks in 06 Lucent Red (the shade she reviewed), 19 Red Rose, 32 Tangerina, and 35 Grape. Now before I go on, I should tell you that I also tried a Chicca eye palette, the Mystic Powder Eye Shadow in EX36 Fuchsia Island, and it was possibly the shittiest high-end eye shadows I've ever touched. Needless to say, that experience dampened my excitement for these lipsticks a bit.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil

Been using this tiny 2mL/0.07fl. oz. bottle of Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil nightly right after I step out of the shower. Yup, a face oil that I actually put on my face and didn't (haven't?) demote to my belly and bums ^.^