I got this as a gift and since I was always curious about Kanebo’s Dew Superior line (it’s anti-aging), I had high hopes for this one! This concentrated essence cloth mask contains amino acids, peptides and the Dew Superior essence to deeply hydrate, lift and revitalize the skin.

First of all, if you don’t use cloth essence masks, you may think they are all pretty much the same, but of course that is not true. You can definitely tell the difference between a good one and one that is just soaked in liquid, but with no efficacy whatsoever. This one has 25ml of essence in it, but when I looked at the ingredients, you really get what you pay for – it’s mostly water and fillers. You can’t expect much at roughly US$2.00 per mask.

Most of these BB creams on the market boast a variety of skincare benefits. They may not treat the skin but they probably won’t hurt either. But the question remains: are they miracle products?

I have to backtrack and retract a comment I made under my own OHUI BB cream review, by the way (I already edited my comment). I stand by my original post – BB creams are really just glorified tinted moisturizers, cleverly marketed but nonetheless, they are makeup, no matter how many antioxidants or caviar are added to the cream. I am not saying they are useless, but I am also not saying that you put all your hopes and dreams into a BB cream and think your skin will get better by wearing it everyday either. Nowadays, many base makeup products across Asian and western brands – from primer, foundation to concealers – all contain skincare ingredients. Take Dior’s Capture Totale for example. It has a foundation with anti-wrinkle ingredients from their Capture Totale skin care line, but at the end of the day, that foundation is still categorized as a makeup product, not something in a league of its own like BB creams.

I picked up a Laneige magazine while I was at an Amore store last week, and besides those beautiful pictures of Song Hye Kyo, I found some useful information (which most of you beauty junkies probably already knew) and want to pass this on. It comes with a little test as follows (paraphrased):

In the beginning, there was only one shade available and Benefit claims it’s a one-shade-fits-most kind of product. Evidently it wasn’t true, because of complaints of it being too dark for a lot of people, eventually 2 more shades (total of 3 available) were added. Mine is the original version without specifying which shade, and I actually took this to Sephora to compare against all 3 shades and found this to be a medium.

The texture:

Even though this is oil-free, I was surprised at the slight greasiness. It was easy to blend, but it has to be blended well. Though it claims to be a miracle last-step product, if you don’t set it with powder, you are looking at major smearing. I have dry skin, and even under one layer of loose powder, I could still see a little smearing after a couple of hours. I cannot imagine oilier skin having this on.

Actually, I would have given my review after the first use! It is that good. Let me count the ways! First of all, I got this as a deluxe sample, enough for one month’s use at once a week. I have used this three times already and I swear, even after the first use, I noticed results right away. I am not a huge fan of peel off mask in general – because my skin is dry and sensitive, it can be uncomfortable when it dries on the skin and when you peel it off. With the exception of Sulwhasoo’s (it takes forever to dry and doesn’t make your skin taut), I almost never buy peel off masks past the age of 28. Being Gongjinhyang:seol, I was more than willing to give it a try.

First of all, what I love about Korean peeling gels is that they never irritate my sensitive skin, nor do they dry it out. Unlike the traditional scrubs which tend to be harsh (as much as I love DHC stuff, their scrub is painful on my sensitive skin!), peeling gels are really soft, softer than even jojoba beads in some of the more high end brands (Aromatherapy Associates Renew Rose Exfoliating Cleanser). The experience is so pleasant that you can’t help but love them.

Not many of us have that much time in the morning – especially when you live in this part of the world where you wake up to pitch black skies and all you want to do is sleep in a little, or you have a small child to get ready to school for (or both!). These are the 6 products that get me ready in less than 10 minutes (after I wash my face and apply skincare and sunscreen- which takes 10 minutes):

The last time I tried a BB cream was close to 5 – 6 years ago, and the brand I tried was Dr. Jart. I had more redness back then, but my experience with that BB cream was not a good one. When I threw it out after a year, the tube was practically full, which was really regrettable. I used it on and off as a spot concealer but still, most of it was wasted because the tone of the BB cream was really ashy and made me look pinkish gray, and it smeared if I didn’t use a powder over it.

Freshly out of my Lancome Bi-Facil, and in keeping with my vow to return to Japanese and Korean skincare, I bought the DHC Eye & Lip Makeup Remover. It is a bi-phased water and oil formula, just like Bi-Facil and many other ones, but because of my familiarity with DHC and that this doesn’t contain any parabens or fragrance (like BiFacil does), I was hopeful this would be another keeper.

Murad’s Essential C Toner is in a skin brightening, anti-free radical skincare range. When I ran out of my Sulwhasoo Balancing Water, I was in a budget mode because Christmas is coming up so I wanted something not too expensive. I just wanted a toner that tones and removes residue from my cleanser. Since I was purchasing Murad Perfecting Toner at the same time, I bought this one, also from Murad, since it claims to fight environmental damage, free radicals and hyperpigmentation (in my case, light freckles).

This essence is well presented and packaged in a dropper bottle, and dispenses the right amount with one squeeze. I use two squeezes’ worth and it’s more than enough to do my face and neck. The texture is very fluid, but not sticky (not redolent of that yucky, sticky Eminence Organics Stone Crop Serum) and absorbs well. The scent reminds me of chrysanthemum, one of my favorite flowers, especially after my Hangzhou trip several years ago where chrysanthemum is abundant and fragrant everywhere around Xihu (Lake Tai). The essence contains time released microcapsules of organic Immortelle oil, which is also responsible for the scent (there is added fragrance too, mind you). While I didn’t notice any effects on my light freckles yet, I did notice that my overall skin tone had brightened a bit, and if I had the slightest bit of redness from irritation or dryness, this neutralizes it pretty well.

I needed something rich and anti-wrinkle for day use, under my sunscreen, and based on previous experiences with Caudalie (Vinoperfect), I thought this would make a great day cream. The Pulpe Vitaminee line is designed for the 30+ age group with first signs of aging so I bought this off dermstore.ca (also available at essentialdayspa.com, which is the cheapest, and sephora.com too). I was afraid the cream version would be too oily so I opted for the fluid, which is for normal to combination skin.

The texture of this is really pleasant, and the scent too; it’s a creamy fluid without being runny, sticky or oily. It absorbs well into my skin. But after 2 months, I did not notice any improvements on my ‘first lines’ – the dehydration lines on my forehead, which are the only lines I have so far and I am desperate to get rid of them before they sink further to become real wrinkles. I was disappointed with this product for not at least reducing the appearance of these lines. It was a feel-good cream, but at US$58.00, I had expected a little result!

This claims to be a intensive moisture cream, and has a gel cream texture. I have been using this for 1.5 months now, and generally enough time to give a review so here it is. First of all, the texture really does feel great on my skin – it felt like a cool burst of moisture upon application. I also purchased the Immortelle Brightening Essence (will be reviewed separately) and used it under the moisture cream. Because I have dehydrated and dry skin, my skin soaks this right up and after 2 minutes, my skin felt dry again. I need to layer up a couple of times with this cream, and another richer cream (currently using Isa Knox Whitening Revolution Cream on top) over all this, and my worst nightmare happened – it rubbed off!

This has great reviews, so I had high hopes for it. Since I was desperate to get rid of the dehydration lines on my forehead, I looked for an anti-aging product specifically for first lines and wrinkles, and this came up high on the search, and rated very favourably on makeupalley.com and sephora.com too. Since it is developed by a doctor, I thought this could be my holy grail serum, a permanent fixture in my medicinal cabinet.

Just a quite note on the news regarding an IPKN BB Cream that contains fluorescent dye: the FDA in Taiwan had tested the product and said it was safe.

We have all been there. You waited and waited, finally decided to buy a product (or sometimes, a whole line!), only to be completely dissatisfied when the product fails to impress. What can you do?

Well, there are pretty much just three choices – keep, return or toss. Should this misfortune happen to you (it happens to me A LOT since I use a new product every 3 months or less), there are still some things you can do should you decide to keep the duds.