Anyway, I’ve had an obsession with Japan & everything Japanese ever since my trip to Japan in October last year (2008). Japanese knick knacks are so damn cute. They have the best makeup, the best hair products and accessories, the cutest outfits, the coolest and most original fashion I have ever seen. I went gaga in JAPAN. I bought their magazines, their clothes, DHC ( truly wonderful products!), makeup, hair accessories, weight loss inducing tights* ( a gal can really deceive herself). Anyways, Japanese guys and girls are really gorgeous to me cause they have such a unique look and style.
Did I mention that the food is really fresh, light and oh so good too ?
All my friends know about my crazy obsession with Japan & it’s products.
Before falling head over heels in love with Japan, I rarely used any Japanese skincare products ( except for trusty old Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil) . I was always under the impression that Japanese skin care products were too oily and that it would clog pores.
Moreover, my skin is so mega bitchy and can clog super easily. My skin hates foundation, powders, bb creams and blushers(it usually cause bumps). My skin hates the newly introduced DR WU ( broke out in red rashes), Vichy, Eucerin, 98% of drug store facial products. My skin is really pampered and is totally temperamental.
So, when if a products works on my skin, I talk & recommend it !
My definition of a product that
WORKS:
+Reduces or Eliminates pimple outbreaks
+Not pore clogging 96% of the time (I don’t trust products which claim to be 100% non-condomogenic)
+Effective in lightening and brightening
+No reactions, reddness, bumps
+NO PURGING Syndrome
Anyways, after trying a free sample of
Olive Oil Remover in a Kyoto Hotel, I was hooked. Since then, I’ve carefully ventured into the wonderful world of Japanese skincare products and now I’m loving one particular brand – YAMANO.
Opposite from where I work, there is this small cosmetics shop that sells everything. I pop in every once in a while to check out the prices of Dr Secrets. Dr secrets was recommended by Ms Bel, who has amazing skin. Product wise, DR S. has been pretty amazing thus far! Its not totally perfect though, cause its bloody expensive and sometimes, it can irritate my skin a tiny bit. Dr Secrets focuses on daily exfoliation and renewal of the skin. I’ve recommended it to alot of people as well and most love it too. However, if you are trying to save some money, you would be like me and look around for a cheaper but equally effective product.
I was grousing about my Dr Secrets Dilemma to the lady boss in the shop and she recommended I try the YAMANO Skin Care Range.
I also told her that when I get zits, its often very red and the post pigmentation takes an eternity (3-4 months) to fully go away. She recommended this WHITE Skin enhancing cream by YAMANO.
Don’t underestimate this shit. I’ve been for a chemical peel (50%) and it didn’t even make me peel the way this cream did. This cream is serious serious SHIT! The effect if u overdo this cream is that u look like a really red scaly monster. Its best to use this in moderation and only at night. I had a small scar which I wanted to resurface so it made me happy that this cream helped me peel the stubborn scaR! Post Pigmentation marks have reduced greatly as well. Well, for 80 bucks, its not exactly cheap but this product is well worth the money!
+ Use a sunblock when you use this cream. This is very important cause your skin will get thinner and sunblock is now your skin’s best friend.
Step 1:YAMANO FACE SOAP
This soap is grey in color. No fret. Its not pretty, doesn’t smell anything like roses, but it leaves my skin feeling so calm and smooth. My skin has never taken to any type of soap, Not Clinque famous bar soap, Not the papaya soap or any facial soap for that matter. This soap is the only soap that has not broken me out with a rash or zits! Bravo.
Initially it left my skin feeling a bit tight, but I fixed it with Yamano Moisturising Gel.
Step 2: YAMANO MOISTURE GEL
Wowowow…. This gel is freaky amazing. It feels like water.This doesn’t clog pores at all. I love it.
Step 3: YAMANO SUNBLOCK SPF 50
This sunblock is like SPF 50+ . It’s a little oily but thats fine with my cause it’s non pore clogging and it doesn’t leave a white sheen. However, my skin itched pretty badly with this sunblock.
I realised I can only use SPF 25 +. A higher SPF will make my skin itch… … Still I was actually very excited about this sunblock cause I intended to use this right after the facial soap in the mornings. I wouldn’t have to worry about reapplying sunblock anymore… But at least I find out some thing else that my skin doesn’t take to and I can steer clear of higher spfs in the future.
I exchanged this sunblock in the end. Its still a very good sunblock though and if my skin weren’t so sensitive, I would use this all the this all the time.
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Skincare is only going to take you so far. This much I know from personal experience of going through a very bad break out in Munich for a year. The root cause of breakouts is ( STRESS ) .
I’ve taken a short hiatus from blogging cause I noticed that recent work stress was causing me to break out quite badly. I’m more relaxed now and naturally my skin is much better now. I’m also a religious reader of http://www.highonhealth.org/. The writer and natural skin care guru is called Fran and I love her articles. She writes intelligently and her insight into skin health is exceptional. Enjoy her blog & you tube vids!
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Non-JAPAN Related News:
I’ve been constructing hairclips!
I’ve had a long standing love affair with ribbons and pretty hair clips so I bought some lace, flowers and clips and with some glue gun.
Tada! Amateurish but it makes me happy:)
My mom bought this clip for me: I luv it!
A bag I bought from Haji Lane. Its so boxy!
Perfect for wallet, keys, tissue, handphone and a camera.
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I’ve been sporting alot of dark rimmed eyes lately. Maybe its reflecting my mood a tiny bit.
CIAO BELLAS +* MUACKS*+