Viccal & Hanamei

Sponsored Review

Roughly about 2 months ago, i received a parcel from TSS for me to review. The products are from Viccal and Hanamei.


Sounds unfamiliar right? Even I, who frequently walk into Watsons and such to take a look at beauty products, have never seen nor heard of the brand prior to this. WHY?

Viccal(http://www.viccal.com.sg/) and Hanamei(http://www.hanamei.com/) are products that are both unavailable on the market yet, and can only be ordered online. (Viccal has their stocks at two clinics in Singapore http://www.themedicalpractice.com.sg/our-clinic.html and you can also grab their sample at their website ^^)


Some background on the two brands:

Hanamei
What is Hanamei®?
For most hair removal procedures including waxing, plucking and shaving, the undesirable can often be removed but not its side effects. Bumps, ingrown hair, darkening of the skin, inflammation and soreness are just some of the more common problems that your skin can suffer from.
Hanamei® is created specifically to care for your most intimate area especially after any hair removal therapies. Besides providing instant relief after waxing, Hanamei® also help keep delicate skin supple, smooth and fair over time.
Rich in pure Japanese botanical extracts, the Hanamei® Intimate Beauty Treatment range is gentle yet effective for everyday use, even on other areas like the underarms, elbows and kneecaps where skin is often rough and darkened.

What is Hanamei® made of?
Hanamei® is specially formulated with only natural Japanese plant ingredients. Each botanical extract is carefully chosen and blended together to care for your delicate skin. Free from alcohol, artificial preservatives and colourants, the Hanamei® Intimate Beauty Treatment range provides instant relief after any hair removal therapy and ensures that your skin stays healthy, smooth and fair naturally over time.

What are the Key Ingredients?
Sakura Extract moisturises and prevents rough skin.Amurense Bark is anti-bacterial and reduces the likelihood of follicle and pore infection.
Artichoke Extract reduces inflammation of skin and helps minimise itchiness.
Organic Rosewater gently calms the emotional and physiological aspects of skin.Aloe Vera Extract has a wound-healing effect and soothes the skin.




Viccal

After trying out the products for slightly over a month, here's my review!


First up,
Viccal's serum 2.11 (Heal and Detoxify, R.T.P. $165)
I apologise for the lack of "before" and "after" photos as the "before" pictures were taken and put in my laptop before it died on me and i had to reformat my whole pc. Therefore, it would also be quite redundant for "after" pictures as no comparison can be established.

I really liked that the serum smelt good (it's pretty gross to be putting foul smelling stuffs on your face if you ask me) and that it has a watery and light consistency. Some serums are really thick and take a long time to get absorbed. This serum, however, absorbs into your skin really quickly and does not have a sticky after-feel.

I also like that it has a dripper instead of a pump (sometimes pumps are hard to control with regards to the amount of product it dispenses)

After 1 month of usage, i found that my skin got a LOT smoother, my pores have visibly shrunk, no more oil seeds on my face (I used to have some oil seeds under my eye area, around the cheeks) and i think it even helped lighten some of my acne scars!

They also have two other serums in their Basic Collection, all for different skin problems. Do check it out! (2.10 retails at $145 while 3.12 retails at $185)



Next up,
Hanamei's Hair Removal Aftercare Brightening Serum

Do you know that the constant friction from our shavings are actually part of the cause for our skin darkening? (Knees aside) This serum is aimed to lighten the dark pigmentation so that you will no longer have dark patches.

I used this product on my underarm (therefore no pictures...) and after a month of usage, i found that the skin around my underarm area actually got less flaky, and felt somewhat smoother. The whitening effect was not as good as i expected it to be, but the pigmentation did get slightly lighter. I also noticed that the amount of ingrown hairs decreased significantly

This product also has a dripper!


Last, but not least,
Hanamei's Comforting Mask

It was really easy to use the mask and it didn't smell foul.

As instructed, you're supposed to use one box for a week continuously (7 pieces a box)

After usage, the skin felt less itchy, the redness was reduced, and my skin didn't feel as irritated. After 7 days of continuous usage, there was also noticeably less ingrown hair, my skin felt a whole lot smoother, and more supple.

Thank you TSS (https://www.facebook.com/thesamplestore.sg), Viccal(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Viccal-The-smarter-skincare/115038488572518) and Hanamei for the sponsorship (:.
This review was written entirely by me and reviews and personal thoughts are 100% honest and truthful.

Tony Moly's Tomatox Brightening Mask Pack

I took part in an 8flo giveaway about a few weeks ago and the winners were announced just a couple of days back. Was really happy to receive an email from 8flo's very own editor to inform me that I was one of the winners (:.

Went down to Bugis' Tony Moly today to collect my prize. Out of the two that we were to choose from, I chose the Tomatox's Brightening Mask Pack.

I really loved their super cute packaging! Immediately tells me what's the main ingredient in the mask - Tomatoes!

As weird as it sounds to make a mask pack (or even any skincare products) out of Tomatoes, here's as to why Tomatoes are good for our skin!
Below extract from: http://www.indiaparenting.com/beauty/article.cgi?art_id=116&sec_id=2
1.Tomatoes are rich in anti-oxidants and so they counter the aging effects on the skin by cutting out the number of free radicals in your body.
2. Tomatoes help preserve moisture levels in the body.
3. Tomatoes counters oily skin by absorbing surplus oil and also helps get rid of pimples and acne.
4. Tomatoes help lighten the complexion.

In other words, apart from helping you achieve a lighter complexion (which is what you'd want the mask to do from in it's "brightening" aspect, it also helps counter skin aging, keeps your skin hydrated, and absorbs excess oil and gets rids of pimples and acne - which makes it the ideal mask for people with both dry and oily skin. (WOW!!)

Once you twist open the top of the tomato case, you get greeted by a plastic lid with the words "Tony Moly" that protects your mask from the bad bacteria and germs etc. I really like it because it's just like how Marigold's Fresh Milk are "Double-sealed for extra protection".

"Unveiling" the goodness!

Notice the little micro beads. They break and literally melts into your skin as you apply and mask on. I have no idea what they're made of as the mask pack does not come with instructions nor the ingredient list and even if they did it'd be in Korean so i like to think of it as little beads of wonderful tomato-y goodness that does amazing things to your skin :D. Also very possibly where the tomato extracts are!

Apply a thin layer onto your skin. (Or a thicker layer if you'd prefer)

And INSTANT WHITENING.

Okay, so maybe not INSTANT whitening right after

Leave the mask on for 3 minutes. (Ideally, that would be the case. However, I sometimes tend to leave masks on for longer than stated. I would recommend to leave this mask on for no longer than 10~15minutes)

Simply rinse off after use. (Use 1~2 times a week, as advised as the staff at Tony Moly)

After the mask, my skin did look slighter brighter and lighter, but definitely a whole lot more radiant. My pores also felt clean and smaller too. Skin also felt smoother.


Packaging: 10/10
Definitely would be able to catch my eye. The tomato is too cute to resist!

Scent: 8/10
I couldn't pinpoint the scent of the product but it definitely wasn't repulsive.

Whitening/Brightening effect: 9/10
Immediate results after removal of mask. However, whether the results are permanent or temporary remains to be seen.

Skin condition after the mask: 10/10
Skin felt sooo smooth and pores looks barely visible. I'm left stunned!

Price: 8/10
Quite a reasonable price since the pack would be able to last quite awhile. (SGD $27.90)

LOTD: M.A.C Ruffian S/S2011

The other day, i was surfing the net and looking for makeup for S/S2011 when i chanced upon what M.A.C did for Ruffian S/S0211 and LOVED IT.

The gold is what i really fell for in this look. It really brings the whole look to a different level and adds a hint of mystic and gives it a very magical feeling. The coral lips give the look a pop of colour so as to not wash out the wearer.

Therefore, I decided to give the look a try.

Makeup used for this look are as follows
Eye
NYX Nude on Nude Palette (Gold and Brown eyeshadows)
L'oreal HIP chrome eyeliner in Gold Charge (Waterline)
Maybelline's Volume Express Hypercurl Mascara in Brown

Face
E.L.F's Cool Bronzer Palette (Cheeks and Temple Couturing)

Lips
Stage's Wonderlust Lipstick in Audrey


Here's how the look looks like when i tried to replicate it.

And, since i was all made up, of course i had to take the chance to camwhore.
Now, for more pictures on the look.


Time for picture spam!


Yes that furry lil thing on my head was the Mormor shawl B's mummy got me for Christmas last year.

I loved love loved how to makeup made me look sooooo photogenic! I usually snap tons of pictures before picking out the best ones and always comes out with only a few better ones ):. Also, the viccal serum, and sticking to my skincare regime religiously helped a ton! Staying off foundations (i wasn't wearing any foundation for this look! I've not worn any foundations for 2 weeks and am very proud of it ^_^) also made me skin really great! My skin has been sooooo great recently, no kidding!