Dr Ci:Labo

With the hectic lifestyle that most Singaporean women have, I'm sure that fussing over your skin care products is one of the last things you'd want to do. From toner to serums to moisturizers, I for one am sometimes too lazy to keep a full regime of so many steps - let alone working adults who have to take the time in between each process to wait for them to dry before applying the next layer. Here's something that I find really helpful, and have been using it for the past month.

Dr Ci:Labo's Aqua-Collagen-Gel

They come in 4 different types to suit different needs. Super Moisture, Bi-Ha-Ku (Whitening), Super-Sensitive, and Enrich Lift EX.

(Dress from PAPY.sg which launches on Wednesday 9pm!)

So here you might be asking: "What is Dr Ci:Labo?"
Dr Ci:Labo (If I remember right, the "ci" was supposed to signify "Science") is a brand founded by Dr. Yoshinori Shirono whose aim is to focus on enhancing the skin's natural ability to preserve it's own beauty using unique ingredients that are carefully selected. With "simple yet effective" as their key conept, they aim to provide the skin with the least to achieve confidence of youth and beauty.

As I learned more about the products, what amazed me was to find that the simple-looking tub of aqua gel can actually cover the effects of using the many products that you use on a daily basis - Toner, Emulsion, Brightening Serum, Beauty Serum and Makeup Base

There's a lot of technical stuff about the gel (mostly here) but I wouldn't want to bomb you guys with a whole array of text so if you're interested do go check out their Facebook Page.

Moving on to my review..
Over the last month I've tried Bi-Ha-Ku and Super-Moisture. I find that super-moisture is too nourishing for my skin (but it's not oily), but I will definitely bring it on my overseas trip next month! Bi-Ha-Ku, I'm really loving.

The tubs are small and sit nicely on my vanity (which really needs some packing btw) and the 50g tubs are easy to carry around. I have a love-hate relationship with tubs because they are less sanitary than tubes with you having to dig into the tub, but you can really get to the last bit of your product (and reuse the tubs). Dr Ci:Labo definitely thought of that! (And for the ladies with long fingernails, you'll love this.)
After unscrewing the cap, you'll be greeted with yet another lid - that holds a spatula for you to dig into the tub with. This is not only very handy (I always lose separate spatulas that I buy) but also prevents the product from sticking to the upper most cap. Every brand shoud adopt this! Remember to always clean before and after using the spatula though - if not it defeats the purpose.

The gel itself has a very light texture (I'm sorry I forgot to swatch it) and absorbs relatively quickly to provide a light shield of moisture on the skin. The gel spreads onto the skin really smoothly (and it feels nice and cooling on a warm day). Avoid applying to where there is broken skin though because it stings a tad.

Helps that they printed on the box the amount of product you should roughly pick up with the spatula for day/night application because honestly speaking I sometimes find that "pea-sized" or "pearl-sized" are very hard to gauge.

Top: For Morning

Bottom: For Night

After 1 week into using Bi-Ha-Ku, I noticed that my skin is brighter, and the marks on my face from picking at pimples have lightened as well. (The marks always appear because I always pick at new pimples... I know I have a terrible habit )): ). I wake up to soft and supple (and really, I do mean very soft skin) skin when I use this - even when I'm at B's and sleep with an aircon blowing straight at my face.

Among their whole array of different products, their consistent best-seller has been their Aqua-Collagen-Gel. Prices for the different ranges range from (50g tub) $45 ~ $120 (120g tub). Available at their store in Takashimaya as well as their website (where you can get a free 1 week trial).