New goodies for serious pampering
HAPPY PILL:River Rosal
OVER the weekend my friends and I got together for our quarterly pamper-me sessions. We used to do dinners, but we got so tired late in the evenings, and sometimes embarrassingly intoxicated with vodka (no hang-over), that our activities had to evolve into something that included a few beds in an extremely air-conditioned room. We realized a serviced apartment that had a jacuzzi and a bath tub is much more suitable for our ritualistic activities, which, of course, starts out with quiet massages and cleansing treatments, before all hell breaks loose. These days, we now include product testing, sharing and bashing. Bashing, because we needed something to either mock or dish out our frustrations and disappointments from the lousiest three-step instant cake all the way to the most incredibly priced beauty regimen they’ve ever paid for or dreaming to pay for. Not surprisingly, the latter was close votes among breast augmentation, nose job or a spa getaway trip somewhere in the Maldives. The Maldives was my choice.
This session started with Shu Uemura’s Birthday Boutique collection and the new reformulated body scrubs from The Body Shop, also including the new lifestyle line of Cassis Rose, currently marketed to replace the local favorite Moonflower (sorry, ladies, so hoard up). The second series of bath and scrub samplers came from the new olive range of Tact, a newbie Greek brand from Rustan’s. Then I unveiled my new anti-acne find— Junkisui’s new line for acne-prone skin and a host of new scents for the season from Esprit, EmporioArmani, Ralph Lauren and Burberry. We also got to sample the promise of ageing graciously using Origins’ first pair of products from its collaboration with Dr. Andrew Weil, the father of Integrative Medicine, then waking up with fresh breath from Astring-o-Sol’s new version of Ice Extreme the following day. It was not exactly a relaxing but rather an enjoyable weekend that perfectly capped my workweek that included walking back and forth the streets of Hong Kong and Tsim Tsa Tsui. That was fun, too, but I’d prefer a much cooler weather any given time—less heat, less sweat, less pimples.
Happy 23rd Birthday, Shu Uemura!
Every year Shu Uemura comes out with a Birthday Boutique Collection to celebrate the shop’s anniversary and also the founder’s birthday in June. This year the collection includes a limited-edition palette of Pressed Eye Shadows in four colors—pink, yellow, green and blue, custom paired in unique shades and finishes. This came out a huge hit among my friends because some of them were first-timers to Shu Uemura makeup items and they were in awe of the eye shadows adhering properties, the shades real even after application. The green and blue shades, usually requiring a bit of personality and attitude to wear, were welcomed with excitement. It was almost too sad to wash them off right away. It’s heavy in the pocket at P4,995, but it’s guaranteed to stay long on your eyelids. None of that embarrassing now-see-them-now-you-don’t eye makeup crap. Seriously.
The collection also came out with three limited-edition Depsea water sprays, a set of Sheer Lip Pencils, which I believe is the must-have for those who, to this day, do not know how to apply a lip color; or if you’re like me, who prefers a natural sheen over any made up pair of kissers. Sort of the kind you get after kissing someone you really like.
Other products in the collection:
* Shu Eye Palette. The four shades are Pearl Momo Pink and Matte Bamboo Green which both come in subtle pearly white finish paired with Metallic Yuzu Yellow and Iridiscent Kyosho Blue.
* Sheer Lip Pencil Trio is presented in a fancy white leather touch carry case.
* False eyelashes with water droplet effect come in full and mini sizes.
Junkisui for Acne-Prone Skin
Junkisui, another excellent skincare product by Kose, makers of Fasio and Sekissei products, has recently come up with skincare for the face, focusing on acne-prone skin, whether adult or teens’. It’s a complete range of four equally potent quasi-medicated skin regimens that include a foaming wash (120g, P895, Essences) to remove sebum and dirt deep in the pores, a massage serum (60 mL, P2,250) derived from oat extracts and other active herbal ingredients like peony root, moutan bark and Chinese lovage water, a lotion (150 mL, P1,250), that contains herbal water to hydrate the thickened layer of the skin, thus encouraging the lids over the acne to open, and a non-comedogenic moisturizer ( 120 mL, P1,450) that also treats inflammation and redness due to sun or snow burn apart from its anti-acne powers.
My friends and I particularly like the Refreshing Lotion, which, unlike the usual lotion, comes in clear liquid format. I first tried it about two months ago. I was making plans how to hide the mountainous inflammation I had on my forehead, for my evening date, when my friend came up to me with a cotton patch wet with the Junkisui lotion. Reluctantly I applied it and left it there. A couple of hours later, my problem was reduced to a slight bump resembling a pimple; even the redness was gone. That’s not an exaggeration—although I’m shallow like that, but the herbal cocktail of oriental extracts mixed with an anti-inflammatory ingredient (Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate) worked like magic that day.
Interestingly the range claims that skins with acne need more moisture. The lotion, which is also loosely named "Super Herbal Water," softens the surrounding skin of the infected bumps, eventually eradicating excess horny layers or thickened skin that clog the pores. These clogs can cause comedones, which can also lead to serious acne. I find it interesting because it’s quite known that those with oily skin usually avoid moisturizers, which tend to clog their pores. Junkisui claims, and to a certain extent I agree, that its oriental herbal blend of extracts can stop the vicious cycle of acne, whether due to stress or hormonal imbalance, by promoting healthier circulation of our bodily fluids. Most immediate results of using these products include soothing anti-inflammatory effects and light, cleansed feeling on the face, even after the moisturizer.
The Body Shop Body Scrubs
After many melted and eventually sticky sugar scrubs, finally The Body Shop has decided to reintroduce its worldwide favorite body scrubs in new formulations. Filipino favorite Olive (P895) along with Brazil Nut, cult-favorite Papaya and the new Coconut product line that includes a body scrub, now all come in a tub of rich and creamy shea butter blended with ground almond shells. This creamy format is designed for people with extremely dry to moderately dry skin, while gel-based like Satsuma, Strawberry (P495 each) and Passionfruit (P895) and oil-sugar-mineral salt mix like Almond, Shea and Grapeseed (P895 each) are intended for all skin types, including people with dry skin.
While the gel types are quite novel and seemingly easier to apply in the shower compared to the traditional sugar-salt-oil mix, we all still prefer the creamy kind of scrub. Maybe it’s more psychological, with the rough almond shells of the cream type giving a harsher scrubbing sensation. What transpires really is that the scrubbing sensation from the ground almond shells encourages exfoliation while the shea butter, renowned for its moisturizing properties, seals in the moisture, resulting in a baby-soft and smoothened skin. In effect, the harsher the scrub, maybe, just maybe, the smoother the skin. Personally, I just want a regular scrub with medium-sized grains. In this case, they all smell good enough to eat, even the usually supersweet papaya, which I had not always been particularly fond of, gave off a soothing milky scent afterwards. I even suggested to most of my friends to layer the delicious aroma using the Papaya Body Butter, after bathing with the shower gel. After that, you’re almost good enough to eat—according to my friend’s boyfriend, anyway.
For those who wish to try any of the body scrub variants, visit any branch of The Body Shop. They are giving away an introductory 10 percent discount for the first scrub and 15 percent for two or more kinds. As a suggestion, try either the reformulated Papaya or my all-time favorite Olive Scrub and then let me know if you got eaten or what!
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