Review: Biore Makeup Remover for Eye & Lip

Hello ladies!

I've been using a couple of different eye make-up removers, ranging from Lancome's  Bi-Facil and L'oreal's Gentle Lip & Eye makeup remover before embarking on my journey with Biore's Pink formula. 

L'oreal's and Lancome's remover were rather similar in my opinion, with the Lancome's formula being a tad stronger than L'oreal's. However both did leave some of my eye makeup smudging after cleansing. 

Still, Lancome's formula was a tad too expensive. So I switched. 

So back to Biore's. I'm only 1/3 through the bottle and I can't wait for it to finish. I won't do my table review for this product as it doesn't quite fit. I'm just going to outline some key pointers.

What I like about the product:

• almost odourless and pleasant
• simple packaging and easy to use

What I dislike about the product

• it doesn't fully remove my waterproof makeups and is not as strong as the L'oreal's formula. It takes quite a few wipes on a few different cotton pads before my makeup is full removed. This will dehydrate the eys and perhaps even cause fine lines. A big no-no. 
• I hate the nozzle as it causes uneven squirts onto my cotton pad, which sometimes causes too much of the formula to be squirted on the cotton pad and hence getting into my eye
• I personally find it too oily but wouldn't mind if the oil works. I don't think the oil is doing its job for this product.

I will not repurchase this product. I will just diligently finish my 2/3s. 

I'm looking forward to try the new Talika gentle eye cleanser for sensitive eyes (retailing S$52 in Singapore) - see the other post.  

Talika Lipocils New Mascara

New products to try from Talika!

• The Eyelash conditioning cream (the small box) - RRP Singapore - S$53
• Duo Mascara - one side for natural eyelash growth and the other a black mascara! - RRP (Singapore) - S$69
• Gentle Eye Cleanser for Hypersensitive Eyes - RRP (Singapore S$52)

I believe that the duo mascara is their new item. They recommend applying Lipocils then the Black mascara above it. Its meant to be water-resistant which should work fine in hot and humid countries unless you are going diving or swimming with mascara!
However, it might be awhile before i get started on this mascara as I just bought the DiorShow mascara not too long back and its still unopened!! Please be patient as I try out these products! 

Remedies for eyebags, dark circles & a pepermint scrub!

Hello guys! If you've read my earlier posts, you'd probably be farmiliar with my lamenting about my dark eye circles (which are yes, panda black kind!). I have been trying out so many eye creams and eye products that I ended up with milia seeds under my eye and crows feet *upset*. Since my homemade facial products did well, I decided to explore homemaking some eye remedies, mainly either for puffy eyes and/or dark undereye rings. My dark undereye rings are unbeatable. I have to use both the bobbi brown corrector and concealer to turn my eyes to normal state... any eye highlighter or pure concealer is unable to fully cover! *Sobs* However I do have a problem with Bobbi's eye corrector/concealer as the cream based product cracks up after half a day even after sealing them with fine powder. Any touching up will only attempt to make it worse! 

So I decided... instead of focusing so much on covering these panda-cum-goldfish eyes with make-up, I have committed to try to solve the problem directly.

Today I'm going to share with you a few items (remedies for the eyes & peppermint face scrub) again! I'm so sorry for all the lengthy posts but I just can't wait to share these things with you! So enjoy and yup grab your cuppa tea before scrolling down! Enjoy!

Part A: All about Eyes 

1. Herbal Tea bags & Eyes

(Chamomile, Green Tea, Peppermint, Rose Hip etc)

Why chilled tea bags? They relieve puffy and swollen eyes. Applying with eyes closed will also help keep the lids and eyes moist. 

[However if you have sty (bump on eyelid/edge which happens due to bacteria getting into eyelashes and under the eye lids) try a hot mint tea compress which can be placed over your eyes 3 times a day for just 5 minutes each. It is said that the heat can help bacteria in the sty come to surface, therefore allowing you to directly eliminate the problem!] 

I particularly like peppermint tea bags for a few reasons:

(i) a cold mint tea eye compress (i.e. chilled tea bag) can help cleanse, reduce swelling of eyes with a cooling effect

(ii) they aid dry eyes more effectively

(iiI) more than often, dark eye rings can be linked to skin allergies and sinuses. Mint tea has healing effects for those due to its strong menthol aroma which will cause eyes to water and sinuses to tingle. All you need to do is to inhale the steam from mint tea. 

Chamomile tea will help to dis-inflame!  

How to get a cold compress eye treatment

(a) Put two tea bags in boiling water for 2 minutes

(b) Remove and place them in a tupperware or ziplock bag (cool it abit if you're using a ziplock) 

(c) cool in the refrigerator for 15 - 20 minutes

(d) After they are cooled, place them over closed eyes for 10 - 15 minutes! 

Tadah~ you're done! 

2. Cucumber, Potatoes & Apple

Both potatoes and cucumbers aid puffy eyes as they both help to reduce water retention. 

Cucumbers: has high amounts of ascorbic acid and caffeic acid

Potatoes: effective for dark eye circles due to liquid starch and an enzyme (cathecholase) used as a skin lightener

Apples: eliminates pigmentation issues in skin, regulate fine lines under the eyes

If you just want a cooling and soothing treat, a slice of chilled cucumber or a slice of chilled potato  on each eye is great too! It will moisturize

Cucumber & Potato Eye Mask - grate both ingredients (chilled) in equal portions, mix and squeeze the juices out! Apply the paste directly on your eyes or put them in an empty teabag before applying. 

You can do the same with apples + potatoes too. Just use 1 portion of apple for 4 portions of potatoes! 

3. Diet - avoid too much caffeine, salt and alcohol (unfortunately I'm a sucker for those things! *sobs*) 

4. Apply your eye moisturizers diligently! Try to use a cream moisturizer in the morning before applying eye makeup (they help to moisturizer your eyes and thereby keeping your makeup on better) and a gel moisturizer at night as they will firm and tighten the area better (this reduces swelling!)

5. Give your eyes sufficient rest - look away from your computer from time and time and get sufficient sleep! 

Part B: Peppermint Face Scrub 

So we've used the peppermint tea bags as cooling eye compress treats, then how do we make sure it doesn't waste? 

1. Drink it with or without honey! 

Peppermint tea is naturally caffeine free but provides a quick perk-me-up effect due to its menthol content. Apart from common knowledge of mint tea containing stress relieving effects (calms and relaxes muscles along intestinal tract) and warding off common colds, it is said to ease problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, spasms, colic, intestinal gas, indigestion and headaches (due to properties in peppermint that relax the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing the contents of the stomach to move upwards into the esophagus). Avoid drinking if you have reflux issues. 

2. Make a face scrub! (You can use this for your feet too!)

Ingredients: 

• 5 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp baby oil 
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 1/4 tbsp thick peppermint tea

How to? 

(a) infuse 2 bags of peppermint tea in 1/3 cup boiling water, cool for 15 minutes

(b) add 3 tbsp sugar into bowl

(c) add 1 1/4 tbsp thick peppermint tea in 

(d) add 1 tsp baby oil

(e) add 2 tbsp sugar

(f) add 1 tbsp honey 

(g) mix and you're ready for your facial treat 

We should exfoliate once to thrice weekly, this will keep dead skin from building and getting into pores!

Burberry Beauty School

Sorry for the 2 week break ladies! Work was insane! That explains the need for really good and effective skincare! Quoting the words of my burberry beauty instructor - Celestine - "if you don't see your skin care working for you, its not doing its job. Time to change!"

Yup I'm here today to talk about my 2 hours make-up course with Burberry beauty! I must say that it was an insightful, hands-on and awesome 2 hours!

We went through the whole process of applying a beautiful face makeup including choosing the right foundation and eye colors!

Right foundation: try it on from your cheekbone downwards, closer to your neck line. The correct foundation shade is one where you feel most comfortable and should blend into your neck color.

Then again, no such beauty school is without some marketing, where I was properly introduced to burberry makeup for the first time! Their key emphasis was creating a flawless face with sheer makeup. Sheer in their sense means light-weighted yet sufficient coverage. Sheer would also allow you to touch up easily and also put on a couple of layers without worrying that its going to look too cakey!

Anyway back to some tips that I picked up during the class
♥ prime your face and eye area before putting on make-up
♥ concealer can be used to highlight nose bridge/ T-zone

Burberry Fresh Glow

♥ when using brush to pick up powder, do not use the tip, use one side to pick up powder and the other side to blend in circular motion
♥ can mix 2 or more color blush to pick up more color depth
♥ emphasize eyes by defining crease


And I'm so impressed by 2 of their items, i'm highly recommending them:
1) Burberry Fresh Glow - a luminous primer base for your face/eye lips - a good perk-me-up! There's also wild rose extract in it which is generally good for scars and the skin! It provides your face a dewy light shimmer finish to ensure you glow for the day!

The awesome mascara!

2) Burberry Mascara - wow they lengthened my eyelashes and kept them full! a super wow! They also don't smudge and clump even though it wasn't outrightly stated that this is a smudge-proof nor waterproof mascara; just a simple weather-proof mascara. The brush is also jagged between long-short which gives the lashes a good brush, love this loads! Comes in 4 colors!

They also introduced their spring/summer collection.. the additions are...

Eye color: pale barley is the newest eye color. It wasn't particularly suited for light skined Asian skin but if you'd like a brownish shimmer color, then do check it out! I personally find tea rose and pale rose more suited for me! Still, its a personal preference!

Burberry Pale Barley (No 22) EyeShadow

4 new lip colors: Tulip pink (no 2), devon sunset (no 28), golden peach (no 29) and primrose hill pink (no 30)



primrose hill pink is an awesome statement color! But if you're bias towards nude and pale tones, try tulip pink layered with the nude rose lip gloss (no 14).

Tulip Pink (No 2)

2 new lip gloss colors: hibicus (bo 13) and nude rose (no 14). I personally like nude rose (yes boring plain jane I know) along side their older colors such as Blush (no 04).

Awesome Awesome colors! Pls refer to the beauty lookbook for swatches!

Primrose Hill Pink (No 30)

Currently, there's only 1 burberry counter in Singapore since August 2011 at Tangs Orchard. However, it has been around since 2010. A pretty new brand but good quality products I must say!

All about the under eye

Eye creams, Eye Gels, Eye concentrates? What's the difference? Which to choose?

Ever wondered about the differing terms and exactly how different could they be? Which under eye treatment is better for you?

A variety of reasons contribute creating dark eye circles, puffy eyes and wrinkles around our eyes. These reasons ranges from lifestyle impacts like smoking, alcohol consumption to other habits like sleeping late, congestion problems or stress related issues. There are some others which are inherited or some others come with age. 

There are tonnes of over-the-counter products available in the market; in fact, every counter you see in the big departmental stores will generally carry at least 1 under eye product. So what is better for you? Unfortunately, I am still in the midst of searching for a suitable under product and I believe that each of us will have a different ideal product. 

(1) Garnier Caffeine Roll on

So fundamentally, gels are lighter and easier to apply than cream. By and large, younger folks may generally prefer to use gels as they are lighter, more soothing and refreshing to the eye. An eye cream which is too rich may cause milia seeds to occur. An extraction of milia seed often requires laser day surgery or some I heard, via a needle. I've tried neither before and due to a rich eye cream, I am left with some milia seeds under my eye. They seem to be amplified when I'm tired or stressed. 

Creams are generally richer and suitable for older skin or very dry under eyes. Serums and concentrates are often known to be a combination of creams and gels or otherwise, a thicker gel which is apparently more moisturizing. 

Before I list some of the eye products I've tried, let me just highlight my undereye issues. I have dark eye rings which have been with me since a child (I've seen my kiddo pics), puffy eyes at times and eye bags when I am lacking sleep. Recently, I was appalled to discover some wrinkles at the inner bottom corner of my under eye area! I'm horrified and trust me, I've been reading up alot about the various under eye products and I know I'll be purchasing one soon!

To date, I've tried several brands of under eye product, of which none had really worked. To list, I've tried: 

(1) Garnier caffeine roll on which seem to left a "plastic" layer feel everytime it dried up. Caffeine is suppose to aid dark eye circles but I did not benefit from a consistent day-and-night application over 3 months. However, the roll-on applicator was soothing and comfortable, especially if you keep your tube in the fridge! (but do make sure that your fridge temp is not far too cold)

(2) Biotherm Aquasource Eye Perfection - I received a small sample with my moisturizer purchase but it proved to be disappointing. A little stinging and discomfort was felt with every application, perhaps I am allergic to some chemicals or ingredients used in the formula. Upon drying, it does feel powdery and it doesn't work well when you apply your concealer or makeup. In addition, it didn't aid my dark eye circles. The only good point I might raise was that it was soothing as well. 

(3) Lancome Repositioning Eye Cream -  Too rich a cream for my liking. Perhaps something suitable for older/more sun exposed and dry under eye area. 

(4) Kose Infinity Eye Cream - Rich, suitable for age 30-40 ladies I believe. A little too rich for me but it did aid a little of my dark circles.

5) Bobbi Brown Eye Repair Cream - Very thick and hard to spread across the under eye area. I bought this as I was so intrigued that it could cover my milia seeds before applying my concealers. However, halfway into this little tub, I started to release it also added more milia seeds contrarian to what the sales assistant tried to sell the product by alleging that it has ingredients that help heals them. I was naive, stick to BB for make-up. 

6) Shu Uemura Deep Sea Replenishing Eye Gel - awesome little tube, very refreshing and helps hyrdation + mild puffy eyes. Otherwise, don't expect too much. A disappointment in the results as compared to the hefty price (>SGD 50)

7) La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Eye Lift Cream & Cellular Eye Contour Cream - This is one story I must share. I fell madly in love with La Prairie products after trying the cellular eye contour cream. It was the first ever cream which lightened my dark eye circles! To me, it was simply amazing. I was barely 1 week into the tub and I already experienced the difference! Unfortunately, I believe it was also the same cream which gave me my milia seeds but I refused to believe and continued until I've finished the tub. It was when I went back to the counter that I was convinced that the cellular eye contour cream was no good, and was advised to try the luxe eye lift cream. I thought for abit but got put off by both the milia seeds that had formed and the price. Subsequently, I was given the Caviar Luxe Cream to try by my mother. It was rich and well, caused more milia seeds. Try this again when i'm older and might really need a rich eye cream. 

I've received a box of Elizabeth Arden Prevage Eye Cream as a gift. I might just give it a shot despite the mixed reviews. I've got a hunch that it might not suit my skin, and it'll be too rich given shea butter being its 4th highest ingredient. I'll prolly try it for abit and see how it goes, if unsuitable will likely pass on to my mom for usage. I did read in several places that this line suits 40s to 50s ladies better! 

Meanwhile, let me continue my hunt for a suitable eye cream!