My Non-toxic Summer Night Skincare

It’s been a while since I did my daily skincare routine! Since I updated most of my products, I thought to do another review! My previous skincare routine is more suitable for Spring, while this one is dedicated for Summer. All products are used based on my skin type (combination to dry) if you have an oily skin type? Don’t worry! I’ll let you know which products are suitable and what’s not.

So, let’s talk about the new products!

NEW PRODUCTS

[Makeup remover oil]

Aromatica: Natural Coconut

Rating: 5/5

One sentence to describe: It’s one of the best remover oil I’ve tried! It’s a must buy!

Comments:

This makeup remover oil is suitable for all skin types. It removes all the makeup super easily, and melts right into the water (it turns milky when dissolving in water) when you’re washing off!

Different from an actual coconut oil, this one not only has the natural coconut scent, it wouldn’t be as oily as the actual coconut oil. (Which you might have had the experience of removing your makeup with actual coconut oil, it can have a really oily finishing).

The only downside of this makeup remover is it your eyes might feel blurry if the oil gets in (but it doesn’t irritate). That’s why you’ll find me rubbing my eyes with the cotton pad because I’m trying to get rid of the oils. So, if you decide to use it, just be careful around the eye area!

[Makeup remover water]

Bioderma: Make-up removing

Rating: 5/5

One sentence to describe: So far it’s the best makeup remover water, definitely going to repurchase!

Skincare tips: You might be wondering, didn’t you just removed your makeup? Yes, I did! And it is totally necessary to remove your makeup in two steps!

Oil-based makeup remover is suitable for removing your base makeup, however, some of the makeup might get trapped in your pores or your eye makeup might still not be fully cleaned. So it’s a really important step to remove your makeup once again with a water-based remover! If this isn’t a usual step in your skincare routine, and you're finding yourself having pimples, breakouts, and whiteheads, this might be the reason!

Comments:

This bioderma makeup removing water is super mild, it doesn’t irritate the eye area at all, and it removes all makeup super well! It’s just too good to be described by words. Plus, it’s non-toxic!

 [Scrub]

Belif: Mild effect facial scrub

Rating: 5/5

One sentence to describe: You're looking for a replacement for a Japanese scrub? This Korean scrub does the same job!

Comments:

Before I went non-toxic, one of the best scrubs I liked is the Japanese scrubs. They are mostly very watery, mild, and scrubs out all the dead skin. (It’s kind of like a feeling of putting on the clear gel, and as you scrub, you start feeling particles coming out). This scrub works just the same! I personally think it’s more suitable for dry to combination skin, it might be a bit too mild for oily skin.

 [Skincare machine]

Foreo Luna 2 (Sensitive type)

Rating: 5/5

One sentence to describe: Money well spent!

Comments:

It was quite a pain in the wallet! Hey don’t laugh, it was so expensive…but, money well spent. Before I got this machine, I was worried if using a facial washing machine every day would irritate the skin. Ends up it didn’t! It cleaned up my skin so well, even the makeup would go on smoothly the next day. It also comes with a massaging side to help your skin absorb the skincare! I only charged it once, and so far I've been using it for nearly a month. I would recommend getting this sensitive model, as it would work milder. If you have oily skin, you can consider getting the oily skin type ones!

[Candles]

iKOU: Organic Candles 

Rating: 5/5 (I wish I can give 100!)

One sentence to describe: My favorite! My life dedicated candle so far.   

About:

iKOU is an Australian brand made in the Blue Mountains (Where I lived before). It’s earth-friendly, cruelty-free, chemical free and helps the society!

Comments:

I feel in love when I started using their first candle. My first scent is ‘Italian orange cardamom & vanilla’, and I’m still in love with it till now. The scent burns out and fills the room naturally (it’s so mild, but then you can smell it once you appreciate it and take deep breaths). If I have to be picky, the led gets burnt and may make some black smoke sometimes when it’s burning (not a problem in the user experience), so I have to make sure to clean the led before burning it again. It doesn’t leave this burning scent afterward as it comes with a lid to cover it up! This candle burns up to 40 hours, normally one candle would last me 2 to 3 months.

[Hair Towel]

Aquis: Hair Towel

Rating: 5/5 (Again, would give 100 if I could!)

One sentence to describe: How can I live without you?

Comments:

This hair towel has made my life so much easier! It dries up my hair super-fast and saves up the time to blow dry (Still, I would recommend blowing dry a little when it’s nearly dry to keep your hair in shape the next day). Normally once I come out of the shower, I would rap my wet hair immediately with this hair towel, and it soaks up the water immediately! This only thing I can pick about is it was easier to tie up when I have long hair, but after I got a haircut it can sometimes fall off if I didn’t tie it well as you can see in my video (still, not a bit problem).

[Moisture Lotion]

F Organics: Moisture Lotion & Moisture Milk

Rating: 4.8/5

One sentence to describe: It’s great for Summer! But I personally prefer Aesop.

Comments:

As you know I have recently fallen in love with F Organics (check out my previous post on their sunscreen!), this moisture lotion along with its moisture milk is their no. 1 seller! I personally think this lotion is suitable for all skin types, it’s really mild, and the price is really affordable! I think this would be a good replacement for Aesop (if you’re looking for something cheaper with more volume). Only personally I think it’s too light for my dry skin, but it works perfectly fine for Summer.

[Concentrated Oil]

Belif: Rose gemma concentrated oil

Rating: 4.9/5

One sentence to describe: I just love the packaging, the oil, the rose petals and the finishing!

Comments:

I’ve been wanting to get this oil for such a long time! The scent of this rose gemma oil is so soothing and light, and once you rub it out onto your face it wouldn’t feel as oily as you think. But personally I think this oil is more suitable for dry to combination skin, it may get too oily for oily skin types.

[Eye cream]

Shigeta Paris: Moisture eye cream

Rating: 5/5

One sentence to describe: A great replacement of my previous Aesop eye serum and cream!

About:

You might realize this is a new brand that I’m using, so I’ll talk about it in more details. All of the ingredients used in their brands are the finest natural ingredients, selected from passionate farmers. It uses toxin free formulas (no PEGs, silicones, parabens or mineral oils). Certified organic formulas by Ecocert (93% natural minimum), and it’s a VEGAN brand which doesn’t test on animals.

Comments:

Though the price of this eye cream is just similar to Aesop, I think that this eye cream works better. The base is moisturizing and not too oily, suitable to be used in all season, and helps me to smooth out the wrinkles at my eye area. Though I haven’t found any improvements in reducing dark circles as it promotes (as I understand it’s really hard for skincare to do that unless you actually go for a skin treatment which uses machines). So far I’ve been happy with this eye cream.

[Lip balm]

Tha is: Coco & Mango lip care

Rating: 5/5 (Again, I would give 100!)

One sentence to describe: It’s moisturizing, it smells good, it tastes good, it’s just perfect!

Comments:

I came across this Thai natural brand when I was traveling in Chiang Mai. It’s really sad that I couldn’t find this lip balm even on their official website, and there’s no information about this product. If I have a chance to open my own non-toxic store, this is definitely going to be on my list!

Still, I would like to talk about why I like this lip balm so much. It moisturizes the lips so well, after applying you would feel your lips being juicy for quite a while. And it has this natural sweet taste to it (hey don’t judge me for tasting my lips haha), the main ingredients are coco, mango, and the wax is derived from sunflower and shea butter. Also, it's paraben, alcohol, SLS and SLES free, with no chemicals and synthetic colors. It works so much better than my Aesop lip balm as I don’t really like the little particles in theirs. I’m just really sad that I didn’t get more…

A complete review for the summer blush makeup!

 Before the end of this Summer, I decided to try out this drunk blush look inspired by Hanna Verhees’s Magazine shot from ‘Hello! Fashion.’ You can check out my YouTube video for the entire tutorial!

I tried to make this look work with all I had. So you might have noticed many of the base and eye products are familiar. You might be curious about why I changed some of the products, and whether or not they were better. So today I would like to share with you these new products!

THE NEW PRODUCTS

[Sunscreen]

F organics: UV Protected Milk

Rating: 5/5

Product in one sentence: Believe it or not, I traveled many miles just to get this sunscreen.

About:

I have discovered F organics recently for its popularity in Cosme Kitchen. They are known for using 99% natural ingredients (mostly based on plants of Damask Rose, Pomegranate Fruits, and Frankincense) as well as being manufactured at an organically certified factory.

Comments:

Along with their top-selling facial creams, this sunscreen was very popular. It came with two different choices: one contains colour correction (which was darker than my skin tone), the other is the original sunscreen. This particular sunscreen is suitable for the face and body, the texture is light and blends onto the skin very well (Not oily at all!!). I personally think this product can be suitable for any skin types.  

Comparison:

I used to use BIOSOLIS Sun Milk and the switch of the product is only because I wanted to try more products to share with you. They are both really good sunscreens so it would depend on which texture you prefer. BIOSOLIS’s sunscreen comes in a creamy texture which can be a bit oily for some people (it was totally fine for me), while F Organic’s sunscreen is much lighter. I would recommend BIOSOLIS for outdoor activities (after seeing that I didn’t get tanned at all in Thailand), and F Organics is more suitable for everyday use.

[Concealer]

bareMinerals: Bareskin Concealer (Shade Light)

Rating: 4.8/5

Product in one sentence: Not bad to try out, but I’m still looking for better.

Comparison:

You might find it strange. ‘Didn’t you use the same concealer before?’ Hmmm, yes, but no. This proves how important it is to buy the right shade!!! I used to use the medium shade, and somehow find my face toned down every time I finish my makeup (you might have noticed in my everyday makeup routine video). Even with this light shade, it still had a yellow undertone (My skin is just too fair). Overall it works well when it comes to covering dark circles, but I would still like to try out other brands next time.

 [Foundation]

MiMC: Liquidly Foundation 01

Rating: 5/5 (I would give 100 if I could!!)

Product in one sentence...or maybe two: Don’t think, don't worry, just buy it!  IT’S TOO AMAZING!

About:

Originated from Japan, MiMc is another brand that uses natural and plant ingredients (with fruits and seeds) as its core ingredient. It’s a safe vegan product to use with no tests on animals.

Comments:

MiMC is a brand that I have fallen in love with recently, and so far none of its products have let me down. The price of its products are quite high (not really affordable for students), but somehow the results really outweigh all the price problems. The foundation was quite expensive (close to 500HKD), but the result was absolutely stunning! Though it doesn’t give full coverage, it’s perfect if you're going for a natural look. Application-wise it felt like dabbing a damp beauty blender on your skin. The foundation stayed on perfectly from day till night. The press packaging also makes the product clean to use. So far it’s the best natural foundation I’ve ever tried!

Comparison:

For this long journey of searching for a better foundation, my previous one was Natureglace’s Attract Foundation. I personally think MiMC’s foundation wins the competition. Though Natureglace’s foundation comes with an adorable twisting packaging, it doesn’t wear all day, and the overall look isn’t as natural (you could clearly tell you have makeup on) as compared to MiMC.

[Mascara]

MiMC: Mascara (Shade 01)

Rating: 4.9/5

Product in one sentence: So far it does a good job!

Comments:

As always, MiMC hasn’t let me down with any of its products. The wand of this mascara works perfectly around the eye shape and gives a thicker look to the lashes. So far it didn’t smudge much, stays on well for the whole day, and is very easy to remove without harming the lashes (only with a rub of makeup remover oil and it comes right off).

Comparison:

Comparing to my previous natureglacé mascara 01, MiMC definitely does a better job. The biggest problem I had with natureglacé was, it smudges badly, no matter how well I set and bake my under eyes (usually I become a 🐼 after wearing this mascara for a few hours). Even though I only used natureglacé’s mascara for a few weeks, I had to sadly look for a new replacement. I personally would recommend MiMC more if you are looking for a smudge proof mascara.

[Browpencil]

bareMinerals: Frame & Define Brow Pencil

Rating: 3/5

Product in one sentence: Sorry…I just can’t….  

Comments:

I think this is so far the only product that I had problems with bareMinerals. Though the application is perfect (the led is thin and great for applying thin strokes), but, but, but, the led broke 4 times after purchasing it, and it was completely gone just after few weeks of purchase. Though it may be because of the thin led and the hot Summer heat, I didn’t have any of these problems when I was using the natureglacé brow pencil that was also thin. I personally can’t repurchase it or recommend it…

Comparison:

After the led broke and fell out from the case, I went back to purchase the natureglacé brow pencil. Another great thing that made me love it is, not only does the packaging feel substantial, you can also buy new lead to "refill" the pencil (which comes in handy in saving money and the environment). The only thing that’s good about bareMineral’s brow pencil is, it has a similar result and is much cheaper than natureglacé. But for now, I would definitely stick to natureglacé (sometimes the price is worth it…).

[Lipstick]

MiMC: Lipstick (Shade 19)

Rating: 5/5 (Again, would give 10 if I could!)

Product in one sentence: Gimme the whole collection!

Comments:

This is already my second lipstick from MiMC after trying the lighter shade (Shade 14, which I would recommend for a natural makeup look). This lipstick works well on dry lips too, it immediately moisturizes the lips after applying, and the colour is buildable. If I have to be picky, this lipstick doesn't last very long (it comes off after eating), and I would recommend removing it carefully (it make take double the make-up remover to remove the product that has seeped into the lip lines), but this wouldn’t be a big deal.

If you are interested in the products that I've used previously, check out my everyday makeup product review!

That's all for now, see you later! -bear hug-