This past year or so I’ve been battling bad bouts of eczema on my face (which was not a problem I’d had before) and even switching up my skincare regime didn’t seem to help. On one of those particularly bad days, I was trawling the aisles of my local Guardian when I saw a cute travel sized bottle of my former love – Simple Refreshing Facial Wash Gel. I remembered how good Simple used to be on my skin (granted that my skin condition then and now is in rather different circumstances) and I thought why not give it a go again?

I approached my night time cleansing ritual with trepidation that first night. Who knew what had changed in the years since and would Simple work its charms on me again?

Now, if the story had gone badly, I would still blog about it. But luckily, all went well and I’m now wondering why did I ever stray from Simple in the first place. Either my skin has changed somewhat or they’ve reformulated this facial wash gel, but it seems to be even gentler on skin than before. I like how fresh and clean my skin feels after using this – no more oily feeling but yet I feel comfortable and not dried out. If you’re looking for foam, you’ll need a different type of cleanser because this baby does its work quietly and efficiently without fanfare. Also, there is no scent in this cleanser – after all, we’re keeping things simple here.

I’m now quite partial to reaching out for it on days that my face is less oily and when I don’t need to think if I need to calm or scrub. I would say that it’s one of those products in your arsenal that’s reliably there when you need it but doesn’t necessarily wow. So yup, Simple and I are back together again, but it isn’t *that* kind of love this time around. Hello old friend, it’s good to have you back.

Yes factors : Gentle on skin, not drying, no scent, decently priced drugstore brand
No factors : Nothing I can think of

Read other blogger reviews here :
Shirleen
Tine

Packaging : 50ml, 150ml

Ingredients : Aqua, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Sodium Chloride, Panthenol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Sodium Hydroxide

I truly didn’t imagine that a random conversation on Twitter with Paris B would become the epic event (in Beetrice’s words) that was My Women Stuff Readers Choice Awards.

There are more pictures of the event, so keep on reading after the jump!

There was coffee and cake to fuel us on caffeine and sugar. (See more pictures on Coffee Chemistry Cafe’s Facebook photo album here.)

(Yummy-licious cupcakes from Just Heavenly.)

(Choc and cheese cake also from Just Heavenly.)

Paris B giving a short speech just before the moment of truth when the results of your votes were unveiled. While some categories had runaway winners, some categories had us all surprised at the outcome. Did your favorite win? For a rundown of the categories and winners, click here.

There was fun, games and laughter. Lots of laughter, especially at one ‘epic’ moment during the lucky draws. I’m sure the gentleman involved would like to keep that moment a secret, yes? Lucky draw prizes were sponsored by Dior, Clinique, Lace Petals, Poise and Apronbay. Games prizes were sponsored by Clinique and Apronbay.

(Best dressed nominees strut their stuff. From left to right : Dom, Erin and Lee.)

There were plenty of memorable photos taken left, right and center (and I’m kicking myself for not taking more shots). When you’re with bloggers, especially beauty bloggers who love to camwhore, how can there not be photos galore?

Yay for these lovely ladies, the committee who contributed time and effort to the awards.

(From left to right : PinkElle, Beetrice, Dom, Paris B, Connie, Rinnah, Xin and Lyn. Missing from the photo are Juan, Yani and our official photographer Chai aka Mr PrettyBeautiful.)

Now, as with every red carpet event (or in our case red lipstick event) there were gift bags filled with goodies galore!

(Goodies sponsored by [in no particular order] Sweet Contemplation Accessories, Himalaya Herbals, Pantene, Ah Yuan Soap, Hada Labo, Kiehl’s, L’Oreal, Esmeria Organics, Revlon, Vichy, Garnier, Olay, Estee Lauder, Maybelline, Poise, Lace Petals, Apronbay)

I can’t wait to try out some of the stuff from the goodie bag and review it here.

We loved our Sweet Contemplation Accessories necklaces so much we put ‘em on right away!

(From left to right : Rinnah, Beetrice and Dom.)

The MWS Awards were so awesome that we’re already asking Paris B when the next awards will be even though this one just ended. Talk about pre-planning, right?

So if you weren’t able to make it this year let’s hope there’ll be another awards event next year (hopefully bigger and better) and we’ll see you there!

Read more about the MWS Awards with these lovely bloggers :
Paris B
Juan
Xin
Lyn
Beetrice
Dom
Connie

Picture credits for this blogpost are either my own or taken by Paris B or Chai.

But ever since I’ve moved to Singapore, I find myself being rather concerned about sun protection since I have to do a fair bit of walking out in the sun – in the morning, at midday and again in the early evening. To be honest, I’m most concerned about changing skintone color. (It’s the Asian genes in me that incite the need to be as fair as possible. Heh.)

So I’ve been looking for a tinted sunblock or moisturizer for some time now ever since I finished off my previous one (Avène Very High Protection Cream SPF50) and Clinique’s Derma White City Block Anti-Pollution SPF40 landed in my hands at just the right time.

Image credit

I like the tube packaging and the clean white and silver design. Controlling the amount of sunblock you want to use is easy and I’ve never had a mess on my hands. So no gripes about the packaging.

The Derma White City Block is a tinted sunblock and it comes in only one shade. I’m not sure how it will fare on darker skinned girls as I tend towards the lighter end of the spectrum for Asians. The tint seems to suit my skintone fairly well because you can’t tell at all that I have a tinted product on but it does little to cover up redness and blemishes. It did feel a bit ‘sticky’ on my skin upon immediate application, but that feeling fades after a while (around 30 mins or so). The thing that I noticed and loved the most is that there is no typical sunblock smell about the Derma White City Block. It looks and behaves (to me) almost like a liquid foundation but with sheer minimal coverage and higher SPF protection.

I first tested wearing this sunblock over my moisturizer and nothing else. I did feel a bit oilier than usual around my T-zone after 4 hours but it was nothing that a quick blotting couldn’t cure. The following day, I used pressed powder over the sunblock and the oilies were well in control at the same 4 hour mark. In fact, with the pressed powder working in combination with the sunblock, my skin tone looked evened out especially in the areas where I’m prone to redness and the combination provided me with sufficient coverage for a pretty much flawless surface. (Please bear in mind that I have dry/combination skin, rarely have pimple breakouts and don’t have open pores to conceal.)

As for the Derma White City Block’s protection qualities, I was out and about in the harsh midday sun during my lunch hour running errands and I can safely say that it was doing its job because my unprotected arms felt like they were burning but less so on my face.

Would I repurchase this? Very likely yes, unless another product comes along to distract me.

Yes factors : Nice level of sun protection, color tint helps to cover uneven skin tone, no chemical sunblock smell
No factors : It only comes in one shade, feels a bit sticky on application, makes me a bit oily, may be a bit pricey for some

Packaging : 30ml

Recommended retail price : MYR 135.00

Note : This product was provided to me by PR for consideration. This does not affect my review in anyway and do refer to my disclosure policy for further details.

Read other blogger reviews here :
Paris B
Rachel

Being a total newbie (it was my maiden trip to HK), I was totally unprepared for the bright lights and myriad stores. But I was lost the moment Kahani introduced me to Bonjour.

When she showed me the section on sample/travel sized products, I was completely sold on the concept and there was no turning back. The majority of the stuff you see in the picture below is from Bonjour, with a purchase each from Sasa, Harvey Nichols Beauty Hall and duty-free at Changi Terminal.

In no particular order, I came back with :
1. Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Rose Perle
2. Steam Cream
3. Lanvin Marry Me perfume miniature
4. Talika Lipocils Expert eyelash serum
5. Lancome Hydra Zen Neocalm detoxifying moisturising multi-relief anti-stress gel essence
6. Lancome Hydra Zen extreme soothing moisturising cream-gel
7. Lancome Genifique Youth Activator serum
8. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex serum
9. Estee Lauder Hydrationist Moisture Barrier Fortifier ultra-hydration serum
10. Dior Capture Totale One Essential skin boosting super serum
11. Diorsnow White Reveal essence
12. Shu Uemura UV Armor high protection face cream SPF 50
13. Shu Uemura Deepsea Hydrability moisturizing gel cream
14. Clarins Beauty Flash Balm
15. Kiehl’s Ultra Facial micro serum
16. Laniege Water Sleeping Pack_Ex
17. Guerlain Orchidee Imperiale exceptional complete care serum
18. Clinique Take The Day Off makeup remover

Whew! That’s a lot of miniature stuff, methinks!

And did you notice anything about the list above? It’s mostly skincare with a heavy slant towards hydrating stuff and anti-aging stuff.

I’ve been lemming quite a number of these serums for some time now, so yes, I am one very happy camper. Let’s hope that my sensitive/problematic skin takes kindly to me experimenting in the next few months!

How I wish I had access to these miniature pretties in Singapore or Malaysia all the time…

Read other blogger notes on shopping in Hong Kong here :
Kahani
Paris B

According to Clinique’s website, the Superbalanced Makeup Foundation is an adjustable oil-free coverage formula that adds moisture and subtracts oil where needed. It also contains soothing camomile extract to protect skin from environmental damage and vitamin E to help fight free radicals in a water-resistant formula that is streak-proof and perspiration-proof.

How did it fare with me? I had picked up a 7 day sample of Superbalanced foundation from the Clinique counter at Jusco Bandar Utama during one of their sample promotion periods and the consultant color matched me to shade SB#02.

The sample comes in a small cute jar that I like using over a pump bottle since I can never control how much/little I want in a single pump. I know it’s not hygienic and I do wonder about oxidization from opening/closing the little jar, but since it’s a sample I’m not too fussed about it anyway. One last thing would be that the little jar trumps a sample sachet since I don’t have to look for somewhere to store the excess sample that is not used up at the first go and the jar can be reused for other samples or when I go traveling.

I applied this liquid foundation using Paris B’s method of spreading it on your palms and blending in rapidly, using my fingers for touch-ups on places that need a mite heavier coverage.

You can see in the swatch above that the color (SB#02) is not a perfect match with my skin tone as it appears to be a shade darker with a yellow (almost light brown) tone. I prefer pink-toned foundations as they seem to blend better with my skintone. However, it does not look as dark on my face (because of my skin sensitivity and eczema, certain areas on my face are approximately one shade darker than my hand) and my dissatisfaction with the yellow tone was rectified by using my Guerlain Meteorites in Mythic to balance out the pink tones.

My skin didn’t feel dried out using the Superbalanced foundation, but I found that it did accentuate areas on my forehead where I had been battling dry, flaky skin. Not a very pretty sight. But that of course is not the fault of the foundation.

Since I rarely use full makeup as I prefer to let my skin breathe, I also attempted to use the Superbalanced foundation as a concealer for daily use, dabbing and blending only on areas that required concealment – like my undereye circles and red areas around my nose and cheeks. It worked perfectly well in a pinch and looked quite natural.

In terms of coverage, I don’t really need full cover aside from hiding dark circles and redness so I was pretty happy with the Superbalanced foundation in that aspect. What I was not so happy about was that I felt really oily while using this foundation and had to resort to using blotting paper (I generally don’t have to use it as my skin is dry) to avoid having a shiny nose.

I probably would not go back to this particular formulation of Clinique’s foundations, but I’ve heard better things about their Superfit and Extra Moisture range, so I’ll keep my options open on those for now.

Yes factors : Sheer to medium coverage, works as a light concealer, not drying
No factors : Shade matched was a bit too dark, may accentuate dry skin, ups the oil production in skin

Read other blogger reviews here :
Paris B

Image credit

Sometime last month (in January), I knew I was running out of my Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief. And I definitely knew that I needed to repurchase this staple in my beauty routine. Instead of waiting till the very last moment to repurchase, I decided I needed a plan of action. I would use the time I had between when I decided to repurchase and when I would run out of my moisturizer to ensure that I got the best possible deal.

I already knew that the regular sized jar (50ml) retailed for MYR 160 at all Clinique counters. Was there any way that I could get a better deal? I was willing to pay the full retail price of MYR 160, but yet I wanted assurance that I would get the best possible value for my MYR 160. Let’s see what I did.

Firstly, I checked out the price of online retailers. From friends’ recommendations and good experiences, Strawberrynet seemed the ideal place to start with. Unfortunately, they were having no special promotions and it would have cost me MYR 166 (with free shipping) when purchasing from them. Strawberrynet was a no-go.

At the recommendation of another friend, I checked out BestBuy World. Although the prices there are much cheaper, the product is not the full sized product, but rather travel/sample sizes as a discounted rate. The different type of packaging did not bother me, but unfortunately, they had no ready stocks of Moisture Surge then.

So, at that point of time it seemed as though I would need to pay the full retail price for my moisturizer. No problem, since I was already prepared to pay MYR 160 for the product. The next question was : Where to buy it? I decided to make my purchase at Parkson, since they have a retail program with Bonuslink which allows you to collect reward points for all purchases. In this way, I could be assured of accumulating reward points for future redemption against shopping vouchers. At least there would be some return on my money spent.

Then, as luck would have it, I received a flyer from Bonuslink informing me that there would be a members’ day at Parkson, which would allow me to collect 5 times reward points on any purchase. Even more value for money, right? So I deferred my purchase for a few more days while waiting for the members’ day to roll around.

During the time between the Bonuslink flyer and the members’ day, I received an email from Clinique, informing me of their latest promotion to redeem a sample of their new anti-aging moisturizer. I decided that I would redeem my free sample at the same time when I made my purchase.

When I visited the Clinique counter, I was able to accomplish a number of things at the same time – restock my moisturizer, redeem my free sample and I also asked the consultant for another sample of Clinique’s best-selling All About Eyes eye gel. Even though I did not purchase enough to meet the Gift-With-Purchase limit, I’m satisfied with getting samples on top of my purchased item.

Better yet, since I made my purchase on the members’ day, not only did I get the 5 times reward points, I also got MYR 20 worth of Parkson vouchers for spending above MYR 150 in a single day. Can you say score?

Total haul on that day :
Moisture Surge – MYR 160
Youth Surge sample redemption – free
All About Eyes sample – free
Parkson vouchers worth MYR 20 – free

Wouldn’t you say that’s a good deal? And all that for just waiting 1 week extra.

You might think that I unnecessarily spent a lot of time comparing prices and still ended up paying the full retail price for my moisturizer, but when I look at all that I managed to get for just one trip, to me that’s worth much more than randomly going out shopping.

So, plan your purchases ahead of time and save money.
Getting additional satisfaction in knowing you got a good deal? Priceless.

Tagline : Enjoy rapid refreshment and a full 12 hours of soothing moisture with an addictive by-a-waterfall feel. Advanced hydration boosters and a new botanical blend hold skin’s moisture in balance through stressful shifts in humidity, indoors and out.

Description : Rapid, long-lasting hydration in a refreshing oil-free gel. Fast-absorbing formula with active aloe delivers a burst of moisture. Smooths, softens, plumps up fine dry lines. Locks in moisture all day with advanced hydration technology. Unique moisture balancing system helps skin better resist dehydration despite drastic shifts in humidity. Use whenever, wherever needed, under or over makeup. Or as a 5-minute moisture mask. For all skin types.

Packaging : 1.7oz/50ml or 2.5oz/75ml

Recommended retail price : USD 34 (online) / MYR 160 (local) or USD 46.50 (online)

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My review :

It’s funny, but I started out my beauty blogging stint (if sporadic posts on beauty products can be thus called) being nicknamed the Clinique lover by Beetrice because nearly every other review post was about Clinique. Truth be told though, while I like Clinique’s stuff, I don’t love it nor rave about it that much. Not until I met Clinique’s Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief formula (referred after this as Moisture Surge).

Do I like it? No, I love it and can’t live without it!

Coming from me, that’s like the highest praise I can give any product due to the nature of my skin. Not only do I have hyper-sensitive skin, I have eczema to go on top of the hyper-sensitivity, which means most products will cause some form of erratic reaction, ranging from redness to spots/zits to even a full-blown eczema rash breakout.

I was gifted a full sized jar of Moisture Surge (50ml) sometime in June last year while I was in the middle of yet another eczema breakout and was initially quite wary about trying out a new skincare product on my face. What if it made the eczema worse?

I am happy to say that all I feared did not occur. In fact, Moisture Surge managed to restore my poor red, flaky skin to normality over the period of 6 weeks. Folks who have seen me at the height of the outbreak can testify to how much improvement has taken place since then till now, and I even get comments asking me what did I do to my skin that its now perfectly smooth. (As a female, you know how good it feels to be praised as having “smooth, supple skin”? Oh yes. And that coming from a guy too!)

I love how the pretty rose-pink lightweight gel formula just disappears into my skin without that sticky and oily feeling that makes me want to wash my face again – which is normally the case for me with other moisturizers (even Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, which many people swear by). In fact, the first few times I when I had Moisture Surge on, I kept on running my fingers down the side of my cheek (which is not affected by eczema, thankfully) thinking in my head, “Oooh! So smooth!”

For me, this product would be quite budget-friendly as it has taken me more than six months to hit rock-bottom and this is with twice-daily usage. And for what it’s worth, this is the first time ever I have actually finished off an entire jar of any skincare product. I am going to repurchase this soon as I don’t want to be caught without this staple in my beauty closet!

Yes factors : Sensitive skin friendly, good hydration, non-oily light formula
No factors : Nothing I didn’t like about it

Read other blogger reviews here :
Beetrice (previous version)
Kahani
Ksuan
Nikki (previous version)
Paris B
Pretty Beautiful (previous version) and (current version)
Tine (previous version)

Tagline : Lash curler no longer required

Description : New Lash Power™ Curling Mascara holds a curl for up to 24 long hours. Celebrate dramatic curl achieved through a formula that stretches lashes to their limits and a wand that scoops up, lifts up every last lash. Won’t smudge, flake or smear. Lasts through rain, sweat, humidity, tears, yet removes easily with warm water. Ophthalmologist tested. Appropriate for contact lens wearers. Allergy tested. 100% fragrance free. Formulated for Asian eyes.

Colors : Black Onyx, Dark Chocolate

Packaging : 6ml

Recommended retail price : MYR 75

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My review :

This review originally appeared on my old blog on 15 May 2008.

I got my hands on a free travel-sized sample of the Lash Power™ Curling Mascara in Black Onyx and immediately put it to the test.

The packaging for the travel-sized sample is a plain gray plastic tube, which does not resemble the real thing, which is a matte silver slim tube.

The brush head is small and slightly curved, which I suppose is meant to help you “catch” every last lash for the curling effect. I like that the brush is teeny enough to reach the fine lashes at the corners of my eyes, unlike previous mascaras which I’d used that had big chunky brushes. But of course, brush size is a matter of personal preference and also depends on what you want your mascara to do. If you’re going for volume, then a bigger brush would work wonders. But if you prefer length like I do, then a smaller brush allows for better control. (Note: Since I received a travel-sized sample, I’m not sure if the original packaging brush size is the same – the Clinique counter I visited did not have an opened sample.)

The first few swipes of the brush resulted in lengthening of my lashes, but defining the curve took a little bit more work since I don’t use a lash curler to assist me. A colleague who analyzed the end effect for me said that the curl was not as visible as she expected it to be, but I think it’s because the major effect of this mascara on me is that of length rather than volume and curl. There is some noticable difference when I look closely in that my lashes are curling upwards but only towards the end. However, it did do a nice job of “opening up” my eyes without seeming overly mascara-d, which is a look I try to avoid at all costs, and looks very natural. I did find the first application to be a little clumpy right out of the tube and it required multiple swipes of the brush to even out the distribution on each lash. (Not sure if the reason is because it’s a sample?)

This mascara dried nicely and instantly, so I did not end up smudging my lower lashes when I blinked. The staying power is commendable as even after 12 hours, my lashes still looked as they did when I first applied the mascara. Nice!

And for those who like me have found removing mascara (especially the waterproof type) a huge hassle even with make-up remover, I think I’ve found my perfect product. Like the claims say, it removes easily and simply with warm water. I used warm water from my shower, splash splash and voila, the mascara began to remove itself just like that. Of course you will have to rinse a few times to make sure that the last vestiges of mascara are fully removed, but this is the easiest time I’ve ever had in removing mascara (and oh yes, it removes cleanly – no stray lumps clinging onto my lashes at the end). Needless to say, I love this aspect of the product.

Yes factors : Nice length achieved, small brush head for reaching corners, excellent no-smudge staying power, easy to clean
No factors : Minimal curl achieved contrary to product claims, seems a bit clumpy when first out of the tube, careful application with a steady hand required

Read other blogger reviews here :
Renee

Image credit

All you gotta do to enter this contest is write about your personal experience with the famed Clinique 3-Step Skin Care System, post it on your blog, and submit your blog URL to them. Easy peasy, right?

The best 3 entries will win Clinique hampers worth MYR 600.00, which is quite an attractive prize in my opinion. The only catch is whether or not your blog entry is good enough to be considered for the prizes. ;o)

The contest runs between 18 July to 07 August 2008 and the winners will be announced on 15 August 2008 at the Clinique Malaysia website.

If you’re interested in finding out more details of the contest, head on over here.

Disclaimer : No, I am not being paid by Clinique to promote this. I wish though! LOL.

Firstly, I have to thank my fellow blogger Beetrice for the invite to the Estee Lauder Staff Sales. I didn’t know that I was holding on to a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket until I read about the good bargains, crazy queues, massive hordes of people and some near-obsessed females practically begging on different blogs/forums for an invite. Some of these coveted free but limited invites were also being sold for a nice sum (enough to feed my little Kelisa with one tank of petrol) before the event day.

I had originally planned to be there early, say around the ungodly hour of 6.30am, exactly one and a half hours before the doors were scheduled to open at 8.00am. Kiasu? Yes. I am female AND Malaysian after all. Haha. I was a bit late but all was good in the end because I arrived at exactly the same time as Beetrice, around 6.55am. The sight that greeted me was nothing short of amazing/shocking. I wonder at what time did these people start lining up?

Due to the overwhelming size of the crowd and possible crowd control issues, I’m glad that the organizers opened the doors early. Even though the sales was only supposed to begin at 8.00am, by around 7.30am they were already letting the people in. And, the lines moved quite rapidly and without incident, save for one or two people who tried to jump queue by hopping over the barricades. Ish. Malaysians never do learn, do they?

Didn’t manage to take any photos inside the Grand Ballroom because I was too busy trying to grab the stuff I wanted. *grin* Best-selling stuff went really quickly and there was limited stock too. Bobbi Brown sold out within half an hour and the better/popular skincare products for Clinique and Estee Lauder also finished quickly. I just managed to sneak one of the last few jars of Clinique’s Repairwear Contour firming cream for my mom. Needless to say, mom was quite happy with that and the two Clinique lippies that I gave her (the colors suited her better). As for me, I bagged myself a nice enough stash of 6 glosses (Clinique & M.A.C.), Estee Lauder’s Idealist skin refinisher and DKNY’s Be Delicious perfume. Let’s just say that the damage to my credit card was quite hefty. Hehe.

I think overall this year’s event was pretty well organized and I would go again next year if I managed to get an invite. When I left around 8.40am (approximately 1 hour after I got in), the queue to go in now stretched down the stairs and all the way out onto the street. Yikes!

Pictures and reviews of the products bought will be done as soon as I can draft ‘em!

Edit : Beetrice has also blogged about the sales (and her loot) here!