Clinique: Take the Day Off!

Most makeup removers are only formulated to remove eye/lip makeup, but Clinique has one that's gentle enough to be used on the entire face. 

Clinique Take The Day Off 

I love the pun! 

Packaging is okay - typical Clinique. and it didn't come with a box (which is alright i guess. just makes it more environmentally friendly)

Here's me with makeup. And before you ask, the reason why I'm wearing two different eyeshadow colors is because I got a new palette and I wanted to try different colors at the same time to see which fits me more LOL. Anyway yeah I was wearing  a full face of makeup here...

Using a cotton pad wet with Clinique Take the Day Off on my right eye

Now on the left..

Oooo all gone!!!

YAK!

For added cleaning, I use a gentle cleansing water like Shiseido Pureness Refreshing Cleansing Water. Lancome also has its own version and so does Shu Uemura. I use my Shu Uemura Foaming Cleansing Water whenever my face becomes oily (gah.. hormones!) and my Shiseido for normal days.

My face is even cleaner. It's so clean that you can see all the redness and pores and imperfections... T_T heheh.. but that's what makeup is for anyway hehehe. And that pink thing is a Japanese hair velcro which I discovered from my friend Jen. It's so cute and convenient for putting on makeup and cleaning your face. If you want to save yourself from cowlicks, buy them! Only 60 pesos a pair!

Just in case you're curious about my nighttime skincare regimen: 1.) Makeup Remover (Clinique Take the Day Off) 2.) Pre Cleansing (Shiseido Pureness Refreshing Cleansing Water) 3.) Oil Cleanser (Shu Uemura WEX+ Brightening Cleansing Oil) 4.) Toner (Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Clarifying Lotion) 5.) Eye Cream (Clinique All About Eyes) 6.) Serum (TheFaceShop White Tree Snow Essence) 7.) Heavy Night Cream/Moisturizer (Clarins Multi-Active Night)

Happy cleaning!

02/22/12 Mini Haul

1.) Shiseido Very High Sun Protection Lotion SPF 50
2.) TheBalm Mary-Lou Minizer
3.) Clarins Multi Active Night Youth Recovery Cream
4.) Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream
5.) Too Faced Anti-Crease Shadow Insurance
6.) The Face Shop Lovely me:ex eyeshadows
7.) Clinique All About Eyes Cream
8.) Clarins Multi Active Day Early Wrinkle Correction Cream
9.) Shiseido Pureness Refreshing Cleansing Water
10.) Clinique Anti Blemish Solutions Clarifying Lotion
11.) MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NC15
12.) Shu Uemura Face Architect Mousse Foundation in Light Beige
13.) Shu Uemura Stage Performer Instant Glow Primer
14.) Shu Uemura Pressed Eyeshadow
15.) Shu Uemura slanted false eyelashes
(forgot to number): Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited BR 710

Free Samples!
a.) Clinique Clarifying Lotion Twice a Day Exfoliator
b.) Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle and Photo Damage Corrector
c.) Clarins Multi-Active Skin Renewal Serum
d.) Clarins V Shaping Facial Lift Lipo-Drain Serum -OMG I've wanted to try this for ages but one bottle costs around 6k
e.) Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Emulsion

I'm developing a Shu Uemura addiction O_O And I decided to give MAC another try for their complexion makeup (the concealer) since I tested it and it looked so nice at the store.

02/02/12 Mini Haul

Hi everyone! Here are some of the new stuff I got earlier today:

Shiseido The Makeup Brightening Veil, Benefit Dandelion, Shu Uemura Brown Cross False Eyelashes, Etude House Precious Mineral Sheer Glowing Skin BB Cream, Shu Uemura White Recovery Ex+ Brightening Cleansing Oil
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Shu Uemura White Recovery Ex+ Brightening Cleansing Oil Advanced Formula

I love how Shu Uemura has different sizes for their cleansing oils so if you just want to try out a product, you can just go ahead and buy the least expensive 100 mL bottle. The White Recovery Ex+ Line is a relatively new skincare line Shu launched earlier this year (if I'm not mistaken) so I was still a bit hesitant to get the big bottle which costs around Php 6000 ($133.00. YUP. It costs around $50 more here. I suggest hoarding all the Shu Uemura products you can in HK or Korea where they're cheapest) -_-. What made me even more hesitant was the name. "White Recovery"? I don't really care for whitening products as I'm already pretty light skinned and any whiter I'll start to look sickly. But the sales rep told me it doesn't really whiten your skin per se, but recovers a kind of glow that most people with dull skin have. I gave it a go since I'm a huge fan of brightening (not whitening!!!) products anyway.
And. WOW. This is an amazing product. It goes on as oil to remove makeup. But washing it off with water emulsifies the product and turns it into a foamy/soapy cleanser which leaves your face feeling clean and moisturized without a dry/taut feeling. The sales rep also told me this is perfect for people with combination skin (me!!!) so I think I've found my HG makeup remover/cleanser/moisturizer. Definitely repurchasing this one! Worth it! Perfect for lazy nights when I just wanna skip the my whole skincare routine.
I also have to recommend this to people with sensitive skin like me. My mom was right when she told me that Asian women should only stick to Asian skincare products. Western brands are too strong and almost always end up breaking me out or giving me dry skin in the morning. Shu Uemura, and Shiseido are perfect :) (another drugstore brand that I use is the Neutrogena Fine Fairness line because I heard it was formulated specifically for Asians and they don't sell it in the US.)

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I'm a bit sad I can't review the Shiseido The Makeup Brightening Veil, Benefit Dandelion and Etude House BB Cream because I just came from the dermatologist and I've been avoiding makeup because of the open pores/skin inflammation. :( Will post individual reviews when my skin fully heals!

(i finally caved in and bought a bb cream after seeing all these reviews online about how girls would get clearer skin after months of use. I used to dismiss all these claims because I love my nars foundation and it's sheer and lightweight enough for everyday use, but we'll see!)

Me, still fresh with derma scars/inflammation >_<

The only makeup I'm wearing here is MAC Eye Brows Pencil in Brunette and Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Tiger Lily. Two things I can't leave the house unfinished are my eyebrows and lips. XD I don't mind not wearing concealer or foundation, as long as my brows and lips are taken care of then I'll be fine. I learned that skincare is much much MUCH more important than makeup anyway. If you really want that "glow" people keep talking about, take care of your skin and make sure your products are suited to your skin type and complexion for maximum results. :) 

my skincare routine as of 02/02/12:
pre-cleaning: Shu Uemura Balancing Cleansing Oil
cleanser: Shu Uemura White Recovery Ex+ Brightening Cleansing Oil
toner: AHAVA Matifying Toner
serum: Vitamin C Serum
moisturizer: AHAVA Matifying Moisturizer
eye care: Clarins Sun Wrinkle Eye Contour Cream
sunscreen: Neutrogena Fine Fairness UV Block SPF 50++
Thanks for reading! :)