Many months ago after Val and Shizuka returned from their trip to Taiwan they brought with them a small mountain of goodies for us Those included a ton of sheet masks from Tina of Chasing Elixir, who we all miss very much!

Tina actually works for L’Herboflore now so she was able to provide us with a ton of masks to try out I personally try and make sure I use sheet masks at least 3-4 times a week. Ideally I wish I could do it every night but I usually tend to forget because I’m always busy doing something. That aside my skin care routine is pretty extensive so I’m not too worried (ask my friends, everyday I use at least 10+ skin care products….)

Anyways! I knew I’d be able to work my way through these easily; I did and loved them~ For those who don’t know, L’Herboflore is a Taiwanese brand who provide an amazing range of facial cloth masks. I believe there are well over 20 different types of face masks that cater for different skin care needs.

The first thing I noticed that was different about this mask is how well it fit my face. The sheets have enough cuts in them so that the mask can be easily contoured to fit your face, which can be a hit or miss aspect of most face masks that I’ve tried. The fabric used is very thin but absorbent, this means the masks hugs my face perfectly. In fact one of my favourite things about this mask is from a distance you can’t tell I’m wearing one.

You get an amazing amount of serum with these masks (30ml), plenty to apply all over your neck, chest and arms. Oh and the smell, these smell just like the description on the packs, they are amazing! One of my favourites was the Grape Anti-Age Hydromask which smelt just like grape candy! Delicious :9

Once I’ve worn the mask for around 30 mins or so, I remove the mask and let the remaining serum sink into my skin before I apply my moisturiser.

The only downside is that these masks are currently only available in Taiwan. However Tina has mentioned to us that L’Herboflore would be willing to do custom orders if you send your requests via their Facebook page. The masks do range in price depending on the ingredients, they range from $1.80AU to $8.50AU.

All in all, I love using these masks! They fit much better than many I’ve tried thus far and I highly recommend them

If you follow the American bloggers then you would have already heard of this product! It is the famous Nivea Lip Butters, and it really is a lip butter worth the hype! In fact I was very close to ordering these online until Nivea offered to provide them for me instead~

I love how easily these butters melt on my lips, so simple to apply and they provide a nice healthy gloss to the lips. They leave my lips feeling hydrated and comfortable, in fact I now use the unscented flavour interchangeable with my most favourite Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Lip Balm. However the main thing that stands out for me are the two flavours, Caramel Cream and Vanilla & Macadamia. These smell amazing and often leaving me feeling hungry for dessert :9 I highly recommend these!

If you’re interested, you can purchase these for $5.19AU each from either Priceline or selected supermarkets.

Cleansing Oil has become an absolutely essential step in my skincare regime now, I cannot imagine life before without it. I know, very dramatic! But I can’t help it, it’s definitely a product I cannot live without anymore.

For those new to cleansing oil, this is basically fantastic at both cleansing your skin and removing your makeup, including very heavy waterproof makeup. How it works is you start with dry hands and a dry face, and apply however many pumps you need to cover your entire face. I use about 1-2 pumps depending on how heavy my makeup is.

And then apply all over your face, you should feel your makeup instantly melting away, though tougher areas like your eye lashes will require a bit of extra TLC to remove all the mascara. Once done, rinse your face with warm water (or cold if you prefer) and boom! All makeup gone~

For the most part, a lot of cleansing oils will perform in a similar way, and out of the five different types I’ve tried, they all work just as efficiently as the next. So the differing factor really comes down to price, packaging, scent and how it feels on the skin.

I’ve tried several Shu cleansing oils in the past and whilst they work well, they often either have a scent I didn’t like or left my skin feeling slightly greasy afterwards. So I was a bit apprehensive when Shu Uemura sent me their latest Ultime 8 Cleansing Oil, not really expecting to love it. But I was wrong, this is so far their best oil I’ve tried.

Shu Uemura recently released a number of their famous cleansing oils in limited addition bottles like this one under the theme “unmask”. The bottles are absolutely gorgeous, so very tempted to purchase more!

There is no greasy residue after use, very minimal scent and I love that when I open my eyes with the oil on, it doesn’t sting, which is a big issue I have with the Clinique Cleansing Oil. It does a great job at removing every last drop of makeup and comes in a massive 450ml bottle

Very happy with this cleansing oil and can’t recommend it enough! If you’re looking for one to try, I highly recommend either the Bobbi Brown version or this one! They are very similar

If you’re interested, you can purchase this oil for $125AU at a Shu Uemura counter at David Jones.

If you watch my monthly empty videos then you know I go through skincare products like crazy! My mother was not a big fan of makeup growing up, but she was a very strong believer in a healthy diet (something I clearly never adopted), but also having a good skincare regime, something which I actually have taken on after her. Since I was a teenager, she always inspired and led the way when it came to skincare. And luckily so as she has the best skin I’ve ever seen in my life, there are photos of her back in her 40s where she still looks like a woman in her early 20s. Not a single wrinkle, not even any fine lines under her eyes!

So naturally skin care is a very important activity in my life. Nivea recently offered to let me try a few products from their newest line, Pure and Natural. A skincare line specifically focused on natural products that contain Argan oil to help provide moisture to the skin.

I thought I’d provide a quick review for each product line:

Cleansing Toner

I use this with a cotton pad both in the morning and evenings and love how refreshing my face feels after. It does a great job at removing any last traces of my skincare from the night before. The only issue I have is how much product comes out if I don’t place a cotton pad directly over the opening of the bottle.

Cleansing Lotion

I use this as a cleanser in my skincare cleansing regime at night, I actually place this on my Clarisonic and apply it all over my face before washing it off. It does a great job at ensuring I have no makeup left after my cleansing oil and is very gentle on my skin. The formula is also quite liquid, almost like a moisturiser.

Facial Cleansing Wipes

My favourite out of all three products! I’ve been through many facial wipes in my life and most of them constantly leave a greasy residue on my skin. This is a great exception! My skin feel soft and clean right after using these wipes, noting that I only use wipes during the day if I need to remove my makeup / change my makeup or during swatching. I don’t use them as part of my cleansing regime in the evening.

If you are interested, the Cleansing Lotion goes for $10AU, as does the Toner. And facial wipes go for $7.50AU. You can purchase the range from Priceline.

Cleansing your skin is such an important part of any skin care routine, I admittedly have quite an extensive skin care routine. If I was being completely honest I probably go through anywhere between 10-20 products every single night, depending on my skin’s needs at the time. It’s a routine I’ve been sticking to for well over 2 years now and I’m pretty happy with my skin so it works for me!

I thought I’d step through how I cleanse my skin, because that in itself can become quite extensive too

Step 1 – Remove makeup! I don’t wear it everyday, but when I do I always remove it before I take my shower (I take my showers in the evening). I’ve been completely in love with my Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil, I prefer it many times over the Shu Uemura oils, and as you can see I’m very close to finishing my bottle They go for $42US and $60AU, and I actually paid the Aussie price for this because it’s that amazing!

However sometimes if I’ve done a shoot during the day, and I come home around the afternoon, instead of using my cleansing oil (I prefer only using it just before I get into the shower), I’ll opt for makeup wipes, or I’ll use baby wipes if I have a light makeup application. I’m not a huge fan of makeup wipes in general, I feel like they leave my skin feeling very greasy afterwards, but they work amazingly well at getting every last bit of makeup off, including waterproof mascara.

So I usually go over my face again with my Bioderma (unfortunately not pictured) to really give my skin a good clean and it leaves my skin feeling great without any oiliness Absolute must have! I brought back an embarrassing number of bottles from Paris, but you can purchase it online for $39.95AU.

The baby wipes were kindly provided to me and are available here for $35.90AU if interested. I find baby wipes to be pretty multi-purpose, good at removing very light makeup application, as well as cleaning my hands of makeup swatches, spot cleaning my brushes on the go and wiping down my desk! So I make sure to always have baby wipes with me both at work and home

Step 2 – Back to my night time routine, after I remove my makeup I will go over my face with a cleanser. Depending on my skin condition, I may do this with the cleanser alone or I’ll use it paired with my Clarisonic which I absolutely love! I prefer my cleanser to generate a lot of foam (personal preference), the Sukin Cleanser which was also provided to me doesn’t do a great job of it despite the name, but it still gives my skin a thorough clean and is very gentle on my skin. This particular cleanser I believe goes for around $10AU.

Step 3 – Exfoliation, I’ll only do this around 2-3 times a week, and I’ll mix this into my cleanser, then use it together with my Clarisonic as mentioned in Step 2. I used to use my exfoliators on their own, but I don’t feel they do as good a job as when paired with my Clarisonic. This particular exfoliator by Bioderma was provided which you can purchase for $24.95AU online, and it is amazing! I absolutely love how watery and soft it leaves my skin afterwards Highly recommend it!

And that’s how I cleanse my skin Do you think this is extensive? It works wonders for my skin, but the most important step in my opinion would be Step 1. I never go to bed with makeup on, even if I can’t complete my entire skin care routine, I always cleanse my skin thoroughly before bed.

If you’re looking for a solid all round moisturiser than this might just be the one for you! Sometimes all you need is a basic no frill moisturiser that just keeps your skin soft smooth and supple. And I would think Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream does just that. I believe I received this product from Kiehl’s via a goodie bag, but I’m hitting a brick wall as to when.

I personally use this at night, every night and with a cotton bud I scoop up enough for my entire face and neck to the back of my hand and then from that apply. I wouldn’t scoop any of the product directly with my fingers for hygiene reasons, which I understand is the downside of choosing this product. On the flipside, at least you will get every last drop of this (unlike those in tube form).

Before I go to sleep it leaves my skin feeling hydrated and protected, and in the mornings my skin is soft and smooth to the touch. I great basic moisturiser that I recommend to anyone searching for one that doesn’t have any particular “properties”.

You can purchase the 125ml version (the one I’m reviewing) online for $46.50US or from Kiehl’s Online for $64AU.

As you probably know (long term readers) I’ve been through an insane amount of Clinique’s All About Eyes, unfortunately however this product comes only in a tub form, which isn’t the most hygienic, even though I only ever use it right after coming out of a shower and make sure my hands are clean.

Whilst in Hong Kong I decided to pick up this tube instead, thinking that perhaps it would be similar to All About Eyes but as a tube would be much more hygienic.

The reality is this isn’t anything like All About Eyes, it’s a nice eye cream in its own right, but personally for me it is far too liquid. I prefer eye creams that are much richer so I feel they are providing some level of hydration. This tube however does not, it’s nice to put on but does absolutely nothing for me.

On the bright side, at least it doesn’t do anything negative either.

This product however is only available in Asia, I’ve checked online in America and Australia and it is no where to be found So if you’re travelling through Asia, give it a test at the counter

If you follow my empties series, you’ll know that skin care is one of the beauty products I always manage to finish. If it doesn’t break me out or create an adverse reaction, I will likely finish it up to understand the full impact.

Not so recently Sukin was kind enough to send me a set of their skin care range, in their care package they provided the Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner, Sukin Facial Moisturiser and Sukin Botanical Hydration Booster. I’ve been using all three for a few months now and I wanted to share my thoughts of them

For a bit of background, Sukin is an Australian all natural skin brand, they do not support animal testing, their products contain no animal derivatives are vegan and their packaging is recyclable! Pretty cool huh? Makes me feel good using these products

Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner

This works similar to most other toners, it is alcohol and paraben free which makes it gentle on the skin. If I feel my skin needs a lot of moisture I’ll spray this directly on my face, but most of the time I’ll spray it to a cotton pad and then apply to my face, especially in the morning when I’m trying to remove the last of my skin care from the night before.

It works brilliantly as a toner, very gentle to my skin even during its more sensitive periods. It does smell of chamomile and rosewater which I initially didn’t like (sensitive to scents), but now that I’m at the bottom of my bottle, I’m contemplating repurchasing it just because I find the scent so soothing~ It’s great to remove the last of my makeup if my cleanser doesn’t do a good job some nights. This is probably my favourite product from the range, perfect for all skin types.

You can spray this on during a hot day to help cool you down, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re wearing a lot of makeup. This toner goes for only $9.95AU, which is really a bargain! I believe it has lasted me close to 2-3 months of morning and evening use.

Sukin Facial Moisturiser

I use this moisturiser only at night OR after I’ve done an extensive photo shoot once I’ve removed my makeup for the evening. As a moisturiser it does a great job, it’s gentle on my skin, I can apply it on top of my eczema patches and feels fine. It has a lot of slip so I find 1/2 to 3/4 pump is enough for the entire face and neck. I always warm this up between my fingers first before applying, which goes on last after toner and serums.

As for long term use, I haven’t noticed any changes to the state of my skin, both good and bad. So to me, this is still good news to know it’s great at maintaining my skin the way it is (which for the most part I’m pretty happy with). It has a relatively strong scent, which reminds me of organic spa treatments. It’s not my favourite of scents, but it isn’t strong enough for me to dislike it.

I think this would really suit those with dry to combination skin. I think people with overly oily skin will find this becomes a bit greasy, and those with very dry skin won’t find this moisturising enough.

You can purchase this for $9.95AU, a great price for a product that I’m still only a little over half way through after 2-3 months.

Sukin Botanical Hydration Booster

Final product, in this oil based serum. I would only recommend this to people with dry to very dry and dehydrated skin. This was my saviour during my travelling months as I’ve mentioned before. I only ever use it when my skin is feeling dry, and I use it on dry patches, not my entire face (otherwise I turn into a grease ball).

It’s great as restoring hydration to the skin, leaves my skin soft the next morning, but it isn’t to me a long term treatment. I think it’s great for in the moment dryness that you may be otherwise treating with diet or change of lifestyle. For example, during my travelling period I had to use this very often else my skin would stay dry. But once the travel was over and my skin started to stabilise itself I didn’t need to use it anymore.

Given that, I still have about 4/5 of the product left which I do intend to keep till the bottle expires for the next time I need to start travelling. You can purchase this for $23.95.

All Sukin products can be purchased from selected pharmacies, health food stores and Priceline.

Maybe it’s me, or maybe I haven’t found the perfect BB cream yet, but I can’t admit to being a huge advocate of BB creams because despite months of use I’ve never seen any real improvement on my skin. I’ll still continue to try (I have enough to last me a lifetime) one it’s one of the reasons I see it as a light coverage foundation rather than anything with real skin care properties.

For the last 1-2 months I’ve been almost exclusively using Missha’s Perfect Color B.B Cream SPF 42 PA+++ in No. 21, I was sceptical at first because of the packaging, I don’t see how having a pump on a tube would ensure I would get every last drop of the product, but I don’t think it will be a big issue because this isn’t a product I really care for a great deal.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong in particular with this BB Cream, it is slightly on the more liquidy side so you need to take a bit of extra TLC to achieve a smooth finish without streaks. I usually find patting my face with my fingers to work best.

What I don’t like about this product is mostly how oily it leaves my skin. I have combination skin and often after applying, I try to leave it to “sink” into my skin for about 20 minutes before applying a powder. Unfortunately the shine is still there, so I often blot my skin with blotting paper before I apply my powder, and whilst it does a great job at removing a bunch of oil, it takes off almost all the BB cream as well :/ Kinda pointless.

I have also tried simply applying it without powder, but by midday I feel like a grease ball. And if you’re curious I am applying just the tiniest amount, half a pea size to my entire face and I make sure to buff it in as best I can whilst still giving myself some coverage.

The longevity is however pretty good, it lasts an entire working day without fading too much. If any it is minimal, you can only just start to see the pores around my nose. There is a strange chemically scent, though very subtle.

Overall, I do intend to finish this bottle up (finishing products gives me such a kick! Weird) and I’d recommend it mostly to those with dry skin. If you are interesting, you can purchase this product from Cosme-de~

You know how in the beauty world there are just some massively well known products that receive so much love and praise that you feel maybe there isn’t much point in blogging about it because you are essentially preaching to the choir.

But Bioderma’s Crealine H20 is just one I need to rave about because its replaced a really important but painful step in my skincare routine. Crealine H20 is a cleansing and makeup removing water, designed for very sensitive skin. It literally feels like a water, there is absolutely no residue at all, nor scent. Perfect cleansing water.

I was fortunate enough to have attended a breakfast where I got to meet the lovely Emilie from Bioderma where she explained that the water contains ingredients that perform osmosis with the skin and all the impurities, drawing it from our skin.

So let me explain where I use this product in my routine as it’s less conventional. At the start of my night time skin care routine I always use a cleansing oil to remove all my makeup from the day as I like doing this step in the shower. Then I use a cleanser with my Clarisonic to deep clean and exfoliate.

Despite all of that I often find myself with mild panda eyes from my eyeliner and mascara. In the past I would take some of my eye cream to a cotton bud and remove it that way. Unfortunately the moisturiser often would stink my eyes because I’d need to run it on my waterline. X_x; Every night, I would have painful eyes

Since being kindly given Bioderma I’ve instead been using this to remove the last of my eye makeup, and not only does it do it successfully, it does it without a hint of pain. So calming and a welcome change to my extensive skin care routine

If I wasn’t trying to save every last bit of this I would certainly use it as a general cleanser and makeup remover as well. You can purchase your own 250ml bottle for $39.95AU at a bunch of local pharmacies. I’ve listed my own local pharmacies below, but for other locations please check the Bioderma Facebook page.

• Demarte’s Amcal Pharmacy, Shop 5, Lygon court Shopping Centre, 380 Lygon Street in Carlton
• Newton + Leung’s Pharmacy, 272 Smith Street in Collingwood
• Bay Street Pharmacy, 361 Bay Street in North Brighton
• Pharmacy Healthmart, Shop 5, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Grattan Street in Parkville
• Preston Pharmacy, 548 Murray Road in West Preston
• Pharmacy Commercial Road, Shop 1, 212 Commercial Road in Prahran
• Richmond Pharmacy, 246C Victoria Street in Richmond
• Como compunding Pharmacy, 299 Toorak Road in South Yarra
• Amcal Wattle Park, 1123 Riversdale Road in Surrey Hills