Hera Aquabolic Moisturizing Emulsion For Normal & Dry Skin

Hera Aquabolic Moisturizing Emulsion For Normal & Dry Skin ₩ 42000 (around PHP 1,650)

First off, how gorgeous is the packaging of this? The emulsion comes in a luxurious glass bottle that sits prettily together with my other everyday skincare products, but a pain to bring when traveling. Another thing I like about the dispenser is that it pumps out the exact amount needed to cover my entire face.

It has a slightly runny cream-gel consistency that allows me to slather it onto my face smoothly and evenly. I personally prefer to use this as my nighttime moisturizer since it takes longer (about 10 - 15 minutes) for the skin to fully absorb this product, compared to other moisturizers in the market. During the ten to fifteen minutes it can feel a bit (for the lack of a better word) sticky, and heading out in a tropical country with a sticky face is just downright uncomfortable for me. I'm also usually in a rush in the mornings and I like to wait for my moisturizer to sink in before applying my makeup.

It's helped hydrate my face without making it more oily than it already is, plus it leaves my skin feeling plump and soft. It also leaves a really nice floral scent that I can't get enough of. A little goes a long way with this emulsion, I've used this for several months now and I'm nowhere near halfway! Unfortunately, Hera products aren't sold here in the Philippines, I picked this up during my trip to Seoul awhile back.

Have you tried anything from Hera?

Etude House OMG! Dry Shampoo

Etude House OMG! Dry Shampoo (50 ml) PHP 448 

Living in a tropical country; I have to deal with oily skin, sweating and an occasionally greasy scalp all year round. Aside from that I try to workout almost everyday, which results in me washing my hair everyday too of course. It's pretty much impossible for my roots to not get oily if I skip washing my hair for a day. I know most people use dry shampoos mainly because they only wash their hair occasionally since washing the hair everyday isn't good, but don't you feel like it's a waste if you have your hair blow dried or curled (or even just a good hair day) then have to wash it the following morning? Well I do! If it's still clean and still looks good, then why not? I needed a dry shampoo for me to use before I head out then just wash my hair as soon as I get home. 

I first heard of dry shampoos from "beauty gurus" on YouTube about a year ago. I was completely new to the idea and thought it's a great product for everyone to own. Some of the popular brands that I came across are Batiste, Klorane, Psssssst, and more; which all weren't available in the Philippines yet. During my visit to Canada at the beginning of 2012, I got myself the Lush No Drought dry shampoo which comes in powder form and is packaged in a bottle which was a hassle until I eventually stopped using it. Just recently, I found out that Etude House and Tony Moly both have their own versions of dry shampoo, and that Digital Traincase distributes the Klorane Dry Shampoo!

My first choice from those three dry shampoos would have to be Klorane. Just because I've heard lots of people rave about this product claiming that it's their favorite dry shampoo, it's supposed to be gentle on the scalp, feel light, absorb oil well and leave no residue. Unfortunately it was sold out in Digital Traincase and I didn't know if they would restock, so I purchased the Etude House OMG! Dry Shampoo. 

The first thing I noticed about this product is that it has a pretty strong sweet and girly scent that sticks to the hair. This may bother some people so I recommend you get a whiff from the tester before purchasing, as for me, I actually like the floral and fruity smell of this. It doesn't completely look or feel like how it would if I washed my hair with shampoo, but it definitely did a pretty good job in absorbing the oil on my scalp and roots for a dry shampoo and compared to Lush's No Drought. Remember that dry shampoos aren't meant to replace your regular shampoo, it's job is to just absorb excess oil and even add a bit of volume. When hair gets greasy it tends to weigh down the roots and make the hair lay flat, this product really helped in adding back volume to my hair. It comes in an aerosol spray which makes the application a lot easier than dry shampoos in powder form. Another thing I like about this is that it doesn't leave any residue and doesn't make my hair gray, which is important for someone with black hair like me. It's also small enough to carry around in a bag or for traveling. The only downside is that it doesn't last very long, only lasting up to about five to ten uses, depending on how much you use.

Would I repurchase this? I think it's a great dry shampoo and does the job, although I'm still curious about all the hype on the Klorane Dry Shampoo. I found out last night that Digital Traincase restocked and I'm planning to pay them a visit tomorrow to get my hands on it before it runs out again!

What's your favorite dry shampoo?

Etude House (Philippines)

Locations: http://etudehouse.ph/slist.aspx (I got mine from the SM Megamall branch)

Website: http://etudehouse.ph/Home.aspx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/etudehousephilippines

Twitter: https://twitter.com/etudehousegirl

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Too Cool for School Dinoplatz Lost Identity

Too Cool for School is a Korean makeup brand targeted to the young. I found out about this brand randomly when I entered their store while walking around in Seoul during my trip to Korea a few months ago. I've never heard of this store before but I was automatically drawn to it cause of the store's interior. It was different from most Korean makeup stores because it wasn't full of pink and cutesy things (ya know what I mean), not that I don't like those brands, Too Cool for School just stood out more among it. (Think a Korean, 'edgier', Benefit.)

I recently found out that they've opened a store here in the Philippines, in Mall of Asia to be exact. I hardly go to that mall since it's quite far and too big that I'd get lost, but I'm willing to go all the way there just to pay that store a visit. Hopefully they'll branch out soon and open in other malls in the Metro. Crossing my fingers!

Too Cool for School has a product called the Dinoplatz Lost Identity. They have three shades available: Lost in You Pink, Lost in Hawaii Orange and the green one in the photo above which is Lost in Dinoplatz Mint. The idea of this product is that it changes color once applied to the lips. 

I swatched this on the back of my hand in the store and I loved the shade of pink that it produced on my skin. When I finally used it on my lips, I noticed that it turned out more pink than how it was swatched on my hand. I still liked how it looked on my lips but that's just something to keep in mind before purchasing this! Make sure you actually try it on your lips first (wipe the entire lip product with tissue first for sanitation) because you might like how it looks on your hand but not like how it looks on your lips.

I own a red lip and cheek tint from The Body Shop already and I love that, but this is nice to own so I can switch up the colors on my lips when I want to. As I've said before, lip tints come in handy for students like me because it looks natural and lasts pretty long. It glides on like a lip balm but eventually dries up on the lips just like any other lip tint. Apply this on smooth lips and apply a lip balm before the Dinoplatz if your lips are dry.

Availability: I bought this while I was in Korea, and this product isn't on the Too Cool for School Philippines website so I'm not sure if it's available in MOA.

Price: 11,000 won / around PHP 430

Size: 2.5 g

Too Cool for School Korea

Website: https://www.toocoolforschool.com/

Too Cool for School Philippines

Website: http://www.toocoolforschool.com.ph/home/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toocoolgirlph

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Laneige Water Sleeping Pack_EX

Laneige is a Korean brand that aims to help women achieve healthy, radiant, hydrated and dewy skin. When I went to Korea last month I noticed my skin become really dry and flaky and I was amazed how Korean women (and men) still had really healthy and dewy but not oily skin even during the winter time (it was around -10 to -15 degrees!) Whenever I used to do my makeup I'd always use a powder over my foundation or BB cream for a matte look but ever since I went on vacation to Korea I've been inspired by their glowing and youthful looking skin.

Laneige has been available in the Philippines for awhile now but since I was going to Korea I thought that I might as well wait until I got there because it would probably be cheaper and true enough, it was! The original price for the Water Sleeping Pack_EX is 25,000 Korean won and is around 914 pesos, but it was on sale for 20,000 Korean won. Nowadays it's hard to find really good skin care products that aren't crazy expensive. Another thing I love about Laneige is their packaging!

I've heard lots of good things about this brand, particularly this product. It was on Elle Magazine's Beauty It List of 2011 and Women's Weekly Best Beauty Buys of 2011.

It feels cool and tingly once you apply it all over your face and has a firming feel when the product dries. It has a calming feel and an aromatic scent which is perfect to use on the weekends when you just want to relax from a stressful week. Since you're only supposed to use this once or twice a week, I apply this every Sunday and Wednesday night before bed. It's made my skin a lot more hydrated and has also gotten rid of my dry patches.

What is it?
- A special care to promptly restore moisturized, smooth, bright and healthy skin condition. 
- Due to harmful UV rays as well as various internal causes such as stress and skin impurities, skin texture and tone are damaged easily. Using this product provides concentrated vitality to the rough and dull skin to restore bright and crystal-clear complexion.
- The light gel-type texture gives intensive hydration, vitality and brightening effect while restoring skin with deep relaxation through aroma scent.

Why use it?
- Night time skin transmission (permeability) shows higher rate than the one in the day time.
- Applying it right before sleep time, the best state for the skin transmission according to the skin circadian rhythm, maximizes the efficiency of overnight water supply.
- The function of skin remarkably declines in the night time. Enriched with Beta-glucan, Water Sleeping Pack_EX deeply hydrates fatigue and dry skin while Ceramide SLN formula strengthens the skin barrier. 
- With containing the Snow Water, it helps to keep your skin look more crystal clear and vitalized. 
- Antioxidant effect of Hunza Apricot Extracts helps brighten skin tone evenly by removing harmful oxygen and purifying skin. 
- Recoverine from Chestnuts promotes turnovers of horny layers to remove dead cells away for vigorous water supply and sleek skin texture. 
- An aromatic essence compound exclusively developed by AMOREPACIFIC, Sleepscent™(Patent application No. 10-2009-0043726), helps to relax your mind and body and derive for a good sleep. A good sleep effect allowing sufficient relaxation eventually reinforces skin restoration for healthier skin condition. Essential oils from Orange Flower, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Sandal Wood etc. are contained in the Sleepscent™. 
- Light gel-type texture without stickiness but moisture leaves you a comfortable sleep.

What's in it?
- Beta Glucan - skin regeneration effect
- Ceramide SLN - moisture loss protection
- Hunza Apricot Extract - skin purification
- Chestnut Extract - improving skin texture

How to use:
1. In the evening, follow the face relaxing massage after applying skin refiner and emulsion after face wash. 
2. After taking appropriate amount(2.5cm in diameter recommended), mark on nose tip ,cheeks, forehead, and chin areas, and feel the scent for about 3 seconds. * Relax your body and mind through the Sleepscent™. 
3. Gently spread over the face from inner part to outer part along the skin texture. 4. Go to sleep after absorption without rinsing off. (Wash face in the next morning) 
* Use once or twice a week. 
* Apply more than recommended amount when your skin is particularly dry. 
* Open the cap and breathe in the scent of Water Sleeping Pac_EX about 5 seconds before use when you feel a heavy stress. 
* Apply to neck area for neck care.



Laneige
Website: http://www.laneige.com/gateway.jsp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laneigephilippines
Stores in the Philippines:

- Shangri-La Plaza
Level 3
(63 2) 451-1456
- TriNoma
Level 3
(63 2) 900-5171
- Mall of Asia
Level 2, South Wing, Main Mall
(63 2) 552-7750
- Robinsons Manila
Ground Floor, Midtown Mall
(63 2) 345-7272
- Robinsons Galleria
Level 2
(63 2) 3990125
- Robinsons Magnolia
Upper Ground Level
(63 2) 9615278