Hada Labo (Mentholatum) Super Hyaluronic acid Gokujyun Cleansing Oil review

Continuing on my review on the Hada Labo line of items, here's a review of the cleansing oil from the Gokujyun line (which is the hydrating/ moisturising line with hyaluronic acid as the key ingredient in most product in the line).

It comes in a plastic pump bottle, 200ml, retails for between 15-22USD depending on where you purchased it in Asia. The cleansing oil is meant to be olive oil based, hence the translucent yellow.

Comes in a pump dispenser, which is perfect for use. The suggested amount for full face makeup removal is 2-3 pumps. I usually do 1 -2 pumps depending on whether I'm wearing heavier makeup or not. Two pumps for me is quite plenty for a pleasant massage (without it dripping everywhere).

Here's a quick makeup removal test- on the right is MAC Black Swan pearl glide liner, on the left and bottom is Shu Uemura ME Brown eye liner pencil.

I applied some cleansing oil on it, you can see it's pretty much clear on the skin. It's not a thick oil or super watery and runny, just a nice cleansing oil consistency, which was a nice surprise because given the olive oil base I just expected it to be really thick.

Massaged in  below, no water added yet:

I added a few drops of water- you can see it quickly emulsifies, and removes every last trace of the eyeliner. Both eyeliners have tiny shimmers which is a common issue with clean makeup removal.

Patted dry- perfect removal!

Overall I was really pleasantly surprised , it definitely surpassed some of the other cleansing oils I was using from more expensive Japanese store brands. I think it is as good as Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil- both feel like low irritating and highly effective makeup removal products and even though I always follow both cleansing oil with another foaming cleanser (for peace of mind), I actually think you don't really need to. 

Both cleansing oil leaves skin lightly hydrated and not overly stripped of moisture. The Hada Labo one has no distinctive scent either, emulsifies quickly and easily, rinses off completely.

If I'm wearing a light eye makeup (mascara and a non stubborn eyeliner), sometimes I just use the Hada Labo cleansing oil instead of using a separate eye makeup remover. It does leave my eyes slightly cloudy (same as Fancl though), but nothing a few more splashes of water won't fix. (Both do not sting my eye though, just that slightly cloudy effect).

The only thing to note that this cleansing oil does say use with dry skin- while the Fancl one can tolerate wet hand application. I've stick with the Hada Labo instruction but a few times where I did have slightly wet palms , it still removed makeup fine.

Overall 5/5, great pricing, easy to use, non irritating, great staple product.

Kiehl's Creme de Corp Soy Milk & Honey Body Polish with luffa fruit and jojoba butter review

What a long name, basically this is a body scrub from Kiehl's creme de corp line (which was my favorite body moisturiser for a while- it is probably the most nourishing and non-irritating body moisturiser for me for the last 8 years).

The soy & milk honey body polish contains luffa fruit and jojoba butter, which is actually rather evident from the product itself. It's in a plastic squeeze tube, 200ml size and retails for 30USD.

active ingredient:

Comes in a flip open cap- which is ok, but sometimes water do get trapped in the cap opening since I leave it in the shower.

It's a lightly creamy yellow product- not as buttery yellow as the creme de corp body moisturiser itself. 

Spreaded- as you can see a little goes a long way. In fact 2 pea size is probably enough for my whole arm (provided a tad of water is added while I massage it in).

 It doesn't foam, but it does maintain a nice consistency that is non scratchy as you massage it in with a few more drops of water. You can see there are smaller 'bead' looking granules and some longer looking strands (which is the luffa fruit fibre). The granule reminds me a lot of other hydrogenated jojoba bead type of scrubs (e.g. Peter thomas roth botanical scrubbing beads or the Ren face scrub). However this one has a bit more ommph for added exfoliation properties (never feels scratchy or jagged on the skin though).

Adding even more water- you can see it almost emulsify a little:

Rinsed off- left with supple , well exfoliated yet moisturised skin.

Of course you should always still moisturise after using a body scrub - however with this one I love it for summer- sometimes I find I can go with 2 days without moisturising the body and still have smooth skin, as it does seem to leave skin rather healthy and not overly exfoliated. 

Thumbs up for this product- I secretly hoped it smells like milk and honey, but it smells really like just maybe soy or oats with a tad of sweetness sort of comforting scent. Not complaining though because I'd rather a lightly scented product than something that smells really artificial.

I only need to use this about once a week and I'm good for rest of the week. A little goes a long way too so there's really nothing to complain about when it comes to the $30USD pricetag (because I know if I use a cheaper $10 scrub I might go through 2 or 3 bottles a year, but this tube alone probably last me 6 months minimum). It's not a miracle worker (like the initial sensation you might get from those microdermabrasion crystal type of scrubs), but it is a nice , solid staple item.

I have moderately dry and sensitive skin with a few localised patches of my skin such as behind the knee is prone to eczema (but have controlled it well and haven't really had major flare ups in a few years already).

rating 5/5.

Mentholatum Rohto Hada Labo Shirojyun Super Hyaluronic Acid / Whitening lotion (toner) (2012) review

Hope everyone's having a wonderful new year! I've been so busy at work so last two weeks of holiday was really just catching up on sleep (and weeding out a lot of my skincare products and makeup). My new year's resolution should be to finish as much skincare as possible (and stop buying 'as many' new things lol)

Following my last review, here's a quick post on the Hada Labo Shirojyun lotion toner. Basically this is the 'whitening' counterpart to the Gokujyun line (which is targeted specifically for hydration only). This one still boasts superior hydration property together with added whitening benefits (active ingredients are Arbutin and vitamin C).

Again this retails for about 13-20USD depending on where you purchased it from, but it is considered a drugstore line in terms of market positioning.

I forgot to take close up shots after swatching on arms, but basically it's a cloudish semi clear toner. It's runny but not as runny as water. Dries non sticky.  Has no distinctive scent. 

Comes in a flip top cap. It works fine and never had spillage problems.

Now verdict- personally I was hoping for a whitening toner that complements my other skincare , but I really didn't feel much of a difference. In terms of hydration properties, I believe it is inferior to the Shiseido Hada Senka line's toner (reviewed here ).

It's also a mild toner in terms of cleansing properties. Sometimes I dab a little bit of toner to try to remove smudged mascara, but this barely makes anything budge. 

While using this I didn't really notice any worsening in skin irritation (e.g. when I get occassional zits) nor overall improvement. At  least it's non irritating.

Overall I think it's a decent toner, it could just be I already made my mind up about the Shiseido Hada Senka toner and this was no competition (I've used a few department store toners which I thought were even worse), whitening properties are weak, I still think the best toners are probably the moisturising ones and for whitening types of skincare product, it's best to rely on other things like serums and treatment products.

Rating is 3.5/5.