Hadatuko Manten Hada Daily Protector SPF30 (sunscreen/ moisturiser) review/ swatch

"Hadatuko Manten Hada" is supposedly, a Japanese 'originated' brand which seems to be sold almost exclusive in Hong Kong and Sasa.com. "Hadatuko" means skin of a newborn- so the brand image is really going for the vibe of "we are going to give you baby soft skin".

After some googling I'm beginning to suspect that rather than a being a typical true Japanese brand as the website page and product packaging is suggesting, it might be one of those brands which features Japanese packaging and supposedly made in Japan and all, but really could be just be backed by a Hong Kong beauty brand (maybe Sasa given it seems to be distributed out of Sasa exclusively) and probably not very Japanese at all. (if you google the official website basically it's actually primarily in Chinese rather than having a dominant Japanese homepage). 

Hopefully someone can tell me if this is the case. It's not so much a brand origin bias thing, but I don't really like particular brands to be packaged and marketed in a certain way in Asia. ( there was various news these few years about brands that market themselves in Asia that they are Swiss originated etc etc with some secret patents formula,  and turned out to be made in some Asian dodgy factory).

The packaging is minimalistic- white paper boxes with green prints. The cap is a nice silvery blue-green.

The Daily Protector is basically the SPF30 moisturiser from the range for both face and body. The bottle is 40ml, given the fluid consistency it actually goes a long way if you only use it for the face.

English ingredient list:

Instructions (sorry, blogger's picture uploading property is terrible sometimes so it wouldn't rotate properly)

The brand says the product line features 6 unique natural skincare ingredients as its active ingredients:

- Jabara citrus peel extract (anti-oxidation/ anti-inflammatory)

- Sake- rich in amino acids, prevents aging and helps dark pigmentation

- Oryza Sativa (rice) lees extract- helps rejuvenate and brighten skin

- Green tea extract- anti-oxidant and anti-allergy

- Citrus unshiu peel extract: anti-allergy and rehydrates

- Natto Gum- improves dehydration and premature aging

Comes in a convenient nozzle design.

The product is light and fluid. It's similar to most of Sofina sunscreen's consistencies.

However it blends out a lot more watery than Sofina sunscreens.

Leaves a slightest shine below. However you can feel a certain 'coating' on top of the skin.

After going through about 6 or 8 bottles of Sofina sunscreens for the face last few years, I decided I might try something different. While this is in the same vibe of a liquid sunscreen (with the shake before use instruction like Sofina), I feel Sofina's formulation is more gentle and better.

In terms of SPF protection it's weaker than Sofina for sure. I have fairly stable skin while using Sofina sunscreens but since I started using this a month ago, I can visibly see a few more freckles coming up.  Not to mention after maybe 6-8 hours it may be slightly itchy on the skin too.

rating is 2.5/5. It's not terrible but it's not a worthwhile product to try.  If you like Sofina sunscreens, stick with those. If you didn't like Sofina type of sunscreens, you can skip this one too.

I will use this as a body sunscreen when I'm going for a walk or something. (I would not trust the SPF protection to be adequate for full outdoor Australian sun or watersports).

Dr.G Primer BB Protector SPF15 review + Banila Co Let Me Finish Prime BB Cream review/ swatches

I'm still continuing my project of cleaning out my makeup/ skincare and just trying to reduce the quantity over all. There must be so many items I've tried a few times and didn't feel they were fantastic and just sort of set it aside.

Here's a review for Dr.G Prime BB Protector. it's basically just a standard BB cream.

Comes in a plastic squeeze tube, 45ml. Available on sasa.com and a few other websites for 30USD, which is actually quite pricey for a BB cream. I think there's only one shade, this probably only suits fair to fair-medium skintone.

Ingredients:

Ingredients: (according to sasa.com website)

Arbutin: suppress the formation of melanin

Adenosine: improves blood circulation and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

Allantoin: boosts cell renewal and hydrates skin

Tocopheryl Acetate: provides anti-oxidant and hydrating properties

Portulaca Oleracea Extract: provides soothing and anti-allergy properties

Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide: blocks UV rays and whitens skin.

Comes sealed.

Here's swatch below. You can see it's a creamy texture, it's not full 'balmy' like a thicker BB cream (e.g. Hanskin), but it is by no means airy or lightweight. I'd probably say it's at most a more fluid BB cream texture. 

On the left, you can see it's blended out and matches my skintone perfectly. It does have a slight shine finish.

 I'm also reviewing the Banila Co Let Me Finish Prime BB cream, which is 35ml tube with a pump dispenser. It's in the same price range as Dr.G so about 28-32USD.  I'm reviewing both since they both have a 'prime' or primer in the name, which is often the Korean brand's way of saying this is a more lightweight BB cream to be used underneath other makeup (e.g. powder foundation or loose powder or even another liquid foundation).

While it comes with a pump dispenser, the design is flimsy and the tube leaked at the bottom (hence my sticky tape over it), everytime I pump the product out, more gets leaked out.

On the top it's Dr.G's Primer BB protector and on the bottom it's Banila Co.

Again, on the top white square, it's Dr.G (very top blended out, it's blended out so well you probably don't notice it there).

On bottom square it's Banila Co both as it is and also blended out on the very bottom.

You can see Dr.G has more 'greyish' tinge with a tiny bit of pink and Banila Co is more yellow. Both have a similar consistency of being a more fluid BB cream (and compared to say normal MAC liquid foundations, both are still thicker).

Both have that slight suncreen scent to it, and have a mild generic cosmetics fragrance. Both has good spreadability and are rather emollient and easy to apply, but nonetheless, they still have that BB balmy finish on the skin that you can really feel you are wearing something which coats the skin. While they look great with first 2 hrs application (evens out skintone, fills up pores), after about 3 hours they tend to melt away from my skin (even though I used a primer underneath and loose powder of powder foundation on top). 

They also tend to slightly coat the skin so I feel my skin can't really breathe. 

My skin has slightly oily t-zone and larger pores near cheek and nose. However the cheek area is drier and have broken capillaries and freckles so can look uneven.  Both of these I've tried to use from winter to summer and would say they are fine to use occasionally during winter but definitely skippable in summer.

Probably a lot of better products out there. Ratings are 3/5. They are not terrible, but just does not overcome some of the usual disadvantages of a BB cream. If I must choose one out the two, I think Dr.G is better since it's more lightweight and just a tad less greasy and the color does not oxidise as much after a day's wear.

L'Occitane Masque de Riz Purifiant Clarifying Rice Mask (Mattifies and Purifies) review

Generally I have a reasonably good impression about L'Occitane products- I like the brand image, product designs, most of the scents and frequency of new products. 

I've gradually tried a few more skincare products from the line, and this Masque de Riz (Clarifying Rice Mask) is one of them.

Comes in a 75ml squeeze plastic tube. The labels are all paper based and they do get damp and ruined very quickly. It retailed for about 40AUD. 

Loccitane says that this product has exclusive formula and contains a unique cocktail of red rice active ingredients Camargue and three types of natural clays; white, green and pink, to ensure skin is left clean, fresh and kept blemish-free.

Instructions on the back says this Mask purifies combination to oily skin and ensures a long lasting matte and velvet finish. To use: Apply once or twice a week to the face. avoiding the eye area. Let dry for 5-10 minutes, then rinse with cool water.

It has a rather smart cap design- you twist it and the centre hole opens, and you can squeeze out product. Once you twist the cap again, it closes and you can just rinse off any residue. It's better than having a flip top packaging I think, or having loose caps everywhere.

The masque is a soft creamy consistency. Compared to most other cleansing masks especially clay types, these are runnier and softer/ smoother. Compared to mud types these are more creamy and doesn't have that sandy feeling. There is still a bit of grains inside, going to guess it's little rice granules.  However it is not abrasive on the face.

As instruction says I apply a thin layer. Just enough to cover pores, focusing on t-zone. I have large pores on t-zone and rest of skin is ok, a bit of freckles and broken capillaries though but skin texture is quite smooth on touch so I'm not very fussed about exfoliation for areas of face other than t-zone.

After 10 min it dries like below, but doesn't feel tight on the skin.

Rinsed off:

Honestly it is really mild- so mild that I'm not really sure what it did for my skin. It probably did take some of the oils away, but not strong enough like a cleansing mask to visibly draw out the oils or make blackheads surface etc. It's honestly a bit too gentle for me. (You can also see my pores closer to nose are all still very visible there).

I've tried leaving it on for longer, and tried to use it on various skin occasions (e.g. zit days, sallow skin days , lack of sleep days), but it's one of those skincare products which I just can't really tell what it does. It doesn't make my skin worse by any means, afterwards I do see the skin with a slight more glow but that's probably just temporary like after using any face mask.

Rating is 1/5. I may end up using the rest of the tube for like back or front chest area as a mild exfoliant or body mask. There are way more cleansing masks out there which can probably do better.

My Beauty Diary: Peach Soda Eye & Lip Makeup Remover review

I can't believe I've almost used this bottle all up- but here's a review of My Beauty Diary Peach Soda Eye & Lip makeup remover.  It's a bit like Lancome Bi-facil, it's a bi-phased eye makeup remover, there's a slightly oily layer on top and a clear layer on bottle. (As you can see from picture below, the top layer is a clear pink shade and bottom is clear).

As you can see I literally used the bottle all up already.

 

You are meant to shake the bottle before using (like Lancome bifacil and most bi-phased eye makeup removers.

I doesn't have much fragrance inside.

Comes out pretty much as a clear liquid:

Here it is on a few stubborn eye and brow makeup items. From left to right it's Eyeko london Curvy brush mascara , then Shiseido Dramatically eyes long mascara, then Maquillage eye brow wax pencil (forgot shade name). They are all waterproof makeup.

Here it is, just melts off the mascara:

You can see it leaves a slightly shine/ oil residue finish like Lancome bifacil.

All clean below with a few swipes.

It's a great cheap alternative to Lancome Bifacil eye makeup remover, you use about the same quantity, and for stubborn eyemakeup just soak the cotton pad and press against eye for a few more seconds before swiping makeup away. 

In terms of mildness, this is as mild as Lancome bifacil- it doesn't really sting the eyes when some accidentally gets inside my eyes.  Any residue rinses off easily after you use a normal foaming cleanser all over face after makeup removal.

My Beauty Diary is a Taiwanese brand which is owned by one of the largest corporations there, these removers are in 130ml bottles and retail for just 10-12USD depending on which country you bought it from. The bottle lasted me 2-3 months with about 5 times a week use.

Overall rating is 4.5/5. It removes as well as Lancome but probably just a tiny bit less potent, you just need to swipe a few seconds extra compared to Lancome, but they are extremely similar.

Kao Japan Curel Makeup Cleansing Gel review/ swatch

"Curel" is a Japanese drugstore brand, it's a product-line under the Kao Japan group (which is a major cosmetic/ skincare group, also owns various famous brands including Kanebo/ Sofina/ Asience hair line/ Biore, Goldwell (haircare), John Frieda/ Molton Brown etc.

I've read about the Curel line for years on various beauty blogs. It's sort of a low- key and low advertising brand in Taiwan for many years, until it was introduced one or two years ago.  It has a really simplistic packaging featuring usually white bottles with blue accents, which is in-line with its brand philosophy/ target audience - a line tailored for dry, sensitive skin, and ceramide as the key active ingredient (not so much advertised so in cleansing items but more in terms of moisturisers).

I'm reviewing the Makeup Cleansing Gel first. There is surprisingly no cleansing oil in the product line (at least in Taiwan), this is the main makeup remover product from the line. The only other cleansing product is the mousse cleanser which is a normal facewash rather than a makeup remover.

The full size is 130g. (Retails about 18-25AUD depending on which Asian country). You can often find Curel skincare kits to try out before you buy any item in full size. The travel kits are great prices and I highly recommend you trying to buy a travel kit from online before buying any full sized products from the line. 

The cleansing gel comes in a squeeze bottle. It says suggested application is 2cm diameter dollop. (even has an indicator on the back of the tube to show suggested size).

The box below does say at night time, after the cleansing gel, follow with foaming cleanser. 

Flip open packaging. 

Here is my standard test- trying to use it to remove makeup based on my existing makeup bag.

I'm using the below, Shu Uemura blush in M Pink 33E, Armani Designer shaping foundation in shade #4, MAC Brow finisher in shade "Wheat", and Eyeko London curvy brush mascara curl & hold in black.  (The eyeko mascara is ok, not worthy of a good or bad review. The Armani foundation I'm still testing it and will write separate review, MAC brow finisher in wheat is quite nice and so is Shu Uemura blush in M Pink 33E).

Swatches:

Applying a dollop of the makeup cleansing gel as per instruction. (Use on dry skin, then massage in small circles for a few times until makeup melts, then rinse with water). It's a bit like the cleansing oil concept other than you don't really need to gradually add water to emulsify.

The gel also sort of melts slightly once in contact with body temperature. It's a nice gel consistency, not oily but has great slip and spreadability, yet doesn't drip easily like most cleansing oils.

Massaged in: you can see how it almost slightly emulsifies just with the massage and melts the makeup. I did not add any water.

Rinse with water and pat dry. You can see it removes all traces of makeup other than waterproof mascaras. (Which is expected- mascaras nowadays are getting really tough, I'm yet to really come across many makeup remover products that is mild enough and can do the whole face without needing a specific eye makeup remover).

When using on the face I usually follow with a foaming cleanser (either by Curel or other brands) just for double clean. However, this cleansing gel does not seem to leave much residue or oily feeling even if you just rinse with water. The trick is to use on dry skin though (if you use on damp skin it does not cleanse as well and may leave a residue sort of feeling).

I used to never really believe the whole thing about cleansing oils causes congested skin which I've read repeatedly on various Asian newspapers or beauty magazines. I think usually only either bad quality cleansing oil products or oils that doesn't suit your skin or bad cleansing regime (e.g. not emulsifying and rinsing off properly) would cause congestion.  However, during my recent holiday abroad for a full month, I forgot to bring a cleansing oil and bought a Curel skincare kit which included this makeup cleansing gel, I actually found my skin to be clearer overall (less blackheads, less random small bumps under the forehead and less irritated/ sensitised looking skin after cleansing). 

It's a very slight improvement, however the improvement is there so I'm sticking with it.

I do still use cleansing oils occasionally when I'm lazy or when I'm wearing heavier makeup, but for usual light makeup days, this Curel cleansing gel is fantastic and I think I will be sticking with this for a while. (It reminds me a bit of Philosophy purity made simple cleanser- excellent makeup removal property yet easy to rinse off).

Rating is 5/5. The full retail size tube would last a few months easily, which means this doesn't really cost more than using a normal cleansing oil.