Review: Konjacu Sponge (Charcoal/Body)

So I have been using these sponges for about a week now, so I am finally ready to review them.

They come in a little cellophane package, along with a small piece of paper that contains a description and instructions on how to use it. Nothing too fancy.

When completely dry, the diameter is about the length of my middle finger. When soaked, it only expands about 1-2 cm more. One side is flat, and the other side is round. When it is completely dry, it is really hard like a rock... like pumice, and it takes a bit of time to soften it in warm water. But once it is softened and wet, it takes a long time to completely harden up again, so if you're using it twice a day like I do, or even just once a day, it will never get the chance to harden up completely.

In the description, it says that "it has a very soft texture like butter". I would have to say that this isn't true. Well it could be, if it didn't have little air pockets in it and it was completely smooth, but then it wouldn't be exfoliating. It is nice and soft, but I wouldn't say its like butter. It is a very nice and gentle exfoliant, which works great on my skin. I no longer have any dry flakes of skin at all, and my skin feels very smooth after using it.

It's supposed to be deep cleansing, remove blackheads, dirt and oil, and kill acne-causing bacteria. I'm not too sure about this though, because I have had a few blackheads start to pop up on my nose about a month before I started using this, and they're still there, I haven't really noticed them diminishing or anything. Also I've still been using my SkinID cleanser along with the sponge, so I don't know if it really kills acne-causing bacteria or not.

Also one thing I really don't understand is how it claims to naturally balance the pH of your skin. I just don't understand how that works, but I'm tempted to somehow test the pH....

In the instructions, it says specifically how to clean it, and says "Do not twist or squeeze too hard, it may damage the sponge." And also, "Discard once sponge starts falling apart." This makes me so conscious about when I am using it, I'm so scared that I'm going to squeeze too hard and it's going to start falling apart. And it actually makes sense, because there's so many little holes in it, and it feels kind of fragile to me.

Also, "Try keeping the sponge in a container/bag and in the refrigerator. It lengthens the usage life of sponge while keeping it extra fresh, clean & mold-free." So apparently these things will mold.... The thought of using something moldy on my skin isn't very appealing. But it says to "Store or hang the sponge in a cool & ventilated area to air dry." So how would that work? I can't hang it up to air dry and have it in a container or bag in the refrigerator at the same time, and it won't work to let it dry first then put it in the refrigerator since it literally takes forever to dry. So that doesn't really make sense to me.

So now onto the difference with the bamboo charcoal sponge, and the moisturizing body wash sponge. They're practically the same to me, except ones white and one's black, and ones round and the other is rectangular. Maybe the white one feels a little bit smoother and has smaller air bubbles in it? Even though the black one is supposed to be for oily skin, and the white one is supposed to be moisturizing, I really haven't noticed any difference in them.

Overall, I do like using this product. It is much better than using towels. And I do like using it more than the silicon scrubbers I had been using prior to this, so it is probably something that I will stick to using, until I can afford to try one of those Clarisonic Skincare Brushes.

Paper Towns by John Green

I was just thinking about this book that I read last summer.... Because I was asked, what do I want to do with my life? I don't even know anymore. I mean, I had all those dreams... But are they what I really want? I keep asking myself, and I keep changing my mind. I feel like I'm avoiding the future. But why does it matter? Why does the future really matter? Sometimes I just want to be a hobo and live a free life and be happy...

But maybe living a life like that wouldn't really make me happy. I don't know what I really want. Being able to have a comfortable home to live in, having food to eat, being able to afford a good education, and buy most of the things that I want, all makes me feel very lucky, and I'm grateful.... But I feel like I'm trapped in this world full of expectations. Its like, people are expected to follow this lifestyle. To have a home, a family, a job, a career, a good education...

"Did you know that for pretty much the entire history of the human species, the average life span was less than thirty years? You could count on ten years or so of real adulthood, right? There was no planning for retirement, There was no planning for a career. There was no planning. No time for plannning. No time for a future. But then the life spans started getting longer, and people started having more and more future. And now life has become the future. Every moment of your life is lived for the future--you go to high school so you can go to college so you can get a good job so you can get a nice house so you can afford to send your kids to college so they can get a good job so they can get a nice house so they can afford to send their kids to college."

And I'm stuck between the two. I can't decide what I really want.

A part of me wants to live that foraging lifestyle where I'd always be on the go. I wouldn't settle down with a permanent home. I wouldn't work or have a career and I wouldn't need to finish my post-secondary education. And I'd be free.

Another part of me wants to pursue a career, to become distinguished, renowned figure in society. But would I be happy with that? Even if it's a career that I choose, based on what I like to do, would I really be happy with it? I'd be tied down with it, for the rest of my life...

And then I thought of getting married and having a family and being a housewife for the rest of my life. But I don't feel like I can have people depend on me. I can't even depend on myself. And again, I'd be stuck with it for the rest of my life.

In the end, I just want a pleasant, comfortable life, but I don't want a career and I don't want a job. I don't want a family, I don't want any commitments or responsibilities, but I want to be loved and have people to love.

What can I do?

Fake Skin 79 BB Cream

Well, being unlucky enough, one of the BB creams I ordered online over Ebay turned out to be fake.

This website has a really good comparison of fake and real Skin 79 products, though its pretty impossible to check all these when buying online...

http://littlemakeupbox-eng.blogspot.com/2010/05/skin-79-real-vs-fake-bb-cream_13.html

Luckily though, the other one I got is real, I'll be doing a review on it in a few days.

Konjacu Sponge Update

Well, I finally got the sponges in the mail today, and like a little kid with a new toy, I couldn't help but to open the package right away and play with it and try it out.

I got four charcoal ones, and one of the body wash ones. I don't even know why I had to get so many at once if I was just testing them out.... They do have a buy three get two free promotion though, and shipping is free. Well I'm not sure if its a promotion or if its permanent...

But anyway, when they are dry, they are hard and feel like pumice. Especially for the black ones, they even look like pumice. They do soften up and feel very spongy once they're wet though. But they don't feel like normal sponges. It's kind of hard to describe how they feel....

When I first opened the package and saw them, I was kind of disappointed in how small they are. Well, the face sponges looked to be an okay size, but the body one was exactly the same size, except in a rectangular shape instead of round. So I really don't know what the difference is with it being for body or face. But I really did expect the body sponge to be bigger. Once wet though, they do expand a little... not quite twice the size, but almost there. And it soaks up SO much water.

I only tried it once so far since I just got the mail about 20 minutes ago and excitedly thought I should do an update on it. I just wet the sponge, and used it on my entire face in a circular motion. I didn't use any cleanser or anything with it. Just water. I did have BB cream on my face from earlier, but no other makeup. It did clean off all of the BB cream, and it even kind of lathered a bit... I don't know if that's the BB cream or what though. After I just dried my skin with a towel, and my skin felt SO soft and it didn't feel dry or tight afterwards like it usually does after I wash my face.

I'm going to continue using this and update about it again in a few weeks or so about how it's working, and about the body sponge as well.

Review: Shills Super Magic BB Cream Cherry Blossom

This is a Taiwanese brand BB cream that I've been wanting to try ever since I first learned about BB creams.

According to Phillis from makeupforlife.net (I couldn't find any other translation):

"It offers protection against free radicals, evens out skin tone, brightens the skin, controls oil, moisturizes and conceals.

... and the main ingredients are Gingko, Green Tea and Vitamin C."

First of all, I personally thought that the box it came in was kind of pretty.... BUT I HATE THE TUBE. It looks really cheap, shiny... plastic... I don't know, I just hate it.

The first thing I noticed when I squeezed it out was how pink the cream looks. Definitely a pink undertoned BB cream. It's probably the most pink BB cream I have yet tried. So I had my doubts that it would work on me. When I actually blended it in though, it seemed to be fine, but still a little too pink for me.

The next thing I noticed was the smell. I hate the smell so much, I don't think I can wear this very often. I don't know how to explain the scent... but it kind of reminds me of public bathrooms. Or this other BB cream that I had, I don't remember which one it was though. But this is an even stronger scent than that.

The consistency is pretty thick, and it offers a medium coverage with a matte finish. I don't like the way it feels on my skin though.

I've only worn this once, and I refuse to wear it again. So I can't say much about its lasting power and it's oil control...

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this BB cream. I hate it. I hate the packaging, I hate the smell, I hate the colour, I hate the way it feels.... I don't even think it's worth the 8 dollars I spent on it. But I know there's lots of people out there who seemed to really like it, so maybe it's just me.

Skin ID Update: Final Thoughts

So I have been using Skin ID for almost 3 weeks now, and I think I can place my final verdict on it now.

It was drying up my skin a lot last time I posted an update on it. Since then, I started going back to using my Kose moisturizer (I'll do a review on it later.... I keep putting it off for some reason...) after cleansing and before putting on all the other Skin ID products, and my skin hasn't felt dry at all anymore. Also for the anti-acne treatment, I've been only putting it on my forehead and nose. Everything else stayed the same. I continued using everything twice a day.

So did Skin ID actually help my acne?

YES! Almost ALL of my acne is gone now. All that's left are basically scars on my forehead. I've never seen my skin SO clear since I was about 13, so I'm really happy and excited about it. What surprises me even more, is that even my milia/whiteheads are gone. I don't have a single one on my face anymore.

So I definitely recommend trying Skin ID out. I know that everybody will get different results from the evaluation, and I can't say anything about the other products, if they work or not, but I think its worth trying, and most importantly, results don't always show up right away. Stick to the routine for a while longer. Only a week ago, I was starting to suspect that this was not only not working, but even breaking me out more, and drying out my skin at the same time. A week later, everything vanished.

Review: Kiss Me Sunkiller BB Perfect Strong SPF 50+ PA+++

I've been really lacking motivation to do anything lately, which is really the reason why it took me so long to finally write about this BB cream. I don't even know what's wrong with me, but I'm suspecting mild depression. Probably partially because I feel like I have nobody around me that really cares. And because I still haven't been able to find a job... It really brings my self-worth down a lot. And probably because I haven't been eating my daily oatmeal lately. Since oatmeal is a natural anti-depressant, and it's healthy. It seems that every time I stop eating oatmeal, I become the depressed way I was again. But the problem is that I've been unable to wake up early enough to have breakfast at all lately.

But anyway, back to the BB cream.

This is what it looks like...

This is another Japanese brand. What lured me to try this, is it's SPF 50. I have yet to see any higher SPF in a BB cream, so I had to try it.

Again, I obviously don't read Japanese, but I found this description on some website.

"Features:

1. The highest class sunscreen product in the Sunkiller Series.
2. With beauty essence ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen and Lipidure.
3. In natural skin color finish without white trace
4. It gives BB Cream foundation performance like concealing pores and blemishes
5. Fresh texture, light weight feeling.
6. Water proof. High resistance to sweat and water.
7. With Odor-cut formula to avoid unpleasant smell of product.
8. No fragrance. No synthetic colorings.

Made in Japan."

I really love this BB cream. I love the fact that it has no fragrance and no synthetic colourings.

The consistency is REALLY watery, and it reminds me much of the Shiseido Ultra Sun Protection Lotion. Even the texture and all are almost exactly the same as that Shiseido sunscreen... Including the fact its SPF 50. The only difference seems to be that this is tinted, though I think Shiseido has a tinted sunscreen too, but I haven't tried that. I don't mind the watery consistency when applying it to my face at all, since it makes it super easy to blend. The only thing I hate though, is how hard it is to control how much comes out of the bottle, and how messy it can get because the stuff just leaks right out of the nozzle even though it's so small. I also think that bottle is very, very ugly.... Just the appearance of the bottle almost made me not want to try this.

It is really light weight and coverage is really light, but it evens out skin tone really well. Also, it has sort of a matte finish.

The colour is kind of yellow. Well actually, it looks very yellow when just squeezing it out, but when its blended into the skin, it seems to look perfect, probably because its coverage is so sheer, but since it is yellow based, I'd probably recommend this mostly for light-medium yellow/olive skin tones.

I am assuming that this formula is supposed to be anti-aging, since it contains lipidure, hyaluronic acid and collagen, but I haven't used it long enough to know if it actually does, plus its not like I have very many wrinkles or anything.

Each bottle contains , and I found it on Ebay selling for approximately $10.00 USD, so I think it's a really good price and definitely worth the money, and it's probably something that I will buy again once I use it all up. I have yet to have ever used up an entire tube of any BB cream though, since I keep trying new ones.