New-In: April 2017

New products joining my beauty line-up in April and also additional steps in my routine. I've used hair oils on and off but I've decided to be consistent with it as my hair is really long and needs all the TLC it can get. I also decided to add a Vitamin C serum as well as eye patches for targeted treatment of fine lines.

Most of the items here were either gifted by my sister or gifts with purchase. I only paid for 4 of them. I'm liking everything so far!

Kerastase Elixir Ultime

The Odbo Hydro-Gel Eye Patch

La Mer The Perfecting Treatment

La Mer The Cleansing Gel

Alpha-H Liquid Gold Smoothing & Perfecting Mask

Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate

Cosrx Snail 92 All in one Cream

C20 Vitamin Serum

Son & Park Beauty Water

Pure Smile Snail Hair Treatment

Current Bathroom Products

Almost halfway through my current haircare and bodycare, they are all yellow and contain honey as an ingredient. I gravitate towards all honey products- skincare, lipcare, bath products, scents.. and yes, I also love eating honey. My favourite is Acacia honey, I like the light floral taste and it tastes so good in warm milk.

I picked up the Ahalo Butter Honey Milk Body Wash because 1) I like using warm, milky, slightly sweet scents in Winter, and 2) Honey and Milk are known to be moisturizing ingredients and I sure do need a boost of that in the colder months. I really liked the scent and one pump is all I need for a wash but unfortunately it wasn't as moisturizing as I had hoped. My forearms are always left feeling a littleeee bit tight after each shower but nothing a little moisturizer can't fix. Would be better for other seasons I suppose.

At one point I was drawn to Alice everything, I even picked up a BB cushion in her silhouette, and when I saw this Kao Essential Rich Damage Care set with a shampoo and conditioner, I just grabbed it without thinking or even reading the ingredients. I just figured Rich Damage Care would be great for Winter and great for my long hair. Turns out this range is formulated with highly concentrated Honey, Royal Jelly Extract and Protein. It has a light fruity floral scent which is alright and performance wise- it didn't weigh my hair down nor made it greasy but I still prefer the Lux Luminique range. Somehow my hair feels more "airy" using that and I really like it.

Am also using the Lebel IAU Hair Mask which I reviewed earlier but is not pictured. No repurchases from this season's picks and you can read about my previous bathroom products here. 

Wonect Beauty Review: Lebel IAU Hair Mask

As someone with thick and super long hair (it's now at my waist), hair masks are a must to combat dryness, split ends and tangles. However, it's hard for me to find a suitable hair mask because if the formula is too heavy, it just weighs down my already heavy hair and makes my hair look limp and flat at the roots. If it's too light, it won't nourish my ends properly. #longhairproblems

Wonect included this Lebel IAU Hair Mask in January's box, and very timely too as I was at the last bits of my current one. From Lebel's website, it states that this hair mask is for rough and coloured hair (perfect for me!). It "promotes the preservation of colour brightness after dyeing, neutralizes the remnants of derivatives after chemical exposure, protects against UV rays and heat, and also prevents the absorption of foreign odours". Though it's targeted at coloured hair, I feel like anyone could use it because of the UV protection and also to prevent foreign odours from clinging to the hair. 

Ingredients include 12 kinds of plant derived oil, and has a dense lipid base. The packaging is sleek and the product is housed in a sturdy plastic tub. Upon opening it, I was greeted by a lovely scent.. it was rose but very "green" like cut grass, and fresh. I really like it as it isn't the traditional sweet old rose scent and it smells very clean and feminine.

The texture is a dense cream which isn't runny and I didn't need much to coat my ends evenly. I had it on for a few minutes and then rinsed it out. Some masks are a little slippery and take a while to rinse out but I had no problems with this one. After my hair dried, it was soft (no surprise here) but I also noticed that my hair was fluffier and had more volume. In winter I only shampoo every alternate day but even on day 2, my hair was still bouncy and without frizz! I didn't change anything in my routine so it had to be this mask. 

All in all, my hair definitely benefited from this mask- soft, smooth and bouncy. I can't vouch for the hair colour preserving benefits but it's a pretty good mask in general, checks all my boxes and smells so good too. Would recommend!

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Review: Lux Luminique Airy Style & Shiseido Fino Premium Touch Hair Mask

My love for beauty and skincare products will probably never die, though these days I don't hoard (as much) and limit my purchases. I did bring over a quarter of a suitcase filled with my must-have skincare products but heavier items like shampoo, bath care and masks, I bought when I arrived in Japan.

My first review will be on haircare! I previously used the LUX Luminique Un-Stress range and really liked it so I decided to try the Airy Style range. I also picked up the SHISEIDO Fino Premium Touch Hair Mask though I've been using Moist Diane Extra Damage Repair Hair Mask for the past 2 years.

The LUX Luminique range features non-silicone shampoos and the Airy Style variant is no different. It contains pomegranate and orchid extract to give hair a lively airy bounce and brilliant shine. 

As for the Shiseido Fino Premium Touch Hair Mask, according to the website- is the perfect hair care product for damaged dry hair by weather changes, UV-ray and color/perm treated hair. Formulated with royal jelly EX to moisturize, PCA (Para-chloroamphetamine) to strengthen, and Lipidure EX to repair, leaving hair nourished and shiny. 

My hair is quite long, thick and heavy- but relatively healthy (or so I'd like to think), using a suitable shampoo is really important for me because if it's too rich, my scalp oils easily and weighs my hair down creating a flat, greasy top. If it's too light or drying- my scalp itches and flakes, not to mention the frizzy and split ends I get. I avoid silicone based shampoo when I can as I find they contribute to my greasy and flat scalp. The Lux Luminique Airy Style shampoo and conditioner work really well for me and I like it very much. It does leave my hair with an airy feel, and the scent is a soft floral which isn't overpowering. I have already purchased the refills!

I use hair masks about 2-3 times weekly, I find that my ends are much softer when I use them alternating with conditioners. If I use them daily, my hair tends to be weighed down. I'm usually not fussed with the brand, as long as the scent isn't too artificial or strong and the formula has to be thick. The Shiseido Fino Premium Touch checks both boxes, a pleasant scent and thick custardy formula. It performs well too, my only gripe is the packaging. Flip tops are much more convenient for me in the shower. Aside from that, its a great and affordable hair mask which keeps my hair soft but not flat.

Finding it so hard to resist when faced with so many choices and pretty packaging! Have to keep reminding myself that I now live here and don't have to buy everything that tickles my fancy at one go. Unless it's a limited edition packaging or collaboration ^_^ Can't wait to try the Kao Essential Rich Damage Care x Alice next!