Review: Skinfood » Wine Bubble Cleansing Foam

There is nothing like curling up with a good book and a glass of wine at the end of the night just before bed. Add a roaring fire to the mix and you're in for one classy evening. As wine contains many of those helpful antioxidants we hear oh so much about, it's not only good to drink (within reason), but those same antioxidants can do wonders for your skin! Long story short, this cleanser looked too fun and unique to pass up.

FLASH FACTS
Brand » Skinfood
Product » Wine Bubble Cleansing Foam
Size » 160ml
Cost » $20 USD
Website » eng.theskinfood.com
Would I repurchase? » Probably not

The Wine Bubble Cleansing Foam contains wine from Cotes du Rhone, an excellent wine producer in France. What's good about that is that their wines are packed with plenty of powerful antioxidant polyphenols. But what are antioxidants anyway and why should I even care? Well, antioxidants basically protect your skin at a cellular level and help it to recover from injury. They can help combat the damaging effects from the sun and in the long run this means they will help to keep those pesky wrinkles at bay!

Skinfood also mentions that this cleanser contains AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) which is a naturally occurring acid in many fruits, and in this case grape wine, that helps to break down dead skin cells and gently exfoliate your skin.

This is a pretty typical foam cleanser and the consistency of the foam is identical to most foaming hand soaps. The best part about this cleanser though is by far the smell! It does not actually smell like wine, but rather permeates a sophisticated floral scent which is absolutely refreshing. Let's review, I looooove the way it smells!

However, I am not quite in love with the rest of this cleanser. It is pretty gentle and I would recommend this to any skin type. It is slightly moisturizing and also helpful for those of us with oily skin. On the downside, I have noticed that it usually takes at least two washes to get your base makeup off and you best double rinse otherwise this cleanser can sometimes leave a subtle, but noticeable film that lingers on the skin and could be potential cause for breakouts.

But if you're willing to put in the extra work, the Wine Bubble Cleansing Foam will leave your face feeling sleek and clean and even a little softer. The exfoliation aspect is very mild and only noticeable over time. In my opinion, it doesn't seem to deep cleanse your pores, but if you are looking for a cleanser that smells amazing, is very gentle, and does a great job at cleaning the surface of your skin with a little more effort, then you might want to consider picking this one up. Overall, I don't love it, but I don't hate it either.

Side note: I apologize for not regularly keeping up with my blog lately, but I am here and I do read all of your comments! It's busy season for the film industry right now and I have been working A TON. So, sorry about that. I will try to post more often and get back into the swing of things. Love you all!! As always, thank you for reading :D xo

Love,

Review: JuJu » Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Whitening Washing Foam

I've heard plenty of great things about the Japanese brand JuJu Cosmetics and their Aquamoist line! So, on my last trip to Little Tokyo in downtown LA I picked up this White Washing Foam cleanser. I was excited for the whitening properties and Vitamin C and since my beloved Steam Milk Bubble Mask from Skinfood finally ran out I figured I'd give this a go. Unfortunately, I ended up hating this cleanser!

FLASH FACTS
Brand » JuJu Cosmetics
Product » Hyaluronic Acid White Washing Foam
Size » 120g
Cost » $12 USD
Website » www.juju.co.jp/eng/
Would I repurchase? » Never!

The Aquamoist White washing foam is supposed to hydrate your skin with hyaluronic acid, brighten with vitamin c, and whiten skin while cleansing off makeup and impurities. It is also meant for sensitive skin as it contains no colorants, no fragrance and no mineral oil. However, this cleanser did nothing but torture my skin!

I am a huge fan of hyaluronic acid because it does an amazing job at hydrating skin by drawing in moisture from the air. I've had huge success with hyaluronic acid before with another Japanese brand, Hada Labo, but for some reason this cleanser did the exact opposite of hydrating my skin! I had to stop using this after just one week because it was completely sucking my face dry! I was really surprised by this because I had heard so many great things about this being extra hydrating. Unfortunately, it made my skin feel tight and uncomfortable after each wash and after a few days my skin started to flake off!

This comes out of the container looking pretty simple. I know this contains no fragrance, but honestly when I first put this on my face it reminded me of the faint smell of pool water, but maybe a little fresher. It wasn't necessarily off-putting, but it wasn't pleasant either. It creates a decent amount of foam and isn't difficult to wash off, which I did appreciate.

Ingredients: water, myristic acid, glycerin, stearic acid, potassium hydroxide, glycol distearate, lauric acid, palmitic acid, sodium laureth sulfate, sorbitol, glyceryl stearate se, peg-190 distearate, phenoxyethanol, hydroxypropyl methycellulose, bht, butylparaben, disodium edta, ethylparaben, ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate, trisodium edta, ascorbyl glucoside, papain, sodium hyaluronate.

I don't know if the whitening or brightening effects work because I was unable to use this cleanser for very long, but after one week of use I didn't notice a difference. This did not do very well at removing my makeup with gentle scrubbing and even left some of my BB cream on my face. It also stung any sensitive areas while washing. Overall, the Aquamoist White Washing Foam left my skin feeling unquenchably thirsty, sensitive, and awful. I haven't given up on the Aquamoist brand altogether, but for a cleanser I had such high hopes for, it did nothing but disappoint! (╯︵╰,)

Love,

Review: The Face Shop » Green Tea Phyto Powder In Cleansing Foam

I'm pretty satisfied with the Green Tea Phyto Powder In Cleansing Foam from The Face Shop. Although it's not my favorite cleanser (it doesn't beat Skinfood's Steam Milk Bubble Mask reviewed here), I do enjoy it for it for its own unique qualities. Plus, I am an absolute fan of green tea!! Matcha green tea, green tea ice cream, green tea cheesecake, green tea skincare...you name it! Odds are I love it (I even ate green tea pancakes earlier today). Okay, moving on...

FLASH FACTS
Brand » The Face Shop
Product » Green Tea Phyto Powder In Cleansing Foam
Size » 170ml
Cost » $10 USD
Website » international.thefaceshop.com
Would I repurchase? » Perhaps

The Green Tea Cleanser comes in a simple yet attractive tube packaging. The product squeezes out of the bottom and comes out a thick gel-like consistency with a pearlescent shine. For some reason, when I smelled this cleanser in the store I thought it did indeed smell of green tea, but when I brought it home with me it didn't seem to smell like it at all (guess it was my imagination). It does smell good, however, but the smell is more of a simple, light, clean smell with no specific scent that I can think of.

This cleanser foams quite nicely and does a good job at cleaning off my makeup. It actually foams a lot more than shown in the picture! However, if you wear heavy eye makeup I would suggest getting some type of makeup remover to use along with this cleanser. It can sometimes require excessive scrubbing in the eye area which isn't the best for the delicate skin around your eyes. It also takes a little more effort than some cleansers to rinse off.

I do not recommend this for extremely dry or sensitive skin types. Although the Green Tea Cleanser is pretty gentle, it can be quite drying at times and if my skin is especially irritated this cleanser can slightly sting, which is never fun.

On a positive note, I do recommend this for those of you with combination/oily skin like mine. On days when my skin is oily and out of control, this cleanser does wonders. I do not like to use this cleanser every day though and am currently trading off between this and my Steam Milk Bubble Mask from Skinfood. The Green Tea Cleanser doesn't necessarily leave my skin feeling overly soft, but it is quite refreshing and does its job of getting my face clean. I also feel that over time it has helped to tighten my pores, smooth out my skin, and lessen the amount of oil I have.

I have never had any breakouts or irritations from using this cleanser (except for the rare slight stinging on extra sensitive days). Overall, I do enjoy the Green Tea Cleanser from The Face Shop, but I feel as though I would like to try something else before purchasing this cleanser again.

Thanks for reading!!

Love,

P. S. I couldn't end this post without mentioning that Kim Hyun Joong is the current model for The Face Shop. In case you don't know who is, he is a famous kpop idol and actor and is pretty dang cute (in my opinion)...just saying! :p

Review: Skinfood » Steam Milk Bubble Mask

The name of this product certainly is deceiving. I feel a more appropriate name would be Steam Milk Bubble Cleanser because that's exactly what this product actually is, and a great one at that! I'm lucky enough to have a Skinfood store near me here in LA and had no idea this product even existed until I paid the store a visit. I originally intended on buying their Black Sugar Mask (it's still on my wish-list), but the girl in the store pointed this cleanser out to me and after testing a bit on my hand I had to bring it home with me!

FLASH FACTS
Brand » Skinfood
Product » Steam Milk Bubble Mask
Size » 150ml
Cost » $25 USD approximately
Website » www.theskinfoodus.com
Would I Repurchase? » YES!!

I really love the Skinfood brand in general and especially when their products come in cute packaging! Their Steam Milk Bubble Mask comes in a milk carton shaped box and once you open the top you'll find the canister inside that dispenses the foam!

The Steam Milk Bubble Mask is packed with plenty of great ingredients for your skin! A few of them are:

Milk Protein » hydration, elasticity, helps heal the skin
Milk Lipids » moisturize, anti-aging, reduce appearance of skin irritations
Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract » nourishing skin protectant
Citrus Nobilis Fruit Extract » soothing, oil control, toner
Angelica Archangelica Leaf Extract » bacteria fighting properties to help with acne
Chamomilla Recutita Fruit Extract » smoothing, anti-inflammatory
Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract » soothes and relaxes inflamed skin

This cleanser is great for oily skin (like mine), but is also great for dry skin as it contains many hydrating ingredients. Sensitive skin types and acne prone skin types could also give this a go. It is extremely gentle on my skin and does not burn or sting, which has often happened to me throughout the years of trying new cleansers. It also does a perfect job at removing my base makeup, however if you are wearing heavy eye makeup I would suggest using a makeup remover as this product won't work without a lot of scrubbing in that area (which probably isn't the best idea).

I usually use this cleanser in the morning, but you can definitely use it both day and night. For dry skin, you might want to follow up with your favorite moisturizer after you wash off the cleanser. For me, I always apply toner and lotion during the day regardless, but at night I use a moisturizing cream after cleansing with this product when my skin is feeling extra dry.

$25 is a little expensive for my taste for a cleanser especially on a product I've never tried before, but fortunately I truly lucked out on my spur of the moment buy! Honestly, I think the Steam Milk Bubble Mask from Skinfood is my favorite cleanser of all time (it could be beaten out in the future, you never know). It doesn't smell like milk (in case you were wondering), but it does smell pretty dang good. I'm not quite sure what the smell is specifically, but it just smells fresh, soft, and clean!

Speaking of soft, my favorite part about this product is that it leaves me with a baby soft skin every time!

Love,

P. S. Do you have a favorite Korean brand cleanser?