Skincare-holic's 2010 Avoid List

As requested by some readers, I decided it would be good to do up a list of products that did nothing for me, was a waste of money or made my skin sensitive (i.e. redness, burning/stinging sensation). As with all other skincare products, these products might do wonders for your skin but not work for mine. For the record, I have combination, sensitive, dehydrated skin. Click the product name/picture to see my review.

The Face Shop Salon Effect Pearl Collagen Mask Powder. 

The name and what it touts to do was what made me attracted to this mask. I thought I was going to get an at-home facial. But this mask burned and made my skin red. I washed it off after a minute as the stinging was just not tolerable. I notice that The Face Shop makes masks with a lot of perfume/fragrance in them. Perhaps the only thing worth getting is the Raspberry Slim and Life Collagen Eye Patch, which happens to be one of my 2010 favouites.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Blackhead Eliminating Warming Treatment

This was a total waste of money. Really, save your money and get a better scrub with better quality and quantity. The tube is tiny and it is not that cheap for just a few usages.

Cetaphil UVA/UVB Defense SPF50+/UVA28

This sunscreen was greasy on me, did not absorb well and made me look and feel like an oil mine. It was
chucked aside after a few usages. I'm sure there are better sunscreens out there. Such a waste as I always thought that Cetaphil was a good brand with dermatological background and not just merely marketing hype.

La Mer The Radiant Infusion

Another expensive product with no effects on my skin. This La Mer Radiant Infusion really burnt a hole in my pocket and I was praying hard that it would work. After this La Mer experience, I am convinced that nothing can be done with pore size (I already knew with all the articles out there, but I harboured some hope!) and I will not be wasting money again, regardless of what the next sales assistant says - this product was supposed to give radiance, clarity, minimise pores and tone skin. A good toner would suffice, I still don't get why there is a need for this product. Perhaps for some marketing reasons? The Hydrating Infusion would make more sense since it serves a more definite purpose but I wasn't going to burn another hole to buy a hydrating lotion/serum with a nice name - Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid Lotion seemed cheaper and worked. I liked Creme De La Mer though and it is one of my 2010 favourites.

Proactiv Renewing Cleanser

I included this here because it didn't suit my skin. It made my skin sensitive. However, it might be good for oily, acne-prone skin, which it was designed for.  I don't hate this product but I avoid it now, even though I still have a good amount of it left.

Skincare-holic's 2010 Favourites List

2010 is coming to an end and I thought I'd do up a Favourites List like the one I did for 2009! I looked through the reviews I did in 2010 and rounded up the few I really liked.


Best 2010 Cleanser: Hada Labo AHA/BHA Tamagohada Exfoliating Face Wash Foam

This Hada Labo cleanser doesn't exfoliate well but it cleanses well enough. I like that it is self-foaming and convenient to use. It removes dirt and oil without making my skin feel dry or tight. I used to like Fancl Washing Powder a lot and this cleanser is a good competitor as it doesn't require a foaming ball nor do I have to worry about expiry dates.




Best 2010 Lotion: Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Lotion

This lotion helped improve my skin texture. I could see that my dehydrated skin was more plumped up. It comes in a big bottle and each usage only requires a small amount, so it lasts a long time. 



Best 2010 Moisturizer: La Mer Creme de La Mer

This was the only cream I could use when I had patches of dermatitis on my face. It may be rich but if you control the amount you use it will not clog pores (I first press the creme into my cheek area before using the remaining on the t-zone). I like that it is quite soothing, even when my skin was sensitive and would react to most other products. I felt my skin become smoother with usage.


Best 2010 Hydrating Mask: Laneige Water Sleeping Pack

I used to like Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Relief but Clinique did not work well when my skin was very dehydrated and sensitive. It caused redness and stinging. Laneige, however, worked really well and helped restore my skin to normal. I don't experience any clogged pores even when I apply a thick layer. I wake up the next day with hydrated skin.

Best 2010 Clay Mask: BeautyDIY Dead Sea Mud Mask

I think this dead sea mud mask is cheap yet good. Its main purpose is to suck out dirt and excess oil from the pores so I don't need an expensive mask with wonderful ingredients and this mask does just that. As the mask dries, I can see spots of oil where pimple or blackheads are at, which shows it really works. It contains tea tree oil, which helps dry out and heal pimples. It is good to follow up with a hydrating mask to replenish moisture. 

Best 2010 Eye Mask: The Face Shop Raspberry Slim & Lift Collagen Eye Patch

I almost forgot that I really liked this eye mask until I looked through my 2010 reviews again. It is a bit pricey but it works nicely to hydrate and plump up my under eye area. After using this mask, the jelly-like mask becomes thinner, which shows the essence has been absorbed by the skin. I think I will be purchasing some more soon. 

Best 2010 Face Spray/Sensitive Skin Product: Avene Thermal Spring Water

I have been using this for a few years now and I always re-stock whenever there is the 2 for S$29.90 promotion. The Avene Thermal Spring Water soothes my sensitive skin really well and I even use it as an eye mask at times - by saturating a cotton pad with the spring water then tearing it into half and using it as a normal eye mask. It is cooling on the skin and reduces my redness effectively. It also helps when skincare products are too thick/sticky, I spray this over my face and try to massage the products in again. 

**This is all for my favourites list this year. It is too bad I didn't find a favourite sunscreen. I have been looking but haven't found one that I like yet. 

Do comment with recommendations of skincare products you like and find works well! I would like to try more skincare in 2011 =)

Review: The Face Shop Salon Effect Pearl Collagen Mask Powder

I bought The Face Shop Salon Effect Pearl Collagen Mask Powder thinking how nice it would be to have a salon style mask that I can use at home. I was hoping that it would give me the same experience as I usually have at facial salons. I was disappointed

This mask is difficult to use. I didn't use a bowl to mix my mask in as I didn't want to sacrifice yet another bowl for my facial products. This was a bad decision. I tried mixing the mask and water on my palm and it seemed like I was kneading dough. By the time I could properly spread the mask over my face, it was partially dried on my palm. I made a mental note to use a bowl the next time and it was as difficult to mix as before.

The biggest rant is not on how hard it is to mix the mask powder with water, but the fact the moment I spread the mask onto my skin, I felt immediate stinging sensation. The mask dried very fast so I peeled it off and the stinging was gone. But I could feel the stinging sensation the whole time it was on my skin.

I would not recommend this mask for anyone with sensitive skin. Firstly, due to the stinging as I mentioned above and secondly, because of a very strong perfume smell. Perfume usually causes irritation for those with sensitive skin and I think it is not worth trying this mask if you have sensitive skin.

Effects wise, when I removed the mask, my skin felt slightly smoother. And it was also red, not because it gave me radiance but redness due to the stinging.

I don't think I will purchase this again. It is not as cheap as masks that give me better results. The Face Shop Raspberry Slim & Lift Collagen Eye Patch is a much better buy than this Salon Effect Pearl Collagen Mask Powder.

Review: The Face Shop Raspberry Slim & Lift Collagen Eye Patch

The Face Shop Raspberry Slim & Lift Collagen Eye Patch is the newer version of the Raspberry Roots Collagen Eye Patch that has a red packaging. As to whether the two versions are different, I cannot judge as I did not use the previous version so I have no basis for comparison. The sales assistant at The Face Shop said that they changed packaging but did not elaborate on whether it is the same contents.

The older version of the Collagen Eye Patch won a Cleo Beauty Award quite a long while ago and I had been wanting to try this eye patch but wasn't very willing to pay for the heavily jacked up prices of The Face Shop products here in Singapore. So when skincare-holic's mom was visiting Korea, I asked her to bring some back for me.

This Raspberry Slim & Lift Collagen Eye Patch is for moisturising and firming the eye area. The eye patch has a jelly like texture that is held in place by a netting. Because of this texture, the eye patch adheres very well to the skin below the eye area.

I like that this eye patch adheres well as other eye patches that are made from cotton material do not fit very nicely due to the contours of the eye areas due to eye bags. But one thing about The Face Shop eye patch is that it slides downwards while using it (I do not use this lying down as I tend to do things on the computer while masking). So I have to adjust the eye patch once in a while if it slides downwards.

Effects-wise, this eye patch is quite good as my fine lines were softened and slightly plumped up after using the mask for 30mins as the instructions stated. This is due to the moisturising factor of the mask. I like that it moisturised my eye area as the mask description claimed. However, the mask claimed to have lifting properties as well, but I did not see any lifting effects.

In addition, there is no sticky after-feel when I remove the eye patch and there is no need massage in any excess essence as with other masks/eye patch as everything has been absorbed by the skin already. 

Overall, this is a good eye patch and its performance exceeds most eye patches I have used before. I think that The face shop in Singapore sells this at $9.90 for 2 pairs (if I'm not wrong), which is a bit expensive. It would be nice if it wasn't so expensive here.

Rate: 4/5