d'Skin Oxygenating Treatment Facial Review

Festivities galore, and I'm basking in every bit of it. Tis truly is the season to be jolly and celebrate love all around. I hope everyone's been having a good holiday / celebration!

I'm back with a first-time for my blog: a (sponsored) review of a facial treatment at d'Skin. We ladies love some pampering every now and then, and what better time than the festive season where we'll be doing heaps of feasting, late nights, parties, and gatherings? We want to look our very best, don't we? ;) 

d'Skin, is one of the first skin treatment centres to offer a pH level assessment. Called Soft Plus, it is a standalone PC-powered skin assessment system. Therapists are now able to track the skin's pH level on top of tracking other important indicators like hydration, sebum, elasticity and melanin. Maintaining a balanced pH level is of utmost importance as it can help one achieve healthy skin and eliminate woes such as acne, wrinkles and inflammation. 

d'Skin is well located and mostly centrally. I've chosen to head down to the Novena's branch for my facial. Upon arriving, I was directed to a machine to measure my skin's "health". There is only so much you can see on the surface. To know what really lies beneath, technology provides a huge boost to allow therapists to conduct a thorough skin diagnosis and provide the right treatments after. 

As I've just returned from Hanoi (it's pretty cold right now!), my diagnosis was that I had pretty dehydrated skin! It came as a shock to me because I've always thought my skin leaned towards being oily. My sebum levels were quite high as well, so I didn't understand why I had dry/dehydrated skin.

My first thoughts were, "Could it have been the dry and cold weather at Hanoi?", or was I not having enough water over at my holiday and when I am back (been pretty stressed out clearing backlogs). But the therapist went on to ask if I occasionally feel like my skin is tight. Which, upon reflecting, I do feel like the skin at my cheeks get tight at times. Rare, but it does happen.

She also went on to explain that as we have dry skin, the skin feels the need to produce more sebum to compensate for the dryness of the skin surface. Which could possibly explain why I feel that my skin is oily. Could I have diagnose my skin type and have been using the wrong products over the years?? (Thankfully I have eased up on the sebum/oil control product recently, and used more products for generic purposes, if not my skin would have deteriorated more)

After the diagnosis with the Soft Plus machine, the therapist led me into my room to get changed and ready for my Oxygenating Treatment facial.

Facial steps: Remove make-up > Cleanse > Steam > Exfoliate > Extract > Oxyjet Infusion Treatment (15 mins) > Facial massage > Shoulder massage > Mask > Oxygenating Treatment (O2)

Just a little more information about the facial treatment:
The Oxygenating Treatment ($198) aims to be perfect for the everyday busy woman with dehydrated and tired skin (erm yup, that sounds just like me). The oxygen therapy helps to strengthen the skin's elasticity, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, diminish pores, and is clinically proven to increase hydration level up to 40%. The treatment hydrates, plumps and renews the skin in an instant!

However, after cleansing my skin and the extraction, the therapist realised I had very sensitive and severely dehydrated skin (I really think it's the holiday that exacerbated my condition) and immediately did some switch-ups to the treatment I was initially instructed to receive. It was really lovely of them to do what's best for my skin at the moment! I honestly feel that it's important for your therapist to understand your current skin condition, and tailor a suitable treatment that your skin needs right now.

The extraction was nonetheless painful, but somewhat bearable. Also, they used another therapist for my extraction, which I presume is more experienced and specialised in extractions, because she did it quite quickly despite me having more clogged pores from my holiday.

The Oxyjet treatments were the best part of the treatment. Why? It's not painful, just little jets of cold water sprayed unto your skin, and I've long heard of oxygen facials and the wonders it can do to your skin, so I'm extremely excited to see the results for myself. 

She did the right side of my face first and gave me a mirror to see the results. Indeed, I saw that the right side of my face was more plumped up (lifted), and the pores were very slightly smaller (I am not expecting a miracle for my huge pores, but any decrease is a good thing). Best part was, my dark eye circles was very slightly lightened! The effects weren't supposed to be dramatic and instant (just to be sure that I am not proclaiming a miracle facial here), but I could really see the results, as minimal as they were, after the first treatment. Imagine what more treatments for maintenance could help you do. 

After the entire round of Oxygenating Treatments (last bit), I held up the mirror again, and realised that the Oxygenating Treatment facial does help to lighten my extraction marks by about 30%. Don't you hate walking out after your facial with red marks all over? My face is quite sensitive to extractions and the red marks takes a tad longer to go away as compared to others, and I was so happy to see that it was minimal and I could go for a family dinner after with ease. The oxygen jets also helps to clean your pores more effectively while minimising them at the same time.

I was presented with a small sample pack of d'Skin products that are tailored to my skin conditions after the facial. I have not started on them yet as I wanted my skin to be adjusted back to normalcy first so I can test the suitability and see results more accurately. (It really got quite bad from my holiday from all the pollution :( )

When I was washing up at night when I got home that day, my skin felt incredibly soft, I kept raving to G about how much I loved the Oxygenating Treatment! I have never felt it so clean and soft before :D The morning after, it wasn't as soft as the night before, but my skin feels a lot cleaner having all the gunk removed. Super happy about it!

(Light make-up, foundation, blusher & lip-color for a dinner gathering!)

My skin is far from perfect, but I hope I can be on my way there. I don't feel the need to put on foundation right now unless I'm meeting friends / going for gatherings / important events :)

In conclusion, the Oxygenating Treatment receives my thumbs up for the lady who needs a skin-booster before important events, or during festive seasons. It helps to to lift, minimise pores, and to give you a healthy radiance for that glow, and I've genuinely seen it happen for myself. But I'm not touting it as the miracle one-stop facial, as it doesn't specifically target and help problematic skin, but I must say that it is a good-for-most skin-types facial for maintenance and a skin-booster. 

d'Skin Clinics are available at these locations:

Kovan Outlet (Brand new)
Heartland Mall
205 Hougang St 21

#02-133/135

Singapore 530205

Tel: 6282 7388

Novena Square Outlet
(Under Su Beau Derma, and will be re-branded to d'Skin)

238 Thomson Road
#03-03/13/14/15
Singapore 307683

Tel: 6252 5822

Toa Payoh Outlet
(Under D'Faceworks, will be re-branded to d'Skin)
520 Toa Payoh Central
#01-54

Singapore 310520
Tel: 6258 9388

Disclaimer: The treatment is generously sponsored by d'Skin, but the words and reviews are my own opinions and conclusions from the treatments and services provided.

Personal Favourites from Etude House: A reflection of 2014

With only 2 weeks left to 2014, the year is soon coming to a close. 

It's a perfect time to reflect and wrap up the year. 

2014 has been a rather exciting and opportune year. There's so much to be thankful for! Like they always say, count your blessings. And one of my blessings this 2014, is to be able to work with one of my favourite Korean brands: Etude House.

As you know, Etude House is one of the favourite Korean brand for make-up and skin care, giving affordable prices for every women who loves dolling up. A brand that also prides itself on packaging that's girly, cute, and feminine. I never fail to be impressed by their constant innovation, giving us new make-up & skincare products ever so frequently.

Here's a list of my favourite Etude House products from the year 2014:

1) Rosy Tint Lips

One of my favourite lip product / tint from Etude House. Opaque, matte, and gives a lasting tint to your lips, this is definitely one of my staple to put my best pout forward!

2) Play Color Eyes 

A eyeshadow palette that's light & sleep (best to travel with!), with a well ensemble of colors that would help to accentuate any skin tone / eye color. Neutral colors works best for me and the neutral colors on the Play Color Eyes #1 So Hot Play is one of my favourite to use!

3) Play 101 Pencil

Play 101 Pencil is one of the best make-up innovation from Etude House, allowing you to use this versatile product on your eyes, eyebrows, cheeks, and lips! I've since added a couple more pencils to my growing collection. Absolute love! ;)

4) Disney Princess Happy Ending Belle Rose Cheek Blusher

Easily one of the prettiest item from Etude House, Belle Rose Cheek Blusher has such a lovely rose embossed on the blusher. It's not very pigmented, which means I can layer up without the fear of being too heavy handed. My favourite color is #2 Coral Shine Rose, giving me a natural blush.

5) Magic Any Cushion

Specially formulated in tones that will help complement your skin tones, Magic Any Cushion definitely tops my list to make you feel beautiful effortlessly. A simple pat onto your skin makes quite a difference! Peach works the best on my skin tone, and on days where I look tired and my skin looks dull, patting on Magic Any Cushion in Peach makes me instantly more radiant. Simple trick ;)

6) Hand bouquet Rich Butter / Rich Collagen Hand Cream

My hands often tend to be really dry and it's an awful feeling trust me. These handy tubes truly come in handy to keep them soft and moisturised. Full of nutrients and ingredients that would help to keep your hands delicate, I know my hands are in the best of care with these. Plus, the mini tubes are perfect for me to travel around with, and the jumbo tubes can be placed on my office desk! ;)

A huge thank you to Etude House for such blessings throughout 2014, and my make-up and skin care needs have been thoroughly taken care of. I hope you've enjoyed my personal selections for 2014. These are tried and tested, and have become part of my make-up routines because they've worked well for me, and hope they will for you too! Head down to any Etude House stores to try these out.

I'm looking forward to 2015.

The best is yet to come ;)

Etude House Pink Wish Tree Collection Feature x My Castle Hand Cream

It's the month of December and the festivities are upon us! A season for joy, love & plenty of celebrations. To spread the spirit of happiness and love to everyone, Etude House has launched a new redesigned range of their bestsellers - Pink Wish Tree Collection. This idea of gifting and giving really comes through in this collection. 

Gifting - A Christmas range that includes bestsellers and specially redesigned from their usual packaging to look more festive. 

Giving - To warm the hearts of the less fortunate and to spread the love & joy this Christmas, a limited edition Pink Wish Tree Collection is introduced to support School Me Campaign by Save the Children. It provides educational opportunities for African girls in Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Republic of Cote d'lvire and Uganda. 

Etude House would donate 100 won for every Pink Wish Tree item purchased to the non-profit organisation. Additional 100 won will be contributed by Etude House if shoppers endorse the Pink Wish Card which comes along with every Pink Wish Tree product.

The Pink Wish Tree collection features some of Etude House's bestsellers:

(L-R) Petit Bijou Cotton Snow Body Set, Hand Bouquet Hand Cream, Precious Mineral Any Cushion, Kissful Lip Care Set.

The Pink Wish Tree Kissful Lip Care Set is a must-have this season for its moisturizing lip-smacking benefits! With the colder temperatures, and perhaps the holiday travels to countries with colder and drier climates, the Kissful Lip Care Set would come in handy to save the chapped lips. 

Formulated with ceramide, mango butter, macadamia nut oil and chamomile extract, it moisturises and keeps the lips comfortable all day, with collagen for a smoother and plumper pout! ;) It comes in Strawberry, Cherry, and Peach as shown, and they smell great too!

Being the festive season, and perhaps one of the busiest months of the year, we would look out for make-up products that are fuss-free, taking us from bed to the door as quickly as possible. Precious Mineral Any Cushion, one of the bestsellers from Etude House, is a 6-in-1 cushion that has been developed with sebum control powder, whitening, sun protection (SPF 50+/PA+++), moisturising, foundation coverage and skin-cooling properties (wow quite a handful!!).

The air puff provided helps the Precious Mineral Any Cushion to blend in seamlessly and as quickly as possible. It now takes me only 10 seconds to get my foundation done and it's in my go-to bag for quick fixes and what not. Traveling with this handy little compact cushion has proven to be especially easy!

It's available in two shades - N02 (Light beige) and W13 (Natural beige). In such pretty limited edition Christmas packaging, I can't help feeling a little happier (and Christmas-sy) applying my foundation now, heehee.

With colder temperatures at the year-end comes drier skins. Staying in air-conditioned places for prolonged hours too, causes our hands to be dry. Nothing better like a quick fix from Etude House's Pink Wish Tree Edition of the Hand Bouquet Hand Cream Mini Set (25ml each)! Its compact size goes right into our bags and little clutches too! No excuse for us to not give more love to our hands.

It is formulated with the rich essence of shea butter, Brazilian nut oil and an improved anti-wrinkle formula. The Hand Bouquet Rich Butter Hand Cream is an intensive moisturising floral-scented cream which melts instantly into our skin without leaving a greasy residue and delivers long-lasting softness and smoothness with each use.

The Hand Bouquet Rich Collagen Hand Cream is a preventive care baby-powder scented goodie which is infused with lots of nourishing ingredients such as urea, mango seed butter, shea butter and green tea oil for super smooth skin. It also contains adenosine and marine collagen to banish the signs of hand wrinkles, something I'm sure all ladies would love to keep away as long as we can!

The Hand Bouquet Hand Cream is also available in a Jumbo size (100ml), which works well for ladies to place at their office desk, home desk, to use when necessary.

Now that we've gotten our hands, face & lips well taken care of, it's time to take care of our body. The Petit Bijou Cotton Snow Body Set includes Petit Bijou Cotton Snow Body Wash to alleviate dry skin and prevent skin-related outbreaks. Its mild cleansing formula is suitable even for the most sensitive skin. After bathing, slather on some Petit Bijou Cotton Body Lotion which has milk proteins, Chamomile flower extract and Aloe Vera leaf extract to further hydrate, soothe and pamper our tired body.

  

In addition to the launch of Pink Wish Tree Collection this Christmas, look forward to My Castle Hand Cream! :)

Our hands truly are the workhorses of our body, and to help us take care of our hands better, Etude House launches the new My Castle Hand Cream to let every lady escape the busy demands of her day with a royal treatment from the realms of fantasy.

My Castle Hand Cream is wonderfully lightweight, and ultra moisturizing, containing shea butter and six other organic herbal ingredients (centella, aloe vera, lavender, lemon verbena, marshmallow root, and chamomile), that leaves the skin hydrated, refreshed and beautifully scented. It's available in four fragrances - Pink Wish, Ice Frozen, Magic Sweet and Forever Rose.

My Castle Hand Cream comes in a cute little 30ml tub for pampering our hands, and a great accessory for your bedside table or work desk. It looks really pretty, don't you think? :P

I'm really starting to feel the Christmas cheer after doing up this post, and I hope you'll feel the same too! 

Spread a little more love, kindness and joy this season, and at the same time, help a good cause and support the School Me Campaign by Save the Children with every purchase of the limited edition Pink Wish Tree Collection!

x

Etude House Flagship Store Opening (Singapore)

Ever wondered how it feels like stepping into a pumpkin carriage? ;)

Well... now you can step inside and experience a moment of being in a princess's shoes!

With the opening of the new Etude House's Flagship Store in Singapore at Wisma Atria, you can now do that and more! 

The biggest store in Singapore, housing many exclusive items (Disney Princess Collection, the ever popular Play 101 Pencils in all 50 shades finally on our shores!) that are only found in the Flagship Store. 

The entire store is adorned with tiaras, princess themed items, pink... it's all so detailed and well thought out. Truly making every girl's fantasy of being a princess come true.

And yup, that includes mine! :P

The opening day preview was packed with people buzzing around to check out the new items that are exclusively brought over to Singapore, and of course, to stock out on their favourites and be tempted by the huge array of cosmetics and skincare products.

I thought that this feature was really considerate to girls like me who go shopping with their nails painted on, but would love to try out the nail polishes. A sheet for you to test the colors! Here are some of my favourites I've picked out that day.

A unique feature of the Flagship Store includes interactive stations like the Photo Booth, and the capsule machine stations (at the right side). It was too crowded for me to snap a decent picture hehe. 

Every $30 you spend entitles you to a token to play the machine. Each capsule contains charms that you can add onto the Etude House Bracelet. I was especially enthralled by the capsule machines, hoping to collect all the different charms for my charm bracelet. I think I'm one charm away from completing it, heehee!

The guest star of the opening of the Flagship Store, was Xu Bin. Most decent shot I can capture amongst the throng of fan girlies, haha!

I must say, I was absolutely enchanted by the new Etude House Flagship Store. With a huge variation of products available exclusively at the new store, and not to forget, well designed areas to house the cosmetics & skincare products, it makes everything look so enticing! 

Variety of products - Checked

Exclusive products - Checked

Photo booth - Checked

Charm bracelets to make girls go crazy collecting - CHECKED

Hahaha! EVERYTHING LOOKS SO PRETTY I CAN'T EVEN!

Yes, I can't even resist, and bought myself a couple of cosmetics to bag home too!!

Happy girl + Pretty (yummy) cookie!

The excitement totally washed away the fact that I had just recovered from Stomach flu on the day I attended the event. That ain't gonna get a girl down, when she has a bag of new cosmetics to bring home! :P

#FaceOfTheDay
Tried and tested a couple of the new products from my last review of the Etude House Disney Princess Collection.

Here are some of the products on me today:

- Snow White Precious Mineral BB Cream in Natural Beige W13
- Lash Perm Proof (on my lower lashes because I wear extensions)
- Play 101 Pencil in #28 (lined all around my eyes)

- Secret Beam Highlighter

- Happy Ending Lipstick in shade Belle

The Happy Ending Lipstick from the Disney Princess Collection was quite a surprise. I applied shade Belle on me. On the lipstick itself, it was purple, but when I applied it on my lips, it was a dark pink / plum sultry color, totally unexpected. It's not a shade that you can't wear! I would gladly trade any red lipstick for this. It creates a classy & sultry look, a change from the usual bold red that you might usually put on. My new favourite color! :P

x

Etude House Disney Princess Happy Ending Feature

When I first heard that Etude House is going to collaborate with Disney to come up with a Disney Princess collection, my eyes lit up immediately! What?? My two favourite brands (Disney is considered a brand right?) are going to collaborate?!? 

I started going wildly excited and anticipating the launch of the Disney Princess collection coinciding with the opening of Etude House's Flagship Store in Singapore at Wisma Atria! 

I've been walking past Wisma Atria with the bordered up Etude House and I didn't realised they were constructing Singapore's very own Flagship store in that area. It was such a prime location (connecting Orchard MRT & Wisma), and you wouldn't have missed it if you've been in town lately. The princessy store would definitely have caught your eye. More about the new store's opening for another post.

Here's a feature of what's in the Disney Princess Collection:

An entire box of goodies I was delighted to bring home! I was grinning from ear to ear while carrying it home, looking forward to opening to see what's inside.

A close-up shot of the nail colors that are featured in the Disney Princess Collection. A collection inclusive of glitters (no better way to make you feel like a princess), and versatile solid colors for you to play with. Each Disney Princess Nail set also ties in with the individual princess's colors.

(Do note that the colors are grouped according to the Princess's names that are on the bottle, as I merely rearranged them according to colors)

My pink as a princess & blue's cool #flatlay which consists of my other Etude House buys from the Flagship store opening! :D

The quintessential foundation to make you the fairest of them all. Snow White's Precious Mineral BB Cream in Light Beige N02 and Natural Beige W13. I fit a Natural Beige better though I'm not exactly very tanned. The texture may seem a little thick at first but goes on smoothly onto your skin. It feels more like a light-medium coverage as I still had to dab on my concealer quite a bit!

Next up - Belle Rose Cheek Blushers, easily the prettiest of them all with the rose imprinted on the blusher! This also makes me not want to use it and destroy the rose, teehee, it's just too pretty to look at! These come in a light pink shade (#1 Pink Rose Shine), and a coral-pink shade (#2 Coral Rose Shine). 

I lean a little more towards #2 because #1 is quite hard to show up on light-medium skin tones (you lucky fair complexion girls!). These blushers do generally need a bit more layering, but it's okay! It makes it easier for us to not end up with doll-like cheeks, haha!

Part of the Cinderalla collection comes the Fairy Glitter Shadow, a glitter eyeshadow that comes in a pot. I love the shimmers. You may think it's too dramatic, but trust me, with shimmers like these, they accentuate and highlight your lids very well. Just, well, don't over do them. A little shimmer goes a long way!

It comes in #1 Pink Glass Heels (a rose pink), #2 Magic Pumpkin (orangey-bronze color), #3 Evening Party (bronze). The names are just too cute! Dab these on lightly with an eyeshadow brush (you may like to apply a primer first on your eyelids).

Princess Jasmine brings you fluttery lashes with Lash Perm Proof Shockcara. Bringing you both volume and length, this is an all-in-one mascara. It's honestly pretty waterproof! I've accidentally gotten some on my hands while applying it, and I couldn't wash it off by just running water through it (it really took me a while). However, after a long 12 hour day, it smudges a little on my eyebags (I do have oily lids and I didn't had any powder foundation prior, which usually helps my mascara to not smudge) :(

 The Disney Princess Nail Kits have been packaged so beautifully and with so much thought put into it. The imprints on the nail bottles itself, and the matching nail art / blings for Cinderella, everything goes so well with each Princess's theme! I love Cinderella & Snow White's nail kits best! :)

 

Put your best pout forward in Snow White & Belle Lipsticks. Chose from a bright red shade, or a sultry purple. It's glossy and moisturising for your lips, ideal for you to create the K-trend way of wearing gradient lips. I love how this isn't matte, and great for every type of lips, dry or not, haha.

Four Disney Princesses look to recreate with Etude House's Disney Princess Happy Ending products. Which Disney Princess's collection do you love most? I'm truly spoiled for choice having so many favourites from each Princess, and so many looks I could play with.

This is by far, one of the best collections Etude House has! From pretty packaging, to following through each Princess through little drawings on the products, to colors themes, and for making us all feel like a little girl / princess all over again.

Check out the Etude House Disney Princess Collection at the spanking new Flagship store at Wisma Atria, and get swatching with the products and colors. I'm sure you'll fall in love with them like I did.

x

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Top: Granger Bustier by Lace & Ebony
Bottom: Jayme Organza Skirt by Lace & Ebony
Outerwear: Felicity Chic Vest by Lace & Ebony
Shoes: Gwen Buckle Sandals by Theclosetlover