Rave: Ole Henriksen Glow2OH Dark Spot Toner is the best thing that happened to my skin
I don’t rave about skincare lightly. As someone who develops skincare products for a living, it’s easy for me to filter out what works and what doesn’t. I like to say that a quick ingredients check should tell us everything we need to know if something works or not! Most of the time, how good a product is isn’t determined by fancy formulations, but the quality and concentration of the ingredients used.
The Derma Corner: What to do with hyperpigmentation from acne (or PIH)
I’ve talked about acne last time but now let me discuss one of the two dreaded consequences from having a breakout – post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or PIH. This happens because any inflammation to the skin (e.g. acne, eczema, irritant/allergic reaction, trauma, etc.) will have inflammatory cells causing a cascade of events that will lead to melanocytes (pigment-producing cells of the skin) to produce more melanin – what’s causing the skin pigmentation.
Is the V&M Naturals CPC+G Oil worth the hype? I tested it for two weeks to find out
Not that I need much help in figuring out my next beauty purchase, but I enjoy browsing through store bestsellers to see what everyone else is loving. That’s how I stumbled on V&M Naturals CPC+G Oil while looking for an oil for both the face and body on BeautyMNL. It had over 500 5-star reviews and I couldn’t help but feel intrigued, especially since it was just P350 for a 30ml bottle.
You need to try the new In Her Element Glow Job 5% Glycolic Gel Cream
Blemishes have always been my #1 arch nemesis. Even well into my adulthood, I'm still prone to pimples that leave nasty marks on my face for weeks. This year though was the year that I got into acid exfoliators in skincare. I must admit that I used to prefer physical exfoliators, but because of acid-lovers in the Project Vanity Team, I was finally convinced! Acids turn over skin faster compared to physical exfoliators. Blemishes that takes six weeks to disappear can now go away in three to four weeks - how's that for miraculous?
The acids that I've been using though are pretty expensive, so as usual, I had to find a way to make my favorite high-end products more affordable. That's why we created the latest product from In Her Element: the Glow Job 5% Glycolic Gel Cream (P775 for 30ml).
Concealer concentrate: Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer
The Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer (P1,200/5ml at Stuff in Style) has completely done away with modesty and went straight to being blunt. "The world's best concealer", it says on the box. That's quite a hefty claim! It's a tiny tube of concentrated concealer that's so pigmented, you must use it with a pencil eyeliner brush. It's also incredibly pigmented so you can cover pretty much anything.
I heard about this concealer when beauty bloggers abroad started raving about it. I didn't know it was even available in the Philippines, so it's a nice surprise to know that Stuff in Style carries it.
Here's my review and demo!
What I love about the product
- Covers all manner of dark marks and imperfections, including eyebags. It's pigmented and opaque. You only need a small dot to cover everything. Yes including dark circles.
Reader question: Getting rid of blemishes
Hi Miss Liz,
Can you suggest some good blemish removers? I have these acne marks/scars and it takes a while to lighten them. I just rely on my whitening moisturizer (Olay's) but i don't know if that works. Any suggestions from affordable to high-end products are welcome in my book, since when it comes to my skin care I'm willing to spend. But if it's affordable and works that'll be great! :) - Diana
Hi Diana! What you can do to lighten your blemishes faster is to use sunscreen everyday, preferably something with SPF30 above. Why? Because blemishes are basically caused by hyperpigmentation or too much melanin in the area. That happens when skin is wounded or scarred - the skin tries to repair the damaged spot by producing more melanin.
To keep the area from darkening more, use a broad spectrum sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB rays. The sun triggers our skin to produce pigment so we need to deflect its damaging rays with SPF products. Here are sunscreens I like:
Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer
It doesn't matter how great your skincare system is - if you're not careful about the other junk you put on your face, you will. Still. Break. Out. I've made quite a few mistakes these past few weeks so lately my face looks like a blemish exploded on the surface and made little babies while shitfaced with alcohol. Terrible imagery, I know. But that's how my face looks like at the moment.
My recent FOTD photos show no blemishes, but that's because I use two heavy concealers to cover them up. They're like magic or (if we're must be more prosaic) Photoshop in a tube/jar. I love the MAC Studio Finish Concealer but sometimes a blemish is too dark or fresh that I need something more opaque and absolutely budge-proof. This is where the Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer comes in.
Ta-dah!
This MUFE Full Cover concealer is pretty awesome in covering up ANYTHING on your face. It could be a mole, pimple, blemish, anything will disappear when you wear this and it will not rub off even if you sweat or oil up. It's truly waterproof - it just dries and stays put much like how an Urban Decay Primer Potion would (you know what I mean if you've tried UDPP).
So let's do it!
What I love about the product
- Completely opaque. It's perfect for covering up very dark blemishes, moles, angry zits, or discoloration. It meant business when it said "full cover, yo".
- Waterproof. When it dries, it's a lot like how the UDPP primer is. You can't make it budge anymore unless you rub very, very hard or use a cream/oil makeup remover. Perfect for oily and sweaty skin.