Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream Fragrance Free Review

December's cold weather is catching up and my hands are becoming dry once again, good thing I can reach out to my tried and tested Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream. The thick balmy texture provides relief for my dry skin and it never fails. This has the perfect formula, it looks like petroleum jelly, it goes on rich and thick but it's never sticky.

I got this in Sasa Hong Kong, there are different variants but I personally like the fragrance free more. I have good news for you if you can't travel to Hong Kong, you can buy it here in Manila, I saw a stack of Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream at Mandarin Supermarket in Ongpin, Chinatown for approximately Php300++. 

Early this year I traveled to Beijing, China. I bought this along with me, I was not expecting a harsh cold weather but as the saying goes, expect the unexpected. My family had windburn except for me, I guess I have to give credit to this hand cream, I applied this all over my arms and legs. My family did the same and it relieved them of their itchy windburn. My father even borrowed my Neutrogena Norwegian Formula lip balm lol. Such a skin saver.

Other variants such as the fast absorbing ones have flip tops which is really convenient. However, the fragrance free variant has the screw cap tube, I just wish they'd change it to the flip top ones but it's a flaw that's easy to overlook. 

Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Raspberry

What Clinique Says:

Lip balm with a colourful twist. Luscious, high-gloss shades treat your most undermoisturized skin to soothing shine. Instantly relieve dryness, protect with antioxidants and more.

Coverage: Sheer

Benefits: Moisturizing

Raspberry A bright punch of sheer cherry red

Finish: Non-Shimmer

Colour Group: Pinks

Today's review would be about Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss

I got a trial size of 7ml in Sasa Hongkong for HK$25

I believe this is awfully a lot already because I can't seem to finish off all my glosses.

The applicator is the flat slanted type but since this is a trial size it's a bit smaller than the standard ones. Cute!

At first I thought this was a scented gloss because of the variant name Raspberry but this turns out to be simply fragrance free which is extra tender love and care for your lips.

Here's a swatch of Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Raspberry

It goes on very sheer actually and there would be slight tinge of pink color that's enough to give you a healthy dewy look.

Here's another swatch on my lips

I love the high gloss shine- it looks like water reflecting but it's not so sticky like other gloss I've tried- it's actually quite smooth and silky. As the name of the gloss states, this is a superbalm as it provides a surge of moisture to your lips. 

The Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss lasts looonnngggg! I can't emphasize how long lasting this is- it can go on for 4-6 hours while eating which is long enough for me because nothing really lasts that long enough.

Another swatch from another angle

I usually don't find myself attracted to make up brands that don't have cutesy packaging- that's why I love Jill Stuart so much, but Clinique is an exception because of the superb quality products that's sure worth your hard earned money. 

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My prayers go to Taiwan especially in Kaohsiung City where they have been rattled by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake and Bon told me in Taipei it's around 3 magnitude. It's so scary because there are a lot of tall buildings and condimiums in Taiwan- who wouldn't be scared if you're living on top and then suddenly an earthquake hits you?

It's also scary for us in the Philippines because Kaohsiung is very very near to us- it's accessible if we travel to Batanes- I've heard you can almost swim going to Kaohsiung Taiwan if you're in Batanes, haha! Of course it's safer to travel to Taiwan by boat but I'm not sure if the immigration would deport you back to the Philippines. But, the point is we should be prepared now; who knows when we'll be rattled by an earthquake?

Kai Beauty Care Mascara Guard Review

I have been itching to use my newly acquired mascara guard but for some reason when I'm doing my make-up I tend to forget =p

Luckily I forget to use it so I could snap up some photos in it's mint condition!

I bought this in Sasa Hong Kong for HK$29, it's the most expensive mascara guard I've seen in Sasa.

Here in Etude House Philippines I think their mascara guard retails for just less than P100

However of all the mascara guards I have seen, Kai Beauty Care has the better- or the best ergonomically designed mascara guard.

As you can see on the picture there are some instructions on how to use the mascara guard so this might be helpful if we can't read Kanji, Hiragana or Katakana.

Unlike most mascara guards that looks like the calling card where there's just a simple curve so your eyelashes would fit in and the surface is usually flat, the tendency is that you'll end up pressing down your eyeballs and sometime it hurts. I've tried using the calling card mascara and it was great at first because it really delivers but after a while I was getting frustrated with pushing the card down and hurting my eyeballs. I usually can't see well when pressing my eyeballs down so sometimes mascara application goes awry.

But when I tried Kai Beauty Care Mascara Guard, I must say I understood why it's one of the more expensive mascara guards out there. It is curved so it could comfortably fit in your eyeball shape and other contours of the eye area.

Woah! It looks scary but it looks scarier when you're using the flat calling card to pull the eyelashes up.

This mascara guard is a gentler on the eyes. The clear plastic also helps you check out if you're missing out on some eye lash that went beneath the mascara guard.

The mascara guard fits 90% of my eye shape, I can't reach the inner corners of my eyes but the same problem goes to my Shiseido eye lash curler.

You use the upper part of the mascara guard for your lower lash are. Recently I have been trying to coat my lower lash line with mascara and it does make your eyes more defined and yet it looks so natural.

If you're scared of putting eye liner on your lower lash line, coating your lower eye lashes might be the thing for you.

The mascara guard fits also 90% of my lower lash area contour and I just have to adjust the mascara guard when coating the outer corner of my eyes.

What matters most for me regarding this product is that it doesn't hurt my eyes or my eyeballs, it just gently lifts your lashes effectively without pressing your eyeballs down.

I don't use the mini toothed handle of the mascara guard because I opt to use a clean spoolie but if you're travelling and you don't want to lug a lot around then you can also use the mini comb provided.

More Hong Kong Beauty Finds

I'd like to share with you girls what I have hoarded from Hong Kong and post the price list for references too, hope it helps those who are going to Hong Kong! ^.^

All these are just trial size I bought from Sasa, most of the time trial sizes lasts me for 3-4 months already

Clinique Moisture Surge HK$32

Clinique Lash Power Mascara HK$22

Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss HK$25

Ah... My favorite haul! ^.^ MAC and Shu Uemura- two of my favorite brands side by side

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil HK$389 in Colourmix

MAC 188 brush HK$300

MAC 224 brush HK$230

MAC brush cleaner HK$100

MAC eye shadow goldmine HK$130

Tadaah! MAC's Magic Mirth and Mischief poster, it's just a freebie in MAC counter in Elements Mall

I've been wanting Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer because of my dry flaky skin

Been using Vaseline Hand and Nail cream, makes my nails very strong so when I want to grow long nails I use this to strengthen my digits

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer HK$245 in Colourmix

Vaseline Hand and Nail Cream HK$9 in Wellcome, it's HK$16 in the airport

Lancome's Bi-Facil eye make up remover! I was searching for L'oreal's eye make up remover but I got Lancome instead! ^.^

Lancome Bi-Facil HK$138 in Colourmix

Shiseido eye lash curler from Bonjour, I think HK and Philippine's Shiseido rubber pad is just the same so I'm searching Taiwan's rubber pad which is very very good huhu ='(

Shiseido eye lash curler HK$65 in Bonjour

Freebie! A Marc Jacobs make up pouch for promotion, it's very simple design wise

A formal mascara guard, I've been using a Kamiseta clothes tag as my mascara guard, it works well but I want to try using a real mascara guard too

Kai Mascara Guard HK$29 in Sasa

Mentholatum Acnes Oil Control Film, I love using the facial wash version because it cleared my skin up- permanently! ^.^ I might as well try their oil control film

Mentholatum Acnes Oil Control Film HK$16 each in Bonjour

Tomorrow's post will be the clothes haul I got from Hong Kong ^.^ Can't wait to share it with you girls!

It's Christmas Time! 24K Nail of the Day

It is getting chilly here in the Philippines and it makes me feel Christmas is REALLY approaching! Of all the holidays I really love Christmas so today I am doing a gold version of my Christmas Nail Polish Collection; if you would recall I first did a classic red nail polish for the holiday season using Arezia's Nail Polish in Red.

Today I used two nail polish to create this look mainly Sasa's nail polish in light yellow; I just called it light yellow; I do not know if this has a name attached to it because I cannot see any name on the label except the ingredients. The second nail polish definitely has no labels on it (even the brand!) so I would just opt to call it the 24K nail polish.

First I coated my nails with Sasa's nail polish in light yellow and let it dry. Drying nail polish in a chilly weather is breeze so I love painting my nails during this season. As you can see Sasa nail polish in light yellow is quite sheer because you can still see through my nail.

Second, I dab the 24K nail polish on top of Sasa nail polish. I find dabbing or tapping better for even and dense gold glitter distribution instead of swiping the whole brush because most of the time the glitter would just go along with the brush.

Taddah! This is great, fun and easy. I usually cannot do elaborate nail art because I am very clumsy painting my nails but I'm sure this is a nice look for the holiday season.

Arezia Nail Polish in Red

Christmas is coming near! When I think of Christmas I think of the colors red and gold. With that I have decided to post on a great red nail polish color.
I bought the Arezia Nail Polish in Sasa in Hong Kong. I found this in a big tub full of nail polishes. I like the deep red color it gives out. The pigmentation is superb, one coat is all you need and it dries quickly! It also does not give off an unpleasant paint-like nail polish smell.

One coat of Arezia red nail polish

One con though is that you need to put on a base coat first because this will stain your nails. For some it will be a con because the bottle is just 4.5ml but for me who does not occasionally put on nail polish would appreciate this because I cannot finish the small bottle even! Haha.

Diorsnow Sublissime Whitening Moisture Crème

Skin care time! As promised, this is a review for Diorsnow Sublissime Whitening Moisture Crème. I bought this trial size at Sasa in Hong Kong for HK$32.

I also use this at night because I don’t like using cream in the morning; for me layering so many stuffs on the face would clog my pores easily so I just use my trusty BB cream to moisturize in the morning but when night time comes I go for formal moisturizing creams. The reason I bought this is to even out my skin tone especially on my forehead since I was under the sun for numerous hours during my thesis and due to stress we forgot about sun block haha!

This is quite effective; if not the most effective whitening product I know.  I have not used any other whitening product prior to this because my skin tone is very fair and I just needed a whitening product to even my skin out. I have seen a lot of women use whitening products but nothing seems to work. Most Asian women also use whitening product though they are fair but we use it to diminish the freckles and uneven skin tone.  I can now say I have my even skin tone back! We have to take note that I am also using my BRTC BB cream which also has whitening properties.

I love this crème more than my Lancôme Neurocalm Cream because it is very light weight and my skin absorbs this quickly, after an hour or two I can touch my face and it is very soft, supple and moisturized.I also favor the light floral scent of Diorsnow Sublissime Whitening Moisture Crème than the Lancôme Neurocalm Cream; it does not make my nose wince in pain.

This product is only a tester but as written on the back of the carton this is not supposed to be on sale because this is a free sample! However I find buying this more practical than buying a lot of Dior products just to be able to try out this cream. 

Neutrogena On the Spot Acne Treatment

This is also one of my Hong Kong beauty loot and I bought it at Sasa if you can see the pink Sasa sticker on the box, this costs HK$59.00 and I bought it on a spur, which I always do when I go to another country LOL.

I was getting some acne on my forehead at that time because of stress and my thesis defense was going to be held a week after that and we haven’t finished editing the documentary yet! I think I broke out because I was really nervous if we were going to make it or not because my thesis mate was also in Hong Kong at that time and there’s just one of my beloved thesis mate left in the Philippines to do the work alone.

Anyway let’s get to the review.

Neutrogena claims this vanishing formula has 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide that provides the same effectiveness of a 10% Benzoyl Peroxide formula so this has less irritation. Helps clear up acne fast while treating skin gently.

At first I thought “Why is this acne cream not working?” So I have decided to experiment with this cream so I could yield better results. Initially I was dabbing the cream and spreading it out on my acne and nothing happened; there is some drying but it was very minimum and the acne would not go away fast.

My second method of using this is to just dab the cream on the acne and I did not spread it out so the formula would be concentrated. This time, it works! I can feel a sting on my acne with this method but it is tolerable; but one time I accidentally popped my pimple while washing my face and then I dabbed this cream on, it really stings and I can’t help it but to cry! Haha! The cream dries up after an hour or two so if you want you can peel it off and apply a fresh coat of cream. With this method the zits would dry up for about two days depending on how big it is. For small minor zits a night’s treatment would be enough but for the bigger ones it would take two to three days to dry up.

So far I am satisfied with this one; I’ve been using this for almost a year and the tube still has a lot of cream in it; I have not tried other zit zapping products like Mario Badescu’s Drying Lotion so I cannot compare yet. 

Lancôme Paris Hydra Zen Neurocalm day cream

Skin care time! I know I love make-up but at the end of the day make-up is no good when we don't take care of our skin so as much as possible though I find it tedious, I cleanse and moisturize my skin every night.


I bought this at Sasa in Hongkong (seems like I hoarded a lot of my beauty stash in Hongkong!) but I forgot how much I bought this for. 


What Lancôme Paris Says:
The delicious Oil-in-Water texture melts onto the skin. It intensely moisturises and lastingly soothes the skin, leaving it soft, smooth and radiant. 

HYDRA ZEN NEUROCALM™ features a unique technology to provide intense, immediate and continuous moisturisation and soothe sensitive skin.


- MOISTURISES: Lipidure and Hyaluronic acid microcapsules, vectorised ceramides and Glycerol provide the skin with intense, long-lasting hydration.
- SOOTHES AND RELIEVES STRESS: The NEUROCALM™ complex with natural plant extracts combats the negative effects of environmental and emotional stress. 
Samphire boosts the positive effects of stress by producing beta-endorphins, providing heightened moisturisation.
- SOOTHING FRAGRANCE: Proven calming, anti-stress action.
o Rose and lily-of-the-valley: soothing
o Orange: relaxing 
o Apple: anti-stress 
o White musk: reassuring


My review:
I know it's supposed to be a day time cream but I don't like putting on heavy cream in the morning because of our humid weather, maybe if I live somewhere cold I would so I just use this at night when I'm ready to hit the sack.


This is quite a heavy creamy formula to me as opposed to Dior Snow Sublissime Whitening Moisture Creme (review coming soon!) which is quite watery. I reach out to my Neurocalm cream during these days at night when it gets unexpectedly cold and my dry skin starts to flake especially in the nose area because it effectively moisturizes my skin and I wake up with softer skin. 


One of my qualm though is that this is heavily scented; I feel like I'm going into the perfume section of Rustan's department store but it's very tolerable. At first I was getting break outs but ever since I started using my BB cream, break outs are minimum to none even if I use this cream at night. Neurocalm cream doesn't really calm me down; I'm too stressed that even a jar of Lancôme cream can't calm me down haha. 


Otherwise this is a very reliable hydrating cream when used regularly. 

Shu Uemura Mini Eyelash Curler

It's here! It's here! My lemming for Shu Uemura's answer to my lash curling woes is here! I have really really short lashes so this is the answer to my problem in curling hard to reach areas.

Aug 1, 2009, Wald and I went to Shu Uemura's flagship store in Rockwell, my heart sank when the SA told us that it's discontinued here in the Philippines... The horrors! >.<

Wald texted his brother Wyatt who's in Hongkong to buy me one coz wala na pla dito, yup he saved me from the great birthday depression by buying me one! Yey!


This costs HK$80 and it can be found in selected Sasa branches or to be sure you can just go to Lane Crawford or any Shu Uemura free standing stores in Hongkong Malls. If I'm not mistaken there's a free standing store near Marco Polo hotel in Canton Road.

Yup, this baby works great, it's my first Shu Uemura curler, but my Shiseido eyelash curler is also doing its work well. I was telling Jaq this morning how could I ever stretch my budget if I convert to Shu Uemura coz they don't sell extra silicon rubber pads, so if it wears out, you have to buy a whole set again. While Shiseido offers rubber pads, they'll cost you P600 for two rubber pads, those two little silicon rubber pads is sure worth a lot too, but the curler ain't a curler if not for the magical pads.

The mini eyelash curler works wonders on chinky eyes, especially if you've got those super duper short lashes on the corners of your eye, when you use the regular sized curler when you try to reach for those small parts you end up pinching your lids, tada! Here's the answer for it!

Another good thing about this mini curler for me is that I have kirat left eye, I'm not ashamed of it now though I used to in my childhood days. A lot of Asians have the same problem that's why they developed double eyelid glues and tapes. When I use the Shiseido normal sized curler, I end up not curler the whole eyelash and if I do succeed, my curled eyelash would droop down due to the shape of my eyes. With the Shu Uemura mini eyelash curler, I get to curl my left lashes precisely and it doesn't droop. 


Shu Uemura Vs. Shiseido
I think for every person it varies, it just turns out that Shiseido fits me better than Shu Uemura, I took these two for a test, after curling my lashes using both on each eyelash, I splashed my face with water to see if the curl would wear down, Shiseido lash is still curled but Shu Uemura lash straightened up again...

I still love my Shu Uemura curler though, hope shiseido produces a mini eyelash curler too though! 

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara

This is the nicest mascara I've tried so far. When I was looking around at Sasa in Canton Road Hong kong I stumbled upon this wonderful mascara, not knowing how great it could be.  I forgot how much I got it for though.

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara coats my sparse lashes just right with it's volume and lengthening formula. it does not weigh down curled lashes, the best part is that when it dries, I can use my Shiseido eyelash curler to uplift the curl without the mascara sticking onto the curler.  Most of the time you can't curl it once you've put mascara on it coz it would stick to the curler but this doesn't. Hurrah!

Also, whenever I rub my eyes, sometimes I have a bit of tears coming out making my eyes damp but this won't budge. One time I slept with my face flat on the table, I yawned so I got a bit of tears again on my eyes but the mascara didn't run. This is how it stays put. 


But the good news is that it can be removed by warm water and facial soap, I don't have to use make up remover anymore.