a hoarder's blog

"Cleansing is the most frequent, most repeated skin care step which influences the effectiveness of prodcuts applied afterwards."

Jacques Courtin-Clarins, Clarins Founder

Make-up has changed and so has make-up removal!

Long-hold foundations, new make-up rich in coloured pigments and fine pearl, mineral sunscreens: today's beauty products are increasingly long-wearing. Cleansing, the essential beauty step according to Clarins, must keep up with these cosmetic advances!

Clarins launches Total Cleansing Oil, an innovation resulting from three areas of expertise:

> Cleansing expertise

Clarins has always adapted its cleansers to all skin types and all needs, thanks to a very wide product range

> Skin Care using oils since 1965

Clarins was a forerunner by creating its 100% Plant Oils which today sell over a million bottles around the world

> The best plant extracts

Rigorously selected and analyzed to obtain their most precious elements

An exceptional formula designed for Asian women

Total cleansing

Clarins has taken into account the changes in make-up and UV protection products and created a high-performance, high-tolerance cleanser which eliminates even the most resistant make-up.

The combination of two organic plant oils: perilla oil and olive oil

One is from Asia, the other from Mediterranean Europe. Both are widely recognized since Antiquity for their cosmetic properties, antioxidant virtues and high content of essential fatty acids. By combining these two 100% organic oils, Clarins Research offers Asian women the most effective cleanser, in perfect affinity with the skin. The skin is perfectly cleansed and clean, without being aggressed.

A very high-performance gentle cleanser

The comfort of an oil - Very fine, with a wonderful feel, Total Cleansing Oil glides into every corner of the skin's micro-relief. Its high-tech oil texture is specially designed to quickly dissolve all oily residues and impurities. It effectively traps even the most adherent particles which resist classic cleansers.

The fresh feel of water - On contact with water, the oil transforms into a fresh, milky emulsion which carries away all traces of make-up, even waterproof formulas, and pollution and anti-UV sunscreens. Ver easy to rinse off, it leaves no oily traces on the skin.

The combination of olive oil and perilla oil rich in essential fatty acids preserves the skin's hydrolipidic film. There is no feeling of tightness but instant softness and comfort.

The Clarins Cleansing Method

Faithful to its philosophy, Clarins recommends a Cleansing Method which is easy to carry out and combines effectiveness and sensoriality on application.

The oil is very light, very fluid like water and is lightly scented. In terms of viscosity, this is the most runny one I've encountered.

Apply to face, massage in and use the Clarins Cleansing Method. After which, moisten the hands with water and go over the face again in circular motion. The oil will transform into a milky solution as below.

Finish by rinsing off the face with water. There is no oily residue and no tightness in the skin. Instead, it leaves the skin feeling soft and comfortable. I would usually double-cleanse by washing my face with face wash but this didn't make me want to do so because my skin felt fresh and clean afterwards. I was impressed by that. 

But then again, to be honest, I am not a frequent cleansing oil user. The only times I've used oil to remove makeup (not including those bi-phase that is half oil and half water kind of makeup remover) is when I have stubborn waterproof mascara on. Otherwise, I use cleansing milk or cleansing water to remove the daily foundation/powder/blush that I wear (I don't wear mascara to work). So there might be other oils out there that wouldn't require you to double-cleanse, it's just that I don't have enough experience to make a comparison. 

I also tried removing a Majolica Majorca mascara I had on. Soaked a cotton pad and left it on my eye for a while. I didn't count how long, probably less than a minute cos I'm not patient enough to wait, wiggled the moist part of the cotton pad on my lashes for a bit and took it off. And all the mascara was gone! Nothing spectacular you might say cos other oils would work the same way, but just so you know that it works fast! And don't get the oil into your eyes, it stings. If that happens, you know what to do...rinse your eyes with water immediately.

I also did the whole removing waterproof, budge-proof eyeliner test too. But I won't bore you with that. Rest assured that the Clarins Total Cleansing Oil will take it all off efficiently. Overall, a good performer in my books.

Clarins Total Cleansing Oil comes in two sizes 400ml for S$95 and 150ml for S$50 and can be found instores from June 2012. It is replacing the Clarins Pure-Melt which is discontinued. You can get a sample of the Total Cleansing Oil from any Clarins counter. Give it a try!

DISCLAIMER: Products in this entry were sent to me by Clarins for consideration. I wasn't paid to do this and I'm not affiliated to Clarins in any way. Opinions expressed here are my own.

So I mentioned 2 more hauls from my trip to Taipei and Hong Kong. Well, here they are! Looking at your comments in the previous entry, some of you guessed right! Yes I bought me some NARS! Totally unexpected actually. I didn't think I'd have time to drop by SOGO, but as fate would have it, one night, we travelled to some place to have beef and dumpling noodles and there was a SOGO nearby. OK, wait, rewind that. I think I should put it another way: we had planned to go eat at this small noodle shop which is just behind SOGO (alight at Zhongxiao Fuxing train station), and if there was still time, I wanted to drop by SOGO, even if just for a little while, to swatch nars' new blush Sex Appeal. Upon coming out of the station, I was so surprised to see crowds of people hanging around outside. I didn't know what was happening, but I thought to myself, there MUST be some kind of sale going on. I started getting excited and couldn't wait to get dinner over and done with. So later on after dinner, we walked to SOGO and I was overwhelmed by the crowd inside as well. From the entrance itself, there were promoters shoving pamphlets into my face, and others approaching me to ask me whether I wanted to check out this and that brand. It was insane! I did one round with the hubs looking around everywhere in amazement, and then he decided to give up and told me to meet him at a later time. Haha! So after that, I was on my own wandering about. I must have done a few rounds collecting pamphlets and looking at the deals that were being offered.

I first went to the nars counter to do some swatching. Saw the sheer glow foundation and asked someone to match my shade. A male BA recommended me Santa Fe which I must say matched me pretty well. But I didn't buy it then and walked on. I stopped by Laura Mercier where a rather attractive male BA attended to me. Asked him about loose powder etc, but after all the explanation, he didn't quite convince me to buy from him. haha. Too bad! I also checked out the MUFE counter, but nobody paid any attention to me. Bah! So I kept on walking around and ended up at nars once again. Swatched Sex Appeal and it didn't show up on my hand at all. Someone must have seen the frown on my face and this time round, a female BA approached me. I had seen her looking at me from the corner of my eye, and she eventually did come nearer to ask me if I needed help. So I asked for a match for sheer glow once more. She matched me to Ceylan. I told her that just now, I was matched to Santa Fe. She said that it would also suit me, but as it is pinker, it would make my face more "red", while Ceylan would lighten up my skintone cos of the yellow undertone. She asked me to trust her recommendation. How could I argue with that? And so she introduced me to the offer they had for the sheer glow foundation. Here's the snapshot from the pamphlet. You get a skin milk cleanser, a sheer glow foundation and a loose powder for TWD3350. I admit I didn't go into the details of how much each costs individually and whether it would make sense to buy the set there and then. I was all set to get it since I was there at the sale and all. And if all other reasons fail, there's always the "But-I'm-holiday" tagline!

Loose powder in Eden

Sheer Glow in Ceylan. Bummer! It doesn't come with a pump!

And oh did anybody notice an extra item in the first pic? Well I bought a blush called Crazed. I really thought I didn't have it in my stash and I remembered not ever seeing it online on beauty.com or narscosmetics.com. I remembered well.

This was not part of the set, but there was still a discount on it (10% I think).

And a free gift: a mirror!

My second big buy on this trip is from...KATE SPADE. Another unexpected buy this time at Citygate Outlets in Hong Kong. Went in to have a look and oops came out with this. I tried on the canvas version first, then the sales lady told me that it also came in the full leather version and that it cost slightly more only. So I sat there, not really wanting to buy, but also wanting to buy, that kinda feeling. The hubs was like, just get it if you like it. So be it. Maybe he was just tired of waiting...

The paper bag:

The interior and bottom of the bag:

And the bag in full glory! Sorry to disappoint, but it's a boring black bag. But I like bags that will go with anything I wear. It still smells of new leather. I love the smell! I haven't used it yet. Same goes for all the nars above. I do take a while to unpack. LOL!

Hope you enjoyed this entry. :)

I went for a facial yesterday and got suckered into getting the 2 Murad products above (Murad professional daily eye lift and Murad Essential-C cleanser) despite my resolution not to spend unnecessarily until my finances get better. I was especially resistant when the salesperson who suggested the eye cream to me told me that it costs $199. (Woah $199 for 15ml? I've never bought anything that expensive before). She even suggested that I get the whole line of Murad professional skincare products (which, she said, are not being sold at the counters) for like $900. I almost choked on my tea. I was like, Are you crazy? Well i just checked them out online and all 5 products should cost around there give and take.

Anyway, to cut a not-so-long story short, my resistance broke down as she told me I could redeem $50 off the total if I get another product together with the eye cream. In came Essential-C cleanser 200ml. I think this one will last me quite a while. I've had the experience of using other Murad products and one 150ml bottle of cleanser has lasted me for almost one whole year (once a day use only). I think I'm left with at most 2-3 uses of it now.

L-R: Murad Vitalic Energizing Pomegrenate Cleanser (150ml - SGD60), Murad Vitalic T-Zone Pore Refining Gel (50ml - SGD90), Murad Vitalic Moisture Silk Eye Gel (15ml - SGD89.50), Murad Redness Therapy Sensitive Skin Soothing Serum (30ml - SGD122)

Product Description:

I really love the Sensitive Skin Soothing Serum. I apply it on days when my skin's not looking too good and when I have some redness. It is very calming indeed. I think this is one product that I will re-buy when my current one runs out. The BA told me to apply this everyday before applying any other serum because the hyaluronic acid will help to absorb the goodness of subsequent serums that you layer on. When I first got it, I used to apply it before the T-zone pore refining gel, but nowadays I use it occasionally instead cos I'm running low and buying a new one would cost a bomb.

So these are the current products I'm using. As you can see, I'm running low on almost all of them, and I'm proud to say I've already finished using the eye gel. It's really a coincidence that I stocked up on another cleanser and eye cream.

And I have another 2 products that I have yet to use. A Murad Resurgence Hydrating Toner and Hydrating Gel Mask. I'm just waiting to finish my current Kiehl's Calendula herbal-extract toner (half bottle more to go) that i use alternatively with my Clinique Clarifying lotion 2 (one-third bottle more to go).