Face Good

These days, the influx of information has created so many falsehoods about facial products and ways to use them! I've summed up a list of myths that are most widely spread and their corresponding facts!

Myth: Facial products with alcohol are bad for skin and should be avoided at all costs

Fact: The presence of alcohol in facial products has been demonized. Although non-alcoholic facial products are gentle and ideal for skin, alcohol content is not necessarily bad. An appropriate amount of alcohol cleanses pores of oil and dirt with greater effect than non-alcoholic products. It also aids pores to contract, hence providing greater control over oil secretion. Facial products with alcohol are generally more effective for people with oily skin. As long as you do not have dry, sensitive skin and are not allergic to alcohol, it’s all right to use facial products with alcohol.

Myth: This brand/type works miracles on me. I should stick to it and never switch!

Fact: In a tropical country like Singapore where the weather and humidity are relatively constant, it’s all right to stick to the same product. But if you’re going to a place with a different climate or if your skin experiences significant changes at some point of time, you need to change the brand and type of product in accordance to your skin problems. For example, if you’re going to a country that’s experiencing winter, choose highly moisturizing products targeted for extreme cold and dry weather. If you have severe breakouts during ‘that time of the month’, you should avoid oily and highly moisturizing products that may worsen your breakouts.

Myth: You can never go wrong with cotton pads and make-up puffs when applying or removing facial products.

Fact: Cotton pads / make-up puffs are indeed more effective at removing residue because they are more absorbent, but those with rough textures may actually harm your skin. Do be careful to choose smooth cotton pads and make-up puffs that are gentle on skin. Also, if you use clean hands to massage your face while washing it, warmth from your hands will prevent pores from contracting, thus allowing your skin to absorb nutrients from your facial product more effectively.

Myth: Organic products will not harm your skin because they are natural.

Fact: Actually, products like lemon, peppermint, citrus fruits and camphor oil are acidic in nature and can be harsh on sensitive skin.

What does face care have in common with foam, other than the first letter in their spelling? The result of clean and radiant skin of course!

One of the most common misconceptions is that the complex in cleansers is directly responsible for purifying the skin. While that's what cleansers do, we have to get technical about this to get our product application methods right. No matter how much time and money you're investing on skincare, your efforts will come to naught if you're not using them the right way! The substance that produces the cleansing effect is actually foam produced from the cleanser.

However, high foam cleansers do not necessarily make good quality cleansers, because chemicals can easily be added to alter foam production. These chemicals agitate sensitive skin, so it's still safer to choose low foam cleansers.

Pretty contradictory eh? Well, not really, because low foam cleansers do produce foam with the correct application and amount. The correct method of applying cleansers is as follows:

1. Squeeze cleanser into the center of one palm
2. Dab the four fingers of your other hand in water
3. Rub your damp fingers over the cleanser in a circulatory motion
4. Rub both palms together to spread out cleanser and foam evenly
5. Gently massage your face with both hands.

If you're new to low foam cleansers, you need to adapt to them gradually. Adjust the amount of cleanser applied based on how much foam you are getting. If you're finding it difficult to get foam despite doing all the right steps, you're probably being too miserly with your cleanser. If your face is getting swarmed in too much foam, reduce the amount of cleanser slightly.

Ever wonder why your skin is getting no where as radiant as Gong Li's although you're a religious user of the facial products that she endorses? Advertisements often, and are legally allowed to exagerrate claims with the aid of lighting effects and editing. The best way to determine whether a product is good and suitable for you is by understanding its composition.

With the recession hot on our heels, we can't afford to waste money on products that don't work on us. Being able to differentiate good products from lousy ones that don't is a handy skill! Here are some simple tests you can perform on your products to see if they are as good as they claim to be.

Test 1: How absorbable is your facial essence?
Facial essences are expensive, aren’t they? So it’s important to find out how much of that liquid gold actually gets absorbed into our skin.

Directions: Stack five cotton pads together. Drip a little essence on top and wait for a few minutes. Then check the cotton pads. The more absorbable the essence is, the further it travels downwards. You’ve got an A-lister if the essence reaches the cotton pad at the base! If it doesn’t travel vertically but spreads on the top layer, stop wasting money on that piece of junk!

Test 2: Is your toner as mild as it claims to be?
Toners high in acid or alkaline content not only prick your skin, they also have less contraction effect on pores.

Directions: You will need pH test strips. You should be able to get them from pharmacies and chemists. Get the ones that test for a wider range of pH values instead of the old school acid/alkaline test strips that you used in your sec school chemistry lab. Drip some toner onto a test strip. Read the instructions that come with your kit. It should teach you how to read your results. If you have sensitive skin, it’s best to use a toner with a pH value between 5.5 to 7 as the average pH value of our skin falls between this range. For a toner with better pore contraction abilities, ph 4 – 5 is your choice.

Test 3: How absorbable is your cleanser?
If it hardly gets into your skin, it's hardly going to touch the dirt in your skin.

Directions: Fill a glass (preferably see-through) with water. Add a drop (about the size of a pea) of cleanser into the glass of water. If the drop of cleanser does not sink, gently stir it a little and it should disperse, causing the water to turn milky. This means that it is water-based and hence, easier to be worked into your skin. If the drop sinks and does not disperse, it is oil base and not easily absorbed.

Test 4: Are your products too oily?
Oily products may cause breakouts. If you have oily skin and are prone to breakouts, you should definitely avoid such products! Oily products are more difficult to be absorbed into the skin too.

Directions: Smear a little of the product in question onto the back of your hand and leave it on for 3 to 5 minutes. Gently press an oil absorber sheet over the area where the product has been smeared on. The amount of oil left behind on the sheet is an indicator.

Test 5: Do make-up removers take everything with them?
Some oil-based make-up removers are known to leave behind a layer of oil on your skin, which could cause pimples.

Directions: Add a few drops of make-up remover into a glass of clear water. Stir the water so that both water and make-up remover blend into an even mixture of white. If there is a transparent film left on the surface of the mixture, that’s the oil that’s left on your face. If that happens, either change your toner or wash your face thoroughly again after using it.

Test 6: Is the lipstick sufficiently moisturizing?
If you have dry, cracked lips, a lipstick with poor moisturizing properties may highlight the cracks in your lips instead!

Directions: Using a pencil, draw an outline of a pair of lips on a piece of oil absorber sheet. Colour the inside of the outline with the lipstick that you want to test. Leave it aside overnight. There should be traces of oil around the lipstick outline. The more obvious the traces, the more moisturizing the lipstick is.

These experiments are simple, aren’t they? Now you can evaluate your products to decide whether they should stay on your shopping list!

Christmas is just round the corner! Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? If you’ve run out of ideas for gifts, I suggest beauty products. They make great gifts because they are beautifully packaged and useful!

You may say ‘But I don’t know my friend’s skin type or preferences!’ Beauty products aren’t limited to creams that go on your skin. Here are my recommendations for products suitable for general use, beautifully packaged and well-liked by myself and many others.


Cle de Peau Extra Silky Lipstick
Every woman who has a make-up regime needs lipsticks. Cle de Peau Extra Silky Lipstick has bold and beautiful colours. The texture feels rich and creamy, and it actually stains the lips, so the colour doesn’t come off when you eat, drink or talk. The brand has quite a large range of colours. Choose one that your friend usually wears or if you’re feeling generous, choose a few and let her have fun experimenting!





Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion














Shiseido The Makeup Powder Brush
This has to be the softest, most luxurious makeup brush out there! It distributes powder very beautifully so you get that soft airbrushed look with no cakiness!



Essie Protein Base Coat
If your friend loves doing manicures, this will be a useful present. It is easy to apply, and allows polish to be applied on smoothly. The glossy finish is beautiful and can even be used alone on bare nails in my opinion. Now that I’ve been using this regularly, my nails no longer experience discoloration and look healthier.











Panasonic Heated Eyelash Curler
This sleek and portable tool makes eyelash curling as easy as ABC. The curly effect lasts all day long and looks natural. Some people have even said that it has the effect of making their mascara last when they apply it immediately after curling.



Methode Jeanne Piaubert for Men Daycare
The men should of course, not be forgotten. More men are getting increasingly concerned with self-grooming these days. While it’s probably unwise to get cosmetics for your male friend unless you’re aware that he does use them, you can get him facial products for general or multi-purpose use. MJP for Men is a good example of a multi-purpose facial product that cleanses, protects, soothes and moisturizes skin so that it looks cleaner and more youthful.











The products I recommend are not new, and I know some people like to make gifts out of the latest releases in the market or Christmas specials and packs. Personally, I wouldn't buy the latest products for others if I haven't tried it or few people have used it long enough to provide sufficient reviews. Also, Christmas packs are so overrated that it becomes a very common gift. Furthermore, your friend may not find everything in the pack suitable!

I started using my Méthode Jeanne Piaubert DOUCEUR D'EAU samples since their product launch last week.

DOUCEUR D'EAU Gel is nothing like other cleansers I've used. It's as hydrating as promised and a great respite for tired, dry skin. It feels refreshing to the skin, and it produces fine, rich foam upon application. If you've seen an old blog entry of mine about foam, you'll see how important this aspect is to your beauty regime.

This gel also functions as a make-up remover. If you've got your make-up on your face, the gel will remove your make-up while cleansing your face. What a real time-saver! Of course, don't forget to be thorough about it. You still need to use cotton swabs to remove residues from hard-to-reach places. Overall, it's reasonably effective. When I wipe my face with a cotton pad to remove residual foundation from my cheeks after using the gel, the cotton pad's virtually clean.

Having used this product for a week, my skin has become clearer and less clogged up. It also feels firmer. It's great to use in the morning because it freshens me up. I love the fact that it doesn't contain alcohol. It uses algae extract and gentle cleaning agent instead. It's not just great for sensitive skin but on all skin types in general!

I'll review the DOUCEUR D'EAU Masque soon!