Vital Care 維他命 E 油

話說，價真棧真是一個發掘平價好物的地方。

維他命 E 油在外國流行已久。一般相信維他命E油能有抗老、保濕及修護的功效，亦有指維他命E油可以預防疤痕和色斑的形成。聽起來就像是萬能一樣！不過去到卓悅和莎莎問，店員說只有食用的維他命E。最近終於在價真棧買到護膚用的維他命E油。

這支維他命E油有120ml，價錢才也HK$3x (不好意思，忘了多少錢囉…)，成份就是維他命E和礦物油。

根據瓶上的說明，這瓶維他命E油還能當作日霜／晚霜之用。不過我的用法是混合平常的乳霜一起塗身體（沒有塗面）。

不過這支維他命E油的瓶口可真一點也不小，倒出來時比較難控制份量。質感上就是油的質地囉～

我覺得真的有保濕的功效，尤其手踭和膝蓋這些位置，果效明顯。但至於是否有利抗衰老及減紋，由於我沒用在臉上，暫時無法評論。

不過，容易長痘痘的話，就不建議使用維他命E油塗在面上當日霜／晚霜，因為它的質地蠻厚，若果早晚塗的話，痘痘應該一發不可收拾……

另外，我在pinterest上曾看到有人以維他命E油來解決腳跟龜裂的問題，似乎真的很work。畢竟價格便宜，少喝杯星巴克咖啡就能買了！有此問題的讀者不妨一試。方法是以熱水浸腳約十分鐘，等死皮軟化，然後用一般磨腳皮的工具磨走死皮，洗腳後塗上維他命E油。重覆最少一星期。下圖是pinterest 的 before & after照:

我媽媽有試過用類似的方法去腳跟死皮，不同的是她是使用從莎莎買回來，專門塗腳跟的乳霜。效果也不錯，但價錢比維他命Ｅ油貴。

希望有幫到想在夏天穿涼鞋，但擔心腳跟不好看的朋友～:)

by Wendy

Vital Care vitamin E oil

Price mart is definitely a good place for bargain hunting. Vitamin E oil has been a trend overseas for quite some time. It is said to have anti-aging, moisturizing and protective properties. Also it is said to smooth scars and marks - sounds like a super vitamin doesn’t it! I have been to the shops Bonjour and Sasa which only sell Vitamin E pills for ingesting. Recently I have finally found vitamin E oil at Price mart.

 The vitamin E oil is 120ml, and costs around 30 something HKD (sorry I have forgotten how much exactly). The ingredients are vitamin E and mineral oil. According to the label on the bottle, this oil can be applied day and/or night. How I use it is to mix this oil with my regular body lotion - I don’t apply it on my face.

 It is quite hard to control the amount that gets poured out of the bottle though because the bottle opening is rather large. The texture and feel of the oil is like any other oil.



I think it definitely is moisturizing, especially on dry areas like the elbows and knees. However I am not sure about the anti-aging and reduction of lines because I am not using it on my face. If you are prone to pimples, then I advise you not to apply the vitamin E oil on your face. This is because the texture is quite thick, if you apply it day and night your spots will definitely appear. Also I have seen on pinterest people using vitamin E oil to cure cracked heels. It seems like it does work! This is quite an economical option, only costs one cup of Starbucks. If you have cracked heels you can try the following: soak your feet in hot(ish) water for 10 minutes to soften the dead skin first. Then use a pumice stone or one of those feet files to remove the dead skin. Wash your feet then apply the vitamin E oil. Repeat in a week. The photo below is a before/after photo from pinterest.

My mom has used a similar method to get rid of her cracked heels, but instead of vitamin E oil she applied a cracked heels lotion bought from Sasa. I reckon the results are similar, but the lotion is more expensive. Hopefully I have helped those who want to have pretty feet for wearing sandals in the summer :D

夏天防汗臭~! Secret 止汗膏

夏天又到，這陣子還經常打風，非一般地熱。
熱，就當然會流汗，相信世間沒幾個香妃，所以我覺得從小就覺得「香汗淋漓 」絕對是個世紀大話！（再說，香妃好像是因為從小喝羊奶，身體有羊羶味，才被封香妃…真是讓人絕望的一個fun fact）

所以說，不想變狐仙，現代女生最方便的方法就是使用止汗產品。

小時候偏愛噴霧式的止汗劑，可是因為環保意識增加，中學以後都沒有用了。（好像有一、兩次忍不住買了，不過近幾年的確只買了滾珠式的）

加上，我有點怕十分人工的花香味，會讓我頭痛，而太甜的水果味又不是我適合我的形象。所以一直都用nivea，因為可以順便美白嘛！

最近找回初中時在美加旅行用過的secret止汗膏，價錢才HK$29，炎炎夏日，概然都是買，當然要買好用的～！

secret的止汗膏在外國有很多種味道，但暫時我只找到這一種 (Original solid)。要形容的話，是近似爽身粉的氣味。雖然香港貌似沒有在賣，如果對其他香味有興趣，又有機會到外國入貨，可以查閱官網：http://www.secret.com/

止汗度算是很不錯，畢竟我不是熱衷戶外活動的人，每天到office上班、下班的話，香味和止汗度都能維持，而且暫時沒有發現讓衣服變成白白的煩惱。而扭扭式的packaging也很方便使用~當然，用止汗產品後，洗白白時要更加注意把腋下洗得乾乾淨淨，以防毛孔塞住長痘痘。

不過止汗膏的止汗度一般比較高，冬天時可能就不是太適合使用了，所以說，止汗也要看季節哩！

想買一支試試的朋友，不妨到價真棧看看!

Secret deodorant

Summer is here and lately there has been a lot of typhoons and also very hot. Naturally we sweat a lot in the heat. I believe there is no such thing as a person who has sweat that smells like flowers! (See Chinese folklore about some lady with nice smelling body odour) So to prevent bad body odour, you must use deodorant/antiperspirant. When I was younger I would purchase the deodorant spray, but due to environmental impacts, after high school I have switched to using roll ons. I am also scared of the artificial flower smell because it causes me headaches. Deodorants with a sweet fruit smell doesn’t suit my image well. So I have always used Nivea which has an added bonus of whitening. Recently I found the Secret brand deodorant that I have bought before when I was in holidaying in North America. Its only 29 HKD so decided to buy it since it was quite good.





Secret has a lot of different scents and types of deodorant overseas. However in Hong Kong I have only found the “Original solid” type. If I had to describe it I think it smells like baby powder. Although Hong Kong does not stock other types, if you are travelling overseas and can stock up you can visit their official website to check out their range. http://www.secret.com/



The Secret antiperspirant is pretty effective - I am not a person who works outdoors just mainly in the office. I think that the scent and the protection from sweat is long lasting and does not leave white marks on the arm pits of my tops. The twist applicator is also very easy to use. Here’s a tip - Remember to wash your underarms properly during shower time to get rid of the deodorant because it can clog pores and cause unwanted spots. The protection level of the deodorant is rather high, so it is not quite suitable for using in the winter time. If you want to buy one you can find it at Pricemart.

分手吧！我的士多啤梨鼻！Lucille Jacoranda軟膚精華素

自中學開始，我已經與黑頭結下不解之緣。

我到美容院的次數屈指可數，最主要是我沒有耐性每星期抽時間出來朝聖，亦不想每月進貢，更討厭每次化身「水魚」被sell。所以，毛孔粗得可以放沙子也是自找的。

無論我用任何清脫黑頭的產品，由於毛孔已經被撐得大大的，清完黑頭後，到街口買個麥當當，回家把鏡拿起來一照，my friend黑頭就已經回歸了。所以近年我都不太理會它，默默接受我的士多啤梨鼻。

近來看到別的sis推介Lucille Jacoranda軟膚精華素，說用完一個月，針清也幾乎不用做，鼻上的毛孔近乎看不見，於是我就敗家了。

我買的是Lucille Jacoranda軟膚精華素的3ml x 40支裝。一盒在yahoo auction是HKD$278。

在拆盒時，撲鼻而來的是薄荷味，濃得讓我暈了暈，有點擔心會臭到不想用。幸好，每次用的份量少，所以氣味只有一點點，不至於讓我覺得難受。

一支精華素雖然只有3ml，但一支基本可以用一星期以上，一盒就夠用40星期囉～！

我覺得比較古怪的是它的樽蓋…扭完又要用點力拔出來，但中間又不是一個「吱吱」…我第一次用時只係想講「想點呀你…」，最後還是用倒的，每次用大概一個五毫子的份量。

基本上我用完兩個晚上，黑頭已經「浮上面」，第二天早上以面部磨砂洗完面後，就已經跟不少黑頭說「拜拜」，而效果到目前為止都keep到。當然，沒有可能用一星期就零毛孔，不過我覺得鼻上的毛孔有變小了，面上的則不覺得有什麼大變化。

下圖為Day 0, Day 5 和 Day 12 的比較。可以見到不到一個星期的效果已經很明顯。使用首星期效果最為顯著，之後就雖然有進步，但是不拍照的話我還真沒注意到。

至於我有些沒有黑頭煩惱的朋友（最少沒我嚴重），使用第一次後基本上也覺得皮膚變滑了。

暫時我沒遇到什麼皮膚敏感的問題，可是有個小插曲。我使用大概十天後發現鼻子就有點脫皮，就很擔心是不是用太密之類的，所以停用了一天，並且由全臉塗變成局部塗。不過我研究過後，我發現應該是我太貪心，塗太多，它乾了後變成像「擦膠碎」的東東，害我以為脫皮………

Anyway，我對這個產品很滿意，雖然仍不是零毛孔和零黑頭，但它以這麼便宜的價錢便替我把問題解決了一大半，我已經很滿足了。哈哈哈～！

by Wendy

Goodbye, my strawberry nose! Lucille Jacoranda Acne Purifying Treatment

Blackheads problem has been troubling me since high school. I rarely visit beauty centers because I don't want to make time for that every week, and pay a fortune every month. I seriously hate how they try to sell you things as well. So I guess I brought on the huge pores problem myself. Since my pores are very large, regardless of the blackhead removal products that I use, once I cleanse my face and go out for a McD meal, my blackheads would have returned. As a result, I have kind of given up on my strawberry nose already. Recently, I read some blog posts recommending Lucille Jacoranda acne purifying treatment, saying that after using it for a month, you don't really need to remove your blackheads using a comedone extractor (ouch) and you can hardly see the pores on your nose. SO, I bought it.



I purchased the 3ml x 40 bottles pack of Lucille Jacoranda Ance Purifying Treatment. One pack costs HKD$278 at Yahoo Auction.



When I opened the box, there was strong scent of menthol - so strong that it made me dizzy. I was a bit worried that it would make me reluctant to use it. Fortunately, as only a small amount was needed every time, so the scent was barely noticeable. Although one bottle of serum is only 3 ml, each can last more than a week. One pack would last for over 40 weeks!



The strangest thing about this serum is its packaging... you have to twist and pull to open the lid, and there is no pump. All I wanted to say was "now what?" when I first opened it. In the end, I just poured the product out, using an amount about the size of a 50 cents coin.



After 2 nights, most of the blackheads surfaced. I used facial scrub the next morning, which was already sufficient to remove most of them. The effect lasts until now. Of course, it is impossible to give you that perfect skin after one week of use, but I noticed that the pore size on my nose is reduced. Yet, pores on my cheeks do not show much visible change. The picture below shows you comparison of Day 0, Day 5, and Day 12. I think you get the most significant results in the first week, despite the fact that there is improvement after the first week, it is not as prominent, unless you capture it by a camera like I did.



Some of my friends whose blackhead problem aren't as serious as mine commented that their skin has become softer after only one application. So far I haven't got any allergies from this product, but after using it for around 10 days, I thought the skin on my nose was peeling. I was so worried it was because I have been applying it too frequently. I stopped for a day and only applied partially on key areas, but then I noticed that it was probably because I was too greedy and applied too much product. The product dried on my skin without being fully absorbed, and turned into something like flakey skin. Anyway, I am a satisfied customer so far, even though my pores are not yet "invisible" and I still have a few blackheads, but it was such an inexpensive way to solve my lifelong blackheads problem! I am very happy with it! hahaha!

ONE-DAY Delight MAX 3 HydrationPLUS 每即棄型彩色隱形眼鏡

大眼仔和color con是不少香港女生的恩物。回想幾年前，因為害怕把異物 (con & 手指) 放進眼睛，我完全沒法子戴con。不過近兩年，我已經學有小成，開始會戴一些即棄型的color con。

在討論我喜歡的color con的顏色之前，我想強調我是一個頗為「驚青」的人，暫時我仍未能做到「愛靚唔愛命」，所以我只會在眼鏡零售店買color con。選擇比「格仔舖」是相對地少，但是我覺得品質比較有保證。

我對一般顏色較自然的color con沒什麼興趣。我是那種「既然都要戴，當然要讓所有人都知道」的類型，所以顏色選擇一般而言我偏好藍色和銀色，也曾戴過綠色、紫色、紅色和金色。

最近的新寵是ONE-DAY Delight MAX 3 HydrationPLUS。之前戴過同一品牌出的ONE-DAY Delight MAX 2，視光店老闆人很好，送我幾對樣本，基本上我所有顏色都有戴過。除了是color con，同時是大眼仔，而且舒適度和保濕度不錯，讓我有繼續試同牌子color con的衝動。

這次介紹的是ONE-DAY Delight MAX 3 HydrationPLUS系列裡的銀影灰色。雖然戴了上去後顏色沒有預期中的突出（我不曉得它原來是自然系列…），但是比起ONE-DAY Delight MAX 2，我覺得這一款的透氣度似乎更好，戴了一整天都沒有紅筋出現。

下面是素顏的我。（希望沒嚇壞你，但是我要先戴con，之後才化妝。）左眼是沒有戴con，右邊則是戴了。

如果大家有興趣了解更多，可參閱活視的網站：http://www.hk-delight.com/eng/products.asp

售價：好像是HK$220/15對 (平光鏡)

這個妝的眼線評論： http://laucuz.blogspot.hk/2013/06/koji-linebeat.html

By Wendy

六月最愛：Koji linebeat 眼線筆

這幾年的妝容都很著重眼線這一點，但是相信不少女生在初初學畫眼線時，都不知道要怎麼選擇眼線系列的產品。

早近陪伴化妝初哥的友人去莎莎買眼線筆。對我來說，好的眼線筆的條件包括顏色要實， 不易溶， 而且最好是易卸妝。最後兩者其實不矛盾的啦！但是很多眼線產品只能做到其中一項。再加上友人要求的條件「易用」（即是最好不要眼線啫喱）， 種種條件加起來，好用又適合初學者的眼線產品好像選擇不多。再考慮到畢竟友人不是常常化妝，買一支易用又實惠的眼線筆突然成了大挑戰。

最後發現koji新出了一支貌似很方便的linebeat眼線筆，聲稱筆芯是gel來的。試在手上不停搓也沒有褪色，似乎是一支經得起考驗的眼線筆，價錢也只是HK$98，便跟著友人買了。

一共有兩隻色，這是在莎莎用tester試的色。左邊是黑色，右邊是啡色。經我狂搓+在街玩了一整個晚上後，仍然很ok。

我買了黑色自用，啡色送給另一位的朋友。

眼線筆是旋轉型設計，不是鉛筆。是蠻方便的。不過能扭出，不能扭入，所以不要扭太多出來，否則蓋子蓋不回去。

使用上也就跟一般鉛筆一樣，很容易上色，畫一下顏色已經很明顯。

來做一個簡單的對比。下面分別是Koji, MAC和Kate的眼線筆比較。因為我已經忘了自己用的是KATE的什麼眼線筆（眼線液狀），所以索性把筆也照一照好了…如圖所見，最深色的是Koji。其實３者當中，Koji和KATE的眼線筆我都是畫了一下而已， MAC的反而是太淺色，忍不住畫了幾下……

有眼皮容易出油的朋友問我這支眼線易不易溶。作為一個小測試，比較一下剛化完妝和吃喝玩樂一天後的模樣。化完妝出來是這個模樣，時間為大概下午三時。請無視我的粗毛孔+黑眼圈。(手機所拍，除了加logo，沒有PS)

之後我就出門吃喝玩樂去。我承認我很懶，中途沒有補妝，下面是半夜十二點多時的模樣。

有圖有真相。上眼線是完全沒有溶。可是，跟其他一般的眼線一樣，下眼線（waterline計）溶得很徹底。對這一點，我也沒什麼期望。但公平一點，其實它也留了兩個多小時才溶光光的，算是不錯。

卸妝方面，很神奇地，遇到卸容油，一卸就很乾淨，我非常滿意。

我也問了友人的意見。她也很滿意眼線筆的效果，所以不常化妝的人使用時應該也不會有太大的困難。

有一點值得注意的是，如果你想買一些較creamy的眼線產品作為打底之用，又或者是想以眼線來化smokey eyes，這次眼線筆就不是太適合了。

有關相中我使用的color con，請到http://laucuz.blogspot.hk/2013/06/one-day-delight-max-3-hydrationplus.html。

By Wendy

屈臣氏骨膠原毛孔細緻睡眠面膜

我在3月的時候回港參加我堂哥（即是Wendy的哥哥）的婚禮。長途飛機再加上兩地濕度的改變，我的皮膚變得乾躁，而且「油光滿臉」。離家不到兩小時已經「反晒光」！可想然知我的妝是絕對不能撐過婚禮的一整天！

幸好我在婚禮前仍有數天的時間急救皮膚。Wendy介紹我使用屈臣氏的睡眠面膜。初時我也對它很有保留，畢竟它只是一個開架式品牌，售價也才100港幣。但Wendy說她的化妝老師也推介這瓶睡眠面膜因為它並不容易致敏。我決定就放膽一試。

這面膜是半透明的啫喱狀質地。感覺起來很舒緩，同時很保濕。因為我的皮膚太乾，完全是極速吸收。我一連在睡前用了三個晚上。

我的皮膚變得有彈性和柔軟，而且出油的情況有所改善！毛孔也變細了一點點。

但有一點值得注意的，在我回到紐西蘭後的兩週，我每隔一個晚上敷這個面膜，我開始發現在面上出現面色一點點。我的美容姐姐說我是長了油脂粒，她幫我清走它們後叫我不要太常敷這個睡眠面膜。所以小心喔！我建議你一但皮膚有所改善便將使用的次數改得每週一次。

整體來說，它是值得推介的抵用之選。

By Petula

Collagen by Watsons - hydrating and pore refining sleeping mask

I returned to Hong Kong in March to attend my cousin’s (Wendy’s brother) wedding. Due to the long flight and the change in humidity, my skin was very dehydrated and producing scary amounts of oil. My face was shiny within two hours of me leaving the house! I couldn’t last a full day with make up at the wedding like this! Luckily I had few days to try and emergency repair my skin. Wendy introduced me to the Watson’s sleeping mask. At first I was skeptical,it was a common pharmacy brand and only HKD 100. She said her make up teacher recommended it because it is suitable for all skin types. Decided to give it a try anyway.




The mask is a white translucent gel like consistency. It feels very soothing and hydrating when you put it on, and because my skin was so dehydrated it absorbed it in no time. I used it three nights in a row before bed. My skin instantly felt more plump and soft from using it, and it didnt produce as much oil! Also my pores seemed a bit smaller. A word of caution though, I returned to New Zealand and used it every other night for two weeks. I started noticing white bumps forming near my cheek bone area. I went for a facial and my beautician said I had lots of milia - basically dead skin cells trapped in the pores. She extracted them for me and told me not to use the product as frequent. So be careful! I will recommend once your skin feels hydrated again using it once a week. Overall it was good value for money and would recommend it.

ONE-DAY Delight MAX 3 HydrationPLUS daily disposal color contacts

Circle lens and color contacts are Hong Kong girls' makeup necessities. A few years ago, the thought of putting the contacts and my very own finger into my eye was too terrifying - I dare not wear contacts. But recently, I have learned the tricks and have started wearing daily disposal color contacts. Before talking about the color of contacts that I like, I want to emphasize that I chicken out easily, am not the risk-taking type, so I only purchase my color contacts at optical stores. Choices are limited, but more trustworthy. The natural colors are not my type, I prefer letting the others know that I am wearing color contacts, so I generally like blue and silver ones. I have also tried wearing green, violet, red and gold ones. My recent favorite is ONE-DAY Delight MAX 3 HydrationPLUS. I have worn ONE-DAY Delight MAX 2 series from the same brand before, the optical store staff was nice enough to give me a few samples for free, so I have actually tried all the colors in the series. Apart from being color contacts, it is also circle lens, and it is moisturizing and comfortable, encouraging me to try other color contacts from the same brand.
 

We are talking about the silver gray color in the series. The color wasn't as vibrant as I thought (I didn't notice it was the natural series...), but comparing to ONE-DAY Delight MAX 2, I think it has better air permeability, my eyes show no sign of redness even after wearing it for the whole day. Below is a picture of me without makeup. (Apologies if I have scared you, but I wear my contacts before makeup.) My left eye has no contacts, while the right one does.

If you are interested in learning more, please check out Woods HK's website: http://www.hk-delight.com/eng/products.asp Price: I think it was HK$220/15 pairs (平光鏡).



For review of the eyeliner that i used for this look: http://laucuz.blogspot.hk/2013/10/june-favourite-koji-linebeat-eyeliner_4048.html

June favourite: Koji linebeat eyeliner

Eyeliner has been the focus of makeup looks these days, but many girls do not know how to pick the right eyeliner products at the very beginning. I acommpanied my friend, who is relatively new to makeup, to shop for eyeliner at Sasa recently. For me, I think a good eyeliner needs to have pigmented color, not easy to smudge, and it is best if it can be removed easily. Actually the last two criteria are not necessarily contradicting! What a shame that many eyeliner products can only achieve one of them. My friend also requested the eyeliner to be "easy to apply" (i.e. gel eyeliner isn't an option). With all these constraints, it wasn't easy to pick a good eyeliner for a beginner. Since my friend doesn't do makeup very often, it became a challenge to pick an eyeliner which does not cost her a fortune. In the end, we have found a new eyeliner by Koji - the koji linebeat eyeliner. It claims that the core of this eyeliner is gel. I tried it on my hand and rubbed it hard, and it stayed! As it seems to be a promising eyeliner, I bought two with my friend. It was only HK$98 after all. This eyeliner comes in two colors. The picture shows the sample color which I have got from Sasa's testers. The left one is black, while the right one is brown. After the crazy rubbing and being on my hand for the whole night, they still looked ok when I took this picture at home.

I bought a black one myself, and a brown one for my other friend.

This is a twist up eyeliner, not exactly a pencil. Quite handy if you ask me. BUT it is a one-way twist up design, you can't twist it down after use. So try not to twist too much up, as you won't be able to cover the lid later.



You can use it like pencil eyeliner, the color is great. One application already gives you beautiful pigmentation. Here comes a simple comparison by Koji, MAC and Kate eyeliners. Since I don't remember the name of the Kate eyeliner, I took a picture of all three of them. As you can see, Koji one shows the most pigmented color. In fact, I only did one stroke with Koji and Kate ones, but MAC one is a bit too light, so I did several strokes...
 

A friend with oily lids asked if this eyeliner stays. I did a small test. Below is a picture of me right after I did my makeup, it was 3ish in the afternoon. Please just ignore my dark circle and big pores. (taken with cellphone, apart from the logo, nothing was photoshoped)

Then I went to hangbout with my friends. I admit that I am lazy, so I did no touch-up in between, this picture is taken some time around midnight.



My upper eyeliner didn't smudge at all. However, the one on my waterline was completely gone like any other eyeliner. I didn't have much expectation about this, so it was okay. To be fair, it did stay for approximately 2 hours before it melted. The eyeliner was easy to remove with makeup removal oil. I was very happy about that. I asked my friend's opinion as well. She is also happy about this eyeliner, so I assume people who are new to makeup should be able to handle this eyeliner as well. A point to note though, if you want something creamy to be eye shadow base or you want to do smokey eyes with eyeliner, then this eyeliner is probably not the eyeliner that you should go for.

You can read my review about the color contact lens which I used for this look at http://laucuz.blogspot.hk/2013/10/one-day-delight-max-3-hydrationplus.html.

By Wendy