Product Review: Block and White Intensive Whitening Lotion SPF 28/PA+

Good morning everyone! How's the week so far? I'm still battling a cough and cold. Hopefully, I'll be better soon. Anyway, I'm really such a sunblock addict. I don't leave the house without slathering on some sunblock. Which is why I consume a bottle pretty quickly. When I ran out of my favorite Vaseline Healthy Sunblock, I asked my sister to buy me a new bottle. Unfortunately, they were out of stock and my sister came home with this instead:

Block and White Intensive Whitening Lotion SPF 28/PA+

I've been using this for around a week as a sunblock, not as a whitening lotion. So I can't say anything about its whitening effects. As a sunblock, here's what I've found so far:

PROS

• It's very affordable. Around P200 for a 250 ml bottle
• In addition to having SPF 28, it also has PA+ for the UVA rays
• Has a nice scent. It reminds me of the early Ponds Whitening Cream products I tried way back when I was in high school
• The scent is quite long-lasting. I put it on before lunch and by around 8 pm, there is still a bit of smell left.

CONS

• It's not easily absorbed by the skin. You have to wait for at least 10 minutes before it feels comfortable. At first, it will feel slightly sticky and maybe a little bit hot.

Conclusion: All-in-all, I think this is not bad at all! If you are looking for a sunblock on a budget, this is a good one to try! 

5 Products that I Keep Buying Over and Over Again

Hello everyone! I'm really a beauty junkie, but there are certain products that I keep buying since they really work for me. Let me show you what my list consists of:

1. Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Fresh

Well, technically, I haven't bought this over and over again. I'm only in my second bottle. Finally, I know all the rage about the Shu Uemura oils. I have seriously tried all the oils of Shu Uemura because I bought a travel pack of all their oils. Among all of them, I loved this and the brightening oil the best, but since this was the cheaper of the two, I opted for this. This feels very light, but still moisturizing --perfect for my oily skin. For a more in-depth review of this product, click HERE

2. SkinTel Pimple Clearing Soap

I am not the only one using this soap, my sister and brother use it too. We've been using this for two years at least, and it does a good job of preventing my face from breaking out, but at the same time, it's not harsh on my face. 

3. Godiva Vitamin C Serum

I love this product! I've been using this for more than three years. I've seriously bought a bottle religiously every month, and recently, my sister has started using it too. It really does help prevent pimples. For a while, they changed their formulation to the inferior, orange one but it seems that they have returned to their original clear formulation. For a more in-depth review, click HERE

3. Leyende Face Canvas

I'm already on my 3rd jar of this! Not only is it organic, but it is absolutely non-greasy, is easily absorbed by the skin, doesn't break me out, and seems to help lessen the oiliness of my face. When I had my 2nd pixel laser, I used this as my moisturizer and I did not feel any pain at all, as opposed to the moisturizer that my derma gave me. For a more in-depth review, click HERE

5. Vaseline Healthy Sunblock SPF 30

I can't remember how many of these I've gone through but I'm at least on my 5th. I use this everyday as my body sunblock because doesn't feel heavy like most sunblocks, and it doesn't smell like sunblock either. And the price? P270. Very affordable! I only wish it came in a bigger size.

What about you? What are the products that you keep buying again and again? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Product Review: Avon Magix Face Protector SPF 20

photo taken from www.avon.com

Product Description:

A magical air-light gel-powder colorless formula that makes all skin tones look flawless... invisible coverage; instant perfection. Banish shine up to 10 hours.

Active Ingredients:
OCTINOXATE 7.5%
OCTISALATE 4.0%

Other Ingredients:
DIMETHICONE
CYCLOPENTASILOXANE
CELLULOSE
CYCLOMETHICONE
CETEARYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER
ALUMINA
ACRYLATES/DIMETHICONE COPOLYMER
SILICA
NYLON-12
HDI/TRIMETHYLOL HEXYLLACTONE CROSSPOLYMER
C30-45 ALKYL METHICONE
C30-45 OLEFIN
PEG/PPG-20/23 DIMETHICONE
LAURYL PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXYETHYL DIMETHICONE
CAPRYLYL GLYCOL
DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER
POLYETHYLENE
BORON NITRIDE
PARFUM/FRAGRANCE
TOCOPHEROL

I've been wanting to try this out for the longest time since I read so many good reviews about this product. I have extremely oily skin and I'm still looking for my HG oil control product. So when Toma (www.makeupmasala) sold this in her site, I grabbed the chance to try it out.

Upon trying this product, I had a good impression. It's color is white when you squeeze it out of the tube, but becomes colorless when you apply it to your face. It instantly blurred my pores and provided a smooth canvas to put my makeup on. It dried right away too. It reminded me of Monistat anti-chafing gel, but this one didn't make my skin rougher.

However, whoever wrote this product description has never met someone like me! It claims to banish oil for up to 10 hours. I've read reviews from others who said that it controlled the oil for 6 hours or more. Unfortunately, for my case, it only controlled the oiliness for 1 and 1/2 hours! Haha! That's actually good for just one oil control product alone, but I still hoped that it would go on for a little longer. Combined with other oil control products, it controlled my oiliness for around 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours, which is still not bad.

Sadly, this did not hold my makeup as well as my other primers. With my other primers, a lot of makeup really comes off when I wash my face at the end of the day. With this one, there was considerably less makeup left.

So once again, I'm giving a rundown of the pros and cons of this product:

PROS

• blurs imperfections
• has SPF
• leaves a smooth finish
  
• dries quickly
• did not cause breakouts
• non-drying
• has oil control
• is in a tube, so is therefore hygienic
  

CONS

• not available locally
• does not hold makeup as well as other primers

So will I buy this again? Probably not. Despite the fact that I like this product and there are a lot more pros than cons, it didn't hold my makeup well, which is a big problem for me.

A Review of Sunblocks I've Tried

I looove sunblocks! It's a must for us girls. However, most sunblocks give that icky, greasy feeling and nobody wants that. Especially for me with my oily, acne-prone skin, the last thing I need is more grease on my face. I'm sort of on a sunblock spree. I've tried a lot of sunblocks and I've never bought one kind twice because I like testing different ones. And so, I made a review of the different sunblocks I've tried.

My criteria for a good sunblock:

• Must have a protection of at least SPF 40


• Must be oil-free


• Must have UVA protection as well


• Must be non-shiny and non-greasy
  

Nivea Face Sunblock SPF 50 PA++

Well, the one for sale in the Philippines doesn't look exactly like this, but it's pretty close. I used this picture because I don't have a pic of this sunblock anymore. I didn't like this sunblock. Yes it was oil-free and non-greasy, but even the tiniest application left a really obvious whitish cast. People would always ask me what happened to my face! I was using this sunblock back when I wasn't using any makeup. I'm not sure how my face would have looked like if I used makeup on top of it. Plus, I don't like the sunblock-y smell.

Cosmed Total Block Milk SPF 90 PA+++

I've never heard of this brand before. I just stumbled upon this in one of those beauty shops in Hong Kong. This product claims to have SPF 90 and a very high UVA protection of PA+++. Well, a claim of SPF 90 is very hard to prove but I decided to try it nontheless. This product is a milk type sunblock. You have to put a very little amount because if you put to much you'll have a slight whitish cast on your face. It's just slight though and it's nothing that my MMU can't fix. It's non-greasy but when you apply this, you have to be sure to blend, blend, blend or else the application becomes uneven. It's not a pretty sight to have some white spots on your face. After a few tries though, I finally got how to apply this properly.

Kanebo Tiffa Silky Look SPF 50+ PA+++

I spotted this sunblock both in Thailand and in Hong Kong. At first I was hesitant to buy this because all the instructions were in Japanese and the sales attendants in Thailand spoke very little English. In the end, I decided to put my faith on Kanebo and tried this out, and I'm so glad I did! I love this sunblock to bits! It's also a milk type, non-greasy, no shine, no whitish cast, no sting upon application and my face feels smooth when I apply it. It's texture once it dries up is similar to a makeup primer, so it's possible that this can substitute for a primer. Although I have a fetish for trying out different sunblocks and not repeating, I'm seriously thinking of buying this one again once my stock of sunblocks to review gets finished and when I see this again when I go abroad. This sunblock is available in 3 variants: Clear, Silky Look and Pearlish. I might also decide to try the Pearlish next time.

Garnier UV Protect SPF 50

This sunblock is very similar (if not exactly the same) as Loreal UV Block. Garnier is part of the Loreal group of companies, both sunblocks have Mexoryl as the active ingredient, and are both available in the same 3 variants: the white, purple and natural colors. Well, you do the math. I bought this one in Thailand. I got the white one, since I prefer ones that don't have a color so they won't turn out to be not my skin type or interfere with my makeup. This has no whitish cast, but it's a little shiny, but the shine can be covered by my makeup. Although a lot of people don't like Loreal UV Block, this one worked for me.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock SPF 55

I bought this sunblock back when it wasn't available in the Philippines yet. I bought it in Hong Kong for twice the price here! This sunblock is non-greasy, no whitish cast on me but it has a bit of a shine but nothing that loose powder can't fix. It's a big tube so it lasted me a really long time. The downside for me is that sometimes my face felt a little stingy upon application. I also broke out during my first month using this, but after that, my skin adjusted to it. This product says that it has UVA protection although the rating is unspecified.

Other Sunblocks I've tested:

Somang CoQ10 Whitening Sun Cream SPF 39 PA+++ - I tested this a few times when I was in Hong Kong, but this is actually a Korean brand. I liked it. It was non-greasy, had a pleasant smell, and the CoQ10 is definitely a plus. I decided not to buy this since I already had a lot of sunblocks waiting to be tried out and this might just expire before I get the chance to try it out. I might buy this though the next time I go to Hong Kong.

VMV Armada SPF 60 - This sunblock has a watery texture, no shine and non-greasy. I still have to buy a tube for myself, though, before I can write more.

Avene Very High Protection Cream SPF 50 - I tested this when I was in Thailand. It felt sticky so I decided not to get it. With its small size and high price, I felt that there are better ones out there for me.

Next in line to be reviewed:

I have a bottle of Dr. Baden's Sunblock Lotion SPF 60 waiting to be opened. I bought this in Hong Kong. It'll be a while though before I consume the sunblocks I'm using now. After that, I might just try Cetaphil SPF 50.