[REVIEW] Daiso Silicone Moisturizing Mask

Last year I wrote an entry about Best Cosme Ranking in Japan (in Thai) which is a ranking by a site called @cosme, the most popular cosmetic reviews site in Japan. You could say it’s an award because after being crowned the Best Cosme by this site, most of the products will use this title to promote. If you ever own one of the Best Cosme products, they will have a small little sticker with a #1 and a crown printed on it. And by my own experience of buying a lot of Best Cosme products just because it was crowned the best, they are indeed good products worth buying.

Daiso silicone mask is also one of the beauty products that made the list last year. I am particularly interested in it because it looks weird and I don’t know what it is used for. But since it’s by Daiso, the biggest 100 Yen shop chain in Japan, it’s 100 Yen! Too cheap to not buy.

What is this thing?

So, I think you can see from the photo that it looks like a normal facial mask. It has holes for eyes, nose and mouth. The best part is it also has earloops, so you can cling it to your ears.

What is it for?

According to the description on the back of the package, you can use it 2 ways:

       1.Use it on top of other facial masks: So that the content of the mask doesn’t evaporate as you have the silicone mask on top like a cover. And the mask won’t dry on you. The photo above i use it with the facial mask I use regularly.

      2.Use it as a sauna mask in your bathtub: This works in Japan because they have a culture of “お風呂(Ofuro)” which basically means relaxing in the bathtub with really hot water everyday. So the steam that comes from the water combine with the mask blocking your face from breathing, it’s basically sauna-ing your face.

I usually use it for the 1^st purpose as I don’t use Ofuro, I just shower normally.

Actual usage:

It’s a very simple concept actually. The silicone mask was just blocks your face from breathing and things evaporating from your face. So it works well in that sense.

       Use it on top of other masks: Now this work very well. I used it on top when I use other cotton masks, and my mask doesn’t dry up on me at all. After 10-15 minutes, it stays as wet and sticky like when I first applied. Usually when I the mask dries on me, I think it’s not like my face absorbed everything but more like it evaporated and I’m getting nothing. So this silicone mask can help you get as much as you could from a mask. Plus, it has earloops so I don’t have to worry about my facial mask peeling or falling off at all.

      Use it as a sauna mask in your bathtub: I don’t do this. But I did try it in the shower because I shower with really hot water anyway so I thought it might work. What happened was it gave me the feeling like my face is not clean and it is not breathing at all. It’s a very uncomfortable.  After shower, I feel like my face is a bit steamed though. So I think it does what it claims in that sense. But my recommendation is use it with bathtub, it should work better.

Conclusion:

I think it works really well! The concept is really simple. The cost of this product is definitely cheap. But the idea is really amazing. The person who came up with this simple but functional idea is a genius. I totally understand why it’s “Best Cosme”. And the fact that it’s a 100 Yen make it my favourite beauty gadget this month. :D

ps. If anyone are interested in the Best Cosme ranking, i will re-write it here. ^^

[REVIEW] Koh Gen Do Moisture Foundation Starter Set

As Valentine approaches, there are more value or starter set on sale in Japan. Judging from the gift-like packages, I think they are meant for all the boyfriends out there that are totally clueless at picking cosmetics to give to their gf. (My bf too, has no idea what mascara is. Lol)

I actually have no plan to buy anything in Japan as I’m going back to Thailand soon but… I fell for one value set this valentine… the Koh Gen Do Starter set.

Some of you might have heard of this brand, yes it’s on sale in the US too in Sephora. One of the brand most beloved and long seller is the Maifanshi Moisture Foundation. In Japan, this foundation has been sold for more than 1 million tubes already and is celebrating its 25^th anniversary. Just the popularity alone made me wonder… what magic does this foundation do?

In Sephora US, this foundation is retail at an astonishing price of 62 USD or 7300 Yen. In Japan, it’s 4800 Yen. And in this starter set ONLY, that you will get a full size of this foundation, a mini make up base, face powder and a mini Kabuki brush at a price of 6300 Yen! Still cheaper than the retail price of this foundation in the US alone. So of course, I bought it! Lol

In this set:

The value of the items in this set is stated at 10,600 Yen but it’s retailed at 6300 Yen. Included are:

1. Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation (Full size)

2. Koh Gen Do Maifanshi makeup color base

3. Koh gen Do Maifanshi Face Powder (with puff)

4. Koh Gen Do mini Kabuki Powder Brush

Everything except the foundation is in mini size, but the packaging and the quality of each are still very good. I am in love with the mini size Kabuki brush in particular. For a free brush, its quality is exceptional.

REVIEW

The review is mainly focus on the moisture foundation, after all, it's the reason why I actually bought this set. So I’ll be more detailed about this in particular.

Moisture Foundation

Before I bought this and even before I start using this, I didn’t google for any kind of information at all. I didn’t even know what it claims to do to be honest. But I expected from its name ‘Moisture’ that it would be light and have a gel-like formula. Probably like Mac Face and Body or Bourjois Healthy Mix, but I was wrong. It’s actually pretty thick and sticky. When I squeezed it out of the tube, I thought this would be hard to spread out. However, it could be spread out pretty easily, and does not dry up too fast. And because of the thick consistency, you only need to use a little to apply this foundation to your whole face.

What it claims to do:

1.     Give you a natural healthy look

2.     Consist mainly of natural ingredient

3.     Light coverage but buildable

4.     Moisturize your face without making it oily

What it actually does:

Coverage: This foundation has light to medium coverage and it will give you the natural look it promised. As you can see in the picture above that it almost blends in wit my skin perfectly. The amazing part is that it can covers your pores, blemishes and make your face look so HD in just one layer. My pores, which are the most troublesome thing on my face, look kinda blurred and my face appeared very silky! To be honest, I don’t think any foundations I owned can do the same thing when it comes to pore. So I really love it for this point.

The foundation coverage is indeed buildable through layering (no dry patches, can be layered nicely!), however it still cannot cover your acne well enough. Concealer is still needed.

Finish: It has a semi-matte finish. Which is a plus in lasting power and oil controlling. In winter, the foundation lasts more than 5 hours before it started to look a bit dewy. At the end of the day, my face remains ‘dewy’ but not ‘oily’.

Lasting Power: As it has matte finish, it actually last pretty long. I do not feel like its oxidized during the day. 6 hours after application, my pores are still invincible. Amazinggg >__<

Moisturizing: It indeed moisturized my face throughout the day. Although I don’t feel hydrated during the day, after I remove my make up, I can feel that my face is not as tired and dry as it usually be after a long day of wearing make up. My face is still pretty soft, almost like it has been moisturized lightly by some lotion.

What I think about it:

At first, I thought it has nothing special, I didn’t feel like it worth my money until I remove my make up and then I felt the difference. However, as amazing as I think it is, somehow it’s still a little bit overrated. A lot of reviews were emphasizing on how light-weighted it felt on the skin, “almost as if you don’t have foundation on!” kinda comments can be easily found. However, at least for me, I think this is a bit too exaggerated. Though compare to the coverage it gave it is still consider light-weighted, it still feels a bit heavy on the face. But overall, I still love the HD effect it does to my face and how natural it looks!

Interesting Point:

What I think is interesting about this foundation is that it has such a natural finish while being matte at the same time. This is fairly odd consider most foundations that promised natural look will have light coverage and dewy face kinda formula. But this semi-matte finish actually gives you a very natural look. I have a hard time taking photo for this review as its really hard to differentiate if I have foundation on or not because it just look like my skin but better! This could be good or bad, up to your preferences, but for natural-look lovers, this is gooood!

Make up color base

The size of this thing is so small I don’t really want to use, like… I don’t want to waste it on my face! (Weird logic, lol, I know)

The product:

The color included in this starter set is pearl white. As you can see in the photo above, it has some tiny shimmers inside. It’s creamy and is thick in consistency. After blended out, it make your skin a little bit whiter and brighter.

What it claims to do:

As a make up color base, the product will help in color correction. And in addition to that, oil control and also pore minimizing. Basically, it should help you achieve pore-less and flawless face.

What it actually does:

I think it really helps in minimizing and concealing pores. For oil control, I have never tried it without using the moisture foundation at the same time yet so I can’t really say. For the color correction, it didn’t do much probably because the color I got was white. So aside from my face looking whiter, nothing really happened. I think other colors should perform better.

Face Powder

The packaging for this product is very nice. It’s not like all those tiny testers that are just 3 mm bigger than a coin and take forever to apply. This one comes with a realistic size and a realistic puff.

The Product:

I think it’s an HD powder, or at least something very similar, judging from how light weighted and micro the powder is.

What it claims to do:

Long-lasting, doesn’t become patches, natural and sheer finish and good for your skin.

What it actually does:

I’ve never use a white setting powder. I’ve used translucent one but this one seems so A4 paper white it creeps me out. I thought it will show on my face just like all those red carpet oops moments when the HD powder shows up on the stars’ faces, so I apply it with a fluffy face brush instead of puff. And I think that worked pretty well. My face was set without any traces of the powder. Not powdery and doesn’t become patches. (You know, sometime setting powder catches on to the foundation and turn into some nasty patches) It gives you a silky and velvety finish. The micro-sized powder spreads equally across the face and basically just set things there. My face doesn’t even look powdered. Very good! You know we all love the ‘make up no make up’ style.

Kabuki Powder Brush

To be honest, I haven’t used this yet. But I am totally in love with it. The bristles are so soft and it’s dense enough to be use with liquid/cream in my opinion. (Though it’s a powder brush) The quality is exceptional for a free brush in a starter set. I think I will use it with loose powder foundation to get a natural look.

Conclusion

I think the moisture foundation is indeed a very good foundation. There’re some extras you get from paying 62 USD for it. Which is a good thing, considering sometime a high-end brand doesn’t even perform that differently from the drug store one. For this starter set, the most obvious difference is that it helps a lot in pore minimizing. All the items in this set contribute to concealing my pores under the silky and natural face. And plus, I love how long lasting it is.

Overall, I like all the items in this set more than I expected. Using them in combination give me a natural I’m-born-flawless face that I totally love. However, the price of this brand is just… too much.

In Japan, the origin country, this foundation costs 4800 yen for 20g. So 1g = 240 yen. Compare to similar foundation that emphasize on moisturizing and pore-less face like Mac Minerialize Moisture Foundation, in its origin country which is the US, it costs 35 USD or 4100 yen for 30 ml. So 1 ml = 136 yen. In this sense, even though you buy it in Japan which is the cheapest place you could have got it, it’s still more expensive than Mac. So for me, it’s considered a little bit too pricey.

Score:

Pore Minimizing 4.5/5

Natural look 4/5

Imperfection covering power 2/5

Long lasting 3.5/5

Price 2/5

[REVIEW/COMPARISON] SKIN FOOD black sugar mask wash off - Original, Strawberry and Gold Edition.

Welcome to my new blog! I was dusting off the old pinkish theme and changed to a more clean look that i think should be comfortable for the eyes, plus i renamed my blog so it's easier to remember. So welcome everyone to Natsu's Nikki, The diary of 'Summer' girl :)


Today I will be reviewing my favorite face mask, the Skin Food Black Sugar mask wash off. I have been using this for a couple of years already and It’s still one of my most favorite masks of all time. Mainly because it performs so well and it's so cheap. There’s no ‘stingy’ application where u apply such a thin layer you feel sad for yourself. (Like when I use the GLAWGLOW mask, I feel like I’m applying a mashed bank note onto my face)

About the Black Sugar mask

Black Sugar mask wash off is Skin Food’s most loved face mask that is still the best seller on Skin Food’s Korean site after so many years. The popularity of it led to many sub-sugar mask lines that Skin Food launched hoping they will be as successful as their predecessor.  However, until this day the original one is still the most beloved.  

Black Sugar masks that are available in the market are:

1. Black Sugar mask wash off – the original one.

2. Black Sugar strawberry mask wash off – the 2^nd one that was launched. It’s the original one + some strawberry fushion. Kinda like Strawberry Jam.

3. Black Sugar honey mask wash off – The 3^rd one that was launched and the only one I do not own. It’s very sticky and has the most unique formula in all as it’s very sticky just like honey.

4. Black Sugar Gold Special Edition – This one is a special edition launched to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the original Black Sugar mask. So they added some gold particles to the mask to make it special.

In this blog, I’m gonna talk only about the ones I owned. I do not have the 3^rd one; Honey mask, so the comparisons and reviews from this point onwards are all about the other 3.

Price comparison

Since I’m Thai and I currently live in Japan, I will show the price in Thai Baht and Japanese Yen, which are the 2 places that I can actually get cosmetics from. However, I couldn’t find the Black Sugar Gold Special Edition in any of the Skin Food site anymore, so for price comparison, it’s gonna be only the original VS strawberry in 3 countries.

As you could probably see here, after I converted everything to the same currency, buying in Korea is your best option. A lot of you probably already know, but Korean cosmetics are very cheap in Korea and could be 2-3 times more expensive in your country. Still, overall, I think that it’s good in value and it’s still a cheap face mask, especially if you buy it in Korea.

Black Sugar Mask: what does it do?

What it claims to do is to exfoliate your skin and leave it soft, silky and brighter. And in my opinion, it does what it says! All the black Sugar mask family will leave my skin feeling soft, clean and bright. And the fact that it’s so cheap is a plus!

How to use?

Massage it into your face and leave it on for 10-15 minutes before rinse off with warm water.

What’s the difference between each Black Sugar masks?

To be honest, the main effect that they give, are the same. However, some leave your skin more moisturised, some make you feel fresher and cleaner. Also, the scrub beads are a little bit different. Let’s look at them one by one. (Sorry for the dirtiness of each jar, I’m rough on them lol)

1.     Original – This one has the biggest beads, means it’s kinda rough on the skin. (At least on mine) When apply, it hurts my face a little bit so I have to apply it really lightly. The finish after use is great. My skin is exfoliated. It’s clean and soft. However, as it’s a bit rough on the skin, it leave my skin feeling a little bit dry and I have to moisturized right after.

2.     Strawberry – This is my personal favourite. It’s the only one I could actually finish the whole jar. In this variation of Black Sugar mask, Skin Food put in less Sugar beads and added some strawberry beads which are softer and not so rough. This is perfect as it’s like the diluted version of the original. It doesn’t hurt my face anymore and as it’s lighter you can apply it daily. This one leaves my skin more moisturized and a little bit softer. Not to mention it smells like strawberry jam. Yum!

3.   Gold – This one is very similar to the original, just a bit more sticky. If the mask is a dough, the original mask is a not yet kneaded dough and this one would be a kneaded dough that is softer and the ingredients are blended together a bit more. The scrub beads are the same but it feels a bit softer when apply. And there’re some gold particles inside which if you stare closely to the photo you might spot some. It’s very small and it’s not visible when spread out on your face. This one, I think moisturized my face the best of all 3.

Black Sugar Mask Wash off - Spread out

Conclusion:

The table above is based on my preferences and experiences. In conclusion, this is what i think:

1.     The original one gives the most cleanliness feels after use.

2.     The strawberry one gives a fresh feel and scent.

3.     The gold one leaves my face the most moisturized.

However, performance-wise, they are all the same. Your skin will be exfoliated and clean nicely. Other differences, it is up to your preferences!

That’s all for the review! I hope this review give you some guidance on which one to pick from the black sugar family. Feel free to leave comments if you have question or just to share your opinion about this mask ^^