Review: Alterna Bamboo Luminous Shine Shampoo

Alterna Bamboo Luminous Shine Shampoo 250ml 

My quest for a shampoo of 'Holy Grail' status has been a tedious search. Just when I thought I have finally found 'The One', it starts to play havoc to my scalp and hair after 2 weeks.  Is it just me or everyone feels the same when it comes to finding the right shampoo? Personally, searching for the right shampoo seems more difficult than finding the right skincare.

Anyhow, I've heard much about Alterna Bamboo through bloggers and I was so intrigued about it that I finally bought it when I was shopping at Sephora.

What it says? 

This gentle sulfate-free cleanser combines strenghtening eco-certified Bamboo Extract & shine-amplifying Indian Gooseberry for healthy radiance. Freshly cleansed hair is left moisturized, shiny and brilliantly glossy. Formulated with Colour Hold technology. Safe for colour treated hair. Free of: Sulfates, Parabens, Gluten, Sodium Chloride, Phthalates and Synthetic Colour.

My Experience 

Shampoo is of a clear gel and quite fragrantly fragranced, a bit too sweet for my liking though. The shampoo foams very minimally, which is a good indicator of minimal or zero harsh surfactants.

During my first try, my hair was super oily at the scalp and I need to do a second wash, just to make sure that it is clear at the sebum. However, after rinsing, my hair feels awfully squeaky clean and straw-y. Not a nice feeling at all. My normal hair conditioner helped a bit to detangle my hair but I don't feel that my hair was nice to touch. Blow drying actually made my hair look and feel worse with this shampoo.

The second trial was a bit better. I skip the second wash and instead of using my normal conditioner, I proceed with my hair mask. And...it made a LOT of difference to my hair. Not only does my hair looked tamed, it gives me a nice body, volume and feel to it.

After using this alternatively with another regular shampoo, I personally find that this shampoo helps to balance my hair and scalp. I experienced less flake and itchiness and ironically, it manages to control the oil secretion of my hair. Very weird indeed.

Overall 

This shampoo is not suitable for everyday use, as it tends to make my hair squeaky and straw-y looking. Ironically, it worked fantastically well when paired with my hair mask and manages to control my oil secretion when used alternately with another regular shampoo. Funnily, this is the only shampoo that gives me a nice volume and body to my hair.

This item was purchased by me for my personal purposes. This review is based on my honest and personal experience with this product and is not influenced by any parties.

Review: Kiss Me Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner

Kiss Me Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner 0.4 ml 

( This is not an organic/natural based product )

Eyeliners are my thing and are my staples in my makeup routine. I wear glasses, so for more emphasis on my eyes, I much prefer them to mascaras. Mascaras do give me smearing problems because my eye area sweats easily.

I have the 'most oily lids..ever' and I can't use pencil eyeliner because it would smudge terribly on me. The only eyeliner that can last a little longer on my lids are the liquid ones. My first was Lancome Artliner. I love the tip and it's easy for me to draw a nice line but it does not last long on my lids. The most is 2 hours. Come Clio, which I thought is great. I love the intensity of the liquid pen and the gelpresso but it still gives me panda eyes.

I was at the point where I thought no eyeliner in the world will be able to withstand my oily ( and sweaty ) lids..until I heard of Kiss Me. When I browse through the internet, most claim that this is smudge, sweat, sebum-proof. The results are almost on par with the award winning K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Eyeliner, except that the pigmentation in Kiss Me is more intense. I was really torn between the two and decided with Kiss Me first. 

Product Description 

Water-proof

Being highly-resistant to tears, sweat, water and sebum, this product allows you to keep the 'just applied' finish throughout the day.

Can be remove by lukewarm water

Can easily be removed with lukewarm water despite the long-lasting finish.

Jet-black colour to add greater definition to your eyes

Enhanced blackness gives an even darker colour and powerfully accentuates your pupils for a striking look.

Easy-to-draw ultra thin brush

An elastic ultra thin brush ( only 0.1 mm-wide tip ) was adopted. With the firm super fine brush, you can easily draw even the most difficult lines perfectly, such as the thinnest line along the eyelash base and upward lines around the outer corner of the eyes.

My Experience 

The eyeliner is easy to hold as it is light and slim, giving me better control when I draw my lines. I love the tip of this eyeliner and it is the thinnest I have ever come across! It makes it so much easier to draw a nice thin line from your inner lash line, and subsequently thickening the line to create a flick. The tip is much smoother to draw a nice line than Clio's and the ink is consistent. The intensity is very good too and it dries pretty quickly than Clio's too.

As I said earlier, my eye lids are horribly oily and sweats easily. To make sure my eye makeup last, I usually like to prime my eyes with a primer. With Clio and Lancome's eyeliner, even with primer, it last me 2-5 hours max. Now with Kiss Me, this last me at amazingly 8 hours, without a single smudge! I am not kidding you. This thing is seriously smudge and sweat proof! The best thing is the intensity of the colour remains the same throughout.

Recently, I wore this eyeliner, without a primer for a 'steamboat' date with a friend. Though it is in an air-conditioned area, the steam was practically blowing at my face! I was a bit petrified if I would have the dreaded panda look when I step out of the place. Well, never can I imagine...I looked normal! When I get back home, I can only detect very, very tiny smudge at my lower lash line when looked closely. From afar, I looked fine.

On to removal, this one is easy. Much easier than Clio's, if I have to say. My usual removal method is soaking my cotton pad with eye makeup remover and leaving it on my eye area for a couple of seconds. Very easily, most of the eyeliner is removed, except those close to the lash line. I like that it doesn't leave a lot of 'flakes' during removal.

Overall 

I have to say this: This is the best eyeliner I have used to date! The staying power is amazing, even on my oily lids. I am seriously wow-ed by this. Enough said.

This item was purchased by me for my personal purposes. This review is based on my honest and personal experience with this product and is not influenced by any parties.

Revisiting Vitamin C for Skin

A year ago, I started using topical Vitamin C from Marie Veronique for my skin and the results was fabulous. Unfortunately, early this year, I was plagued by eczema and thus, I have to stop using this, in fear that this might provoke more sensitivity to my skin.

My poor little jar was left sitting at the corner for months and my heart aches a little during those months because I was actually feeling afraid that it will go bad. I really hate to see something being so expensive being thrown into the bin.

Finally, after I've recovered, I went back to this little gem again. Now, does it still gives me the same amazing results as before? 

YES, it still does!

Like I've said in my review, this Vitamin C always plump up the skin. My skin is somehow, more firm to touch now. Not only that, after 2 months, I see improvements on my skin tone and my face is not so patchy looking as before.

And without fail, this topical Vitamin C supplement always gives me the 'glow and sheen' on my skin. My face just looked...healthier....and I am not kidding. This is like falling in love all over again...

I can seriously say that this stuff works!

Though L-Ascorbic Acid ( Vitamin C, which increases levels of collagen ) powder is readily available in DIY sites like SkinActives or Lotioncrafter, I personally prefer using ready-made ones from Marie Veronique Organics mainly because of it's convenience and also, it contains additional ingredients like kojic acid ( natural skin lightening ) and niacinamide ( reduces hyperpigmentation ).

Do give it a try!

This item was purchased by me for my personal purposes. This review is based on my honest and personal experience with this product and is not influenced by any parties.

Review: Bioderma Crealine Solution Micellaire

Bioderma Crealine Solution Micellaire 500ml 

Yes, this is the famed cleansing water from Bioderma and I finally, I got to try out this product! In Asian countries, they go by the name of Bioderma Sensibo but in Europe, they call it Bioderma Crealine. I am not going to write much about the company's background, nor the product description as they are plenty introductions over the web over this product. I am just going straight to the ingredients and my experience.

Ingredients

Water, Peg-6 caprylic/capric glycerides, glycerin, polysorbate 20, peg-40 hydrogenated castor oil, ammonium lactate, plantago major leaf extract, mannitol, xylitol, rhamnose, frutooligo saccharides, propylene glycol, disodium edta, cetrimonium bromide.

My Experience

Bioderma Crealine is a micellaire solution or cleansing water, which is basically a face and eye make-up remover for sensitive skin. Using cleansing water as my first step of my double cleanse process is a norm for me. I was a longtime user of L'occitane's Fresh Face Water before Bioderma Crealine came into the picture.

Strong Cleansing Power

The solution is quite easy to use; just pour some unto your cotton pad and gently swipe across your face or eyes. And voila......everything is off! Simple as that. If I need to compare, Bioderma removes all dirt and makeup more powerfully than L'occitane's.

Though Bioderma Crealine works exceptionally well in removing makeup from your face, I can't positively say it works well for the eyes. Yes, it works great, only if you are removing basic eyeshadows. For eyeliners and mascaras, it has its reservations. It works quite well on removing Clio and Kiss Me Heroine liquid eyeliners but did not budge at all on my Majolica Majorca Glamour On Mascara. Many have said that Majolica Majorca's mascara's are hard to remove but I find that it removes well only on oil based eye makeup removers.

Good for Sensitive Skin

I find that Bioderma is really good for those with sensitive skin as personally, I do not find it irritating or drying to my skin. It does not irritate my eyes either! In fact, I find my skin feeling comfortable and refreshed, after every use.

Overall

This quickly replaces my L'occitane Fresh Face Water as I find that not only the cleansing power is more superior,  it very economical to use too. I started using Bioderma since mid July and till now, my bottle is still 3/4 full! Plus, the price is more reasonable too. The only downside is that it is not available in Malaysia. Boo...So if anyone is going to France, don't ask them for the Eiffel Tower miniature, ask for this instead! 

This item was purchased by me for my personal purposes. This review is based on my honest and personal experience with this product and is not influenced by any parties.