Lise Watier HydraForce Hydra-Protective Comforting Creme

This winter was relatively mild by Canadian standards, but whenever the mercury drops, so does the humidity. It wreaks  havoc on my skin. I was born and raised in a tropical country, where it doesn't get any lower than 20 C. We'd go on vacation to colder places during winter, but my skin was never exposed long term to winter. The coldest place I've ever been to is Harbin, China, -40 C with windchill. Needless to say, I wasn't there too long.

Growing up, I had combination skin, normal with an oily T-zone. That's pretty much how it is most of the year. During winter, my skin just dries up. My oily T-zone will become normal, borderline dry, and the rest is just parched. Don't get me started on my cuticles, they end up looking like dry cracked desert land and it turns me into a compulsive skin picker, but that's a story for another day.

This is the kit Glam Sense and Lise Watier sent. This super cute skin testing device came along with a full size jar of HydraForce Hydra-Protective Comforting Creme to test and review.  It plugs into a smartphone's headphone jack and measures skin's moisture level on the Hydra-Detect app. Let's take a look at my results.

Those were the numbers for my left hand, forehead and left cheek, respectively. I did what the app told me to do (I try to follow instructions as best as I can, lol) and applied HydraForce. Hydra-Protective Comforting Creme has a floral scent I like. Initially, it's a little strong and I think some may not like it. It would probably have been better to have a much milder scent, or even go fragrance-free. The texture, I love. It's light and reminds me of a gel-creme. It absorbs quickly too. 

After waiting a few seconds for my skin to soak up the Comforting Creme, I tested the suggested areas again. Behold, my face was more hydrated! According to the app, my hand was still a little dry, but the moisture percentage did go up. 

More than those scores, my skin feeling softer and more supple tells me that it's more hydrated. I'm liking the boing-boing effect I'm having now that I've used it for about three weeks. No more talking and then wincing when my face feels tight. Thank you Glam Sense and Lise Watier for sending me this HydraForce kit and saving my skin!


Disclosure: The HydraForce Hydra-Protective Comforting Creme was provided by Lise Watier through GlamSense for consideration. All opinions posted are honest and truthful- 100% real!

truBlend is tru-ly Good!

I'm usually wary of purchasing or choosing foundation online, because what you see (on your screen) might not be what you get. That was my first dilemma when I chose the Cover Girl foundation through BzzAgent.  I tried to look for swatches online, and chose my shade. I prayed that it would match, and thank goodness, when it arrived, it was good!

tru Blend applied nicely. The formula was just the right texture, not too thick and not too thin. Perfect for Goldilocks. It applied smoothly, and since I got the right shade, it looked very very natural. I've used fingers, a sponge, a foundation brush, a stippling brush, and a flat top kabuki to apply tru Blend. All of them worked. The sponge, foundation brush and kabuki gave more coverage, while the stippling brush gave a lighter, buildable coverage. The fingers were easiest, and because of the added body warmth from the finger tips, made application easy. One less tool to wash as well.

I'm glad that they packaged this in a pump bottle. A number of brands and products are too, but you'd be surprised that there are still some liquid foundations in regular bottles. (Check out the bottle of CG clean Oil Control in the photo. It looks like it has a screw-type cap. Me no likey.) The pump prevents contamination and keeps the product fresh. The pump also helps you measure how much product you use. For example, for lighter coverage I use only one pump applied evenly and blended well. It's much more convenient, and helps me skip guessing and constantly taking out product.

Now that it's winter, I normally skip powder foundation and use liquid. I only use powder to finish or keep oilies at bay. I find that truBlend, although not marketed as such, was moisturizing enough for me this mild winter without slathering on moisturizer.

Overall, I believe Covergirl's truBlend is a good foundation at the drugstore level. It's an affordable product that work well.

Disclosure: The truBlend liquid foundation was provided by Covergirl through BzzAgent for consideration. All opinions posted are honest and truthful- 100% real!

First Impressions Do Last: The Charm Angled Kabuki

When Sophie mentioned that she'll be launching new Charm brushes on her birthday, I eagerly awaited the special announcement. When her birthday came, I wasted no time and ordered one of the three new brushes: Charm Angled Kabuki. I think my package got stuck somewhere but it finally arrived today. Tah-dah!

And there she is! Isn't she a beauty? The Charm Angled Kabuki comes dressed to the nines in the famous Charm Essentials colors. I was really so excited and decided to post my first thoughts on my new baby. I'll post again once I get to use her.

What I love:

• Cruelty-free. Made with synthetic, vegan hair. No animals were harmed in bringing you these lovelies!
• Soft. The bristles on this brush feel very luxurious and non-scratchy. They can fool you into thinking that you're using a natural-haired brush.
• Dense. This brush has the right amount of bristles and again, the thick hair feels so luxurious.
• Ergonomic design. The handle and the overall construction of the brush are just right. Good weight and handle length feel good in my hand.
• Feminine colors. Just had to mention this in a separate bullet! I love the pink and black color scheme of Charm essentials. So chic, and it gives just the right amount of girly vibes. I love, love, love the cute Charm logo printed on the handle as well.

What I don't like:

• Having to wash the brush before you use it. Is it obvious that I can't wait to use my new Angled Kabuki?
• None so far! But I don't think I'll find any negative aspects. I'm happy with all the Charm brushes I have!

Do I have you drooling yet? Get yours today from Sophie at Beauty and Minerals. You won't regret it! 

Etude House Cloud Bubble Oil Review

I've been to the Etude House at Megamall countless times, and I was never greeted a customary, "Hello, Princess!". I decided to try out the Etude at North EDSA, and I'm glad I did. Not only was it bigger, but the SA's actually greeted me upon my entrance. The store itself was wide, and there was plenty room to look around. There were many more product displays, and trying things out was a breeze because the items were spaced out nicely and the testers weren't as "used" and the ones in Megamall. The SA who followed me around wasn't annoying and was helpful in telling me about the products and pointing out ones that were worth trying out too. :)

A new product that caught my eye was the Cloud Bubble Oil.  I was supposed to get the Cleansing Dream Cleansing Oil since I wanted a cheap alternative to my Shu Uemura Light Cleansing Oil for daily use. But he SA told me that it was a new arrival in the Philippines. The shiny sticker that said NEW convinced me too. So I tossed this into my basket instead. 

Nice and new: plastic wrapped for our protection

Something I love is that the whole bottle is plastic wrapped. It's like saying, "Hey, I'm brand new just for you!". At least we can be sure that the product we are purchasing has not been used by others before us. The packaging is a nice pump bottle that foams up the cleansing oil when you pump it out. You turn the nozzle to the front to be able to pump out the foam. It's a very different way of delivering cleansing oil; instead of getting liquid you get a nice foam instead. This unique method is really fun and it helps encourage me to use it regularly. It's also nice that when you turn the nozzle to the left of the bottle, it becomes impossible to pump it out. No need to pump, then turn, like the Shu bottle I think. If you know what I mean. The bottle is also clear, which allows you to see how much product you still have left.

A quarter of a pump, to see what it looks like!

Another point to consider is the scent. I personally don't mind the smell of the Cloud Bubble Oil, but others may consider it too strong for their liking, or may not like it at all. So I suggest you go try out the testers to see if you're okay with the rather strong scent. The texture of the foamed up cleansing oil is bubbly and airy, much like the Bath and Body Works foaming hand wash or any typical foam. It is a bit oily when you rub it though, since it is a cleansing oil after all. 

To use, pump out the desired amount of cleaning oil foam and gently rub the Cloud Bubble Oil onto your face. Once the foam dissipates, you've got a nice layer of light cleansing oil on. The english instructions on the bottom of the bottle simply tells you to rinse it off after, but I prefer to emulsify first before rinsing. I tried both ways, emulsify then rinse and just rinsing. Emulsifying the Cloud Bubble Oil made my skin feel a bit cleaner afterwards. It's very light, and mild as the bottle says, and it rinses off completely leaving my skin feeling clean and soft afterwards. Lastly, don't turn over the bottle too much, specially after using it! I was reading the little instruction sticker on the bottom and I noticed that I spilled a few drops.

After a few days of road testing, I can say that my skin feels a tiny bit softer and smoother, than before I added this to my skin care routine. The product delivery has me hooked and the fact that the packaging can be reused is a big plus for me. When I'm done with this bottle, I'll simply unscrew the pump, clean it out, then fill it up with diluted hand wash or face wash. How cool is that? So I believe that I'll repurchase this once I run out.

Etude House Cloud Bubble Oil comes in a 200ml pump bottle and is available at all Etude House stores for a bit over P400. (I can't remember the exact amount, I'll fix this when I do)

And In Other News....

I am on Twitter! For more timely updates, (though not necessarily related to Unicorns Dream) please visit check out my Tweets here!

Also, I have this new product I just bought last weekend. It says new, and when I ran a Google search on it, not much came out. So I suppose it's rather new. I hope to review it when my camera paraphernalia, or at least my USB cable, decide to show up. I'm excited about it! :)