Althea Korea: A'bloom Launch

Yes, Althea Korea has yet another awesome launch, A'bloom, bringing to us a series of great products at a very affordable price. 

The newly launched A'bloom collection is still relatively small, consisting of 4 different facial masks, meringue make up puffs and a blackhead blaster stick. And do I need to further point it out that their packaging is just so ridiculously adorable? 

BHA Blackhead Blaster (8g) - $5

A’bloom BHA Blackhead Blaster is an easy and quick triple treatment for blackheads, whiteheads and dead skin for daily care. It contains natural ingredients to help gently deep cleanse the pores and removing dead skin cells while preventing any irritations or redness on the skin.

The product comes in the form of a super convenient and handy twist-up stick and using it can't get any easier. Just dampen your face, twist up a little bit of the product and just roll it away on your face. You can just keep to your targeted area with blackhead & whitehead issue, but I went around my entire face and focus more on my t-zone. After washing off the product, my skin felt thoroughly cleanse but without the tight, squeaky clean feeling.

The 4 main ingredients in the BHA Blackhead Blaster are:

● Natural BHA ingredient to deep cleanse our pores by exfoliating the dead skin cells.

● Apricot seed powder to remove excessive sebum.

● Charcoal to absorb the dirt in the pores.

● Tea tree leaf oil to soothe as well as prevent any redness and irritations on the skin

A'bloom Fruit Mask Packs, $0.60 each, $5 for 10 pieces. 

Anti Blemish Peach Mask

Peaches are rich in moisture and vitamin A retinol components which helps control the oil and water balance of the skin. It helps normalize the skin turnover cycle with retinol by preventing troubles and taking care of dead skin cells and provide smooth, hydrated skin. The mask contains tea tree extract to help sterilization and takes care of trouble spots and pores.

Moisturising Watermelon Mask

The watermelon fruit has 92% of water which is excellent for moisturizing and soothing for the skin during the hot weather. It contains natural aminoic acid called Citrulin and Betain that forms a natural moisturizing membrane on the skin, leaving it moisturized as well as a smoother skin that does not dry out. The mask also contains lavender extract which helps soothe sensitive skin and provides liveliness.

Brightening Lemon Lime Mask

Lemon and lime contains high vitamin C ingredient to help repair and protect the skin from UV damage. The vitamin C’s function of inhibiting melanin production provides a clear and

transparent skin. This mask contains green tea extract which is also rich in vitamin C ingredient to assist in controlling melanin production and skin care.

Nourishing Avocado Mask

Avocado is known as the butter of the forest with rich protein that prevents aging and provides strong antioxidant with vitamin E tocopherol. The excellent absorption of skin-friendly unsaturated fatty acid provides shininess and elasticity to the skin. It is mix with hibiscus flower extract that contains Antocyanin, an antioxidant to prevent the skin from aging.

I love these little diagram at the back of each mask, telling you the main benefits (and its efficacy in comparison to each other) of the mask. 

The mask sheet is of an extremely soft and smooth texture that sticks over my face like a second skin, while the essence that's soaked up in the sheet is of the right consistency that's neither too watery (that it drips everywhere) nor too thick (feels too heavy on the skin). Popping the pack into the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before taking it out and applying on your face also makes masking a super refreshing experience, especially when the days/nights gets unbearably hot!

And now, get ready for some ultimate cuteness!

Baby Meringue Puffs (3 pcs) - $4

Giant Meringue Puff (1 pc) - $3

I literally squealed upon pulling these out of the box, especially those baby ones. They are so adorable, and in different shades of PINK! These cute little meringue sponge puff design was inspired by none other than meringue cookies! The giant meringue puff will provide quick and smooth makeup application on wide surface of the skin while the baby meringue puff will provide fine and detailed makeup application on small surface of the skin with its pointed tips.

The meringue puffs are made out of non-latex sponge with hydrophilic properties which will

grow 1.5 times bigger than normal size when soaked with water allowing makeup to be applied

perfectly on the skin.

There is two ways to use these puffs to achieve a flawless make up look:

1. Soak the puff in water (and squeeze out the excess, of course) to get a moist and glossy skin

2. Use the puff dry to get a matte and flawless looking skin

A'bloom collection is now available on Althea Korea

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Mia's Althea Christmas Wishlist

Hey there, lovely readers! 2018 is soon coming to an end, but it's not the time to look back on the year and reflect... yet, for Christmas is around the corner! 

Still fretting over what to get for your girlies this Christmas? Well, not to worry because this time, Althea got you covered with tons of on-going special promotions with various discount codes up for you to grab over the week!

So let's move on with my specially curated top 10 Althea Christmas wishlist/recommendation, not in any particular order.

First up, let's take a look at the awesome line of Althea Exclusive, that's currently having 25% or 50% off minimum spending of $40 or $60 (until 19th Dec) and free shipping until 31st Dec 2018.

#1 

Skin Fresh Skin Detoxer Set - $25
(both Rose and Green Tea selling separately at $14 each)

A successful collaboration between Althea and Korea's top beauty programme, Get It Beauty, these two skin detoxers are both your super convenient 10-seconds wash off mask and facial cleanser combined!
I've previously talked about these two amazing products HERE, so do check it out!

#2

Milk Peel Cream Mask - $12.50

Another wonderful product from Althea Exclusive line, the Milk Peel Cream Mask contains AHA & BHA to help exfoliate dead skin for smoother skin, and at the same time contains Casein Protein (milk) to provide moisture to the skin and help our skin stays moisturised all day! I absolutely love the soft and creamy, clay-like texture that BUBBLES UP on our skin after application, it was so fun!

#3

Petal Velvet Set - $17.10
(Sunaway and Velvet Powders are selling separately at $13 and $6 respectively)

Armed with the highest sun protection of SPF 50+ and PA++++, the Petal Velvet Sunaway is made to be ultra lightweight on our skin. This translucent sunscreen is formulated with Damask rose extracts to make sure that our skin stays fresh and hydrated throughout the day without any streakiness or the dreadful ghastly white cast. 
(Read more about Sunaway HERE)

The velvet powders comes in 3 variations, translucent, warm beige and lavender pink, all of which 
helps to set makeup and leave behind a silky finish to the touch. Infused with oil from Althea seeds, this powder works to keep sebum production at bay without drying out the skin for a radiant, fresh look, all while giving out a gentle scent. 

#4

Pore Purifying Serum Cleanser - $11 

This is definitely one of Althea Exclusive latest launch that I'm so excited to try out! 
Combining the powers of a cleanser and serum, this product whisks away makeup, dirt, and oil with mint extracts while ensuring the skin stays cool and hydrated throughout thanks to a dual moisture cell system that envelopes the skin in a serum-like formula. It prevents the skin from drying out and effectively minimizes enlarged pores, keeping it smooth to the touch. This product also helps to balance the pH levels of the skin to keep it working in tip-top shape! Best of all, it's gentle on the face and suitable even for those of us with sensitive skins!

And now, onto winners of 2018 Althea Award, with 15% off with minimum purchase of any 3 items under the Award list.

#5

Laneige BB Cushion Pore Control - $38

Laneige BB Cushion Pore Control has to be my favourite cushion, ever! And now, they've gotten an upgrade! With an even prettier packaging and new, improved formula, this cushion provides smooth coverage with effortless application. The Pore Control comes with a formula that controls excessive production of sebum, leaving the skin looking and feeling fresh throughout the day. It also has long-lasting properties to keep it on all day so you won’t have to worry about it budging. These compact cushions make morning routines a breeze, and are great to keep in your bag for touch-ups on-the-go!

#6

W.Lab Jewelry Base Sapphire - $21

A gem-infused skin base, have you heard of it before?! With a mix of hydrating ingredients like Centella Asiatica, glycerin, and sunflower seed oil, this base moisturizes the skin, prepping and smoothing it for a flawless makeup application. This pretty base also contains illuminating sapphire and pearl pigments that give the complexion a gorgeously radiant glow. 

Sounds amazing, right?

#7

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask - $27

I'm pretty sure this world's best-selling sleeping mask needs no further introduction. This is probably THE product that gained Laneige most of its ardent fans. 
With 1 sold every 12 secs, this light gel mask provides intensive hydration, vitality and brightening effect while restoring skin with deep relaxation. This product contains a number of patents including the SLEEP-TOX™ technology that purifies skin during sleep, keeping it in optimum condition while MOISTURE WRAP™ helps skin retain moisture throughout the night. It also has an aromatic SLEEPSCENT™ helps you relax during sleep. Best of all, it’s also formulated with skin soothing agents that are gentle on the sleeping skin, helping it to recover overnight.

#8

Nature Republic Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel - $5

This is definitely one of my holy grail product! Made from 92% Aloe Vera gel, Nature Republic Aloe Vera Soothing Gel is enriched with vitamins and can be used for just about anything, from soothing sunburns to hydrating the skin and hair in the form of a mask, to an everyday moisturizer for supple skin. The aloe vera used to make this product comes from certified organic farmers in California (CCOF) and is kind to even the most sensitive of skins, making this suitable for all skin types. 

#9

Laneige Wild at Heart My Neon Sign Stained Glasstick - $28

Coming in Neon Pink or Neon Orange, this is Laneige's 2018 Limited Edition Holiday Collection, so grab yours before they're gone! It's a glowy tint lipstick that gives us the watery, stained glass lip makeup look. The festive, cute packaging is definitely the cherry on top! 

#10

RiRe Bubble Bubble Lip Mask - $9.50

Last but not least, I've decided to add a lip mask into my top 10 list, for lip care still seems to be always neglected! This hypoallergenic, innovative lip scrub foams up after moments and gently exfoliates away dead skin cells using fruit enzymes so you won't have to worry about accidentally scrubbing too hard. It also helps moisturize any dry patches, so you'll be left with smooth, kissable lips that are prepped to take on any lipstick you desire.

So, what are your thoughts of my Althea top 10 wishlist/recommendation? Have you tried any of these ten products before? Let me know your experience with these products down at the comment board below!

Till then,
Mia Foo

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Althea's 1st Brand Product Launch: Althea Petal Velvet Powder

Starting 1st August, Althea has launched their very first brand product, the Althea Petal Velvet Powder, which is a lightweight, translucent loose powder that gives a silky finish and made with pure and natural ingredients, with one of the main ingredients as Althea flower extracts. 

Infused with oil from Althea seeds, this powder helps to control our sebum production without drying out our skin for a radiant, fresh look. This non-comedogenic powder is also made with micro-fine particles that minimise the appearance of pores and fine lines to reveal a flawless looking complexion. 

Firstly, I have to say I'm totally sold at the packaging! Love how it's a dusty mauve-pink colour and comes in a very handy small tub, which you can easily pop into your smallest make up bag. The tiny powder puff that comes together with the tub is also soft and fluffy, picks up the fine powder from the sifter really well, and also feels great on the skin. 

I like how the powder makes you skin feels so soft and smooth, and doesn't cake up even if you pile it on. There's also a very pleasant floral scent to the powder, which makes applying it all the more enjoyable. 

The best part? This handy-dandy tub of loose powder is only retailing at SGD $6 on Althea's web-store right HERE!

So what are you waiting for? Go grab yourself one and be beautiful! 

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Mia's Review: Laneige BB Cushion [Pore Control]

I know this is a little late, but it's better late than never, right?

Following the cushion craze, the Laneige BB Cushion [Pore Control] is actually the very first cushion I've bought (I have 3 till date), and I love this so so much!

And before I give you my review, I shall show you how to replace the used up cushion with a refill. Hah, yes. I've already used up mine by the time I decided to really settle down for a review. 

To change out the cushion, just pop it out from the back. 

I find that pressing down on the latch somehow helps, probably with giving you some sort of a pivot-action to pop the cushion up. 

The refill comes with a clean air puff and you can just pop into the frame (background) easily. 

With that, let's start off with an eyeliner test. 

This is with 2 layers of the last remains of my old pack, which means very much less product picked up each time as compared to a new refill pack and I'll say it's pretty decent! It doesn't covers everything and just anything (I don't go for high coverage products in the first place) but does a pretty good job evening out my skin tone and covering minor blemishes and redness without the need for a concealer. Can't help my horrible dark rings though. 

Fragrance is mild and very pleasant, and it gives a pretty matte and flawless finish as compared to the whitening range that supposedly gives a very dewy finish. Oil control is the best of the bb/cc products I've tried till date, with coverage on basically my entire face (just some melting on my T-zone) at the end of the day. 

After about 5 hours of wearing the product, without any blotting. 

Without a doubt, this is my favourite bb/cc product thus far. Loves how it makes my skin appear flawless yet natural looking, with such buildable coverage without becoming cakey. My own headache is that #21 is actually a little too light for me (I need to apply the product down to my neck in order to not get a 2 toned look) and #23 doesn't seem to exist in this line. However, it does 'oxidise' slighty through the day so I probably only need to risk getting ridiculed by strangers on the street for wearing 'geisha-make up' in the first few hours of putting it on. #failedattemptofsarcasm

You can get authentic Laneige BB Cushion (and many other Laneige products) from skinwecare, qoo10.com.sg or lazada.sg at a much cheaper price compared to the hiked up pricing in the local retail stores. :)

Otherwise, for my international readers, you can check out amazon.com for some awesome deals too!

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Mia's Review: Blingsome Lip Tattoo

It's been a while since I read other blog reviews about this lip tint tattoo by Berrisome and when I saw this by Blingsome on Althea, I decided to grab one to try it out.

If you're curious, I've already reviewed Skinfood's Pore Fit Cushion Bottle a while back HERE.

The directions for use are all in Korean, but it's still pretty self-explanatory with the pictures. You put on a layer of the product, wait for it to dry completely before peeling them off to get the colour 'tattooed' onto your lips. 

And here's my before and after photos. The colour shows up more brightly in the picture, and the streaky uneveness in colour was washed out. In other words, it looked pretty bad IRL. 

Totally taken aback with the lack of results, I decided to do a hand test to see if it's because of my natural lip colour that's preventing the lip tattoo's colour from showing.

 In a desperate attempt to make it 'work', I've applied an extremely thick layer of the product (so thick it was dripping off) and waited near to 30 minutes for it to dry completely. 

And... Yup, the colour payoff really isn't that great. 

Well, the only plus point is, it is really smudge-proof and doesn't transfer, not that there's really much colour on your lips in the first place to transfer anywhere. 

And there's another brownie point off this product for the horrible taste. It's not that I will love to eat my lip product, even though it does smell all nice and peachy. But do keep in mind that you have to keep a thick layer of the product on your lips for a good 5 to 10 minutes and during that period of time, chances are you'll end up getting a try of its horribly, acutely bitter-sour taste. It's really not that pleasant, especially when you come to realise that after all the hassle (and tasting bad stuff), you get almost no colour payoff on your lips. 

So to sum up, the conclusion is simple. 

DO NOT BUY THIS, ESPECIALLY NOT IN THE SHADE OF HONEY LOVE. 

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Mia's Review: Nature Republic Super Origin CC Cream

I've actually started out on this CC cream at almost the same time as my Maybelline Watergel BB cream back then, but I was so into the watergel bb that I've totally neglected this product! So after using up my entire tube of the watergel bb cream, I've finally started using this cc cream on a daily basis for more than a week now and I guess it's now a much better time for me to do a proper review on it! 

If anyone is interested, you can click HERE to go to my Maybelline Watergel BB cream review. :)

If you're still unfamiliar with the term CC cream (which I don't think you should since I've heard they've already moved on to DD or EE creams? Yikes!), it stands for Colour Control or Colour Change... etc. It's created in Korea (as opposed to BB cream which originated in Germany) and as the name goes, it actually serves more to even out skin tone than to cover and conceal blemishes. Oh well, we will get to that later on. 

Nature Republic has 3 types of CC Cream in this Super Origin collection, namely: Brightening (SPF25, PA++), Colour Change (SPF30, PA++), and Tinted (SPF30, PA++). After doing some research on my own, it seems like Brightening serves more as a primer than an actual CC cream, so I was left with 2 out of the 3 choices. Out of novelty (of seeing the white cream changing into tinted colour due to bursting of the colour capsules) sake, I've decided to try out Colour Change. 

I've forgotten how much it retails in SG stores, but you definitely can get them much cheaper at qoo10 or gmarket. 

It comes in a pump head tube as shown, which IMO, feels more hygienic as compared to a squeeze tube. However, makes it a little more tricky to control the amount of product you get from each pump as compared to a squeeze tube. I usually use 3/4 pump for my entire face.

Here's a hand test to see how it blends out. As you can see the cream is white in colour and relatively creamy and thick, which gradually turns orange-beige upon rubbing (and bursting the colour capsules within) and then gradually evens out with your skin tone and blends into the skin. I didn't complete the blending hence the obvious streaks of orange-beige on the back of my hand where the product was dispensed. 

I'll say the product is relatively thick and isn't as spreadable if compared to the previous product I've reviewed, the watergel bb cream. And due to the nature of this product, rubbing is required to burst the colour capsules to get the white cream to change its colour to suit our skin tone, so patting the product to minimise tugging on our skin will not work. Some suggested of rubbing it out on the back of our hand to change its colour first before patting in on our face. But sorry to say, nope that won't work as well. By the time the product changes colour, it is already on the brink of setting and it's impossible to even it out on our face by mere patting. Plus, imagine the high wastage of product by rubbing most of the product (and setting it) onto the back of our hand instead of the intended area, our face. Nevertheless, just keep reminding yourself to go light with the blending (no furious rubbing no matter how rushed you are in the morning, babes) hand and you shall be fine. :) You don't really need the force of Xena the Warrior Princess to blend it into your skin, really.

And here's the back of my same hand, with the product fully blended in. The white cream changes colour to fit my skin tone perfectly, and pretty quickly too. No worries of it leaving any unsightly white cast on your face every rushing mornings. 

I hate to say this, but the eyeliner test was pretty much a flop because I couldn't get the cream to change colour just by patting. So by the time I managed to pat-rub it to change into my skin tone, most of the eyeliner has been rubbed off hence it appears as if it has been concealed. 

In terms of coverage, this cc cream doesn't do much. As it's so with most cc creams (i assume), it only serves to even out the skin tone and make your skin looks (overall) flawless, if you know what I'm saying. It doesn't help to conceal any specific spots or flaws, at all. 

On to the blotter test, and comparing with both the previous control of Skinfood Aloe Sun BB and the reviewed Maybeline Watergel BB, we can see that Nature Republic's CC cream has performed on par with the watergel bb cream, with a significant amount of oil surfacing in 30 minutes. Unlike SF bb, which the surface has dried up, the cc cream remains relatively moist, almost like how it was when it just got dispensed from the pump head. 

Overall, I feel that the Nature Republic CC Cream gives a finish that is in between matte and dewy. It definitely is not as matted as the watergel bb, but is not too dewy for me either. It gives off a really nice, flawless and natural look to the skin. Coverage wise, is pretty much a 'flop' for it isn't really meant to conceal. It gives almost no coverage to spots and blemishes, so a concealer is a must. I find that my skin does oil up pretty fast when on this cc cream (as compared to watergel bb) so the oil control is pretty mediocre as well, although it didn't break me out at all. But I'll prefer to attribute it to the product being really light and mild. 

I find it especially frustrating to have the product reverting back to white (somehow) and leaves an unsightly patch of oily white film on my glasses and at two spots on the sides of my nose where by glasses were sitting on. Pretty embarrassing to have anyone seeing it whenever I remove my glasses to clean the lenses.

Nevertheless, I still find this a pretty decent product and is worth trying for ladies with relatively blemish-free skin and is facing uneven skin tone issues. 

Till then,

Mia

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